Thoughts on T.O. and the Eagles, our defense, and Britney Spears
This year, the T.O. vs. McNabb and the Eagles theme just doesn’t have as much fire to it. The novelty has worn off, T.O. has already been to Philly once, plus, they are making nice with each other in the media. It’s funny, but all of T.O.’s ex-coaches take care to do nothing but praise him. Last week it was Brad Childress, this week it’s Andy Reid. Whatever bad juju was going on when T.O. was there, coaches are usually smart enough to avoid the bulleting board material. They also know that stripped of everything else, T.O. is a talent that you don’t trifle with, let sleeping dogs lie kind of thing. Too bad, we get fired up when opposing players get up in our grill this year. And Lito Sheppard pining for his ex-girlfriend doesn’t count. Can’t someone from the Eagles go all Patrick Crayton on us?
Oh well, there was one thing I noticed from this article.
And McNabb said it's easy to move on because it's obvious to him that Owens is not the same player or person he was as a member of the Eagles.
"You're seeing a different T.O. right now," McNabb said. "He's staying out of the media. He's realizing that nothing really works in his favor. He's just playing football. And that's the way you go about it."
McNabb knows! He knows T.O. is a pod-person. Notice the code language: not the same player or person, you're seeing a different T.O. right now. He knows.
But T.O. is all about love right now.
"They still love me, I don't care what they say. Those boos, they're not really boos, man. There's a lot of love in those boos. They've got no choice but to boo me because I'm on the other side. I guarantee you if I were to get traded to the Eagles right now, they would love me."
See, he knows Lito Sheppard is thinking about him. He knows they still love him, he’s the ex-girlfriend that got a way.
The Tuna has another commandment for Romo.
"Now Tony has two things to be careful with – the football and his money," Parcells said. "Both are equally hard to take care of and there's always someone out there trying to strip you of them. I hope he hangs on tight. The circus never stays in town forever."
Listen up Tony, just like Jerry said, they can smell fresh cash.
Here’s a generic look from the outside at the Cowboys defense. The question is - how good is our D, really? It re-hashes most of the same arguments, soft-schedule, torched by the two teams they played with a decent QB, yada yada yada. Here’s the money paragraph.
But the second half of the season will show exactly what kind of defense this truly is. A division-winning defense? Maybe. A Super Bowl defense? Could be. Or just a unit that's been able to take advantage of a hapless parade of quarterbacks and is in for a long second half and disappointing postseason once the quality of opposition goes up?
Negative ghost rider, no second half collapse this year. If we get Henry, Newman and Reeves all on the field together – healthy - our defense will improve. Greg Ellis is starting to make an impact, and should get better as he gets healthier. The players as a whole are starting to get comfortable in the Phillips 34. And the Tank starts playing after this game. If they are good, we can go far, if they are very good, we could go all the way. If they become great, then...I can’t say it.
OK, things are getting very weird in Cowboys World. Britney Spears is back in the Cowboys news, but it has nothing to do with Romo. Nope, it’s coach that has issues with Brit.
But it doesn't end there for Cowboys coach Wade Phillips, who said he is not happy with Spears because of the title of her new album, "Blackout," and because some of the images used in her videos were borrowed.
Phillips' daughter, Tracy, is a dancer/choreographer in Los Angeles at a club called Blackout. According to Phillips, Spears attended one of Tracy's shows. Coincidentally, there were some similarities with her new album.
Phillips said there was nothing they could do about it and reasoned that people sometimes borrow things like in coaching.
I’m speechless. As Lombardi would say – What the heck is going on out here?
Way Too Much Information Wednesday: The Halloween Edition
Not much of a Halloween in central Texas, given that it is still 70 degrees and that we are still on daylight savings time. This is the second Halloween post on this blog, my with children this year appearing as a clone trooper and Sleeping Beauty. Last year I led off with:
You know what Halloween and football blogging have in common? Um, nothing at all, except that I may have rushed my kids to finish trick-or-treating so that I could get back here to blog. That’s sad.
[Update: I’ve been informed that my kids– Spiderman and Cinderella this evening– were too tired to walk around any more. So blogging did not, in fact, take precedence over Halloween. That’s good.]
I did not, in fact, rush home this year. Our neighborhood had so few trick-or-treaters that the neighbors gave my kids more candy than they could eat in a year. Those ads you see on this page? Paying to fix cavities.
* * *
A conversation with my seven-year-old son:
Son: Did you ever dress up as a clone trooper?
