Posts Tagged ‘Jerry Jones’

Fresh Take – Olympics, Gisele, Jerry Jones & Seminoles

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Olympics_Obama_Oakland_Raiders_Tom Brady_Dallas_Cowboys_Bobby BowdenHey, is that Rocky Balboa I see running through the market of south Philly on his way to the steps of the Philadelphia art museum?  No, its Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable honing the street fighting skills he’ll need when he goes to the slammer for assaulting one of his own coaches.  I thought this was the NFL, not MMA.  This cat may really be going to jail for breaking someone’s jaw.  Can you say DYSFUNCTIONAL?  Captain Hook, I mean Al Davis, is captaining a pirate ship lost at sea.  My oh my!

Okay, let’s get started with some real sports and today’s Fresh Take.

Congratulation to the city of Rio de Janeiro and the country of Brazil for landing the 2016 Summer Olympics games.  This will be the first time the summer games have ever been held on the continent of South America.  Good for them.  Thank God Chicago didn’t get the games as the city would have had to rack up a ton of debt in order to pull these games off.  Now I know why President Obama, the First Lady Michelle and the “first lady backup” Oprah Winfrey (aka Okra Winfrey) were on hand for the bid process.  Someone said budget overruns and they bolted into action.  I know the Obamas were not the first to do so, but when did heads of state anoint themselves as Olympiad apostles and interject themselves into the bid process?  Don’t these clowns have bigger fish to fry?  Send a Chicago sports legend like Michael Jordan, not “Ms. Dysfunctional daytime T.V.”  At least they didn’t send Ellen.  Can a brother get an AMEN?

Next!  Was that Gisele Bundchen yesterday wearing number twelve for the Patriots?  I guess ‘ole Tommy boy needed a day off so he sent his girl to face the Ravens instead.  If I’m not mistaken, Tom/Gisele was wearing a chinstrap just like all the other boys were, but complained to the refs about a would-be tackler glancing off his leg.  Come on Tom, this is football, not a fashion runway where you only have to worry about getting the heel of your stiletto caught in your dress.  Your boy Rodney Harrison even called you down on this one.  Okay, the owners are the ones who really created these girly football players, not the other way around.  Change the rules and make the quarterbacks play 11 on 11 football and not 7 on 7.

When things aren’t going well, you have to look at the very top and when I look at the very top of the Dallas Cowboys, I only see one person…..Mr. Facelift himself, Jerry Jones.  We can all sit back and blame Tony Romo and company (Coaches Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett) but I think Jerry has spent way too much time focusing on the new stadium and not on the boys who score touchdowns.  Big mistake J.J.  The Cowboys bogged down at Denver’s 8 yard line yesterday as time expired at Mile High Stadium after facing a first and goal from the same position with half a minute left.  Four shots at the end zone and you don’t throw one pass toward your best target, Jason Witten?  Instead, you throw twice at one of the league’s best cover corners in Champ Bailey.  His name is “Champ” for a reason big dog.  Stay away from him if you please.  Poor play, poor coaching and an overall lack of fire means only one thing in my book……poor leadership.

What has happened to the Houston Oilers, I mean the Tennessee Titans?  I said a few weeks ago that this team reminded me more of a Phillip Fulmer coached team from Knoxville and not last year’s 13-3 team from Nashville.  Two weeks later, it has gotten even worse.  The 0-4 Titans have vowed to stick with quarterback Kerry Collins despite Collins throwing his fifth and sixth INTs of the season.  This team has way bigger issues than just the QB position but Collins is not helping his own cause.  Is it time to go to Vince Young yet?  According to Jeff Fisher, the answer is NO!  Good luck with that one coach but at 0-4, you’d better start turning over the right rocks before the season gets away from you.

Hey Ho, Bobby’s gotta go!  Hey Ho, Bobby’s gotta go!  I can hear the chants in Tallahassee now.  The Seminole faithful are getting restless after Bowden’s grid iron squad posted another lackluster performance in their 28-21 loss to Boston College over the weekend. After an impressive three game start, the ‘Noles have hit the skids the last two weeks and have stunk up the joint doing so.  Florida State is just another ACC team that has failed miserably to live up to the preseason hype, joining Clemson and North Carolina.  Can someone say Mountain West conference as a BCS conference?  ACC ain’t getting it done this year.

And that, my friends is what is HOT in sports.  Join us again for the next Fresh Take.

