Next Year's Champs posted by Amari Harris

 Does anybody remember when the Cowboys were labeled “Next Year’s Champions” in the ‘70s before they finally broke through and won a couple of Super Bowls?  Yeah, me neither.  I wasn’t born until 1986.  But I watch quite a bit of NFL Network and I vaguely remember that being a thing.  And all of us Cowboys fans love to live in the past and not in the present sorrow of one playoff victory in the last decade and a half.  We like to think that history will repeat itself at some point in order to give us any semblance of hope for the upcoming season.  So I shall indulge you once more with this idea of “Next Year’s Champs” but in a much more literal sense.  While I am not predicting that the Cowboys will be Super Bowl Champions in 2013, I am tempering my expectations for 2012 and saving my hopes for a deep playoff run until 2013.  Why, you ask?  Because I’m tired of getting my feelings hurt, for one, but mainly because this team is in partial rebuilding mode and has chosen to rebuild one side of the ball at a time.

The Cowboys have finally accepted the fact that the NFL is a young man’s game at every position but quarterback.  They started cutting those guys that were lingering around a few years after their prime and started bringing in younger alternative through the draft and free agencies.  So gone are the Marion Barbers, Flozelle Adams, and Terrance Newmans of the world, and in come the Demarco Murrays, Tyron Smiths, Brandon Carrs, and Morris Claibornes.  But instead of making this youth movement in a shrewd and balanced manner, the Cowboys got younger almost exclusively on offense last year and almost exclusively on defense this year.  It is very easy to question this method.  Last year’s offense was effective for the most part, but it was clear that many players simply had not developed enough to get the team over the hump.  The defense was good early with the strong veteran presence, the emergence of Sean Lee, and a blitz happy scheme from Rob Ryan. But they broke down at the end of the season and the lack of pure talent was exposed.  As for this year, I expect both sides of the ball to make some improvement but there are way too many new faces and too much youth.  Instead, I am looking for this team to make serious noise in 2013.

Notes from Round One of the 2012 NFL Draft posted by Joe Anello

The 2012 NFL Draft may not have been mysterious when it came to the first two picks, but the madness began before the event even started with a mega-trade! The excitement continued throughout the night and I’m here to recap as much as my fingers can manage!

-As advertised, Minnesota didn’t want to stay at number three. Oddly enough, they only moved down one spot to four, trading with Cleveland. The Browns moved up to take Alabama running back Trent Richardson ahead of whoever else might have been calling the Vikings (which was probably Tampa Bay). At first glance I was alright with the idea of ensuring you’d get your man. After seeing the trade details? The ransom was sorta insane. The Browns gave back their first, fourth, fifth, and seventh round picks for what ended up being an insurance trade. Cleveland has a lot of picks in the first few rounds (they had 13 overall), so it’s clear now they’re going for starters and not depth. I’m not crazy about the trade for a running back, but they had a glut of picks to use. For Minnesota, it was brilliant. They got three extra picks by selling a team on moving up one spot and still got their left tackle.

-Jacksonville dept the trade train rolling, swapping up for Justin Blackmon at number five with Tampa Bay. In Blackmon they’re getting a legitimate receiver to go with the overpaid Laurent Robinson to give Blaine Gabbert receivers who can actually catch a pass. But after the bounty Cleveland hand to shell out, Tampa only got a fourth round pick? Odd. Still, the Bucs used that seventh pick to get safety Mark Barron and bolster their own secondary. (Later on the Bucs would also add running back Doug Martin, making it a decent first day for Tampa.)

NFL Championship Chop-Up posted by Amari Harris

It's hard to believe that the NFL season is already coming to an end.  It comes and goes so quickly that sometimes we forget to stop and smell the turf.  This season has been another exciting one  (despite the persistent failures of my Cowboys)  where teams that didn't have high expectations made a playoff run (49ers, Broncos, Bengals) and teams that were expected to contend fell flat on their faces (Eagles, Jets, Colts).  It was also a season in which a 27 year old passing record fell twice and a third QB threw for 5,000 yards for the first time in history. 

