Post by ccboy on Oct 20, 2008 12:44:36 GMT -7
Taken from Vela's blog...
It’s Time to Name These ‘Boys Sue
“And he said: ‘Son, this world is rough,
And if a man’s gonna make it, he’s got to be tough,
And I knew I wouldn’t be there to help you along,
So I give you that name and I said goodbye,
I knew you’d have to get tough or die…”
– Johnny Cash, A Boy Named Sue
Rams 34, Cowboys 14.
We’re angry. We’re indignant. We’re embarrassed. But we’re Cowboys’ fans. Let’s not pretend we’ve never seen this before:
1970, week 9 — Cardinals 38, Cowboys 0. A second consecutive loss that drops the ‘Pokes to 5-4;
1971, week 7 — Bears 23, Cowboys 19. A loss to a weak Bears team in the infamous QB rotation game leaves Dallas 4-3.
1978, week 10 — Dolphins 23, Cowboys 16. A second consecutive loss, this one in dreaded Miami, where Tom Landry always lost, drops the Cowboys to 6-4.
1981, week 6 — 49ers 45, Cowboys 14. A second consecutive loss drops Dallas to 4-2 after a 4-0 start.
1992, week 5 — Eagles 31, Cowboys 7. Dallas comes out of its bye week and gets thrashed on a Monday Night in Philly.
1995, week 15 — Eagles 20, Cowboys 17. Dallas loses its second in a row and third in five weeks in the infamous 4th-and-1-x-2 game. Their record is 10-4 but they’re being written off as yesterday’s champs, done in by Jerry’s meddling and Barry’s ineptitude.
Every one of these teams made it to the conference championship game. Five of them made it to the Super Bowl. Three of them won it.
I’m sure most of the Max Mercys in the press corps are writing about a coaching change today. I’m sure if they were around in ‘70 they would have been calling for Tom’s head too. Some of them were around in ‘95 and I know they wanted Barry axed immediately. Don’t be led along. You might want Wade Phillips and a couple of assistants fired too. He might deserve to be fired. But it’s not going to happen now. When did a mid-season firing ever send a team on a tear?
This year’s team will have to look within itself, as these other Cowboys teams did. It will have to draw on the devotion and camaraderie voiced by Nate Newton in the Philly locker room after that embarrassing ‘95 loss, when he said, “there’s too much love in this locker room for us to turn on each other.”
We’re going to learn how much these guys love each other, and how much they really trust each other. Because today, each other is all they got.
So in the spirit of helping, and because I need to laugh to keep from grinding my teeth to the gums, I’m going to do my small part. I will henceforth refer to the ‘08 team as “the Boys Named Sue.”
They’ll either get tough or die.
There are No Heroes
13 Pro Bowlers, huh? Let’s see:
Terence Newman — rehabbing an ailing groin;
Tony Romo — standing on the sideline with a broken finger;
Nick Folk — short kickoffs and a missed field goal;
Flozell Adams — an undistinguished day and a key offsides penalty on a 3rd-and-one. Had another awful day blocking a speed rusher;
Andre Gurode — started the offensive meltdown by throwing a shotgun snap on an early drive.
Leonard Davis — did you recall anything he did, pro or con?
Marion Barber — fumbled for the third time in four weeks;
Jason Witten — committed another awful motion penalty in a key moment, snuffing out a scoring drive late in the first half;
Terrell Owens — was doubled again while his offensive mates fell apart;
Greg Ellis — invisible. Was run at on the Rams second TD drive;
Roy Williams — where was Roy? Probably with Waldo. The Thong is cashing Demarcus Ware’s checks right now;
Ken Hamlin — missed tackles, not doing anything distinctive;
Demarcus Ware was the one guy who made plays today. He’s the only Pro Bowler Dallas had on the field.
Mentally tough teams are not suspectible to extreme momentum swings. The Rams scored on a big run immediately after Nick Folk missed his field goal early in the 3rd quarter. These guys let down when they’re entrusted with a lead and they completely deflate when the offense isn’t leading the way.
Last year, in the world of soccer, Liverpool owner Tom Hicks made headlines when he allegedly interviewed former German national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Hicks’ manager Rafael Benitez had won a suprise Champions’ League cup in his first year and lost another final, but was posting mediocre records in the regular league standings, even though he was given the big money signings he requested.
The team denied a new manager was being interviewed behind the scenes, but Benitez got the message. His team is playing much better this year, and is today tied for top of the league.
Jerry Jones should take a page from Tom Hicks’ book. (That’s right, I’m actually recommending emulating Tom Hicks.) He’s got a lot of complacent players. They shook off Bill Parcells and got the players’ guy they wanted. The results have been the same. Don’t listen to any finger pointing in the press. Nobody not named Demarcus Ware should even speak to the press this week.
If Jerry wants to get his coaches’ and his players’ attention, he should schedule a “clandestine” meeting with Bill Cowher, and invite every paparazzo he can find.
