The Magic Carpet

By Matthew Storey

I usually don't read prognostications from other writers, and don't watch ESPN...

But I always do when I know what the deal is, and want to hear others make fools of themselves.

I've seen Eric Allen (Eagle) and Chris Carter (Eagle/Viking) explain for three consecutive weeks why the Cowboys are not the team we've watched these past years or past weeks. A lot is made about mythology in Sports, and in Politics, and in Economics..

But not by smart people.

Smart people root, fight, fuck, pray just as hard as idiots.

They do so, however, not based upon fantasies or mythology, but upon D-A-T-A.

Not just stats, not just trends. Data. Stats, Trends, Anecdotal.

Anecdotal data is NOT mythology.

Here is the difference.

Anecdotal data is the Observation of Derek Jeter playing Shortstop. Watch him play and you see a guy who impacts Defensively on almost every game he plays, who has a gun and may retire having thrown out more runners from the outfield grass than any SS in history, who might have tracked down pop-ups over a larger range of ground than any SS, who is brilliant on the Double Play.

Statisticians disagree.

None of them ever played the position.

Luckily, for YOU.

Guru did.

Onward.

The NFL Quarterfinals are upon us, and lo and behold, these might be the most impressive Eight NFL teams since the early '90s and the Pre-Cap Era - after a long adjustment period and ahead of an uncapped year, its apparent, the NFL is back on the cusp of a Golden Era.

Thank Asimov!

Here's the breakdown:

Saturday January 16, 2010

Arizona Cardinals (NFC West) #4 Seed (10-6) at New Orleans Saints (NFC South) #1 Seed (13-3)

Arizona is better in every facet, and they will advance.

Baltimore Ravens (AFC North Wildcard) #6 Seed (9-7) at Indianapolis Colts (AFC South) #1 Seed (14-2)

A much more interesting game, between two evenly matched teams.

I like the Colts because their most important players are seasoned, the same reason I like the Chargers.

But on TALENT. Tough one to call.

I made mine.

Sunday January 17, 2010

Dallas Cowboys (NFC East) #3 Seed (11-5) at Minnesota Vikings (NFC North) #2 Seed (12-4)

The Cowboys are better in every phase of the game and will advance.

New York Jets (AFC East Wildcard) #5 Seed (9-7) at San Diego Chargers (AFC West) #2 Seed (13-3)

Despite the stench of being #2 (thanks Steve!), the Chargers are the best team in the NFL, courtesy of an 11 game winning streak and their game against an in-form Cowboy team in which they won and looked like the better squad despite the score (20-17) and the flukish circumstances (Boys missed chippie FG with since-released injured K and failed to register ANY points despite driving down the field relentlessly and going oh-for-final yard.

The Jets are the dominant team of the AFC East present and, a future conqueror of these Chargers.

That ain't now.

Posted by Matthew at 03:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

By Matthew Storey

Did you ever love a person who was really, really HOT. You couldn't take your eyes off them, and the more you looked, the more you liked. Right away, without even realizing what is happening...you start assigning desirable traits to them, and fit them into your favorite fantasies and life scenarios... sigh...

Franchise QuarterBacks can be a lot like that for a fan. Ask a Cowboy fan the best thing about life in the 1970's, the list won't hit many spots before, #12, Roger Staubach, comes into the conversation...accompanied by a glassy look back and a smile.

Roger and the Cowboys were the best team for a few years, but they were also the team who 'couldnt win the big one', but on January 16, 1972, that all changed, the Heisman winning, square jawed scrambler with the big arm and big will stopped being the 'crush' and became 'The Man'. Cowboys 24, Dolphins 3, Super Bowl VI to the star and Roger on his way to immortality and an eternal spot in your heart.

There was another Super Bowl, two 4 point losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers juggernaut who laid claim to the Decade, and then the concussions took Roger the Dodger away from us, too soon.

