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Cowboys need Irvin as WR Coach

 

Michael Irvin HOF 

The Dallas Morning News reported Michael Irvin, while  at a stoplight in Dallas, a passenger in another car pulled up beside him and pointed a gun towards him. It is good to have him in the news again for something else besides involving drugs or alcohol etc. Arguably Michael Irvin, aka "The Playmaker", is considered to be the Cowboys best Wide Receiver ever. He has been out of the public eye for sometime now, but perhaps  Jerry Jones should bring him back into the mix.

One of the hardest working players ever to don a Dallas Cowboys uniform, no doubt Irvin would be welcomed by the fans, players, coaches et al. He would bring penultimate playing experience and respect to the organization once again. Cowboys receivers Sam Hurd, Miles Austin, Patrick Crayton, Roy Williams, and yes even Terrell Owens could benefit greatly from Irvin's tutelage. 

Irvin's fiery passion for the Dallas Cowboys definitely would rub off on the receiving corp if not the entire team. Sure, Irvin did his share of politicking for Troy Aikman to thrown him the ball more like T.O. does to Tony Romo. The difference being Irvin knew the importance of his team mates Alvin Harper, Jay Novacek,  and Daryl Johnston also were very talented and deserved the ball too. Michael Irvin was a good run blocker and ran great precise routes- something Terrell Owens did not do this disastrous season. Most importantly, Irvin's work ethic in practice and on game days proved his desire to be  one of the best players on the field.

If Jerry Jones were to hire Michael Irvin in some capacity ( hopefully as WR coach)  T.O. would have to be accountable for his actions along with the other wide receivers. I seriously doubt Irvin would permit T.O to have any tirades on the sidelines, since all "the Playmaker" would have to do to shut T.O. up would be to shove just one of his Super Bowl rings in T.O's face.  A well coached receiving corp led by Michael Irvin would be one hell of an intimidating lineup for opposing defenses. 

AP Honors only 2 Cowboys as ALL PRO's

Even though the Associated Press named 15 players as first time All Pro's it is still somewhat same old same old. Only 2 Cowboys, OLB DeMarcus Ware made 1st team and TE Jason Witten named to 2nd team. Tony Gonzalez beat out Witten for first team Tight End. I can name 4 additional Cowboys who deserved to be on either team. 

Center Andre Gurode had a good season and I believe was better than Center Shaun O'hara of the New York Giants who was named to the 2nd team. The same goes for Guard Leonard Davis who played better than Alan Faneca of the New York Jets who was named to the 2nd team as well. On the defensive side of the ball, Defensive tackle Jay Ratliff and Inside Linebacker Bradie James should have been named to the AP All Pro 2nd team. Both Ratliff and James had their respective "coming out parties." 

I assume most of the players named to 2nd All Pro team were just name recognition. Minnesota Vikings Running backs Adrian Peterson and Atlanta Falcons Michael Turner were named to first team but only Minnesota Guard Steve Hutchison was named respectively. I am sure these supremely talented running backs did not just run through holes by saying "open sesame." More guards and tackles from the Vikings and Falcons should have be honored for excelling at their jobs. 

I could go on and on, but I am sure many NFL fans will disagree with the list. In the end these lists are  subjective but the names of the voters should be made public. 

DeMarcus Ware deserved AP Defensive Player of the Year

 DeMarcus Ware celebrates McNabb Sack

The Anti - Dallas Cowboys Bias rears its ugly head once again.  The Associated Press voted the award to James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers. DeMarcus Ware led the league with 20 sacks, tying the late Derrick Thomas for the 2nd most sacks by a linebacker in NFL history (Lawrence Taylor holds the record with 20 1/2 sacks). DWare also had 100 tackles and 6 forced fumbles compared to Harrison's 7 forced fumbles and 101 tackles. DeMarcus Ware is the complete prototype NFL linebacker. He's big, fast, disciplined and smart. He routinely gets double teamed by offensive tackles, tight ends, and running backs. Not only is he a tremendous pass rusher he also plays the run well and is good covering tight ends and running backs. I do not know if Harrison had the same responsibilities as Ware. If the Dallas Cowboys did not have DWare their pass rush would be mediocre. Conversely, if Pittsburgh did not have Harrison they could still rely on James Farrior or Troy Polamalu to provide pressure. 