It’s Time to Name These ‘Boys Sue
“And he said: ‘Son, this world is rough,
And if a man’s gonna make it, he’s got to be tough,
And I knew I wouldn’t be there to help you along,
So I give you that name and I said goodbye,
I knew you’d have to get tough or die…”
– Johnny Cash, A Boy Named Sue
Rams 34, Cowboys 14.
We’re angry. We’re indignant. We’re embarrassed. But we’re Cowboys’ fans. Let’s not pretend we’ve never seen this before:
1970, week 9 — Cardinals 38, Cowboys 0. A second consecutive loss that drops the ‘Pokes to 5-4;
1971, week 7 — Bears 23, Cowboys 19. A loss to a weak Bears team in the infamous QB rotation game leaves Dallas 4-3.
1978, week 10 — Dolphins 23, Cowboys 16. A second consecutive loss, this one in dreaded Miami, where Tom Landry always lost, drops the Cowboys to 6-4.
1981, week 6 — 49ers 45, Cowboys 14. A second consecutive loss drops Dallas to 4-2 after a 4-0 start.
1992, week 5 — Eagles 31, Cowboys 7. Dallas comes out of its bye week and gets thrashed on a Monday Night in Philly.
1995, week 15 — Eagles 20, Cowboys 17. Dallas loses its second in a row and third in five weeks in the infamous 4th-and-1-x-2 game. Their record is 10-4 but they’re being written off as yesterday’s champs, done in by Jerry’s meddling and Barry’s ineptitude.
Every one of these teams made it to the conference championship game. Five of them made it to the Super Bowl. Three of them won it.
I’m sure most of the Max Mercys in the press corps are writing about a coaching change today. I’m sure if they were around in ‘70 they would have been calling for Tom’s head too. Some of them were around in ‘95 and I know they wanted Barry axed immediately. Don’t be led along. You might want Wade Phillips and a couple of assistants fired too. He might deserve to be fired. But it’s not going to happen now. When did a mid-season firing ever send a team on a tear?
This year’s team will have to look within itself, as these other Cowboys teams did. It will have to draw on the devotion and camaraderie voiced by Nate Newton in the Philly locker room after that embarrassing ‘95 loss, when he said, “there’s too much love in this locker room for us to turn on each other.”
We’re going to learn how much these guys love each other, and how much they really trust each other. Because today, each other is all they got.
So in the spirit of helping, and because I need to laugh to keep from grinding my teeth to the gums, I’m going to do my small part. I will henceforth refer to the ‘08 team as “the Boys Named Sue.”
They’ll either get tough or die.
There are No Heroes
13 Pro Bowlers, huh? Let’s see:
Terence Newman — rehabbing an ailing groin;
Tony Romo — standing on the sideline with a broken finger;
Nick Folk — short kickoffs and a missed field goal;
Flozell Adams — an undistinguished day and a key offsides penalty on a 3rd-and-one. Had another awful day blocking a speed rusher;
Andre Gurode — started the offensive meltdown by throwing a shotgun snap on an early drive.
Leonard Davis — did you recall anything he did, pro or con?
Marion Barber — fumbled for the third time in four weeks;
Jason Witten — committed another awful motion penalty in a key moment, snuffing out a scoring drive late in the first half;
Terrell Owens — was doubled again while his offensive mates fell apart;
Greg Ellis — invisible. Was run at on the Rams second TD drive;
Roy Williams — where was Roy? Probably with Waldo. The Thong is cashing Demarcus Ware’s checks right now;
Ken Hamlin — missed tackles, not doing anything distinctive;
Demarcus Ware was the one guy who made plays today. He’s the only Pro Bowler Dallas had on the field.
Mentally tough teams are not suspectible to extreme momentum swings. The Rams scored on a big run immediately after Nick Folk missed his field goal early in the 3rd quarter. These guys let down when they’re entrusted with a lead and they completely deflate when the offense isn’t leading the way.
Last year, in the world of soccer, Liverpool owner Tom Hicks made headlines when he allegedly interviewed former German national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann. Hicks’ manager Rafael Benitez had won a suprise Champions’ League cup in his first year and lost another final, but was posting mediocre records in the regular league standings, even though he was given the big money signings he requested.
The team denied a new manager was being interviewed behind the scenes, but Benitez got the message. His team is playing much better this year, and is today tied for top of the league.
Jerry Jones should take a page from Tom Hicks’ book. (That’s right, I’m actually recommending emulating Tom Hicks.) He’s got a lot of complacent players. They shook off Bill Parcells and got the players’ guy they wanted. The results have been the same. Don’t listen to any finger pointing in the press. Nobody not named Demarcus Ware should even speak to the press this week.
If Jerry wants to get his coaches’ and his players’ attention, he should schedule a “clandestine” meeting with Bill Cowher, and invite every paparazzo he can find.