Lone Star Struck

Here it is the month of December and we have lost already, however this time it is under very different circumstances. Tony Romo had a career day in New York this weekend and nobody is giving him any credit at all. They are all focused on how the team lost. I just know sooner or later the loss will be blamed on him. This loss hurts really bad, and I think I might just know what the problem is. Hear me out on this guys.

Our team has a serious lack of athletes in the skill positions. Felix Jones is not the guy we drafted right now. Roy Williams, well he just plain and simple is not much of an athlete. Marion Barber is a bruiser but not very athletic. Tashard Choice has his spurts but nothing really big this year, besides the one run against Oakland.

We do have Miles Austin, who i believe will make his first Pro Bowl this season. But if you really think about it, all we have is Austin. That just isn’t good enough, not for this division, this conference, or this entire league.

We tend to get guys who give us flashes of brilliance and then make us say, “Just wait, IF he gets consistent this team will be good,” or “If it wasn’t for injuries, he would be special.” Why does our team seem to miss when it comes to players who are consistent and relatively injury free?

I said it last year, do not trade for Roy. Wait until the draft and get Percy Harvin or Hakeem Nicks. Well that idea is looking really good right now considering what they both are doing in Minnesota and New York. We need somebody else besides Austin and Witten (even Witten is not athletic, he is just very skilled) that the defense will be scared of. I can tell you right now, they are not afraid of our running game anymore. I can guarantee they are not because of the inconsistency.

The NFC East tightened up really quick after Philadelphia won in Atlanta. So next week if the Giants beat the Eagles and Dallas losses, there will be a 3-way tie for first place in the division with only 3 games left.

We need to step up and be champions for the next two weeks, vs. San Diego and at New Orleans. After that we play Washington and Philly again. We will be embarrassed again if we continue playing the way we are now.

I love the Dallas Cowboys with all my heart and I hate when I see them struggling and losing games they should win. It hurts. Somebody needs to step up RIGHT NOW.

Dallas, coming off a beating to the Oakland Raiders, now has to travel to New York and face the Giants for the last time in Giants Stadium. Yes, I know they are struggling but they absolutely do not like us as a team, organization, or even fans. They hate us and we hate them and that can be a lot of motivation for a team.

September 13, 2009 the Giants came to Cowboys Stadium and with the help of 4 interceptions, they squeaked out a last second field goal and a 33-31 win in the stadium’s opener.

Dallas is riding high and Miles Austin is putting us in prime position to make a serious playoff run. Romo is getting protection and he is delivering. Our three-headed running attack was phenomenal on Thanksgiving, and the defense continued to play very, very well.

The Giants pose a far greater test than the Raiders though. For one they are just a better team. Even though Eli is still dealing with the foot injury, we will have to watch out. Last time we saw Smith and Manningham they torched our secondary but to the credit of our team since that game, our defense has been playing lights out and we are 3rd in the conference.

We have a tough three game stretch starting in New York followed by a home game against San Diego and then the monumental task of traveling to New Orleans and trying to slow down Brees and the Saints. We will know by Christmas how good our football team is and what we can expect from them in January. I do not think I stand alone when predicting we will win the division and win in the playoffs.

GO COWBOYS!

Our Dallas Cowboys are about to take on a monumental challenge this weekend as they travel to the Linc to play the 5-2 high octane Eagles. We are going to need to put an almost perfect performance on the field Sunday night, and I think that is exactly what we will see from our Cowboys. Pride is a great motivator and 44-6 is a great way to hurt a grown man’s pride. Anybody who tells you that they are not thinking about that beating in Philly last year is a liar.

Our offense is clicking and I think this will be the return of Jason Witten for a couple reasons. Miles Austin will probably be covered by one of the league’s best lockdown corners Asante Samuel. So I am thinking Austin’s day may be moderate to the ones he has had so far this season. Samuel, who came from New England and that great success they have there, has faced a lot of great receivers and it will no doubt be a huge test for Miles Austin.