The conspiracy theories regarding sports writers having an anti Dallas Cowboys bias possibly rings true. Amazingly enough, only Harvey Martin in 1977 is the only Dallas Cowboy to have won the award. It truly is shocking Randy White, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, or even Charles Haley and Deion Sanders did not win the award. The bias is widely believed during NFL Hall of Fame voting as well. So many Dallas Cowboys of the 1970's should be in the Hall of Fame but that's another story. DeMarcus Ware will get another chance next season to break Michael Strahan's sack record and will have to be appeased for now being voted to his 3rd straight Pro Bowl.

Jerry Jones : Lord of 3 Rings

    

How I wish I had a time machine and could swap the 1989 version of Jerry Jones with the current day one. I remember how the kind of fresh faced  brand spanking new Arkansas Billionaire Oilman, Jerry Jones, acted as THE owner of THE DALLAS COWBOYS. He was in hog heaven so to speak. He was an eager rookie owner still naive about the National Football League.  Don't get me wrong, Jerry Jones did not become the man he is today being naive. His sales, marketing, and overall business management acumen is second to none in the NFL. He has furthered the Dallas Cowboys' lore as America's team more than any other past owner. At times I suppose  executives at ESPN   should have considered renaming  the network to "The Dallas Cowboys Network". During this soap opera of a season, the lead- in news story 10 times out of 10 would revolve around the daily goings on at Valley Ranch in Dallas no matter how mundane the "news" actually was. 

Back in the good old days Jerry let Jimmy Johnson make the important personnel decisions such as trading the Cowboys' lone commodity, Herschel Walker, to the Minnesota Vikings for some  serviceable players and a gazillion  draft picks. Of course those players who Jimmy drafted like Emmitt Smith and Strong Safety Darren Woodson helped put 3 Super Bowl rings on Jerry Jones' fingers. Sadly, I propose the current version of Jerry Jones would not even consider relinquishing his duties as General Manager. Albeit, Jerry does not possess the skills Jimmy Johnson has a talent evaluator.  3 Super Bowl victories in 4 years  came so soon and so easy to Jerry his ego told him he could be just as good as Jimmy and most likely caused Jerry to jettison Jimmy. Jerry's draft picks such as Quincy Carter or Kareem Lattimore et al were complete busts and are no longer playing  in the NFL ( I do not include Terrence Newman, Demarcus Ware, Tony Romo, Marion Barber as these players were chosen with Bill Parcells). Contrarily, Jimmy's picks like Emmitt, Darren, and Larry Allen are headed to the NFL Hall of Fame.  

For The Dallas Cowboys to be Super Bowl Champions again, Jerry Jones and his Texas sized ego need to step aside and bring in a proven General Manager, perhaps Scott Pioli of the New England Patriots, and sit back relax and decide what fingers to wear the next Super Bowl rings on. Until that miraculous day comes,  and Jerry continues to be hands on and greedy, he just might end up like the creepy creature Gollum from the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy. I can envision Jerry standing in empty bowels of his enormous new stadium all alone looking up thru the hole in the roof dreaming of his precious rings.

Top 10 Dallas Cowboys New Year's Resolutions For 2009

10. Flozell Adams restructures his contract so we can sign a top notch OL Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) like Jordan Gross from the Carolina Panthers.

9. Find a trade partner for Roy Williams (safety) - possibly a trade with the Oakland Raiders for Nmandi Ashoumaga or Oakland Safety Michael Huff

8. Make a play for  possible  UFA WR TJ Houshmanzadeh he's 31 years old but will be 4 years younger than T.O next season

7. Offer Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton in trade for Arizona WR Anquan Boldin

6. Sign UFA QBs Kyle Boller, Chris Simms, or Vince Young to back up Tony Romo

5. Draft a solid Offensive lineman early rounds. Guards Kyle Kosier and Montrae Holland are injury prone

and we have mediocre depth.