Dad: No. They were called storm troopers, but I never dressed up as one.
Son: What about Anakin Skywalker?
Dad: We had Luke Skywalker. I never heard the name Anakin Skywalker until the Return of the Jedi.
Son: Did you dress up as Anakin?
Dad: Anakin was an old man. No, I didn’t.
Son: Why not?
Dad: I was 12 and didn’t dress up as anyone then.
Son: Who were you, then?
Dad: Once I was R2-D2. Another time was Yoda.
Son: Those are dumb. Why?
Dad: . . .
* * *
A little bit is being made of Terrell Owens’ return to Philadelphia this week, although most of the attention nationally has focused on the New England-Indianapolis game. Give the guy credit for consistency, though. He has played two more games with Dallas than he did with Philadelphia, and his stats are very similar. Consider this:
Philadelphia (2004-2005)
Games: 21
Receptions: 124
Yards: 1963
TDs: 20
Dallas (2006-2007)
Games: 23
Receptions: 119
Yards: 1736
TDs: 18
This was from Rich Eisen on NFL.com:
Cowboys at Eagles
Oh yeah. Terrell Owens is going back to Philadelphia on Sunday night. That normally would register an 8.0 on the media Richter scale, but not this week. And, boy, does this Eagles team need a win. If Philadelphia beats the Cowboys, it would return to .500 and sit two games out of first place, with half its schedule still remaining. Remember: Last year, the Eagles looked dead in the water, still won the NFC East and even won a playoff game, so standing at 4-4 with eight games left — while not optimum — is fine nonetheless. However, should the Eagles lose, they not only would fall to 3-5 overall but to a catastrophic 0-3 in the division and 2-5 in conference. The Eagles must win this game, while the Cowboys, you know, sort of need this one too. The Giants are chilling on their bye week after their soggy victory in London, becoming only the fifth team in NFL history to win six straight after losing their first two. If Dallas stumbles, it would find itself in a tie with the surging G-Men heading into the Week 10 trip to Giants Stadium. The Cowboys no doubt would like to have some cushion before that game, and sticking a dagger in the Eagles in front of their faithful and the national NBC television audience would be a good way to do that. If not, the Cowboys could fall out of first place in the overall NFC picture, because the Pack is back.
Nick Eatman at DallasCowboys.com had a piece on the Owens-McNabb feud as well. Not exactly interesting.
* * *
Three members of the Cowboys made John Czarnecki’s (Fox Sports) Midseason All-Pro Team. Tony Romo wasn’t one of them.
C: Andre Gurode (Cowboys) — Ever since the incident with Albert Haynesworth, when he took a head stomping, Gurode has developed into a force in the middle of the Dallas offensive line, probably the most complete unit in the NFC besides being the biggest.
OLB: DeMarcus Ware (Cowboys) — Mike Vrabel of the Patriots and Lance Briggs of the Bears are right behind Ware, who has benefited greatly with the arrival of Coach Wade Phillips. Ware can rush the passer like Shawne Merriman, but he’s better in coverage and also a better tackler.
PK: Nick Folk (Cowboys) — Two other worthy kickers are Houston’s Kris Brown and Rob Bironas, who just made eight field goals in a game. But Folk deserves special recognition for kicking a game-winning 53-yarder against Buffalo twice while his best kick was the super high-bouncing on-side kick that put him in position to kick the game winner.
Ware is not a surprise. The other two are, pleasantly.
* * *
Thurman’s Thieves (6-2)
Somehow I wasn’t punished for making the dumbest fantasy football move this year– or perhaps in history? I decided that I was sick enough of Marques Colston that I benched him in favor of . . .
Roywell Williams of Tennesee.
The result:
Marques Colston, on my bench: 24 points
Roywell Williams, in my lineup: 0.3 points.
I also went with Derek Anderson over Drew Brees, but this time got burned. Brees had 29 points to Anderson’s 20.9.
I still won somehow, though, so all my complaining is for nothing.
Pigskin Pick’em
Week 8: 10/13
Season: 61/116
Average: 55.1/116
Best: 79/113
Best week of the season for me, getting 10 of the 13 games. I should have known better than to go with St. Louis and Houston as underdogs, but my pick of the Giants still wasn’t that bad.
Moving On To The Eagles
Alright everyone, take a deep breath. Romo is all signed up and talking about who is next to be locked up is a bit premature, after all there are still 9 games left to play. The bye week is out of the way, and the Eagles game will be here before the off season. This game might very well be the next most important game of the season.
