January 2008 - Posts
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 The Giants are pointing to two critical moments in their drive to Super Bowl XLII: One in the third game of the season and the other in their second playoff game, that’s right, against the Cowboys. The Giants went into the third game of the season 0-2 after getting blown out by the Cowboys and Packers, and after a stirring comeback to take a 24-17 lead, here they were on their own 1-yard line with 58 seconds remaining and the Redskins owning a first-and-goal. The Giants held their ground after a spike to stop the clock and three Redskins plays. An 0-3 start might have doomed them and head coach Tom Coughlin for the season.
The other critical point came with 46 seconds left in the first half against the Cowboys, trailing 14-7 in the divisional-round playoff game and the Cowboys starting to dominate. They needed only 40 seconds to drive for the tying touchdown. Had the Giants not scored, they would have been trailing 17-7 with seven minutes left in the third quarter since the Cowboys took the half-opening drive in for a field goal.
Cowboys tight end Jason Witten is one of four finalists for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, the winner to be announced by Connie Payton, the wife of the late running back at a news conference before the Super Bowl. The other three players nominated for the award are Miami defensive end Jason Taylor, Pittsburgh wide receiver Hines Ward and Kansas City guard Brian Waters.
The gates must have swung open here Thursday in the Media Center, with a Who’s Who parading through Radio Row. Here for press conferences were Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, along with Alicia Keys and Jordin Sparks, daughter of former Giants and Cowboys cornerback Phillippi Sparks, who is from the Phoenix area. Then seen strolling around were Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Kellen Winslow and Tony Dorsett. Saw Akin Ayodele making the rounds on Radio Row, too, along with James Washington. Nate Newton was in the crowd earlier in the week. Tomorrow promises to be more crowded.
If you are wondering, according to figures released by the NFLPA on Thursday, the cost to franchise a wide receiver this off-season will be $7.848 million on a one-year deal – Terrell Owens the top-paid wide receiver with a $9.67 million cap charge. An offensive lineman will cost you $7.45 million on a one-year deal. Of course, franchising a quarterback is the most expensive, at $10.73 million, but a close second is cornerback, costing $9.465 million.
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No further movement on the coaching front, but it appears the Cowboys are very close to batting out a deal with Dom Capers to become a defensive assistant unless a better offer arises real soon. No matter what anyone else says or why they say this might happen, this would be a real coup. Look how many guys you would have on the staff with serious defensive coordinator experience, including Wade Phillips, Dave Campo, Todd Grantham and Capers, plus now Brian Stewart has a year’s experience. That’s not a problem, but a huge asset.
Hey, did anyone catch Campo saying this during his press conference when asked about reuniting with Roy Williams, his 2002 first-round draft choice? “The things we saw in Roy years ago, I saw some good things,” Campo said. “I think I can get with him and we can see if we can progress. I think Roy has skills and I think he can play better than he’s playing.” First honest answer I’ve heard on Subject Roy in two years.
So the TV suits insist Super Bowl XLII has a chance to become the most-watched Super Bowl in history. That means the game must draw more than the 94.08 million viewers to watch the Cowboys and Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, which just happened to be right here in Arizona.
Once again, let’s squash this Larry Fitzgerald trade-stuff rumor once and for all. Last week I told you it’s been reported the Cardinals want to restructure his contract, which has two years remaining. Tuesday the Arizona Republic quotes Fitzgerald as saying about his future with the Cardinals, “I want to be a Cardinal. I enjoy it here. I love my teammates.”
Wonder if there was any coincidence to Plaxico Burress’ quite late arrival for the Giants’ media session on Wednesday and his prediction of a 23-17 Giants victory earlier in the week? But then again, what’s the big deal? If my guys don’t think they have a chance to win then I don’t want them in uniform. The Giants also wanted a show of solidarity upon arriving here, the majority of the players dressed in black. Asked about the choice of colors, Randy Moss said, “We’ll see who has black on, on Sunday.”
