Boyzguru’s Dallas Cowboys Blog

With Romo developing into the leader this team needs, the sky is the limit in 2010

Well hello again.  It has been a very very long time since I wrote anything on this blog.  I have had some serious life changes that have prevented managing this blog but I have rededicated myself to having this blog as well as my YouTube videos maintain quality content.  With that being said I am going to recap my thoughts of the past several months in regards to the Cowboys.

The first and foremost thought is that Romo has grown up.  My previous posts never doubted his ability but his leadership and the fact that he was coddled by the powers that be.  He is arguably the most valuable player in the entire NFC.  What I mean by that is that the Cowboys without Romo is probably a larger hit than any other player on any other team in the NFC.  I could be wrong with Drew Brees but I believe they are in the same conversation.

The second is the emergence of our draft picks.  I am a huge advocate of organic team building.  There is a chemistry and a connection to players that are actually drafted and developed vs a team full of mercenaries.  Losing Parcells and Ireland scared the crap out of me in that I thought we would suck drafting when they left.  Felix Jones, Mike Jenkins, John Phillips, Tashard Choice, and Orlando Scandrick are all solid contributors now.  We still have the likes of Martellus Bennett, Dez Bryant, Sean Lee, and others that could be real impact players as well.  I have not been this excited about the young talent on this team since 2005 (Witten, Ware, Barber, Newman being younger).  The fact that we have those guys with this young crop leads to some high expectations this year and to come.

The last thing that got me excited and keeps me excited is the fact we beat the damned Eagles three times and outplayed the Giants both times (turnovers and shoddy officiating marred the JerryWorld opener).  We have had a recent history of losing to the marquee teams and feasting on the lesser ones.  Not any more.  There isn’t a single team in the league right now I fear.  In fact, I think we may be the most fearsome team in the league when combining all three facets of the game.

Coming up will be a training camp preview of the offense.  Stay tuned also to my Youtube Channel.

Anthony Spencer and co. should provide the heat to put the G-Mens season on ice

This is it.  This is the chance the Cowboys have for exacting revenge on the BS driven game of two seasons ago that ended our Super Bowl hopes on what is arguably the most talented roster since the 90′s Super Bowl run.  Reading the press clippings it is alarmingly clear the this rivalry has superceded even the tradition rich Washington rivaly as tops among the players.  Bradie James and Patrick Crayton have been especially vocal in their disdain for Big Blue.  I love it!

I will say it flat out… We will win the ball game.  I would have answered a touch differently after the Green Bay game  for obvious reasons.  The reason for my confidence is predicated on a few things.

1. These aren’t your 2007 NY Giants:  That team was known as a physically imposing, smash in the mouth, pound the rock and pound your quarterback.  This team just doesn’t seem physical to me.  It seems like they have softened up a touch.  The pass rush the past couple of weeks that I have seen is Eaglesesque and blitzing everywhere.  The difference lies in the secondary however.  Quick passes and max protect mixed with a draw (our bread and butter) will kill this D.  After watching us dismantle the Eagles on Sunday Night a few weeks back and seeing a return to our real offense on Turkey Day, we should be killing this D.
2. Antonio Pierce is gone-  This guy is there to make all the calls on D.  Blackburn has been a concern due to his lack of speed and the G Men are working in a second yr linebacker Jonathan Goff on the first team.  I see us being able to take advantage of his inexperience in a crucial spot.
3. Eli’s Health-  The immobile Eli is even more hampered with a less than physical line at his disposal as well.  The Cowboys defense is not the same animal that gave up the late drive to lose the Jerryworld opener.  Spencer has emerged as a star in the making and has justified the coaching staff’s faith in his ability.  He has arguably been the best pass rusher on the team this season.  The blitzing of Brooking will also provide headaches for a Giant team on their heels.

Look for Miles Austin to continue his on his breakout season and torch this Giant secondary for bigtime yards.  We will also likely see Ogletree involved much like he was vs Philly a few weeks back.  I think we go into Giants Stadium in our final meeting there and take out the Giants 23-16.

Guru thinks Weis could do for Romo what he did for Brady

Ever have a girl (or guy for the women reading) that you got drunk with, maybe had a fling, saw them the next day, and said said to yourself, “NO!!!!!!!”?  Than you see that same person all the time reminding you of your error in judgement and you just wish that person would go away.  That is how I feel with this edition of the Cowboys.  Its the same story week in and week out.  Lack of focus, lack of attention to detail, and lack of execution when it matters most.

