Jason Witten for president. Everyone else can go away.

I wish they had broken my heart. It would have been much easier to deal with a close fight-to-the-finish kind of loss in Philadelphia on Sunday. That way, my heart would be broken as I was disappointed at the end of yet another NFL season for the Cowboys, and I would have remained optimistic and probably even supportive of my team and its cast of characters as I am endlessly prone to do.

Instead of breaking my heart the Cowboys, in a 44-6 trouncing, simply embarrassed and shamed me. I thought that their first half in Philadelphia was the worst professional football performance possible. Then the second half started. 

Over the last few years, I have put up with a lot as a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. Through it all I have stayed true. I have defended the choices of Jerry Jones in picking up trouble-prone Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones, and Terrell Owens. I have defended the attitude of Wade Phillips when everyone else could only talk about his coddling, easy-does-it ways that seemed to be hurting the team. I have refused to believe that "December meltdowns" in Dallas were anything more than coincidence. I have focused on the positives of Owens as a big-play receiver, and his relative lack of trouble making. I'm not sure I can do it anymore.

Last week playing at home against Baltimore, the Cowboys fell apart. At the time, this was a must-win. It was the last game Texas Stadium would ever host. And they fell apart. With a little luck, the 'Boys remained in control of their own destiny after some key losses by contenders last week, including the Philadelphia Eagles. This week, with the stakes and emotions even higher, the team didn't even show up. The 0-16 Lions would be 1-15 right now if they had been lucky enough to have been scheduled to play against Dallas this weekend. I'm quite sure that if my brothers and I had flown to Philly on Sunday, we could have played by ourselves against the Cowboys (without pads, and with blindfolds) and beaten them pretty soundly. How is that not a coaching problem? How can Jerry Jones resolve to keep the coaching staff in place? He paid $6 million this year to his head coach and assistant head coach alone. SIX MILLION DOLLARS. And those two men couldn't get their team excited about a game like this? How can Roy Williams - superstar receiver - run his mouth to the press and the public about not being used enough as a part of the offense and then look like a junior high girl on the field in the biggest game of the year (and, since he came from the Lions, the biggest game of his career to date)?

I'm finally admitting it. The press has been right all along, and I have been wrong. The Cowboys are stocked way too full with prima donnas who can't survive out of the spotlight, but the spotlight is only negative. I agree with Peter King. Everyone on the team, AND in the press keeps talking about how this is the most talented team in football. Prove it. You're not the most talented team in football when you lose the last two weeks in games that would put you in the playoffs. You're not the most talented team in football when the only stories written about you are about your demise, your intrasquad catfights, or include the words "suspended" and "arrested."

I'm still a Dallas Cowboys fan. I always will be. I'm not sure anything could change that. I don't know for sure, however, if I can continue to be the optimist I've been for the last few seasons. As I said above, I'm not even heartbroken - I could deal with that. I'm ashamed. Embarrassed. Sick.

I feel terrible for Jason Witten. He's a true superstar who's got a great attitude, he never complains, he plays through bruised ribs and torn ligaments in his ankle because he knows he can help the team. If I were Jerry Jones I'd be tempted to fire everyone in the organization except Witten and start all over. I'd keep Marion Barber too. Barber's fumble on Sunday about midway through the third quarter was returned for a touchdown and probably put the nail in the coffin (okay, maybe the second or third nail). Barber hasn't had more than a few carries a game since Thanksgiving because of an injured toe. His one mistake looked much bigger than it was because of the situation surrounding it. Tashard Choice produced huge numbers for an untested rookie in Barber's place in recent weeks, and he was let down too. I don't really have any comments on Tony Romo. I've been one of his biggest supporters since he became the starter in 2006, but I don't know how I really feel about him anymore. Thanks for reading.

I wish I could think of a stronger word for "pathetic"

That was the most embarrassing half of football I've ever seen from a professional football team, and that includes this year's history-making 0-16 Detroit Lions.

