Post by prossman on Dec 25, 2008 6:37:49 GMT -7
DMN Blog: JJT Mailbag Part I and II
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2:00 PM Tue, Dec 23, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor E-mail News tips
Q. Can you agree that Jerry was wise to at least wait another week before he started talking about canning Wade?
Glen Jarboe
TAYLOR: As a reporter, you ask Jerry about Wade's job status on a regular basis because you want to form a baseline answer. That's because as soon as the baseline answer changes, you know he's contemplating a change. The magic words are usually, "We're going to evaluate coach so-and-so at the end of the season."
Now, Jerry has been consistent about saying Wade is his coach. Maybe, he will remain consistent, but when the owner says, "I have no inclination as I stand here, after this ballgame, about any coaching change." it means nothing to me because he's talking solely about Saturday night. That's why he said, "as I stand here" and that's why he said, "after this ballgame". If Jerry was 100 percent sure Wade would be the coach next year, he would say, "Wade Phillips will coach the team in 2009. No doubt. Now quit asking me about it." But he won't go there. Not yet.
Q. When I watch Super Bowl quality teams, I see that their quarterbacks have the intensity to win both on the field and on the sideline. When the Colts' defense is on the field, Peyton Manning is on the sideline huddled with coaches, studying photographs sent down from the box above, analyzing defensive formations, and determining offensive changes to counteract them. But what does Tony Romo do when the Cowboys' defense is on the field?
Steven W. Smith, Dallas
TAYLOR: He does the same thing Manning does most of the time. He goes to the sideline, sits down next to Jason Garrett on the bench, usually with Brad Johnson nearby, and discusses strategy and looks at photos of the opponents' defense. Romo's problem is he's too careless with the ball.
Q. In response to your column about Tony Romo and his decision making, I think we are being a little too hard on our QB and not hard enough on the 10 players around him on the field. I would disagree that Romo doesn't grasp the importance of protecting the football. I think the problem with the QB is that he's now starting to succumb to the pressure of having a guy on the outside who always wants the ball and that's causing him to press and attempt passes that he shouldn't at times.
Walter Heath
TAYLOR: I'm going to have to disagree with you. I can't spell out Romo's flawed thinking any better than using his own words after the news conference following the loss to Baltimore. Let's not shift blame off the quarterback. He hasn't played to his potential. He has not played like one of the elite quarterbacks in the league, and that's the standard I hold him too because I think he's that good. And if he's feeling pressure from T.O., then he's really not the quarterback I think he can become.
Q. Has the league caught up with Jason Garrett's offense?
Dana L. Moore, Sr., Decatur, Ga.
TAYLOR: My buddy Deion Sanders says that all of the time. I have a hard time getting a grip on that question because Indianapolis runs the league's most simplistic offense by all accounts. They use very little motion, and they don't move their receivers around that much, but they execute well and they always manage to score points. A former Cowboys' assistant coach once told me the Cowboys ran the lead draw more than 300 times in 1995, the year Emmitt Smith gained 1,773 yards. When you execute consistently, it doesn't matter. I asked Skip Peete, the running backs coach, about the fake pass, draw play the Cowboys run quite a bit. He said it was averaging more than 4.0 per carry, which is why they use it all of the time. It was hard to argue. That's a long way of saying, I don't have a good answer for you.
Q. The problem is a lack of accountability. From the "football guy" at the top to Coach Aw Shucks to Garrett to Wilson to Romo.
Patrick Luscri
TAYLOR: I'm not opposed to that. I don't think there are enough people on edge at Valley Ranch. I've thought that for much of the season, and I've written about it. But it's not going to change.
4:07 PM Tue, Dec 23, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor E-mail News tips
Q. I know its hard as a journalist, but are you a Cowboys fan? I can see your contempt for the whole Dallas organization. I was just wondering about your take. I was born in Garland and have lived in California since 1978.
Paul Guggenbuehl
TAYLOR: Paul, you can never be a fan of the team you're covering. Otherwise, you get caught up in cheering and rooting that you lose sight of why they're playing well or poorly. Now, don't confuse that with rooting against the team because I don't do that either. My job is simply to give my opinion on why a player or the team is getting it done or not getting it done. I grew up in Dallas, and I was a huge fan of the Cowboys with Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson and Tony Dorsett. I was a fan really until the day I started covering them in 1995. That's what made the first year so hard because the only teams I really ever became emotionally involved with were the Cowboys and Ohio State. It took me about halfway through the 1995 season before I could start to look at the team objectively. By the end of the season, I had stopped being a fan completely. When you deal with those guys every day and you start to see the 53 players as individuals as opposed to the Dallas Cowboys, then it's easy to cover them objectively. I hope that makes sense.
