Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Underachievers

This past Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Lincoln Financial Field to play the Philadelphia Eagles in what was a win and you’re in the playoffs game. This game had a lot of build-up prior kick-off. The Eagles found out, about 15 minutes before the game started, that the stars had aligned for them; the Bears and Buccaneers had both lost. This game had everything football fans wanted. It was the ‘Boys against the Birds, with their playoff destinies on the line.

Unfortunately, if you are a Cowboys fan, Dallas forgot to show up for the game mentally. Maybe all the drama had finally caught up to them? Maybe the Eagles are just a better team? It doesn’t matter why…we all know what happened! The Cowboys shot themselves in the foot over and over again. They gifted the Eagles two defensive touchdowns, while squandering scoring opportunities of there own on several occasions. That’s not to take anything away from Philly, they made the plays and the Cowboys didn’t!

Defensively, the Cowboys made several mental mistakes in coverage, while offensively Romo wasn’t on the same page as his receivers… maybe not even reading the same book! The ‘Boys have been out of sync all season, but usually one side of the ball would show up. This time, every facet of the team let their fans down. The coaching staff, offense, defense, and special teams…it was an absolute nightmare!

The Cowboys lost a key component in last year’s success, Tony Sparano, who is now the head coach of the AFC East Champion Miami Dolphins. He helped Jason Garrett with the offense last season. It was obvious to any Cowboys fan how much Sparano was missed. If you didn’t know before…you know now! Sparano was why the Cowboys offense excelled last year! The Cowboys were pre-season favorites to win the Super Bowl, but that’s pretty tough to do when you don’t even make the playoffs. What a bunch of…underachievers!


Short Shots:

Several coaches have been fired already, and I’m sure there still might be more to come. Of all of them, I am most surprised with Eric Mangini being fired. The Jets are a good team, but Favre was simply out of gas by the end of the season. Not that I’m making excuses for Favre (because I simply can’t stand the guy), but he was battling injuries throughout the 2nd half of the season…and he’s 39 for God’s sake!

Peyton Manning is in the running for the League MVP. Sure, Peyton has all the stats and credentials for the award. He put the team on his back for the past 9 to 10 weeks, after his slow start due to injury. But, I’d like to nominate Chad Pennington. Chad was ousted in New York in favor of Favre, but Sparano swiped him up in a hurry. Without Pennington, Miami would have still been a cellar dweller. Chad brought instant leadership to a team in disarray. He managed the offense, limited his mistakes, and made the plays necessary to win the AFC East crown! Chad for MVP! Wouldn’t it be something if the Dolphins could win the Super Bowl? From worst to best in one season! It’s unlikely, but it would make for a heckuva story!


From The Mail Room:

Darren J., Philadelphia, PA: Your Cowboys are a disgrace. All you cockroaches should crawl back into the hole you came out of! Dallas Sucks! Go Eagles!

Utopia1dc: Darren, just for the record…I received over 25 similar emails. I picked yours because it was the only one without a spelling or grammatical error! Now, to address your comment; I wasn’t aware that Jerry had signed over a share of the Cowboys to me. But if he did, I wouldn’t care if they lost every damn game because they are worth over a Billion dollars…I’d be rich! They are not my Cowboys; I simply enjoy watching them play (well, not this past game…I’ll give you that much!). The Eagles won, the Cowboys didn’t. Why do Eagles fans always have to get in my face after a win? I have never done that to an Eagles fan…ever!

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Dan I feel your pain, Eagles Fans Jump in your face like that because most likly they are treated that way by Cowboy fans in the Past. I know I am a Eagles fan and I even wished you good luck before the Game....which could not return. Plus you have mention the five rings a few times. You personel are not as bad as some Cowboy fans. Also I know a few Eagles fans that push the limits also. I guess it is A football world and when you chose your team, got to be prepared for the actions of the other fans. Since stereotyping people is so easy one cowboys fan ruins it for the rest. Just Like the first snowball hit Santa changed the City of Brotherly love.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes I think we should treat sports like politics and not talk about our opinions. I am a Cowboys fan but have never initiated a conversation with an Eagles fan about the Eagles losing a game. But, if they bust my chops about a loss, I do mention the five rings - after all, the way I see it, unless you earn a ring, you really didn't have a winning season. At anyrate, I have no problem saying the Cowboys played horrible against the Eagles. To the Eagles fans - I hope your team does make it all they way because it is a great feeling! Who knows, maybe the curse is broken!