Lets not forget that this is a division game, and not just a game of a 6 and 1 team going against a 3 and 4 team. This is the Eagles, the same team who seemed to be out last year when McNabb went down with yet another injury, but managed to not only make it to the playoffs but win the division again giving them the NFC East division title for fifth time in 6 seasons. The very same Eagles that have won 12 of the last 16 games against Dallas with Andy Reid as head coach. Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention the same team that cheered when Michael Irvin went down with what was a very serious career ending injury. There is certainly no love loss between the two teams.
Also lets take this into consideration, the Cowboys are tied with the Green Bay Packers for top of the NFC. A loss this week by either team would leave the other as the sole leader. In the NFC East the NY Giants are only one Cowboys loss away from being tied for number one in the division. The Cowboys owning the tie breaker because of their win in week one, but they play the Giants again in week 10. Then there is also the fact, if you listen to the critics, the Cowboys have failed to beat a good team this season. Certainly a loss to the Eagles would only increase that talk.
Back to the Eagles though. McNabb may have had a slow start this season, but his stats don’t reflect that. McNabb is 6th in the NFL in passing yards, and owns a 90 quarterback rating. Tony Romo had his worst game last season against the Eagles completing only 14 of 29 passes for just 142 yards. He also threw two interceptions in that game. While the Eagles offense didn’t improve much over the off season, the defense has. They rank 7th in the league in points allowed per game (16.7), 9th in yards allowed per game (300.7), 8th in rushing yards allowed per game (90.4), and they have the most sacks in the NFL (24).
So, while it’s great that Tony Romo got his new deal, it’s still too early to worry about other deals. There are games still to play, and that includes an always resilient Eagles team coming this Sunday. One can only hope that Romo shows everyone, including Jerry Jones, why his big payday was the right move to make.
Wade Phillips press conference 10/31/07 - fake kneel-down edition
I missed the very beginning because I waited diligently for the press conference to start, but Wade was late as usual, so I stepped out of the room for a few minutes, and it started. Naturally. Apparently Wade said Anthony Henry practiced some today but it was with the scout team.
Donovan McNabb look better on the film from last week?
McNabb, by his own admission is getting better coming off the injury, he feels more comfortable. He was moving around better creating more time to throw, you could see that against Minnesota. He’s back. It’s a physical and mental thing, don’t know his exact case, but you get over it mentally and then physically, and it looks like he’s over it.
How would you use Anthony Henry if he can play?
I’d use him on defense. (laughter) Like Newman I think, if he’s to that point. We’d play him some and see if he feels comfortable. Different type of injury from Newman, it’s been four weeks and we were hoping he might be completely well and I won’t count that out yet. He went through some individual drills, he got better as the practice went along, he was a little tentative at first but got better. I was encouraged he could move around.
Practice focus today?
Good concentration, they got into the practice, a little quieter today. They might’ve been thinking more because it’s Weds. We did some stuff Monday and we put in everything but it’s still the first day to practice it. We make adjustments, look at tape and learn from that, tomorrow will be sharper.
Philly defense?
Tough, they lead the NFC in points given up, a big stat. They looked like they always do, aggressive and good against the pass, they stuff the run, great job on Peterson, only a 3.5 yard/carry average. That was impressive, they blitz, mostly on 3rd down. (Do you practice for the blitzes more this week?) We have protections set up for all our plays and hot routes, we have a blitz period every day in practice. You have to protect the QB first, can’t let him get hit. We work hard on that.
McNabb says the NFC East goes through Philly, is he right?
I think that any team that has won it before, they earn that respect, from last season and they’ve done it 5 times in 6 years, you earn that respect. But we’re going to try and change things.
How important is Andre Gurode in calling protections this game?
Our center is important in protections if we need to make changes. Sometimes, they show a blitz and we have it protected, but sometimes it needs to change. So he needs to make the calls and he’s good at it. Only 9 times in the whole season last year where didn’t make the correct call. I didn’t know a lot about him before I got here, but I’ve been impressed, he’s playing at Pro Bowl caliber.
