Tuesday Mailbag

Well, after the long weekend, we must all go on with our lives around here. So, for the Tuesday blog, I thought I would clean out some Cowboys email for the interested to read. Otherwise, it is pretty short and sweet.

Bill Parcells interested in the Giants GM job? …

The Giants have rebuffed an overture from Cowboys coach Bill Parcells about returning to the organization as general manager, according to a high-ranking NFL executive familiar with the team's thinking.

Parcells had informed the Giants through an intermediary that he would be interested in returning to the organization to replace the retiring Ernie Accorsi, according to two NFL executives and a player. The sources requested anonymity because of the private nature of the search.

In far more interesting news due to the odds it could actually happen, Mike Zimmer to talk to Atlanta and ol’ buddy Bobby Petrino …

The Atlanta Falcons have requested permission from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to speak with Mike Zimmer for the defensive coordinator position under new coach Bobby Petrino, according to two sources.

Neither Zimmer nor Jones were available for comment.

On the surface, it appears the move could be good for Zimmer, who was miscast as the director of coach Bill Parcells’ 3-4 defense. Zimmer’s history is in the 4-3 alignment.

Remember last season’s College Football title game? Texas-USC will go down as one of the greatest games of all time. Last night? Not so much.

Florida beats Ohio State like a drum …

On a night reserved for champions, the underdog stole the show. Soft-spoken Chris Leak, maligned throughout his career, challenged from within his own locker room, teamed with a suffocating defense to lead the Florida Gators to their first national title in a decade.

Their 41-14 victory over previously unbeaten Ohio State inside University of Phoenix Stadium was as surprising as it was decisive. Aside from the opening kickoff, the Gators never flinched, never stopped believing.

"This is what you work for," said Leak, who completed 25 of 36 for 213 yards and a touchdown. "When you are doing all the right things, eventually your time is going to come."

Roles reversed in front of a sold-out crowd. The Buckeyes, owners of top rankings since August, masters of their previous 19 games, were rattled, out of rhythm, doomed. Florida, champions of the Southeastern Conference, never relented.

The Gators (13-1) thrived behind Leak's poise, their coach's creativity and a defense that likely will give Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith nightmares. Leak never seemed overwhelmed by the moment, while Florida's defense seized it, limiting the Buckeyes to 82 yards.

Smith, this season's Heisman Trophy winner, seldom had time to throw, turning Ohio State's five-wide set into a five-wide mess. He completed only two passes in the first half, one coming against a loose secondary on second and 25. He finished 4 of 14 for 35 yards and an interception, his season's worst performance.

"A lack of execution on my part," Smith said. "Simply because I am the one guy out there that can pretty much control everything. And I didn't do a well-enough job in controlling what was going on."

The Buckeyes (12-1) played most of the contest without playmaker Ted Ginn Jr., who jolted Florida with a 93-yard kickoff return on the game's first play, then injured his ankle in celebration. In his absence, the Gators took control, leading 14-7 after one quarter, 34-14 after two.

Family Fued: Dale Jr takes on his step-mommy …

Earnhardt said Monday that significant issues had not been resolved as he approached the final year of the deal driving for the team, which was started by his father, Dale Earnhardt. His father was killed in a crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001.
“It’s just tough,” Dale Jr. said before the first day of testing at Daytona International Speedway. A morning session for the season-opening Daytona 500 on Feb. 18 was held, but the afternoon session was rained out.

“To get a new deal done, it’s going to be very difficult but I feel like we can get it done. It’s just there’s some things involved that I want out of the future involving the company, and it’s very difficult for everybody to see eye to eye there.”

Among the issues are ownership of the team and a strained relationship with his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, who is the team’s owner.

“It ain’t a bed of roses,” Dale Earnhardt said.

Teresa Earnhardt criticized Dale Jr. last month in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, openly wondering if his outside commitments and publicity had affected his performance. Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth in the Nextel Cup points standings last season.

“Right now the ball’s in his court to decide on whether he wants to be a Nascar driver or whether he wants to be a public personality,” she was quoted as saying.
Earnhardt Jr. said he had not spoken with his stepmother about the comments.
“I really didn’t appreciate it, whether she was taken out of context or not,” he said. “I just really didn’t appreciate it.”