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Gotta love bumping into Barry Switzer, and he was here at the Fox interview session with its Super Bowl XLII broadcast personnel on Tuesday, and just in case anyone had forgotten, wearing his Super Bowl XXX ring won in Phoenix, by the way. Now Switzer is somewhat of a running back expert, if his days at Oklahoma are any indication, so the natural question to ask him is, “Are you a McFadden fan?” Listen up: “Arkansas? That (SOB) can start here (in the NFL). Hell . . . As a pure runner, I think he’s better than Adrian Peterson. He’s got that burst. They talk about Adrian’s burst, this guy has got that (ability to) ignite. He covers so much ground . . . as far as a pure runner, he’s really special, you know that.” Yeah, of course I do?
Troy Aikman was here, too, obviously doing the game broadcast with Joe Buck. Here is Aikman talking about the how Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo went from the talk of the town, throwing a club-record 36 touchdown passes this past season and helping the team to win a franchise-tying high 13 games to the sole reason, in some fans’ minds, the Cowboys lost in the playoffs: “How do I say, this, no I’m not surprised, absolutely not. I said it leading up to the game, when you make a decision to do that (go to Cabo for the weekend with highly-publicized squeeze Jessica Simpson) – now do I think it impacted his performance, absolutely not. No one does, no one does. I always believed you wanted to go out and not give anybody any reason to think that your performance had anything to do with anything other than just not going out and playing well. And when he went to Cabo, that opened himself up for scrutiny. And I think in light of the criticism that came after the Philadelphia game, and I think unfairly, that was a good indicator as far as whatever public interest there was in that relationship, and so there was a big target on his back going into that last game. So if you win and play great, all that does is add to the legend, and if you don’t then you’re where you’re at right now . . .
“We all want to live our life and not worry about what perception is. But perception is perception, and sometimes you do have to make decisions based on perception or else you have to be willing to accept whatever criticism. So that was a decision he made and whatever criticism there is then I’m hopeful he is accepting that without any issue with it because that was the decision he made and should have known what would come with it.” Seriously now, that was one answer.
Jimmy was here, too, and looking at lot more comfortable than last time we saw him, on the pregame set in Green Bay in the three-degree temperatures before the NFC title game. Said it was the most miserable he had ever been, reminding me that water he put in the glass froze in less than 30 minutes. Got the feeling just having to go there for that game caused Jimmy Johnson to be as mad at the Cowboys as you guys were following the loss to the Giants.
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Is there no end to the Dolphins’ fascination with anything Cowboys or formerly Cowboys? Look at these free-agents futures they signed on Monday: Quarterback Matt Baker, center Trey Darilek and defensive end Junior Glymph. Wonder if Bill and Jeff will ever turn the page?
And you thought Bill Parcells was a stickler for resisting to give injury information? How about this Bill Belichick. He is not revealing a thing about Tom Brady’s high ankle sprain, continuing to say he’ll fill out the injury report on Wednesday. And I guarantee you come Wednesday he’ll simply list Brady as probable, just as he evidently has done all year long. I mean the guy has made 126 consecutive starts, including playoffs, and you think he’s not going to start Sunday? Please. If Philip Rivers can play with a torn ACL, I’m guessing Brady plays with whatever degree of sprain he has in his ankle.
A couple of things on all this Marion Barber trade talk. First, the Dolphins aren’t just giving away the first pick, and it’s going to take a heck of a lot more than Barber for the first pick for that trade to happen, and my guess is it’s going to take even more than swapping No. 22 and Barber for the first pick. Secondly, do you think the Cowboys are the only team in the league possibly coveting the first pick? And thirdly, as I point out in Mick’s Mail, the quickest way to gain other teams’ interest in trade talks is to have “sources” say the Cowboys are interested in doing a deal.
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You know, if none of these teams changing staffs decide to bring in Dom Capers as defensive coordinator, and he just wants to latch on to a staff, maybe the Cowboys can hire him as the secondary coach. That’s like 22 seasons of coaching experience. Now that would be a real coup.
