Silver and BlueBlood

OK, Blue Bloods. Nobody likes to lose…not even in the preseason. But if you are going to lose, that is a better time than any to do it. Games that don’t count don’t count.

Losing 31-10, you might think would indicate that there were few positives to be taken from the game. That just isn’t so. I saw plenty to smile about last night. Here are some things that come immediately to mind:

Martellus Bennett and Felix Jones

The Cat!

Marty B and Felix are not your typical back ups. They are frontline talents whose skills will – or should – be prominently displayed all season long. If The sight of Martellus catching a short pass in the flat, scooting past one defender, and bowling over another for a first down doesn’t get you stoked, then your stoker is broken.

And Felix…wow!

In the 1970s the Cowboys were the best team in the NFL at running the screen pass. Why? Because of Tony Dorsett. His vision, burst, patience, and speed made him a threat to score at any time. The screen pass got him outside the tackles, on the corner, where it often became mano y mano, catch me if you can.

They frequently could not.

Say hello to Felix Jones. The Cowboys haven’t had the combination of burst, vision and break away speed that he brings to the team since the great Dorsett. He showed again last night that if he can stay healthy, he is a weapon every opposing defensive coordinator will have to account for…and the screen pass will live again in Big D.

David Beuhler

After getting the jitters out, the linebacker-size kickoff specialist sent a kick eight yards deep into the end zone. Touchback! Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Especially since the Cowboys were the NFL’s only team not to record a single touchback in 2008.

He also pegged a 35-yard field goal, which is just icing really.

Tony Romo

For all the haters out there (and there are plenty of them), Romo remains one of the league’s top playmakers at the most important position (by far) on the field. Witness the touchdown pass to Jason Witten. Pump, move those feet, dip that shoulder, he’s open..fire!

Quickest release in the league? If not, it’s within milliseconds of whomever is faster.

Jason Garrett

That TD drive was a nice display of mixing things up, spreading the ball around, and using all of his weapons. And did anyone besides me notice how much more “presidential” on the sideline Garrett looks than the Pillsbury Doughboy, aw shucks, so-called head coach?

Keith Brooking

Yes, it was only one sack, but…nice!

Jon Kitna

He’ll do, won’t he? Nice to have a backup QB who could probably start for about half of the league.

Concerns? Sure! Plenty of them, but most of them have to do with reserves rather than starters. I would say the biggest concern at the moment is the injury bug. If the wrong people go down, it could be a long season. If the Cowboys stay relatively healthy, they won’t be losing to the Raiders 31-10 come Thanksgiving.

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He was a world famous athlete before he joined the Dallas Cowboys. Already a world record holder in the 100 meter dash and the owner of an Olympic gold medal, “Bullet” Bob Hayes was known as the the fastest man in the world. In 2009, he remains the only man to ever earn an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl ring.

The Bullet!

Bob Hayes changed the game of football. He was fast, sure, but as former Cowboys master scout Gil Brandt pointed out, he was not a track man who tried his hand at football; he was a football player who excelled on the track field.

Bob Hayes impacted the game of football immensely. In a day when the run was dominant in the NFL, Hayes averaged twenty yards per reception. He scored a touchdown every five times he touched the football. Eighteen times, Bob Hayes scored touchdowns of fifty yards or more. And even though he retired in 1974, and has been succeeded by wide receiver greats like Drew Pearson and Michael Irvin, Hayes still holds the Dallas Cowboys’ record with 71 career touchdown receptions.

It is a shame of monstrous proportions that Bob Hayes was posthumously enshrined in pro football’s greatest fraternity. Hall of Fame voters, though they may never admit it aloud, held his post-career legal problems against him. He did some hard time for drug trafficking and that was all the excuse the anti-Cowboys faction in the northeast needed to rob him of the honor he has long deserved. The NFL Hall of Fame is supposed to consider the on-the-field contributions of players – that and nothing else. If they had done that with Bob Hayes, he would have been in Canton to personally accept the honor and see his bust where it belonged.

Of course, the same Hall of Fame voters ignored the drug problems of New York Giants’ great, Lawrence Taylor, and enshrined him as quickly as possible. He deserved the honor. So did Hayes. Both men changed the way the game was played. Taylor redefined the position of linebacker, especially as it related to rushing the quarterback, and Hayes is credited with prompting the implementation of the bump-and-run defense because of his blazing speed.

