Five Reasons to Feel Better About This Season

My youngest brother, whom I don't get to hang out with nearly often enough, just sent me this. I think it's brilliant. Funny thing is, all of these reasons have crossed my mind in recent weeks, but I wasn't astute enough to jot them all down for your enjoyment. He did. Thanks, Jase. Enjoy the first ever Valley Ranch guest post. Here are...


Five Reasons to Feel Better About This Season

1. No Tivo, No problem

    If the Cowboys play on Monday night, and that happens to be the night you have a bible study in your house, you can rest assured, you're not missing much.

2. At least you're not the Bills.

    Okay, so maybe it'd be better to be the Bills.  No expectations means no disappointment. They might be better off for that reason. Which brings me to my next point...

3. No more disappointment.

    Since you've probably officially lost all expectations for the Cowboys, there's no need to be disappointed when they lose. And if they actually play as well as you expected at the beginning of the season, you'll be much more excited now that you would have been had they played that way all season.

4. Happier Playoffs

    No more disappointing playoff losses, they won't be around to lose at that point.

5. You've got company with Vikings fans.

    Sure, they have one more win, but their season has been nearly as disappointing.  We're not alone out there.

Jase Rohde

weird feeling

The Cowboys have always been my favorite football team. I never really had a favorite baseball team (though I've always loved baseball) until I began dating Elizabeth, at which point I became a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan. I also cheer for the Broncos and the Rockies (since I live in Denver), and the Vikings and the San Francisco Giants (since other members of my family cheer for those teams).

Neither of the two primary teams I cheer for have ever been awful (since I can remember, that is), but Dallas certainly is this year. A record of 1-5 isn't a so-so season. It's not even a season on track to be 5-11 like a few of the pre-Parcells years earlier in the decade. It's looking like 3-13 might be something to aim for, and that's the kind of record usually reserved for those OTHER teams who are never very good (Detroit, Buffalo, etc.).

So, this is kind of a weird feeling.

mad? nope

It's been suggested to me a couple of times already today that I should be "mad" about last night's game, but I don't really see why. I get mad when my team SHOULD win a game, but instead they blow it (usually at the end or in overtime) because of stupid mistakes. People who think I should be "mad" somehow must have thought that the Cowboys should have won last night, and I can't for the life of me figure out why.

You have a 1-4 team who has shown more creativity in the ways they lose games than any team I've ever seen. Then you have the Giants. While not an amazing team by any means, they have consistently played better than any other NFC team over the last 3 or 4 weeks - and they were CERTAINLY the better team on the field last night. Even after handing Dallas three early turnovers, giving them drives that started deep in Giants territory, AND allowing a 93-yard punt return for a touchdown, I didn't see anything either from the Dallas offense OR defense that suggested they ever stood a chance. In essence, you have a team (the Giants) who have looked "elite" (by this year's crappy NFC standards) playing against a team who have looked, well, 1-4 (even playing in this year's crappy NFC). I know a lot of analysts picked the 'Boys to win because their backs were against a wall, and sooner or later talent has to start winning, and all that other crap, but on paper there was no reason to think Dallas stood much of a chance. Add to that the fact that their pro-bowl quarterback was knocked out of the game by a hard (clean) hit early in the 2nd quarter, and I just don't see how I can be "mad" that the inevitable happened. It'd be like if I attempted to drive my not-so-reliable has-a-lot-of-problems '96 Jetta across the country and then it broke down before I got to my destination and it had to be towed. There's no reason to believe the Jetta can make that kind of trip, so why should I be surprised when it doesn't?

I guess it all comes down to something that's long fascinated me: Dallas is supposed to win on reputation alone. If any other team went into last night's game 1-4 and had looked like the Cowboys have looked this season, no one would bet on them. But Dallas is "America's Team" and they're successful a lot of the time, so based on the events of the last 50 years, they should win. Well, folks, the fact that Tom Landry was a really good coach for a really long time a million years ago unfortunately has little to say about the 2010 season.

Analogy

I just realized something. The Dallas Cowboys are just like the Obama administration. Neither has given us any hope that they can accomplish what they've set out to accomplish!

