Witten...Man or Machine?

Great article by Charean Williams of Fort Worth Star-Telegram about Jason Witten.  Incredible athlete and teammate.  The fact that he set the NFL Record for receptions by a Tight End in the same year that he started the season with a lacerated spleen..... Unbelievable.

Jason Witten FWST Article

Negative Media

So following up on my comment from the previous post about the media painting the Cowboys in a negative light.....

As I watched coverage of training camp by ESPN and particularly NFL network yesterday, I couldn't help but notice the disdain and disrespect by which all of the coverage and interviews were done when it came to the Cowboys.  Then with other teams, they treated the player being interviewed or the coverage with respect and straight coverage.  I'll give a couple of examples to make my point....

• NFL Network - while camera was in studio with a live video feed of the Cowboys practicing in the background in pads but with no helmets.....NFL commentator said "I thought they were supposed to be in pads, but they don't have any helmets....where's there helmets....(another commentator interjected).... Yeah where's that Star.... in a very derogatory voice.

• NFL Network - about to go live to Michael Irvin in Oxnard California to Cowboys Training Camp, Rich Eisen says...."Cowboys have been in Oxnard for Training Camp now for several years, I'm surprised they haven't got a sponsor contract for naming rights for the field"...... again done in a very derogatory voice.  

Really?!  Oh yeah, last I checked Cowboys Stadium is just Cowboys Stadium (I know this is about to change soon).  Not like the 49ers and every other team that sells the naming rights to the stadium.  From Eisen's comment, you would think the Cowboys are the only team to generate revenue from sponsorships.  Really?!  Then immediately following this snide comment, the NFL cameras show the Eagles at "Novacare" Practice Field.  But nay, not one comment from Rich Eisen.  What's the deal?!  What does he have against the Cowboys?

• NFL Network - The big eared guy for NFL network while interviewing Witten.... "So in Jason Garrett's team speech video, he said the team needs leaders.  Was he calling you guys out, because you don't have leaders on the team?"  

Really?!  Every coach in the NFL talks about leaders on the team and in opening speeches to the team for the year.  And the big eared guy has to turn it around and make it sound like the coach is calling guys out for not being a leader, on day one of training camp before any work is even completed.
Really?!

So why the constant negative bias against a team that hasn't even been relevant (one playoff win in 15 years)?

As Sergeant Schultz would say... "I know NOTHING!"

If you haven't watched Jason Garrett's opening address to the team, then you should now...Here....
If you have watched it, you know what I mean, when I say Jason has these guys trained on how to navigate the media.  After being asked about his engagement to Hulk Hogan's daughter, Costa answered with:

“We just got engaged, but my focus right now is really on training camp and doing my best for the team.”

Great answer Phil.  I noticed the same type of constraint last night while watching the Michael Irvin interview with Dez Bryant on NFL Network.  Dez kept the answers simple and on point, paraphrasing for Dez..... "we're working hard to make the team better".

Keep it up Cowboys Players, you know the media is always out to paint the Cowboys in a negative light - that's both local and national media.

The Dez Train Continues On

Dez is all the rage now in Cowboys training camp.  Hopefully this can carry over into the season.

Dez Dominates - Dallas Morning News

Dez Story - FW Star-Telegram

and another one from Star-Telegram...Dez

Jason Garrett Video

Due to Peter King's bias against the Cowboys, I hate to promote his new MMQB, but I think every Cowboys fan should watch this video.  Excellent inside view of Jason Garrett and the opening Training Camp speech to the team.  

Click HERE to take you to a Star-Telegram blog to watch the video so you don't have to go to MMQB and give Peter "The Cowboys Hater" King more hits.

Peter King Uses Cowboys to Get Good Ratings for His New Website

It is really aggravating that the Cowboys let Peter King use them to promote his new website.  He has not been a friend of the Cowboys.  Click Here for Garrett's comments about Peter King having this access to his speech.  It obviously was not Garrett's choice, of course we all know it was Jerry's decision.  In the post Garrett tries to be nice and said....."He’s been a great friend to the NFL and a great friend to the Cowboys for years."  All you have to do is read any of King's MMQB articles and you know that simply is not the case.  Even in this new inaugural MMQB he lists how many times he talks about individual football teams and he admits that his mention of the Cowboys is second to least of all 32 teams.  While the Cowboys have been very mediocre for the past 15 years, they are still America's Team and still garner larger TV ratings than any other team, even when they are 8-8.  So for King to barely mention them is just a concerted effort on his part to ignore them.  Couple this small number of mentions in his article with the fact that the largest percentage of those Cowboys discussions are always in a negative light.  

