1. can you name a well coached team that lost an important game by 38 points?

2. don't good offensive coordinators with pro bowl qb's, wr's, rb's and te's get in the end zone against division opponents?

3. other than ken hamlin, didn't players underperform in accordance with how much money JJ gave them in the last 12 months: romo, newman, flo, roy, barber??

4. isnt that a bad sign about the instincts of the guy who bought the team 19 years ago and has been gm for 15 years now?

5. is it a coincidence that a that our 11 years w/out a playoff win overlaps with JJ's 15 years as a GM?

6. the only player who stepped was nick folk, how bad is it that an nfl team needs the kiker to be the man in the locker room.?

7. what does it mean that our qb of the future is a turnover machine?

8. jj seems to suggest he wants to keep wade b/c there will be a work stoppage, as a fan why shouldn't we believe management is giving up (at least for a few years)?

9. wade why didnt you challenge that 3rd down conversion? and if wade got a quicky lobotomy midgame, do you really think you could tell?

10. zach arent you livid?

1. The Defense is peaking at the right time.  Defense wins championships and the play on that side of the ball is better than anything I can remember seeing Dallas do.   Even under JJ the defense never felt this intimidating. They were fast and suffocating, but this is an overwhelming D.

2. We have a clutch kicker.  A stifling defense and a clutch kicker can take us far.

3. (knock on wood) It seems like the injury report is moving the right way now. (knock on wood). It seems like more guys are getting healthy than getting hurt and while we are thin at safety, I think having Henry play FS and Hamlin at SS might be the best secondary line up we can field. With Pac back and Jenkins getting better than is possible.

4. The offense (though overshadowed by the D) is still explosive.  Tashard choice is giving us some newfound energy and a never say die attitude and we still have enough weapons to hold our own in a shoot out.

5. The press is still skeptical.  After the win some one on ESPN said "Dallas delayed their implosion."  Peter King's comment after the Giant win was that we couldnt afford to lose to Pittsburgh.  This team has seemed to do the exact opposite of what the pundits expect and they seem to expect an implosion.

After 24 hours, I am still in a funk but I am slowly gaining some perspective and here are my takeaways.

1) Wade may not be a great head coach but he is a great Defensive Coordinator.  I was excited when Jerry hired Wade b/c I envisioned a young hungry defense flying at the QB from all angles.  It didn't happen until Wade pushed Stewart aside, but it's great to watch now.  I have no idea what took him so long (or why he let Stewart do a bad job for 18 months until he took th) but I like what I am seeing - especially since Ware was hurt, TNew looks hurt, Jenkins is out and Pac is not at full speed.  Draft a young LB and a safety and this defense could be special.

2) TNew may be hurt, or may not have the heart to play now that he got a huge contract, but he has not been a special player this year.  I like him a lot, so I make excuses for him, but he has not been good. 

3) Ratliff gets better every game. It really is a pleasure to watch.

4) A first and a third is a lot to pay for a WR you aren't going to use.

5) Calling Ralph Cramden! Someone needs to teach Tony Romo to be a busdriver.  There are times when you throw caution to the wind, and there are times when you use caution before throwing the ball into the wind.  I am not ready to say Tony can't be great, but last night was the first time I really have questioned his big game ability.  He is reminding me of Favre in the bad way.  I think he needs to watch Aikman, Brady and Montana and learn that sometimes you just manage the game.  It would have been nice to have Parcells on the sideline tearing him in half last night.  Maybe John Garrett can take his "high and tight Martellus" intensity and put pressure on Romo.  He has tons of talent, and manages the team (and egos) well, but he need better discipline with the ball.  The real winners don't create unnecessary turnovers.  for all the talk about big games etc, what really matter is will Romo learn to play mistake free when it matters.  It certainly isn't too late for him to do it.  I see no reason why he can't do it.  But at some point he needs to learn to make safe plays instead of big plays.

6) Scandrick really looks like a player.

7) Tashard Choice just reminded us why we should never draft a RB in the first round or sign one to a contract extension again.  I love Felix, but I would have rather had Slaton and kept my first rounder.  I love MB3 but I would have rather kept him for one more year and had the cap space. I also loved TChoice's moxia all game.