Didn't learn anything new

Well, the truth is, we didn't really learn anything we didn't already know on Sunday. I didn't get to watch the game, so anything I say about it is based on reading re-caps and analyses from others. Here are what seem to me to be the indisputable facts about the Cowboys: They're extremely talented. They're extremely undisciplined. They have a spineless coach and a puzzling offensive coordinator. They have an owner/general manager who is the best in the world at marketing his product. They have an owner/general manager who is the worst in the world when it comes to meddling in the coaching parts of his team.

I was, frankly, surprised at the hype this game generated in the later parts of last week. Everyone was talking about it as, for all practical purposes, a "playoff game," meaning whoever lost would be effectively out of the running for this year's postseason. I understand that angle, but I, quite simply, disagree. This was a game of mediocre-to-bad football teams. Of course, now the talk is that Minnesota is a win away from being back in the thick of the NFC North hunt. I understand that angle too, since we are talking about an extremely mediocre NFC this year. Still, the only way I would have been convinced that Sunday's winner could be a real playoff contender is if the winning team absolutely dominated its opponent and made a strong statement. Instead, as far as I can tell from reading lots and lots of NFL material, Dallas played as good or better than the Vikings in almost every phase of the game, but committed some very costly mistakes that all but handed Minnesota the win (consider that the Dallas defense gave up just 14 points [the field goal that came after Romo's late INT can hardly be held against them], and made Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin look pedestrian at best).

Basically, I don't believe either of these teams has a deep playoff run in them. Sure, the Vikings are in much better shape. They're in what appears to be a weaker division, and 2-3 is lightyears ahead of 1-4. I just don't think beating the Cowboys by a field goal at home after having the ball thrown into your linebacker's hands should be considered "dominant," or a sign that a team has turned it around and is headed for a conference championship.

I read a blog post that reprinted some of the things Jerry Jones said on his weekly radio appearance this morning about the team. He apparently believes that the team is playing pretty well, that they're better than a 1-4 team, and that, at least in part, they're a victim of bad luck. I wish I could get ahold of whatever drug he's using. He also continues to express confidence in Wade Philips, and has even started talking like him.

Both Coach and Owner love to point out how good Dallas performs. They've outgained opponents in total offense by over 100 yards in every game so far this season (except the game they won). They talk about how they held Adrian Peterson to something like 2.4 yards per carry, and every other stat they can dream up that gives the appearance of a strong team. As this blogger pointed out, though, it's easy to outgain opponents when they have 3-4 drives per game that start inside Cowboys territory! Philips spoke last week about how they did a good job of keeping Vince Young in check against the Titans. Nevermind that the Titans began one of their drives at the Dallas 8 yardline. Damn endzone keeps getting in the way of the opposition gaining yards! Seriously, Wade and Jerry, if you're interested in using your team to gain points for your fantasy teams, more power to you, but if you'd like your team to WIN (that is, be ahead of the other team when time expires), you're going to have to make some changes. "We're doing fine, we're just a victim of bad luck" isn't going to cut it anymore.

There are obviously plenty of fans who want Wade Philips fired right now. I honestly don't care if it's done now or in January, as long as it's done.

The real problem isn't Wade, though. It's Jerry. Until he fires himself, or learns to shut his trap and stay in his plush owner's suite, not much will change. Firing Wade only does some good if his replacement is a hard-nosed disciplinarian -- but that's the kind of coach Jerry never seems interested in hiring.

If you haven't been able to tell, I've essentially given up on any hopes of a successful Cowboys season this year. Oh well. I'll still watch football every week, and I'll still love the game. In fact, as I type I'm getting giddy with excitement over the Cowboys being on Monday Night Football next week (home against the Giants). I've got a potato-skins recipe I've been wanting to try...

A well-done Ed Werder article, if you're interested

THIS is a spot-on story by ESPN's Ed Werder. He says the things I've been thinking/saying, but he does it more eloquently.

The jist is that Wade Phillips sucks at his job. Here's the best line:

If the Cowboys only play with ferocity and expertise when they sense they must for survival, Wade Phillips is failing to have his team meet its weekly challenge.

Are you kidding me?

I subscribe to a few different Cowboys-related blogs in my feed-reader, but I don't usually read much of what comes through. I often scan the headlines where I learn most of the important stuff. I'll read the occasional game re-cap article, and sometimes there are some very good analyses from different sports writers, but since there are often a couple of dozen posts per day about the Cowboys, I probably read about 1% of them.

