ND Basketball: No Dancing Allowed

Every time that I have sat down to think about just how to put this post together it seems another disappointing ND loss immediately follows. It got to the point to where I didn’t even want to touch the subject (mostly out of rage). I figured anything I might say would throw fuel on the fire for a season that wasn’t quite over yet.

Well that line of thinking went right out the window recently.

Just what in the hell happened? This was a team ranked in the top 10 preseason. We had Big East Player of the Year, Luke Harangody, on the roster along with the amazing three-point wizardry of Kyle McAlarney and young players like Ryan Ayers ready to step up and take the team to the next level.

As the season went on, it became painfully obvious that all we really have is Harangody and if he’s on, McAlarney and a bunch of young players still learning. All lead by a coach that still doesn’t seem to know how to manage the clock and how to use timeouts.

Now I have never publicly written on Mike Brey, so let me be clear on my stance on him. He drives me absolutely nuts. My biggest issue with him has always been the management of the clock and use of timeouts. During my time at ND, I would be fuming from the stands as we would call our last timeout with 2 or 3 minutes still left to play. We’d refuse to call timeouts to stop huge runs by opponents, and we’d inexplicably at times call timeouts during our own runs if the opposing side scored.

Oh no! Our run is now 12-4 instead of 12-0! Hit the breaks! Time out! Something is CLEARLY wrong.

Then there is that whole rebounding thing that we never really seem to get right as a team. From the games I’ve been able to watch, it is almost like either Luke is going to be going for the ball or it has to fall in someone else’s lap. For a team that relies so much on the outside jumper for scoring, how we don’t try to have at least more people fighting for an offensive board is beyond me. Even more confusing is why this attitude transfers to the other side of the court as well.

I’m no basketball expert, but when I constantly watch games were our oppenents are grabbing offensive boards left and right, something is seriously wrong!

Most games, we only have one consistent scoring threat and that is Harangody. After that, we rely on our perimeter game. You live on the jumper, you die by it. You need more than one person trying to score from paint. This whole thought of having one guy to pound it in while everyone else fires threes just doesn’t work. It hasn’t worked long-term for us. Period.

Let me tell you, that kind of basketball is painful to watch when it fails. I watched the Mavericks try to make playoff runs on that mentality. The Suns have tried it too recently. The same thing ends up happening year in and year out, those teams don’t win the big one. There must be a strong balance, something to fall back on if your shooters are cold. We fall back only on Luke and then teams swarm him and dare us to fire outside shots in the meantime.

However, I’m saying this about a coach that has been with us for nearly a decade, so I am clearly just spewing venom right? Well thanks to this post at the Rakes of Mallow, it seems like my Brey-hating isn’t completely unjustified; however, it seems that it really should be for reasons that I didn’t see coming:

“You probably can come to the middle on the last three years,” Brey said. “That would be my opinion. You’re 11th and ninth in preseason poll (the last two seasons) and rocket up there. Given what we were going to play and who we were really this year — were you really seventh in the country? Were you really? I don’t ever want to take away from our guys… I don’t quite know about that.

“When you look at the last couple teams, you’re kind of in middle with where we were and who we really were. The last two groups came together at a good time, drew a very strategic league schedule. Now, we delivered. But we drew a very strategic league schedule. There were some teams in the league this year that drew a very strategic league schedule – I don’t think you can say we were one of them.”

When the league conducted a straw poll in June — once the test-the-waters guys were either gone to the NBA or coming back — the Irish were picked to finish fourth. With Big East Player of the Year Luke Harangody returning, they were thus thrust into the top-shelf television schedule.

All of which had Brey examining his team’s league gauntlet the day after Christmas, then turning to his wife, Tish, and saying this: 9-9.

“Where do I sign on Dec. 26?” Brey said. “I don’t want to sell us short, but I’ve been through the cycle of the league nine years now. You thrive when you can, then when rotate up into that (difficult schedule), can you survive?”

WHAT?! I have never, ever heard a coach talk like this. So let me get this straight, he takes a look at the preseason rankings and thinks to himself “Wow, are we really that good?” and then says “Nah, we can’t be, got lucky last year with the scheduling.” Then, come Christmas time, he looks at this seasons schedule, chuckles at the June prediction of 4th in the Big East, turns to his wife after Christmas and says ND will go .500, and finally to cap it all off he publicly states all these wonderful thoughts and asks everyone in the nation how they could expect poor little ‘ol ND to survive the big, bad schedule of the Big East.

