Collateral Damage

Not the name I would have chosen, but a friend of mine coined the phrase so I am going to roll with it, the Cowboys have been labeled "Team Body Bag." This refers to the size, strength, and speed of this team, and what they have done to the opposing team players as they have really been dominant the last 4 weeks. The offense has been averaging 35 points a game, and with an offensive line led by BIG Leonard Davis they have been laying the wood. The defense has chipped in a few as well. Here is the list, many of these guys were just knocked out during the game against the Cowboys and returned the following week. Some of these guys have yet to return, some may never return:

Osi Umenyiora
Brandon Jacobs (c'mon man this guy is bigger than every player on the Cowboys defense)
Eli Manning (he actually made a conscious decision not to come back into the game)
Zack Thomas
Rex Grossman (OK, didn't get hurt but they made him look so bad he was benched and still is)
Lance Briggs
Nathan Vasher
Tommie Harris
Rueben Brown
Issac Bruce (He actually guaranteed a victory)
Marc Bulger
Corey Chavous
Raonall Smith
Leonard Little
Adam Goldberg
Ben Watson
Sammy Morris
Tavaris Jackson

I'll try to re-post this every week with the latest collateral damage.... Read more!

Slow Down Young Feller

Cowboys are 4-0 so it is past time for me to drop some Cowboys talk on the blog. I hate to admit it, but I am drinking the Kool-Aid. This team is arguably the best team in the NFC right now. If we can continue to minimize our injuries, and if the guys that are injured keep returning to play this should keep going.

All seems to be good so far under Head Coach Wade Phillips, and even more impressively under Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett. Most fans around here are pretty much expecting to see this team get handed to "the anointed one" after a few fun-loving seasons under Wade. Hopefully we can keep Garrett around that long.

This offense is rolling over teams mercilessly like General Sherman, so much so my boy has been keeping a running list of collateral damage. The Barber-Jones tandem at running back has continued to be productive. People are arguing over who should be the starter since they have both played so well. No argument that MBIII has been better, but why change the formula that is working so well.

There are as always a couple of causes for concern. The first of which is the defense, after the Giants game to open the season it looked as if they were going to be a busted sieve. In the last 3 games they have seem to sure it up a lot better, so much so even Jacques Reeves seems to be gaining confidence filling in as a defensive back.

The other of course is the "elephant in the room" that you can't ignore and that is the combined 3-13 record of the teams the Cowboys have played this season. 2 of those teams have yet to win any games this season at all. You will hear a lot of homers make excuses, but I don't make excuses. Recent history surrounding this team requires for them to make believers out of people they have to go out and continue to win games.

The Showdown on October 14th against New England is about to rival the hype of a BCS Championship Game (I promise I am not looking past the game this week against Buffalo)..... Some would question, how much of a showdown this will be considering how unstoppable New England has been this season and in previous years in addition to the lackluster opposition the Cowboys have been rolling over. But considering how things looked during the off-season and up until the season began the fact that this has become "The Game" should be exciting for all Cowboys fans!!

All that being said this blog entry is really intended to talk about 1 player. Young Tony Romo! When they picked him up as a rookie free agent in 2002 I told my friends watch this kid he set all kind of passing records in I-AA while at Eastern Illinois. Having attended a I-AA school myself I have a strong appreciation for I-AA talent (Jerry Rice, Micheal Strahan, Steve McNair to name a few). Move forward 4 years by the time he had his first chance to play in a regular season game in the 2nd half against the Giants in Week 7 in 2006. I was thinking we have just threw away our entire season putting him in the game.

Move Forward 15 starts later and I am wondering what "The Coach" was thinking having this kid on the bench behind QB's already well past the twilight of their careers. In 15 games this kid has eclipsed the stats of just about any QB you can name over the same time period. He has passed for 30 and ran for 2 TD's. He has only thrown 16 INT's. He has thrown for 4100 yards and has a career passer rating of 99.8.

This season he has been virtually unstoppable, averaging at least 3 per week of what we like to call "pay me" plays. Plays so amazing that when he does it you can hear the money chips falling down all around him (referring to the fact he is about to get a new contract). My buddy showed up to the game in an All-White #9 Tony Romo jersey, and he told me that they come in All-Black as well. Now, I am not a jersey guy, but I am telling you I am digging this kid so strong I might have to get one!

To think a whole segment on the Cowboys and not one mention of "The Player." Read more!

May Never Happen Again

I had to mark this point in history where the AP Poll for Division 1-A football actual has the Top 5 correct. When I look at the top 5 today I have little argument that these are the 5 best teams in the Country. Arguable if the rank is exactly right, but no argument these are the five best.

1) USC - I have a feeling several years from now we are going to find out about all the shady stuff Pete Carroll did to get recruits. He will probably be on his way to the NFL by then.

2) LSU - Hands down in my opinion the best team in the country. Re-affirmed by the loyal fans on a brief stop at a gas station in Baton Rouge a few hours before the game against VT. They felt this was the best team ever..... They may be unfortunately they are in the SEC where anything is possible!