But there was hope, a younger QB with a rocket arm of his own. Danny White was going to be 'The Man' now and the Championships would continue to flow between the Red River and the Rio Grande. White threw Touchdowns, threw for big yardage and Cowboys chewed up NFC rivals each Regular Season like the '70s squads had.

NFC Championship Game in 1980 versus the Eagles? Cowboys and White favored, Eagles win.

NFC Championship Game in 1981 versus the 49ers? Cowboys and White favored, 49ers and 'The Catch'.

NFC Championship Game in 1982 versus the Redskins? Cowboys and White favored, Redskins win.

There were other games for White, Pro-Bowls, passing records, lost playoff games.

No Cowboy fan thinks of White. A crush that faded when it became apparent there wasn't any there, there.

Then, the Dark time...

A new owner, a new coach, a 1st Round QB arrived.

Learning pains. Progression. Three Super Bowls in Four years with his best play in the one year they did NOT win.

Troy Aikman was the crush who went to 'The Man', never wavered, never failed to come through.

Ask a Cowboy fan who met the love of their life and had two kids in the '90s what they remember about that time?

Troy, Emmitt, Michael. Oh, and...them.

Once again, the concussions took The Man prematurely, the rules got changed, the team got weaker, a decade passed...

The Cowboys got a new crush, and he hasn't yet finished three full seasons on the job.

But he's got it goin' on, for sure. Passes fly around to waiting receivers, pass rushers fly by, unable to get a hand on him, the defense parts like hot butter when he is in charge. Speaks well, throws big, wins late.

He took the job, wowed the league, went to the Playoffs, had a win right in his fingers...

..and dropped the ball, the kick wasn't to be, the Cowboys lost a Playoff game they dominated.

It's cool, we said. He isn't a HOLDER, he's a QB!

And so he is, the next season was a revelation, 13-3, #1 seed, domination of the Giants for a half of the playoff game...complete collapse in the 2nd half, a loss to a team they'd beaten twice.

Wags talked about Blondes and Cabo. Nobody talked about 'choke'...

Last year was THE year with THE man. He got hurt, they struggled late, they MISSED the playoffs after being the consensus #1 coming into the season. In the final game, with everything on the line, the QB and team were dominated by a team they'd dominated months earlier, by a Defense they knew and Romo looked lost...

He said the right things afterward...

And then, yesterday, Sunday night against the Giants, the new Cowboys stadium debut, the only true test in the early part of their schedule, a chance to open a season 5-0 and have a stranglehold on the NFC East going into the bye, week six.

Tony Romo was the focus of the offense in previous years, Running Backs were the contrast, Running Backs were hurt. Tony threw it and if he could avoid turning it over, we won.

But yesterday, with a running game that can only be dreamed about and a Defense that could not be run against, Tony Romo finally had a chance to be a QB who didn't have to be heroic, only to manage the game, limit mistakes and let his team roll.

He couldn't do it. He threw the ball over his Running Backs and into the hands of a bystander Defender for a INT/TD, he threw the ball behind his Tight End, off his foot, into the hands of a bystander Defender for a INT/FG, he threw the ball so far over the head of a wide receiver and into the hands of a bystander Defender for an INT/FG, so FAR over his head it was described as a 'punt'. With Marion Barber running over people, Felix Jones running around them and Tashard Choice running through them and receivers all over the field, Tony Romo just could not manage himself. In a big game, the big talent was a liability instead of a winner.

Again.

And, as with Danny White, after awhile it stops hurting. High expectations built on reasonable probability are the ones that get fans off, the ones that make being a fan such a glorious expectation. Once a player has repeatedly performed at a lower level than the worst you could have imagined, those expectations evaporate and are replaced with 'faith' - which is a code word for 'no idea how this guy is ever going to come through, but we are stuck with him and have to believe or go crazy!'

Tony Romo is a good guy. He said all the right things, he usually does.

'...we'll keep clawing and going forward and I'll improve and I'll fix this. We'll be better tomorrow. I'll be better. We'll go forward'.

