another vacation

You know, I check the Dallas blogs, at least the ones of which I am aware, and there's hasn't been a whole lot of scuttlebug lately. In fact, some haven't been updated in weeks.

So, I think it is a good time to head to Pittsburgh and watch the Pirates play the Nationals. So, my two friends and me are hitting the road for the 3.5 hour trek to the Steel City for a game. We don't have tickets so hopefully the scalpers are nice.

Take care and I will be back Sunday night and I shall find something to write about.

A balanced offense wins games; Tank Johnson talks make me sick

It's been said that a balanced offense--running and passing an equal amount during a game--helps win ball games because your offense is less predictable to defenses. There's a reason Detroit can't win games and that's because the offense passed 66 percent of the time. Defenses knew that two out of three plays were going to passes. And because their running offense was horrible, we can figure out why Detroit blew it once again.

But Dallas is different. The offense passed 52 percent of the time and ran 48 percent of the time. Julius Jones and Marion Barber were effective, running for 120 yard total each game and averaged 4 yards per carry. The offense ranked third with 21 rushing touchdowns. Not bad.

A balanced offense doesn't guarantee wins, as Washington proved. But that team was so woeful last year that I am not sure anyone could have helped them win. Just bad chemistry and a horrible owner, one of the worst in the NFL.

I see Dallas' offense improving. Tony Romo will be more settled and I think Julius Jones will have a 1,000-plus yard season.

On a separate note, there is a lot of talk about Tank Johnson becoming a Cowboy. Of course, all of the Cowboy haters are licking their chops about this, making the same old bogus comments about how Dallas chooses talent over character. I don't think character is much of a factor for any team in the NFL until a player goes off the deep end, ala Tank Johnson and PacMan Jones. And the result of these bad character players is they got dropped or suspended. But everyone deserves a second chance.

With that said, I am not sure I want Tank Johnson or his drama. Sure, the guy could come in and immediately help our team and never get in trouble again. But history says something different and I prefer to keep our chemistry intact.

Asante Samuel to Dallas?

Asante Samuel is going to hold out for higher pay in New England. Oh boy...let the trade talks begin. How great would it be to get Samuel to wear a helmet with a star on it? Is Samuel better than Anthony Henry?

Well, before we all start raising our hands for Samuel, let's remember that Anthony Henry also was an interception machine for the Browns. He came to Dallas and sort of underachieved. Would Samuel? Hard to say, impossible to say, really. But he's aggressive. The Patriots didn't really have a terrific secondary either. They ranked 31st in 2005. Belichick said he wanted to focus on the secondary before the 2006 season. By end of season, the pass defense averaged 200 yards against. New England went from 31st to 7th in pass defense and much of that respect can go on Samuel's shoulders.

But he's only had one super year. The most INTs he's had any other year was just three. One key statistic is half of his INTs last year came in the fourth quarter, which is very nice. Eight of them were when the Patriots were ahead. Three of them were against one team: Da Bears.


I certainly grew tired of the deep ball scores and catches against us for the past three years. Even when the receiver appears covered, the ball is still caught.


Am I making a case for Samuel to be a Cowboy?

This guy is dumber than Prisco

OK, this is a funny one. Adam Allen of Fantasy Insider Online has a post here that should make you cringe.

Allow me to dissect a few things, but first, can I just pick on this dolt a little bit? For one, I believe this is a pen name. Adam Allen? He's scared to print his real name. Secondly, what the heck is Fantasy Inside Online? Is this a joke? I only found it because of my automatic Google news e-mails.

Now, his article. He reviews the Dallas Cowboys' off-season and draft. He comments that we need to address our secondary problem. OK, I have to give him credit for that point, because it is true. And Hamlin didn't seem to be the type of guy we needed to fill the secondary hole. But then he says:

Put Romo in the Best Situation to Grow - This can be accomplished in a lot of areas. First, bring in a savvy veteran QB to help mentor him. Next, sure-up that offensive line and maintain continuity in play. Lastly, and obviously, surround the guy with weapons.



Build Depth - While a lot of the starters on this team are set, the squad isn’t all that deep. And with the crop of free agents they lost, it is important to replace their depth.

Dallas picked up the best offensive lineman available, and although Leonard Davis has underachieved, he also plays for the damn Cardinals. We also picked up one of the better back-up QBs left in Brad Johnson. If Romo fails or is hurt, I will feel confident Johnson can win some games.

