Sunday night in Arlington, Texas was supposed to be the grand opening of the greatest NFL stadium, and it was supposed to open with the Cowboys dismantling the New York Giants.

Unfortunately for us the fans and the Cowboys, things did not go as planned! So there must be someone or some people to blame right?

There are plenty of people to blame for this loss, but the finger should be pointed first and foremost at one Tony Romo!

This was by far the worst game I have ever seen him play. From the beginning he looked out of sync, and out of rhythm. Everyone will have an opinion on why, but I do not want to hear it! NO EXCUSES!

The Dallas Cowboys are not a bad football team, but they are not a contending team at this point in the season.

Tony Romo if he was not already has firmly planted his butt onto the “Hot Seat”. There is but only two ways off of that seat.

1. Simply continue to make the same stupid plays that have plagued him his first 3 years in league, and find himself in a different uniform.
2. Step up to the challenge, and accept nothing but perfection from himself, and lead this team.

Tony is a very likable guy, an extraordinary athlete, and the leader of the Dallas Cowboys. It is time for him to act like it!

The second person on the list of many is one that I did not see coming. Orlando Scandrick! I thought last year and heading into this year was the better of the two DB draft picks. Orlando absolutely got his ass handed to him on Sunday night.

The performance he put in on Sunday night was down right pitiful. The best comparison of his performance that I can give is to one of a Matador.

Not only was he not physical with the Giants, he looked lost and scared! We have heard all through Training camp about his “Head Knocking” prowess (just ask Roy Williams) yet when it was his chance to prove his worth in his first start, he looked like the fat kid in fifth grade that everyone picked on.

The Dallas Cowboys better change there outlook at that position and they better change it quick! Mike Jenkins is by far and away the better of the two, not only on draft status, but more importantly by his on field actions.

Through two games Mike Jenkins has heavily outplayed Orlando Scandrick, and after the performance Sunday night his confidence is shaken, and a confidence lacking corner is not what this team needs right now.

The third and final finger that I am going to point is at none other than Terrence Newman. T-New is the mentor to both Jenkins and Scandrick, let’s just hope they do not watch the film on Newman.

T-New looked slow, and on more than one occasion Lost! How you get lost in man coverage I have no idea but he was able to accomplish that feat with very little effort. Is there a Hamstring issue we were not privy to?

I have not seen T-New play that poorly since the Washington game last year when he was playing on a hurt hammy. Hopefully his play Sunday night was just an anomaly.

I am forcing myself to stay away from the edge of the cliff, after all it is only week two, but many things must change and they must change quickly.

This team played very stupid and sloppy and that is not going to get it done. The only difference between the Cowboys play on Sunday and their play at the end of last season is at least now they are not publicly making excuses! Well at least we got that going for us.

Who are you pointing the finger at?

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Here we are again in the second installment of the series. Last time we added the New York Giants as an obvious threat. Next, in week three the Cowboys will be home against the Carolina Panthers. Though the buzz hasn’t been surrounding Carolina, they are still a dangerous team.

Key Offseason Additions:

None.

Key Offseason Subtractions:

FB Nick Goings

WR DJ Hackett

CB Ken Lucas

Key Draft Picks:

DE Everette Brown, Florida State: Brown is a speedy guy with great size, he should compliment Peppers nicely.

S/CB Sherrod Martin, Troy: Martin is a speedy guy with great range and versatility. Won’t start but should be in on nickel packages.

Projected Top Performers

(courtesy ESPN 2009 Projections)

DeAngelo Williams 267 car 1325 yards 11 Td

Steve Smith 90 rec 1390 yards 9 TD

Jonathan Stewart 196 car 936 yards 9 TD

Read the rest of this entry »

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In part one of this series we discussed how we see things shaking down amongst the over populated line backing corps.

This next group some might say is the most critical to the Cowboys success, and I would be one of those people. As far as the defense goes this unit holds all the keys to success!

This very potent and powerful defense cannot do the things it wants without solid secondary play. The Cowboys have spent a lot of time and draft picks on shoring up the secondary, from first on the depth chart down to the last man on the chart.

So let’s take a look at what they have going to camp!

Corners:

Terrence Newman – Will be the starting Left Corner (barring Injury)

Mike Jenkins – Heading into camp as the leading candidate to start at Right Corner, but will have to battle to keep the spot.

