The Official America's Team Analysis Thread

[#1PaFan]

BTW, YESTERDAY I got Brett's book via FedEx. It is signed my Brett and Brett's Mom. Included was the NFL DVD of Brett "In Their Own Words" or whatever it's called.

In the beginning of the DVD, Brett makes me ill by stating that, as a child, he was a fan of the Saints and the Cowboys. He says that he used to imagine himself being Archie Manning or Roger Staubach......
Natasha, I will get this DVD burned and I'll send it to you. I challenge you to watch this DVD and continue to have your insane, Princeton Tap Dancing 850 SAT scoring Favre-Hating Ass, uh, continuing to hate Favre.
BTW, the Book even came with actual pictures of Brett & Mrs. Favre signing MY book.

Brett is Awesome. He's just a genuinely Good Guy. And, you'll be happy when he leaves 'cause we're probably gonna go into the Dark Ages just like where South America's Most Wanted Team has been for the past decade or so.

ONE thing I'll always Cherish is standing in the very next urinal, urinating at the same time as Irv Favre while he told me just how much of an Asshole Warren Sapp is! AND, then sitting next to him at the bar and having him pass me a HUGE mason jar filled with Moonshine. (I already talked about that night here.)

Go Pack Go!!!!

[DaBoys4LifeNYY35]

I challenge you to watch this DVD and continue to have your insane, Princeton Tap Dancing 850 SAT scoring Favre-Hating Ass, uh, continuing to hate Favre.

That's not much of a challenge. Watching athlete bios are already my weakness--if I hate a guy going in, I won't hate him nearly as much coming out of having seen it. This is why I had to switch off the Daunte Culpepper Beyond the Glory halfway through.

Glad to see you back, George.

[DaveK913]

America's Team??? The Cowboys??? Good Lord!!!

Eh. We didn't ask for it, it was basically dropped on us in the '70s. I think it's overblown, just as so many other little monikers or slogans in football are. They just seem to stick around and be affiliated with some teams, no matter how successful they are or aren't. Personally, I'm just not a big nickname or slogan guy. Even when we were winning titles in the early 90's, I wasn't going around saying, "Yes! We ARE America's Team!" I'm a diehard fan, I'm just not a zealot that feels the need to glorify the old days to make myself feel better when we're down.

The Dallas Cowboys: America's Team
Overdone, but invariably associated with them for decades, win or lose. 9 years since their last title.

The Oakland Raiders: Commitment To Excellence.
Even though it's been over 20 years since they won a title and they now fluctuate between good and bad, it sticks.

The Bears:The Monsters of the Midway.
Under .500 in the playoffs since their last title 20 years ago.

Green Bay: Titletown.
Maybe once, but with 1 title in last 35 years and extended mediocrity throughout the 70's and 80's, it's not necessarily up to date. Last title 8 years ago.

The Browns: The Dawg Pound.
They're Dawgs, all right. No titles in the last 40 years, and the original Dawg Pound was cute but never saw a championship. Great for the local dog mask industry, though.

The Redskins: The Hogs(Hawgs).
With Danny Snyder in charge, the only things that make the players hogs is how much they make when he signs them in free agency. Last title 14 years ago when Hogs really meant something, but you still see people wearing dresses with fake pig noses.(Tradition or cult? )

The Giants: The Big Blue Wrecking Crew. The only recent wrecking going on was the Ravens demolishing them in the SB 5 years ago. Last title 15 years ago. Some of them are big and blue, though. (Mostly from going through training camp with Coughlin. )

New Orleans: The Aints.
Okay, that one works. With 1 playoff victory and 0 titles in almost 40 years, it's completely appropriate.

The Eagles. No catchy nicknames, but I can't stand them so I had to bring them up. Actually, I can't listen to the song "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" because they played it as the Eagles theme song the other time they went to the SB and choked.

We now return you to your original programming.