He added: “I haven’t talked to Teresa about what she said in the paper. I figured if anything needed to be said, she’d call me up and say it. But you know, my and her relationship definitely factor in my decision to drive there.”

In other stuff, the Rangers twist in the wind for another pitcher that is likely to go elsewhere …

The Rangers continue to be left hanging by pitcher Mark Mulder and his agent, Gregg Clifton.

The Rangers made a two-year offer last month and have yet to receive an answer. The Cleveland Indians also have made a two-year offer and also have not received an answer.

Mulder pitched for St. Louis last year, and all indications are the Cardinals will get a chance to match any offers from other teams.

"It's been a longer process than any of us anticipated," Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Monday. "I'm hopeful it will be resolved one way or another in the next few days."

Mulder is coming off shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum and is not expected to be ready for Opening Day. Clifton said Mulder should get 20-25 starts this year, but that's the best-case scenario. It's more likely that he won't be ready by the All-Star break.

Mike Modano out for quite a while – including the All-Star Game …

The face of the Stars' franchise probably won't be on the ice in two weeks when the NHL All-Star Game comes to Dallas for the first time.

Center Mike Modano said Monday that it's "highly unlikely" he will play in the Jan. 24 game even if selected. His hip and groin injury, which includes a muscle tear near his groin, has kept him out for more than a month. He isn't expected to play in any of the Stars' remaining five games before the all-star break.

"That's very disappointing, not to be able to play in that game," Modano said. "That's the hard part because you look forward to that game here and that one time you can play at home in front of everybody."

Modano, 36, has played in six All-Star Games and been selected for two others but missed appearing because of injury. He wouldn't completely rule out being available then if the injury, which he said prevents him from accelerating to top speed quickly, improved in the next couple weeks.

Modano said doctors have been stumped by the injury, which he said "they've never seen before." He said he doesn't want to set back the healing process by coming back before he's completely healthy, adding the scar tissue must mend completely.

The Following is the story of a guy who wants a do-over …

The sports director for KSN, Channel 3, uttered an obscenity on air during the 6 p.m. newscast Thursday, prompting the station to issue an on-air apology four hours later.

Jim Kobbe, who has been sports director for more than a year, apparently became frustrated with technical problems before he shouted the expletive over the sound of a pre-recorded story.

"Obviously he didn't know his mike was on," KSN news director Todd Spessard said. "It doesn't matter what the circumstances were, it was inexcusable."
A tape of the broadcast played for The Eagle showed that the incident occurred just after Kobbe wrapped up a live discussion with a colleague who was preparing to cover the Wichita State University basketball game.

After the discussion, the station went to a taped story, and Kobbe obviously assumed his microphone was off.

On the tape, he can clearly be heard shouting, "F--- you, Buzz!" --apparently directing his frustration at a technical director working on the newscast.
Spessard said he could not discuss Kobbe's status at the station, but said, "I can assure you that an appropriate disciplinary action has been taken.

"It was obviously an honest mistake, but it doesn't excuse it," he said.
Spessard said Kobbe was apologetic when he learned what had happened. He was not at the station for the 10 o'clock newscast.

In addition to embarrassment, KSN could face a sizable Federal Communications Commission fine for the incident.

KSN led its 10 o'clock newscast with an apology, delivered by news anchor Paul Petitte, that asked viewers for understanding and for them to continue to watch the station.

Here is the evidence below. Only watch with extreme volume caution.

Do what, Buzz?



Here is some good strong Cowboys email:

Bob,

You summed it up well in your blog notes, nothing more to be said about the boys abbreviated playoff run.

Ask yourself this, what does any self respecting Cowboy fan want if Cowboy glory has been postponed for another year?

...misery and turmoil for the eagle. So I for one am going to cheer on the eag's to take the Lombardi. Why? Because, just think of the turmoil in philly next year if Jeff Garcia takes them to the championship. With McNab's injury prone historical perspective, that town would be on him from the get-go, it would be very entertaining.

Maybe next year.