While Cowboys fans everywhere understand that this is a time for celebration, we are also reminded of the backlash from being fans of a team that plays in Dallas and counts three major east coast media markets as its chief rivals. The evidence is too great to ignore the bias that kept players like Hayes and Rayfield Wright out of the Hall of Fame for so long…and continues to deny players like Cliff Harris and Drew Pearson their place among the all-time greats of the NFL. It is telling that Bob Hayes is only the eleventh Dallas Cowboy to be enshrined in Canton…especially when you consider the great teams the Cowboys fielded in the late ’60s, the ’70s, the early ’80s, and the early to mid ’90s.

Bob Hayes’ biography on the official site of the NFL Hall of Fame includes the following paragraph:

Hayes demonstrated time and again that he possessed tremendous football skills and instincts that helped him to develop into a terrific NFL wide receiver. Still, his world class speed was a major factor in his and the Cowboys offensive successes. “Bullet Bob” terrorized defensive backs and demanded the kind of deep double coverage rarely seen in the NFL at that time. It is often said that the bump and run defense was developed in an attempt to slow down the former Florida A&M running back.

Kind of makes you want to ask the voters, “Did you just now figure that out? Or did you know it all along and vote him down anyway? Why did it take the old-timer’s voters to finally get “Bullet” Bob the recognition he deserves?”

They were only about thirty years late. Better late than never just doesn’t seem quite good enough.

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Double Trouble

Word out of Cowboys camp is that 2009 will see the ‘Boys’ offense lining up the 12 personnel package a good deal more than in years past – and with good reason.

Confusingly enough, reporter Tom Orsborne (yes there is that weird “r” between the “O” and “s”), of the San Antonio Express-News registers the following report on the Houston Chronicle’s site:

With second-year tight end Martellus Bennett emerging as a strong option in the passing game, it’s becoming increasingly evident the Dallas Cowboys’ primary offensive personnel grouping this season will likely be a two-tight end set.

“We ran a lot of two-tight end sets last year,” quarterback Tony Romo said. “I just think we’re trying to do different things out of it.”

In their playbook, the Cowboys call the grouping “12 personnel” because the formation calls for one running back and two tight ends.

Both Coach Wade Phillips and quarterback Tony Romo are gushing about the way Marty B is playing. Phillips says, “We have one certainly outstanding (tight end) in Witten. Maybe the top one in the league in Witten, and Martellus shows up every day. Every day you see him make a play.” Romo adds, “Martellus has really turned it up a notch this offseason, and he’s going to put himself in the position to have a pretty good season.”

The eyeball test alone tells even the most casual football fan that Martellus is potentially a very special player. At 6′7, 248, Bennett is big and strong. But he’s quick, too. He has cat-like reflexes. He is big enough to outfight linebackers and quick enough to outmaneuver safeties. He and Witten in the same formation will certainly put pressure on the defense.

Usually, a two tight end formation is used for pounding the ball. With Marion Barber, Felix Jones, or Tashard Choice in the backfield, the Cowboys can certainly use theirs to do just that. But it is just as likely that they will pass out of it. The versatility of the package may cause a quandary for the opposing defensive coordinator. Does he go big and put eight men in the box to stop the run? Or does he slap a nickel package out there and gear up to stop the pass?

Look for offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to make the 12 personnel package a prime feature of his game plan this year. If it lives up to its potential, it ought to provide real versatility to the Cowboys’ assault on the NFL – and, specifically, the NFC East – in 2009.

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POW!

Orlando Scandrick recorded the play of the day at Cowboys training camp when he slobber-knocked Roy Williams, separating the big, strong receiver from both the ball and his helmet. He and the rest of the defensive secondary continue to turn heads and raise eyebrows. Considering the burnt toast the Cowboys have all too often been left smelling in recent years, any good news coming from the last line of defense is REALLY good news.

As for Scandrick, he seems to be following a strong rookie season with a promising camp. You may remember that it was reported that June Jones told Wade Phillips, after he had drafted the cornerback in the 5th round, that Scandrick was the best cornerback his Hawaii team had ever faced. Coach Jones apparently felt that Scandrick was the steal of the draft. With Scandrick competing for the second cornerback spot, and almost certain to be no worse than the third cornerback on the team, he will get ample opportunity to live up to those lofty expectations in 2009.