3) Florida - much like the basketball team. Until somebody beats them, they are the best team. Tebow has stepped in nicely at QB. They ran circles around Ohio St., and they are even faster this season. The SEC Championship this year might be the true National Championship game.

4) OU - I am in disbelief that they have found a good QB. They have not had one in quite a while. With all that talent and a good QB they will be dangerous. They present a serious problem for the BCS, as they will undoubtedly be undefeated. So if LSU or USC happens to lose a game they are in. Which is a shame because they aren't quite in the class with the Top 2.

5) West Virginia - I know you are laughing, but realize we are talking about a team with 2 Heisman Candidates in the backfield in Pat White and Steve Slaton, and they just added another one in Joel Devine. So now they have 3 players that are a threat to score on every play. Add in the coaching prowess of Rich Rodriguez having led them to back-to-back BCS Bowl wins! This is one of the Top 5 teams in the country...

The rest of the Top 25 is suspect, but I am just happy they got it right at the top for a change. Read more!

The That Just Ain't Right: Man-Law

I recently had the chance to attend the wedding of a long-time friend. At the wedding one of the other groomsmen just really seemed to be the life of the party if you know what I mean...

At the reception, my wife comes up to me and says to me you didn't tell me this man's ex-roommate was gay. Now let me explain to you my wife has a Gay-dar that is not available in stores, and probably illegal in most states (well at least in California and Massachusetts). I told her that I just met the man last night for the first time. As you can imagine that still didn't satisfy her as an answer to what to her seemed obvious.

So although I was pretty well convinced, why did the man have to put the icing on the cake. After coming off the dance floor from doing the god-awful Electric Slide he turns to me and asks. "Who is that guy over there that you have been talking to all night?" I was really speechless for a moment. In my entire life I don't think a man has ever asked me that before about another man.

So I was like, "Oh that's Big Baby we all used to work together. He is one of the guys that came up with me from Dallas." He got a little twinkle in his eye, and said, "OK, well I think I am going to go introduce myself to that brother." I tried to call out to him I didn't think that would be a good idea, but he was gone...

So after that experience I have to declare a MAN-LAW, "A guy should never ask another guy, who is that guy over there that you were talking to?" Read more!

How I Became a Pirate

I was talking to one of my co-workers a few weeks ago. She is the co-worker that has the big mouth and gives the dirt on everybody (me included). She mentioned to me that another co-worker had eye surgery that was specifically for people that did not qualify for Lasik. On top of that if you carry a certain insurance through our company they even pay for it.

So I went to talk to my co-worker that had done the procedure. She excitedly told me all about it. I mentioned to her that I had the same problem. That I went to the Clearview Eye Care Center and they told me that Lasik would do more damage to my eyes than good, and too absolutely not tell anyone ever perform Lasik on my eyes...

She then told me that Clearview is the same place that she got the procedure done. Are you kidding me? No Way! So I called the contact she gave me the next day to find out about the procedure, and the woman asked do you think you can come in today? Really? So I went to the battery of tests to see if I qualified. Unbelievable, did you ever know that you could get fatigued from an eye exam? I set an appointment for the next week for the 2nd round of tests and to find out if I qualified.

Did I mention that this woman was muy caliente.. and I didn't need vision correction to see that! Needless to say I was feeling very comfortable with the whole idea. So I qualified and they scheduled me to come in for the procedure 2 weeks later. Wow! I wasn't expecting this all to happen so fast. I needed to rush and get this procedure approved through the insurance. My co-worker had given me a contact, but initially I didn't use it, I figured that I would just go through the official process. When I called I the rep was Black (need I say more). So 10 days later after I had called and called at least 5 times I am frantically calling the contact she gave me to help me out.

This brother took over like a General. He took over and handled everything, and I mean everything and had all of the paperwork wrapped up by the next day, and was on vacation the day after that. I can't thank that brother enough, that is the type of service we should be giving each other!

So I go in the day of the surgery and I am so nervous I am sweating, and probably at a body temperature of 101. Having never had a surgery of any kind, I was nervous about the anesthesia, I was nervous at the thought that even though this man has been doing opthamology longer than I have been on Earth that he could have an off day and I could go from nearsighted to blind.

Things got worse, the nurse that was trying to insert an IV for me to get the anesthesia was having a hard time finding a vein in my hand. Yes, her having a hard time means I was in severe pain. She said I had thick skin, I told her that she just must not be used to seeing Black people as patients. I must have had quite a look on my face; because she got up and ran (literally not a figure of speech) to get the doctor to finish the job.

So after that was done, shortly after I am in he operating room. They are talking to me explaining the procedure, and the doctor comes in to give me the feel good juice. Thank you and good night! That is the last thing that I remember... They told me that I was talking and that I had something to drink and ate a cookie. I recall nothing!

So I come back the next morning for a post-op exam and I had 20/16 vision in my left eye. That is why I am a pirate, as I don't get the right eye done until November.

All because I took time to talk to the gossip girl at work... Maybe they aren't all that bad!! Read more!