THE MANSION

Here is the vault:

1. You knew it was going to end this way. I have seen to many games that were labeled "important" get ended this way. There was Lito Sheppards' interception returned for a touchdown, Mike Vanderjagt's blocked kick so I felt something was going to happen moments before that field goal was kicked. Unbelievable.

2. Let's get into what went wrong with the Cowboys. How does a secondary with guys like ex-Cowboy Pete Hunter and other guys who were working other jobs just weeks before this game hold Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn to 5 catches? Tapes have shown that Ownes could not shake off Hunter. There have also been reports that Owens does not know all the Cowboys plays. That could explain why he is not where the ball is thrown sometimes. The guy can barely block plus he has way too much baggage. It is time to let him go. If you cannot break off a guy who was not in the league a month ago, then you have no excuse.

3. Romo is taking a lot of heat for blowing the game. Did he blow it? Yeah he did. But there are so many other factors to blame for this besides the botched handling of the snap. Romo needs to put this past him. He cannot let this linger because you have seen what it has done to other people. I don't feel that Mike Vanderjagt never got over his missed kick against the Steelers last year and you saw the effects that had on him. I don't think Romo is as much of a diva as Vanderjagt but he does act cocky at times and I wonder if it came to a boiling point on Saturday Night. It is easy for all this instant fame to be taken away from you easy Tony, so you better start choosing the wise plays and not always be looking for the big play. Next year, the Cowboys need to get McBriar or have Romo's backup do the handling because that is really their job to do. Rarely does the starter hold the snap. Anyway, Romo needs to let this go.

4. Something also needs to be done about the balls that are being used. Why is it they use a fresh brand new ball to kick a field goal? I have heard quarterbacks complain about this before and now they have the opportunity to work with the balls they are going to use in the wek ahead. So why not the deep snapper, holder and kicker work with them as well? And don't use a fresh ball.

5. Besides the above it was a typical Cowboys game. Offensive line was being penalized for false starts. Roy Williams was getting beat deep. And TO was dropping passes.

6. Questions arise about Parcells future already. Do I think he will come back? I would think he would for this. This team is close to winning big. It still has some holes to fill but it is close. Parcells would love to go through a whole training camp with Romo and the Boys will have around $24 million in cap room to spend on these needs. Parcells would not leave and have some other guy come in to win it all with his talent. That is what Ron Zook is feeling right now.
I also do not think it lingers on TO. Owens is not a credible person in the locker room, unlike the Eagles where he had a lot of friends. So he will not divide the locker room but he will be a distraction. I mean the only guys I hear coming to his defense or seem to be buddies with are castoffs Mike Vanderjagt and Drew Henson. So it does nto really hinge on that because it's not like PArcells has to deal with this guy for 10 more years, just 1. I still they should let TO go, but I just feel it depends on whether Parcells stays or not.

7. Should Parcells stay? Has he done enough to merit staying, say if his name was Dave Campo and the last few years was his record, he would have been gone I feel. Parcells has upgraded the talent since the Campo years and laid out a good foundation, but not by a whole lot. But he has added credibility and importance back to this franchise. If Jones were to go back to the days of being in charge of hiring coaching staffs, running the draft, the franchise will be a joke like it was with Gailey and Campo. That is my big fear. That Jerry Jones will go back to those days and hire a figurehead mainly to coach the team. And we all now how that felt. Still the franchise has 0 division titles and 0-2 playoff record plus 34-32 record since he has been here. I say go with Parcells. Hey it is better than 15-32 (Campo record).

8. Like I was saying before TO should be let go. This fool has done nothing to really enhance the talent around us, not a difference-maker. Tim Cowlinshaw of the Dallas Morning NEws broke down Owens' season and showed that none of the wins really secured a victory for the Cowboys this season. Let him go and our headache is gone. It is just not worth it and I don't feel he made the talent around him better.

9. Other off-season moves the Cowboys should make are:

QB-Romo is the starter, get him to get over the debacle in Seatlle and refocus for the upcoming season, get in rhythm with his receivers and sign a veteran backup because Drew Bledsoe will not be back.

RB-Try to get MArion Barber more touches in the gameplan and try to find ways of opening lanes and using Julius' Jones talents to the best he can.

WR-Cut TO. Try to find another receiver that is available to play along side Glenn. I feel Patrick Crayton is almost ready but not quite and the receiving corps even with TO was depleted so there needs more veteran depth. I would trade for Larry Fitzgerald of ARizona. Hey a first round pick for him would be worth it.

OL-Obviously needs an upgrade and whether it is free agency or the draft, we need more depth but also better coaching. If I were Parcells, I would hire a true offensive coordinator who knows the scheme well and can be creative rather than predictable. Also all this PArcells calls plays, than Tony Sparano calls plays sometimes based on what Chris Palmer and Todd Hayley day is ridiculous. One guy needs to be the guy and not hold mutiple duties. Hey how about Jim Fassel? I know he was run out but he was still know to be a good planner.