4. Say goodbye to offensive coordinator Jason Garrett and bring in Bill Billick. Also ditto with Def Coordinator Brian Stewart bring in possibly Dick Jauron from Buffalo if he is available.

3. Light a bonfire under Wade Phillips' ass to get rid of his "aw-shucks" personality and make the players accountable for their actions.

2. Tony Romo dumps Jessica Simpson or vice versa

1. Do whatever it takes ( Offer the Dallas  Cowboys Cheerleaders ) to bring Bill Cowher to lead this Team!

Rock and a Hard Place

Who would you rather be head coach of your beloved Dallas Cowboys Mike Holmgren, Wade Phillips, or Bill Cowher? For my two cents I would love to see Bill Cowher roam the Cowboys sidelines and get in the face of players who miss tackles or  coverage responsibilities  and make bone headed penalties. Too many individual mistakes have cost the Cowboys field position and thus points. Players do not appear to be held accountable for their errors. Otherwise, starting Left Tackle Flozell Adams would not  be leading the league for most penalties jumping offsides. Tony Romo would not be as much of a gunslinger. We need a fiery passionate leader who has won a Superbowl this decade not named Bill Belichik to take this version of the Dallas Cowboys to the championship game once again! 

Wade Phillips, albeit a great defensive coordinator, just does not emit the most confidence answering any questions during press conferences even after a win. His low key lethargic way of speaking remains constant wether the Cowboys do or do not do win. Someone should light a fire under his pants. He reminds me of someone who should be at a competitive barbeque eating contest not the Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys! For some fans, Jerry Jones needs to have a Phillips-esque coach as a puppet figure, a "yes man" if you consider. Chan Gailey and Dave Campo were yes men who cow-towed to all of Jerry's  whims, but in the end the best record they could compile were a meager 5-11 and 6-10 record.

 Jerry Jones said his coaching staff is already in place for the forseeable future. Mike Holmgren is rumored to be Wade Phillips' successor if Wade Phillips fails to win a playoff game.Holmgren seems to be cut from the same cloth as Wade but being considered an offensive whiz of the West Coast Offense. Granted, Tony Romo could do well in that type of system. But Holmgren has a similar low key approach to coaching. If Jerry Jones does not want to pay Bill Cowher's asking price of around $8 million a year, then the next best thing would be to have a 2 headed coaching monster with Phillips staying on board as Defensive Coordinator/ Assistant Head Coach and Holmgren Offensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach. But I fear 2009 will be a similar repeat of this year with Cowboys perhaps falling short of a Superbowl victory. 

Its Do or Die Time for Dallas Cowboys, Romo

December 26, 2008

Head Coach on the Hot Seat? Check.

Top flight Wide Receivers? Check.

Elite Tight End? Check.

Change - up style Running Backs? Check.

Big Offensive Line ? Check.

Aggressive, Pressure Defense ? Check.

Confident QB? Jury's still out.

  

Almost all of the pieces are in place for the Dallas Cowboys to make a deep run in the playoffs, but in order for America's team to thrill fans across the nation, they need to take care of business in Philly. I mean Romo and the Boys not only need to prove they belong in the playoffs to all the naysayers out there, but they need to prove it to themselves most of all. They truly need to do  a beat down on the Eagles. They need to get their minds right and enter " The Link" frothing at the mouth and view their opponent as one big fat and juicy rotisserie chicken whilst imagining themselves as just having returned from a deserted island hungry as hell.

We have heard some players saying " We got our swagger back," soon after they defeated their most hated rivals the Washington Redskins on the road. Me, I don't subscribe to their opinions of themselves not quite yet anyway. Sure, the Defense has played superbly for the most part against top teams Steelers, Giants, and Ravens but not for a full 60 minutes. Oh how the tired cliche of "playing for 60 minutes" gets played to death but it does ring true. If the Dallas Cowboys defense could have tackled better the last few minutes of last Sunday's game against the Baltimore Ravens, perhaps Tony Romo could have kept the momentum in Dallas' favor to lead them to a come from behind win reminiscent of Roger Staubach. Romo, T.O, Witten, Barber et al must know that points are going to be few and far between against the NFL's 3rd ranked Defense. Thankfully already having gone through the gauntlet of Giants, Steelers, and Ravens, Romo and the  offense will be supremely prepared to play better.