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I know everyone is talking about the game but when do we have to worry about the fumbled snap affecting Romo for the rest of his careed?

Look what happened to Brad Lidge after he gave up the bomb to Pujols. Was Vanderjadt the same after he snap-hooked the FG in the Colts-Steelers game? We all know what happened to Bill Buckner. The long-snapper from the Giants went into hiding when he messed up the snap in their playoff game with the 49ers around 3 yrs ago.

I think it's time for Bill Parcells to slightly change his approach to this player in order to help Romo get this out of his head.

Roman in San Antonio

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Bob, I know definitively why the Cowboys struggled after the Tampa Bay game. If you go to the Cowboys website and look at the game pictures from all of Tony Romo's starts he didn't wear sleeves under the pads until the game after Tampa Bay and the only time after that game that he didn't wear sleeves was the Atlanta game which they won. He lost every game that he played wearing those sleeves...that is the Tony Romo Kryptonite...if he stays away from the sleeves we go undefeated next year...

Ryan P1 Anna

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You might want to double check my stats and math but I think its good. My source is profootballreference.com

I think we have just witnessed the worst decade in the history of the cowboys.

1997-2006: Reg Season: 73-87 (.456) 0-4 playoffs (all wildcard game losses)

The second worst 10 year span I could find:

1982-1991: Reg Season: 73-79 (.480) 3-4 playoffs (NFC championship loss in 1982, wildcard losses in 1983 & 1985, wildcard win, divisional game loss in 1991)
note: fewer regular season games due to strikes in 82 (9 games) and 87 (15 games)

For comparison:
1960-1969: Reg Season: 67-55-6 (.523) 2 Chapionship Game losses (1966 & 1967) to you know who!

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That statistic about false starts on their screens was bogus. They were including playoffs games and it was only for last year and this year when Seattle had 3 more games.

It was so silent when Miles scored. The fans finally got out of our faces.

I was along the goal line on that side when Romo scrambled and I thought too that he was going to make it.

What a weak "Ring of Honor".... Dave Krieg, Jim Zorn, you have to be kidding.

The stadium wouldn't replay on the screen any play that went against them. That was even frustrating their fans.

That was a nice, huge screen - when they would replay controversial plays that went against the Seahawks.

The fans were acting like they were going back to the Super Bowl. The fact is that neither team gets past next week.

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Bob,

I'm still stunned by last night's ending, and amazed at the diverse ways Dallas found to lose over the second half of the season. The killers last night -- the Glenn fumble and the Romo bobble -- were as wierd and unexpected as you could ever imagine. But I guess those are the kinds of things that happen to bad teams; I certainly could never think of them happening to New England, for instance.

And now we get to endure what is sure to be a drama-filled offseason. In some ways, I'm looking forward to the talk this will generate. On the other hand, it would be so nice to go into an off-season happy about where things stand and just looking forward to adding to an already promising team. Here's what I think:

(1) The Cowboys should cut Owens. Not because he's a narcissistic, distracting, polarizing drama queen who is certain to hack off the organization this offseason when he again refuses to participate in the team's offseason regimen. Not because he sleeps in meetings and fights with his position coach and then whines and threatens like a spoiled child when the public finds out about it. And not even because he dropped more critical balls than he caught. No, it's because, in addition to all of those things, he's just not worth the money. Seriously, we haven't seen emptier offensive numbers around here since A-Rod left. Consider his performance against teams with a winning record. In seven games -- New Orleans, Indy, Seattle and two each against Philly and the Giants -- he caught 28 passes for 402 yards and 3 TDs. Okay, I suppose, for a second or third receiver, but pretty weak for an $8 million man. His performance against the Eagles, arguably the Cowboys' most important rival, was particularly putrid: 5 catches for 68 yards and a TD, in two games (his performance in that first Eagles game was nothing short of cowardly, dropping and short-arming balls all over the place). And then there's last night: 2 catches for 26 yards, against a secondary featuring three guys who may have been in my flag football league three weeks ago. Sure, against the losers -- Washington (twice), Tennessee, Houston, Arizona, Tampa, Detroit and Atlanta -- he was much better, with 44 catches for 617 yards and 9 TDs (3 against lowly Houston alone), but Dallas didn't sign Owens to a princely contract just to pad stats against the teams they should pound regardless. The bottom line is that a prima donna with those numbers isn't worth $8 million, especially when he's also a monumental pain in the ass. It's time to send him packing.