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Fresh Take – Hurricanes, Jets, MLB and Texas Stadium

Friday, September 18th, 2009

Rex_Ryan_Texas_Stadium_Miami_HurricanesHey sports fans, are you ready to go?  Break out the wafers, throw the rag-top back and get ready for a spin with today’s SCL’s Fresh Take, a whole new twist on sports for you, the fan.

The U is back.  After navigating the first half of the college football equivalent of “Murders Row,” the ‘Canes have a head full of steam charging into their next two clashes with ranked opponents Virginia Tech and Oklahoma.  Lead by sophomore quarterback Jacory Harris, The U put a “beat down” on a decent Georgia Tech team and find themselves as the talk of the ACC.  Third year head coach Randy Shannon has assembled a lot of young talent and surrounded that talent with exception coaching with the likes of offensive coordinator Mark Whipple.  This is a good story because college football is much better when the ‘Canes are at their best.  Whether you love them or hate them, when the boys from Coral Gables are good, they wear the largest bull’s-eye in D1 football.

Has Buddy Ball taken up residence on Broadway?  With the arrive of Buddy’s son Rex Ryan in New York Jet green, it has the feel of Buddy Ball and Bounty Bowls all over again.  As the Jets prepare for their Sunday clash with the Patriots, there is no shortage of trash talking or bulletin board material being doled out by the Jet players.  Ryan has certainly brought a swagger with him to the Meadowlands and will have his team ready to play come kickoff, but with a rookie quarterback and inferior talent on the roster, look for the Pats to win this game.  I love the BOLD and cocky approach of aggressive coaches.  Buddy had it, Jimmy Johnson had it and it looks like Rex has it.  Game On!

Did you catch the Angels and Red Sox game Wednesday night?  Blue was squeezin’ the Angel pitcher in the ninth inning much to the chagrin of Angel Nation.  I watched the end of the game and saw a “coke can” for a strike zone which lead Angel manager Mike Scioscia to say the count was “3 and 4” on the one batter.  That is a strikeout plus one for you baseball novice.  Umpires blow calls, but the Angels need to look at the two double plays they booted earlier in the game which largely contributed the additional game in the “L” column.

The MLB post season race is heating up with the best races in the American League Central and National League Wildcard.  The Twins have closed the Central race to 4 games behind the Tigers and the Giants trail the Rockies by only 3.5.  While pitching wins championships, I do enjoy watching pearls flying out of the yard and players running around the sacks.  Whatever the outcome of the games, October is almost here and baseball will have its grandest stage.

The OFFICIAL opening of the new Texas Stadium is upon us.  The Ring of Honor and the blue star on the 50 yard line will be the finishing touches on Jerry’s billion dollar bonanza which will debut Sunday night as the Cowboys host the New York football Giants.  This stadium is JJ’s watershed moment in his twenty plus year tenure at the helm of America’s Team.  Three Super Bowls do not compare as this stadium will be Jerry Jones’ legacy to the Dallas Cowboys, Cowboy Nation and the DFW metroplex.  Did you catch that?  I said DFW metroplex, not the city of Dallas.  Why?  Because Jerry originally wanted to build his masterpiece next to American Airlines Center in downtown Big D, but the mayor of Dallas balked at the notion of providing funding for the venture.  I’m fine with the mayor looking out for the tax payer’s dinero, but she never gave the people of Dallas a chance to voice their opinion.  She swept it under the rug and never put it to a vote.  That is criminal and I hope the citizens of Dallas and Cowboy Nation let Laura Miller know that before she left office.

And that, my friends is what is HOT in sports.  Join us again tomorrow for SCL’s Fresh Take.

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Watch Out Romo: There’s A New Cowboy In Town

Thursday, April 30th, 2009

Stephen McGee, QB, DallasStephen McGee, QB, Texas A&M–4th Round, Dallas Cowboys.  McGee comes to Dallas as a raw talent but will develop quickly under Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett and with the guidance of Tony Romo and Jon Kitna.  He graduated before his junior season and will earn his MBA in May.  The prediction here is that McGee will make his presence known well in advance of expectations.    McGee will turn out to be the best pick the Cowboys made and could be the consummate leader this team sorely needs.  While Romo is jet-setting with Jessica Simpson, McGee will be in the film room.

Despite playing in an option-based offense in college, McGee tested as well or out-performed almost every quarterback at the NFL combine.  He possesses similar tools, intelligence and leadership qualities that a former late round pick, Tom Brady possesses.  The Pats struck gold with Brady, and the Cowboys have done the same in this year’s draft.