I skipped some questions here because they weren’t very interesting and then someone asked Wade about his time coaching in Philly. Wade was answering blah, blah then all of a sudden I hear from Wade:
The fake kneel-down was the most embarrassed I’ve ever been in football. (Then he goes right back to talking about coaching, ignoring the money quote he just laid down.) They hadn’t won since Vermeil, in ‘88 we won the division and I though we were great coaches, but Andy Reid has done it 5 times. We had good players, Reggie and Co. It was a lot of fun building a team and winning.
Did you learn some things from Buddy Ryan?
Scheme-wise sure. I went there because of the 46 defense, after the Bears had won with it was the hot defense. One reason I agreed to be the DC was I wanted to learn more about it. I still use some of the ideas, but people got away from it for different reasons. I learned a lot there, I learned things from Buddy. I wanted to make it too simple, the information to the players, but he taught me you can give them more than what I thought. We gave them a tremendous amount of stuff. I also learned what not to say to the press from Buddy. (laughter)
At this point, one smart reporter went back to the fake kneel-down quote and asked him to explain it more.
I was embarrassed, we were ahead by 10 points with like 5 seconds left in the game and we run a fake kneel down? Mike Quick could have got hurt, or Cunningham. Then they called pass interference with no time left on the clock and we ran in for a TD! I don’t coach that way. (Did you tell Buddy that?) Yes I told him. I said I didn’t think it was right. He said back, (grumble noises). He didn’t care what I thought.
Philly Fans?
Good fans. They boo quicker than some fans, but when I was there they hadn’t been winning, we improved and got better and after three years won the division, so it was pretty positive from that stand point. Now we weren’t getting a lot of first downs, so they booed the offense and cheered the defense.
What do you still use from the 46 defense?
Some pressures that we run, some concepts. Most of the 46 stuff was all man-to-man. Buddy wanted to say its your fault if someone catches it, he didn’t like zone because it wasn’t anybody’s fault. He’d give the MLB the WR in man-to-man coverage then yell at him for blowing it. It was a lot of man-to-man and combination coverages. But beating protections was the thing I most learned from it.
Now that was an entertaining press conference Wade. For anybody confused about the fake kneel-down, go here.
(Disclaimer: These press conference recaps are just paraphrases of what Wade Phillips says and aren’t vetted for total accuracy on quotes. I shorten and condense things he says but try to get across the intended meaning. Occasionally, what I post loses the context of something Wade said and may appear counter-intuitive. If you have questions about something from the press conference, feel free to ask in the comments.)
Time to talk Eagles
I admit to being a little slack in updating the blog over the past few days. I’ve been writing some guest columns at other places, had some things that messed up my schedule, and the whole Tony Romo signing has kind of blotted out the Eagles game in some respects. But not for long, it’s all about the Eagles now. Wade Phillips will have a press conference after practice today so we’ll hear what he’s got to say, plus the media talked to the players and T.O. in the locker room, so we’ll also check in on that later.
But the Philadelphia media is already talking up the return of T.O. In this article, the reporter asked Lito Sheppard about T.O. and his past with the Eagles.
"I think that relationship is kind of like when you have a girlfriend you used to love in the past, maybe high school," Lito Sheppard said Monday, "and you loved her so much, but you hate her so bad now. But you can't stop talking about it."
Oh, really? That's what it is like?
"I know, right?" Sheppard said, laughing.
Expect a warm welcome for the pod-person. Not!
Here’s another Philly article about how they stink at WR over the years.
During Andy Reid’s eight-plus seasons as the Eagles' head coach, his team has sent as many wide receivers to the Pro Bowl as it has long-snappers.
That number is one, and that wideout is, of course, Terrell Owens, whose stay in Philadelphia turned out to be short and anything but sweet.
Ha, one WR in eight seasons and that one is the guy they ran out of town and hate like an ex-girlfriend. This game should be fun.
If you want more about the Eagles, go to Bleeding Green Nation, our fine SB Nation Eagles blog.
Samsung is holding a weekly thing about Defining Moments for each weekend in the NFL. It’s tied into some ad campaign they are doing with sports sites and I am contributing my efforts because they are helping to support BTB with their ads. So this week, I wrote a piece that called the defining moment the second they blew the whistle to start the New England/Washington game. Go check it out and vote for my article because my ego always needs boosting.
ESPN posted a story about the greatest rivalries in the modern NFL. Of course, Dallas shows up, not once but twice, and we also hold the number one spot for our rivalry with the Deadskins.