What in the hell is this? Dumb and stupid doesn’t even begin to describe what Brey said. The fact that he even thinks this is bad enough, saying it in a freakin’ news conference for the whole world to heard and then subsequently laugh at! What a great voice for ND Basketball to motivate!

The University must feel the same way because the press conference is still clearly being hosted at UND.com — oh wait, no it isn’t.

No wonder this team came out constantly flat in big games, lost leads, folded at the end of big games, and couldn’t take care of the easy teams they were supposed to pound. You got a coach taking a look at things and saying “Hey guys, don’t worry, just the schedule do what you can.”

Harangody clearly deviates from his coach. I love his attitude even though at times I think it hurts his game. He often tries to take too much control of the game and attempts to take on double and triple teams that he shouldn’t as well as believing he can surpass obvious height mismatches (see UConn). Now I see why he does it though. Someone has to light the fire under the team, and by God, he’s taken it upon himself to do it.

However, that only goes so far when even your own coach sees that attitude and then benches you at the end of the Villanova game when you are getting beat:

“He was so wired emotionally right there,” Brey said. “I didn’t want him swinging or elbowing anybody at the end of the game. He wanted it so bad. I didn’t want him doing anything crazy. His motor runs at a very high level. I told him, that engine is great, and we want that thing revved up high, but directed at the right things. An elbow or a confrontation, we didn’t need that.“

Wait, wait…so because he wants the game so bad, you are convinced that he will elbow someone and start a fight? Seriously? This statement just boggles my mind. So what if he lands an elbow at that point? Unless Luke is judge a rampaging maniac throwing elbows and punches at every turn, why in the hell are you putting out the biggest fire on the team, Brey? If you don’t have enough trust in your star player to be able to refrain from starting a fight, you have bigger issues.

So in all of this pissed-off posting, what does this all mean for ND Basketball? Well for one, start chanting NIT because that is the best case scenario right now, barring some miracle run in the Big East tourney. A season with so much promise and hope is now ultimately doomed to failure.

But I’m sure Brey has a plan to turn this ship around for next season right?

One solution to mitigate the Big East grind that has mashed the Irish into pulp this year: Going to divisions with 16 teams. It’s an idea Brey clearly wants to put on the table.

“We are the only league that will do the straw poll and then repeat the top teams for TV purposes,” Brey said. “Everyone else, (the league schedule is) projected out already. Could we go to divisions? I think we have to talk about it. There’s a movement and an open mind to discuss it in Jacksonville (at the league meetings) this year. Could we get a rhythm to a schedule? But that’s easy for me to sit here and say.”


Just great Brey, just great.

Here’s hoping to a stronger end to the season, and the Irish play with some fire and pride for the games that remain.

Jerry Jones Cleans House: T.O., Williams Cut

Well the past 24 hours have been more than interesting for the Cowboys to say the least. While I’m being a complete baseball nerd and enjoying a bit of MLB: The Show 2009, I got the following text from my sister:

“We just got rid of T.O.!”

I couldn’t believe it. I flew to ESPN to see if it was true. The irony of the opening sentence was quite delicious:

The Dallas Cowboys have released controversial wide receiver Terrell Owens, sources told ESPN’s Michael Smith late Wednesday.

Oh yeah, more anonymous sources! For all the Cowboys spin of trying to claim such sources were only full of lies about problems with T.O. and the Cowboys, it is once again said “mysterious” sources that break the news of T.O.’s forced farewell. How fitting.

One of my friends (an Eagles fan too at that) pointed out that three years ago, I was happy with the signing of T.O. In thinking about that, I realized that there are really eight steps a fan goes through when T.O. gets involved:

  1. While not on your team, you make fun of him and take pleasure in the horrible things that happen to him.
  2. Your team shocks you by signing him. You don’t know if you should be cheering or be pissed.
  3. You begin to think: “Wait a second, this might just work!”
  4. Season 1 you are singing his praises, have your popcorn ready, and you sit and think that your team found that magic “make T.O.” happy formula. You are loving it!
  5. Season 2 some drama creeps up. But hey, no big deal. That is just T.O.’s competitive spirit and people just can’t see that right….RIGHT?!?!
  6. Season 3 you see the writing on the wall. You start going back to step #1, but then you still try to mix in #4 when things actually go well.
  7. Step #6 drives you mad. You want T.O.’s head on a platter and off your team’s roster.
  8. Once cut, you revert to step #1 in earnest and prepare to laugh your ass off at the poor bastards that will be stuck with T.O. next and watch them follow all these steps like you did.