McGee suffered a shoulder injury his senior year at Texas A&M, pressing a young Jerrod Johnson into immediate duty.  He calmly accepted the situation and was never near 100% the final year, so his role again shifted to coach and mentor, primarily coaching Johnson while nursing the shoulder, only playing when absolutely necessary.

McGee came to A&M as a nationally-ranked passer but with a lack of talent at receiver, former coach Dennis Franchione turned him into a pinball as an option quarterback, once rushing over 36 times for over 200 yards against Nebraska.  With his high school credentials and early success as a freshman, McGee could have transferred to almost any D-1 school with a pro-style offense, but he stayed at A&M.   He excelled in the offense even without a great deal of talent surrounding him.

Current A&M and former Green Bay head coach/GM Mike Sherman stated many times that McGee would be drafted; this in spite of the option offense and the pounding he took under Franchione.  Certainly Sherman’s high praise amongst his former NFL colleagues had the attention of scouts.  Finally healthy, McGee shined at the East/West Shrine game this year.  As the draft approached, McGee’s name kept being mentioned by draftniks Mel Kiper and Todd McShay as a raw talent with tremendous upside.

For a Cowboys team sorely lacking in the areas of leadership and character, it’s coming.  In spite of Wade Phillips ineptitude as head coach and Jerry Jones’ metamorphosis into an Al Davis clone, Cowboys fans will look back at Day 2 of the 2009 NFL Draft as a franchise-rescuing pick.

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Jerry + Wade = Zero!

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

jerry-wadeDo these two idiots look like they know what they are doing?!?  A Superbowl contending team previously, the Dallas Cowboys have been effectively dismantled by soft coaching and softer heads.  The Cowboys wasted their 2009 NFL draft!  True enough the actual draft occurred for the Cowboys when they traded for wide receiver Roy Williams last year, but a team that faltered and subsequently failed in 2008 needed to do something last weekend.  The trendy preaseason Superbowl pick last year, Dallas stumbled in December again and completely missed the playoffs.  After listening to all the nonsense coming out of Big D this year, one would expect an effective and well thought out draft.  Armed with 11 picks, the Cowboys had enough to move around and grab a couple of impact players despite not having a first round pick.  Instead, the Cowboys played the “value” card and completely traded out of day 1.  What a crock!  The Patriots and Belichek played the value card also and, oh by the way, made four 2nd round picks.  Four!  That’s outstanding if you are a Patriots fan and troubling for everyone else.  Meanwhile Jerry and Wade traded down, reached in the third round for more Linebackers (Wade’s favorite position), and picked up a dozen no-names and stiffs.  What the ___?!  I almost puked when the ESPN roving reporter stated the the Cowboys felt that the draft was a crapshoot (my word) and that you miss on half the draft picks, so you need to go for quantity versus quality… Huh?!  Did the Eagles or Patriots, Steelers or Packers feel like they needed to make 12 picks to improve their teams?  Heck you don’t even need to go out of the division…  The Eagles got Jeremy Maclin, the Redskins got Brian Orakpo and the Giants got Hakeem Nicks.  Each team addressed major needs and helped themselves out; the Cowboys?  They picked up special teams guys and back-ups.  The Cowboys had great drafts with Jerry and Jimmy and Jerry and Bill.  The thing Jerry needs to remember…  He had nothing to do with it!

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Fire Jerry Jones

Monday, March 9th, 2009

jj3Today, the saga of TO relocated to another NFL city as the outspoken wide receiver will now be catching passes on the shores of Lake Erie.  Good for TO and for the Bills.  I think both ended up winners in this case with TO getting paid $6.5MM for one year and the Bills getting a viable offensive threat as they try to get over the ever elusive playoff hump.

As for the Dallas Cowboys, while they are surely winners in the short run for dumping TO, their egotistical and outspoken owner remains their biggest liability.  As a business man, Jerry Jones has parlayed $140 million into the $1.1 billion mega bonanza currently known as the Dallas Cowboys.  As an NFL owner, Jerry Jones has destroyed the foundation Jimmy Johnson built in the early 1990’s and continues to try bizarre experiments which are reminiscent of a younger Al Davis.

Let’s review some of Jerry’s infamous history.  After back to back Super Bowl wins following 1992 and 1993 seasons, Jerry Jones had too much to drink one night and started bragging about how the successes the Cowboys had enjoyed were due mainly to himself and that he would fire head coach Jimmy Johnson if he wanted.  A few days later, Jimmy and Jerry parted ways and the Dallas soap opera shifted from Southfork Ranch to Valley Ranch with the role of hated villain shifting from JR to JJ (Jerry Jones).