We are Cowboys fans and this team right now probably has surpassed all of our expectations. Especially after that 2-2 start. Make no mistake, this game right here is the most important game so far this season. The NFC East title can be the difference between going to Green Bay or Philadelphia in January rather than hosting them in the big house.

We need every game we can have in the palace because Jerry has created an environment that is probably the most difficult in the entire NFL to play in. We must begin with the division if we want a top two seed in the playoffs. We win this game and we will not have to play Philadelphia again until the last game which will be in Dallas. It is not time to think playoffs, it’s time to think Eagles, then Packers, then Redskins, then Raiders. One game at a time.

We have a huge game here and we will need more than Austin or Romo to win. We will need the belief and confidence we all have when the team is doing great, even if they are not doing great. We still need to believe in the team. So as we ride into Philadelphia tonight and get set to enjoy the game, know that the star shines bright and the Cowboys are the best.

Dallas totally took apart Seattle just like they did Atlanta last week, complete with sacks, Tony Romo with no turnovers and a punt return TD by Patrick Crayton. Now if these last 2 weeks have not been the definition of complete, I want to know what the heck is. Sitting at 5-2, first place in the division and a date with rival Philly next Sunday night the Cowboys have to have a short memory not only about their recent success but also about that 44-6 drumming they took last year in week 17.

The Cowboys are riding high right now and all the fans are coming out of hiding. In the coming weeks I am positive this team will face adversity because the schedule is only going to get tougher.

(In no particular order)
@ Philadelphia Eagles
@ & vs. Washington Redskins
@ New York Giants
@ New Orleans Saints
vs. San Diego Chargers
@ Green Bay Packers

Dallas will face hard times traveling to these cities late in the season. So we as fans need to prepare ourselves for this and stick by Dallas. All is good right now because the team is playing like we all envisioned they could play, but when they start struggling we need to be there too.

First place is on the line, just like last year when the final playoff spot was up for grabs. Dallas needs to win this game as they head into a very tough spot in their schedule. They will need to win this game to keep ahead of the Eagles. It’s also crucial to stay confident going into Green Bay, and later facing the Redskins (who almost always give us a run for our money no matter what the record is).

Let’s take care of business this week and win in Philly!

*****GO COWBOYS*****

I have a few things to say about this weekend, so I will start off by saying that the Dallas Cowboys looked absolutely amazing against Atlanta.

Our defense, with the exception of the first drive, was amazing, shutting down a very good offense for the majority of the game. The Romo to Austin connection is working better than any of us could have imagined. Austin now has 16 catches, 4 touchdowns and 421 yards in the last two games. That is simply amazing. When Owens was let go, Austin was crowned the man that would fill the big play shoes along with Roy, but for whatever reason that did not happen right away. Austin is now the number one receiver in my eyes. He is great and I will be buying a Austin #19 jersey as soon as I get paid.

I am also very proud of Mr. Patrick Crayton. He was said to be moaning and complaining all week long about his jobs being taken away and what did he do? Crayton, even though he didn’t have nearly the day Austin did, pulled in a receiving and punt return TD. Now, I am not saying Crayton saved his position on this team by any stretch, but I am saying this is what every NFL player should do when he is moved down on the depth chart. He should come out and perform. Crayton showed a lot of heart this week that we have never seen from him. I am very impressed in how he handled his situation this week.

How about Ratliff and Ware? These guys are amazing. They put pressure on Atlanta’s offense almost from the very beginning of the game. Pressure after pressure, Ryan was never comfortable in the pocket and that is what helped our secondary. The secondary also played great with the exception of a few bad plays here and there, but nonetheless they held there own against a very good passing attack. The physical nature of the defense, I think, set a tone. Even our corners Newman and Jenkins were smacking people around yesterday. That is what I like to see from our defense, make the Falcons remember the day they played the Dallas Cowboys.