So with all of that Cowboys Hating History, it's disconcerting that Jerry would "help" Peter King out with this new website. King obviously used the huge interest the Cowboys always brings to kick off the new MMQB. 

Read more here: http://sportsblogs.star-telegram.com/cowboys/2013/07/jason-garrett-calls-pre-camp-speech-posted-by-peter-king-nuts-and-bolts-but-says-motivation-is-no-1-.html#storylink=cpy

DWare Better than Before? Scary

Article from Star-Telegram with some comments, particularly from Sean Lee, who says DeMarcus Ware could even be better this year.  While DWare doesn't get a lot of media attention, keep in mind that he reached 100 sacks quicker in his career second only to Reggie White. So to say he could even be better this year, well that's kinda scary.  Should make Tyson Smith (RT) well practiced for opposing teams.  Kinda like swinging two bats on the on deck circle.  Opposing DE will seem easy.

DeMarcus Ware Getting Better

Dez Continues to Impress

I will try not to post something about Dez Bryant every day.  But the excitement continues to build around his prospects.  This is from Nick Eatman from dallascowboys.com.  Click here Cowboys Sunday Camp Highlights for other Sunday Camp highlights.

Play of The Day:

It was a good battle between Dez Bryant and Orlando Scandrick in the team drill period towards the end of practice. Bryant had already had a few nice grabs, but on a deep ball down the left sideline Scandrick appeared to be beat on the play, but found a way to catch up. The cornerback dove in at the last second to swat the pass away from Bryant, who appeared to have a long touchdown in sight. The deflection drew some big cheers from the crowd, who were anticipating another Bryant score.
However, Bryant got his revenge a few snaps later. Once again, Romo fired a deep ball down the sideline and although Scandrick was in better coverage this time, Bryant used his jumping ability to outfight him for the ball. Bryant hauled this one in for a score, giving the crowd a chance to erupt.

Football Has Begun

Football has begun, well sorta.  Cowboys and Dolphins reported to training camp over the weekend as these two teams will play each other in the first/early pre-season Hall of Fame Game.

Some quick hits from the first day of Cowboys Training Camp:

• Romo Back Injury/Cyst is very concerning.. Romo Back Problem

• First Round Draft Pick Travis Frederick looking good...Frederick Shotgun Snaps On Target

• Can't even get past the conditioning test without significant injuries already occurring with Tyrone Crawford out for the season with an Achilles Tear...Crawford Out

• Ratliff already sitting on the sidelines like last year, personal opinion, time to cut ties with this one.  If you can't get on the field then you don't belong on the team..."The Rat" picks up where last year ended

These are just a few, we'll keep a close eye on all things Cowboys and also begin more general NFL news and especially Fantasy Football News and Opinions as the preseason unfolds.  Can't wait, this is going to be a great season!

Peter King's New MMQB Website....

Peter King Loves the Cowboys when it Help promote his new website....

OMG - Peter King's Inaugural website MMQB is using two different Dallas Cowboys headlines on the front page of ccnsi.com......

PeterKINGMONDAY MORNING QB A new day: Jason Garrett wants to establish a new Cowboys identity.

AND
MMQB: Starting in the Cowboys' inner sanctum

Who saw that coming???  Oh yea, I did last week.  But I do stand corrected, I said Mr. King (lover of all things Patriots and Giants, hater of all things Cowboys, except when it helps to promote his new website) would use a Cowboy Headline...singular, he is actually using two different Cowboys headlines including a picture of Jason Garrett at Training Camp to get the clicks a coming.
Well one thing you can say about King, he is predictable. 

For reference, to the post above, here's what I posted on the MMQB comments section last week.....