JJ went out and hired his old college buddy Barry Switzer to replace Johnson and to lead this team laden with future hall of famers to another Super Bowl victory.  The Cowboys first attempt flamed out after three first quarter turnovers against 49ers in the NFC championship game.  Their second attempt was successful as the Boys luckily won Super Bowl XXX over the Steelers in what is simply known as the Neil O’Donnell game.  This brief taste of success was more a reflection of what others didn’t do than what JJ and team did do.  Two seasons later, the Switzer experiment ended after a 6-10 campaign amid discipline and off the field problems giving way to the hiring of Chan Gailey.  The Gailey experiment lasted only two seasons eventually yielding to the Dave Camp experiment which lasted one more year than the Gailey experiment. 

Finally in 2003, JJ seemed to have reversed all the nonsense with the hiring hall of fame coach Bill Parcells.  Parcells immediately placed his stamp on the team leading the Cowboys to the playoffs with the league’s best defense.  The next two seasons yielded no playoff appearances so JJ tried another experiment.  This experiment was TO and was against the better judgment of his current hall of fame coach.  Parcells and TO co-existed for one season, yielding a 9-7 record and a first round playoff loss.  After four seasons, Parcells quietly slipped back into retirement, leaving JJ with a very talented army and no general.  Along came nice guy Wade Phillips who led the ‘Boys to a 13-3 record before losing to the Giants in the first round of the playoffs. 

After going 1-3 in December and missing the playoffs in 2008, JJ was torn between his coach and his star receiver as one or both probably needed to go.  TO was the first to be shown the door thus ending the three year experiment.  The Wade Phillips experiment will last at least one more year in Big D but how long will the JJ experiment last?

Hey JJ, take a chapter out of the Dan Rooney, Jeffrey Lurie and Bob Kraft NFL ownership book.  Quit talking to the media, quit joining the team on the sidelines during the game and turnover the football part of the business to someone who knows football.

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Who shot TO?

Friday, March 6th, 2009

t_owens_090305_250x150The question in Dallas in the 80’s was who shot JR; the question for 2009, who shot TO???  While I can’t pipe in the theme music from the late, great primetime soap Dallas, the current goings on in Big D smack of that old drama… Jerry says he loves TO, Romo says he needs TO, Garrett says he wants TO and now TO’s gone.  Let’s look at the cast of suspects…

Jerry Jones

The leader of the pack, Jerry was saying two weeks ago that TO was likely back, now he says the Cowboys need a new attitude.  What was wrong with the old one, at least where TO was concerned?  TO was a workaholic and passionate player who brought it all every Sunday.  A great owner and lousy GM, Jones dished out 4 years and over 30 mil to TO last year on a new contract and this move costs the Boys 9 million in dead money.  Way to go Jerry!  Had Jones laid down the law with Owens early on in the Parcells days, maybe this doesn’t happen.  Better yet, had Jones hired a non-creampuff coach, maybe TO would have been more accountable, which brings us to…

Wade Phillips

TO loved Wade compared to Bill Parcells; why wouldn’t he, he got to do whatever he wanted.  Nuf said on the creampuff who should have been the move Jerry made…

Jason Garrett

Jason’s fingerprints are all over this as he said that he felt he and TO could not co-exist after TO questioned his offensive schemes.  How dare TO do that???  Question, didn’t Dallas’ offense drop from the top 5 to the 2nd tier last year?  And where did all the crossing patterns and motion plays for TO that were a big success in 2007, go in 2008?  Maybe Garrett should have done more analysis of his offense and done more to get more out of Tony Romo in practices…

Tony Romo

Everybody’s favorite playboy remains the QB of the future in Dallas and the best guy to be driving the car since Troy Aikman.  The difference between him and Aikman is, could you really have seen TO chewing on Aikman like he did on Romo?  Aikman had his own diva Wide Receiver to deal with in Michael Irvin and oh by the way, they’re both in the Hall of Fame and have three Superbowl Rings.  For Romo and Dallas to be successful, he needs to take the reins and leadership role on the offense which has not happened thus far…

Jason Witten

The mysterious “source” for many of Ed Werder’s TO reports, Witten lost Owen’s trust and facilitated this whole debacle.  Another player who needs to show more leadership as the Cowboys trudge on.

