THE MANSION

1. Well this was a tale of two different games. One game the defense could not stop the passing game and was letting receivers get open left and right. The other, the passing game is getting crushed. So what defense will show up? We need consistency on this side of the ball. The offense is just fine. In fact, it is a great offense. But I cannot say that about the defense. You win championships with defense. Remember the '85 Bears and the '00 Ravens? They virtually had no offense. The defenses were just that good. I am not saying an elite offense can't win the Super Bowl. But even teams that had elite offenses also had great defenses. The problem is that the offense gets the glory. The 49ers of the 80s and the Cowboys of the nineties all had great defenses. So that was able to offset that. This Cowboys defense is good but I cannot say with a straight face that it is an elite group. The offfense I can but if we make it to the Super Bowl, I just have a feeling what team it will be and you know we will have trouble all day if this group the way it does.

2. On the other hand you can make the argument the Jets offense is just that much worse than the Redskins offense and the Redskins had more weapons. But the playoffs are not typically filled with bad offenses. But why was Chris Cooley getting so wide open. Every time they throw I knew he was going to get going. I do not know if it was personnel, meaning we did not have the talent to match the receivers or poor defensive play calling. I think our run defense gets too much credit for stopping the run because most of the teams we face are trailing so they tend to abandon the run and start passing. Now having said that I do think the passing defense is mediocre. I mean the numbers do not take into account the clutch catches or completions for first down. I mean Chris Cooley was getting wide open and does not always translate to big yards. I mean the key to any good defense is stopping the third down play.

3. TO is just amazing me. I would name him offensive player of the year and Romo MVP. Of course I feel that Randy Moss and Tom Brady will get those accolades but hey I am biased.

4. Terence Newman has played like a Pro Bowler the last couple of seasons and has not gone because he lacks the big plays. Hopefully that interception TD return against the Jets plus the game winning interception against the Redskins will let him go. Plus he is still battling that plantar fasscitis.

5. I guess someone reminded Julius Jones that he was in a contract year because lately he is tearing it up. I still feel he will be gone at the end of the year and the Cowboys will draft a running back in the upcoming draft.

6. Roy Williams start streak was snapped. Who cares? That is so overrated. I mean you get in on the opening play and that is considered a start? I think the majority of snaps taken should be the deciding factor on how much a guy plays.

7. I feel that was Joe Gibbs last visit to Texas Stadium. As much as I dislike the Redskins, you can not help but like Gibbs. I will miss him. I wish Jason Campbell was leaving though. He is going to be a threat to the Boys for the next few years.

8. The special teams has got to get going. I do not feel like the special teams is a necessary evil, where I would just put random people in there. I would use the draft to draft players specifically for special teams and to look at a players ability to play special teams alongside his own position. The kicking/punting is fine, it is the coverage that is soft.

9. Now comes the game of the year part 2. Part 1 was the Patriots. I guess the Giants could have been a part 2 but I am not going to give it that. The Packers have now discovered a running game with the emergence of Ryan Grant. Donald Driver is the big play threat with Donald Lee the huge tight end. Charles Woodson and Al Harris are the corner threats and the two huge pass rush in Aaron Kampan and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila. Almost sounds like the Cowboys doesn't? And I have not mentioned the quarterbacks with Romo being a younger version of Brett Favre, with that gunslinger mentality. I predict an average score, Cowboys 24, Packers 17. I don't feel the offenses will get a lot of points, most of the Packers games have come down to the wire and have been low scoring, but I don't think it will be a shootout like the Patriots or Giants game.

10. Why NFL do you want to hold this game on the NFL Network? Where is the strategy on that. If I am in charge of making sure America sees my product, I want to make sure 95% of the households can see my product. Not 35%. I blame both sides but I strongly blame the NFL. I mean no one will watch this network except for the games and the games have to be close. If it is anything like the Colts-Falcons, no one will watch. I have taken a glimpse at NFL Total Access and I am sorry, if ESPN jumped the shark with all the overexposure and over analysis, then you have done the same as well.

11. Obviously my cable company does not carry NFL Network but I am not worried. I will be at the game in section 133 so I do not have to worry. Go Cowboys!

12. On the other hand, shame on all you ebayers trying to make a profit from the true fan. I wish someone would come up with a way to sell these tickets to the fan and not these ticket brokers and merchants looking to cash in on the true fans. Of course I gave in but hey what is a guy to do huh?

1. These guys continue to amaze me. I mean going into what seemed to me the most hostile crowd because the Philly crowd sure did not seem hostile and just taking apart the defense was amazing.

2. I still am going to gripe about the stupid bonehead penalties. If this team is serously going to go deep into the playoffs, these penalties are going to have to stop. Taunting, hitting and shoving players? The one that bothered me was the taunting because we had just robbed the Giants of any momentum going into the half aftger Craytons score and instead of burying them and forcing them to run the clock, we gave up a field goal which is enough to spark momentum. Thank God the Giants have a QB that still cannot figure out how to get the play off by the time the play clock expires.

3. Wow, Terrell Owens really seems to be maturing and I am now wondering if that prediction of a blowup is going to ring true now.

4. I will count Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, and Brett Favre as teams that have a better QB than the Cowboys right now. Tony Romo is the real deal.

5. Remember when I said that the great QBS have bad games? Well Tony Romo's 5 interception game sure looks a lot better than the 6 interception game of Peyton Manning. I sure don't see anyone questioning Mannings ability the way they qquestioned Romo's.

6. The real test is coming though because the Cowboys have not had a winning record in the second half particularly in December. If another collapse happens, no more blaming the story about how Parcells wore out these players and that he was too tough. No more excuses guys, you have a coach that is easy going laid back and is not pounding you as much as the Tuna would have and Julius Jones better not say he is running like a robot, or TO complaining about how Parcells is to set in his ways or anything else.

7. This brings an interesting point, if the Cowboys run the table and win the Super Bowl, who gets the credit? Mr Fix it or the Tuna? I they both deserve credit. PArcells did not leave the cupboard bare and Phillips has not exactly screwed it up because he does know how to coach. I mean look at the Chargers situation. I mean Norv Turner almost became our head coach and have you ever seen a team look so deflated after the ugly weird win the Chargers had over the Colts? I just don't believe the Cowboys would be 8-1 with Norv Turner at this point.

8. And of course Jerry Jones does deserve credit it for bring in Phillips and for bringing in Jason Garrett. Problem is that Garrett will probably be gone and be a head coach after this year and I am just hoping GMs will look at his inexperience and not hire him because of that and we keep him here a few more years.

1. Well that was a convincing win. I have never seen the Eagles crowd go so dead so quickly. Even at their upmost, this was always a brutal crowd and I saw a beat up squad that the Cowboys took apart. Either the Cowboys are really good or the Eagles are really bad. Donovan McNabb has sure taken a step below what he usually plays. I have a feeling he is not entirely healed up from his leg injury.

2. Julius Jones looked like a better runner for a change and actually scoring. I see him with the Packers next year.

3. Wow the penalty flags were not flying. Amazing.

4. I do not feel the contract and the celebrity status is going to affect the play of Tony Romo. His contract is a good one and I feel well deserved. Jerry Jones modeled it after Marc Bulgers and it assures that Romo will be a Cowboys until he is 34. Romo for all the celebrity hangouts he goes to and other stuff is a down to earth well grounded guy and I feel that he is mature enough to not let the money get to him.

5. TO finally had the revenge game he craved so much and he sure did not really call attention to himself on that score other than flapping his arms like an eagle. I am now starting to wonder if there will be a TO blowup.

6. The contest with the NY Giants will be a tough one. The Giants are playing great lately especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Cowboys need this win for an advantage on the tiebreaker and some momentum going heading toward the second half of the season. Now we see if this team can not fold like past teams.

7. Offensive line is awesome. This line better step up and protect Romo against that menacing pass rush the Giants will unleash on them.

8. Jason Wittens helmetless run. Tough or stupid? Both. I admire the toughness and this team the way it plays shows it is not soft. For all you Parcells haters, you have to thank him for this. I mean you think this would show up if Dave Campo had been here? At the same time it was foolish. With the extra attention going to concussions, you would think players would take the precaution if he ran out of bounds at the last. I mean would not have thought of him less.

9. My position with Andy Reid's situation is take a leave. Take as long as you need and get this situation settled with your family. That said, I do not know the situation and how bad it really is. I mean Tony Dungy did not leave after his child committed suicide and is still coaching. But I would just say that if this is affecting his coaching situation, he needs to move on.

