In between taking swipes at Tiger Woods and his nine, I mean eleven, man is it up to an even dozen women?!?, pundits are expounding on the annual December swoon that descends upon the Dallas Cowboys. Swoon, shwoon; I’m not buying it at all! Last season the Cowboys went 1-3 in December, horrible right? Of course all four of the teams they played were playoff teams and three made their respective Conference Championships. This year the Boys are oh and 2 losing to the New York Giants in the Meadowlands and the San Diego Chargers yesterday. Both teams were expected to contend this year and the Chargers are riding an eight game winning streak. On the horizon for the Cowboys are the 13 and oh New Orleans Saints in the Superdome which doesn’t look real good for the Cowboys either. Long story short, I look at the schedule the Cowboys are playing and don’t buy into the swoon theory.
Where I place the blame is on the coaching staff and Head Coach Wade Phillips. In four of the five Cowboy losses, the team lost by seven points or less; true that is indicative of most NFL games but what is says to me is that the Cowboys can not close out quality opponents in close games. The field goal kicker is four of ten from over 40 yards which is pathetic. Why does Wade put up with that??? Bill Parcells canned Mike Vanderjagt when he missed a few kicks and he was the most accurate kicker of all time! Wade Phillips can’t pull the trigger on the hard decisions and it is time to cut him loose. With coaching candidates like Mike Holmgren, Mike Shanahan and Bill Cowher on the radar screen, Wade Phillips is a liability to say the least! And oh by the way, send Jason Garrett packing with him…
Okay FFL Coaches, we are now into Week 2 of the NFL and FFL seasons and if you find yourself 0-2 or 1-1 (or even 2-0; hey it never hurts to shore up your squad!), be sure to be looking for early gems on the waiver wire radar! Already, undrafted guys like Mario Manningham (seen here) of the New York Giants and others are making noise as their team’s go to guys in the early season games. Look to churn the bottom of your roster or pick up injury back-ups to bolster your line-up. Brian Westbrook of the Eagles and Marion Barber of Dallas both got nicked up this past weekend so if you own them and see back ups Leshon McCoy and/or Tashard Choice available on your free agent lists, it may be time for you to snap them up. When looking who to drop when making your pickups, be sure not to give up on guys too early… Brandon Jacobs and Randy Moss have not gotten it going yet, but they are still top talents in the NFL (and FFL) so be sure not to get tricked into trading them away or dropping them or you’ll pay the price later this season! Good hunting!