Our team looked very good as a whole yesterday in all three aspects of the game. If they play like this, with intensity and heart, then this team will be in the Super Bowl in February. The sky is the limit.

The Giants did us a very big favor again for the 2nd time in as many weeks by losing again, which pulls us within a half game of the division lead. With a date with the Seahawks coming next week, we could easily be first place in the division this time next week. The Eagles can also help us out with a loss at Washington tonight. We would have sole possession of 2nd place. I do not think the Skins will beat the Eagles. Then again, they do not have to because we travel to Philly next week to face the Eagles. We can do the job ourselves!

*****GO COWBOYS*****

The Cowboys had a bye week this week, but at the same time they still won very big this weekend.

The 5-0 Giants went down to face the also undefeated New Orleans Saints and let’s just say Brees was Brees. The Giants came up 3 touchdowns short, losing 48-27. The Giants looked very bad in this game, not looking like the Giants none of us are used to seeing as of late. Dallas is now within 1 game of the division lead.

Dallas also got a very big favor thanks to their other arch rivals Philadelphia and Washington both losing on Sunday as well. The Eagles played the horrible Oakland Raiders and just looked very bad losing 13-9, and struggling all around. I did not see the game but from the highlights Oakland looked as if they were the better team on Sunday. That is saying something considering the Eagles and there aspirations of a Super Bowl this year.

The Redskins could have stayed in the division race, the only thing standing in their way is yet another team who had not won a game prior to playing Washington. Once again the Skins gave a winless team a win. There will be changes in DC, that I am positive. In all likelihood the Redskins will finish 4th in the division and miss the playoffs.

In other news, I would like to touch on the subject of our quarterback the talented Mr. Romo. I was watching the pre-game show on FOX yesterday morning and Micheal Strahan was talking about some fake trades he would like done. Strahan said, “I want to see Tony Romo traded to Cleveland for Brady Quinn and a couple of first rounders so the Cowboys fans will realize how good this guy is.” Now I hated Strahan as a Giant but that right there is the ultimate respect. Obviously, Strahan has been hearing the moaning and complaining from most Cowboys fans because Romo is not perfect. He is not Manning or Brady.

We need to realize, we have a precious commodity here that other teams would kill to have. Even Michael Strahan realized it.

I have watched Romo from the second he took the field in the the 3rd quarter at Texas Stadium against the NY Giants in 2006, and I have seen a remarkable playmaker ever since. I have also seen somebody that may be influenced a bit.

Our quarterback Tony Romo is no longer our quarterback Tony Romo, he is a shell of what he once was. Yes, he will make mistakes but at the same time he will win more football games than he will lose for us.

To all of you who do not know,  Romo is 29-14 as a starter and has a QB rating in the 90’s. I am no expert but I think that is pretty good. Let our playmaker be a playmaker. Romo is not a game manager and this is the result we get when we turn him into a game manager. That’s like telling Mike Vick do not run, or McNabb do not scamble, or better yet telling Peyton Manning he needs to scramble more. It’s just not his game and probably never will be. Being a game manager is not what Romo is, not what he is built for. He is built to take chances. With a short term memory he already has won more than he has lost and at the end of the day that is what we want, right?

Our Dallas Cowboys will have a much much better chance at winning games that matter most when we have that gunslinger under center or in the shotgun. I say we rally around our guy and support him because the more we doubt him, the more cautious he becomes. And the more cautious he is, the more we lose heartbreakers like the one last week in Denver.

We have a smashmouth physical running game. If we can get the passing attack going, we will be extremely dangerous in December and January.

We all saw the play last Sunday. All afternoon we witnessed Romo, the pocket QB, getting hit almost every time he dropped back. Then, with the game on the line 4th and 3, he turned into Super Romo and used he God given talent and made a play that kept the game alive. That is the Tony Romo we need.