Here’s my proof of said eight steps:

A picture really is worth a thousand words.

Now, of course I am happy, but I do realize that there is a good chunk of offense walking out the door. However, despite the fact that Roy Williams may not be able to completely “replace” the production at the #1 WR receiver slot, the Cowboys have just gotten rid of the biggest crutch for failure that they have been leaning on for the past two years.

When you have the kind of drama T.O. brings, it clouds the whole situation. Why aren’t things clicking? Is Romo just not a good QB? Is Garret a horrible coordinator? Is Wade Phillips just an awful coach? Do we simply just not have the talent to win? The drama T.O. stirred up made these issues secondary. Problem is, these issues are the heart of the problem and you can’t win unless you fix him. On the same side of the coin, you can’t look at them unless you are focused on them.

With the source of distraction gone, it is time to focus on these issues. Releasing T.O. won’t be a cure-all, but we will sure as hell know what we actually have.

The excuses end today for the Cowboys offense. It is put up or shut up time for all of them.

However, if I encourage those screaming “great, now we have no WR” to look at the bigger picture. We have three supremely talented RB ready to roll for next year in Barber, Jones, and Choice. There is no reason in the world we shouldn’t be running this three headed monster down everyone’s throats next season. We don’t have to worry about T.O. getting his touches now, time to game plan like we did in the Green Bay game last season: run their ass over and launch it over their heads when they sell out on the run.

Also keep in mind, we have one of the best TE in the NFL in Witten. He will definitely command more attention this year, but I still think he will be able to handle it. Witten is Romo’s security blanket. Teams not respecting that connection will get burned.

As for Roy Williams, if he actually has some kind of a breakout, that completely spreads the ball out. Defenses won’t key on him — they will focus on Witten or the run. He’ll have fimiliarity with the playbook this time around and he should have room to work. It is now or never for him to prove he is not deserving of the “bust” label he currently holds.

Worst case senario though is the Cowboys have a bad season. If that does happen though, we should have a clear picture of where we go from that point to rebuild this team. I’d rather have a crappy season and make some actual progress in fixing this thing than to deal with another T.O. drama-infested year and feel like we took 10 steps back once again.

In other Cowboys news, the other Roy Williams (the Safety), has also gotten the ax. I don’t think there should be any surprises there. He wanted out and he hasn’t done anything of worth for years.

The way I see it, Jerry got rid of two anchors weighing this team down and also seemed to reclaim his balls by making tough decisions, especially in the case of T.O.

Today won’t fix everything, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

ND Football Offseason Recap – The Long Overdue Edition

Alright time to get the train back on the tracks.

The Irish have made a lot of coaching moves, made some recruiting noise, and also thrown out enough titles for themselves to make heads spin. So I’ll hit all the recent (and maybe not-so recent) news from the Gug.

Coaching Shuffle Finally Ends

Or at least I’m pretty sure it has… I figured heads would continue to roll (and remember, I’m current still up to the Jappy Oliver firing in this blog) and the next victim I was looking at was Latina. And he ended up “resigning” and then was replaced damn near immediately by Frank Verducci.

I really don’t have too much to say on this move. It is nice we have someone with some NFL skins on the wall, but considering the last team he coached was the Cleveland Browns, excuse me if I’m not jumping up and down. He was also with the Cowboys in 2002. Anyone remember that superb running attack and offensive line? That’s right, I don’t either. However, considering how bad our line was before, I am going to go on the stance that the only place we can go from here is up. Basically, Verducci will just have to show what he can do as far as I am concerned.

Next up in the coaching carousel is new RB coach Tony Alford. Again, I was consumed by an overwhelming meh. Sure, his produced seven 1,000+ yard RBs, but that doesn’t mean it’ll happen here. And then one of my friends, as well as Blue-Gray Sky, brought something quite compelling to my attention:

Whenever there is a fumble in practice, the whole running backs unit pays the price in drills. When the ball popped out of sophomore Matthias Wilson’s hands during Tuesday’s practice, Alford was all over it. All seven healthy backs stayed behind to get down on the ground and perform rigorous balancing techniques while moving up and down the field. The “punishment” drills force the players to hold the ball with both hands all the time. Hurst approves.