[OxDiesel]

Good thoughts here, guys. The FA signings have been good short-term solutions, as JJ & Tuna are going for the quick kill. In the "anything goes" NFC, this may work out in the end. What makes it even better is the $$$ spent on Rivera, Ferguson, Hardy, and Bledsoe is not long-term impact. making it easy to get replacements for them in a few years. And, yes, I LOVE the Bledsoe signing. It wasn't his fault that Buffalo didn't make the playoffs, and he STILL led them back from 0-4. He'll be another great mentor for Henson after getting Vinny last year.

As for the draft, I was originally hoping that Antrel Rolle or Pac-Man Jones would fall to 11, with either Pollack, Spears, or one of the Codys at 20. But, since that's looking less and less likely every day, I'd like to see the OLB/DE Merriman at 11. The last time Tuna had a player like him on the board, his name was John Abraham. At 20, maybe WR??? Oklahoma's Mark Clayton will be available, but since we have enough possession guys, I wouldn't mind Troy Williamson from South Carolina. I also wouldn't mind taking another D-lineman like the guys I mentioned above (IF they're still on the board).

If you smell what The Ox is cookin'.....

[RIyankee]

G Marco Rivera underwent back surgery Thursday in Dallas after experiencing pain while running on a treadmill.

Uh-oh!!!

[DaBoys4LifeNYY35]

G Marco Rivera underwent back surgery Thursday in Dallas after experiencing pain while running on a treadmill.

Uh-oh!!!

3-6 weeks, 3-6 weeks, 3-6 weeks...

[DaveK913]

G Marco Rivera underwent back surgery Thursday in Dallas after experiencing pain while running on a treadmill.

Uh-oh!!!

Ever since we let Newon go, we've had issues at the guard position. Larry Allen comes and goes, Garmon was a bust, Gurode hasn't been as good as expected, Peterman tears a ligament playing special teams in training camp. Same story, different day.

After the revolving door on the OL in 2002, nothing fazes me any more. That year, you needed a program to tell who was who one week from the next. We even had a guy come in and play pretty well, only to retire because of a heart condition.

I guess we won't find out how bad it really is until camp. The worst thing about that is, if it doesn't get well enough for him to play, our depth at the position will be affected unless Peterman has recovered well. It's eerily similiar to Woodson's problem from last year, except he developed a problem with his sciatic nerve that affected his leg after the surgery on his back.

[#1PaFan]

The once-Great Marco Rivera playing for the Gutter Mud Franchise Crackboys??? Michael Kay-rist Almighty!!!!

I wish him health, but DAMN!!!! How can a once great player like him sell his soul to play to play for one of the most classless, piece-of-crap franchises in the history of the NFL???

SHAME on him and his children!!! Going from the Green Bay Packers, the Richest Tradition in the NFL to the very city that murdered John Fitzgerald Kennedy??? Shameful!!!!

HOW can Marco even consider going from Titletown to joining a team with a history rife with Drug Running, Sexual Assault, Rape, and Child Molesting??????

Damnit, Marco!!! I just can't believe it!!!!

[#1PaFan]

The once-Great Marco Rivera playing for the Gutter Mud Franchise Crackboys??? Michael Kay-rist Almighty!!!!

I wish him health, but DAMN!!!! How can a once great player like him sell his soul to play to play for one of the most classless, piece-of-crap franchises in the history of the NFL???

SHAME on him and his children!!! Going from the Green Bay Packers, the Richest Tradition in the NFL to the very city that murdered John Fitzgerald Kennedy??? Shameful!!!!

HOW can Marco even consider going from Titletown to joining a team with a history rife with Drug Running, Sexual Assault, Rape, and Child Molesting??????

Damnit, Marco!!! I just can't believe it!!!!

Man, this really disturbs me! I can certainly see some pin-headed CrackBoy fan tap dancing over the truth. It just hurts to see a once-great, a once-classy player even consider urinating all over his once great legacy to pimp some money out of an organization. Even if that place is a Franchise completely devoid of any Class whatsoever.

Man, I just cannot believe that Marco is even THINKING about putting on that blue & silver French-like horsecrap. That faded, tarnished star hasn't shone in a decade. AND, even when it did shine, they owed it to the effin' Vikings!!! What a SCAM!!!!