Excitement builds

I'm sitting here waiting eagerly for the DirecTv guy to show up (hopefully he'll be here before game time) so that I can see today's must-win Cowboys game with the playoffs on the line without being bothered by fuzz.

I'm also excited to watch other games this weekend.

Heartbreak

Saturday night's loss to Baltimore in the last game the Cowboys will ever play in Texas Stadium broke my heart. How, with 3:42 to play having just pulled within two points in the last game ever at Texas Stadium and desperately needing a win to boost your playoff chances, and with a defense that has stood solid in about 7 straight games, do you watch Willie McGahee run 77 yards for a touchdown on the Ravens' first play from scrimmage? And apparently, that wasn't bad enough. The offense came right back and put the ball in the endzone, once again pulling your team to within two points with 1:42 and ALL THREE TIMEOUTS left. How do you let LeRon McClain do the same thing, only on an even longer run? Just heartbreaking for a diehard fan like myself. I couldn't believe it.

I think it's true that Romo has not looked his best since returning from his pinkie injury. I think it's still bothering him. I also think that Saturday night he was still feeling the back injury from last week's Giants game. Even with those things, though, this Cowboys team is a good team. Romo hasn't looked great, but they've still won four of their last six.

Fortunately for the 'Boys, teams like Philadelphia and Tampa Bay got beat this weekend too, leaving them in control of their own destiny. A win at Philly this Sunday gives them a wildcard berth and a chance to get their first postseason win in 12 years. Philadelphia isn't actually completely out of the hunt yet either, but they would need some help, and their fate could easily be sealed by game time, because the three other teams who would impact their playoff chances play the early game (along with a win over Dallas, Philly would need Tampa Bay and either Chicago or Minnesota to lose). My prediction is that Tampa Bay will win, and that will be obvious before kickoff in Philadelphia (Tampa is home against Oakland), and the Eagles will be playing for pride, which won't be enough to hold off the desperate Cowboys. If the Bucs and either the Bears or Vikings lose, the Eagles will come out in force, and the game will be a fight to the finish between two teams scraping to make a playoff appearance... and Dallas still wins. (I'm ever the optimist, aren't I?)

Dream job

For the record, I think that tonight I realized what my fantasy dream job would be (and it's probably similar to the fantasy dream job of about 60% of men in America). I would so love to have NFL Sunday Ticket as well as a DVR, so that I could watch every play of every game of every week of professional football. Then, I could be a sportswriter or a TV analyst or something. Basically, I'd be Peter King, only hopefully without the weird gray marks in his hair (I'm bald, so I've got that going for me). You may think it took me quite a while to come to this conclusion. You'd be right, but you also have to consider that yesterday was the first time, likely in my LIFE that I had the time and opportunity to sit down on Sunday afternoon and watch THREE FULL FOOTBALL GAMES in a row. Why only three you ask? That's the maximum available to people without cable. It was fantastic. And I'm realizing that if every week my only responsibility on Sunday afternoon was to watch football, I would love my job. If that were the case, I could stay up all night Sunday night watching all of the games from the day that I didn't get to see live, because I wouldn't necessarily have to "go" anywhere on Monday. I could write and write all through the night. Then sleep for a bit and get up to watch Monday Night Football. Then write about that and sleep for a couple of days. Then get back into the thick of the NFL and find out what's going on around the league. I'd be back up to speed by the time the Thursday night game rolled around, and completely on fire for Sunday again. I can't think of a better way to spend football season. That's all.

A Big One... bring on the Ravens

Ha!

First of all, that was both a fantastic game and a HUGE win for the 'Boys. The defense was insane. Something like 7 sacks on the night of Eli Manning (I haven't looked at any official numbers). Held the Giants to ZERO touchdowns. DeMarcus Ware had 3ish sacks by himself, putting him in the lead for most sacks in the league this season. Terrence Newman stuck to Domenik Hixon like glue, and came out of it not only with an awesome defensive game (maybe one of the single best cornerback performances I've ever seen in a game where I actually sat down and watched all of it), but also TWO interceptions. If the defense keeps playing like it has the last few games, this team could be sitting in good shape come playoff time.