Tony Romo  will either be vilifyied by diehard Cowboys fans as the quarterback who " couldn't win the big one,"  if he fails to lead the Cowboys to a victory  or as "America's QB" and be hoisted upon his teammates shoulders on the way to the playoffs. Everyone knows too much credit and attention goes to quarterbacks not mater if they win or loose. Quarterback is the most scrutizined position in all of sport and with Tony Romo being the Quarterback of Americas' Team all eyes will be on him like laser beams watching his every throw- touchdown, incompletion, or god forbid interception.Romo can either be remembered with the greats like Staubach and Troy Aikman or the not so greats like Danny White or Clint Longley. 

Prediction Cowboys 13- Eagles -6. Next Stop Playoffs.

Rustlin' up some Oscars

February 8th, 2006
Brooklyn, NY

"C'mon, get a long lil' doggies!" That's what you might have heard John Wayne say in one of his cowboy movies while herding some cattle out to pasture. But could you ever imagine "The Duke" ever say to one of his ol' cowhands after a long days work, " C'mon, pard'ner how bout a lil' doggy style!" Nope. Never. But I am sure the movie "Brokeback Mountain" has turned the world of cowboys upside down. Ahem. Or is it head to toe? Ahem. Yessiree! John Wayne is probably turning over in his grave. Brokeback Mountain is not your father's cowboy movie.
The movie has received critical acclaim, and Ang Lee won Best Director recently at the Director's Guild Awards. Heath Ledger is nominated for Best Actor, Jake Gyllenhal for best supporting actor, Michelle Williams for best supporting actress, and aforementioned Ang Lee for best Director. The movie also garnered nominations for best picture, score, adapted screenplay, and cinematography for the Oscars. Aw, hell I hope the movie sweeps all the categories.
I never thought a "Gay Cowboy Movie" would ever be green lighted by any studio, much less even be popular with the general masses. Which is why this movie took 8 years to be made. I had been hesitant to watch the movie since Brokeback Mountain was saddled, lassoed, and hogtied with the assumption of there being explicit gay love scenes between two very heterosexual and well liked actors. But to my chagrin (and relief) there was only one love scene between Heath and Jake which was not explicit and relatively quick. There were a few other scenes where the sex was implied to have occured offscreen. In actuality, the more explicit sex scenes happened to be between Enos (Heath) and Jack (Jake) with their wives.
The story revolves around Enos (Ledger), a tragically tortured soul, trying to come to grips with the feelings he has for another gay man Jack (Gyllenhall), as well as his own identity. Enos cant be gay, or is he? For most of his life he lives a heterosexual life, he tells Jack early in the movie he will be getting married after their summer of love. So, in essence the experience between them was a one time thing and that is that. Over the course of 20 years though they continue to meet but Enos still continues to tell himself he's not gay At one point in the movie Enos almost beats his ex wife for telling him she knew he was gay . His failure to come to grips with who he is and who he loves more and wants to be with ultimately is his downfall.
Brokeback Mountain is not just a gay cowboy movie, but a love story also.Kudos to both Ledger and Gyllenhall for portraying characters completely opposite of themselves. Both deserve to win Oscars in their respective categories. Heck, I'd give them the Oscar for just having to kiss each other! Must have been both hillarious as well as uncomfortable for them but the audience truly believes in their performances that they are in love.