As most who follow my videos and this blog know, I have been uber critical of Wade Phillips as the primary culprit in this mess.  I have thought long and hard over the last two games and have figured that Garrett is the real problem, not Wade.  It’s the offense that has the mental meltdowns and blows timeouts.  Should Phillips yank the likes of Flozell Adams after exceeding his one false start quota?  I did see less of Bennett and more of Phillips vs KC which was long overdue.  But I still saw multiple timeouts blown that could have cost Dallas the game due to not knowing the damn playclock.

I think if Phillips was truly the reason for this mess, he would have been fired and Garrett the new HC.  I think Jerry knows that this is Garretts mess and is biding his time til next season.  But please Jerry, we need Charlie Weiss, not Holmgren, Cowher, or Shanny.

Whatcha smokin’ Guru?  Hear me out, Parcells goes to New England, builds the team from laughingstock to contender and makes a Super Bowl.  Than he bails and a new “players coach” defensive guru Pete Carroll comes to town.  He gets the team to the playoffs with a solid core of players like Ty Law, Willie Mcginest, Drew Bledsoe, Troy Brown, and Tedy Bruschi.  They never get over the hump and get whooped by Parcells each time they played while Parcells builds the rival Jets.  Carroll gets the axe and Belichick, a failed HC in Cleveland gets the nod to turn around the Pats.  The rest is history as they say.

Weiss offers very similar parallels.  Do we want the prime years of Ware,Barber, Newman, Romo, Witte, and Bradie James to go by the wayside while we have a players coach?  Weiss is to Parcells on offense what Belichick is on defense.  This guy has experience with big WRs, multiple rbs, and utilization of the TE.  His QBs are pro ready when they come out mentally if not totally physically.  The offense to me fits Romo to a T.  Defensively, the likes of Romeo Crennel are out there.  He knows people as well.  I see the D still staying 34 as that is what Weiss believes in.  We wouldn’t have to blow up anything.  He would however I think add a swagger to the Cowboys from a coaching perspective not seen since Jimmy Johnson came two decades ago.

Guru would like more handoffs to the likes of Barber than ill-advised throws

The more Romo stays the same.  I want to believe he will turn the corner sans Owens and the offense should run as designed as an overall scheme but watching Sundays debacle leaves me doubts.  Some players are their own worst enemies and a coach actually needs to rebuild a players confidence when a player makes the mistakes we have seen from our seemingly franchise quarterback.  Others need to have their asses handed to them after the boneheaded decisions and poor throws that come from their quarterback.  The Cowboy coaching staff has offered neither.  No consequences for poor play will lead to a continuance of poor plays.

Its becoming increasingly clear that Romo’s warts have been found.  That wart is the reason he went undrafted, he is mentally incapable of the rigors of the position of quarterback.  He is a talented improvisor and a playmaker who is at his best playing backyard football.  Brett Favre has one Super Bowl and that could be attributed to the stalwart game Desmond Howard and Reggie White played, not how he played.  I have come to the conclusion that Romo needs one more chance to prove himself with a coach that isn’t going to tolerate the garbage decision making and inconsistent performance as a passer.

What coach would be best?  I love Gruden but he is the opposite end of the spectrum of poor fits for Romo.  Shanahan?  Jake Plummer thrived and is similar in ability to Romo but I have doubts on the handling of the remainder of the team.  That leaves Mike Holmgren as the obvious choice.  He is the only one that was able to rein in Favre, Romo’s hero.  He also has won a Super Bowl and will command the respect of the lockerroom.  It will be interesting to see how the team would morph as a result of this kind of change as our personnel offensively is not ideally suited to the WCO.

The guy I would like to see would be Charlie Weiss.  He has a little of that Jimmy Johnson swagger to him that I think thrives in Dallas.  He also has experience working with big receivers and the WCO like offense.  He knows the 34 as well and would likely be able to find a good DC to have the D thrive.  Of course this decision would likely be unpopular and bashed but I don’t see better options.  He would add a Bill Parcells presence and offensive mind to nurture Romo into the QB he could potentially be but is not quite there yet.

So there I said it, I want Charlie Weiss if he becomes available.  Its safe to say Garrett is not HC material at this stage of his young career and Phillips is best suited as a 34 DC under a strict HC.  The fate of the Cowboys rests on the brain of Tony Romo.  What is needed is someone who can get into his head.  Weiss is the guy.

Jason Witten eats safeties for lunch.

The NFL is all about one thing, that is mismatches.  Mismatches have changed the face of football.  Linebacking used to not include rushing the passer until Lawrence Taylor burst on the scene.  Offensive football used to be about pounding the rock even if it didn’t work and than chucking the ball downfield when the D got sneaky.  That is until Bill Walsh came and stretched the field horizontally.  The tight end position has evolved from solely an extra offensive lineman to dynamic pass catches in the mold of Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome.