As for the offense, it wasn't anything spectacular, but they made the plays they needed to make. The offensive line looked a bit suspect at points. Romo took a few sacks, and a couple of them made him grimace pretty badly. I hope there's nothing serious in his injuries. Nonetheless, Romo is the kind of quarterback you love to have on your team. He eludes certain sacks way more often than he takes them. With Marion Barber still running a little un-Marion-like because of his toe injury, rookie Tashard Choice continued to look fantastic tonight. The Dallas rushing attack was not the best I've ever seen by any means, but as the clock ticked down in the 4th quarter, Choice came through on a few big plays, including his 20- or 30-something yard touchdown run right up the middle to put the game away in the waning minutes. They also wouldn't have quite made it to the waning minutes if it hadn't been for a huge first-down picked up by Jason Witten on a 3rd and 9.

So the playoff picture: If the playoffs started today, Dallas would be the 5 seed. They have the same record as Tampa Bay (6 seed) and Atlanta (just out), but hold the tiebreakers over both. Therefore, if the Cowboys win out, they'll automatically be in the playoffs. If one or both of the aforementioned teams do any stumbling the last two weeks, Dallas will have a shot even if they lose one (but I'd really rather that not happen). Technically, the Bears, Eagles, and Redskins are still in the hunt too. Notice: Even though the NFC South has turned out, shockingly, to be the toughest division in the league, the East is still the only one with all four of its teams in contention, though that will likely change next week.

Regarding this week's "controversial call" in the Ravens-Steelers game. Near the end of the game, with Pittsburgh down 9-3 and facing a 3rd and goal, Roethlisberger threw a pass that was caught by a Steeler whose body was in the endzone, but his outstretched hands weren't. The official on the field didn't think the ball crossed the plane, and ruled the receiver down about 3 inches before the endzone. After reviewing the play, even though there did not appear to be conclusive evidence, the referee overturned the call and gave the Steelers the touchdown. Now, I personally think that the ball probably did at least cross the plane, though it didn't get much further than that. However, none of the replay angles provided conclusive evidence about anything. If the original call had been "touchdown," it shouldn't have been overturned, but since the call was "no touchdown," it shouldn't have been overturned either. I agree with Cris Collinsworth of NBC's Football Night in America: The replay was intended to make the call right when there was obvious evidence that a wrong call had been made. It's turning into referees making their best guess on not-so conclusive evidence. That's too bad. I won't argue to Steeler fans that they had one "given to them," or to Ravens fans that they had one "taken from them," but I don't think the original call should have been reversed with the evidence I saw.

Now, about the Cowboys drama. First of all, as Tiki Barber reported before the game, after having spoken with T.O. and numerous players and personnel in the Dallas locker room, the whole "drama" stuff from this past week was blown out of proportion by the media. Secondly, all we seem to read about regarding the Cowboys are the "distractions," and "coach who has no control," and "big egos," and "players who have tons of off-field issues." Pretend for a second that there was no media. Look at the Cowboys season. They went through a really rocky middle of the season, but since Romo's return from his pinkie injury, they've won 3 straight, lost a close one to Pittsburgh (granted, it was all their fault), who's a good team, and pretty well whooped up on the reigning Super Bowl champion and current NFC #1 seed New York Giants. I'm not saying I love all of the Cowboys coaches, or their owner, or all of the players, nor do I necessarily think that the collection of players they have are great at avoiding bad media attention. However, because of who they are, they get put in the spotlight in a negative way more than any other team. That's okay, and tonight the team showed that negative attention doesn't equal poor performance.