With the subtractions of safety Roy Williams and cornerback Anthony Henry, the secondary will certainly need the likes of Scandrick, Mike Jenkins, and newly-added safety Gerald Sensabaugh to be stand-up, if not standout, players. Jerry Jones has said that Wade Phillips’ defensive scheme relies on speed in the defensive backfield, and this year’s edition certainly has plenty of that.

All of this leads me to pose this question, sports fans:

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…to replace the Village Idiot.

I Love Buffalo!

Terrell Owens is gone and it says here that that’s a good thing. It is good for the cohesiveness and unity of the team. It is good for the effectiveness of the team leadership. It is good for the morale (and the sanity) of Tony Romo. And it is good for the development of the Austin Miles and Sam Hurds of the world.

Now, T.O. and his dwindling fan base would argue that a T.O.-less team is never going to be as good as a team with T.O. on it. So far, however, three out of three teams for which he has played have been more than willing to make that sacrifice just to be rid of the nut case egomaniac. T.O. likes to tout himself as a good teammate. If only he could find a team that, after a year or two of his antics, would agree with him.

Terrell thinks himself good for a team because he reasons – and has stated as much – that whatever is good for T.O. is good for the team. It makes perfect sense in his mind. Get the ball in his hands and good things are going to happen. Those good things are good for him, sure, but they are also good for the team. Touchdowns are good things for players and teams.

But Terrell misses the subtle point at work here. His philosophy is one of selfishness and self-promotion, not that of a team guy. The selfish player insists, “What is good for me is good for the team.” The team player, however, says, “I will gladly do whatever is best for the team, even if it means I have to do less so the team can succeed.”

Think Terrell ever had that thought run through that thick noggin of his? Think he ever ran a decoy route he liked? Think he ever participated in a big win for his team that included little attention paid to him and genuinely celebrated the victory?

But enough about that. Terrell Owens has been banished to the wastelands of the NFL, otherwise known as Buffalo. What remains in Dallas is a receiving corps that must produce without him. Plenty of attention is being paid to Roy Williams in training camp. People are wondering if he will be able to step up his game and assume the role vacated by T.O.

Owens found the end zone 38 times in 3 seaons with the Cowboys

I can end the suspense right here and now. No! He will not. Roy may prove to be a nice player for the Cowboys. He may turn in some stellar performances in the upcoming season. But he will not replace the on-field production of Terrell Owens. He won’t because he can’t. He is not the same creature. Whatever T.O. was negatively off the field, he was often an overachieving, field-stretching, touchdown-scoring machine on it.

Williams cannot replace Terrell Owens. Neither can Miles Austin or Sam Hurd or Patrick Crayton. Not even the great Jason Witten can do that. Individually, every one of these players will fall short of  replacing the dynamic presence of one of the most dominating receivers in league history. Alone, none of them can do it.

Let’s do a little comparison shopping, shall we?

• Miles Austin’s best season (out of only three) was 2008: 13 catches for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns.
• Patrick Crayton’s best year to date was 2007, when he had 50 catches for 697 yards and 7 touchdowns.
• Sam Hurd’s best season was also 2007 when he gained 314 yards on 19 catches and scored one TD.
• Roy Williams, in 2006, had 83 receptions for 1310 yards and 7 TDs. It was his only 1,000+ yard season.
• Owens’ best season was 2000 in San Francisco, when he posted 1451 yards on 97 receptions and scored 13 touchdowns.
• Owens’ best season as a Cowboy was 2007: 1355 yards on 81 catches and 15 touchdowns.
• Owens, in 2000 vs the Bears, had a 20-reception, 283 yard game (the best in the history of the sport.)
• Owens has caught 139 touchdowns in his career, including 38 in three seasons with the Cowboys.

So, how do the Cowboys replace T.O.? With Roy Williams? Miles Austin? Sam Hurd?

No. No. And no.

Team!

They do it with Williams, Austin, Hurd, Jason Witten, Martellus Bennett, Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice. They prove that having a great team trumps having one of the greatest ever to play a particular position. They prove that selfless participation in a team goal beats selfish promotion masquerading as a team player.

They do that, or…they prove T.O right. If they fail, they will load the gun and he will fire the “look, they were better with me than without me” bullet right at Jerry’s head.

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