(2) Parcells better not leave. He created this mess, with his questionable draft picks, his underwhelming free agent signings and his decision to switch to the 3-4. He darn sure needs to stay around to fix it. Ditching "The Player" should help make the job more fun (that Parcells would never use Owens' name spoke volumes to me about how much he hates the guy). But he needs to do something about this coaching staff. Zimmer did some good things around here once, but it's time to go. There's too much talent on defense for it to be as flimsy as it was over the last seven games, and there is no excuse for not finding schemes to shut down the likes of Jon Kitna. And someone with a little more imagination on the offensive side wouldn't hurt either. The offense got pretty predictable as the season went on and had way too many three-and-outs over the last five or six games.

(3) Dallas's offseason needs, in order, are safety, linebacker, nosetackle, nickelback, wide receiver, offensive line and backup QB. It's shocking that the biggest needs are on defense, considering how many recent draft picks and free agent signings have been defensive. But the Cowboys can't survive another season with these safeties and no pass rush. And Aaron Glenn is getting too old to be a third DB. The fact is, Dallas probably already has a good free safety on the roster in Anthony Henry, but he won't move there and, besides, that would only create a hole at CB.

(4) Notwithstanding the holes on defense, I'm still not convinced that Dallas doesn't need to draft another young QB. Yes, Romo did some good work this season, but his performance over the past five or six weeks was very concerning, with too many turnovers, often at critical moments. Maybe Dallas did find the quarterback of the future while rummaging through the bargain bin, just as the Rams and New England once did. More often, though, great quarterbacks are drafted in the first three or four rounds while the bargain bin guys are there for good reason.

Anyway, thank goodness the Mavericks got it going on.

Dave in Tulsa

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Dear BaD Radio,

After that crazy and disappointing loss Saturday, it left me to ponder what the Cowboys should do in the offseason. I believe the only good thing that came out of the loss, is that the Cowboys have no choice but to admit they have problems and address them. If they win a playoff game or two, either by luck, or just because the NFC is so mediocre, Jones is more likely to just say they are just a step away and doesn't need to do any major changes. I was just wondering what problems you think the Cowboys need to address, either with the draft or free agency, and which one for what issue? Obviously the Cowboys need a defensive lineman that can rush the passer, and a safety that is good in coverage. But what about a young offensive lineman for depth purposes, a young receiver, another back-up quaterback (being Romo is they only QB on the roster after Bledsoe left, which I think was Sunday morning), and possibly re-working that inside linebacking core? Can Bobby Carpenter play inside linebacker? If he can play inside like he played outside Saturday, then I think he'll do just fine. But that was one game. As for Roy Williams... I know everyone says he would be better suited for the linebacker position, but honestly that just doesn't make sense to me. What makes sense to me, is to have a sit down with Roy and tell him that he is overrated and that his Pro Bowl selections aren't based on his play. After you give him a swift kick to his ego, tell him that there is a solution to all of the mistakes that are keeping him from being a "great" player. Get him to agree, then put him on a rigorous off-season program that drops some pounds off of him and gives him a little more quickness and speed. During that program, set him up with a cornerbacks coach that works well with rookies corners that need to work on footwork and reading the quaterback. That way his whole off-season he is learning how to cover and gaining a bit more speed to be able to keep up with some off the faster receivers going over the middle and so he's not a step behind when trying to help out one on one coverage going deep. That makes more sense to me than teaching Roy a new position and forcing him to put on 15 or 20 pounds. The Cowboys need safeties and to take a good safety and turn him into a questionable linebacker (maybe he'd be good, maybe not) then have the issue of having to find two safeties instead of just one. And what we need at the linebacker position is a linebacker that can cover backs out of the backfield and Roy can't cover. The linebacker talk needs to stop. I'd like to hear a few of your thoughts about which way you go this off-season. Babyarm!

P1 Tyler

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