DL-With Mike Zimmers' departure to Atlanta, a defensive coordiantor with the ability to make adjustments instead of playing the same defense needs to be found. One of the criticisms of the Cowboys especially with the final month was that they played the same defense despite what the opponent was unleashing. With the DL Iwould see the probabilty of Greg Ellis returning. With his injury, he may not be the same but surely it would be better than the absentee pass rush we saw the final month. Reevaluate the rest of the DL to see if it was just a bad year or maybe if there are concerns these guys are not as good as first thought.

LB-Get more pass rushers again. With the pass rush mediocre, I do not know if Ellis would be used his or move back to the DL to get some kind of rush. There is still questions if Ellis will retire. Just get someone that can at least put his hand on a QB.

Secondary-Yeeshh. Get someone who can cover at safety. Roy Williams is now being exposed to what he really is and obviously needs help. The way the secondary has played the last few years should be enough to make Darren Woodson go into the Ring of Honor or the HAll of Fame. I don't know of anyone who is available in the offseason, but this an area of concern.

Special Teams. Keep Martin Gramatica. Hey he isn ot anything special but he is not Vandrjagt. Have Miles Austion and Tyler Thompson pair up on kickoff returns. Terance Newman needs to be a full-time punt returner. He looked an awful lot like Deion Sanders this year. Punter is solid which is sad because it seems like that is the only position that I don't have to address. That is not good.

10. Other NFL thoughts. I thought the Chiefs would run it all over the COlts. THey could not and they did not make adjustments. What is Herman Edwards thinking not opening up and see if you can try to win anotehr way?

11. The Colts defense better not talk trash to long. For a month or so they could not stop the run and now they talk like they are the next Doomsday.

12. MAn did you see Donovan McNabbs expression on the sideline? I mean try to look a little happy man. It is enough your mom is saying a Super Bowl would be bittersweet, but your expression does not help.

13. Too much made about Patriots coach Bill Belicheck pushing the camera man. The media hate it when something is done to one of their own so they hammer on anyone who does it.

14. Florida just ripped out the guts of Ohio State. I feel that the SEC will finally get soem respect as the toughest conference in college football. This makes a Michigan-Ohio State rematch look bad. Of course I do not even know if the two best teams in college football were even on the field that night. Because again in college football, the best teams are voted on and not played out on the football field. Again voted on. I do not want to hear that a playoff will dimish the Boise State upsets of Oklahoma and diminish the regular season importance. Like I said, an 8 tema playoff would put the winners of the 6 major conferences in and two at large. There is no guarantee who would get the at large so teams have to play full out. There will also still be controversy over the two at large teams. But is better than having the teams voted on. The other teams can have the other bowl games and the university presidents can still have their money they fell they will lose if a playoff happens. I mean men's basketball has the NIT, so the football scene will get the other bowls.

15. Ohio State just not look the Ohio State I saw the previous season. Some say the huge layoff was a factor. It could have been but Ohio State ends its seaon at the same time every year, with the Michigan game the weekend before Thanksgiving and they have success before in bowl games despite the long layoff. A factor yes but not a huge one. Florida had two less weeks but still a long waiting period anyway.

16. Ron Zook deserves a lot of credit because of the starters on this national championship team were his recruits. Zook was in a no-win situation with the Florida Alumni and he should feel sick right now beacuse he had no time to get these guys ready. I mean why coach a team when they give you only 3 seasons to prepare.

17. Why are college coaches eager to jump to the NFL? I know they want the next challenge but very few college coaches have succeeded in the NFL. Jimmy Johnson was one and yes Barry Switzer does have s Super Bowl ring with albeit with Johnson's players. What is so bad about making a legacy like Bear Bryant, Joe Paterno, Bobby Bowden, or Tom Osborne, where you stay at a place long enough and become a legend. That is what Pete Carrol and Urban Meyer can do yet they seem to be on an annual list of replacement coaches for vacancies in the NFL. Stay and o what you do best.

18. Saw Jim Rome is Burning interviewing Tigers legendary announcer Ernie Harwell. For a guy that is about to be 89, he looks better than some people I know who are in their fifties.

19. Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn are in the HAll and Mcgwire is not. I mean I don't think this is a surprise of any sorts. I just wonder how long it will be before he is in or ever gets in. I mean will they blackball him forever. I mean I ahve always had a problem with the mindset of well maybe I will vote for the guy in the second year and not the first. Wither he is a HAll of Famer or not. If he is, than it should be the first year. ANother minset you can say is that if you have doubts, than he probably is not a Hall of Famer. Of course McGwire and his situation are different. The question of is did he cheat. We only the lame testimony he gave at the Congressional hearings which suggests he cheated but it just suggests. There is also the mindset of steroids was not illegal when he took them, if he did. Also the theory that we not know how many players during this era were taking and who we should single out as a user and not a user by our own theories is not a wise way of thinking. I cannot make up my mind of this other than if I had a vote, he would not go in.

20. Too much is being made of this Rosie O'Donnel and Donald Trump feud. Who cares? Am I the only one that does not?

Vault is closed. Bye.