Seriously, fellow Forumers: Do you really know ANY "Classy" Cowboy Fans?
EVERY single one I've ever met----EVER!!!.... needed their Ass kicked!!! Most of them are really effin' stupid (obviously) but a few of them are Big. Big & effin' stupid.

As much as I can't stand the Eagles, at least I take some solace in the fact that they're going to kick some Rapin', Child Molestin', Drug Runnin', Gun Totin' ASS next year. Not just once either. TWICE!!!

[DaveK913]

Not that the most recent posts are deserving of a response, but it seems someone enjoys reveling in other teams' past trials, and their own team's past glory.

Hello, and welcome to the present.

Laying the blame for the assassination of JFK belies your ignorance, and has no place in a thread talking about football, which is nothing if not trivial when compared to such topics. I've never lived in Dallas but I've known people who were there when it happened, and the pain they felt during that tragic time was no less if not greater than what was felt throughout the country. Do you also blame the city of Washington DC for Lincoln's assassination? Buffalo, NY for McKinley's assassination?

Ramble on incessantly about the Cowboys if you will, but please refrain from making such inane analogies.

[sanfranciscojetergirl]

I'll be honest, I really don't care about the Cowboys

Other than passively rooting against Parcells.

The Cowboy's was my second favorite team until Jerry Jones got rid my Tom L and Tony D and ever since then, I don't like them.

FIY, that is going on 20 years strong

[#1PaFan]

Not that the most recent posts are deserving of a response, but it seems someone enjoys reveling in other teams' past trials, and their own team's past glory.

Hello, and welcome to the present.

Laying the blame for the assassination of JFK belies your ignorance, and has no place in a thread talking about football, which is nothing if not trivial when compared to such topics. I've never lived in Dallas but I've known people who were there when it happened, and the pain they felt during that tragic time was no less if not greater than what was felt throughout the country. Do you also blame the city of Washington DC for Lincoln's assassination? Buffalo, NY for McKinley's assassination?

Ramble on incessantly about the Cowboys if you will, but please refrain from making such inane analogies.

Wow. Somebody doesn't know me!

[DaBoys4LifeNYY35]

...
That faded, tarnished star hasn't shone in a decade...

If the star hasn't shone in a decade, then the cheesepack hasn't either in a decade minus 1.

[DaBoys4LifeNYY35]

After the revolving door on the OL in 2002, nothing fazes me any more. That year, you needed a program to tell who was who one week from the next. We even had a guy come in and play pretty well, only to retire because of a heart condition.

You know it was bad when we had a guy from Princeton starting on our line.

Ross Tucker did end up getting a 3 year deal from Buffalo though... doesn't say much, I guess.

[#1PaFan]

If the star hasn't shone in a decade, then the cheesepack hasn't either in a decade minus 1.

True. We haven't brought home the Lombardi Trophy in a while, but at least we won our Division a few times and made the playoffs.

But, you ARE right. It's been a while for My Pack.

[DaveK913]

You know it was bad when we had a guy from Princeton starting on our line.

Ross Tucker did end up getting a 3 year deal from Buffalo though... doesn't say much, I guess.

I think we ended up using around 10 OL combinations that year. It was bad enough to be using 2nd or 3rd stringers, or players brought in from nowhere, but there was never a chance to develop any sort of chemistry on the line.

Tucker turned out to be serviceable and may have stuck around if not for a regime change. I think he started the majority of the Bills' games. It's true you don't see many Ivy Leaguers hang around in the NFL. I lived fairly close to Princeton when we had a couple of Tigers on the team. Jason and Judd Garrett were both on the team in '93, although Judd's brief tenure was one year spent on the practice squad. There used to be some good write ups on them in the local papers at the time.

I wouldn't mind having Jason back as a QB coach, but he ended up in Miami, I believe. I think Judd is on the same staff.

It looks as though the attention is more on the defense for now, with all this Howard trade news flying around. I would be okay with a deal as long as he isn't breaking the bank, but he's looking for a deal similiar to the one Grant Wistrom received from Seattle last year. 5 or 6 years, $33M with a $16M signing bonus. That's a bit much for a guy who's 28, averaged around 8 sacks a year, and has missed 11 games the last 2 years. Of course, I don't sign hte checks.

