Fantastic Finish in SD

The Cowboys gained a darn impressive win on Sunday in San Diego, and now we can knee-jerk this team into deep January if we try. I thought the Cowboys were going to be really good this year, but I didn’t think that they would have enough to beat the Chargers on their turf. Well, they did. In dramatic fashion, no less. And now, allow us to imagine how good this team may become.

The star of yesterday’s game? Julius Jones, Patrick Crayton, Drew Bledsoe, Keyshawn Johnson, Anthony Henry, Aaron Glenn, Roy Williams, Laroi Glover, and on and on. The point is, they now look like they are solid just about everywhere on the field. Not sure how long this all holds up, and before we get too carried away, they were a tipped ball away from losing that game, but there is certainly reason for optimism in Valley Ranch today.

I am now convinced that DeMarcus Ware will get 8-10 sacks this year. Roman Oben had nothing for him. He may not have got there yesterday, but he will. They can’t block him. Of course, his run support might need some work, but I will make that trade.

Parcells is happy to complain about the win …

Of course, Parcells didn't want to discuss the future. He was too busy savoring this win.

You know he felt good about it because he spent much of his postgame news conference talking about all of the mistakes his team made.

"I couldn't enumerate the things I didn't like. I really couldn't," he said. "We just have to improve, but winning a game on the road like this against a team like this – that's a good start for us.

"I'm proud of the players. We'll see where we go from here. We have a lot of work to do – and I don't know if we have enough time to get it done."

Tomlinson held in check …

Tomlinson, whose stated goal this season is to run for more than 2,000 yards, was held to 72 yards on 19 carries. His longest run was 10 yards.

Meanwhile, in San Diego, the media wonders why Gates was suspended by the team …

The Chargers were too upset about what they didn't do to dwell on who they didn't have. But Smith's decision to effectively suspend tight end Antonio Gates for this game certainly appears costly.

Gates' absence could be felt in many ways – perhaps chief among them the Cowboys' ability to blitz throughout the day without having to commit an extra man to the All-Pro tight end. And having Gates on the sideline in jeans and a polo shirt was particularly troublesome on those final four plays, when the Cowboys could bring the cavalry and Brees could not throw to his favorite down-close target.

Lebreton tells you to forget everything you know about Texas …I agree…

Forget the head coach, the one that annually bends a knee to Oklahoma. Forget the Chris Simms pampering days. Forget the image of a team that shies from a good fight. Forget all the seasons that Texas football always seemed to finish a game or two short.

Forget it because, as it proved Saturday night at Ohio State, this Longhorns team doesn't seem encumbered by any of it.
Against the No. 4-ranked Buckeyes, this Texas team stayed around for the fight.

Brian Davis wonders if Longhorns will be back in Pasadena …

Agassi Cinderella story ends as Federer pounds him …



And now, a few words about the Green Bay Packers. If you asking why would I put this on the blog, simply scroll up and remind yourself whose blog you are reading.

Week 1. Loss at Detroit. I knew going into this season they were going to suck. I wasn’t sure how much, but now it is obvious. They were pounded into submission by a Detroit Lions team that will be pretty good if they get ANYTHING from their QB position. Shaun Rodgers is the best player in football no one ever mentions. But, with Javon Walker blowing out his knee, and with Rivera and Wahle gone, you can safely expect this team will be no better than 8-8 this year. The defense held up yesterday, but their weaknesses will be exposed soon enough when they play a team that has a QB. Speaking of QB, Favre was not good. The clowns on ESPN said he was “distracted” as if the hurricane caused him to make poor decisions. I think he has shown obvious signs of age, including a play on 3rd and 3 and the 4 yard line where “old Brett” would have launched himself at the goal line on the scramble to move the chains or score. “New Brett” avoids contact and throws passes at covered receivers. Back in January, Favre had a similar “avoid contact” play against the Vikes in the playoffs. I received an email back then that had this in it:

QBs like Favre or Marino are the same as an Ace fighter pilot - Fear can not be an acknowledged as a factor in their actions - see Elway. As soon as the thought of what could happen in a dogfight creeps into the mind of that Ace - he is for all intents and purposes, done for. Thats why all the WWII fighter aces were very young men - almost all without wives or families - still in an invincible belief system.