“Anytime the ball comes out, the whole group has to do one of those, no matter who did it,” Hurst said. “Honestly, I am wondering why [the coaches] haven’t done it before. It’s very tiring, so you’ll get it in your head that you will not commit a fumble because you don’t want to do that drill.”

Under Alford last year, the Iowa State running backs had zero fumbles all season while ranking 17th in the nation in rushing. It was all part of an amazing Iowa State turnaround that saw the Cyclones go from a 4-7 team in 1999 to 9-3 and an Insight.com Bowl victory in 2000.

…

That’s one heck of a quote there at the end on the importance of not fumbling. The players must have bought in because ISU running backs lost a total of 13 fumbles in the 8 years Alford coached there. As a point of comparison, ND backs lost 12 fumbles the past two seasons.

I don’t care who you are, but if you can get your players to hold on to the ball like that, I am thrilled you will be on the ND sidelines.

Finally, the last coaching vacancy was filled by new defensive line coach Randy Hart. I haven’t been able to look into him too much as this has just come down recently, but according to Yahoo! Sports, the job was first offered to Romeo Crenell. However, Washington held onto Hart for 21 years, so he has to have at least a little something — even if Washington isn’t exactly a national powerhouse, being able to hold onto your job for 21 years is damned impressive. Again, nothing too big that has me jumping up and down.

But wait, I didn’t say who our new Offensive Coordinator is did I? Well, he is already on the staff. Ladies and gents, Charlie Weis is your new offensive coordinator. Color me surprised…

In reality though, I’m glad he made this move. The offensive side of the football is Weis’ specialty, and it seems trying to hand the reigns over to Haywood didn’t work out as well as he liked. Whether or not you are sold on his offensive style or “schematic advantage” is a whole other story, but I am personally of the opinion that if you are going to do something, lean towards your strength. I sure as hell know Weis’ strength is not the defensive side of the ball, so this move makes all the sense in the world.

And if you are on the fire Weis bandwagon, here’s a viewpoint for you: If you are going to go down, go into flames doing what you think is best. If Weis is the offensive guru he claims to be, he is in prime position to be just that. If it doesn’t pan out, he has no one to blame but himself.

However, the coordinator shuffle didn’t end there. Corwin Brown was named the new assistant head coach and at the same time, Jon Tenuta was named the new defensive play caller although technically both him and Brown are co-defensive coordinators. This whole slightly confusing title shuffle was actually Brown’s idea according to Weis:

Moving from defensive coordinator to associate head coach may be a move up in titles. But was Corwin Brown demoted from defensive coordinator when Charlie Weis named Jon Tenuta the defensive play caller beginning this spring?

Not at all, said Weis. In fact, it was Brown who suggested the change.

“He’s the one who brought the situation up,” said Weis following Friday’s press teleconference, which included interviews with new assistant coaches Tony Alford and Frank Verducci, as well as graduate assistant Bryant Young, Tenuta and offensive assistant head coach Rob Ianello.

“(Brown) and I have been talking about this and he brought this combination up to me before the season was over.”

Weis has renamed himself the offensive coordinator, which will take him away from his involvement with the defense and special teams. That meant that Weis needed someone to help bridge the gap. Brown was the logical choice.

“His feeling was that if this was the way it was going to end up going, the three of us were going to have to wear more hats,” Weis said. “It’s not a demotion. (Coordinating the defense) is a collaboration between those two guys anyway.”

Weis said the last thing he would do is make a move that would lead to Brown’s disgruntlement at Notre Dame.

“We’ve had extensive talks about this,” Weis said. “As you know, he’s my guy. I never would have done this without being on the same page with him.”

Even though the whole title shuffle is a little odd, it does end up making a lot of sense. Weis isn’t going to be something he’s not, so his focus is back on the offense and you need give someone the power on the other side of the ball. At least the roles though are clearly defined so we won’t have any second-guessing or rumors of power struggles that don’t exist. Everyone seems to be happy and on the same page at least for now.

However, winning the title of “Best Hire That Will Completely Fly Under the Radar” is that of Bryant Young to graduate assistant. This hire is brilliant in my opinion. Young brings to the team the one major thing that Weis has always lacked: actual playing experience. And not only does Young have the playing experience, but that of playing at both ND and the NFL. He can relate to the players in ways Weis and other members of the coaching staff simply can’t. That is an invaluable asset to have going.