And you still believe, because he's only in his 42nd NFL Start this week and he has all the tools....

But, somewhere in your heart, you've detached. The losses in big spots have become so commonplace that the victory, if it comes, will be more about relief than joy.

Tony Romo came to Dallas and we thought we had Roger or Troy, Sunday night, we got Danny.

But we can dream...sometimes a dream is all you have, what you don't have, as a Cowboy fan is a compelling reason to remain engaged with the 2009 Cowboys. Head Coach Wade Phillips seems earnest, for sure, and he knows what he is doing. But, after 30 years of NFL experience, he has never won, at all, and his team continues to underperform in every big spot, with big turnovers, big penalties, crucial mistakes. Maybe it ISN'T his fault, but that is what happens...Romo means us well, will thrill for weeks and put us back in position...but what then?

This is a team who can grab our interest in only one way, and that won't be here for three months.

Until then, the NFC season has become a formality, a non-event. In week two!

Posted by Matthew at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dallas Cowboys 2009 Draft Picks

3 (5) JASON WILLIAMS/ OLB/ WESTERN ILLINOIS
3 (11) ROBERT BREWSTER /OT /BALL STATE
4 (1) STEPHEN MCGEE/ QB/ TEXAS A&M
4 (10) VICTOR BUTLER /DE /OREGON STATE
4 (20) BRANDON WILLIAMS/ DE/ TEXAS TECH
5 (7) DEANGELO SMITH/ CB/ UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
5 (30) MICHAEL HAMLIN/ FS/ CLEMSON
5 (36) DAVID BUEHLER/ K/ SOUTHERN CAL
6 (24) STEPHEN HODGE/ SS/TCU
6 (35) JOHN PHILLIPS/ TE/ UVA
7 (18) MIKE MICKENS/ CB/ UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
7 (20) MANUEL JOHNSON/ WR/ OKLAHOMA

By Matthew Storey

In order to appreciate the Cowboys 2009 NFL Draft, it is important to understand what has happened to this team since the 2008 Draft brought 5 Impact players to Dallas (CB Mike Jenkins, CB Orlando Scandrick, TE Martellus Bennett, RB Felix Jones, RB Tayshard Choice).

Jenkins and Jones flashed the speed that made them the fastest members of the entire draft on their respective sides of the ball. Jones, playing in 5 games, averaged 8.9 Yards/Per/Carry and scored from 33 yards and 60 yards Rushing and added a 102 Yard Kickoff return. He was ready to form the best combination of speed (his) and power (Marion Barber) of any NFL team's RB tandem. Then he got hurt and was never seen again.

Jenkins flashed his big speed from the start, and when Pacman Jones imploded, stepped in opposite Pro-Bowl speedster, Terrence Newman and Cowboys thought they were set. He struggled mightily in his first start, then looked like a veteran in a critical road win at Tampa Bay and looked like a star in the next game, against the Giants when he took an Eli Manning pass to the house for his first NFL TD.
Then HE got hurt and was never involved fully again during the season.

Scandrick moved inside as the Cowboys slot CB in Nickel and Dime packages and played beautifully from the beginning, proving the Cowboys with good interior pass coverage for the first time in several seasons, but with the injuries to Newman, Jenkins and the Pacman circus, was never able to play as part of a cohesive group of CB's. It was always putting out fires for the Defense without it's full compliment of coverage guys, but the Cowboys know they've got two long time starters from Jenkins and Scandrick.

When Jones and Barber BOTH got hurt (the RB and QB situation was every bit as injury ridden as CB), 3rd string Rookie Tayshard Choice was forced into the starting job, a job nobody had any idea if he would be ready for...he put 57 on 11 carries on the depleted Seahawks, then faced the NFL's best defenses in Pittsburgh, Giants, Ravens, Eagles to close out his first NFL experience with 92 Carries for 472 Yards (5.1 y/p/c) and caught 21 more passes, in only 4 1/2 starts.