10. The judge that desribed the situation at Andy Reids home is either a publicity seeking jusge like the Anna Nicole Smith baby judge or does not know how much of this was going into the media reports. I mean a CEO of an important company does not get this kind of attention. The judge should have known better.

Here are my picks for week 8:

Indianapolis over Carolina
Chicago over Detroit
Cleveland over ST Louis
New England over Washington
New Orleans over San Francisco
NY Giants ove Miami
NY JEts ove Buffalo
Philadelphia over Minnesota
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
San Diego over Houston
Tampa Bay over Jacksonville
Tennessee over Oakland
Green bay over Denver

1. Before I get into the past game, let me say something about what Wade Phillips said last week for his strategy against the Patriots. Phillips said that he would stop the run and have Tom Brady beat them with the pass. Excuse me? What have you been smoking Wade? I know that was the strategy you used last year in the playoff loss to the Chargers and you did pick them off 3 times and if were not for some mistakes, you would have won the game. But that was a different time. Reche Caldwell was the Patriots number 1 receiver. Now Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker are his 3 options. If he had admitted it was a mistake, it would have been a little better received but refusing to admit that was a mistake and saying you would not change anything? If that is the way you strategize, I hate to see if it comes down to a close moment or what. Well Brady did beat you and pretty much shredded you. The Patriots number 1 back was not even playing and you still went with that strategy. God help us.

2. If Phillips was still on the same mindset against the Vikings, I worried he would go into the game saying, we dare them to beat us with Adrian Peterson and stop the pass. But fortunately, Vikings coach Brad Childress stopped Peterson for us. Other than that long scoring drive early in the game, the Vikings offense was abysmal and I was surprised they abandoned the running game. And by the looks on the sideline, all is not well in Vikings land with all the sideline clashes. That said with all that went bad with the Vikings the Cowboys should have beaten them up. But again stupid mistakes killed us. Romo and Craytons fumbled killed all the momentum and the Vikings defense could not stop us. If the Cowboys are going to contend with the Patriots and Colts of the league, they need to beat up on these bad teams.

3. Again the Cowboys need to start Marion Barber in the games because he gives the Cowboys more momentum in getting to score in the first quarter. I know he still gets more carries than Jones but we need to start getting some yards.

4. Wow was that Roy Williams actually blocking a pass in coverage and not getting beat deep? The world must be coming to an end!

5. Wade Phillips needs to not be so gung ho on these challenges. Granted he won one but the other was a waste and in the first half. We are just lucky we did not need that challenge later. I still say adopt the college replay system and it will be much simpler.

6. The way Romo played this game should have been a blowout. The Boys should not have to be running out the clock in the fourth quarter to try to keep the Vikings from getting the ball. We need to finish plays and stop this gung ho reckless play that will ultimately kill us at the end.

7. The bye comes at a great time because the Boys need to rest up on some injuries particularly Tony Romo who strained a hamstring and needs the rest plus this is usually the time of year where all the small aches and pains can be rested. The schedule after this is not easy with the Eagles and Giants on the road and then the Redskins at home and short weeks with the Jets and Packers at home and then closing out with 3 of the final 4 games on the road. Now we will see what these guys are capable of.

8. That said I believe the Boys are the class of the NFC. That is not really much to go by because the NFC is that bad. About 4 AFC teams I feel are better and the road to the Super Bowl will be easier this way but the Boys need to beat up on some good teams to prove they belong among the elites.

9. The Patriots are going to go 16-0.

10. The Rams and Dolphins really suck.

11. Rob Bironas kicked 8 field goals to beat the Texans. I remember Billy Cundiff kicking 6 against the Giants in 03 and Chris Boniol kicking 7 in 96. What ever happened to them? Hopefully Bironas does not have the same fate.

12. Jason Elam, you are money.

13. I don't know what is more impressive the drive by Brian Griese against the Eagles to beat them or the fact he did it without the radio system, and calling his own plays and being backed up to the far end of your side of the field.

14. The Giants are scaring me.

15. I am tired of hearing Randy Moss being mentioned as an MVP candidate. HAs he elevated the play of the team since his arrival. Yes. Has he given Brady the deep threat and big play man he longed for? Yes. Are they shredding teams? Yes. But Moss is the play when I want to play guy. When he was with the Raiders, his play dropped in part because he stopped trying. He hated losing and so his focus and work habits shifted to the worst. A true Hall of Famer and MVP player does not allow this to happen. Dick Butkus played on very bad teams and is still considered if not the best one of the best linebackers of all time. Supposing he had Moss' mentality. Would he have gone far? No. Sorry I am not rooting for Moss this year.

16. The blown call in the UConn- Louisville game should never have happended. Anytime a player raises his hand that is a fair catch. I know Larry Taylor discussed it with the ref and that if the hand was not over his head it was not a fair catch signal. Apparently after the apology from the Big East commish, that is not the case.

17. Ohio State has not played anybody and should not be number 1. The Big ten is a terrible conference this side of the ACC.

18. I feel that the Yankees did do wrong on how they treated Joe Torre because he has brought a lot of class and dignity to the organization. This is not the Billy Martin Bronx is Burning Yankeed. These guys are more respectable. However I do agree with Hank Steinbrenner on some things. Joe Torre was not exactly known as a great manager when the Yankees hired him, in fact the NY media blasted the Yankees for selecting him. Also as much credit as Torre gets for the wins, he sure does not want any credit for the losses. Why is he immune to that? Coaches/managers get to much credit for wins and too much blame for losses. They deserve both but it has to be rationalized.

19. It is an amazing coincidence that the steroid story on Indians pitcher Paul Byrd came out on game 7 of the ALCS. Steroid investigator Geroge Mitchell has ties to the Red Sox ball club who the Indians were facing in the ALCS. I believe Mitchell is a good guy and would not let this happen, but I feel he needs to separate himself from the Red Sox to avoid thi kind of conspiracy talk but it is too obvious for it to be deliberate.

20. Don't have a problem with Kevin Millar being at the Red Sox game cheering on his former teammates. Just let it be people. He will still play hard for the Orioles next year.

21. ESPN knew what it was getting when they had Jimmy Kimmel on MNF. I just findd it hard to beleive that the suits at ESPN do not watch his show and know that he is an insult comic to the extreme. This guy makes the most insulting, demeaning, homophobic jokes and somehow gets away with it. Did ESPN really feel Kimmel would hold back? Why is he even on the show?

22. I like the Rockies in the series because they are just so hot right now and I feel the layoff will affect them but I say Rockies in 7. Plus I just don't see the Red Sox succeeding at Coors Field.

23. The Dolphins were right fro shutting down Trent Green for the season. We hear these retired players saying that the NFL did not watch over them when they were playing and now they have to step up and do something so this generation won't be sitting in front of Congress one day about the unfair benefits of retired players.

24. I don't who is the best team in college football right now and I feel we are in for a huge BCS mess. YAY!!!

25. Dan Patrick goes to SI and Rick Reilly goes to ESPN. SI got the better deal.

26. Going to Texas Tech-Colorado this weekend. See if I find something interesting to post about it.

HEre are my picks

Dallas over Minnesota
Baltimore over Buffalo
Cincinnati over NY Jets
Houston over Tennessee
Detroit over Tampa Bay
NY Giants over San Francisco
NEw England over Miami
New Orleans over Atlanta
Oakland over Kansas City
Philadelphia over Chicago
Pittsburgh over Denver
Seattle over ST Louis
Washington over Arizona
Indianapolis over Jacksonville

1. Well you knew it had to end eventually. I mean it sure seems to me unrealistic that any team even the Patriots will go 19-0. The game I do not feel was as close as the score suggests. The main problem was the defense could not match or keep up with the Patriots offense. Remember, Anthony Henry coming back will not solve all the problems if we play them again. The Patriots are that good. I mean forget Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Donte Stallworth are dangerous receivers in fact I had pressed for the Cowboys to go after Stallworth but they opted to stay with the current set. When Welker is your slot and third receiver, I mean what defense in the league can honestly match up with that. We always wondered what Tom Brady would be like if he had receivers and now we see.

2. The Cowboys are still the class of the NFC which is not saying much because the NFC is so weak. This loss only established that the Patriots are the best team in the league. That said I still do not feel they will go 19-0. The team is on pace to clinch its division early like in November and there is no way Belchick will play any of his marquee players when he does not need to and so the Patriots will fall victim to those opponents they play down the stretch.

3. The problem I had was with the decision to go for the field goal when it was fourth down and trailing 38-24. The defense obviously could not stop the Patriots offense so we needed the TD and not the field goal. The field goal still made it a 2 possession game. It was obvious the defense could not keep up. The game needed to be won by a shootout.