Not to mention, Young can also call and field calls from recruits. Considering recruiting on the defensive line has been less than amazing recently, I’m sure having Young will be a nice extra punch for that recruiting pitch.

Irish Recruiting

I’ll be honest, I know little about the whole recruiting scene. If you want more educated details, I suggest going elsewhere for a good breakdown.

However, I was quite excited about these recruiting results and can sum it up in two words: Manti Te’o.

I was for sure Te’o would be heading to USC, but somehow we managed to pull out a huge upset here. Considering the fact he wants to go on his Mormon mission after his freshmen year, he would be gone for two years, but not lose any eligibility (I believe). Meaning a very scary 21 year old “true” sophomore would be lining up for the Irish. That is indeed awesome.

Also we managed to wrangle away one of his teammates from UCLA. Two Hawaiians joining the Irish…I never thought I’d see the day.

Schwapp Out

Blue-Gray Sky noticed that Schwapp was not on the spring roster. There has been no official announcement, but I think it is safe to say Schwapp will be heading to the NFL draft and not ND next year. Best of luck to Schwapp in the draft and his future. Time for someone else to step up as the next beast of a man for the Irish.

————————

That should catch me up on the offseason moves for the Irish. Again, I really don’t have too much to add to the news as it is hard to read the tea leaves of how all of this will pan out. Hopefully Spring ball will be able to shed more light on these changes.

It’s Been a While…

I’m sure I’m not breaking too many hearts by being blog-absent, seeing as Google Analytics tells me there have only been 29 unique visitors here, either way though it has been far too long since this thing has been updated. The best way to start a blog is to stream a bunch of news and then go MIA right?

There have been quite a few stories that I want to write about, but since I get paid to do something else than writing in here, they have been on the back-burner. I am hoping to have some time to catch up in my posting as things are starting to slow down a bit for me.

Postings to look forward to (or avoid if you wish) in no particular order:

  • ND Football Offseason News – Hirings, Recruiting and somesuch
  • ND Basketball – Alternate Title: WTF Man?
  • More from the Cowboy’s Circus
  • A-Roid
  • The Rest of the Me vs. Vista Thing (spoiler: I win)
  • Random Thoughts on Movies/Music/Video Games of 2008 — nothing like a “best of 2008” three months into 2009!

So yes, I indeed have quite a bit to roll out and I’d like to do so before my next round of training hits me and hits me hard. I would complain about little free time, but in the current economy, I’m just thankful my company is keeping me busy.

So, look forward to a new post in the near future. For now though, I leave you with a nice video of a humorous glimpse into IT hell. I present to you, from the folks at The Website Is Down, “Sales Guy vs. Web Dude”:

The Deconstruction of the Cowboys

Well this post has been a long time coming…as well as trying to come up with a way to write it without four-letter words being scattered across it as well. Frustrating doesn’t even begin to describe this past season for the Cowboys. There also isn’t just one single problem on the team either — the whole situation has become such a big joke and circus right now. Even worse, it seems like most of the problem pieces in this puzzle won’t be going anywhere.

So what just what in the hell is wrong with this thing? Well, it starts up at the top…

Jerry Jones

We have been going through the same cycle since the Jimmy Johnson era: strong-minded coach comes in, wants to have his hand in the GM side to get his guys, builds a team and then Jerry tries to take it all over and do it himself and fails. In Johnson’s case, he was fired and Switzer came in and won a Super Bowl with Johnson’s team, which in hindsight has been the worst thing to ever happen to the ‘Boys as Jerry can always delude himself into thinking he “did it himself”.

What we have currently is a skeleton crew of Parcells’ players. He built a team up, and once T.O. was thrown into the mix (and it is my opinion Jerry overruled the Big Tuna on that signing) he left town. Now we may not have won a playoff game with Parcells at the helm; however, he took a franchise with literally no direction and identity and built them back up.