8) As frustrated as I am with the season, the team hasn't done that badly given the injuries.  Kosier, Felix, Hurd, some Autin and some Romo and then Roy Williams, Watkins, some Jenkins, some Henry, some Newman and of course McBriar.

9) Boy did I miss McBriar last night.  His leg would have helped mightily in the field position game.

10) Did Jerry really throw MB3 under the bus?  That seems lousy.  By all accounts MB3 is a respectful, hard-working guy who plays hard and shuns attention.  He won't appreciate that at all.

11) Why did they give the ball to Cricket on 4th and short? I like Anderson, but I am not sure I like him running the ball.

12) I can't wait to see 'Tellus next year.  I think an offseason in the conditioning program and increased familiarity with Tony will make him an absolute beast.

13) Can we gag Troy?  Aikman is one of my alltime favorites, but he sure cursed when he said "this is what an offense looks like when they are completely lost." I think the game turned within six seconds of him saying it. Ugh.

14) What's up with left handed passes this year?  Eli has thrown a few this season, now Romo is getting in the mix... I can't recall seeing a pro QB throw it with his non dominant hand in a game before this year (although I am sure Favre lieks to do it the 4th Q  of playoff games).

15) Who woke Marcus Spears up? And can they speak to Canty? Have Canty, Spears and Hatcher ever played well on the same day?  Sometimes it feels like there is a really good defensive end on this team and every week he puts on either a 96, 97 or 99 jersey and on then puts the other 2 jerseys on guys he finds on the side of the road then switches the numbers around the next week.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/2008/12/07/cowboys-playing-the-probable-game-too/

yikes, that would be just awful.   the season hinges on this game and we are missing MB3 and Demarcus.  the injuries this season have been insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane .insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insaneinsaneinsane.insane.insane.insane.insane. insane .insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insaneinsaneinsane.insane.insane.insane.insane insane .insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insaneinsaneinsane.insane.insane.insane.insane  insane .insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insane. insaneinsaneinsane.insane.insane.insane.insane

What is the real problem with this team?

In two words: JERRY JONES.

Twice since he has bought the team Jerry has hired strong-willed, ill-tempered disciplinarian coaches who were total control freaks.  Each time that has happened the team's roster was almost completely purged within 24-36 months and the team began to win.

Four times he has hired the "I'm just glad be here crew" Switzer-Gailey-Campo-Phillips. The Swi-Gai-Cam-Phi's group have been puppets.  How can you tell? First, none of them have had the right to hire and fire assistants.  How can any coach be the head coach if he has assistants picked by others?  Heck, in Wade's case he had an offensive coordinator selected before he was made head coach.  How can you even pretend that you are the final authority and enforce discipline and control thourgh the locker room if the team knows that the Head Coach has no real power over the OC and that the OC has been guaranteed that he will be the next head coach? 

When you look at the team, the most disappointing units are the secondary and the offensive line.  Both units were stocked with pro-bowlers and "improved" the coaching situations by replacing Parcells' guys with people hand picked by Jerry and then went straight to hell.  This is a pro team.  Screw the "Dallas Guy's" on their second and third tour of duty in Big D.  Hire winners, hire guys who will make the team win and the players play.  We don't need more Hudson Houk's, we need more Russ Grimm's.  

The truth is that Jerry gets frustrated by the lack of credit he gets when a good coach runs the team, so he goes out and picks guys who are desperate and willing to let him put his fingers in the pie, host more press conferences, invite in hard knocks, etc and the then team falls apart.  How freaking dysfunctional can a team be? (Quick answer: look at Oakland, they are more screwed up, but barely)

I mean Jerry tore into the team after the Rams loss.  How stupid and screwed up is it that the OWNER has to yell at the players.  Can you imagine that under Jimmy or Bill?  Jerry has made Wade the equivalent of a 50 year old woman teaching a class of 9th grade boys.  I can almost see Wade scolding the class and saying he will call the principal (or the football coach) and have him paddle anyone who acts up.

