Amari Harris's Dallas Cowboys fan blog

One of the things I’ve always wanted to do in my dreams of being an ESPN analyst or sports writer is giving out the end of the season awards.  Now, with my world famous blog, I have the medium to express who I think should receive the sought after hardware.  Unfortunately the rookies of the year have already been awarded and so has the comeback player of the year.  Percy Harvin (my high school teammate), Brian Cushing, and Tom Brady all would have been my choices for their respective awards so it’s good to know that I am already an expert!  But in all seriousness, the following analysis will be a mixture of predictions and who I think should get the award.  Enjoy!

Most Valuable Player:

Brett Favre. 68% comp, 33 TDs, 7 Ints

Why:  I think the MVP should go to a player who not only possess the gaudy stats but also captivates the league, and makes a true difference on their respective team.  Brett Favre is that guy.  He has already has 3 MVP awards, yet this is statistically the best season he has ever had.  On top of that, he has had us all on the edge of our seats since the summer.  One minute he is definitely not coming back, the next, he’s getting picked up from the airport by Minnesota coach Brad Childress.  Then everyone was convinced there was no way he could make it through a 16 game season.  For God sakes, he didn’t even participate in training camp!  He looks bad in pre-season, mediocre in the beginning of the season, and dominant the rest of the season. He’s had drama from beginning to end and he has the

Continue reading "The Amari Awards"

After the Cowboys beat up on the Washington Redskins a couple of weeks ago I had a chance to catch up with one of my old teammates, John Phillips, who currently plays tight end for the Cowboys.  We only spoke briefly but we did manage to discuss UVA’s recent hiring of Mike London as the new head coach.  I instantly realized that I had yet to publish my opinion on this hire and it is certainly a topic that deserves some discussion.

I’d like to say that I predicted that 2009 would be Al Groh’s last season as Virginia’s head football coach, but I think the writing was on the wall after the loss to William & Mary.  Groh is a good coach, so I think he’ll land on his feet real soon (hopefully in the NFL).  Now, UVA has to find a way back to its former glory.  The first step in the process was hiring a new head coach and I think the AD

Continue reading "The Cav Report: A New Era"

With a shutout win against the lowly Washington Redskins the Dallas Cowboys split their December games (2-2).  While it is not a complete turn around from their previous struggles, they showed some mettle down the stretch and have officially punched their ticket into the tournament.  There are still many dominoes that need to fall into place to determine final playoff seeding, but at least the ‘Boys got a shot. 

While the defense dominated last night and the offense made enough plays to keep the game out of reach, there is still plenty to be anxious about.

Wade Phillips can breathe a small sigh of relief as his job is safe for the time being, but I’m not sure the same can be said about offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.  While the distribution and efficiency of the passing game is a reason for excitement, the continued failure to capitalize on critical conversion and scoring opportunities may cost this team in the playoffs. 

Continue reading "Back in the tournament!"

-          I had trouble deciding whether I should start Beanie Wells (vs. Lions) or Cedric Benson (vs. Chargers) in one of my fantasy leagues.  It was a tough choice but I decided to go with Wells.  He rewarded me with 110 yards and a touchdown.  Benson was a must start earlier in the season, but the injury has definitely slowed him down.  Hopefully he bounces back this week against the lowly Chiefs.

-          I also benched Marion Barber this week for poor performance.  He responded with 2 TDs.  I would be upset, but I won all of my games, and he is still a fluky play.  Barber remains on the bench for championship week.

Continue reading "Quick Strikes"

So for the last few months I have been pretty busy and I never updated you guys on my fantasy status.  Well I am happy to report that I am doing pretty well and am in the championship game in all of my leagues except one. 

If you read my previous fantasy post ( Welcome to Fantasy Land), you know that in the “Bush League” where “Bush Team 2” was trying to get Chris Johnson and Andre Johnson in a trade for Mike Jenkins and Joseph Addai from “Bush Team 2”.  This was certainly the most ridiculous trade I had ever seen and I assumed that it would get vetoed pretty quickly. I even wrote a league wide e-mail for everyone to be on the lookout for “Bush League” tactics. Unfortunately, no one in that league pays attention to what’s going on (either that or the guy owns every team in the league which is entirely possible when I consider the fact that Bush Team 2  messaged me back saying that he “owned this league”).  When the trade went through after a couple of days I was pretty despondent, but I didn’t let it bother me too much.  I was still confident in my roster and I just knew that I would make the playoffs and beat the crap out of this punk.