John Kitna is not the answer, and Stephen McGee definitely is not the answer at QB for us. Everyone did the same thing last year, complained about Romo and called for Brad Johnson. Then Romo got hurt and Brad came in and we got destroyed in St. Louis. After that, in the middle of the Giants game in New York you all called for Brooks Bollinger. Look at how all those executive decisions turned out.

Be grateful we have a young undrafted free agent at QB. Sure he will make mistakes. Duh! That’s why he was never drafted. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. I am sure the Rams or Browns, or Bills, would love our dissapointment of a QB.

So, come on guys sit back and enjoy being a Cowboys fan. You should feel honored to represent the STAR. GO COWBOYS!

With absolutely no playmakers stepping up, our team losses once again. This time at the hands of the Denver Broncos. Felix Jones, probably our biggest threat to make a big play, was sidelined. Our team could not generate any consistent offense at all in Denver last Sunday afternoon.

I am a huge Tony Romo supporter just for the simple fact that I remember the years in between him and Aikman, not to mention the Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger games from last season. But seriously, what the heck is going on here? Our offense is horrible. Outside of the running game, its pathetic. We could not get anything downfield against the very good Denver secondary.

For those who blame Romo for the loss, he did what he did best after the Brandon Marshall catch, he led Dallas down the field on a few very good plays.

One question I do have is, if we have the best tight end in the league in Jason Witten, why did we not at least attempt to get him the ball on the goal line, since we could not run it?

Also, why in the heck would you try and get it to Sam Hurd instead of Patrick Crayton? Especially when Hurd is being covered by arguably the best man-to-man cover corner in the game.

This game made absolutely no sense to me and today I was truly mad at the Dallas Cowboys.

Yes we will probably go to Kansas City next week and win in Arrowhead Stadium, but honestly this is not a Super Bowl team. I am highly frustrated with the Cowboys. I am really thinking they might just need to blow the entire coaching staff up, and get new schemes.

Our offense is predictable and simple. We have a lack of playmakers at the reciever spot. None of them can get open in man-to-man coverage, ironically the exact situation that Romo is best in.

Our O-line which is supposed to be very good is doing great on run blocking, but Romo needs more time. Romo must read and react to the blitzes faster.

The remaining schedule, not in any particular order, includes vs. Atlanta, vs. San Diego, @ New Orleans, @ NY Giants, Philly and Washington (twice still). If we do not buckle down and get with it, we will miss the playoffs again and it will be with a worse record than 9-7. I can guarantee that.

Cowboys fans, like one of my fellow writers on this site, I am not going to spit stat after stat to you right now because I could do that and make a very good point for Mr. Romo, instead I am going to tell you exactly how how I feel about a few things here in Cowboy land.

First of all for all, you people who blame Tony Romo for losing the game, your dog getting ran over and global warming… he is just one man, he is not Superman. There is a reason he was an undrafted free agent. Tony Romo is not Troy Aikman or Rodger the Dodger, or Dandy Don. Tony is Tony nothing more nothing less.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying he is perfect by any means at all. I am saying that Romo is not great. Very talented? Yes. But not great…. yet.

Drew Bledsoe, Vinny Testaverde, Quincy Carter, Jason Garrett, just to name a few quarterbacks in the post-Aikman era, all lead our Cowboys on the field. None of them while in Dallas has done the things our undrafted free agent has done. Romo has had to deal with many distractions since taking over for Dallas and he is growing up before our eyes, but we must be patient. Everything that goes wrong in this world is not his fault.

I know I said I would not spit out stats, but here is one for everybody, 353. That is the number of yards Eli Manning threw in the grand opening game. Are you going to tell me it is also Romo’s fault that the secondary gave up 353 passing yards? That is ridiculous, simply ridiculous and a bit idiotic.

Yes the man had a bad game but so did the secondary. Those recievers were churning our prize corner Terence Newman, but who is calling for his head? D-Ware did not get a sack, for that matter our entire defense did not get a sack. Do they deserve the ax also?