Sadly, the running game seems to have become an afterthought for most NFL offenses but a couple of teams (Ravens and 49ers) have shown that defense and ball control can still be a championship formula.  And that brings us to this weekend.  Two of those three 5,000 yard passers will be on display in this weeks championship games against tenacious defenses and persistent run games.  It's the old NFL versus the new NFL and this weekend could determine the trajectory of the league for years to come.  Will teams finally realize that the NFL rules are two conducive to passing the ball and there is no way a team can expect to win a championship with defense and a good run game?  Or will the football traditionalists be vindicated by the phrase "Defense Wins Championships" (just to have the NFL change another rule)? One or both of these questions could be answered in the next 36 hours and potentially change the way several teams go about their business.

The Final Drive: Week 17, 2011-12 posted by Joe Anello

The 2011 NFL regular season ended with a bang with some great finishes and superb drama on Sunday. Records were set by a back-up QB, a team captain was benched for “quitting” and a fat-handed QB lost missed out on the post-season. The Final Drive must begin!

This makes me beyond furious. Mike McCarthy takes out his MVP quarterback and starts a fourth year back-up with one career start in Matt Flynn, and f*cking records are broken. Six touchdowns? 480 yards? Who wouldn’t want to be Matt Flynn right now? That guy is about to make BANK as a free agent. Blow me Green Bay. Take your awesome quarterback development and blow me.

(6-10) Miami Dolphins 19
(8-8) New York Jets 17
Mark Sanchez: 3 interceptions. Santonio Holmes: benched and called out as a whiny quitter by his teammates.  (Seriously. Worst team captain ever.) Bart Scott: flips off a photographer and refuses to talk to the media (For once). Finally seeing theses loathsome Jets miss the playoffs is SO satisfying to me. Take it Rex Ryan. Take it hard.

I don’t give a crap about the result of this game. What I do care about is DeSean Jackson deciding to actually play like he means it and be remorseful for his completely idiotic actions this season in the last game of the year. I’d be surprised (not stunned though) if the Eagles kept Jackson around. Maybe franchise him and get him on a one-year deal, but you would have thought he’d have been on better behavior once he showed up to 2011.

The Final Drive: Week 16, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

It was a Christmas Eve of meaningful NFL action as all the remaining playoff spots were nearly filled and draft orders are beginning to finalize. Miss any of the action? No need to worry, because the Final Drive starts right now!

Indy… what are you doing??? After all the speculation, you could single-handedly win yourself out of a franchise quarterback. Knock it off. (Or play more scrubs.) To Houston, I say congratulations. You’re in the playoffs. Now get ready to go home before anyone else.

This was about as disappointing a loss as you could find on Sunday. For a division-leader that could have locked up their playoff berth to lay down to a team that had nothing to play for is unacceptable. The Teebs magic was all used up apparently as Timmy tossed four interceptions, two of which were boomerangs. I wish I had been able to watch this one. It would have felt SO good.

It was looking awkward when the ‘Phins were up 17-0 at halftime, but Brady rallied and made sure his team clinched a first-round bye. I’m expecting the Patriots to take the number one seed in the AFC, but I don’t feel very confident about their postseason chances.

PFFT. I’m glad this turned out to be less of a game, because if it had been overly dramatic I wouldn’t stop hearing about it all week. And the rumors that the Jets aren’t completely sold on Sanchez for next year? Frosting on the cake baby. And this picture of Jacobs and Ryan jawing afterward? Weird.

The Opening Drive: Week 16, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Christmas Eve or not, there’s no way I’d let a schedule of great NFL action slip past my nets! The playoff positioning is settling in, but there’s some unresolved business in the NFC East with two pivotal games on Saturday. There’s plenty to talk about in week 16, so let’s get right to it!

John Skelton gets another chance to prove how little publicity the Cardinals can garner, despite his Tebowian winning ways. They travel to Cincy to take on the Bengals, who are desperate to climb back into the playoffs after stumbling the past few weeks. (I mean, they didn’t exactly blow out St. Louis.)

Can a game between a 7-7 and 8-6 team be any more unnecessarily hyped? I know there’s playoff hopes on the line and it’s between the two New York squads, but please, can we settle down slightly? The Jets defense has been utterly mediocre and Mark Sanchez has regressed. Give me Eli and the inconsistent Giants in this one.