The team needs a coach.  That coach needs to be an authority figure.   He needs to hire and fire assistants at his whim and he needs to have the right to scare players straight and ban Jerry from the sideline.  Wade isn't that guy.  My fear is that this team has to slide lots further before Jerry hits bottom and hires a football coach.

This team appears to have lots of problems.  Some may go away as the injury list gets shorter.  One problem that can't be blamed on injuries is the incredible amount of penalties that Jerry's Team keeps racking up.  It's easy (and popular) to blame Wade, but the problem pre-dates him and his no-penalty contract.  It was a problem under Parcells even though he didn't coach penalties (or coach players not to make penalties).  Maybe Campo coached them?  I don't know where the problem started, but I can't see an end to it.

There are some things endemic to this team that suggests we will have more penalties than the average team.  Heck, we have three specific penalties named after us: The Roy Williams Rule / Horsecoller, the Marian Barber Rule / Stiff arm to the face/neck and the Flozell Adams Rule / False Start.  Even if we acknowledge that Flo is partially deaf and will jump once a game (at least), we are still generating too many penalties.

How does a team get this penalty disease? How does it survive from one coaching regime to another?  I know its popular to blame Wade and soft coaching, but Parcells was anything but soft and he had the same problems.  I have no idea what causes this, what it takes to fix or who to blame.  So I will just blame it on Jerry, as I do most things...

Like most fans I have gone through my highs and lows with Jerry Jones.  I remember sitting around as an overwhelmed 8th grader and being devastated by the news that a guy out of Arkansas was buying the Cowboys and his first move was to unceremoniously fire Landry and replace that icon of class with Jimmy Johnson -- out with the fedora, in with the hairspray.  I remember hoping that the NFL owners would vote against the sale and save the legacy of my team.

Then he traded away our only good player and I was floored.  Then I realized they were stockpiling draft picks and building for the future.  As Aikman and Emmitt arrived, I saw that the core of a real team forming.   The horse trading of players and draft  picks, the energy with which Jimmy and Jerry attacked free agency showed that they really got the changes in the NFL.

Then they started winning.  Winning made me forgive a lot.  Unfortunately, winning made Jerry start thinking he was an NFL GM (and even that he could coach).  

Time has shown that Jerry is a great owner.  He has helped the league become more profitable and been instrumental in TV deals, stadium naming, etc.  The league is better off because of Jerry Jones.

As for the Cowboys, I am not so sure we are better off with JJ.  Jerry seems to flip flop between Good Jerry (who wants to win and hires head coaches who stand up to him) and Bad Jerry (who replaces them with coaches who invite HBO into training camp and make Jerry a central part of the TV show).  Good Jerry hires Jimmy and Bill, Bad Jerry replaces them with Switzer, Phillips, Campo and Gailey.  Good Jerry trades down and stock piles picks, Bad Jerry trades draft picks to sign good but not great WR's to HUGE contracts.

If the most important decision a GM makes is to hire a head coach, then how good can a GM be who consistently picks weak coaches?

This article is interesting:

http://www.star-telegram.com/332/story/989574.html

It points out that post Jimmy, Jerry is 90-98.  Ex-Jimmy Jerry is a long term loser.  If you strip out the wins that Switzer got with Jimmy's team it would look even worse.

As a fan I like Jerry because he is committed to winning.  I know that he wants to win every bit as much as we want the team to win.  I know that he will stop at nothing to make the team competitive.  Having said that, I think he has the discipline of a crack addict.  Dallas made the model for winning in the 90's.  New England has defined the model for winning this decade.  Dallas's model was easier, be aggressive and be willing to spend.  New England's is tougher.  They have shown that it's about disciplined spending, stockpiling draft picks and collecting cheap role players.  Jerry lacks the discipline to do this.  Maybe as we careen towards an uncapped year Jerry's model will work again -- but if the league doesn't go uncapped this team is in real trouble.

I think this commitment to winning, he constant efforts and spending make Jerry a lovable loser, but I am ready to win again.  I hope this season shows Jerry that he needs a real coach and that Cowher rides into town this winter.