I am not trying to pile on the defense, I am trying to make the point that there are probably 10-15 teams (Miami, Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, San Fransisco, Houston, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Carolina, St. Louis, Denver, Buffalo) who would kill to have Romo at their helm.

Last year everybody called for Romo’s head. Then our very talented QB got hurt and everybody was a little bit excited on the inside. The mistake-filled Tony Romo was now on the sidelines where he belonged. Then we traveled to play the Rams and got destroyed, and by a team that only won 2 games. Brad Johnson had failed. At halftime in NY against the Giants, we called for Brooks Bollinger and he also failed. I am telling you, we have a precious commodity here. We have a stable QB. Now we need to set our pride aside and realize what we have, before it is gone.

Our secondary continues to get burned all around. Now Newman is getting beat by recievers that a shutdown corner should not get beat by. It was not a big deal last week because we won, but we were even getting beat in Tampa. Nobody paid attention because of the big day ROMO had.

Our corners continue to play 7-12 yards off of the recievers. That is a quick way to get beat in the short passing game when we are tackling the way we are (or should I say the way we aren’t). They will need to play better along with Romo if we ever want to win any meaningful games.

Our stadium will be open next Monday night for the first MNF game in it’s short history when the Carolina Panther come to town. We must win this game. Looking at the schedule our next three games: vs. Carolina, at Denver and at Kansas City, we have a chance to be 4-1 going into the bye week, followed by a showdown in Atlanta.

This season is far from over. As long as we learn from our mistakes and make adjustments we still have the potential for a nice run.

What are your thoughts?

The Dallas Cowboys went into week one with many questions, but the biggest probably being could they replace the big plays lost with the release of Owens? Well with a 66-yard TD to Roy Williams, a 42-yard pass to Miles Ausitin, and an 80-yard td to Patrick Crayton, I would say it was replaced this game.

Our 3-headed running attack looked really good also. Tashard Choice and Felix Jones were a very good change of pace to Marion Barber who racked up 79 yards.

I do have a couple problems with our defense. If we have safeties back helping deep what sense does it make to have our corners play almost 10 yards off the line of scrimmage every down? We are being killed in the flat and on short out and slant routes. This is partly because they are so far away that when the reciever catches the ball they have to fly up and usually miss the tackle. In my opinion this should be changed. It has been the same thing the last few years and it kills us.

But overall it was very impressive to see our team go down to Tampa and drop 34 points on the road. As the game went on, the defense did tackle alot better than in the first quarter.

It looks like we can definitely challenge for this division title.

Around the NFL

Mathew Stafford played his first NFL game yesterday and threw it alot. Unfortunately he threw it to the Saints defense three separate times and finished with zero touchdowns and only 205 yards. I think Stafford is realizing now that the NFL is a totally different beast than college. Calvin Johnson did have a pretty good day even though he was kept out of the endzone.

Mark Sanchez went down to Houston and systematically took apart the Texans defense. Even though he threw a pick, he also threw a TD and finished with 272 yards in his NFL debut.

Michael Vick might actually become the starting quarterback for Philly, a lot sooner than anybody expected. On a TD run in Carolina, Donovan McNabb slid into the endzone and got hit in his back. McNabb immediately started rolling in extreme pain. Broken ribs is the official word out of Philly and that just isn’t good news for a team who has Super Bowl aspirations.

Sunday September 13th, 2009 our Dallas Cowboys will begin to rise from the ashes, the distractions are gone no more excuses.

We have our dominate defensive player, our confident quarterback, our powerful and speedy running game, and our shutdown corner. We have what it takes, now it has to transfer to the football field. I have watched many many Cowboys games and I have a feeling this season is going to be special.

No noise coming out of Valley Ranch this offseason just the sound of pads on pads and helmets on helmets….FOOTBALL.

We have a young, up and coming reciever in Kevin Ogletree who has shown flashes of brilliance this pre-season.