The tight end position is evolving once more.  The above mentioned guys and other pass catchers of the last two decades were generally undersized WCO types like Brent Jones and Todd Christensen.  Jay Novacek of our Cowboys fit that mold.  These guys were generally hinderances in the running game and teams with these kinds of players often times had to have the second tight end be a standout blocker to keep teams honest in ACE packages (2 TE’s).  Todays Dallas Cowboys are changing the league once more.

Jason Witten came into the league well known for his receiving exploits.  During the course of his career he has developed into the most complete tight end in football.  He can block equal in ability to his prodigious talent in catching passes.  Wittens versatility to block on the move like Daryl Johnston and on the line like a Mike Ditka make him an elite offensive weapon on par with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald and Adrian Peterson at their respective positions.

Martellus Bennett was drafted noted primarily for his blocking ability and rare athletic gifts.  With diligent work from John Garrett, the Cowboys are hoping to further develop Bennett into an elite pass catcher like Antonio Gates.  With further development, there is an outside chance Bennett could be more dominant than Witten due to his unusual athletic gifts.

Yeah, yeah Guru, I know we got talented tight ends but how are they going to change the NFL?  With todays NFL predicated on speed and spreading teams out with 3 wide receivers or more, the talents of defensive personnel have gotten smaller and faster.  Will teams go nickel to deal with the receiving exploits of Bennett and Witten?  Will they stay in their base package like most teams?

This past week evidenced the confusion teams will have in defending the “12 package”.  Roy Williams TD came due to confusion covering Bennett who was split out wide.  Bennett could have had an easy TD earlier due to having a corner one on one with him but couldn’t capitalize.  I don’t see that play failing much if presented down the line.

So how will teams defend the 12 package when Bennett and Witten are split wide?  If teams are in to keep the corners on them Romo can check to a fade stop route or something of that ilk.  If teams put the safeties out on them, we can have Roy Williams or Crayton one on one with no safety help.  If teams move the linebackers out there, we can have a serious advantage running the football, particularly with Barber to hammer defensive backs trying to defend the run.  The possibilities of this offense are endless but they are only endless due to the talents of the personnel at the TE position.

While this offense will be and has been often imitated in places like Chicago, Green Bay, and San Francisco, it cannot be duplicated due in large part to the blocking prowess of Witten and Bennett.

Raheem Morris hopes to start a Mike Tomlin career on Sunday

I just wanted to let everyone know I will be previewing this weeks game vs Tampa Bay with Matt Loede of Buccaneersgab.com.  Please take a look at that site to see what our Week One enemy may have in store for us this week.

To listen live go to Blogtalkradio.com and look up Boyzguru.  I will be having the transcript up on this site shortly after broadcast for those who miss it.

Bryant can high point the ball as well as anyone....is it what Dallas needs?

This is the first part of the series on draft prospects for the 2010 draft.  The Guru will be keeping an eye guys he feels would elevate the current Dallas Cowboys throughout the course of the season and off season.  I will also be modifying the post if my opinion changes or if new information can bolster the players case.

One of the biggest needs for the Cowboys down the road is that of a big play Wide Receiver.  The Cowboys have been ill fated at the position internally since Michael Irvins retirement.  Although the likes of Sam Hurd, Miles Austin, and recently Kevin Ogletree show promise as contributors, in todays NFL you need two horses at receiver.  Roy Williams has been tasked with carrying on the TO mantle and we shall see if he is up to task…

Which brings me to Dez Bryant.  Looking at his highlight packages and build, he is eerily similar to Roy Williams minus the height.  The Cowboys since Parcells have preferred receivers with some size.  The likes of Owens, Andre Johnson, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin and Brandon Marshall have proven to be virtually unstoppable.  In todays NFL, you need one of these kinds of guys to have a truly effective offense.

Does Dez fit that bill?  I dont think so at this stage in looking at the samples I have seen.  He is certainly talented and worthy of probably a late first round pick.  To be a lottery type guy (Top Ten) I think you need to fill the above mold.  The other star mode is that of the Steve Smiths, Chad Johnsons, Randy Moss, Greg Jennings, and Roddy White.  These guys are deep threats who keep safeties honest.  In Calvin Johnsons and Randy Moss’ case both apply.  When you are not one or the other than you are Roy Williams.  We already got one of those.  At this stage Dez is not the kind of playerI would want with a premium draft slot needed to select him.  I will be watching more of him however to see if my mind will change.