4. Also the penalties keep mounting. There was the questionable pass interference penalty on Terence Newman that was really for Pat Watkins on Randy Moss. I mean Moss just ran into him, no harm. Flozell Adams was his usual self. But the penalty on Kyle Kosier for holding on a big pickup on fourth down is the stab in the back. He did not even need to do it. The play would have resulted in the first down.

5. There was no effort to throw the ball deep, probably a precautionary effort to avoid a similar performance by Tony Romo in the Buffalo game. Also the Cowboys just did not have the ball long enough to establish any rhythm. Romo made a lot of safe short underneath throws rather than force it and make a big play.

6. The Cowboys need to quit these slow starts in the first quarter. And they need to do it my starting Marion Barber in the games. He will give a quick burst of energy and the way he runs will probably help set up some first quarter scoring drives.

7. I don't want to hear about adjustments the Boys could have made because it was simply that they were over matched. The only thing like I said that we can hope for is if we see them again is to outscore them through the air because the Cowboys offense, Romo in particular, did not looked fazed by the looks the Patriots defense looked despite the short time it was out there. And of course defensively hope for the return of Anthony Henry.

8. The Vikings will be a tough opponent considering because of their rookie sensation Palestine, TX native Adrian Peterson, who is sure to have a huge fan base at the game on Sunday. My advise is put Roy Williams close to the line and pray he will actually wrap up on a tackle and dare the Vikings to beat us with their QBS Tavarius Jacson or Kelly Holcombe. If the Cowboys cannot stop these QBS, then I do have questions.

9. The Cowboys according to various reports did not seem to be depleted over this loss and I think if had it been to an opponent like Buffalo last week, the locker room would have looked like a funeral parlor. But the attitude was up because how can you be upset by losing to the best team in the league.

10. The Cowboys though need to stop the trash talking. First TO and his won't talk about the other 81, then refusing to admit the Patriots were the better team. Plus now we have Patrick Crayton guaranteeing a Super Bowl rematch with the Patriots. Just shut up!

11. Wow, Vinny Testaverde still has some play in him. If he can beat the ARizona Cardinals after only learning the playbook in a few days and his new teammates during the game and still come out with an impressive win.

12. I don't know who that corner was covering Steve Smith but they should be benched for giving up on that play so easily. Even if it was misjudged you do not give up.

13. Brett Favre breaks the all time interception record set by Geroge Blanda. You know they should have had Blanda come out and congratulate him the way Marino did. I mean in baseball Nolan Ryan is also the all-time walk leader in addition to the strikeout king so why not?

14. If Santana Moss asked to be taken out of the game for playing bad, no one should be mad at him. They should be mad at Joe Gibbs and his staff for doing it. But I find it hard to beleive an old school coach like Gibbs would pull a player asking to be taken out unless it was a serious injury. Selfish act, not selfless act. And if he did get bench, man up and say so or shut up!

15. Well, I wonder where are those Browns fans calling for Brady Quinn. And now they are approaching the bye. Now what to do with Derek Anderson? Keep playing him of course. And I am sorry Cowboys fans but that number 1 or top 5 pick looks at best a teens pick, which is still not bad.

16. The team that will win the number 1 pick will be the Miami Dolphins or the St Louis Rams. I just can't decide who is worse.

17. The Bears and Seahawks have major problems.

18. Does anyone want to go undefeated in college football. What an upset weekend. I hope it keeps up, that way the BCS will be so screwed up, we will have to have a playoff system.

19. Man if Boston College and South Florida could wind up in the BCS title game that would be the ultimate.

20. It seems George Steinbrenner has relinquished control to his sons. You really think he would give that up? Unless his health is really bad, I would say no.

21. I can only name Matt Holliday, Todd Helton, and that MAtsui character from the Rockies. Man, this gives hope for all the teams with mediocre talent (Rangers I am talking about you).

Here they are:

Dallas over New England
Arizona over Carolina
Baltimore over ST Louis
Chicago over Minnesota
Cincinnati over Kansas City
Cleveland over Miami
Green Bay over Washington
Jacksonville over Houston
Philadelphia over NY Jets
San Diego over Oakland
Seattle over New Orleans
Tennessee over Tampa Bay
NY Giants over ATlanta

1. Well an ugly game. 6 turnovers with all 6 being attributed to QB Tony Romo, it was ugly. But somehow, Romo was able to overcome that and be able to lead the Cowboys on two drives that ended in 2 scores the TD to Crayton and the field goal by Folk. Romo showed he did not let the interceptions affect his performance. He was able to overcome the adversity and seal it with the drives. But that said, he needs to be able to go back study tape and find out why these interceptions happened. A couple times looked like there was miscommunication issues with the receivers. A deflected pass was just bad luck and timing. Another looked as though he tried to force a few balls. I remember Brett Favre throwing 24 interceptions to 19 TDs in his second season and looks like he turned out pretty good. But still lets hope this is just one of the few bad games a good or gret QB has. Remember, everyone jumped on thow bad the defense supposedly was back in the season opener and now it just had its best game.

2. You know the way the media is carrying on you think that no other Hall of Fame QB never had a multi interception game. I mean Tom Brady has had a 4 interception game every year since 2002. No one seems to be harping on him. Great QBS have bad games. The bottom line is that it is based on how few bad games they have and how they are able to overcome those games mentally and put them behind. This separates the Brett Favres and Peyton Mannings from the Tim Couchs and the Jeff Georges of the world. I mena ask any Bears fan right now how they would feel if Romo was their QB.

3. The Cowboys defense was great. All three TDS by the Bills were from the special teams and the defense. Even though Bills QB Trent Edwards looks like he is going to be good, the Cowboys were able to keep him from making the big play and not allow them to take advantage too much of the mistakes. I mean what kind of offense must you have to not take advantage of 6 turnovers by your own defense? Well only when the Cowboys defense steps up that is. I mean this was a momentum killing loss I feel for the Bills.

4. Another thing that is sure is the kicker. I mean what guts does it take to overcome the freezing timeout attempt to make a kick from 5o+ yards twice? This is no Mike Vanderjagt. We have a real kicker and not only is QB a non issue, kicker is non issue for years to come.

5. The NFL competition committee has to look at this rule about coaches being able to call timeouts just before the snap. I still don't know how I feel about it but I feel every option needs to be considered.

6. All in all it was a sloppy game and the Cowboys offense were not prepared for the schemes and stunts that the Bills defense threw at Tony Romo. That said if the Bills could get to Romo easily, what will happen next week? Now we can talk about the game at last. Yes the big bad evil Patriots are coming with the evil mastermind Bill Belicheck is coming with his ability to drive opposing QBS insane plus all that video equipment he keeps stashed in the back. You think the Bills were tough? Be prepared to see another potentially sloppy game by the offense as well as the defense. I am not saying the Cowboys will lose, I always pick them to win, but it will be a close, ugly game similar to Monday Night.

7. I felt this game was a trap game along with the Rams game. I don't really fault the Cowboys for looking ahead. Hey they are human. But now the pressure falls squarely on the Patriots. No media outlet I have seen has even suggested the Cowboys would even win. Boston media columnists are already saying that the only stumbling block on the Patriots quest for an undefeated season is the November game against the Colts, noting that the Cowboys will fall victim to the Patriots. Now it is a step up game. Show the league that the Cowboys are for real.

8. Another reason this concerns me is mainly a superstitious reason in the fact that Randy Moss factor kicks in. This guy has never lost to the Cowboys, continuing on his anger-filled grudge for the Cowboys not drafting him. Even when he was with the lowly Raiders, he beat us. Think he still has anger in him?

9. You know the taunt Texans Travis Johnson gave to Dolphins QB Trent Green was in bad taste but Iwill give him the benefit of the doubt that maybe he did not know immediately that Green was out cold and he was thinking of his own career as that was a low blcok and the knees could go. but after seeign him being carted off and having three+ hours to get over it, you would think that Johnson would know better than to say what he said. I mean in hindsight, how else does Green block the guy?

10. Kurt Warner to replace MAtt Leinart. You know I like it and think Warner will help the Cardinals win. Leinart strikes me as the type that is concerned more with the Hollywood lifestyle and making the party and club scene than he does being an actual football player. Maybe with all the free time he can now have time to spend with his child instead of going to the clubs.

11. How embarassing a loss for the Broncos to lost by 30+ at home.

12. You think the Dolphins regret letting go of Daunte Culpepper?

13. Good job by Stanford and hats off to Jim Harbaugh for the upset of USC. This is an upset but because of the way the rankings are and that we have no college playoof, I have no idea how far to rank this upset. USC may just stink.