So Parcells leaves and Jerry hires a “player’s coach” in Wade Phillips. He then looks at his T.O. experiment and thinks “hey this worked out rather well” and in come Tank Johnson and Pacman Jones to the mix. You also have several dangerous decisions with current personel and our draft picks. With a rather unproven Romo, the decision is made in the 2007 draft to pass on Brady Quinn and trade that pick to the Browns. While this alone could be called a calculated risk, saying that Brad freakin’ Johnson is a suitable backup in case all hell breaks loose is just inexcusable. I can’t predict how good Quinn will be, but I guarantee you that I would’ve taken him over Johnson as a backup in a heartbeat. Finally, you have the trade for Detroit WR Roy Williams and give up, yet more draft picks. Now this is obviously a move for the future, but that future is sure in doubt as the biggest impact Williams has had is bitching along with T.O. and the other WR in the locker room.

So now you have left yourself somewhat handcuffed on draft possibilities, little cap room, and Jerry himself claims that he has suffered “the most embarrassing” moments this year as a Cowboys owner. So the response? Everything will likely stay in place.

Are you kidding me?

To quote Peanut (via comedian-ventriloquist, Jeff Dunham) “you can polish a turd and it’s still a turd!” Where in this mess is the solution to the problem? Where is the move that will jar life into the team? It hasn’t been anywhere. Jerry gave his vote of confidence to his coaching staff, which includes a coach that very few (if any) in the area think has the stones to be head coach and an offensive coordinator that two of the worst teams in the NFL don’t want any part of. But hey, we fired our defensive coordinator, so everything is good there right?

There is only one other team in the NFL that has had a longer span with no playoff wins — the Detroit Lions. Last I checked, that GM is no longer employed. If the Cowboys are serious about Super Bowls and post-season wins being the goal, every season without a playoff win is just like a 0-16 season — inexcusable. Yet our front office stubbornly stays in place.

To end this section, here is a where are they now for the Cowboys: Bill Parcells (run out by Jerry and the T.O. move) rebuilds the Dolphins in one year (taking many former Cowboys’ players and coaches with him) and they make the playoffs, Tony Sparano is one of the former Cowboys’ coaches now employed by Parcells (and is a solid coach of the year candidate), and Todd Haley whom was fired as our WR coach will be on the sidelines this Sunday at the Super Bowl as the OC for the Arizona Cardinals.

Great moves Jerry!

Wade Phillips

Two words should tell you all you need to know about why Wade is currently in a failing situation in Dallas: “Camp Cupcake”. Yes, in those crucial moments of training camp, you know the time in which the team really works on become together, everything is a joke. There are very few practices with pads, zero discipline of note by the head coach, and that tone carries into the season to no one’s surprise.

Here is another telling situation: last game of the season, Cowboys fail a 3rd down conversion and end up with 4th and short. Wade decides to punt — Tony Romo clearly doesn’t agree. So what happens here usually? The QB points and gestures we should go for it, coach rolls his eyes and tells him to sit down right? Well not here. Romo stands on the fields, tells the offense to huddle and waves the punt team to the sidelines as Wade stands dumbfounded and jaw hanging.

He has zero respect from the players. I don’t care who you are, coaches just do not allow their players to override their decisions. You can’t command respect in the room if you let this pass, yet he did.

Wade simply can’t control the egos on the Cowboys and he now commands a group of individuals that do their own thing. At season’s end, there was no pride, no sense of loss — just complete numbness.

But it is OK, Wade is going to change! Really? So when Wade turns over that first table in the locker room, how many players are going to start dying out laughing? You are what you are, and Wade can’t flip a switch and expect his players to respect the “new” coach in the room.

But hey, Jerry gave him his vote of confidence…before coaches like Shannahon and Gruden were fired…neither of those could possibly be better than what we have now right?

Jason Garrett

I’m not going to spend much time here. I’d just like to point out that the wonder-boy was turned down by the Detroit Lions, Denver Broncos, and St. Louis Rams. Two of those teams are the bottom feeders in the NFL. They said no to our “coach-in-waiting”.

I’m not sure what Garret is doing, but it isn’t working. Ray Lewis said before the BAL/DAL game that we have “the simplest offense in the league” and I’ll be damned if Lewis wasn’t sitting there pointing exactly where the ball was going to go and watching BAL knock the crap out of us for the majority of the game.

Also Garret was one of the biggest supporters of Brad Johnson as the QB backup as well. Great eye for talent Jason, seriously.

The “Team” Dynamic

Before I start getting into individual players, let’s just take a snapshot of this team. Again, let’s head to the Philly game at season’s end because that is easily the lowest point of the Cowboys and true character comes out in the lowest moments.

