Silver and BlueBlood

Cards for EVERY Cowboys Occasion

On this glorious Monday morning in Dallas, the morning after the biggest Cowboys win in two years, this enterprising entrepreneur is busy designing Thank You cards for the Cowboys fan too busy to write his own. The window for such a venture is very, very small, so I am wasting no time.

Here are a few of the offerings from the newly-formed Silver and Blue Blood Hallmark Moment Press.

To Andy Reid:

Dear Coach Reid,

Thank you for angering the football gods, annoying the officials, and poking Philadelphia fans in their bloodshot eyes, waving red flags like a demented matador with a death wish, and kicking a useless field goal with precious little time left and no timeouts in your pocket.

PS- My brother suggested you have David Akers on your fantasy team. Is this true?

To Victor Butler:

Dear Vic,

Thank you for making a play every single time you get an opportunity to do so (which is not very often, for some reason known only to Wade Phillips.) Your shoestring tackle of Donovan McNabb was a game-saver. We owe you. More importantly, Wade owes you a closer look.

To Tony Romo:

Dear Tony,

Thank you for growing up before our eyes. You turned your cap around, protected the football, withstood the blitz storm, made just enough positive plays, took sacks rather than throwing the ball up for grabs, and didn’t once use the word “fun” in your post-game interview.

To Miles Austin:

Dear Mr. Awesome,

Thank you for being the anti-T.O.

To Roy Williams:

Dear (the current) Roy Williams,

Thank you for navigating your way through all the “baiting” by local media types without going all T.O. on everybody.

To DeMarcus Ware:

Dear D Ware,

Thank you. Just…thank you.

To Greg Ellis:

Dear Fussy Pants,

Thank you for taking your bitching to Oakland. You would not believe the difference in attitude now that you are not a “team leader” …and Keith Brooking is.

To the Month of November:

Dear Mother of All Cowboy Months,

Thank you for being so kind to Romo and his Cowboys. Thirteen straight wins under your umbrella. No one has done that since 1950. Oh, and thank you for Thanksgiving and turkey and football (and family that helps eat the turkey and doesn’t interfere with the football.)

To Santa:

Dear SC,

All I want for Christmas is a December to remember for something besides late-season collapses.

These are just a few of the cards we are rolling out for the elated fan. Get yours now! Supplies are limited.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Poor Baby!

During the 2008 off-season, I began to call for Greg Ellis to be cut. I contended that, rather than being the leader he was purported to be, he had become a locker room cancer. In a recent radio interview – while on his way out of town to play for the NFL joke known as the Oakland Raiders – Ellis confirmed that he is more than just a selfish whine-bag: he is a moron, as well.

Here’s what the Dallas Morning News reports Ellis as saying:

“It’s a disgrace when DeMarcus Ware comes off the field just so I can get in the game and when the coaches tell him to come on the field, he tries to hide so I can play,” Ellis said during an appearance on ESPN 103.3’s Michael Irvin Show. “And you’re telling me we’re trying to win the Super Bowl?”

“On his own,” Ellis said. “He would say, ‘G, come on.’ And I would tell him, ‘No, DeMarcus, go ahead, man. You’re coming up on your contract year. Don’t mess that stuff up. Go ahead and do you, and we’re just going to do what the coaches, or whoever the powers that be, what they want to do.’”

This is wrong on so many levels.

First, I want you to notice that subtle nuance in paragraph two: the intimation that the only thing this is ever about is your own contract. I know this is professional sports and the man’s livelihood, but for four years, Ellis has made it crystal clear that he puts his own concerns above the team’s one hundred percent of the time. The guy was never underpaid. In fact, his compensation (that commisserate with a first-rounder) was more than adequate to reflect his performance and value to the team.

Second, a few days later on Sports Radio 1310 (the Ticket), I listened to an interview with DeMarcus Ware. He did not out-and-out call Ellis a liar, but he didn’t get his back either. He said, “I think I was in there like 95% of the time.” He said every time he happened to be on the sideline for a play, it was for a valid reason. Ware was certainly in there enough to record twenty sacks on the season!

