Dallas Cowboys defeat Browns; fall to 8th in BCS

In what celebrated American historian David McCullough* calls "one of the least impressive wins in the history of modern sport" the Dallas Cowboys professional football club defeated the Cleveland Browns 23-20 in overtime on Sunday.

The game had an Ishtar-like quality to it. Only Ishtar was better.

Alas, the Dallas Cowboys are 5-5 and on their way to winning the Super Bowl **. The Cowboys host the Washington Redskins on Thursday in their annual Turkey Day game and should be 6-5 very soon.

1. Dez. The Cowboys receiver is becoming like Cher in that he requires but one name.
Granted, it came against a really bad Cleveland secondary but Dez Bryant played the best game of his career - 12 receptions for 145 yards with one TD.
He was go-to, could not be covered and was the best player on the field.
For this game he is worth the headache. 

2. Speaking of Dez ... it's fun to note that Browns president Mike Holmgren tried to tell Jerry Jones before that draft not to select the Okie State WR.

3. Offensive line. Awful. Tony Romo was sacked a career-high seven times, and the running game averaged 3.0 yards per carry. Doug Free was brutal. Whatever progress he made two years ago is gone. The Cowboys have to find his replacement.
The high ankle sprain suffered by left tackle Tyron Smith led to Jermey Pernell, who looks like the second coming of Torrin Tucker.

4. Rookie QBs facing the Cowboys continue to tear it up. Or at least not be exposed.
First it was Russell Wilson of the Seahawks in Week 2. On Sunday it was Brandon Weeden playing the part of a competent NFL quarterback. He was 20-of-35 for 210 yards with two TDs and no interceptions.
Of the three rookie passers the Cowboys have faced this season, only did Nick Foles of the Eagles look like a rookie. 

5. Tony Romo dropped back to throw 57 times and attempted 50 passes. Those numbers normally equal a loss. Despite being under constant pressure, Romo passed for 313 yards with one TD. It was his third consecutive game without an inteception.

6. There is no reason for Dez Bryant to return another punt. Now that Dwayne Harris seems to have figured this punt returning thing out, there is no reason to roll the dice with Dez.

7. Why did the Cowboys punt to Josh Cribbs late? With less than 1:20 remaining and nursing a four-point lead, Cowboys punter Brian Moorman's punt went to Cribbs at about midfield. He ripped off a 21-yard return to set up the game-tying touchdown.

8. Shout out to the referees for their fine work. The Browns gave the Cowboys 10 first downs on penalty. Ed Hochuli, we get it ... your in good shape and you like talking. The Cowboys were penalized 9 times for 92 yards, which is awful.
The Browns were penalized 12 times for 129 yards, which is God awful.

9. The Cowboys had the ball for 42:16. And they needed overtime to win. This game looked very similar to the one against the Bucs earlier this season - brutal, but ...

10. Jason Garrett. He has his team on a two-game winning streak. The last time the Cowboys won consecutive games was Nov. 20 & Nov. 24 in 2011. 

10-5 is so possible, but 8-8 still feels inevitable.

* This never actually happened.
** Won't happen. 

 

@MacEngelProf
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Now what are we going to whine about? Refs & NFL close to a deal

It looks as if The Replacement Era of NFL football is just about over.  ESPN NFL reporter Chris Mortensen is reporting that an agreement in principle is here. The regular crews could be back at work this weekend.

How sad. Scab Refs have provided a constant source of entertainment and suspense.

So now a business that was created to make money no longer has to worry about the "integrity" of its product. Whew.

Unfortunately, this sets up the expectation that the "real" referees who will return to work will now do something they have never been before: been perfect.

Please do not forget that referees inherently suck and that this is a no-win job. Sometimes a game is going to be lost because of a bad call. They are going to whiff on calls and not see everything just like the replacement guys. 

It is better to have the "real" ones back to work, but they are going to screw up, too. 

@MacEngelProf
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Video: Big Mac teaches Galloway about the NFL draft

Once again, Mr. Galloway attends The Big Mac School to learn a few things about the National Football League.

 

The Dallas Cowboys always seem to win the NFL's schedule championship

The NFL is moving its preferred season-opening time on Thursday to Wednesday to accomodate the President, but the league obviously has zero intention of giving in to the idea that the Dallas Cowboys do not merit anything other than a prime time slot.

The defending Super Bowl champion New York Football Giants will host the defending 8-8 playoff-less champion Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday, Sept. 5 in New Jersey to be televised on NBC.

How cute. The Cowboys 2011 season begin with a loss in New Jersey against the Jets on NBC, and ended with a loss to the Giants in the same stadium, on the same network.