So everything is starting to go right down the tubes. So we have people up and down the sidelines rallying the troops together right? Nope.

Romo is pouting on the bench by himself after a fumble. T.O, Williams, and Crayton are talking to each other off to the side. Offense and defense are completely separated. Tank Johnson is also letting everyone know that he is now a free agent. The coaches are doing God knows what as well on the sidelines as they are just letting this all happen.

Calling the Cowboys a “team” is a disgrace to the term and the idea.

Take this situation from the movie Miracle when Herb Brooks selects his roster for the eventual “Marcile on Ice” Team USA:

Herb Brooks: Take a look at this.
Craig Patrick: What’s this?
Herb Brooks: Twenty-six names.
[pause]
Herb Brooks: The tough part will be getting it down to twenty before the opening ceremonies.
Craig Patrick: This is the final roster? You’re kidding me, right? This is our first day, Herb. We’ve got a week of this. What about the advisory staff? Aren’t they supposed to have a say in this?
Herb Brooks: Not technically.
Craig Patrick: You’re missing some of the best players.
Herb Brooks: I’m not looking for the best players, Craig. I’m looking for the right ones.
Craig Patrick: You have Jim Craig to back up Janisack?
Herb Brooks: Other way around.
Craig Patrick: Other way around? I’m sorry didn’t Janisack just win you a national championship?
Herb Brooks: Janny is a solid goal tender, but we’re not playing for the national championship here, Craig.
Craig Patrick: You know people I speak to say that Craig’s game has been off since his mom died.
Herb Brooks: They ever see him when his game’s on?

Before he ever selects the team:

Herb Brooks: All-star teams fail because they rely solely on the individual’s talent. The Soviets win because they take that talent and use it inside a system that’s designed for the betterment of the team. My goal is to beat ’em at their own game.

So when I look at the Cowboys, I see nothing more than a glorified All-Star team. A bunch of talent that is supposed to beat the hell out of everyone on paper, but just can’t bring it together as a unit when it counts.

When the going gets tough, they complain and point fingers. T.O. is the best teammate in the world–when the Cowboys are winning. If not, the problem is clear: “I’m not getting the ball.” Williams and Crayton have taken T.O.’s wonderful example and are quickly falling in line against Romo and Garret.

The situation in the locker room gets so bad that “sources” start to tell reporters just how horrible everything is. The Cowboys can try to spin it that the media is lying, but I’m sorry there is no avoiding the fact these unnamed sources are telling the truth. When there is no concept of team and unity, the rule of “what is said here stays here” goes right out the window — why be a teammate to people that obviously don’t care.

The stories have been numerous and have been flooding out of Valley Ranch. Carter flights are late to away games due to players being late (although the Cowboys swear it was due to mechanical issues). Players are corincally late for meetings. Romo laughs during a film session when T.O. attempts to point out when he is open. And they go on and on and on.

You can have the best talent in the world, but this “team” that such talent has created just won’t cut it. They will always fall apart in the clutch because they can’t come together as a unit. And it will continue to happen until the personnel is more suited for a team.

The solution? As far as the players go, either the ones I list below need to go or pull their heads out and try to lead this team.

Tony Romo

Holy crap! I’m not starting with T.O. I must be losing my mind right?

I started this post by pointing out the problems at the top. As far as the players on this team goes, Romo is the top of the food chain. We all know T.O. is a pain in the ass already and his current behavior is not surprising; however, as far as Romo goes there has been a transformation that is going the exact opposite direction of what this team needs.

Now obviously Romo isn’t going anywhere, but his attitude needs to change as far as leadership goes. Sitting on the bench and hanging your head is not leadership, one-upping your coach is not leadership, pointing fingers publicly at your OC is not leadership, going to Mexico before a playoff game is not leadership, and saying publicly that losing isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you is not leadership.

Look, I know you are doing fine. You have your superstar blond girlfriend, big contract, huge house, etc. However, you don’t publicly ever say such things. Parcells said it many times in his commandments for QBs, “Don’t be a celebrity QB.” Romo is failing miserably in this.

What is worse is that there are rumors surfacing that Romo doesn’t practice well and that Romo has also claimed he doesn’t know where any of his WR will be on a given play.

This needs to stop and fast. Even if your WR are the biggest jerks in the world, you need to communicate with them when things break down. If they are wrong, tell them, let them be the ones to dig their own graves. Ignoring the problem won’t make it go away.