Movie Review, Walk the Line

November 19, 2005

Brooklyn, NY

WALK THE LINE

The solution to all of Hollywood's studio executive's problems is simple. Stop making cookie cutter, special effects, and CGI driven summer-esque "pseudo anti intellectual block buster movies! " Let it be known to everyone I happen to love summer sci-fi and special effects driven shoot-em-ups and blowing everything up to kingdom come type block busters. But after a summer of carbon copy "popcorn films" I was ready for a good heart warming knee slappin' feel good movie. Walk the Line, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the unforgettable country singer/ songwriter Johnny Cash, and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter-Cash arguably the love of his life,(and a country star in her own right,) was just the right medicine the doctor prescribed. We should encourage studios to put out more Biopics about famous and successful people.

I admit I thoroughly enjoyed last year's Biopic, Ray, but I feel overall Line is a better movie. Both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix will undoubtedly be nominated for Best Actor and Best Actress, along with a nomination also for James Mangold for best director. While both Ray and Line told a wonderful story of two of the best and most talented musicians of all time, Line is based partly on Johnny Cash's autobigrophy. Ray Charles approved of Jamie Foxx to portray him in the movie as well as Johnny Cash and June Carter- Cash approved of Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon respectively. I give the edge overall to Line, since it really tells the tale of love-at-first sight becoming an all encompassing love for one woman. Many of us can relate to Johnny Cash's unrequited love for June Carter. But very few of us can relate to losing our sight.

The best scenes in the movie occur when we are treated to hear and see both Phoenix and Witherspoon perform on stage and actually sing themselves. Some viewers may come to a conclusion that these fine actors were lipsynching to actual Johnny Cash and June Carter's singing. But what a pleasant surprise to see the end credits scroll that both actors performed the songs themselves. I have never been a fan of Joaquin Phoenix before.Infact, I had my doubts of him capably portraying Cash convincingly. He did a remarkably job. Phoenix turns out to have been a good choice to portray The Man In Black. This time around Joaquin,thankfully, was able to get rid of the stiffness of his acting in other films (i.e. Gladiator) and gave us a character to root for.

The performances by Phoenix and Witherspoon really seemed honest and tangible because together they had good chemistry. The musical duets were dead on as both actors were able to convey their affection for one another. Reese Witherspoon did an incredible job portraying June Carter. She truly is an underrated actress. We can understand Johnny Cash's undeniable attraction to her. June Carter ultimately was Cash's muse and kept him from becoming an all together amphetamine addict.

After watching Walk the Line, I plan on downloading every Johnny Cash/June Carter song onto my Ipod and savoring the music. So let's all email the Hollywood studio executives and demand more Biopics. I will look forward next fall's biopic with eager anticipation. But also am salivating over Indiana Jones IV due next summer!

BCS: What about the Fan Vote?

I think its about time college football fans should be entitled to vote for the College teams they want to see play for the NCAA Championship. The Fans need to be heard! A simple online voting website would be an excellent way to let the people's voices be heard. The fans would vote for the most deserving teams. If an online poll commenced I guarantee that 90% of voters would vote to see USC Trojans play The University of Texas Longhorns to play in this year's Rose Bowl for the National Championship.

Why should we leave the voting to only sports journalists? Granted they are professionals who follow teams closely through out  the season, but why should they have a vote and not us fans? The coaches are entitled to vote which is natural, even if they are retired. The BCS computers produce  1/3 of the vote, then the coaches and media comprise the other 2/3 of the vote. Average Joes of the world should get a chance to have their own say as well.

Undoubtedly USC and UT are on a collision course to meet for the championship anyway. But incase any of their remaining opponents somehow are able to pull off an amazing and unthinkable upset, these two teams should still play each other in the Rose Bowl. If there are no unbeaten teams that is. USC and UT would be the best teams with one loss in the country. The sexiest matchup is USC and UT. I find it hard to believe that the television ratings for an USCvs Alabama or UT vs Alabama could match the ratings a USC vs TEXAS tilt would produce.

Last year Oklahoma was ranked #2 behind USC by the BCS voting system, and we all saw what a flawed matchup it turned out to be. Ultimately If USC played LSU or Auburn last year I think USC still would have prevailed but game would have been more of a contest instead of a blowout. Anything outside of a USC VS TEXAS game would be a blowout as well.