Covering Davis should showcase why the Cowboys brought in Sensabaugh

A lot of my questions in the Tennesseee game were answered rather emphatically as Dallas dominated the vaunted Titans last week.  Although many questions were answered, more remain.  Below is what I will be looking at tomorrow evening.

Run Defense- We handled Tennessee well but San Francisco has been running well this preseason albeit against civ like defenses.  I would like to see us be physical on defense as well as fast being we play in the NFC East and all.

Punt Return and Coverage-  So far, not so good.  With a lot of youngsters you are bound to see growing pains.  I see pains but not the growth so far.  Andy Lee is among the best in the business.  I was pleased to see Hodge make some plays a week ago.

Tight End coverage- Vernon Davis has looked good this preseason.  He will provide a nice test for Sensabaugh in man coverage.  This area could turn into a strength this season.  It bears close watching.

Felix Jones- I want to know if his role is defined.  I see him as our best everydown back and his speed keeps defenses honest.  Barber and Jones have been with the ones fairly equally.

Nick Folk- He has missed kicks and I am mildly concerned his injury has affected him greater than lead on.

Cortland Finnegan will provide a huge challenge to either Hurd or Austin

With one pre-season game in the books and no debilitating injuries had, it was a successful trip to Oakland.  We got to see the young draft picks make their mistakes on the job rather than on the practice field which will yield a valuable learning experience in my opinion.  There are still many questions left unanswered or posed after last weeks game.  Here is what I will be looking for.

Rudy Rudy Rudy!!!- I saw what Mcgee could do (or couldn’t depending on your perspective and glasses).  I want to see if Rudy has more promise.  He started a lot of games in the Pac 10 with a pro-style offense.  Perhaps he can mirror the success (or underachievement depending on your perspective) of fellow Dennis Erickson QB Derek Anderson who made the Pro Bowl.  Many think a 4th round pick is enough to justify developing Mcgee on the 53 man.  I think if we have better options, we keep them.

Stephen Hodge and Brandon Williams-  Didn’t see them in game one.  Would like to see what they can do.  Justin Rogers just doesn’t seem to cut it for me.  If Williams looks as good as Butler, we will have some nice depth at OLB and competition for Spencer.  Hodge is a special teams demon and would like to see him crush some would be returners.

Better Punt Return Unit-  A botched kick by Smith and a fumble by Reid on a fair catch makes me think we still have a ways to go improving the special teams.  Lechler is among the leagues best so perhaps it was not the right game to really get things straight.  I am pretty concerned at the lack of an explosive punt returner at this point.

Physicality-  I thought we got beat up physically by Oakland.  I thought they were more aggressive and had more fire in the belly.  The Boyz usually perform better for the Cowboys Stadium faithful so I think we can have a good idea of what kind of physicality to expect going forward.  Tennessee may be the most physical team in the league.  Identities are forged during the preseason. Ours right now is not that of an imposing, physical team.

Sam Hurd-  I really want this team to be on par with the rest of the league at the WR position.  I openly criticized the Giants WR core on Youtube and thought of ours to be superior.  After one preseason game, I think their depth, albeit young, is better than ours.  Williams is banged up so Hurd and Austin will get ample time against some physical corners in Finnegan and Harper.  This is going to be a good litmus test for what to expect from these two I believe.

Despite a rough preseason debut, the Guru expects big things from Williams

Jason,

I watched your first preseason game and came away with one lasting impression.  That impression is that your brain is going crazy and you are thinking as opposed to be an instinctual beast I know you are to become.  I see the Phillips and company envision you as our ILB of the future alongside Bradie James.  I was very shocked at the fact that in nickel situations you were removed a few times.  I was also surprised you were not the blitzer when the lb position blitzed (Carpenter did ok but not spectacular).  I arguably have been your staunchest supporter since your pre-draft(although you probably do not know or care to know that) and have figured out a little of what I think would put you on a path to superstardom.

The first thing you could do is chat with the player I think is most like you both in ability and situation.  This player came in as a rookie and was asked to learn a complex defense with the 34 front.  This person also had a veteran alongside that can mentor him leading him to a stellar season.  Maybe Cowboys brass had this guy in mind when drafting you.  I have put two videos below that will show what I feel can be number 58 this season and beyond.

The second video Mayo talks to a HOF linebacker on transitioning into the NFL.  Although not a HOF like Tippett, you too have a linebacker that could aid you dramatically.  Although you are coached by him at the moment, I like to think that pictures and videos are apt to let you know how good he was.

I see big things for you with the star on your helmet.  I look forward to seeing your progression throughout the preseason and hope we see the NFC version of Jerod Mayo patrolling our sidelines.

With Regards,

Boyzguru