Lone Star Struck

Have any of you heard about the new reality show called NFL Full Contact?  The show is to air on Monday evenings at 10 pm on TruTV. I plan on watching this as often as I can so I can get my “football fix” during the off season. According to their website, the show will give us an in-depth look into the NFL.

NFL FULL CONTACT reveals the sides of football the game day cameras never show, providing the ultimate look at what goes on behind the scenes of the National Football League. Every episode lets you eavesdrop into the tense and chaotic world of making a professional football game run smoothly and features crucial events of the 2009-10 pro football season: NFL KICKOFF, COWBOYS STADIUM OPENING, THE LONDON GAME, THE PRO BOWL, THE SUPER BOWL and THE DRAFT.

I know I’ll DEFINITELY be watching the episode showing the Cowboys Stadium opening! I wasn’t able to attend the actual event and would really like to see it. The show is scheduled to run for 6 weeks but I’m hoping they get good enough ratings that they continue clear through next season so I don’t have to go through football withdrawals!

Yes, I said congratulations to the Cowboys…..not for a disappointing loss to the Vikings, but for the accomplishments they made throughout this season. At best, they were predicted to be an 8-8 team and yet they finished 11-5 and won the NFC East Division title! As we all know, they also beat division rivals Philadelphia Eagles not once, not twice, but THREE times with one of those games being a total shutout.

I’m not angry either about their loss to the Vikings like alot of fans are. Extremely disappointed would be the better word to describe how I feel about that game but hey, they can’t win them all. The Vikings were the better team at the time and they proved that on the field. Alot of people are blaming Romo (again) for this loss which is complete bs to me. If anyone is to blame, it would be the offensive line in my opinion. They weren’t protecting Romo well and he couldn’t make the plays he needed to. But what’s done is done, complaining about it now won’t change what happened. They just need to learn from their mistakes so they can make the necessary changes for next season.

Personally, I think that in the offseason, the Cowboys need to regroup and look back on the mistakes that were made and how to prevent them from happening again. The Cowboys definitely need to find a good kicker and whether or not Suisham stays remains to be seen. I was not impressed with him in the few games he played for the Boys this season. However, I am rather concerned about what Jerry Jones is going to do especially with the no salary cap season being a possibility. I’m not a big fan of Jerry Jones and I feel like some of his decisions concerning the team haven’t been that good.

To wrap things up, I’d just like to thank the Dallas Cowboys for giving their fans an exciting season of football to watch. These guys may not be perfect but they work their butts off to do the best they can each and every week and I still am and always will be dang proud to call myself a Cowboys fan!

As I sit here and think back over the 2009 season, I realize what a roller coaster of a ride it’s been for the Cowboys. With a 2-2 start and so many ups and downs since, I’ve got to admit I’m a bit surprised at how well things have turned out. And one thing is for sure….I am dang proud of the Cowboys for overcoming the obstacles and problems that have been thrown at them! Between injuries and numerous other difficulties, things were looking fairly bleak. But this team has heart and such a strong desire to win! To me, they truly are America’s Team.

Even if they don’t win in Minnesota (which I hope they do!), I’ll still be extremely proud of all their accomplishments this season, especially for getting the playoff monkey off their backs. We all knew they had the talent to do it and THEY DID! The Boys managed to make people like Tony Dungy eat their words and actually become “fans”. It’s nice to see them FINALLY get the respect they deserve! Even Michael Lombardi from NFL.com thinks the Cowboys have Superbowl potential!

Beating the Eagles soundly in consecutive weeks proves they have peaked at the right time. Even more importantly, they proved they have the right makeup of a potential Super Bowl champion. Behind a great pass rush, a strong offensive line and a pass defense that proved it can run and cover the best in the league, the Cowboys can play any style of game and win.

I totally agree with him. With the style of ball the Cowboys have been playing, they’re unstoppable and Superbowl bound! GO COWBOYS!!!

First off, I’d like to give a huge shoutout to my boy Bryon in Houston, Texas. He’s the only person I know that is as much of a Cowboys fan as I am. He does a weekly video blog about the Boys on YouTube that is quite entertaining.

I was so proud of our Boys yesterday! They played an amazing game aside from some silly penalties. What impressed me the most was their defense. They totally shut down the Eagles offense and didn’t allow any points! They kept the pressure on McNabb and even recovered one of his fumbles.