This one would be almost not worth writing about except for Big Ben’s injury. Instead, the ancient Charlie Batch will get the start against the lowly Rams, a team that is now in the running for the first pick in April’s draft. I’m picking the Steeler defense in this match-up… because not much else excites me.

All I Want for Christmas posted by Amari Harris

Good morning nation,

Yes, it is only one hour into Christmas eve at this point, but after 4 glasses of honey whiskey on the rocks and putting my dog to sleep, I am ready to ramble.

First of all, isn't it just a bit awkward that the majority of the games are on Saturday and not Sunday?  This is definitely to accommodate the NBA and not Christmas, but it does guarantee us a great sports weekend.  I am looking forward to staying up all night and not waking up until football is on!  But I have errands to run and people to see tomorrow, so I am just going to stay up all night and wake up early.  But I am digressing…

At 25 years of age, I have gotten used to not getting Christmas presents.  My sister likes to give me hip clothes from time to time because she thinks that I am getting less cool with age (ridiculous) but I've come to expect nothing more than maybe 10-12 adult beverages for Christmas (please suspend your judgment).  But I am planning on writing a letter to Santa this year.  Hell, I may even go to the mall tomorrow morning and sit on old Saint Nick's lap to deliver the message personally:  "All I want for Christmas is a Cowboys playoff berth."  Yes, I said it.  Why wait?  The Cowboys could wrap this thing up tomorrow and be in the tournament ready to exercise the playoff daemons of the last 16 years. 

I am a patient man, and if it's necessary, I don't mind seeing the Cowboys seal the deal in week 17 against the damn Giants.  But in approximately 19 hours we could all know the playoff status of the Cowboys, Giants and the Eagles.  The Giants could lose their game to the Jets at 1 o'clock making the Cowboys-Eagles game the most important game of the motherf*&*ing day, and the Cowboys could vindicate themselves against that Eagles team that decimated them 44-6 in 2008.  Remember that?  Remember that sh*t?!  And then in week eight this year in the "Imma piss on you like R. Kelly Bowl" the damn Eagles put a similar hurting on the Cowboys. 

Victory Monday: Yea, I know it's Wednesday but I forgot to post but expect something new tomorrow posted by Amari Harris

Happy Victory Monday to everyone whom it applies:

It does apply to the Cowboys who handled the Bucs so well that they only needed 3 points in the second half to win by two touchdowns.  But is that slow second half foreshadowing for things to come?  I'll discuss later.

But yes, the Cowboys handled those Bucs in enemy territory, and put themselves in a position to make a playoff run.  Now the Bucs had lost seven in a row prior to Saturday night, but that was all the more reason for this game to be a trap game.  Fortunately for the Cowboys, they did not fall into this trap and now they are in the driver's seat of the NFC East...sort of.

While the Cowboys currently own the NFC East lead by a game, they are not the only team in the division they are not the only team who controls their own destiny.  The New York Football Giants, despite an embarrassing loss to the last place Washington Redskins, will still win the division if they win out.  It seems highly likely that week 17 will determine who wins this division.

Oh and have your  heard?  Philly is back in the mix, too.  The "Dream Team" has crept back into contention with a couple of solid wins and with some help could get back into the thick of the playoff discussion.

Well don't that just beat all.  The Cowboys, Giants, and Eagles will all be playing for their playoff lives against other teams (mostly each other) who are playing for their playoff lives.  In week 16 the Cowboys will play the Eagles, who blasted them 34 to 7 in the "I'm gonna piss on you like R. Kelly" Bowl (still have to explain that one) and the Giants will be playing the Jets.  No one can afford to lose, and that will make for some interesting drama the last two weeks of the season.  Let's hope that the 'Boys are up for it.