Q. I think the saddest thing about the Cowboys' season is watching the
curtain close on Jason Garrett's career. He didn't grab the brass ring when he had the chance.
Jason is left standing behind the Fat Man on the sidelines, waiting to see where the old ringmaster will crack his whip on the circus that the Cowboys have become.
Cara Lyons Lege', Frisco, Texas
TAYLOR: He is the highest-paid assistant coach in the league, so I don't know that I would feel sad for him. And he chose to turn down head coaching jobs in Baltimore and Atlanta, so I don't know that I would feel sorry for him from that perspective either. Finally, he has complete control of the offense and it has struggled with consistency much of the season. Again, I don't think that makes me feel sorry for Jason.
Q. Where the heck is the creativity in our offense?
Paul K Black
TAYLOR: What about the option play to Tashard Choice on third-and-one, which would've been a first down if he hadn't fumbled the pitch out of bounds. That was a creative call on a play we hadn't seen all year. It just didn't work. That said, the Ravens indicated that the Cowboys ran one of the league's most simplistic offenses.
Q. When I watch how well the New England Patriots are doing with injuries to Tom Brady and other key players. When I see how well the Dolphins are doing with the holes that they had and the horrific record from last season, I wonder does Jerry Jones realize what a incompetent GM he is?
Alonzo Wagner
TAYLOR: I don't think so. He looks at the three Super Bowl trophies he's won and figures he has done a pretty good job. He can rationalize why the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game in 11 seasons.
Q. What is your interpretation of the chemistry between Tony Romo and his two star receivers?
Chris Boutilier
TAYLOR: Obviously, I think it could be better - no matter what any of the players say publicly. I think the losing and stress of trying to get into the playoffs probably has as much to do with the chemistry problems as the individual personalities of the players. T.O. can be petulant, we all know that. And I'm sure Williams is frustrated because he has been a non-factor since he arrived.
__________________
"Screw yesterday; it's hard to say goodbye today."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2:00 PM Tue, Dec 23, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor E-mail News tips
Q. Can you agree that Jerry was wise to at least wait another week before he started talking about canning Wade?
Glen Jarboe
TAYLOR: As a reporter, you ask Jerry about Wade's job status on a regular basis because you want to form a baseline answer. That's because as soon as the baseline answer changes, you know he's contemplating a change. The magic words are usually, "We're going to evaluate coach so-and-so at the end of the season."
Now, Jerry has been consistent about saying Wade is his coach. Maybe, he will remain consistent, but when the owner says, "I have no inclination as I stand here, after this ballgame, about any coaching change." it means nothing to me because he's talking solely about Saturday night. That's why he said, "as I stand here" and that's why he said, "after this ballgame". If Jerry was 100 percent sure Wade would be the coach next year, he would say, "Wade Phillips will coach the team in 2009. No doubt. Now quit asking me about it." But he won't go there. Not yet.
Q. When I watch Super Bowl quality teams, I see that their quarterbacks have the intensity to win both on the field and on the sideline. When the Colts' defense is on the field, Peyton Manning is on the sideline huddled with coaches, studying photographs sent down from the box above, analyzing defensive formations, and determining offensive changes to counteract them. But what does Tony Romo do when the Cowboys' defense is on the field?
Steven W. Smith, Dallas
TAYLOR: He does the same thing Manning does most of the time. He goes to the sideline, sits down next to Jason Garrett on the bench, usually with Brad Johnson nearby, and discusses strategy and looks at photos of the opponents' defense. Romo's problem is he's too careless with the ball.
Q. In response to your column about Tony Romo and his decision making, I think we are being a little too hard on our QB and not hard enough on the 10 players around him on the field. I would disagree that Romo doesn't grasp the importance of protecting the football. I think the problem with the QB is that he's now starting to succumb to the pressure of having a guy on the outside who always wants the ball and that's causing him to press and attempt passes that he shouldn't at times.