Bennett, 6'6", 265 lbs of fast, powerful Tight End compliment to Pro-Bowler, Jason Witten, was a revelation with 20 catches for a lusty 14.2 y/p/c and 4 TD's as a 22 year old Rookie.

With those five in place, and secure at all the skill positions but wanting to secure a long-term answer at WR, given Terrell Owens, age (35) and volatility, Jerry Jones traded his early round draft for the services of WR Roy Williams, the #1 Pick from the Detroit Lions, whose 6'3" frame, hands and speed made him the Texas dream boy at Permian High School and Texas University and was, seemingly, BORN to be the Cowboys WR. Owens, reading the tea leaves, freaked out and the season went down the hole, but the Boys cleared the decks and prepared to go with Roy as their #1 for the next several years and to promote the squadron of good young WR prospects they've stockpiled behind the scene-stealing T.O.

That set the Cowboys up with a chance to turn away from the high-ticket Draft pieces, they don't need RB's, STARTING caliber CB's, WR's, TE, or Offensive Lineman. They've got their franchise QB (Tony Romo) and Defender (DeMarcus Ware)...

So what DO they need?

They need some 'Football Players'! The Cowboys are, perhaps, the DUMBEST NFC team, a team that features the most penalized, turnover prone group imaginable who played, consistently, some of the worst Special Teams in Cowboy history.

When a team loaded with marquee talent struggles, their are always interior reasons. And the 2008 Cowboys had them all...the Injuries, the Penalties, the Distractions, the Turnovers, the poor Special Teams and they had 12 Draft Picks to address the need to rebuild that Special Teams unit, draft pairs of proven College players who PRODUCED ON THE FIELD, rather than astounded in the drills.

They want to continue to add Pass Rushers to their NFL Leading 59 Sack Defense (led by 8 sacks) and went out and got the Big 12 Conference Sack Leader, DE Brandon Williams of Texas Tech and the Pac-10 Conference Sack Leader, DE Victor Butler of Oregon State and added IAA stud, OLB, Jason Williams of Western Illinois. All of whom figure to see time swarming passers as Cowboys gave up on the unproductive Chris Canty and signed Olshansky to handle the run responsibilities so they can unleash Anthony Spencer, Ware and the three kids from all angles. All three make HUGE upgrades to the Special Teams mix.

Then they smartly addressed niche weaknesses that KILLED them in '08, drafting freakish USC Placekicker, David Buehler, to serve as a Kickoff specialist with a HUGE leg. Cowboys have a terrific and accurate young Kicker, Nick Folk, who they love, but he is not a booming kickoff guy and had ZERO Touchbacks in '08, Jerry Jones specifically targeted Buehler to pump kicks into opposing end zones and to play special teams on other coverage units (has to be a first!). Buehler is 6'2", 227, runs a 4.65 40 and outlifted 3 Offensive LINEMEN in the combine. Sometime this season, you are going to see some fast kick returner think he is deaking a 'kicker' and get PLASTERED by the freak on a tackle.

Somewhere, Jerry Jones AND Guru will smile.

Boys grabbed a 3rd TE to block and make up for the TERRIBLE Tony Curtis, whose lazy blocking cost the Cowboys a game in Arizona when he failed to block ANYONE and allowed a game winning punt block, in the end zone, in overtime. New guy, John Phillips of Virginia, is more of an extra Tackle than pass catcher, but Witten and Bennett give the team all the receiving they need and he will be a godsend for the protection.

Seeking to upgrade at their weakest position, Cowboys took FS Michael Hamlin of Clemson, SS Stephen Hodge out of TCU and took BOTH Cincy Bearcats CB's Mike Mickens and De Angelo Smith, all of them multi-year starters with strong statistics. Mickens is the best player, but is coming off an injury that dropped him from a top 15 slot.

From there it was a series of flyers, strong armed RB/QB, Stephen McGee of Texas Tech, who will be asked to run the 'Wildcat' formation where his powerful running and 65 yard arm can make big plays while gaining experience behind Tony and new backup, Jon Kitna. HUGE OT Robert Brewster of Ball State and WR Manuel Johnson of Oklahoma, productive players on winning teams.