A lot of talk has been made about signing Terry Glenn or Joe Horn.

While adding an experienced wideout (especially one familiar with the playbook) could have merit, it doesn't answer the teams nagging special teams problem.  With Burnett and Auatin out we are short coverage guys . Furthermore, we are dependent on Hurd to be a key special teamer and the third WR.  that in itself isnt a problem, but it puts the team an injury away from being short a couple of important positions.

I read that Jarrod Cooper was cut by the Raiders.  While the thought of needing one of the Raiders early cuts scares the hell out me, it seems like we might need to do something like that....

Does anyone else have any special teams coverage guys we rent for a couple of weeks? 

http://www.mercurynews.com/sabercats/ci_10302080

Realistically, if I were told a week before training camp that either Austin or Stanback would not make the roster I would not have been that concerned.  With TO, (hopefully) Glenn and Crayton as the mainstays and Hurd, Austin and Stanback as the hopefuls and Lowber, Amendola and Jefferson as the long shots it could have actually been good news if there was too much talent to have both of them on the team. Not now... What a difference a month makes.

Now the WR depth is:

1. TO

2. Crayton

3. (Austin)

4. Hurd

5. (Stanback)

6. Amendola

7. Jefferson

8. Lowber

With the #3 and #5 guys out, we are now one shaken-up player from looking at Amendola or Jefferson in a 3 WR set (which could limit our ability to take advantage of a paper thin Cleveland secondary).  Also given the combined youth and inexperience of the WR corp ex TO its tough to expect any of the guys to be comfortable at multiple wide out positions.  Given the increasing complexity of Redball's offense, this is a mild concern -- not as a big a concern as the ultimate talent level of the 4th WR but still a concern.  

It increasingly looks like we will start the season with 4 players who cant play on the roster and two WR's unable to suit up.  My question is:  What does this mean for the rest of the roster?  

1. Is this the end for Danny Amendola?  I would not be surprised to see the team wait until the first week of the season (or whatever the date is that you can sign a vested veteran and not have his salary guaranteed for the full year) and sign Glenn or Horn to a low risk contract.  If that doesn't happen I wouldn't be surprised us to pick through another teams final cuts for a potentially less talented but more experienced WR.  It is starting to look like hiding an street free agent on the roster to see if he develops is a luxury we can't afford - especially if he can't fill in on coverage units.

2. Does this mean we carry 7 WR's? If we carry 6 with 2 hurt, we are dangerously thin.

3. If we are looking at starting the season with 4 players who cant play (3 of whom were special teams contributors) do we start the season with fewer offensive linemen who can't help on special teams?  Is Martin, McQ, Berger or Lek the loser here?  Do we have to cut one (or more) and hope we can pick them up when if we sign a vet WR after week 1 and cut him in week 4 or 5?

4. What is the impact of the increased need for gunners?  Does it impact the secondary situation?  I think we can make up for the loss of return men (Scandrick, Pac, Felix, Jenkins, Newman, and others can return the ball in  a pinch) but we need people to step up and handle coverage.  Does this mean a guy like Hannah gets a second lease on life he can be effective?

5.  Any other ways Jerry can manipulate the roster?

I saw a link to a Denver Post article on the joint practice that had this nuggett:

Lowlight

If one thing was clear from Wednesday's morning practice it was that the Broncos could have some serious trouble in the trenches against bigger offensive and defensive lines this year. The Broncos' biggest bodies on both sides of the ball were bullied repeatedly by the Cowboys in one-on-one drills. The defensive line had it especially rough, as Tim Crowder, Josh Mallard, Kenny Peterson, John Engelberger and Ebenezer Ekuban all found themselves tossed to the grass by various Cowboys.

I know the zone blocking guys are smaller and the 1x1 drills may take away a lot of their advantages (a nice way of saying its tougher to hit a guy in the back when he is looking at you) but its nice to see our guys are taking it to them.  Its also nice to see Ekuban still stinks.  I am floored that he is still in the league.

http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_10194054