 

So Mr. King who hates the Cowboys, is critical of the players, critical of the management, critical of the new stadium and in general as most northeast liberal elites commonly are, hates the Cowboys...... Just coincidentally is going to Cowboys Training camp the weekend before his new MMQB website starts??? Really, of course the reason is because the Cowboys are starting their camp early, so it is logical that he would start there first.... LOL.  Detroit, which he loves, is also starting early, why not visit there first so the headlines on the first MMQB post on the new website would feature Lions stories??
Of course the answer is, there is no coincidence.  Cowboys are #1 on the Forbes list and they always draw interest.  So by being able to put "Cowboys" somewhere in the headlines of the new MMBQ inaugural post he will draw more interest and more hits.  Even though he hates the Cowboys, he loves how they help him.  Hypocrite.

Cowboys Training Camp Schedule

We finally move away from the dark side of the moon.  Due to their participation in the Hall of Fame Pre-Season Game, the Dallas Cowboys are the first team to report to training camp.  Players started arriving in Oxnard California today, Friday July 19th with training to begin on Sunday July 21st.

That's right, it's starting to look a lot like Christmas...I mean Football.  Here is the Dallas Cowboys Training Camp schedule as currently posted.  Practices times tend to fluctuate periodically throughout the pre-season as coaches adjust schedules.

DALLAS COWBOYS TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE

Date	Time / Action
Saturday, July 20th	12:00 p.m. - Camp Opening Press Conference
Sunday, July 21st	10:30 a.m. - First Walk-Thru
Sunday, July 21st	12:00 p.m. - Jason Garrett Press Conference
Sunday, July 21st	4:00 p.m. – First Team Practice
Monday, July 22nd	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Tuesday, July 23rd	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Wednesday, July 24th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Thursday, July 25th	No Practice
Friday, July 26th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Saturday, July 27th	2:30 p.m. – Practice
Sunday, July 28th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Monday, July 29th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Tuesday, July 30th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Wednesday, July 31st	No Practice
Thursday, August 1st	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Friday, August 2nd	5:15 p.m. – Practice
Saturday, August 3rd	Team Travel to Canton, OH
Sunday, August 4th	No practice – Preseason Game –Dallas vs. Miami (7:00 PM CST)
Monday, August 5th	No Practice
Tuesday, August 6th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Wednesday, August 7th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Thursday, August 8th	Team Travel to Oakland, CA
Friday, August 9th	No practice – Preseason Game –Dallas vs. Oakland (9:00PM CST)
Saturday, August 10th	No Practice
Sunday, August 11th	5:15 p.m. – Practice
Monday, August 12th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Tuesday, August 13th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Wednesday, August 14th	4:00 p.m. – Practice
Thursday, August 15th	5:15 p.m. – Practice
Friday, August 16th	Break Training Camp
Saturday, August 17th	No practice – Preseason Game –Dallas @ Arizona (3:30PM CST)
Tuesday, August 28th	Kickoff Luncheon @ Cowboys Stadium (11:00 am CST)

Galloway Slams Jerry Jones

My favorite Dallas/Fort Worth sports columnist is Randy Galloway with the Fort Worth Star Telegram.  There is never any political correctness to his columns and he routinely exposes Jerry Jones for what he is..... in Randy's words... "A football idiot".

For anyone who has never read a Randy Galloway column, or routinely reads Galloway, and/or loves to bash Jerry Jones for his football idiocy, you have to read Galloway's article from Thursday 6/6/13.  
It is classic Galloway and great Jerry bashing.... here's a couple of the best lines, with the link to the article following:

"Mr. Jerry has not “gone” insane. When it comes to the Dallas Cowboys, he’s been insane for two decades."

My personal favorite.....

"Speaking of summer, have you ever sat on a stock tank dock and watched a fillet knife in expert hands slice through a fine mess of crappie?"

Link to the story..... Randy Galloways Full Body Slam of Jerry Jones

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/06/4916183/all-jerry-all-the-time-for-jason.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/06/06/4916183/all-jerry-all-the-time-for-jason.html#storylink=cpy

Jerry Jones, Idiot or just plain Stupid? (The Bill Callahan Story)

So Jerry Jones, once again could not keep his mouth shut and divulged that Bill Callahan will handle the play calling duties this season for the Dallas Cowboys.  Jonathan Bales with Dallas Morning News put together a great analysis of Bill Callahan's play calling tendencies.......