Dallas vs. Washington (1970-83)
• Signature moment: On Dec. 12, 1979, Staubach threw two touchdown passes in the final 140 seconds to erase a 13-point deficit and give host Dallas a 35-34 win. The Redskins missed the playoffs with that defeat,
Dallas vs. San Francisco (1992-96)
• Signature moment: Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman hit Alvin Harper on a slant pass that turned into a 70-yard catch-and-run late in the 1992 NFC Championship Game. That play set up the game-clinching touchdown in the Cowboys' 30-20 win, setting up the Cowboys' first of three Super Bowl wins in the decade.
A Carbon Copy Deja Vu
When Dallas faces the Eagles Sunday night, they’ll be taking their second swipe at a Jim Johnson-style scheme. As you’ll recall, first year Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo was Johnson’s linebacker coach the past few years and week one offered a chance to see how Jason Garrett would fare against a Johnsonesque blitz-happy scheme.
45 points was an emphatic answer.
Now, Garrett gets a two week run against the same defensive scheme, going against the mentor Johnson this week and Spagnuolo in New York next week.
The Eagles defense Dallas sees this week maintains its proven approach. Johnson will blitz you silly until you prove you can resist the rushes and hurt his pass defense. In years past, teams with good running attacks would forego passing to hammer at the Philadelphia interior.
The Eagles were weak against the run but have made a dramatic improvement this year. They rank just two steps behind Dallas in overall yardage allowed (6th vs. 8th) passing (13th vs. 15th) and rush defense (5th vs. 8th). Philadelphia bests the Cowboys in points allowed (16.7 to 22.6) but if you remove the 35 points Dallas has allowed on a kickoff return, a punt return, two INT returns and a fumble return for a score, the margin narrows to 16.7 to 17.6.
Dallas will in effect, be facing a carbon copy of its own defense this week.
The difference may be the Eagles offense. Philadelphia has struggled all year to score, topping 16 points just twice this year. A 56 blowout versus Detroit in week three convinced many people that the Eagles were over a sluggish 0-2 start where they scored only 15 points but Philly followed that outburst with a 3 point letdown against the Giants. Last weeks 23 points against the Vikings was the second highest posting this year.
How do the Cowboys match up? We’ll look at one half of the matchup tomorrow.
Romo Signed, Next On The List Should Be Barber
I just discovered from the Cowboys home page that Marion Barber will be a restricted free-agent at the end of the season. This is very disconcerting and should be the next top priority for the Jones family after yesterday’s contract signing of Tony Romo. Although as a restricted free-agent, there is a little more leeway to wait and see what happens, but with a player who has contributed at the level Barber has, it might just cost too much to wait very long.
Other players included on this list of restricted free-agents are Chris Canty, Jay Ratliff and J.P. Ladouceur. These players are no less important, but have other circumstances to consider when evaluating their eventual worth come negotiations sometime next year. However, with Julius Jones being an unrestricted free-agent at the end of the year, Barber’s status becomes more relevant much quicker.
Other unrestricted’s will be Ken Hamlin, Patrick Crayton, Flozell Adams and Jacques Reeves. Jerry Jones has stated he doesn’t like to get behind or feel like it’s too late in these types of situations, so even though he has concluded probably his most important contract deal of the season, these others need to be addressed fairly soon as well. He knows he has some more flexibility when dealing with the restricted players, but when it comes to “Marion the Barbarian”, I think it’s safe to say most of us would like to see progress with retaining him sometime in the not-to-distant future.
Toughest Three Game Stretch Coming Up For Cowboys
Arguably the toughest part of the Cowboys schedule is right around the corner with Dallas playing at Philadelphia, at New York, and then come home to face Washington. Three divisional games would be tough enough, but the first two being away games makes it even more difficult.
While it would be great to win all three, I will be happy if we get through this stretch of games with two wins. Philadelphia always plays us tough, especially in Philly, and New York in New York is the toughest game left on our schedule until we hit the playoffs. But Washington at home is looking a little easier after Redskins CB Carlos Rogers was placed on IR following the Patriots game.
We should be able to take Philadelphia because they simply aren't as good of a team this year. McNabb is still dangerous, though, and Westbrook is one of the best running back in football. But, even if they can manage to do some damage to our getting-healthier-all-the-time defense, I don't think the Eagles can outscore our offense.
Washington was a team I was worried about because of their secondary, which was arguably the best in the NFL until the Carlos Rogers injury. They still have two great safeties, and Shawn Springs and Fred Smoot are no slouches. But, unless Washington can turn their offense around, they shouldn't be a major obstacle.
