Monday, September 10, 2007
The Vault
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.
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.
# posted by ttheman @ 6:42 PM 