Boys: Bill Callahan’s Play-Calling History and Tendencies by Jonathan Bales

Going back to my question - Is Jerry Jones an Idiot or just plain STUPID? (BTW - doing my best to keep this a family friendly blog and not drop the F bomb repeatedly during that question).

If a media person can put together such a good analysis of Callahan's play calling tendencies within 24 hrs of the "announcement" by Jones.  Imagine what the opposing teams', particularly the NFC East Division Foes, coaches and analysts will do now that they have all of June, July and August to plan for Callahan's play calling tendencies.  Wouldn't it have been better to at least make them wait until August during the first pre-season game to figure this out?

There are a lot of reasons that the Cowboys have not performed well in the last 20 years since Jimmy Johnson left, and 99% of those involve Jerry Jones.  To answer my own question, Jerry obviously is an Idiot and Stupid when it comes to running a pro football team.

Good comments by Cowboys Defensive Players

Several good tidbits out there this morning from Dallas News with comments by Cowboys defensive players and their excitement about playing for Monte Kiffin and Rod Marinelli.

Morris Claiborne

Jason Hatcher Comment

Anthony Spencer Comment

Romo Does the Texas Two Step

Ever since that fateful day after Romo lost to the Eagles and said the following in the post game press conference.....

Romo - "if this is the worst thing that ever happens to me, I've lived a pretty good life" 

Now the press can not get Romo to say anything dumb again.  I guess he learned his lesson. He always throws it back at the reporters now.  See link to Dallas Morning News where Romo is asked the question about being more involved in planning the defense during this week's OTAs....

Romo Does the Texas Two Step

Lock Out Jerry Jones

I know there are an endless number of Jerry Jones hate articles and blogs, many of which I have written myself.  But even here at the beginning of summer and a long way from Football season I came across a couple of items from writers and an ex-Cowboy player, discussing Jerry Jones interference.  Reading these made me get on the Jerry Jones Soap Box once again......

Here's the first item I found from the Dallas Morning News with quotes from Nate Newton.... Dallas News Staff Article - Nate Newton's Advice to Garrett

The reason the Cowboys are perennial losers since Jimmy left is because of Jerry Jones.  In the story above, here is an ex-Cowboys, Superbowl winning player talking.  In the article, he even admits that he "loves" Jerry, but he knows the mindset of young pro football players.  It's like an army, you have to be willing to go to war for your head coach, either through fear and/or respect.  With Jerry Jones interference, he automatically creates 2 - 4 losses each year, which is enough each year to keep the Cowboys out of the playoffs. In Dallas, Jerry always undermines the head coaches.  That's why Parcells left.  Even though Parcells was building something good, because of the T.O. thing (and who knows what else was going on in the background that we the general public are not privy to) he knew that Jerry would ultimately undermine everything he had done and that would be just enough interference to make the cowboys lose in the end.

In another transcript, Nate even goes on to discuss how Romo needs to ignore Jerry.... Dallas Morning News - Nate Newton transcript KSEN radio interview

Again, all of this from an ex-Cowboys player who loves Jerry Jones.  Regardless of how much he likes the man personally, Nate knows enough about pro-football operations to know that Jerry is the ultimate ruination of the once great football franchise, Dallas Cowboys.

Then if all of this didn't get me on enough of a Soap Box, coincidentally the great Randy Galloway of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, posted an article discussing the exact same thing...

Randy Galloway - "We Like this Jason Garrett Digging In"

 

With all of this in mind, my suggestion for Jason Garret is this.....

Meet with Monte Kiffin and Rodd Marinelli and say look...."It's hard to coach in Dallas because of Jerry. He's always meddling, splitting loyalties between the coaches. Just like you guys, you are loyal to him because he hired you, not me.  But let's get together as a group and be loyal to each other, and support each other in the face of Jerry.  Show him that we have control of this team offensively and defensively, that we are the football guys, that we make the decisions, not him".

Jason should build this consortium that over rules Jerry.  The players would see this happening and be responsive to the coaches again.  Same goes for Jason Garret and Romo, get together and shut Jerry up/out.  Then when the wins start piling up, their confidence and authority would grow.  Jerry would then become isolated as a rambling old, meddlesome man who everybody just ignores.