I did happen to notice THIS post today, though, and I couldn't help asking, "Is this for real?" Apparently, when Randy Moss entered the NFL draft over 12 years ago there was a chance the Cowboys could pick him. They didn't. That seems to be considered a "snub," and Moss, reportedly, still plays with a little bit of a "chip on his shoulder" against the Cowboys because of it.

I can't believe this is actually something reporters are taking the time to comment on this week.

I guess the way I see it is that any player in any draft who isn't the #1 overall pick has been "snubbed" by someone. If you're the #5 overall pick, you've been snubbed by 4 teams, right? Technically, any player chosen in the second round or later has been snubbed by every team including his own. If Dallas had selected Moss with their second-round pick (I have no idea when Moss was chosen, by the way), they still would have "snubbed" him the first time around. Would he play with a chip on his shoulder then? For his own team? This is just a ridiculous notion to me. I don't have anything against Moss, either. I've seen stories like these about numerous other players. He's the topic today because he's the one I read about today. This just seems utterly silly to me. Anyone else?

Super Bowl contenders

My brother (one of two people who read this blog) asked me last night who I would predict to be in the Super Bowl after 5 weeks in the NFL. My response: Ravens and Falcons.

Obviously, a lot can change in the next twelve weeks, but right now I believe the Ravens look like the best team in the AFC, and nobody looks all that good in the NFC. The Falcons are the best NFC team almost by default.

Do you agree? Disagree?

Note: ESPN's power rankings this week have the New Orleans Saints at number 9. Through the first 5 weeks, the Saints had held either number 1 or 2, but this week's loss to the Cardinals made them tumble seven spots. Here the thing, though: The Saints' three wins have been against teams who are 1-13 combined. I don't know how they stayed at the top this long, and I would argue that number 9 is probably too high for them.

But, I don't want to turn into one of those commenters at whom I laugh each week because of how desperately they argue for and against a team's standings in the ESPN power rankings (which, as any sane person knows, has absolute NO value in determining who will actually win anything).

Never underestimate...

...the ineptitude of the Cowboys' coaching staff.

In his pre-game matchup blog post, ESPN's NFC East blogger, Matt Moseley gives an edge to one team or the other in multiple categories (e.g., when the Titans pass, when the Titans run, when the Cowboys pass, when the Cowboys run, etc.). The last category is "intangibles." Moseley gave the Cowboys the edge because they were coming off a bye week and had two weeks to prepare for Tennessee at home.

BUT, what Moseley forgot to take into account is that Dallas has the Marshmallow Man for a head coach, and a getting-more-worthless-by-the-week assistant head coach/offensive coordinator.

Certainly the coaches don't deserve the entirety of the blame for the Cowboys' inability to win a game against a beatable team at home when you're basically desperate. Mike Jenkins, for example, was called for multiple pass interference infractions, two of which came on the Titans' opening drive (which ended in a touchdown). Jenkins also gave up a deep pass to Kenny Brit in the third quarter. He looked like he didn't have a clue half the time -- not like the pro-bowler he's supposed to be. Also, the Cowboys had more penalty yards against them as a team than they'd had in four years (and for the Cowboys, that's saying something -- they've been one of the top two penalized teams in the league over the last couple of seasons).

There were moments of brilliance. Moments when the defense looked suffocating, and moments when the offense looked like Super Bowlers (Romo threw for over 400 yards, Austin averaged about 20 yards per catch, leaving him with over 160 yards receiving, Roy Williams had a pretty big game, making a few really great catches including a 2nd touchdown grab), but it wasn't enough.

I'll go back to what I've said before: When you have the talent that this team has, and they've only shown up for one out of their four games so far this season, and they come out after a bye week and can't handle a so-so team at home, you have MAJOR coaching issues. The players deserve their share of the blame for this loss, but until Wade Philips and his sidekick Jason Garrett are history, so are the Cowboys' Super Bowl hopes.

Oddly enough

At 1-2 the Cowboys, as many analysts have pointed out this week, are "sittin' pretty." Kinda weird, right? Look at how awful this division is! Each of the other teams in the East is 2-2. Many still consider Dallas to be in the best position to win the division. That's kind of a ridiculous thought. I mean, the 'Boys have played three games. In two of them they looked absolutely pathetic. In one of them, they looked decent (not fantastic). After a decent showing in only one game through four weeks of the NFL season, the Cowboys are still a favorite to win what used to be considered the toughest division in football.

Wow.