14. I told you Texas fans. Another long year and I am not on board with this theory that the national champion will have 2 losses. Never will happen.

15. I like the Red Sox in 7 and the Diamondbacks in 7.

16. The umpires should not have stopped the game with the Yankees-Indians game because of the bugs. Yankees would not have complained if they were winning.

17. You know A-Rod did not have a good series but man enough with the overanalysis of his hitting. You got Cal Ripken on TBS saying he sees A-Rod hitting a lot of pop-ups which is an indication he is trying to hard. Enough already. Jeter had a bad series as well and no one is getting on his back. The Yankees fan will be sorry when he opts out and winds up in an Angels or Cubs uniform.

18. Joe Torre did not lose this series. The only bad call was starting Wang on three days rest. If Joe Girardi, Don MAttingly, Tony La Russa or Lou Piniella was managing, this would not have changed the outcome one bit. Torre should be brought back.

19. So Jerry Buss wants to trade Kobe away. You will not get equal value and even if you did, such as a proposed Dirk Nowitzki, I mean Dirk is a great player but they will nto fill up the arena to see him because he does not have the superstar quality of a Kobe Bryant. The LAkers are about marketing with guys like Kareem, Magic, Shaq and now Kobe. Dirk is a great player but he does not have the quality the Lakers have looked for.

20. MArion Jones scandal now rocks her teammates. Now some of the mmay have to give up their medals. I understand that maybe they should not have to pay for her sins but whose to say that they would have won if not for her in the baton meter race? Or if they suspected she was doping, they said nothing. So if they take them, Iwould not have a problem with it.

21. Reggie Bush scandal looks like it will hit USC hard. Too bad he did not turn out to well as a pro.

Here are my picks for week 5:

Dallas over Buffalo
Baltimore over San Francisco
San Diego over Denver
Green Bay over Chicago
Houston over Miami
Indianapolis over Tampa Bay
Kansas City over Jacksonville
New England over Cleveland
New Orleans over Carolina
NY Giants over NY JEts
Pittsburgh over Seattle
Arizona over ST Louis
Tennessee over Atlanta
Detroit over Washington

Here it goes:

1. I thought it was a trap game. I felt the Rams were going to be tough to beat becomes a team that is 0-3 will play tougher and harder than a team that is 3-0 and for a while I thought that was the case. Until the botched snap. Then all hell broke loose. That is a play that will be remembered for a long time. I don't care what anyone says. The way they play Donovan McNabbs run against the Cowboys in 2004 they will play the longest 4 yard run by Tony Romo. What a statement. I mean with the Rams and that fresh momentum from the return for a touchdown, it seemed the Rams would go into the locker room with a fire in them. But Romo quickly put it out. After connecting on passes for two first downs afterwards, he finishes with a scramble on his own. No trap, but a complete dominance.

2. I don't think the Cowboy fans need to worry about a contract with Tony Romo. The Cowboys can franchise him for the next two years so I am not worried about him going anywhere. That said, I think the Cowboys should sign him before they can put the franchise tag on him. The franchise tag was originally designed so a team can still own the rights to a player without having to lose him in free agency, costing first round picks for any team that wanted to sign a franchise player. In return, the player would be guaranteed to have a minimum salary of the top 5 players in his position combined. Now it is used as an advantage to keep players from leaving and from paying them what they are worth in the open market, keeping them from the big contracts. Jerry Jones has yet to use the franchise tag on any player. The closest I recall was after the 1995 season with Darren Woodson, but they were able to ink out a deal. I know Jones wants to be careful with his money, especially on a QB considering the roller coaster of QBS that have come in since Troy Aikman retired. I feel a deal will be done around Thanksgiving week or shortly thereafter. They won't let this linger.

3. I told you we did not have to worry about Terry Glenn's injury. PAtrick Crayton is showing what most Cowboys already knew. He has good hands and yesterday showed he had deceptive speed. So as long as defenses keep sending a safety over the top to cover Owens and Witten, Crayton will be on single coverage and usually with the teams second corner or the nickel back covering him. This will burn defenses. My only concern is defenses will be wise to this and send their best corner to cover Crayton and have the double teams on Ownes and Witten. And if Glenn comes back this year, what then? Crayton is another Cowboy I feel needs to be resigned long term, because I don't feel he will be a number 1 receiver, I think he would make a solid Number 2 receiver.

4. 2 penalties for 10 yards. After a week when they had 10+ penalties for nearly 100 yards. Will the real Cowboys show up!

5. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were commenting on how great this offensive line was playing. Excuse me, I already said this but other than Leonard Davis, is this the same line last year that could not block anybody? What a difference the quarterback makes.

6. I did not think Greg Ellis was going to play this year. But he played and had a good game. Also read this morning how Jones worked out a contract situation with him at his home the previous day. Gee, what a difference a contract makes as far as playing status goes.

7. Well the defense essentially pitched a shutout considering the lone TD was a special team one. Where are all the naysayers about the bad D from week 1. I said the defense would not give up 35 points a game and I was right.

8. Terence Newman stepped up when CB Anthony Henry went out. Hopefully Henry's injury is not serious. The last thing this defense needed is two hobbling defensive backs.

9. The Buffalo Bills are another trap potential game. The Bills now have a QB controversy brewing as their new QB, Trent Edwards showed more poise in the game than their highly touted QB JP Losman. Remember they gave up on Drew Bledsoe for Losman. So I would not get to complacent especially with another big game coming up in two weeks. Can't look ahead now.

10. Well the Bears and Chargers are 1-3. It is still too early to write this off but it sure does not look good.

11. Heard the commentary talking about Brian Griese play as the good and bad Griese. Is that not the way they described Grossman's play? Not looking good people. There are more problems than the QB.

12. The Chargers are feeling the effects of hiring Norv Turner and firing MArty Schottenheimer. I am not saying that Turner is to blame, but everyone knew that when dictator-GM AJ Smith fired Marty that any move this year would be compared to last year if this would have happened if MAry was here and Turners previous failures at other head coaching gigs would be brought up. Fire everybody say, coaches management, front office and start over. Lets hear the Pete Carroll rumors starting

13. Brett Favre is looking like the Brett Favre of old. He broke MArion's all tiem TD record. They even played a message from MArino a la style the way they played a message from Hank Aaron when Barry Bonds broke the record. The record but I don't know if it isthat sacred. I know most people knew what the home run record was but most did not know what the TD record was. They knew who held it but not the number. Besides, in a few years, Peyton MAnning will hold the record. Packers and Cowboys are in for a collision course come November 29th. Just like old times.

14. Man ifelt sorry for Eagles tackle Winston Justice. I mean did they not try to help him like send the tight end, start screen passes as well as draw plays. I would have taken him out just to save face. For all we know he will be a good tackle in the league but what a beating. Think McNAbb will be hearing it this week?

15. Notre Dame is 0-5. Where is the outrage. Why no calls for Weis's job?

16. I told you Texas would not be competing in a BCS bowl this year and that game proved it. The game play for QB Colt McCoy is just to rattle him by gettin in his face. He cannot handle it and it clearly shows. I still think he gots talent but man, he is fragile, kind of remind me of Chad Pennington and Donovan McNabb comnined as far as mentality and injury prone.

17. 5 top 10 teams lost, Texas, Oklahoma, West Viringia, Rutgers, and Florida. And USC barely gets by Washington which effects them long enough for them to get bumped down in the polls to numebr 2 behind LSU.

18. Forget the Darren McFaddon bid Cowboys fans. The Browns are going to be at least a good team this year.

19. The MEts collapse is just brutal. I mean on Sept 14th, they were up 7 1/2 games and now they lose the division, they don't even make the playoffs. Brutal. Makes me feel better about the Rangers seaon.

20. Obviously I feel the Rangers need to address a lot of things this offseaon so here they are.

21. Reduce ticket prices. You need to make the confines of the Ballpark more fan friendly. So not only reduce ticket prices but reduce prices of the concessions. They already started this with the all you can eat tickets seats but I feel it needs to me more broader. I don't drink beer but reduce the beer price. Believe me it will work. Have 2 bathroom attendants at every restroom, have double ultra toilet tissue, have ushers escort fans to their seats if they do not know where the seats are at. Bottom line is more fan friendly.

22. Next is market the Rangers. Have guys like Ian Kinsler, Micahel Young, CJ Wilson, Jarrod Saltalamccia out in the public in the MEtroplex, have them go to the Cowboys games, MAvs and Stars games, free public appearances at malls, spoting goods stars. Make these guys as recognizable as Tony Romo, Dirk Nowitzki are.