So to all of the naysayers out there who thought for sure that the T.O.-Jason Witten saga would lead to bitterness, resentment, and poor play by the team, I say HA! And if this team wins out and heads into the playoffs having won 6 of their last 7 against the schedule they will have faced, I would venture to say that whoever they play in the wildcard round will not be happy that they drew the Cowboys.

Feelin' kinda Sunday

There's been more drama than usual this week. Not only with the Cowboys (some of the receivers reportedly had a "secret meeting" with offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to complain about Romo's favoritism of Jason Witten), but also on this blog (with fantasy football arguments run amuck). Tomorrow we get back to the game itself. The reason I love the NFL. Tomorrow night Dallas takes on the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants at Texas Stadium. It's a must-win for Dallas, and a not-so-must-win for the Giants (though they're getting closer and closer to putting their home field advantage in jeopardy).

Giants running back Brandon Jacobs will not be playing, which is great if you're a Cowboys fan. On the other hand, Cowboys running back Marion Barber should be back, though likely not a full-strength. This should be a well-contested game. I think the Dallas D will have another impressive game, holding Eli and the G-Men to less than 20 points. At least, that's my hope.

Dallas, 27-17 (that's my prediction)

Lookin' forward to it

Sunday night could become the highlight of my year. My final exams will be over. The 'Boys will be playing on SNF, which is the greatest football broadcast of the week. Al Michaels and John Madden will be calling the game - the two best on TV. And it's a huge game between rivals with massive playoff implications (at least for the Cowboys!).

I will be celebrating the end of my academic semester, which means that for the first time this season, no 8 a.m. Monday morning homework will be hovering over my head as I watch the game. At 5 p.m. local time (when Football Night in America begins) I will be permanently placed on my rump with chips, pizza, macaroni, pigs-in-a-blanket, and/or any other football snacks I can wrangle until about 9:30ish when the game (and the post-game) is all over.

I'm excited.

Fantasy: Not for me

My brother is a fantasy football guy. I am not. My brother does not feel that this is okay. Whereas I respect the rights of sportsfans to engage in as much fantasy activity as they want (that statement is not intended to be dirty), even though I don't participate, my brother seems to think that unless you are a fantasy junkie, you are not a very strong football fan. (I am exaggerating Joel's view for the purpose of making this particular post more controversial.)

First of all, there are some who would be consumed by fantasy football. This in itself is not an adequate argument against fantasy, because the same thing could be said about facebook, or even non-fantasy NFL-watching. It is, however, valid to note that for certain types of personalities fantasy would not be a good idea because it would lead to a decrease in other meaningful activities in their lives and leave their relationships lacking. I don't have that kind of personality, so I'll move on to other reasons I choose not to engage.

Fantasy football measures the success of individuals and units (special teams and defense) by numbers alone. The receivers who have the most catches for the most yards are sought-after because catches and yards and touchdowns and stats are how you accumulate fantasy value. Fantasy pays no attention to those players who are vital to a team's success but do not put up consistently big numbers. One way that this is becoming more and more the case is in the instance of running backs. Many, if not most, NFL teams are adopting rushing systems in which two or more backs share the load. Because of this common system, often some of the best running backs in the league rush for just 60-80 yards a game over the course of a season. Also, if a team's rushing attack has a "short yardage back," then the 60-80 yard rushers often don't score many touchdowns, because they are less likely to be in the game near the goal line. Obviously this isn't true across the board. Clinton Portis, Adrian Peterson, and Brian Westbrook are just three examples that spring easily to mind who consistently rush for 100 yards or more and score pretty often. But consider the Dallas Cowboys rushing attack if Felix Jones had remained healthy this year. As Jones became more of an impact player, with a contrasting style to the battering ram that is Marion Barber, neither of these backs would get very good fantasy numbers, but they are two of the most important pieces of a successful Dallas offense.