Depth? The only position we may not have depth for is maybe center and wide receiver. Our draft choices gave us some depth.

But his overview is really what irked me. He gave Dallas a C + and remarks that using our No. 1 pick for essentially a back up defensive player is not a good use of the pick. This guys obviously has no idea what the hell he is talking about and I think we need to tell him.

Have fun, guys.

To hell with Bill Cowher. Let's stop saying his name

I won't come out and say something stupid such as "Bill Cowher is a bad coach," but I wish Cowboys fans would stop bringing his name up in connection with coaching the team.

I would love to have Bill Cowher as a coach. But we hired someone else and the worst thing we could do is start talking about how awesome it would be to have a different coach.

I wasn't happy when Dallas hired Wade Phillips. I just didn't have a whole lot of faith in the guy. But, then again, I didn't look at his record as a head coach before I started pouting. He did well with a Buffalo team that wasn't amazing. In fact, Dallas may be just slightly better than his Buffalo teams, which is good news for us.

What am I trying to say? Let's give Wade a chance. We have a strong team and if we can fill the holes in our pass defense and get more of a pass rush, I strongly believe we have one of the best NFC teams.

But as long as we continue this chatter about Cowher, the deeper we dig the hole that very well could drop us to the bottom.

It's getting closer to the season and now is prime time to throw our support behind our new head coach. Rarely do new head coaches come right in and win, let alone win the Super Bowl. But just as rare is a head coach inheriting a team as good as our Cowboys.

Did this draft pick surprise you?

Am I the only Cowboys fan who was surprised Dallas chose Isaiah Stanback as their third overall pick in the NFL draft? He played QB but rumors are we plan to use him as a receiver.

He is coming off a season-ending foot injury that required surgery. He's about 6 feet 2 inches and 215 pounds. He can run a 4.4.

In 37 games (23 starts) at Washington, Stanback completed 269 of 523 (51.4%) passes for 3,868 yards with 22 TD passes and 12 interceptions, which ranks him 11th all time for Washington. He really only has about two years of experience as a QB and has a very raw arm. His health and durability are concerns and we're asking him to be a receiver or punt returner? I was stumped with this selection. We picked Stanback up in the 4th round, it should be noted. We just missed running back Michael Bush (also coming off injury) from Louisville, not that he was on our radar, but I'd take him over Stanback.

Our receiving corps is aging, but I don't see Stanback as the answer.

During an interview, Stanback was asked if he anticipates being a receiver or kick returner.

He said he believes he will be used as a receiver but he will play whatever they want him to play because he is a team player. He could mix in as a back up quarterback, but that stumps me even more and reminds me of the Quincy Carter fluke.

Nnamdi Asomugha, top 50 player?

2006
Oakland Raiders
15 games
48 tackles
2 assists
1 sack
8 INTs
1 TD
11 pass defenses


Those are Nnamdi Asomugha's stats for last season. He had slightly more tackles and pass defenses the prior year.

Let's see if he is a top 5 corner in the NFL

1. Champ Bailey: Every season except maybe 2001, Bailey performed better that Nnamdi Asomugha. Bailey's stats last season, with 10 INTS and 73 tackles, makes him an elite corner.

2. DeAngelo Hall: Asomugha doesn't beat Hall's stats either. Hall does lose out on INTs but he has the rest. It's close though, but Hall is better.

3. Terrence Newman: Like Hall, Newman has Asomugha beat in all but one category. They tied with pass defenses at 11. But Newman is far ahead with assists and tackles. And Prisco put Asomugha ahead of Newman.

4. Rashean Mathis: I could easily put Mathis #2. He has great stats and 8 INTs last season, which is the only category he doesn't win against Asomugha, other than touchdowns. Again, Asomugha is not better than Mathis.

5. Asante Samuel: This guys is strong and he plays for a great team. He had 14 pass defenses last year and 10 INTs. Along with his career high 64 tackles and Samuel was a Pro Bowler. Right now, he's better than Asomugha.

I haven't even gotten to Nate Clemens, whose numbers are very close to Asomugha's and slightly better. Antoine Winfield is better, and his stats are very close to Asomugha's.

I could argue Carlos Rogers is better.

Peter Prisco, you didn't do YOUR homework.