23. Ownership and management be at every game. We always saw Geroge Bush in his seat down near his usual seats. MAybe if owner Tom Hicks wants the fans to warm up to him he needs to spend at least a part of his day down there, and not just when he has a VIP guest like Bill Parcells or Bobby Knight. Jon Daniels I feel needs to mingle as well. Trust me, the fans will like this.

24. There a lot of free agents and I know the rangers will pursue some of the big name free agent center fielders, Audrew Jones, Mike Cameron, Torri Hunter and Aaron Rowan. I would prefer Rowan because he will be cheaper and he is the youngest but from what it looks, it will be Torri Hunter. It would be fine but he will command a big multi year deal and will be 38 when that deal expires, assunign he commands 5-6 year deal. He is also a resident of the Metroplex which makes it more appealing.

25. There are no big name free agents out there as far as pitchers are concerned so there is little that can be done. Don't rush the minor leaguers like Eric Hurley so keep the staff as Kevin Millwood, Vicente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy, JAson Gabbard, and Edinson Volquez.

26. HAve Joaqin Benoit and CJ Wilson compete for the closers job in spring training. And make a decision on Akinori Otsuka soon.

27. Sign Rudy Jaramillo, now. It is stupid to let this guy go. Why would they not give him a good deal?

28. Don't resign Sammy Sosa, and don't sign Barry Bonds. Bonds could probably hit a lot of home uns in gthis ball park but PR wise it is not good if you are trying to rebuild a teams image. We need to take our licks with the young players like JAson Botts.

29. Decide what to to with Gerald LAird and JArod Salty. To be more clearer, decide what to do with first base and catcher. I would keep it this year. HAve them both come back and have the rotating catching position with Salty getting time at first base. Sign a player like Brad Wilkerson or experimetn with Frank Catalatto at first or sign or trade for a low risk first baseman like Richie Sexon to rotate with Salty at first.

Here are my picks:

Dallas over ST Louis
Tampa Bay ove Carolina
Indianapolis over Denver
Oakland over Miami
San Diego over Kansas City
Baltimore over Cleveland
Chicago over Detroit
Green Bay over Minnesota
Houston over Atlanta
NY Jets over Buffalo
Philadelphia over NY Giants
Pittsburgh over Arizona
Seattle over San Francisco
New England over Cincinnati

A lot to get to this week so here it is:

1. Wow is all I can say. The Bears were a game I marked as a loss early in the year in trying to predict how the Cowboys will do. What a statement game. The Cowboys responded by being aggressive on offense and taking advantage of the mistakes of Rex Grossman, which is what I said would they would have to do but I was wrong about it being a nailbiter.

2. Keep in mind the 1999 Cowboys went 3-0 and then finished the season 8-8 and a first round loss to the Vikings. That season also marked the firing of Chan Gailey and the retirement of Michael Irvin. In fact Irvin got hurt in the game following the 3-0 start. Why am I being a pessimisst you say? I am not. I am just saying try to keep it real. The real test will be in December. The Cowboys usually start strong and then in December, the fade begins. Can they keep this up for a season? I hope so.

3. One thing I am sure of is Tony Romo is the man. He will be the guy, Super Bowl or not that will probably leading this team to the ups and downs for the next ten years. He made great decisions, showed great poise and was able to move out of the pocket and get open receivers. Plus TO loves the guy. How many QBs have maintained a good rapport with Owens in his career. How many stil talk to him? This is an area that is sold on. We are set. No more talk of that botched snap.

4. Running game really sagged if you wipe out that long run at the end of the game, we really did not do well. Marion Barber is still the best back. I keeep hearing that the Cowboys will not break away from their current system of splitting the carries. I also hear Julius Jones will not be back next year. So what happens next year? Is Barber the feauture back or are we going to go get another back to complement him? And don't say Darren McFadden, refering to the Browns number 1 pick. It is still too early to be monitoring that. All I know is that Barber needs to get more carries.

5. Terance Newman looked good being a nickel back but from the looks of things he was in pain afterwards. Not a good sign.

6. Hey, Flozell Adams was his usual reliable self, a hold, a sack allowed and a false start.

7. 10 penalities called for nearly a 100 yards. I mean I know some of the penalties were questionable but man, we will not win the Super Bowl playing this way. It needs to stop.

8. Back to the questionable penalties. Let them play ref! I mean that block in the back call on Jason Witten or the stupid pass interference call on TO. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Plus ignoring the rule on stopping the clock on change of possession at the end of the half. I hope this ref crew will be fined.

9. Tommie Harris and Lance Briggs injuries sure helped a lot. I don't know if the Cowboys would have won if those guys had not gone out.

10. There is still a lot of people saying that the defense has still not proven it can shut down a good team. They take into account that the teams the Boys beat were mediocre offenses. Granted that is true. But a good defense is supposed to make a bad or mediocre offense look bad. Remember, Rex Grossman has looked good before. So pretty much, the Cowboys were the team that finally sacked Grossman to the bench. Force him to make mistakes and make a mediocre back like Cedric Benson look mediocre. I don't think the defense is great yet but it is not bad. I would say it is a good defense.

11. It sure looks good that Stephen Jackson and JP Losman will be out for the next two games the Cowboys play. On paper it looks good but lets not look ahead to that game on October 14th.

12. You know you would think Roy Williams would learn how to wrap up on a tackle instead of looking for the big hit all the time.

13. Well Matt McBriar seemed to win the battle as Devin Hester did not make any big plays on returns and was no more than a decoy on offense. Hester also muffed a few bad kicks. Maybe all that kicking away from him made him forget how to catch the ball.

14. I don't know what is the big deal on Brian Griese, he has not been that good in the NFL, not being able to take the pressure of replacing John Elway in Denver, so I don't know why people love this guy only for the reason that he is not Rex Grossman.

15. I don't think Donovan McNabb will get criticized as much this week as in previous weeks.

16. Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt can say it all he wants but when you lift your starter who is not playing well for your backup, you have a QB contoversy.

17. The Patriots really look great. Scary great.

18. What is Michael Vick thinking? Now I wonder if that apology was sincere. You smoke pot right when you are awaiting sentencing for the dogfighting charges?

19. I got tired last year of the Dallas media saying we let go of the wrong coach when Sean Payton went on to lead the Saints to the NFC championship. Now his team is o-3 and looks really bad. I know it is still early but so much for his genius.

20. The baseball races are really hitting up in the national league. We know who is playing in the AL but man what a trip in the NL. We could have as many as 3 one game playoffs on Monday.

21. What Greg Ryan did to Hope Solo was bad. You don't bench your hot goalie based on what your older goalie did against a previous team from a long time ago. That said what Solo said was stupid. You don't go after your teammate. Go after your coach but don't attack your teammate. And your apology on your myspacew account, stupid.

22. I don't know why people are in an uproar over James spader winning the Emmy. If you ever seen Boston Legal, he is good.

23. Who did not buy Halo 3?

That is it see ya.

Here are my picks, a lot of tough ones to pick:

Dallas over Chicago
Baltimore over Arizona
Carolina over Atlanta
Denver over Jacksonville
Indianapolis over Houston
Kansas City over Minnesota
New England over Buffalo
NY Jets over Miami
Oakland over Cleveland
Philadelphia over Detroit
Pittsburgh over San Francisco
San Diego over Green Bay
Seattle over Cincinnati
Tampa Bay over St Louis
Washington over NY Giants
New Orleans over Tennessee

Here it goes:

1. Well so much for the bad defense huh? I told you it was only 1 game. Of course, the Dolphins offense is so bad that it is hard to judge how good the defense really was. But a solid effort is a solid effort, 5 turnovers including 4 interceptions. And without Terence Newman and Jason Ferguson. Again it is only 2 games and the Dolphins are not exactly an elite offense. But a good defense is supposed to tear up a bad or mediocre offense.

2. Newman's injury is either really worse than what people are letting on or he really does not want to risk hurting it anymore. Don't be surprise if he undergoes offseason surgery to help the process. This will be a season long issue.

3. You can just tell by watching, unless you are a complete idiot that Marion Barber is a better running back than Julius Jones. I mean when the short yardage came up, I wanted Barber in there. I feel the Cowboys should increase his carries this season but still should go with the 1-2 punch they have with the two players, just put Barber in the upper part of the duo. Jones is as good as gone this offseason and I am sure Barber, a Drew Rosenhaus client and restricted free agent will be seeing a huge contract from the Cowboys.