[DaBoys4LifeNYY35]

It looks as though the attention is more on the defense for now, with all this Howard trade news flying around. I would be okay with a deal as long as he isn't breaking the bank, but he's looking for a deal similiar to the one Grant Wistrom received from Seattle last year. 5 or 6 years, $33M with a $16M signing bonus. That's a bit much for a guy who's 28, averaged around 8 sacks a year, and has missed 11 games the last 2 years. Of course, I don't sign hte checks.

Like Mick Spagnola said, right now, they're pretty much hovering smack in the middle of wanting to turn things around this year and not wanting to be screwed financially and competitively in the future--whether or not this particular move gets done will be at least an indicator of which way that balance is going to tip. We've got a nifty little core of fairly young franchise-quality and potential franchise-quality players on both sides of the ball going, and it would be a shame for them not to be in a position to be competitive for quite a few years to come.

I wouldn't want to spend a draft choice THIS year on him, OR pay him that much $. But D*MN, the D-line would look awesome on paper should this get done, and leave safety as the only glaring defensive hole (once again, I personally am a Lynn Scott supporter), one which could fairly easily be addressed in the draft, provided we don't give any of our 1st or 2nd round draft picks away as part of the Howard deal.

[DaBoys4LifeNYY35]

By all accounts, Dallas had a brilliant draft. I wish they'd taken a safety sooner, but at the times we picked, there didn't seem to be anyone worth each successive pick, plus I read Beriault in the 6th could be a steal anyway.

Ware instead of Merriman is like 1 and 1A to me--pleased with that, too. I wanted Spears badly, but was resigned to the fact that he'd be gone somewhere between 11 and 20. He wasn't. Overall, this draft shores up pretty much every remaining hole on defense while providing the flexibility to play 4-3 or 3-4. I, personally, think time will be split in some fashion among both alignments due to the fact that our incumbent best front 7 players (Ellis, Glover, Nguyen) are best suited to the current system and the fact that the new "3-4 guys" are just that: new.

Only thing missing now is that receiver, but, provided everyone the Cowboys have now at that position stays healthy, they'll be more than fine.

On another note, I got a kick of how loose things seemed to be in the War Room every time we saw it on TV (Sadly, too much work prevented me from going yet again. Alas.), especially that shot of Stephen Jones dancing it up and of Jerry in his ginormous glasses. I was pleased to see that it seemed like Jerry let Tuna call all the shots.

Things will be better this season.

[OxDiesel]

Things may be better this season, Natalie, but this draft really wasn't a good start. Maybe what JJ & Tuna thought was so funny is the way everyone is fawning all over their work this weekend. I was NOT laughing. I'm sick of hearing about the great job they did when I can show you THREE different times they screwed up:
1. Taking Ware instead of Merriman. I know Ware has the speed, but I'm not sold on the strength. He's to skinny to take on guys like Pace, Ogden or even Alex Barron. I wanted somebody that was quick AND could shed blocks. Merriman was a proven talent against better competition.
2. Taking Burnett in the 2nd Round. I know a good pass rush makes your coverage better, but nothing could have helped that secondary last year; they were absolutely atrocious. Taking Corey Webster or Justin Miller, who also could have been a nice addition on returns, would have been the smarter choice to pair with Newman. Both CBs were taken within the following 15 picks.
3. Taking Barber in the 4th. Worst. Pick. Of Our Draft. Well, at least with Jerome Mathis and Craphonso Thorpe still on the board. Speed WR is a much bigger hole than change-of-pace RB. If they feel Julius Jones can't handle being an every-down back, they never should have passed on Steven Jackson and taken him. Meanwhile, both WRs were gone within 7 picks after MB3.

Taking Chris Canty (DE) and Justin Beriault (S) in the 4th and 6th Rounds were the only smart picks they made. I'm not counting Marcus Spears, because that was a no-brainer -- my unborn daughter could have made that pick. Those three guys are the only things that saved this draft.