Terrell Owens

Was this killing self inflicted???  Obviously to some extent as Owens is a diva and lightning rod for the media.  He could have played nicer on the sidelines, but it is not in his fiery and competitive nature…

So, where are we now?  As a staunch Cowboy fan, I can not be more disappointed that the team parted ways with TO.  How do you replace 38 TDs and over 4000 yards in receiving over the last three years???  This guy is a Hall of Famer for cat’s sake!  The issue with TO has always been accountability.  As in Philadelphia before and now in Dallas, Owens is not afraid to say what is on his and other players minds.  This is not necessarily a bad thing if handled in the right way.  I’ve had plenty of employees who told me things I did not like to hear, if I had fired them all, I’d be in a pretty sparce work environment.  Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett entitled TO, Romo and Witten did not man up to confront the issues before them with Owens and TO got the shaft.  A pretty sad ending to the soap opera if you ask me…

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Championship Weekend; Could it have been the Cowboys?

Friday, January 16th, 2009

 

So the NFL survivors have wound down to four teams hoping for a trip to Tampa.  Most of the world is looking for a Keystone State matchup, but I think differently.  Meanwhile, is Jerry Jones kicking himself right now?  It appears the NFC was wide open for the taking with the 6th seeded Eagles looking like the best of the Conference; could it have been the Cowboys instead?  Obviously the Eagles were very deserving after getting off the carpet and resurrecting their season, but it could just have easily been Dallas who fumbled away prime opportunities against Pittsburgh and Baltimore before laying an egg in the season finale in Philly.  Still think you have the right coaching staff in place Jerry?

Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals

     This season’s “team of destiny” appears to be the Eagles who, after getting tied by Cincinnati and crushed by Baltimore, have righted their ship and sail into Arizona on a high note.  Donovan McNabb looks great and the defense has been suffocating their opponents.  On the other side, the Cardinals have been on a roll as well with the Larry Fitzgerald – Kurt Warner combination clicking and the defense taking the ball away like crazy.  With Anquan Boldin back and playing at home, do the Cardinals have a chance?  Yes they do, but it will the Eagles who prevail in the long run.  Philadelphia 26, Arizona 17

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

      Is the third time the charm for Joe Flacco and the Ravens?  Baltimore heads back to the Steel City in what promises to be a throwback football game with hard hits and harder feelings.  The Ravens are led by spirtual leader Ray Lewis, but the most important defender on the field is ball hawk Ed Reed.  On the opposite side, Pittsburgh’s D was number 1 across the board (Baltimore was number 2 of course) and is led by Troy Polamalu and Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison.  This game will be all about Defense and the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win.  Who will that be?  I choose Flacco and the Ravens to pull the upset at Heinz Field.  Baltimore 19, Pittsburgh 13

     Look for a battle of birds in Tampa in SB XLII!

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Phillips Ruining Cowboys

Sunday, December 21st, 2008

 

The Dallas Cowboys had almost everything this year: a solid defense led by DeMarcus Ware, Brady James, and Roy Williams.  A great running game powered by its huge offensive line and a host of skill-position playmakers–the team that Bill Parcells built. 

 

Dallas Cowboys v Washington Redskins

There are some coaches made to be coordinators, and others that have what it takes to coach, manage and meld egos to a championship.  Wade Phillips falls into the former category.  Phillips has been a successful defensive coordinator, but is again failing as a head coach.  There is no reason with the talent on each side of the Cowboys line of scrimmage they should be backing their way into the playoffs.  Even if they make it, it says here that it’ll be a one-and-done playoff for the ‘Boys.

 

Tony Romo has established himself as a quarterback that can lead a team for two-thirds of the season, and then flounder when the pressure is really on.  The great ones turn it up a notch when the season is on the line.  Romo doesn’t fit into this category, so it won’t be him that takes America’s team into the Promised Land.

 

When Bill Parcells left, the toughness that had been developed over his tenure also ceased to exist.  When I think of Parcells-coached teams, I think of ‘Parcells guys’.  Players like O.J. Anderson, Dave Meggett, Phil Simms, Lawrence Taylor and Carl Banks.  These guys were just great football players.  The Big Tuna had built a nucleus of those types of guys in Marion Barber, David Witten, Ware and James.

 

Parcells took that culture with him to Miami—no doubt the fish will be filled with players fitting the Parcells mold, and should be a team to watch as this year closes out, but also in the next few years.

 

The Cowboys will move into a brand new, state-of-the-art facility next year.  But Phillips’ soft approach to managing this team of egos will have this team at .500 next year.   You can bet that The Big Tuna will be looking to bring some of ‘his guys’ to South Beach next year.

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