Walter Heath
TAYLOR: I'm going to have to disagree with you. I can't spell out Romo's flawed thinking any better than using his own words after the news conference following the loss to Baltimore. Let's not shift blame off the quarterback. He hasn't played to his potential. He has not played like one of the elite quarterbacks in the league, and that's the standard I hold him too because I think he's that good. And if he's feeling pressure from T.O., then he's really not the quarterback I think he can become.
Q. Has the league caught up with Jason Garrett's offense?
Dana L. Moore, Sr., Decatur, Ga.
TAYLOR: My buddy Deion Sanders says that all of the time. I have a hard time getting a grip on that question because Indianapolis runs the league's most simplistic offense by all accounts. They use very little motion, and they don't move their receivers around that much, but they execute well and they always manage to score points. A former Cowboys' assistant coach once told me the Cowboys ran the lead draw more than 300 times in 1995, the year Emmitt Smith gained 1,773 yards. When you execute consistently, it doesn't matter. I asked Skip Peete, the running backs coach, about the fake pass, draw play the Cowboys run quite a bit. He said it was averaging more than 4.0 per carry, which is why they use it all of the time. It was hard to argue. That's a long way of saying, I don't have a good answer for you.
Q. The problem is a lack of accountability. From the "football guy" at the top to Coach Aw Shucks to Garrett to Wilson to Romo.
Patrick Luscri
TAYLOR: I'm not opposed to that. I don't think there are enough people on edge at Valley Ranch. I've thought that for much of the season, and I've written about it. But it's not going to change.
4:07 PM Tue, Dec 23, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor E-mail News tips
Q. I know its hard as a journalist, but are you a Cowboys fan? I can see your contempt for the whole Dallas organization. I was just wondering about your take. I was born in Garland and have lived in California since 1978.
Paul Guggenbuehl
TAYLOR: Paul, you can never be a fan of the team you're covering. Otherwise, you get caught up in cheering and rooting that you lose sight of why they're playing well or poorly. Now, don't confuse that with rooting against the team because I don't do that either. My job is simply to give my opinion on why a player or the team is getting it done or not getting it done. I grew up in Dallas, and I was a huge fan of the Cowboys with Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson and Tony Dorsett. I was a fan really until the day I started covering them in 1995. That's what made the first year so hard because the only teams I really ever became emotionally involved with were the Cowboys and Ohio State. It took me about halfway through the 1995 season before I could start to look at the team objectively. By the end of the season, I had stopped being a fan completely. When you deal with those guys every day and you start to see the 53 players as individuals as opposed to the Dallas Cowboys, then it's easy to cover them objectively. I hope that makes sense.
Q. I think the saddest thing about the Cowboys' season is watching the
curtain close on Jason Garrett's career. He didn't grab the brass ring when he had the chance.
Jason is left standing behind the Fat Man on the sidelines, waiting to see where the old ringmaster will crack his whip on the circus that the Cowboys have become.
Cara Lyons Lege', Frisco, Texas
TAYLOR: He is the highest-paid assistant coach in the league, so I don't know that I would feel sad for him. And he chose to turn down head coaching jobs in Baltimore and Atlanta, so I don't know that I would feel sorry for him from that perspective either. Finally, he has complete control of the offense and it has struggled with consistency much of the season. Again, I don't think that makes me feel sorry for Jason.
Q. Where the heck is the creativity in our offense?
Paul K Black
TAYLOR: What about the option play to Tashard Choice on third-and-one, which would've been a first down if he hadn't fumbled the pitch out of bounds. That was a creative call on a play we hadn't seen all year. It just didn't work. That said, the Ravens indicated that the Cowboys ran one of the league's most simplistic offenses.
Q. When I watch how well the New England Patriots are doing with injuries to Tom Brady and other key players. When I see how well the Dolphins are doing with the holes that they had and the horrific record from last season, I wonder does Jerry Jones realize what a incompetent GM he is?
Alonzo Wagner
TAYLOR: I don't think so. He looks at the three Super Bowl trophies he's won and figures he has done a pretty good job. He can rationalize why the Cowboys haven't won a playoff game in 11 seasons.
Q. What is your interpretation of the chemistry between Tony Romo and his two star receivers?
Chris Boutilier
TAYLOR: Obviously, I think it could be better - no matter what any of the players say publicly. I think the losing and stress of trying to get into the playoffs probably has as much to do with the chemistry problems as the individual personalities of the players. T.O. can be petulant, we all know that. And I'm sure Williams is frustrated because he has been a non-factor since he arrived.
__________________
"Screw yesterday; it's hard to say goodbye today."