By tossing that ball and dodging that bone jarring hit in exchange for a possible 7 points Favre relinquished his blind desire and steel will of invincibility (no matter how human he actually is) and you can't get that back. The rest is just a steady decline to the ultimate embarrassment - such as witnessed that sad sad day in January in Jacksonville when Marino was pulled for his inability to throw his patented 15 yard out without lobbing it to a Jag's d-back for a TD.

Sadly, I cannot deny this.

And now some email from the weekend. This one from before the NFL action of yesterday:

Subject: football is here
Date: 9/10/2005 12:50:56 PM Central Standard Time
From: jhernandez96@sbcglobal.net


Well nerd football season is here and all is good again. A few of my predictions are the Cowboys 10-6 and the Packers 7-9. I think it is about time that we hold Favre accountable for his recent playoff failures. This drunken, pill popping addict has not won an important game in almost 10 years now. Maybe I have higher expectations for the player than he has for himself. Maybe I as a football fan have higher expectations for this drunk than you do as a Packers fan. His play has been atrocious when it really counts. I understand your love for this man is so great to the point of you naming your son after him, which is weird in itself. But take off your love glasses and expect more of this bum.

I thought I named my son after Brett “the Hit Man” Hart…

Name: David Hines
Email: deweygolfer@comcast.net
Want To Be On Maillist: N

Comments: Here is what you were looking for in regard to Mack Brown being wimp when it comes to scheduling (SI.com article by Stewart Mandel):

Elsewhere, USC and Nebraska will meet the next two seasons, as will Tennessee and Cal, while Oklahoma has arranged home-and-homes with Florida State (2010 and '11) and Notre Dame ('12 and '13) and is in discussions with Miami about a possible series in 2007 and '09.

One might view such aggressive scheduling as risky for programs that expect to contend for the national title, particularly if, like the Buckeyes, they'll also be playing a daunting conference schedule every year that includes fellow title contender Michigan in the last game. But as the BCS has shown, there's also something to be said for strength-of-schedule, which the Sooners in particular benefited from in reaching the past two BCS championship games over other teams (USC in 2003, Auburn last year) with similar records. "We believe scheduling one so-called 'marquee matchup' is the best approach," said Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione. "We believe in the importance of schedule strength, and our recent [BCS] experiences underscored that philosophy."

Texas coach Mack Brown doesn't seem to share Tressel's and Castiglione's enthusiasm for such matchups. In a conference call with reporters earlier this week, Brown intimated the 'Horns, who scheduled the Ohio State series roughly a decade ago when the program was struggling financially and competitively, might not have made the same choice under the present circumstances. "At places like ours, we're going to fill up our stadium regardless of who we're playing," said Brown, "so we'd actually make more money playing another game at home, getting our guys ready for our conference schedule. So I don't see this continuing [beyond next year's game in Austin]."

Now why do you have to be such party-poopers, Vince and Mack? It's starting to sound like we're more excited for this thing than you are. "[When the series was scheduled], the national championship game was not what it is today," said Brown. "At places like Texas and Ohio State, everyone wants you to win the last one, and obviously after Saturday, one of us is going to take a step back."

Vikes may have gotten rid of Moss, but that doesn’t mean they have 53 angels playing for them …

The altercation began at about 2:15 a.m. on Aug. 28, after she asked Kevin Williams, his brother and two other acquaintances to turn down music coming from the basement of their home. About 45 minutes later, Kevin Williams came upstairs. He pushed her shoulder and asked why she wasn't wearing her wedding ring, Tasha Williams told police.

Kevin Williams continued to advance. Tasha Williams hit him between the eyes with her cell phone. Kevin Williams then flung her across the bed and into a nightstand. Tasha got off the floor and onto the bed, while Kevin jumped on top of her, holding down her arms.

According to Tasha Williams, Kevin Williams gained possession of a knife before throwing it behind him. Kevin Williams told police he could not remember many details of the incident but that he remembered taking the knife from Tasha Williams before throwing it behind him.

Modano getting jump start from Team USA …

By the way, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we will be at Stars Training Camp for the show in Frisco. All practices are open to the public I believe…

Details about Camp are here ...