I ask of everybody who absolutely loves this Star to support Dallas this season, not just when they are good but during the bad times also. When Romo throws a INT, and trust me he will, do not call for his head or call for Kitna please. When Roy Williams does not have a 200 yard recieving game every week, do not call to trade for Brandon Marshall, it just isn’t going to happen.

We as the fans need to support this team they need us just like every summer when we are missing football, we need them.

And as we embark on this journey that we call the 2009-10 NFL seaosn, we will witness greatness.

All I have to say now is: believe in the star it will always shine.

And so it begins…..

I had just woken up for school; I was in the 7th grade. I turned on ESPN like every morning and I see a building on fire with smoke billowing out of it.

I quickly realized it was the Twin Towers. My mama is from Brooklyn, NY so I yelled for her. My sisters also came into the room and together we froze and watched in shock, wondering if it was an accident.

We all continued to watch and next thing I knew another plane came into the screen and just plowed into the other tower. I was so scared and confused it was a crazy and hectic day.

Now, at the age of 21, I look back and really understand the tragedy of that horrible day. I remember the tears of my teachers at school that day and as I remember 9/11 it sometimes brings a tear to my eye. I can now really be proud to be an American. Just like the entire country, I saw the resolve and resilience of a nation wounded. The way our country and its people responded after 9/11 was amazing.

As we all prepare for our Dallas Cowboys’ latest Super Bowl run, we are forced to take a look back and appreciate everything. The opening weekend of the NFL season is here, story lines everywhere, but the most important story line is to make sure we all take a step back, slow down during our busy day, and give thanks for all we have in our lives and remember to pray for those lost and their loved ones.

We are all Americans and have plenty to be thankful for and as this 8th anniversary goes on take a few moments of silence today.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET 9/11/01 GOD BLESS AMERICA

Our arch rival QB Eli Manningis now the highest paid annual player in the NFL, signing a 6-year 97 million dollar contract with the NY Giants today. Eli has won a Super Bowl, and is regarded as a very good QB in our league but Eli now is being paid more than players like LaDanian Tomlinson, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Kurt Warner, Donovan McNabb, just to name a few.

Eli is a good QB being paid great QB money. I personally do not think he deserves almost 100 million dollars. Eli has a lot of learning to do and is not even close to the best QB in the league.

 Juqua Parker, DE for the Philadelphia Eagles was arrested near the Eagles training camp for possession of marijuana. Parker was riding in the passenger seat early Wednesday morning when a small amount of marijuana was found on him, Parker was then taken to Northhampton County Prison where he posted a $ 1,000 bail.

I’m positive Andy Reid will not be happy about this. The team has a training camp curfew of 1 a.m. and this took place about 27 minutes before curfew. Reid is aware of the situation and he said, “It’s in the law’s hands right now. As time goes on, I’ll know more.”

Watching all the offseason news, from Brandon Marshall to Anquan Boldin, Jay Cutler to Brett Favre; from tragedies like our practice facility accident to the tragic and sudden loss of Air McNair. All of this made me realize I miss football. As a true fan of my Dallas Cowboys and football in general - football is indeed a part of me.

I miss the fall afternoons and the Sunday nights, the great battles of the NFC East, and even the tragedy that was the Detroit Lions last season. I miss NFL Live. I miss Devin Hester and his amazing returns. I miss Adrian Peterson and the spectacular defense in Baltimore and in Pittsburgh.

I miss the Monday Night Football enchiladas and chips and the Sunday Night bragging rights when Dallas would win. I miss arguing with my mama (who is a NY Giants fan) non-stop about who’s team is better.

But most of all I miss the game in general.

As we the fans prepare for our tailgating and our face paint and our respective teams begin the journey to their respective training camp locations – we all embark on one thing. That one goal that every team has, yet only one team a year can realize. We put ourselves and our everyday lives on the line for one day in early February, WHY??…. So our team can enjoy the life of a champion and we as fans can live that with them.

So fans, wives, daughters, husbands, sons, house pets - get ready because its football season once again!

*****GO COWBOYS*****