HIGHLIGHTS
My Mile High Salute- Although I consider myself to be right far more often than I am wrong, I am still man enough to admit when the latter occurs. As such, to Peyton Manning, John Elway and the entire Broncos organization you have my sincerest apologies for stating at the beginning of the season that the Manning signing would be something regretted. While I still do not believe that the Broncos will win the title, Manning has played some of the most amazing ball played by anyone this season, especially given his set of circumstances. I do not think he’s the MVP mainly because his team made it to the playoffs last year (and won their first game), he plays in an incredibly easy division and the Broncos have yet to beat anyone significant, but to win 11 games straight to close out the season and come back at such an advanced age the way Manning has is simply amazing.
Those Indy Colts- Do they ever give up? Even in games against superior opponents this year, they have found ways to win in impressive fashion. I know it seems that every week I praise the Colts and state emphatically how Andrew Luck is not only my Rookie of the Year and MVP, but at this point what else am I to say? At this point what can anyone say? Again I know all the hype is around RG3, Manning and Peterson, but Luck is doing things the best NFL players of all time could not do. Not only has he shattered the rookie record for wins in a season, but he has single handedly turned around a 2-14 franchise, taken his team into the playoffs and unlike Manning, is actually beating quality opponents. This past week he disintegrated the number one team in the league in Houston (now fallen to 3 in their own conference) and a few weeks ago beat the reigning MVP in Aaron Rodgers who many consider to be leading one of the two best teams in the NFC. Forget what you know, Luck is the MVP, he was weeks ago, he is even more-so now.
They be Riding that Vikings’ Back- If you looked up workhorse in the dictionary, as of Monday the picture featured and the named underlined would be that of Adrian Peterson. I have been somewhat of an AP cynic over the years, but what he has done over the last year coming off that ACL tear is simply amazing. To bare witness to the feats that Manning and Peterson are performing really is a testament to the state of medical science today. What is going on really does bare some serious questions. Are there even such things as serious injuries anymore? Will any player not named Greg Oden ever have to fear getting hurt again? How many great careers could have been saved if this science was around when so many hall of famers went down prematurely in their primes? Anyway, these are all valid questions but back to Peterson. The man is simply a freak, medical science or not because even if doctors can fix his leg without issue in this day and age, he should not also be able to get back on the field after so little time off and crush it the way he has all season. I still do not know if having Christian Ponder as your quarterback help AP (he gets the ball all the time) or not (they stack 8 box to stop him), but if the pros and cons cancel each other out, then you are left with a running back who was 9 yards away from one of the most sought after records in NFL history. Congrats Peterson, now lets get you a quarterback.
LOWLIGHTS
Those Crashing Jets- If I got the Manning situation in Denver wrong, than I certainly will pat myself on the back for calling the Jets acquisition of Tebow and the ensuing implosion of the team spot on. Now of course I cannot pat myself on the back too hard, but unlike some who though this would be a minor negative, I knew this would be a massive Hindenburg-esk disaster. Even looking back now I do not know what the Jets were thinking. Their “franchise” quarterback Sanchez although he went has taken his team to two AFC championship games, is utterly terrible, at least using any modern day statistical QB metric. His numbers stink, his mechanics stink, his leadership stinks, his resolve stinks, so what exactly did the Jets brass think was going to happen when they brought in an equally flawed sideshow to only burn the media spotlight that much brighter on their franchise guy. Maybe they thought they could engineer one decent quarterbacks out of two half-ones, but as the old edict goes, when you have two quarterbacks, you really have none.
Anyway since the Jets were on a collision course all year there really isn’t anything left to say other than, at least their terrible GM has been fired, Tebow and Sanchez both seem to be out the door and maybe now Jets have something to look forward too.
Why No One is Scarred of Houston- On Sunday, the Houston Texans (or the AFC version of the Atlanta Falcons as I like to call them) proved exactly why no one fears playing them (or the Atlanta Falcons). The reason? Well if you watch any big game they (or the Falcons) play, they will almost always blow it. They are like a more successful version of the Dallas Cowboys (please wait, that break down is coming). In this latest example, the Texans sporting one of the best records in the league and with a chance to wrap up the number one seed and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, found a way to blow another statement game they needed to have. The result? The Texans are now a 3 seed that has lost 3 straight and instead of having the week off must play a seemingly rejuvenated and hot Bengals team. Do the Bengals think they can win? Of course they do!! Only the mainstream media tends to give credence to anything done by phony team like the Texans (and Falcons). The real sports fan of course knows different.
