Sunday, September 02, 2007
The Vault
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!
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!
# posted by ttheman @ 9:57 AM 