The league normally begins the season on Thursday, but it does not want to interfere with President Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention scheduled for that evening.

The NFL could have put the Giants against any of the following:
- Washington Redskins, and QB RGIII
- Philadelphia Eagles, and that train wreck
- SF 49ers, whom they beat in the NFC title game
- Baltimore Ravens, a team that nearly went to the Super Bowl
- Carolina Panthers, and QB Cam Newton
- Atlanta Falcons, which made the playoffs last season and lost to the Giants in the first round
- Green Bay Packers, whom the Giants beat in NFC divisional round
- New Orleans Saints, who potentially may be coached by former Giants coach Bill Parcells and this season will be one of the most interesting teams to watch as a result of the Bounty Gate fallout.

Instead the NFL went with the .500 Dallas Cowboys. 

The Cowboys may never again do well in January and early February, but no team rocks an offseason schedule like this team.

 

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Bad Idea Jeans: former Dallas Cowboys coach may take New Orleans Saints job

The man who loves to retire may find a new way to un-retire yet again. Bill Parcells makes boxers look more committed to quitting.

The four-lettered is reporting that former Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells is talking to the Saints about their temporary head coaching job.

The Saints are going to be without the services of Sean Payton, who has been suspended by the NFL for one season for his role in BountyGate. If you remember, Payton was on Parcells' staff as an offensive coordinator/QB coach/passing game coordinator blah blah blah. Payton worked with Parcells from 2003 to '05 before he accepted the Saints' gig.

According to this story, the scenario sounds like a long shot.

Parcells is 71, and said after he left the Cowboys following the 2006 season that he was done coaching. Of course, he said that after he left the Jets. He took a VP of football operations job with the Dolphins in 2007. He left that team in 2010 and has since returned to working for ESPN as an NFL analyst. 

As many obstacles that exist for Parcells to return to coaching for just one season, primarily being it's a bad idea, I could easily see him contemplating this. Even though it may not be good for his health, and as much as he fights himself and his own temparment, the NFL is a part of him that he simply can't quit.

The irony is that for a brief period the relationship between Parcells and Payton was decidedly not good.  The fissure? Former Dallas Cowboys safety Keith Davis.

Not long after Payton accepted the Saints job in 2006 the team made a play for Davis, who at the time was a reserve nickel defender but primarily was a special teams beast. Parcells was irked that his former assistant made a play on Davis without contacting him first. The Cowboys had to match the offer made by the Saints to keep Davis.

Parcells pulled a classic passive-aggressive sorority house stunt and simply would not talk to Payton. As are a lot of men who have worked for either Parcells, or his close friend Bobby Knight, they don't much care to get shut out. So they have to beg.

Later in 2006, Payton called Parcells to apologize. As Parcells noted in the press conference that season, "He was a man about it."

Basically, Parcells didn't want to get into a bidding war when one wasn't necessary.

Now the relationship is obviously pleasant. 

Regardless, Parcells doesn't need to be walking into this situation. The Saints need to give this head coaching gig to a coordinator and let Payton use one of those untraceable phones from The Wire and text in plays during a game.

 

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NFL commish Roger Goodell goes "Say hello to my little friend!" on the Saints

There has never been sports commissioner who wields power the way Roger "Tony Montana" Goodell does. The closest I can think of is former baseball boss Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who ruled in the infamous Black Sox scandal in 1919. 

Unlike some commissioners in other sports who sometimes tip-toe around punishments, no one can say they are pulling one on Police Commissioner Goodell.

In case you have not heard, Goodell punished the New Orleans Saints for their role in "bounty gate". According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, here are some of the highlights:

- Saints head coach Sean Payton is suspended a full season, sans pay. Has ESPN called Payton yet so he can join their ever-growing fleet of NFL analysts?

- Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is suspended indefinitely.

- Saints GM Mickey Loomis is suspended eight games and fined $500K.

- The Saints lose another $500K and a second round pick in '12 and '13.

There is so much hypocrisy involved in this whole Bounty Gate routine that it's a farce; this is what happens in football.

When it comes to rules and enforcing rules, there is nobody any better than Goodell. Baseball's Bud Selig is routinely usurped by the union. David Stern of the NBA and Gary Bettman of the NHL are pretty good at doling out appropriate punishments, but no one brings the pain like Goodell.

The way NFL players were popping up police blotters near the end of former NFL commissiner Paul Tagliabue's watch, Goodell's decision to drop the hammer has been a much needed image boost.

A lot of the players believe Goodell's behavior crosses the line into dictator-ish, but much like former NYC major Rudy Giuliani, sometimes the most effective way to clean things up is to let your people know you are not screwing around.

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