Orlando Scandrick – The leading candidate to replace Jenkins if he stumbles, and most assuredly the best Nickel corner on the team.

Alan Ball – Alan has a leg up on the rest of the competition heading into camp based off of the solid year he had in 2008 with the boys.

Mike Mickens – By most accounts the steal of the draft, thought by many to be a top of the 2^nd round guy the Cowboys were able to wait and pick him up in the middle of the 7^th. Should be able to contribute in special teams right away.

Safeties:

Ken Hamlin – Will be the starting Free Safety again this year for the Cowboys, and thanks to an upgrade at Strong safety Hamlin should be able to get back to his 2007 Pro Bowl form.

Gerald Sensebaugh – One of the Cowboys top free agents acquisitions this year should add a much needed dimension to the Cowboys secondary.

Courtney Brown – Originally a Corner but made the switch to Safety at the start of 2007. Brown has the ability to be a ball hawking safety, this being his third year with the team and at safety means that this is a make or break year for him. Could also see some time at corner.

Pat Watkins – Is a big athletic, rangy player the Cowboys had high hopes for this young man, unfortunately that has not come to fruition just yet. Pat is a solid special teams player (has gotten lost a few times however) Special teams play will not keep him on the team this year, he must prove his worth as a safety.

Jerome Carter – Former 4^th round selection of the St.Louis Rams in 2005 and spent all of last year out of work, was signed to a futures contract by the Cowboys in January.

DeAngelo Smith – The Cowboys used the first of two 5th round picks on Mike Mickens collegiate teammate. DeAngelo was a top cornerback in college but the Cowboys have moved him over to safety, giving themselves more options at the position. In the early stages of his career could see some opportunities at corner as well.

Michael Hamlin – The second of two 5^th round selections Hamlin is a pure Free Safety, while lacking a little in the pure speed department he makes up for in instincts and awareness, hard hitting safety that has a nose for the ball and an exceptional leader.

Last year the Cowboys kept seven Cornerbacks and 4 Safeties, and I think those are probably pretty decent figures to go with this year. So with that in mind the coaching staff will have some major decisions to make.

With eleven spots available and 12 players vying for those spots the competition could get very heated in San Antonio.

My belief is that the Cowboys will end up releasing Jerome Carter, and then use DeAngelo Smith, and Courtney Brown as “Tweeners” leaving the secondary looking something like this.

Left Corner:

Terrence Newman , Orlando Scandrick

Right Corner:

Mike Jenkins , Alan Ball

Sub Packages:

Courtney Brown , DeAngelo Smith

Free Safety:

Ken Hamlin , Courtney Brown , DeAngelo Smith

Strong Safety:

Gerald Sensebaugh , Michael Hamlin , Pat Watkins

I would however like to say that I would not be a bit surprised if Pat Watkins was released as well. Pat has gotten several opportunities to claim a spot on this team and has simply not capitalized on those opportunities.

Who stays and who goes in your view?

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Due to the over whelming response we received on the “Tony Romo, How Does He Stack Up” post from last week. I felt compelled to dive a little further into that subject. I never thought for a moment when I was writing that post that it would stir the pot as much as it has. The reason I began to do that post was just to get something involving Romo on the site. The final result of that article has not yet been determined, but one thing for sure is that you all have plenty to say about it. So let’s take this debate a little further and find out what is really going on!

Leadership: the activity of leading; “his leadership inspired the team”

So above you see what the actual definition of “Leader” and “Leadership” is, So now how do we determine if these are things that Tony has? Well judging by many of your responses and views on these two words. What we need to be looking at is a complex set of parameters. First, the majority of the people that believe Tony is not a leader, or does not have the make up to be one, say things like:

“He can’t sit on the bench and pout like a 4 yr old when things aren’t going his way. He has to get up and find solutions with his teammates.”

This statement was very intriguing to me. Why? Well it just kind of struck me funny! For about ten years of my life I worked in the NASCAR racing industry. I worked for several different race teams, all different levels. From Saturday night short tracks to NASCAR’s highest level (sprint cup series). I was very fortunate to have been able to work for some very good Crew Chiefs (the quarterback of the team), and I must say none of them operated like the others! I had some that were very coarse and led with an iron fist. I also had some that were very quiet and led by example.