And of course, I have to give props to the man……Mr. Tony Romo! He has been playing so well the last few weeks and all doubts I had about him are GONE. My only concern is the hit he took today when he hurt his back. Personally, I think they should have taken him out of the game right then and had Kitna play. The game was over by then so there really was no need to keep Romo in. But, Tony is a stubborn one and I think he stayed in to show the Eagles how tough he is and that he wasn’t seriously hurt…..hope not anyways!

There’s a lot of talk going on now about whether or not the Cowboys can do a 3 win sweep against the Eagles since they play again next week in Round 1 of the playoffs. I say heck yes they can! The Cowboys have been playing some of the best ball I’ve seen in recent years and they showed those nasty birds just how tough they are today. The Eagles love to blitz and yet they weren’t able to put much pressure on Romo at all. If they can’t do that, there’s no way to stop Romo from doing what he does best.

I was also quite impressed with Jason Witten today. He showed why he’s considered one of the best tight ends in the league. And how amazing is Miles Austin? That man is just on fire! You also got to appreciate Crayton, Barber, Jones, Ogletree and everyone else that made key plays. We haven’t really seen a lot from Patrick Crayton lately and yet he made some awesome catches today and scored a touchdown. The other Dallas TD was on an impressive run by Felix Jones. Suisham also put 3 points on the board with a field goal.

Who would have thought that the Cowboys would have back to back shutouts? That’s the first time in the team’s history! Revenge is so sweet….

First of all, I want to wish all my fellow Cowboys fans Happy Holidays! I hope you all get everything you wish for and more.

I’m going to tell you all what I consider to be a true fan. Some of you may agree, and some may not. This is just my opinion. To me, a true fan is someone who still loves their team even if they are 1-15….or 16-0. No matter how many senseless mistakes they make that cause them to lose a game, a true fan will love them regardless. It’s like your own children, no matter how much they screw up, you’ll love them no matter what. Well, that’s how I am with the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, I’d much rather see them win every game but that is next to impossible. Even the Patriots couldn’t do that a few years ago.

Any team can win at any time and our Cowboys proved they got the skill and heart to win last week against the previously unbeaten New Orleans Saints. Can they do it again? Sure they can! Will they? I think that remains to be seen. They need to win both of their remaining games in order to solidify a playoff spot. I don’t see much opposition coming their way from the Redskins but the Eagles are another story. I’m praying Denver can beat Philly today and Dallas beats Washington tonight. That will put our Boys back in a tie for 1st place in the NFC East. And we all know that the game next week will be a battle for sure. Gonna keep my fingers crossed!

Now, I’m going to address the situation with Nick Folk. I caught some flack a few weeks ago when I said that Dallas needed to let him go. Was it a smart decision? I think so. The poor guy just hasn’t been the same since his off season hip surgery. I was sad to see this happen to someone so young (26 years old) and who had made the Pro Bowl in his rookie season! Folk helped the Cowboys to alot of wins over the last couple years and yet he also cost them some games.

I’m rather nervous about whether or not Suisham will be able to step up to the plate but what’s done is done and there isn’t much we can do to change it now. I honestly don’t think the Cowboys will keep him unless he has a stellar performance during the next 2 games and possibly in the playoffs. And yes, I still think Jerry Jones should fire Wade Phillips. He just doesn’t seem to click well with the team. I’ve even heard talk about how Jason Garrett would make a better head coach than Phillips although I don’t necessarily agree. If Phillips remains in Dallas for another season, I’ll be truly surprised. You never know what Jerry Jones will do.

I may be wrong, but I think the Cowboys need some serious restructuring, beginning with their head coach. Wade Phillips may be a “good guy” but he’s no Tom Landry or Jimmy Johnson. Personally, I think the only good thing he’s done for the Boys so far was let Terrell Owens go, and I doubt that was Phillips’ decision. Bring in Shanahan or even Holmgren (if he can handle the micromanagement)!

Also, I think it’s time to replace Nick Folk. He’s lost the pizazz he used to have and is missing field goals almost as often as he’s making them. I really don’t have a problem with anyone else on the team. I just think that they need to be playing as a team instead of individuals. I’m actually proud of how well Tony Romo has been playing the last couple weeks. He’s been distributing the ball well and not making as many mistakes.

On a more positive note, it looks as though the Saints are nervous about playing the Boys this weekend, especially if DeMarcus Ware is healthy enough to play. Jonathan Vilma of the New Orleans Saints said,

“DeMarcus Ware is one of the extreme exceptional rare talents that we find in the NFL. He was close to the single-season sack record last year, and people are saying he didn’t have as much production this year, but he’s still a force. There’s no way you cannot account for a guy like DeMarcus Ware.