4. Tony Romo showed he could manage a game correctly. I mean how can you explain it any other way. Most people compare him to his idol Brett Favre and in many ways he is like Favre. He has that gunslinger mentality and cockiness that we as Cowboys fans grew to respect and admire. But Favre was no game clock manager. I mean did you ever hear the sentence with game management and Brett Favre in the same sentence? No. So imagine if Favre was able to do that. That is what we have in Romo. That is both scary and great if you are an imposing QB. I mean he eluded the pass rush of Jason Taylor for crying out loud.

5. Jason Garrett continues to call a great game. He has shown boldness, the pass play on fourth down that led to the TO touchdown, and has done a good job of opening up receivers despite the defense making adjustments.

6. It puzzles me how a guy like Flozell Adams can be in the league 10 years, dominate Jason Taylor throughout most of the game, still have problems with the false starts. Well, I guess underachieving talent is better than no talent.

7. The big test will be the Chicago Bears. This game will be low scoring and will be a fight to the end. The best way for the Cowboys to win is to rattle Rex Grossman. Lets face it. He is no good, so I would make him uncomfortable in the pocket, force him to rush throws because when Grossman is bad, he is really bad. I do not respect Cedric Benson as a complete running back in the league so I feel the running game is not much of a factor. This will also be Jason Garrett and Tony Romo's first real test against a formidable defense. Brian Urlacher is a linebacker I feel can cover Jason Witten one on one so Garrettt needs to move Witten and the receiving corps all over the field and try to get a matchup against some of their banged up secondary. Also the matchup of the best punter in the league Matt McBriar and the best return man in the league Devin Hester. I would not challenge Hester too much and kick away from him most of the day.

8. Rumor is that the Cowboys have brought in Tank Johnson for a physical. My answer to this is don't do it. If Johnson so much as screws up again, it could be costly for the Cowboys. NFL commish Roger Goodell has shown he means business if a team tries to sign or draft a player with a history of legal problems. The team could face fines and draft pick losses. Johnson is a multiple repeat offender for gun possession charges (twice) and a suspicion of DUI. I mean the guy has not learned his lesson and we do not need a person like that on the team. I am not saying people do not deserve second chances, but his would be his fourth chance and Jay Ratliff, although not great has been pretty decent at watching the spot.

9. TO needs to stop the celebrating. I know he was probably mocking the Patriots camera controversy but that cost us 15 yards on the kickoff and the Dolphins were able to march down and score right after that.

10. Other than Leonard Davis, is this the same offensive line that protected Drew Bledsoe last year? The one that could not do squat. What a difference it makes to have a QB that will move out of the pocket and make adjustments.

11. I do not know why the other teams in the NFL do not use what the Cowboys are using to make sure the players stay cool on the sideline. I am talking about that pumping cool air into their bodies. Other than Jason Witten being late from the locker room at halftime for needing an IV, you really did not see a lot of fatigue, cramping, or dehydration from the Cowboys but you sure saw it in the faces of the Dolphins. Would Jason Taylor had gotten to Romo on that pass rush if he had been cooler?

12. All right here is my take on the Bill Belichick situation. He cheated. He got caught and he should be suspended. I felt he should have gotten suspended for at least a game but I am okay with the current punishment. After hearing Roger Goodell's comments on the situation and on how Cowboys QB coach Wade Wilson was suspended because he was involved in criminal activity and how what Belichick did was against rules and unethical, it was not crimianl. So after hearing that I can see why Wilson was giving a harsher punishment. I also see the merits of if any other coach was to get caught the rest of the season, Goodell would have been force to suspend that coach as well because he had already set a precedent. So by keeping it at a fine and draft pick loss, he can do that with any other coach if they are caught. I just hope that was the reason and not because Patriots owner Bob Kraft is in such good standing. In that case, Jerry Jones must not be in good standing.

13. Does the cheating scandal take away from the Patriots string of success. I feel it does no more than what Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, or any other cheater in the game has done. We don't know. We just don't know. Anything in this era that happens will be called into question. As I sat and watched the Chargers-Patriots game and saw the bushwhacking of the Chargers, what NFL fan other than the Patrios did not think, "Gee I wonder how they were get by so easily on that play?" I mean everything is suspect. The Rick Ankiel story probably did it for me. I mean that was a feel good story of epic proportions and look, now it just goes down with a big asterisk on it. Belichick will still have his bust in Canton evenutallu but this will taint the legacy somewhat and it will stick with him whenever he is mentioned.

14. But I do wonder if some of the really bad teams such as the Raiders from last year or the Bengals and Rams teams of the nineties or the Matt Millen led Lions had done the spying techniques, would they have won more games? Maybe I do think you have to have the right players at the right positions to execution. It all comes down to execution. Now we know how Belichick did it with average players.

15. The Texans look good. Very good. The Falcons still are kicking themselves for letting Matt Schaub go and Schaub has only gotten sacked twice in two games. Wonder what David Carr was thinking as he stood across the opposing sideline on Sunday.

16. The Broncos calling timeout just as the Raiders kicked the winning field goal was a legal play. A legal sneaky dirty play but a legal play nevertheless.

17. Who is Derek Anderson? I mean that was an Arena league game by scoring standards and this should put the Brady Quinn rumors to rest for a little while.

18. Wow Chad Johnson you really went into the Dog Pound.

19. Gee I wonder what the mood of Eagles fans is like.

20. There is probably some merit to what Donovan McNabb said the other day on HBO's Real Sports about a black QB being judged differently. But McNabb, you play in Philadelphia! They booed Kobe, Mike Schmidt and threw snowballs at Santa. What do you expect? They are going to rip you apart. I don't think white QBs are getting off easy in some of their respected cities such as Eli Manning and Rex Grossman. Remember Peton Manning was ripped for not winning the big one for a long time.

21. I can't believe I am saying in this but the Yanks-Red Sox series has finally jumped the shark. Why do I say this? Because of the increased amount of overexposure the networks such as Fox and ESPN have giving this series. I just can't get excited like I used to.

22. You know I am sick of any OJ Simpson news. I just do not want to comment on this story about the alleged armed robbery. The man has been unstable since he was acquitted of double murder in 1995 and I just tired of any news he makes and tired of the Goldman family commenting on this story as well. I am just sick of it.

23. I can't believe the stuff that is coming out of this Isaiah Thomas trial. I mean what does Stephon Marbury having sex with an intern have to do with the lawsuit? I mean this is not good for the Knicks no matter how you put it. They should have just settled out of court.

24. Oh gosh, Greg Oden out for the year? I felt the Blazers drafted well at the time and would have taken Oden in a heartbeat but man what bad luck. The curse of Sam Bowie lives. Thank GOd that Oden is only 19 and can probably return to full health when he is 21. Then they would have him but he might be damaged goods. He does not even know how he got injured.

25. I guess the Dallas columnist who were calling Sean Payton a genius and saying we let the wrong coach leave are now wondering what happened. The Saints have looked terrible in their two games and the Saints have not used Deuce McCalister enough.

26. I watched the ending to Alabama-Arkansas and the ending of Louisville-Kentucky. What a way to spend a Saturday night!

27. Notre Dame three games in without a touchdown. Where are the cries for Charlie Weis's head? I mean Ty Willingham never did this bad and there were calls to replace him right away. I still feel the move to fire Willingham was racially motivated. Weis has not done any better than Willingham.

28. Texas is still overrated. I mean struggle against Central Florida? Who are they? Oklahoma will win the Big 12 this year, not Texas.

29. LSU, Oklahoma, and USC are my favorites for the college championship at this point.

I think that is it, see ya!

I went 10-5 last week. Forgot to pick Washington-Miami. So here goes:

Pittsburgh over Buffalo
Jacksonville over Atlanta
Indianapolis over Tennessee
Green Bay over NY Giants
Carolina over Houston
San Francisco over St louis
Cincinnati over Cleveland
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
Dallas over Miami
Detroit over Minnesota
Seattle over Arizona
Chicago over Kansas City
Baltimore over NY Jets
Denver over OAkland
New England over San Diego
Philadelphia over Washington

A lot to get to this week so here it goes.

1. I remember back in 1997, the Cowboys opened the season by tearing up the Pittsburgh STeelers 37-7 I believe. This was Barry Switzer's last year as coach and Steelers QB Kordell Stewart first ever start after the "Slash" experiment. The Bucs later that day beat the SF 49ers 10-6 and Steve Young was knocked out of the game with a concussion and Jerry Rice was knocked out with a knee injury. So what as a fan was I to think? Stewart would not pan out as a starter in this league and the 49ers would finally dwindle to the cellar of the NFC West division, and plus the Cowboys would have another Super Bowl run. Well, Stewart turned out to be a decent starter that year and led the Steelers to the AFC title game and the 49ers overcame Rice's injury and Young did not miss a game the rest of the year and mad the Pro Bowl. The Cowboys? They wound up struggling on both sides of the ball that year, Emmitt Smith scored a season low 4 touchdowns and the Cowboys finished 6-10. This would lead to Switzers' firing. So what point am I making? It is only 1 game folks. You can't put a lot of merit into it. After a month into the season, I think you can start separating the playoff contenders and the pretenders. A lot of media are picking at the collapse of the defense and the performance of Tony Romo and making their season predictions. Back off people and just save it for when it really counts.