Going Forward: The Playoffs Begin Now for the Dallas Cowboys posted by Amari Harris

Going Forward

I think there is a general consensus in the football world that the Dallas Cowboys are in a heap of trouble.  For two consecutive weeks the 'Boys have had an opportunity to distance themselves away from the NFC East pack after taking the division lead during a four game win streak.  But for the last two weeks the Cowboys have gotten out coached and out hustled by the Arizona Cardinals, and then they let the New York Giants ring the door bell, break into their house, and steal their division.  To make matters worse, of the Cowboys 6 losses they had ample opportunity to win every game except the "Imma piss on you like R. Kelly"  Eagles game (I'll have to tell you about that one day).  But as a famous former Cowboys coach once said, "You are who you are," and these are the Cowboys.  They always have the talent compete and with Tony Romo at quarterback, but sometimes they find the most perplexing ways to lose games

The last two losses hurt like hell. They should have been wins, but they are losses and now the Giants control the NFC East.  So should Cowboys fans just put their collective heads in the sand and hide themselves from the inevitable collapse of the Cowboys season?  Or should they dust off their shoulders and push forward for three more games?  I think the answer is obvious.

The last 3 games (Tampa Bay, the damn Eagles, and the damn Giants) are no cake walk but I know I am not alone in thinking that the Cowboys can pull off a three game winning streak.  They pulled off a 4 game streak not too long ago. They've lost steam, but it's just a matter of the elements coming together.  Last week vs. Arizona, the Cowboys met the "good" Cardinals team that upset the Cowboys and the 49ers in successive weeks instead of the bad Cardinals team that was eliminated from playoff contention about a month ago.  In that game it appeared the Cowboys were playing to "not lose" the game while the Cardinals played like it was their Super Bowl (guess that's what being knocked out of the playoffs does for you).  But the blunders and mistakes of that game did not keep the Cowboys from getting ready for those G-Men and they had them dead to rights with 5:32 left in the fourth quarter.  Of course that is where things unraveled on offense, defense, and special teams and the Cowboys allowed a team to come back from more than two scores in the fourth quarter for the third time this season.  Hurts like hell.

The Final Drive: Week 14, 2011 posted by Joe Anello

Heart attacks were felt across the nation on Sunday (especially by me), leading to plenty of hospitalizations. While you’re incapacitated, why not get the full scoop on week 14’s heart-stopping action?

So maybe the Texans aren’t absolutely screwed with T.J. Yates at quarterback. Who knew? They probably won’t make a lot of noise in the playoffs depending on the seeding, but they should stay competitive. Unfortunately for Cincy, there may be too many “respectable losses” on their record.

If the Titans weren’t in the middle of a playoff chase, I’d say it was time to start Jake Locker. Though with Hasselbeck’s injury, it might happen anyway. Kudos to the Saints for not falling into the “Trap of the Week.”

Oh Tony Sparano, we hardly knew ye. Wait, I did. You were a mediocre coach. Its obvious management was waiting for him to lose just ONE more game after that streak of wins they went on. Dropping one to the Eagles wasn’t going to cut it.

Sparano wasn’t the only coach let go today, as Todd Haley was relieved of his duties in Arizona following this shellacking. When you make Mark Sanchez look good… nothing good can follow. The Jets inch closer to the playoffs with a surprisingly lop-sided win.

Engineer in Cowboys disaster paying $12,000 fine (Yahoo! Sports)

DALLAS (AP) The engineer who signed off on plans for the tent-like Dallas Cowboys practice facility that collapsed and seriously injured two team employees three years ago is paying a $12,000 fine to settle faulty design charges from the Texas Board of Professional Engineers. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Engineer in Cowboys accident pays fine

The engineer who signed off on plans for the Dallas Cowboyspractice facility that collapsed and seriously injured two teamemployees three years ago is paying a $12,000 fine to settle faultydesign charges from the Texas Board of Professional Engineers. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for NFL

Cowboys', Redskins' appeals heard on salary caps (Yahoo! Sports)

NEW YORK (AP) The Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins have had their appeals heard on the NFL's reductions to their salary caps. [read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Jones: Cowboys followed rules before cap reduction (Yahoo! Sports)

[read full article]

From Yahoo! Sports

Morris Claiborne wants two-way role with Dallas Cowboys

Morris Claiborne wants two-way role with Dallas Cowboys. [read full article]

From FOXSports.com News for NFL