Another personal objection I have is to the "but it makes you care about every game" argument. First of all, I already care about every game. As an avid football fan who cheers for teams in both conferences (the Cowboys are by far my favorite team, but I root for Denver too in every instance except when they play each other), almost every game of the weekend has implications, and even if it doesn't, I love NFL football no matter who's playing. My real objection, however, is that the argument is somewhat flawed. You don't care about the outcome of every game. You care about how specific players perform in the game. A fantasy player might say, "I hope Arizona kills their opponent this week," but he likely means, "I hope Kurt Warner throws for 350 yards and 3 touchdowns, regardless of who wins." 

My final objection (at least my final mentioned objection in this post) is that fantasy, if I were involved, would likely create situations where I would have to cheer for players and/or teams I despise, or cheer against players and/or teams I love. Unless my fantasy team was made up of Tony Romo, Marion Barber, Jason Witten, Roy Williams, Terrell Owens, Nick Folk, and the Cowboys defense and special teams, I would probably run into issues over the course of a season. What if I had Santana Moss? I HATE the Redskins, but I'd want him to perform well. That goes against everything in me. I'm a fan of the Cowboys first and foremost, not of individual players. "So don't draft players from teams you hate," a fantasy-er might say. Okay, but if I want to succeed in fantasy, which is at least one of the points to it, I would no doubt have to draft a player who at some point in the season will play against the Cowboys, which creates the same problem. True fans cheer for their team, win or lose (just ask the guy in my class who's from Detroit and still says, "Go Lions" every week). I want to care about my team is faring against other teams, not how players from 10 different teams are faring individually. Words I never in my life plan to say: "Well, it's okay that Dallas missed the playoffs this year, because Michael Turner had a fantastic game, and I'm beating the second seed in my fantasy league!"

To sum up: I have no problem with people who enjoy fantasy football. More power to ya. But I don't think I would like it very much, and I hope that's okay with fantasy-ers too. I'll continue to root for my team and to enjoy good football, you continue to root for your players and be concerned with every play of every game. To each his own.

I welcome arguments and objections (from all one or two of you who read this).

That sucked

They blew it. They had a win, and they blew it. I feel bad for the 'Boys defense, who played perfectly well enough for a win. The offensive gameplan in the last 9 minutes of the game was silly -- I've never understood why, when there's still most of the 4th quarter remaining, do you start to hold strictly to the run, essentially telling the other team, "we don't mind that you'll get the ball back, we just want to run off two or three minutes first." Why don't you keep playing hard? Trying to score?

Tashard Choice looked great. Against a brutal Pittsburgh defense Choice had over 150 total yards, and he's a rookie! I think the difference ended up being Romo's poor passes and a couple of bad decisions.

Playoff watch: The Falcons lost today to an NFC team, which, even though Dallas lost, gave the Cowboys the tie-breaker over Atlanta. If the playoffs started right now, Dallas would get the 6th spot. I think they need to win at least two of their next three still, though. They look like they could beat the Giants next week at home, and I think Baltimore and Philadelphia (their last two games) are definitely win-able too. They can't start taking anything for granted, though. If they want to be in control of their own destiny in week 17, they need to be winning.

I am really bummed tonight. They should have won.

BUMMERific

Marion Barber didn't make the trip to Pittsburgh. He won't be playing tomorrow against the Steelers. Mark my words, Barber's loss will be devastating for Dallas tomorrow, and if they win I will consider it their biggest victory of the year.

Gettin' beat up?

When the Cowboys are playing opposite the Broncos (as is the case on Sunday) Fox has a tendency to NOT show the game. Instead they usually air some infomercial or fishing show. I've e-mailed multiple times asking for an explanation (can they honestly get the ratings with a fishing show that they'd get with a Cowboys game?), but I've never gotten a response.

However, we have some Steeler-fan friends who have been on the hunt for a local Steeler's bar that might be showing the game, so it is entirely possible that I might get beat up on Sunday as I wear my Jason Witten jersey into a Steeler's bar and root for the Cowboys. We'll see.