2. So let me give you my analysis of the game. The offense was spectacular and I see a lot of flashes of Romo as a born leader. Early in the game there seemed to be miscommunication between him and TO on some passing plays intended for him and he made was the interception but he was able to comeback from that and finish the game off. It seems like the Cowboys can I feel he put the botched snap behind him and he is ready to lead this team. The only thing is that off. coordinator Jason Garrett must be going through his playbook and mix up the schemes and plays a lot because that is what I felt ultimately crippled the Cowboys last year. They became too predictable. Garrett showed he could call a game and without QB coach Wade Wilson, he seemed to do fine. Let us see though if he is able to make adjustments as the games go on.

3. Terry Glenn's injury does not concern me as much. I remember the 1995 season where Kevin Williams lined up opposite Michael Irvin and Irvin caught a Cowboy record number of catches. But I saw how the Cowboys were making adjustments to get TO open and whenever they sent that safety to double him, TE Jason Witten was on single coverage and able to move the ball downfield as a result. So when the Giants adjusted, TO wound up on single coverage in the second half and burned the Giants. I am not saying we would not be better off without Glenn, we need him to make matchups difficult. What I am saying is, it is not a cause for concern. Besides, Patrick Crayton has worked mostly with the first team since Glenn went out with an injury and has a better chemistry, at least at the moment with Tony Romo.

4. Was the Cowboys offense that good or the Giants defense that bad? I can't say. Michael Strahan, unlike others who missed training camp, looked rusty. Plus it seemed like all the Giant players kept getting hurt to the poitn I think the Cowboys injuries look not nearly as bad.

5. The Cowboys injury that concerns me is Jason Ferguson and of course Terence Newman. There are just not a lot of backup NTs out there to get picked up. Jay Ratliff filled in okay and will probably be there most of this year but he is not a nose tackle and will eventually show as the season goes on. I felt that Newman should not have played and glad he did not. He will be bothered by that heel injury all season until he has surgery or rests it in the offseaon. But it was not worth him coming back so soon and risking damaging it further by playing him too early. I have already said that I never believed Greg Ellis was going to play this year so I have moved on as far as Greg Ellis is concerned.

6. Well what about that defense? Again just like the offense, it was just one game. I mean most people do not believe that the Cowboys will score 45 per game, so I don't expect the Boys to give up 35 a game over the season as well. They will have to make adjustments and figure out a way to disrupt a QB. The Giants pretty much kept picking up the blitz and no one could really get to Eli Manning. Plus even though I don't feel he did as bad as people say, Jacques Reeves will be picked on especially when he is lined up with Roy Williams as a double team coverage. There is no way. That is why Newman needs to come back, because a hurt Newman will still be better than a healthy Jacques Reeves. I think Reeves will be a fine nickel back but he is not cut to be a starter. And of course wit is no secret Williams cannot do squat on pass coverage.

7. Just a fact that will probably only interest me. Wade Phillips wherever he was a coach, had great or good offenses but the defense always seemed to struggle. I think that Phillips did not have the players that he has on this Cowboys defense and with time, the defense will develop and play better. Just give it time. It was the first game.

8. At least the Cowboys can rest easy on the kicker situation. Nick Folk did a decent job.

9. No TO drama. I about expected an outburst because he did not have a catch in the first half but he seemed like a boy scout at the press conference. And also something John Madden said about you need to get TO involved early in the game or else he is not as good a player. I am sorry but if this is the case, then TO needs to grow up and just respect the fact that they are trying to give him the ball.

10. Well the rest of the NFL was pretty interesting. I think the Browns should just take their lumps with Brady Quinn. I know they are scared becasue of what happened to Tim Couch but you are not going to win with your current starters, so play him. He is going to struggle but Aikman and MAnning both did it and it had no ill effects.

11. Shame on you Jets fans. Fans never ever cheer when a player is injured. It is despicable and disheartening. Chad Pennington has done nothing but rehab and work hard to make sure he plays in most of the games and I don't care if Kellen Clemens is the next great wonder, you don't cheer an injury.

12. You know with all the advances in science, technology and medicine, you would think that someone would come up with a helmet or protection to prevent the injuries suffered by Bills player Kevin Everett. By the looks of things, this is a very ugly injury. He may never walk again and it just saddens me. This Jets fans is why you do not cheer an injury.

13. Randy Moss looked like the old Randy Moss and considereing he missed most of preseaon, this was pretty good and right now I see the Patriots, if they keep this up as a Super Bowl contender.

14. Did anyone want to score in the Packers-Eagles game? Sure did not look like it.

15. Gee you think the Falcons regret trading Matt Schaub?

16. Kudos to Mario Williams. I gave him a hard time last year and the Texans but he had a brilliant game.

17. The Chargers offense looked bad for most of the game and the Bears stunk it up as well. If this is a preview to the Super Bowl, than YAWN.........

18. This HGH scandal has hit hard in baseball. Rick Ankiel, the disgraced Cardinals pitcher who was making a nice comeback with the Cardinals is now been linked to getting a 12 month supply of HGH. Just when I thought this was a great story for MLB, this goes and shatters it. This proves that the whole era the last 20 years or so is tainted. Now John Gibbons and Troy Glaus have been implicated. MAybe it was an even playing field when Bonds broke the record.

19. A-Rod is the MVP from where I am standing.

20. The Rangers are only 6 back of .500 and now have a chance to pass the A's for third place. I remember when the team was 20 games below .500. A strong finish would send some optimism for next season.

21. Roger Federer won another Grand Slam. I think the comparisons to Tiger Woods are not to be taken lightly. Woods has more competition in the golfing world and has to play everyone at a tournament. Federer has to play the next matchup, an individual and the competition is not as steep. Other than Rafael Nadal, there is no competition. Woods is more dominant.

22. The fact that the Raiders cannot sign the #1 pick in the draft after the seaon opener is a joke. They should have had him signed on day 1 of the draft.

23. I think JAck Del Rio made the right decision to put in David Gerrard in as QB.

24. Wow. Notre Dame and Michigan are going to meet and both are 0-2.

25. You know, now I do not know whether to call App. States victory an upset. I am jumping on the PEter King bandwagon here and say why do a bumch of sportswriters gather and just decide to rank a team like Michigan number 5? The bottom line is that Michigan stinks and the better did win both games.

26. Texas will not win the big 12 or the national championship this year. They just do not look dominant.

Time is up, gotta go.

The first week is always the hardest to pcik but I am going to try:

Indianapolis over New Orleans
Houston over Kansas City
Buffalo over Denver
St Louis over Carolina
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Atlanta over Minnesota
Jacksonvilloe over Tennessee
New England over NY Jets
Philadephia over Green Bay
Detroit over OAkland
San Diego over Chicago
Seattle over Tampa Bay
Dallas over NY Giants
Cincinnati over Baltimore
San Francisco over Arizona

Well I said no more two month hiatuses but I failed you. Sorry about that. With football season starting and the baseball season wrapping up, I should be able to do this on a weekly basis. SO here it goes:

1. Well the Cowboys preseason wrapped up to a 2-2 finish. Well listen, I am not one to put much merit into preseason. The Colts went 1-3 last preseason and the Raiders went 3-1. And the Cowboys team I think was the greatest ever, the 1992 team, went 1-4. So you cannot put much into the wins and losses. The preseason's main purpose is to look and evaluate players and and make sure the coaching staff is communicating with each other and the players on the level they want. Plus it gets the players getting into the football sync. Players though do not go all out and for this you cannot really judge how the team will be in the season because the mindset is to different. The only thing it does is it gives the Cowboys a good sense of feeling good about themselves in terms of the wins and not to get completely complacent with the losses.

2. It puzzles me that the Dallas media answer fans emails about not to jump on the Super Bowl bandwagon after the 2 preseason wins and say it is only exhibition football and you can't put much merit into it. As I stated in my previous point I agree, but when the Cowboys lost the game against the Texans, guys like Jacques Taylor and Randy Galloway say don't count on the Super Bowl if they play this way. Well does this mean the losses have more merit than the wins? Yeah right. IF the sins have no merit the losses should to. Be consistent media.