“Put football to the side OF COURSE you hope he gets better but I’m not going to say I’m not breathing a sigh of relief that he might not play because DeMarcus is a force to be reckoned with on the football field.”

The Saints are a little beat up right now but Brees loves the deep pass and is damn good at it. I’m not sure the Dallas defense can stop him but I’ll have my fingers crossed. It’s time to put an end to the December curse and show everyone that the Cowboys can win!

Rumor has it that the Cowboys are a small favorite in this Sunday’s game against San Diego despite the fact that San Diego is on a 7 game win streak. We all know about the notorious problem Dallas has had in the last month of the season. After last week’s disappointing loss to the Giants, I have to question if the Cowboys really do have a jinx on them. Their running game was all but shut down. However, Romo did have quite the passing game. But games cannot be won in the air alone.

Dallas has some very tough games ahead of them even after the Chargers. Week 15 will have our Boys in New Orleans playing a team that is 12-0 so far, possibly 13-0 after this weekend if the Saints get past Atlanta. Then the last 2 games are against division rivals Redskins and Eagles. Sure, the Redskins are 3-9 but after their near win against the Saints, I wouldn’t count them out as a team that could beat the Cowboys. Also, the Eagles have been playing some solid ball and with Vick showing how he can score by passing and running one in, they are dangerous. They completely dominated the Falcons this last week. Since they’re now tied with the Cowboys for the division lead, they’ll be out for blood the rest of the season.

The Cowboys have got to jump start their running game. We all know Barber, Choice, and Jones have the talent to do what needs to be done but they just haven’t been doing it. None of them have had 100 yard+ games in a while. Romo has been playing well, not making the silly mistakes like he did before. It’s been a relief to see him play like he truly wants it, that the hunger for a win has finally returned. Now if the rest of the team could get hungry, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.

Even though my faith in the Boys has been rattled a bit, I still believe they can do it as long as the defense doesn’t allow too many points and the offense can get a good running game going. Another key thing is to not be allowing so many senseless penalties to hurt them. I’m sick of the Cowboys being a joke amongst other team’s fans because of their December “curse”. They need to pull their heads out of their butts and concentrate on putting points on the board….and not allowing their opponents to do the same.

The Thanksgiving Day game just reinforced my belief that the Dallas Cowboys are a TEAM, not a bunch of individual stars making amazing plays. They worked together and did it well!

The Cowboys I saw playing yesterday looked like a totally different team than the one I watched last weekend vs the Redskins. They showed why they’re called America’s Team. They played with heart and a desire to win which, to be honest, is something I haven’t seen much of this season. Tony Romo was distributing the ball well. Jones, Barber, Austin, Williams, and Witten all made some key plays. Choice had a huge run in the first quarter with the Razorback formation for 66 yards. The offense wasn’t making the silly mistakes like they did last week that cost them some needless penalties and despite the injuries, they were able to protect Romo well. Another key to this huge win was the fact that Romo didn’t throw any interceptions and there weren’t any turnovers….or more importantly, no points off turnovers. The Dallas offense just could not be stopped once they got started. I was amazed at all the 10+ yard plays! Even Witten, with his injured foot, had a 100+ yard game which he hasn’t done since last season.

The Cowboys have more than a week to rest up and get ready to take on the division rival New York Giants. As long as Romo’s back can hold up, Witten’s foot gets better, and their offensive line can keep it together, they shouldn’t have any problem picking apart the Giants like they did to the Raiders. The Giants have been rather weak on offense lately and the Dallas defense has been playing to win. Ratliff was so explosive and really impressed me. Of course, DeMarcus Ware is always a force to be reckoned with. Hell, for that matter, the entire defensive line is! I really could not find a single thing to complain about how they played yesterday.

The next 5 weeks are key in the hopes of the Cowboys making it to the playoffs. Sure, they’re the division leaders right now but they still need to get past the Giants, then San Diego, New Orleans, Washington, and Philadelphia. If Dallas can keep playing the type of football that they did on Thanksgiving, there should be no reason they can’t make it to the Superbowl. Yes, I said the Superbowl! They haven’t won a postseason game in years, and it’s about time they do! The Cowboys that played yesterday CAN make it to the playoffs and beyond.