A SMART draft by the DUMB Cowboys is enough to put a smile on Guru's face during Baseball Season!

Posted by Matthew at 05:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Paul White

"If Roy Williams doesn't turn out to be the player they thought he would be when they made the trade,I think this would be one of the biggest busts in the history of the league."
- Troy Aikman

Under normal circumstances, Troy Aikman’s assessment of the Roy Williams trade would be dead on. The Cowboys surrendered their first-, third- and sixth-round draft picks this year, and a seventh round pick in 2010, for a wide receiver who has gone over 1,000 yards only once in a five year career.


However, the Cowboys are far from normal. Given Jerry Jones' track record in the NFL draft, the odds are Dallas would have blown at least one, and probably two, of the those selections. Therefore, this deal will be hard pressed to rival the disastrous trade of two first round picks to Seattle for Joey Galloway.

However, the purpose of this article is not to bash the Cowboys' front office. There have been ample opportunities to do that in the past. Hopefully, there will be less of them in the future. In fact, this trade might earn the much maligned Jones some badly needed credibility.

Granted, Jones rolled the dice by giving up so much for Williams. He raised the stakes even higher by releasing the cancerous, yet productive, Terrell Owens. But in the final analysis, this could actually pay off for Dallas due to one simple fact - Roy Williams, if properly utilized, could be the next great Cowboys receiver.

When Williams joined the Cowboys, he hit a Lone Star trifecta of sorts. He has now played for Texas’ premier football program at each level of competition. If this man who starred at Odessa Permian and excelled at the University of Texas can duplicate that success in Dallas, Jerry Jones is going to look very smart for a change. There are several compelling reasons to believe that could actually happen.

The first of those is Williams himself. He has all the tools – speed, size strength. And yet, he has never lived up to his potential in the NFL. The reason for this is quite simple – in high school and college, he was “The Man.” Prior to being drafted by the Lions, he was the premier receiver on every team he was on. More importantly, he shined under those conditions.

That never really happened for him on a consistent basis in Detroit. It was never going to happen in Dallas as long as The Cancer was on the roster. That has all changed. Williams is now the primary focus of the Cowboys' passing attack. Once again, he is “The Man.”

Also, do not discount the importance of Jason Garrett. Contrary to what the media says, the Princeton graduate is just as smart now as he was in 2007, when he was the hottest coaching commodity in the NFL. In fact, it is safe to assume he analyzed what went wrong last season and learned from it. Now that he does not have to placate The Cancer’s fragile ego, do not be surprised if the Dallas offense returns to its 2007 form. Williams, Jason Whitten and Patrick Crayton form a solid receiving corps. Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tayshard Choice comprise a ground attack that should be as good as any in the league.

I have always had a theory about Jerry Jones. As the Cowboys' General Manager, he seems to be handicapped by what we refer to in Texas as a “Wildcatter” mentality. For those unfamiliar with the term, a Wildcatter is someone who drills for oil in an unproven field. It is a high-risk, high-reward proposition. All the early Texas oil fortunes were made this way. Quite a few fortunes were also lost in the same manner.

We always hear about the huge gusher (i.e. a well which produces at a prolific rate). What we don’t hear about are the nineteen dry holes the prospector drilled before striking oil. We have all watched Jones apply this principle in making Dallas’ personnel decisions. While there have been the occasional strikes, there have been too many years like 1995.

That year the Cowboys were able to assemble three picks in the second round. This was a golden opportunity for a team that had just reached the NFC title game and won two out of the last three Super Bowls. By adding three of the top 63 players in a strong draft pool, Dallas could strengthen an already deep roster and separate themselves from the other 31 teams in the league.