3. Another thing that puzzled me during the training camp was the Camp Cupcake story. I mean you look around the league and some camps are run even more softer than what the Cowboys have run. The fact that the Cowboys are the Cowboys mean that whatever happens will be magnified three times over. A softer camp could also mean the team will not wear down in the final month of the regular season like last year.

4. Amazing how nothing has been made of TO this year. Probably because Phillips , Tony Romo, receivers coach Ray Sherman have a good relationship. I am not saying TO will not have a distraction. There will be one, I don't what it will be but it will happen, just watch. But when we look back on this distraction, it will be nothing. I don't hear anymore overdosing pill jokes anymore.

5. Terance Newmans' injury scares me. I would rather him miss the first game in order for him to be close to 100% for the season then to play in the opener and for him aggravate the injury and be hampered with it all season long. All I know is that if I am the Giants, I would go for Newman and test the injury out.

6. Puzzles me that with Newman's injury and the lack of quality depth at corner that the Cowboys would cut Aaron Glenn. We not only loss a good third corner but the locker room leadership the team will need.

7. I was never worried with Greg Ellis' injury because I felt he was not really going to be a factor this season. I fact, I am surprised he lasted this long. Anthony Spencer I think will be fine this year but he is a rookie and will make rookie mistakes and we better remember that.

8. I was one of those that worried about Tony Romo's brush with celebrity would cause not for him to be distracted and lose sight or priorities but that it would get to his head and become arrogant and have a bad year. Obviously this does not look like the case and he seems to be handling it fine. Great. I feel too much is being made by the missed snap last year and he will be fine. He now has a whole training camp with a new offense and head coach with him as the starting QB in mind. He will probably not be the second coming of Staubach or Aikman but he will be a good QB for many years to come and I feel he will lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl or two.

9. I am excited about this new 3-4 defense and am glad that the scheme will not be a predictable as last year where Demarcus Ware was the only one rushing the passer.

10. Overall I feel the Cowboys will finish 11-5 and win the NFC East this year.

11. You know with Wade Wilson being suspended for 5 games for using HGH, don't be surprised if we find some other instances of HGH being used this year. I am just surprised they suspended a coach for this. I did not even know they tested these guys.

12. Also enough with how the Browns will do this year. Yeah we have their number 1 pick and it fill probably be a high pick also. But lets not jump the gun and think the Cowboys are going to draft Arkansas RB Darren McFadden. Remember a few years ago the Buffalo Bills pick was supposed to be a top 5 pick? Well it was closer to number 20. So even though I am picking the Browns to go 6-10 this year because the division is just too strong with Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Baltimore in it, I am not going to be making weekly visits to see how the Browns have tanked. Ask me in December and then I will look.

13. This is late I know but Michael Irvin's speech at the Hall of Fame was great. OF course I loved and hated Irvin when he was in the boys, because of his great play and work ethic on the field and because of the off-field trouble and arrogance and still have not forgiven him for asking for a trade before the 1997 season. But I have never seen someone seem so apologetic for receiving an award. I mean, you should not have to apologize for receiving a high honor but he chose to live that lifestyle and I am glad that he apologized for this and maybe now I and he can move on.

14. I have already jumped on the bandwagon from Peter King on SI.com, on the prices of preseason game. Why must the NFL charge full price for these games when the players you want to see don't play and and the ones you do want to see play only do so for a series or a quarter? Or some teams force you to buy preseason tickets before you can buy regular season tickets. It is a rip off.

15. I have been looking at Norm Hitzges book Greatest Team Ever. It has a lot of interesting stories behind the scenes about the Cowboys teams of the 90's. The main point about the team is that we were surrounded by greatness. I know at the time I knew the team was on its way to establish themselved as the team of the ninties and was a great team and it kind of took its own turn at that after they won the third Super Bowl of that decade. But now after looking at the book and thinking back, it was one of the greatest teams ever and we were all a witness to it. For good and bad, that circus was perhaps the greatest ever. Brings back many good memories.

15. Here is my take on the Michael Vick situation. What he did was disturbing and disgusting and he should be punished for it. I would recommend a 2 year ban from the NFL. What I do have a problem with is the outrage over this. Why is there outrage over Vick and what he has done but none over the DUIs, domestic abusers, drug useres and criminals that already infest the NFL. Leonard Little killed someone and still plays in the NFL. I just don't get why there should be more outrage for Vick when there should be outrage for every criminal act these thugs that infect our favorite pastime are allowed to comeback without any problems. I want every DUI, spousal abuser, steroid abuser, drug user, dog fighter, strip club attender and gambling addict out of the league. I love Roger Goodell and he seems to be my kind of guy dishing out the harsh punishments. I hope this league will crack down on all the thugs and criminals in our league, even my favorite team the Cowboys because after mentioning the headache Micahel Irvin and others put me through in the nineties. Way to go commish. When you got gangrene in the system, cut it out.

16. If Vick serves his prison time, community service ( which should include working at animal shelters, particular for abused and neglected animals) and he is contrite and truly sorry about what he has done (unlike Pac-Man Jones), he should be allowed back in the league in 2009 at the earliest. But what a waste, When I first got a look at Vick in the BCS championship in 2000 against Florida State, I thought taht we were looking at at future all -world in the NFL. MAn what a waste. All for a sick kick in dogfighting.

17. HEre are my predicitions for the NFL this year:

AFC EAST
New ENgland 13-3
NY Jets 11-5
Buffalo 9-7
Miami 6-10

AFC North
Baltimore 12-4
Cincinatti 10-6
Pittsburgh 7-9
Cleveland 6-10

AFC South
Indianapolis 12-4
JAcksonville 9-7
Tennessee 7-9
Houston 6-10

AFC West
San Diego 11-5
Denver 8-8
Kansas City 8-8
OAkland 4-12

NFC East
Dallas 11-5
Philadelphia 11-5
NY Giants 7-9
Washington 5-11

NFC North
Chicago 12-4
Green Bay 10-6
Detroit 9-7
Minnestoa 6-10

NFC South
New Orleans 11-5
Carolina 9-7
Tampa Bay 5-11
Atlanta 5-11

NFC West
Seattle 10-6
San Francsico 10-6
ST Louis 9-7
Arizona 6-10

18. I agree with ESPN's PEter Gammons that whoever sent that MLB official to check out Red Sox Terry Francona's uniform during the Red Sox-Yankees game should be fired. Please what is it with leagues like MLB and NFL getting all nit-picky on the uniforms. If they enforeced important rules like the uniform policy, maybe we would see a better league. Why are the coaches even wearing uniforms?

19. The only regret I have on the Michael Vick situation is that the situation did not happen to a baseball player. Can you imagine PETA picketing outside of Donald Fehr's office becaue you know he would have defended Vick to the end. The PR that baseball would get would be bad.

20. Mark Teixeira is an Atlanta Brave. Well he seems to be happy even though as I write this his Braves are losing to the Mets. and are only 2 game abouve .500 and are about 6.5 games back of the division and the wild card. So it seems he will be spending tehe offseason the same way his former Rangers teammates will be. And the Braves can sing that Maark Teixeira song all they want. It won't win you a World Series and plus Mark will bolt after next season going to the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels or Orioles, who will pay him over $20 million a year for his services.

21. ERic Gagne sure has lived up to the hype huh?

22. Rangers have been more exciting since they switched to his new group of young stars.

23. Why was Chamberlain headhunting in that Yankees-Red Sox game> I still cannot figure it out.

24. Michigan Fan is upset and you can be sure Lloyd Carr will be gone after this season. I don't think he will be fired but he will resign.

25. Let us not take away from what Appalachian State did. They are on a hot win streak and have won the championship in a division of NCAA football that actually has a playoff!

26. But still you have to not just win but to destroy the teams that you play in the beginning. I am talking about you Texas Longhorns. You kkep Arkansas State in the whole game? TCU will not be any easier and I fear an upset coming.

27. Notre Dame Coach Charlie Weis can put his arrogance on the shelf for now. Being so cocky about shielding your starting QB from the media and then getting run over by Georgia Tech in your own home? It will be a long year for the Irish.

28. Fantasy Football moment: My starting QB Jon Kitna RB LArry Johnson, Rudi Johnson, WR Tory Holt, TJ Houshmandzadah, TE Dallas Clark, K Robbie Gould, Defense Eagles. I think it will be a good fantasy year.

29. The David Beckman experiment is a failure. I don't care about soccer and no one in this country will ever care about it.

Time is up and I will try to be back next week!