Continue reading "Fantasy Land Update"

If the Dallas Cowboys do not defeat the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, then they will not make the playoffs.  At least that’s what ESPN’s Michael Smith implies as he analyzes the Cowboys December schedule.

It is a strong statement but I have to agree with Smith on this one.  Other than the fact that he is my favorite ESPN analyst, Smith puts forth undeniable logic.  If the Cowboys lose on Sunday then that December question will continue to loom and it will become more than a myth- it will become prophetic stigma.  It seems almost unfair that the NFL would stick the ‘Boys with such a daunting schedule in the last month knowing their struggles, but Roger Goodell can’t save them now.  After losing to the Giants, the Cowboys have put themselves in this mess and they’re going to have to fight their way out.  If they lose this game on Sunday, then they’re going to have to hit the panic button, the panic switch, and the panic remote control. 

Continue reading "Must Win Game?"

A game like Sunday begins to make you wonder, “Are the Cowboys truly incapable of finishing out a season?”  Despite getting a career performance from their quarterback (41-55, 392 yards, 3 TDs, no picks), the Cowboys fell to a Giants team in turmoil.  Eli Manning completed less than 50% of his passes and the Giants couldn’t find any consistent offense.  So how in the world did the Cowboys lose this game?

A lot of analysts seem to want to point a quick finger to the run game.  That just doesn’t seem to be the case in my view.  Sure, the Cowboys only rushed for 45 yards, but the main point of running the ball is to control the pace of the game and the clock.  The Cowboys nearly doubled the Giants time of possession (38.50-21.50) and ran 31 more plays than the Giants.  So controlling the pace of the game wasn’t an issue for this team, and the run game just wasn’t working. 

Continue reading "Here We Go Again (Part 2)"

The Answer Returns!

It was crazy to see how emotional AI was over his recent signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.  It truly touched my heart.  But this isn’t just a sentimental acquisition. The Sixers could really benefit from bring back The Answer….

This is a young team with potential that could use a strong veteran presence such as Iverson.  He will bring instant credibility to a 5-14 Sixers team that is need of a spark.  Jrue Holliday (the Sixers 1st round pick this year) needs to absorb as much as he can from the iconic Iverson.  Iverson should move into a starting role, which is what he was looking for and what he deserved.  I want Iverson to win a championship just like a lot of other basketball fans but not at the cost of his dignity.  Do you really want this guy to come off the bench just to win a title?  This is not Daryl Armstrong.  This is not Tyron Lue.  This is not Derek Fisher.  This is Allen “Motherf&^*^)” Iverson, son!  The Answer!  This dude had one of the most popular shoes in NBA history.  He is the master of the “

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I recently read that the Cowboys were last in the league in terms of forcing turnovers.  Despite playing solid defense(16.5 ppg), they have only forced 23 turnovers this season.  I haven’t seen the defensive backs dropping a lot of passes, so that is not the answer.  I also haven’t seen this team miss out on a lot of fumble recovery opportunities so that can’t be the cause either.  There must be a reason why the Cowboys can’t seem to get the ball back from the other team.  Although it is easy to say that they just haven’t been lucky or gotten the right bounces, there is a definitely a method to causing turnovers and it all starts up front.  The Cowboys front seven needs to be coached up on the value of turnovers and wreaking havoc in the backfield.  Although they do a good job of getting to the passer, they do not get their hands on enough passes and they have not

Continue reading "Coach Harris Presents: The Art of the Turnover (strip-sack)..."

To this point of the season the Cowboys have taken care of business, for the most part.  The Cowboys could very easily be 9-1 had they just maintained their composure against the likes of the New York Giants and Denver Broncos.  But instead of dwelling on what could have been, the ‘Boys did a good job of moving on as they went on to win 6 of their next 7 games and claim 1st place in the NFC east.  Unfortunately, none of that matters now.  The Cowboys are 8-3 with the Philadelphia Eagles in a close trail at 7-4, and the Giants still kicking at 6-5.  And being that the final five games of this season are in the dreaded month of December, the phrase “anything can happen” is an understatement. 

In the last 3 seasons the Cowboys have gone 5-8 in the month of December.  Their December woes are well documented so I don’t have to go too far into detail to paint the picture.  They have been battered and bruised in this month and they always seem to lose the big game.   Tony Romo has taken a large share of the blame for these losses as he has QB rating of 71.9 in the month of December while posting a 93.0 QB rating during the other months of the season.  So any Cowboys fan knows that December is looming and this will be the biggest test yet for this team.

Continue reading "Going Forward: Can the Dallas Cowboys conquer their December Woes/Foes?"