You can’t point fingers in public. Spread them around in the locker room if you have to, but when the heat comes down you take it. A leader takes the heat and takes the blame on the public front. This shows your teammates you have their backs when the media starts firing and in return you better bust your ass because he just covered yours.

Parcells leaving was one of the worst things that could happen to Romo. He clearly needs a stronger hand guiding him on being the leader of a team. Wade’s approach has failed and the only result so far seems to be that Romo has a case of big head.

It’s time to buckle down, stop the jet-setting, and other assorted crap that has been allowing this team to be dragged further and further down. Attitude reflects leadership — there currently is none and the QB should be the first one filling the void.

T.O.

Was this season really a surprise? Every Cowboys fan knew this could happen if things started to go sour, T.O. would be…well T.O.

The big issue this season was that, in the absence of vocal leaders, T.O. was being a voice. However, he knows only one way to do this: self-promotion. There is no doubt he practices and works out like a fiend; however, when he talks, the subject goes back to him. He can’t avoid it, he doesn’t know how to, and he can’t keep his mouth shut to save his own skin.

So will cutting him solve all your problems? No, but it sure wouldn’t hurt either. If you find yourself in the situation of well, the problem is either T.O. or Romo, T.O. is the easier cut without a doubt from any angle. However, I don’t expect this to happen.

One way or another someone from inside the organization needs to sit down with T.O. and get things straight and stick to whatever is agreed on. Romo, obviously would be a good candidate here, but Garret should also consider doing so as well (as that relationship is becoming a problem as well). The message in such a meeting needs to be clear: get on the same page or get out. If this isn’t done, expect the divide to grow further in the locker room.

DeMarcus Ware and Jason Witten

Wait WHAT? What have these two done wrong you ask? Well it isn’t what they have done, but rather what they have not done.

What you have here are two EXTREMELY talented players that are far too soft spoken. Yeah, yeah, lead by example, but the problem is no one is watching right now. Someone needs to snap them back to attention on both sides of the football.

You cannot question the toughness of these two players. You can’t question how hard they work and they do not cause problems (unless you believe the rumor Witten is unnamed source that started this mess). They do all the right things, but they need to take that next step and get in some faces when people start to mope on the sidelines.

While it is good to speak softly and carry a big stick, there are situations were you have to yell in someones face like a drill sergeant to wake them up.

The Media Circus

I’m not talking about beat writers and press conferences. I mean the Hard Knocks, T.O.’s new reality show, and Michael Irvin’s new reality show (which will literally give some random guy a training camp invite). These need to go. All these do is serve to make a bigger joke of this organization when everything is said and done.

The focus needs to be on football and not cameras. You’ll get your due attention if you win, there is no need to force the issue with these ridiculous endeavors.

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And there you have it, my long rambling of what is wrong with the Cowboys. I don’t even have much of a conclusion…right now I am just hoping that something within the Cowboys changes, otherwise I think I will be looking to another frustrating and sickening season.

Jappy Oliver Out as ND D-Line Coach

It has become official, Jappy is out:

SOUTH BEND — The changes Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis promised in vague terms after a 7-6 season have begun to take shape.

Defensive line coach Jappy Oliver is out after four seasons under Weis, Notre Dame football spokesman Brian Hardin confirmed Thursday. Hardin said Oliver “resigned to pursue other career opportunities.”

Oliver is the second assistant to leave this offseason, with offensive coordinator Mike Haywood having become the head football coach at Miami of Ohio in late December. There may be more changes on the way in the coming days.

The 53-year-old Purdue graduate’s previous coaching stops include his alma mater, Eastern Michigan, Northeastern, Navy, Grand Valley State, Western Illinois, Vanderbilt, Air Force and South Carolina.

Jappy was another one of those coaches that I liked personally when I worked for the team, but the writing was definitely on the wall for him. I have little doubt Weis likely gave him the fire/resign options, but at least he is able to part on the best terms possible. Best of luck to you in the future Jappy.

It will be interesting to see if the same situation soon befalls Latina in the near future as he is another coach that has been in the crosshairs this season. I would also keep an eye on Powlus’ job as well. The heat hasn’t been big on him, but there is no doubt we’ve seen some issues with coaching young QB’s and I can’t believe that is going to be a completely acceptable situation for much longer.