OVERALL GRADE: B/B- (and only because they did fill some needs and holes, just not as well as they could have)

[DaBoys4LifeNYY35]

Things may be better this season, Natalie, but this draft really wasn't a good start. Maybe what JJ & Tuna thought was so funny is the way everyone is fawning all over their work this weekend. I was NOT laughing. I'm sick of hearing about the great job they did when I can show you THREE different times they screwed up:
1. Taking Ware instead of Merriman. I know Ware has the speed, but I'm not sold on the strength. He's to skinny to take on guys like Pace, Ogden or even Alex Barron. I wanted somebody that was quick AND could shed blocks. Merriman was a proven talent against better competition.
2. Taking Burnett in the 2nd Round. I know a good pass rush makes your coverage better, but nothing could have helped that secondary last year; they were absolutely atrocious. Taking Corey Webster or Justin Miller, who also could have been a nice addition on returns, would have been the smarter choice to pair with Newman. Both CBs were taken within the following 15 picks.
3. Taking Barber in the 4th. Worst. Pick. Of Our Draft. Well, at least with Jerome Mathis and Craphonso Thorpe still on the board. Speed WR is a much bigger hole than change-of-pace RB. If they feel Julius Jones can't handle being an every-down back, they never should have passed on Steven Jackson and taken him. Meanwhile, both WRs were gone within 7 picks after MB3.

Taking Chris Canty (DE) and Justin Beriault (S) in the 4th and 6th Rounds were the only smart picks they made. I'm not counting Marcus Spears, because that was a no-brainer -- my unborn daughter could have made that pick. Those three guys are the only things that saved this draft.

OVERALL GRADE: B/B- (and only because they did fill some needs and holes, just not as well as they could have)

With respect to 2., the presence of Newman and the big $$$ they gave to Henry pretty much precluded taking another corner that high. We've got two starters and a disgruntled potential third starting-quality CB in Hunter, who was just re-signed but wants out.

As for 3., I get the impression that people in the know with the team really like Patrick Crayton. He's got the speed but needs more experience. I, personally, thought he showed a lot of potential. I would have liked a receiver at some point, too, but, assuming health, Johnson's size and toughness, Glenn's speed and great hands, Morgan's whatever it is he brings to the table, and Crayton's speed and, hopefully with more experience, increasing skill, put us pretty good at WR at least for this year. Getting 30-35 carries per game, EVERY game is, in my mind, a large contributing factor in what drove Ricky Williams out of the league. A change of pace back is a necessity. In 1995, when he had the most carries of his career, Emmitt Smith himself averaged only 23.6 over 16 games. I could not be happier with the outcome of waiting for the 2nd to take Julius Jones and getting an extra 1st round pick this year to boot. Had he been healthy all year, he might have been a Pro Bowler, but I digress.

Regardless of my own personal happy opinion about this draft, Mick Spagnola over at cowboys.com seems to be likewise happy--overjoyed even, especially about the newfound DEPTH we have on defense that we haven't had since the glory years. He's a guy that isn't afraid to tell it like it is and whose opinion I trust more than anyone else's out there who writes about the team.

Our defense will be sweet, and the offense will run like a well-oiled machine. Mark my words.

[Rich]

FWIW, Accorsi said the guy he really liked in the draft was Ware.

[RIyankee]

Dallas had the best draft of any team over the weekend. In a draft lacking in blue chippers on the "D" side, they snatched up 3 defensive studs on Day One.

Tuna is now ready to transition his team to the 3-4.

[#1PaFan]

Dallas had the best draft of any team over the weekend. In a draft lacking in blue chippers on the "D" side, they snatched up 3 defensive studs on Day One.

Tuna is now ready to transition his team to the 3-4.

Yes, it's painful for me to say but I believe Dallas did a helluva job this past weekend. I think Nat will be quite pleased with the results.

[Rich]

Dallas had the best draft of any team over the weekend. In a draft lacking in blue chippers on the "D" side, they snatched up 3 defensive studs on Day One.

Tuna is now ready to transition his team to the 3-4.

I think the Cardinals did.

[RIyankee]

I think the Cardinals did.

They had a great draft too. They even got an impressive group of undrafted FAs.