Dallas Chokes Again- If ever you want to know if its cold outside you need not bother going outside to check or pulling up the Weather Channel, all you need to do is see if the Cowboys are losing another do or die game and you will know it is December. I was sort of joking last week when I advised my readers to put everything they had against the Cowboys in their Sunday win or go home game against the Redskins for the divisional title and a home game in the playoffs, but really I wasn’t. I put a bunch of money down myself, and if my emotions were not so invested in the Cowboys being my favorite team I probably would have bet hundreds (if not thousands) more. Hell, I could have bet my house. Why? Well the reason is simple, the Cowboys have for the better part of two decades now stunk and/or not been able to win a critical game when they have had too!! I do know what is wrong with the water in Dallas, but they never seem to have the look of a team that wants and/or is prepared to be there. I cannot put it always on Tony Romo because sometimes the safeties stink (like this Sunday), or sometimes the corners stink (like this Sunday), or sometimes the offensive line can’t block for shit (they were ok this Sunday), or sometimes the mostly decent defense just can stop anyone on the run (LIKE THIS SUNDAY), but more often than not Romo is deserving of a significant amount of blame (LIKEEE THIS SUNDAYYYYY!!!!!!!?!!!!!).
In this latest Cowboys debacle, despite their best efforts to give the game away, the Cowboys were still in it. Despite the fact that they were blitzing non-stop on defense, on offense it seemed like the Redskins were refusing to go for the kill shot and were content to just run up and down on the Cowboys. Even late in the fourth, if it were not for the Romo’s brutal 3rd pick or Jason Hatchers moronic personal foul on third down deep in their own end, the Cowboys had a real shot at winning this game. But of course, this is Dallas in December and of course there was no way they were winning this game.
This will be a long offseason for Cowboys fans, because once again on paper the Cowboys looked good enough to take on anybody. But like I said last week, there is a real difference between on paper and what works in reality. As such while I do not have all the answers to fix the Cowboys, having watched almost every Cowboys game over the last 15 years I can state the following with confidence;
-Dallas needs a new coach- Jason Garrett is not a head coach, and he is at the very least the head coach for the Dallas Cowboys. He cannot handle the pressure, and seems to bumble when it matters the most. If he is to coach let him go to the Browns or the Panthers. For Dallas to win they need a coach with a winning pedigree (i.e. Bill Parcells, John Gruden, Bill Cowher etc.)
-Miles Austin must go- Dallas is paying way too much for this injury prone and not number one receiver. With the emergence of Dez Bryant, Dallas can afford to cut this guy and put his money to better use.
-Tony Romo must also go- Look I have been through the dark days, also known as the post Troy Aikman days, when it seemed like a different guy off the street was quarterbacking my beloved Cowboys. However, Romo is getting paid FAR too much money for not getting his team into the playoffs. Not only that, for whatever reason, Romo seems to be a living contradiction in that he is a great comeback quarterback but can never do it in real do or die situations. As such, if I can find a suitable replacement or at least a decent quarterback who may not be as talent but at least is consistent, I would cut or trade Romo immediately and put that Romo money into the needs of the team. If I cannot find the replacement guy right away, I would wait the year scout someone and then let Romo walk when his deal is up next year unless he can do something major like a deep playoff run.
-Beef up the Offensive line- Back in the hayday of the Cowboys dynasty one of the most notable things about the Cowboys was the strength of their offensive line. For years it was the best in the NFL and was one of the prime reasons Dallas won although titles in the 90s. Now, because of the money tied up in underperforming skill positions the line has suffered and so have the prospects for the Cowboys. As such I would immediately put some of that Miles Austin and Tony Romo money into the line and do all that I could to make some noise in the draft with the goal of getting that line back close to where it should be.
-Get some safeties who can play- I know I have ripped the Cowboys secondary for years, but at least this year I can say that Dallas moved in the right direction and signed some playmakers in Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne to play the corner positions. Now it is time for Dallas to take the next step and find at least one guy who can play safety. Every season I see a ton of big plays go against safeties who can’t cover and who can’t tackle. Enough is enough. It is time for the Cowboys to use whatever money is left from beefing up the O-line, and put that into the safety slots and then draft as needed to fill any vacancies.