With Jones calling the shots, the Cowboys selected RB Sherman Williams of Alabama, TE Kendall Watkins of Mississippi State, and Michigan State OL Shane Hannah. Needless to say, these are not names you will ever find in the Cowboys' Ring of Honor. Hannah never played a down, Watkins caught one pass in his two-year career. Sherman Williams is the only one of this trio who ever contributed, gaining 1,000 yards in five seasons as Emmitt Smith’s back-up.

The draft of 1995, more than any other reason, tells us that trading three picks for Roy Williams might have actually been a smart move. The odds of Jones using all three picks wisely were virtually non-existent. The West Texas native is a known commodity with at least one pro bowl season under his belt.

More than that, he also has a huge upside. And after a string of dry holes, Jones is due to hit a gusher. He is, no doubt, uttering those nine words spoken by every oil man right before the drill bit first pierces the ground -- “This is a big one – I can feel it.”

This time, he might be right.

Paul White is a seasoned sports and political writer and the managing editor of the Texas Star Tribune.

Posted by TMC Staff at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Since the announcement in Early 2007 that Wade Phillips was being hired as Dallas Cowboy head coach, Guru has been one of his fiercest critics.

From the moment he was hired, I pointed out that in 30 years of Professional Coaching, from time with his father, Bum and the '70s Oilers to Denver to Buffalo and to San Diego, the pattern was the same...

Talented teams who played loose and comfortable, but invariably made the big mistakes at critical junctures and lost to more focused units.

The final year in San Diego, the 14-2 Chargers manhandled the Patriots, only to lose when a DB took a 4th Down, 4th Quarter INT and tried a runback, rather than simply take a knee and seal the win.

Naturally, the 2007 season ended when the 13-3 Cowboys manhandled the Giants for 40 minutes, but came completely apart late to blow a certain victory.

In 2008, the Cowboys have been amongst the most penalized teams in the NFL and were coming off a loss in a game in which they held the Steelers to 105 yards through 3 periods and dominated both lines of scrimmage, only to turn the ball over F-O-U-R times and blow the win inside of two minutes.

Point being - To this point in his career and his Cowboy tenure, his team(s) have played STUPID football.

Dallas, possessing dominating talent on both Offense and Defense, has squandered much of their season on bad penalties, mindless turnovers, horrible special teams and critical mind-cramps. Those are the places where Coaching can make a difference, you can't 'create' talent on Offense or Defense, you either have it or you don't. BUT you teach efficiency, respect for the ball, simple things like DON'T LINE UP IN THE NEUTRAL ZONE, BLOCK THE OTHER TEAM ON EVERY PLAY...Special teams is simply a matter of concentration and EFFORT.

Much of all that was in evidence again last night against the New York Giants...

Cowboys perpetrated a mind-boggling ELEVEN penalties for 108 yards, or exactly 50% as much yardage surrendered to the Giants as they earned (21 through their efforts. A dizzying array of 3rd Down stops were undone by Defensive Offsides, Holding, Hands to the Face...and a complementary number of Offensive drives moved two steps forward, one step back from an endless variety of holds and false starts...

Ahead 14-3 in the 4th Quarter, with the Defense in complete control...the Cowboy offense found itself pinned down near the goal line, with only a meaningless 3rd down to dispense with before punting the ball away and Defending. Incredibly, the entire Left Side of the Offensive line completely missed the snap count, allowing Giant linemen to run unimpeded towards an already injured Tony Romo, sack him for a Safety and barely miss scoring a game-tightening TD. It was reminiscent of the Cardinal OT loss, when Dallas failed to block two Cardinal rushers, who promptly blocked a kick for a game winning TD (first time in NFL history) AND broke the foot of Cowboys All-Pro Punter, Mat McBriar...

Train-wreck stuff.

But you know what?

It didn't matter.