Third, Ware being off the field has no bearing on Ellis being on the field. They do not play the same position. Ellis doesn’t back up Ware or vice versa. One is strong-side; the other weak-side. Ware won’t say it, so I will: Ellis is either twisting the truth, misinformed, or making up stories.

Fourth, Greg Ellis has to be a moron to think that the media would just bob their heads and accept whatever he said at face value, as though they don’t watch the games themselves, as though they don’t have access to the other player in question. And even if the media let it pass, knowledgeable fans will not.

For years, every time a Cowboy fan saw Ellis on the field, he was reminded of the player the Cowboys bypassed in order to draft him. That would be Randy Moss. While Ellis has enjoyed a career as a serviceable – but never a standout – player, Moss has stretched defenses, caused offensive coordinators nightmares, and established himself as a top five player at his position.

For four seasons, Ellis has spent every off-season bitching and posturing. If it wasn’t money, it was the team switching to the 3-4 (the move that helped finally make him a Pro Bowler for at least one season). Or, it was team management. It was always something. Then, the season would begin and he would be hailed as a team leader. No wonder they have gone nowhere in a dozen years. Leaders like that never take an organization to the pinnacle of success.

So, good riddance to poor, mistreated Greg and good luck to the Raiders.

Popularity: 8% [?]

When has “reality” ever felt more surreal?

It’s all set. Michael Irvin has his reality show, dubbed Fourth and Long. He has the dirty dozen contestants all penciled in. He has Spike TV set to run the series. And, most importantly – and most distressing to any level-headed Cowboys’ fan, he has Jerry Jones’ commitment of the 80th preseason roster spot reserved for the “winner.”

Hey, I don’t deny it’s a unique idea. Nor do I deny that I will set my DVR to record the series. I just think it sadly telling that while 31 other NFL franchises are working on bettering their football teams, Jones is adding another Big Top to the circus. He continues to prove that style often trumps substance, that being “America’s Team” is just as important to him as winning that sixth Super Bowl, that he cannot get enough of the limelight.

(Someone said the sponsor for the new stadium should be Barnum & Bailey & Ringling Brothers. Not a bad idea.)

At any rate, Cowboy Nation, Dancin’ To the Star is a done deal…may as well enjoy. If anyone can motivate a nobody to be somebody, if anyone can instill in an average athlete an above-average heart and desire, it’s Michael Friggin’ Irvin.

How do you feel about it? Cast your vote now!

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Popularity: 3% [?]

The Cowboys released Roy Williams (the safety) because he could no longer cover his own shadow, and if he could, he couldn’t tackle it. Add to Williams’ disappearance about four years ago and his departure about that many days ago the fact that Ken Hamlin turned in a less-than-stellar 2008 (remember his matadorish attempts at tackling Ravens’ runners in week 16?), and you have a hellacious hole in the Cowboys’ last line of defense.

So, they signed Gerald Sensabaugh. Sensabaugh, on paper, makes sense. Consider that in 2008, Sensabaugh accounted for:

• 70 tackles
• 59 solo tackles
• 4 interceptions

Those are nice numbers. No doubt, talent-wise and potentially, he is an upgrade at an essentially vacant position.

On paper, good signing. But what about that other paper? What about the one that seems to come with, oh, every other free agent Jerry signs? I refer, of course, to the rap sheet! Sensabaugh was arrested as recently as last Tuesday, raising speculation that his chances of getting that lucrative FA deal was in jeopardy. This was the former Jaguar’s third scrape with John Law. You can read about it at Jacksonville.com.

A little morsel of the article to whet your appetite:

During the arrest, according to the report, police said they found three guns – a Glock 22, an International Arms AK-47 and a Bersa .380 – in the car. Police didn’t charge Sensabaugh for gun possession, which likely means the guns were being carried legally.

So, Jones turns loose the notorious bandits Pacman Jones and Tank Johnson and only picks up one outlaw to fill the void. Either he is slipping…or he isn’t done yet.

Popularity: unranked [?]