Oh, I skipped New York, huh? Just saving the best for last. We opened the season against New York without Terence Newman and Greg Ellis, and New York was missing Michael Strahan and Osi Umenyiora. With both teams missing some of their top defensive players, it became a shoot out.
The story should be a little different when we meet them in New York. The Giants have one of the most dominating defensive lines in football, so you can bet that they'll be coming after Romo. And, with a healthy Ellis and a defense that seems to play better each week as they grasp the nuances of the Phillips 3-4, Dallas will put some pressure on Eli.
The key to the game will be Romo's feet. The teams match up well, each having a good defensive that can pressure the quarterback, solid running backs, and a good passing game. But what the Giants don't have is a mobile quarterback that can avoid the rush.
But Romo's feet will have their own battle to contend with: The Giant fans. It will be T-Ro's big toe against home field advantage in a fight that might decide who's on top of the NFC East.
It should be interesting, and unless Romo's partying with Brittany Spears over the weekend has left him too distracted, I'll have to give the edge to his big toe.
Finishing up the Romo coverage
This whole Tony Romo signing kind of threw me for a loop. I was causally going about my business, preparing to read some stuff on the Eagles, watch a little film and just generally slide into Eagles week. Who knew that during the bye, Jerry and Tony would say let’s get this thing done? Especially since we had no warning, the only news was the news that they agreed to a deal. I had no idea they were working on it over the weekend so much. I wonder if Britney Spears knew?
Anyway, it’s all good so let's finish up on the Tony Romo signing and tomorrow we can move on to the Eagles, to Wednesday’s practice and press conference, and find out a little more about Anthony Henry’s health.
Here’s a generic story that covers the signing and the press conference.
Also, BTB-regular OskieOskie reminded me of another great one-liner from the press conference today. When a reporter asked Romo if the money had changed him, he replied with prefect comic timing - "Well, obviously I am a better person now that I have a lot of money." He got a nice laugh out of that one.
When I was listening to one part of the press conference, Romo was talking about how he by-passed Stephen Jones and went straight to Jerry to settle an issue. The DMN picks up that story in this article.
During Tuesday's press conference, Romo laughed about how he was actually hung up on a particular part of the contract and decided to talk to team owner Jerry Jones instead.
"We're off on one little area and Stephen thought we were done," Romo recalled. "Then I went to the other room and got Jerry on the phone and said 'About this one thing . . .' and Jerry was like, 'Done.' So I went back in and said I should've never talked to Stephen the entire time. I should've went right to Jerry."
Stephen certainly didn't seem to have a problem with Romo's assertiveness, nor did Kremer.
I guess Stephen isn’t quite running things yet. But I like the job he’s done with the money, we’ve been re-signing our guys at very reasonable rates lately.
BTB-regular Burt-D notes in this diary that after completing a deal with Romo, MB3 is on Jerry and Stephen’s list of guys to get something worked out with in the future.
And to close out the Romo signing, Mickey Spags reminds us there’s a thin line between luck and genius. The Cowboys are geniuses now for sticking with Romo all these years, but they were lucky that one Quincy Carter saved them from making a mistake.
A bunch of Cowboys are on the preliminary list for the Hall of Fame.
Patrick Crayton has gone cuckoo lately. I saw him on ESPN today talking about the Patriots again, he’s starting to sound obsessed. And the media just eggs him on to say more, and Crayton obliges. He needs to think more about ball security and less about the Patriots. The DMN blog has some more.
Nine Former Cowboys Nominated for the Hall of Fame
Before we present the list of the Dallas Cowboys who have been nominated for Hall of Fame consideration, let us not forget who should already be there and who are not nominees: LB Chuck Howley, S Cliff Harris, and WR Bob Hayes.
The two who are making the biggest news are Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson, though I personally don’t think they are the most deserving. This was on DallasCowboys.com:
Cowboys owner-general manager Jerry Jones and former head coach Jimmy Johnson are among 124 modern-era players, coaches and contributors who comprise the preliminary nominees list for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2008.
The preliminary list will be trimmed to 25 semifinalists next month, and 15 modern-era finalists eventually will be selected by mail ballot along with previously announced senior nominees Marshall Goldberg and Emmitt Thomas.
Other notable Cowboys nominees include former vice president of personnel development Gil Brandt; defensive ends Charles Haley, Jim Jeffcoat and Ed “Too Tall” Jones; tight end Jay Novacek; wide receiver Drew Pearson; running back Herschel Walker; and quarterback Danny White.