The Cowboys manhandled the Giants physically, the way they did the Pittsburgh Steelers last week and this time, Romo took care of the ball and managed the game brilliantly. As with last week, their Defense took free reign on the QB (8 Sacks) and shut down the opposing receivers, despite playing a CB at Safety (Anthony Henry) and two rookie CB's (Mike Jenkins, back from an injury in the 1st Giant game and Orlando Scandrick). The Giants couldn't run, they couldn't throw, they were overwhelmed throughout and the Cowboy Defense gave up ZERO TD's. Since going to Tampa Bay and holding the Bucs to 3 FG's, the Defense has surrendered 1 TD to the Skins, no TD's to the Seahawks, 2 meaningless garBAGE time TD's to the 49ers after taking a 32-9 lead and 1 TD to the Steelers before none for Big Blue.

On Offense, with Marion Barber playing on one foot and Jason Witten somehow gritting it through his battered, broken body and backup RG, Montrae Holland, joining starter, Kyle Kosier, on the injury BUS, they were ably augmented by 3rd String RG, Cory Procter, who came in and stabilized the Giant rush, which had been tearing up Romo early...by mid-third Quarter, the Cowboy line was leaning on the Giants. That size advantage and time for Romo allowed him to utilize the magnificent skills of Rookie tight-end, 6'7", 265 pound Martellus Bennett and Rookie RB, 3rd String Tashard Choice, who ran around and over the Giants in the 4th Quarter, adding 9 carries, 91 yards and a TD plus 4 catches for another 52 to his 166 all-purpose yards against Pittsburgh.

With the brilliant Rookie RB, Felix Jones out for the season and Marion Barber nursing his own cracked Toe, Choice has stepped up for a healthy 326 yards (5.3 p/carry) and caught another 13 passes (11.7 per catch), culminating his impressive debut with a 40 yard game clinching TD on Sunday night. This is a rookie being thrown into a desperate situation against the league's top Defenses and dominating.

Wow.

In fact, this years Cowboy draft is looking like an all-time winner.

Felix Jones, the fastest Offensive player in the draft, Jones played sparingly in 5 games but managed TD runs of 60 and 33 yards on his way to 266 yards on only 30 carries (8.9 Yards per carry). Oh, and he also had a 102 Yard Kickoff return. His injured toe cost him this season, but his future is glittering.

Mike Jenkins, the fastest DEFENSIVE player in the draft, Jenkins struggled in his first start against St. Louis, when forced into the lineup by injuries to Terrence Newman and PacMan Jones suspension...but was terrific in the next game, giving the Buccaneers nothing and then helping hold Eli Manning to 147 yards passing in the Meadowlands and running back an INT for six. He got hurt in that game, but returned last night and shut his man down cold.

Orlando Scandrick, the only Cowboy DB to remain healthy all year, he was put in the slot out of desperation and has proven to be a shutdown type right out of the gate, speed, instincts, tackling...all were on display against both Pittsburgh and New York.

Martellus Bennett and Tashard Choice, we've already spoken of.

Five IMPACT picks from late selections in each round. Next time you hear some know-nothing criticizing Jerry Jones for not hiring a 'Football' guy to handle the GM duties...think about this draft.

Or think about this. Jones went out and traded draft picks (he knows he doesn't need on his loaded, young team) for proven stud WR, Roy Williams, who is basically an insurance policy for Romo amongst Witten, Owens, Bennett, Crayton, Austin and the backs. Williams would have been the feature WR for the Giants, even IF Plaxico Burress was playing.

Too bad TO didn't score, I was hoping he'd do 'The Plaxico', you do a couple of salsa steps, bang back a couple of drinks...

and shoot yourself in the thigh!

Whatever the Cowboys are NOT, and we've detailed their sloppy, undisciplined play throughout this discussion...they are the greatest assemblage of talent on any NFL roster and, in any game they manage to avoid turnovers, have to be considered the favorites. Such teams rarely win it all and I am under no illusions that the penalties, turnovers and special teams gaffes will rear their ugly heads again these final two games and into the playoffs (if they make it).

But the Cowboys proved their toughness and talent these past two weeks and, whether its under Phillips this season or someone else in the future, this much talent is going to be impossible to deny sometime real soon.

Posted by TMC Staff at 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)