NFC East Cornerbacks.....Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Dez Bryant is putting it all together in this, his 4th season.
Take a look at the stats of the great wide receivers and notice how their production jumps in seasons 3 and 4.  Cornerbacks going against Dez this year will have their hands full.  Check out this story by Jean-Jacques:

Dez Matured On and Off the Field

Miles Austin - "I'm Not Worthy"... Or Maybe he is

Interesting article by Todd Archer from espndallas.com about the worth of Miles Austin to the Dallas Cowboys.
When you look at the stats Archer provides, it definitely demonstrates the worth of Miles Austin, especially when compared to other high profile Wide Receivers like Larry Fitzgerald and Anquon Boldin.  However, Stats do lie sometimes.  As even Austin concedes in the article, what matters is wins/losses and right now there is plenty of blame to go around at Cowboy World (aka Jerry World) after consistently under performing with 8-8 seasons.  While Miles' stats may look good, I can't remember him coming up big in important games or at critical points in games.  That was all Dez's job last year.  Read the article yourself and let me know what you think.

Miles Austin ESPNDALLAS.COM ARCHER COLUMN

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.

NFL Coaching

I came across this article by Bryan Broaddus on DallasCowboys.com:

Broaddus: Coaching Staff...

Sounds as though the Cowboys may have upgraded their coaching positions such as Running Backs and Tight End Coaches, but most of all of course with the full change out of Defensive staff with the switch from Rob Ryan's 3-4 Defense to Monte Kiffin's 4-3 Tampa Two Defense.  I think in today's NFL, with all of the parity in the league with regards to players, coaching provides a significant advantage or disadvantage more than it ever has.  If you've got a good QB, then the next most important thing is coaching... and not just the Head Coach, but the entire "team" of coaches.

Cowboys Running Game

This time of year every NFL team is 16-0.  Every fan can rationalize why their NFL team will go undefeated and win the Super Bowl, only to have their dreams crushed by mid October.

I realize after 17 years of mediocrity, I don't see the Cowboys somehow becoming a powerhouse in the 2013 season.  However, I do want to point out a few things about the Cowboys running game and how this could ultimately create a couple of more wins thereby bringing their Win/Loss record from 8 - 8 to 10 -6 which would win the NFC East.  

I think they there will be a noticeable improvement in the Cowboys' running attack this year. Here's a couple of reasons to back up this theory:

1.  Drafted a good backup Running Back - John Randle.  He is the complete package (runner, receiver, blocker; and led the Big 12 in rushing last year).  No more of this change of pace back (Felix Jones) RB.  Randle is a legitimate all purpose RB.  And in today's NFL, unless you have Adrian Peterson, you need two full time backs.

2. New RB coach.  While the RB coach may not have an enormous amount of effect on the overall running game, it was probably a good time for a change of scenery in the RB coaching.  Fresh blood. 

3.  Better Center - Upgrade with first round draft pick, Travis Frederick, to plug up pressure from the middle and call out the correct blocking assignments to the rest of the OL.

4.  2nd year of Offensive Line zone blocking scheme with Bill Callahan.

I think all of these items will make a significant difference this year, assuming no major injuries to Randle or Murray.

This is probably placing too much faith in Jason Garrett, but I do wonder if Garrett has all of the media barking up the wrong tree by focusing on the following:

• who's going to call the plays?
• Drafting another pass catching TE?
• Drafting another WR Terrance Williams?
• Romo to be more involved in call the plays, meetings, etc.?

Meanwhile Garrett and the Cowboys coaching staff are really working toward improving the running game, which will surprise the media and hopefully their opponents for the first couple of weeks.

Again, this theory is probably placing way too much credit of brilliance on the Cowboys coaching staff and front office, but hey like I said, every fan's NFL team is 16-0 right now. 

Open Letter to Peter King

Dear Mr. King,

I read a line recently from one of your columns talking about how great the new San Francisco stadium was going to be.  This made me remember how you went ~ 2 years before ever visiting Cowboys Stadium, but immediately criticized the location of the stadium not being in Dallas, but in Arlington, TX (20 miles away).  Then to my surprise you talk about how great it is that the new San Francisco Stadium is away from downtown San Francisco (45 miles away).  Of course you throw in the obligatory "it has a train to the stadium”.  My question is...how you can be considered a good Football analyst, as others in the media proclaim, when you have such a negative bias against the great state of Texas and the Dallas Cowboys in particular?

Then I read today where the 49ers have already sold the naming rights of the new stadium (which is not even built) to Levi.  So it's going to be "Levi’s Stadium"...LMAO.

Since you have such disdain for the Cowboys, I will probably have to remind you that Jerry Jones has never sold the rights to the great "COWBOYS STADIUM".  In today's world of corporate greed, which is obviously on display with Levi’s Stadium...LOL (sorry just can't help but laugh as I write that name), why don't you write an article, or at least one sentence, in one of your many musings about how Jerry and the Cowboys have remained true and not sold out to a corporate sponsor for Cowboys Stadium?

This is a rhetorical question of course, because everyone knows the answer, "You hate the Cowboys, and continually provide a horrible bias against them with everything you write."  However, I would love to hear YOUR response to this question.