Now the ones that led with their fists were no better than the ones who led by example. They both got everything out of their guys and were and are still very successful! So where did this leader perception come from? And why do most fans cling to that way being the only way? I believe that this is a direct reflection of “fans” views about athletes and how much they are paid versus what the normal Joe must endure just to be able to pay his/her bills! We as fans hold athletes at an unattainable standard!

These guys are no different than you and I other than they make more money in a year than most of us will make in a lifetime. I am sure some of you out there hold positions that leave you in charge of directing people; How do you lead your people? I try to treat everyone that works with and for me with as much respect as possible, but also I make sure that I work harder than anyone who works for me! I do this not because I like to work hard, but so they see the “Leader” setting the tone! What I am getting to is my style is probably different than yours, but does that make mine wrong? No! It does not, but my style of leading does have a key component that it depends on in order for it to work. That component is simple! My leadership abilities depends on having everyone on the same page! In order for my personnel to perform at a high level, all of them MUST work together! If one link in the chain is not holding up their end of the work, the chain will break, and the final product will suffer.

Now this rule really applies to either way of leading, but the “Iron Fist” way does not do something that my way does. The “Iron Fist” way demands that everyone do their job or else! My way can inspire others to do things that they normally could not, or would not do! In the end both ways work, and will work effectively but I prefer for my personnel to perform at the highest level because they know they can rather than performing at that level out of fear! It is my belief that success will last longer this way.

Tony Romo leads his players by the example method, He expects everyone to do their job to the best of their ability, without having to be bullied to do it. Now I realize that we all want to see him go off on someone and belittle them, but he is not going to do that very often. Tony feels that if the team does not play well that it is entirely on his shoulders, and the only way he feels comfortable repairing it is by pushing himself! It is up to the guys around him to recognize his efforts and to say to themselves “Tony is working hard to repair things, I should do the same!”.

Now I will not argue with you that Tony has made some very dumb mistakes. I will also not argue with you about the fact that Tony must cut down on the stupid plays, because he must! However mistakes, and bad throws do not correlate to a poor “Leader”. The majority of his stupid plays are made while trying to make something out of nothing! Let me ask you a question, How do you think Tony’s numbers (both in the Win column and in the personal stat sheet) would look if he threw the ball away every time everyone was covered? Or better yet every time he had two uncovered blitzers come at him he threw the ball away? You would have the same sorry ass QBs we have had here since Troy left! The making something out of nothing is what sets this guy apart from the rest. Yes he needs to do a better job of picking his spots, but cut the guy just a little slack!

I find it absolutely mind blowing that so many of you, believe EVERYTHING that you hear or read! ESPN and the National Media have done it’s very best to convince all of us that Tony and the Dallas Cowboys are a bunch of losers, and lunatics! People, us calling for Tony to be moved is exactly what everyone wants! The Dallas Cowboys are the team everyone loves to hate! In case you all do not understand this let me break it down for you. ESPN has a freakin “Cowboys watch” on their ticker, not because they want all Cowboy fans to be kept well informed, but because nothing sells “papers” like certain despair at Valley Ranch! No matter what good things take place at the ranch. The only thing ESPN is going to broadcast is the next allotment of turmoil! You will not hear or read this on ESPN, but you will damn sure hear about “A Possible rift brewing between Terrence Newman and Tony Romo”!

The point is don’t just take what someone says as the gospel without first doing your own research! If you want to argue something with me, then by all means bring it on! I strongly suggest however that you do your homework, before you just blab something that the National Media said!

Tony Romo is our Quarterback! Tony Romo is a “leader”. So all of you who think the 9-7 2008 season was caused due to the poor leadership abilities of our Quarterback. All I ask from any of you is to go back and look at the tape! The porous O-line, Injuries, poor route running, and receivers leading the league in dropped passes, have absolutely nothing to do with leadership! All of these things have to do with EVERYONE NOT PULLING THEIR WEIGHT! When ever you can say that EVERYONE is performing to the best of their ability, but Romo is letting them down. Then I will loosen my stance, but right now, this teams failures in 2008 are not because of “Poor Leadership” from Tony!

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