Johnson was Jones’ first head-coaching hire upon taking ownership in 1989. The two enjoyed consecutive Super Bowl titles from 1992-93 before Johnson’s departure following the ‘93 season.
To be considered for election, players and coaches must be retired at least five years. Contributors such as Jones may still be active in the NFL.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame has increased the number of nominees who can be elected - a minimum of four and a maximum of seven.
For what it is worth, here are my opinions on the players, in reverse order of their qualifications to make the Hall.
9. Herschel Walker: He had a huge number of all-purpose yards (18,168 total combined net yards, 8th all-time), but his skills were not enough for teams to win with him. He shouldn’t make it.
8. Jim Jeffcoat: He was a Cowboy great, but I don’t think he did enough to make the Hall. Many of his 102.5 sacks came when Dallas was struggling.
7. Jimmy Johnson: Coaches need some longevity to deserve a Hall spot, I think. Jimmy’s chances decreased when he struggled in Miami.
6. Jerry Jones: He needs about 10 more years before he should be considered for this.
5. Jay Novacek: The Ring of Honor should have his name, but his 4,630 yards in 12 years won’t be enough.
4. Danny White: He was very much like Steve Young, except that the 49ers were able to buy a team to surround Young. White accomplished more than most would have, but the talent base around him eroded. If you don’t think he was an asset, compare the Cowboys’ record before his wrist injury with the record after the wrist injury.
Hall of Fame? Doubt it.
3. Drew Pearson: He ought to be in there, but suffers from: (a) the fact that Dallas really was not a throwing team until late in the 1970s, (b) the fact that Dallas ran a multiple offense that spread the ball around, preventing him from building stats, (c) the idea that he was the face of America’s Team, along with the bias associated with the Cowboys of the 1970s.
2. Gil Brandt: He revolutionized pro scouting, and not only through the computers. He was very well known for finding players at small colleges who turned out to be solid pros (Jethro Pugh among many others).
1. Ed Jones: 15 years in the league and was dominant nearly to the end. If the NFL had kept stats on sacks from 1974 to 1981, I have no doubt that he would have well over 120 (he had 57.5 in the final eight years of his career). To my knowledge, he never missed a game due to injury.
* * *
Here’s a bit more about Tony Romo’s contract extension (6 years, $67.5 million):
Wearing jeans and an untucked Dallas Cowboys golf shirt, Tony Romo treated Tuesday as if it was any other day of work.
Well, there were a few difference. Such as the fact he brought mom and dad to team headquarters.
And the six-year, $67.5 million contract he showed up to sign.
On one of the biggest days of his life, Romo remained the average guy he’s been since joining the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent five years ago. He said he was humbled by the $11.5 million signing bonus and by cementing a spot in the lineage of Don Meredith-to-Roger Staubach-to-Troy Aikman, but he also insisted the only thing that’s going to change is his tax bracket.
Want proof? He’s even planning to keep his apartment — and his roommate — despite having the third-highest annual salary among NFL quarterbacks, ahead of Tom Brady and Brett Favre.
“I never really thought this was a goal along the way. I still don’t necessarily perceive it as a goal, but it’s something really neat that I get to experience,” Romo said, flashing the dimpled aw-shucks grin that’s helped him land dates with gorgeous actresses and singers.
I haven’t been single for a long time, but even in the 1990s when I was single, I distinctly remember that if I used the phrase “really neat” that I would not get date (not really what I’m thinking, but I work for a Baptist institution), LET ALONE (continued after this story). . .
Britney Spears gave Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo a lap dance, according to Ryan Seacrest on his KIIS-FM radio show this morning.
(Yes this is the same Tony Romo who was romantically linked to American Idol alum Carrie Underwood back in May and One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush last week.)
Seacrest spilled, “I spoke to her for a minute. She seemed to be in a very, very good mood. She had her sunglasses on. I said, ‘Busy day, huh?’ She kind of smiled and laughed and said, ‘Yeah.’ And then I believe I saw her and Tony Romo frolicking.”
“Lap dancing?” a co-host asked.
“I mean some would say,” Seacrest said.
“She’s on his lap,” the co-host continued.
“Yeah,” Seacrest replied.
. . . I would say let alone get a lap dance from Britney Spears, except that she was only 17 years old when I was last single, and that would not have been good for my future career at the above-mentioned Baptist institution.