Evidently recently-hired defensive line coach Todd Grantham had what some called “communication issues” with Cleveland head coach Romeo Crennel, reportedly why the Browns’ defensive coordinator was fired after being signed to a three-year deal and the club improving to 10-6. Now he’ll just be the defensive line coach for Wade Phillips with the Cowboys. But evidently former Michigan State coach Nick Saban thought highly enough of Grantham to put in a good word for his former defensive line coach at MSU when his name came up in 2006 for the Spartans’ head coaching job. Grantham, though, never was given an offer, MSU hiring Mark Dantonio, one of Saban’s former MSU secondary coaches.
This will undoubtedly make you cringe. The Cowboys finished the NFL’s third-ranked offense, the team’s highest finish since being No. 2 in 1979. During the Super Bowl seasons of the 90’s, the Cowboys finished fourth in 1992 and 1993 and then fifth in 1995. Sorry, guess that’s going to cause a little more hurt.
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The Cowboys have been pretty fortunate when it comes to their coaching staff the past few days, being able to retain Jason Garrett as offensive coordinator and bring on Hudson Houck to replace Tony Sparano as offensive line coach. Remember, you don’t get to pick and choose your assistants. They have to be available, and I’m thinking replacing Garrett and presenting a young quarterback like Tony Romo with a new offense and coach might have been disruptive. And with the much-respected Houck, he moves back in without being a stranger to guys on the offensive staff and the head coach.
You know, the more I think about it, the more Tom Coughlin’s off-the-cuff remark last week was right on. When asked one of those perfunctory questions predictably asked head coaches in the situation he was in, Coughlin shot back to media members something to the effect, you guys must have a “book with a stack of questions,” meaning very few can think for themselves. That is what is happening now with the dire predictions being made for the Phillips-Garrett relationship.
OK, in case you guys missed the caller to Talkin’ Cowboys who suggested the best way for the Chargers to cover Randy Moss on Sunday, this one is for you: “Put the woman who received the 500-foot temporary restraining order in the end zone.”
And the scores . . . hard to pick against the home teams in the conference championship games, so that means we’re going with the Patriots to move to 18-0 and the Packers to give Brett Favre a chance to possibly bow out on top a la John Elway, that is, providing frostbite from a three-degree high being predicted in Green Bay Sunday doesn’t cause everyone to succumb first.
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Jerry Jones, the owner and general manager strikes again. You might say he simply dug into his deep pockets to convince Jason Garrett to remain here. But I’m guessing Jerry’s sales pitch was much deeper than just money. And I’ve always said this, and people around here who have known Jerry will readily agree: Do not go into Jones’ office unless you intend to buy whatever he’s selling. Because you will buy before you walk out. He’s that good a salesman.
Cowboys wide receiver Terry Glenn has a very difficult decision to make about his career. Does he continue strengthening his right leg and knee to take another shot at playing one more year? Does he decide to retire? Or does he decide to have the eventually necessary microfracture surgery recommended by the Cowboys trainers and doctors back in September? Sounds as if he will continue rehabbing his knee for a couple of months to see just how he feels before making that decision. After all he went through this past year to get back I’m guessing he’d like to play one more year . . . if he can.
Just how much does Terrell Owens rehab? Well, the guy has been coming in all week, continuing to rehab the high ankle sprain because he wants to be ready to play in the Feb. 10 Pro Bowl.
And for those of you asking about Tony Romo reinjuring his right thumb on his second pass attempt against the Giants, yes he did bang his hand on the helmet or shoulder pad of Giants blitzing safety Michael Johnson. But the bruising was never to the extent of complaining to the trainers or having the thumb X-rayed. In other words, wasn’t something he couldn’t deal or play with.
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Jerry Jones can be very persuasive. Ask some of the free agents he’s signed. Ask some of the corporate sponsors he’s gone into business with around here. And I guarantee you he puts his best sales pitch forward on Jason Garrett, trying to convince him one way or another that staying here as the team’s assistant head coach – assuming Tony Sparano’s gone – is the thing to do. But there are some who believe Garrett wants to become a head coach, and I think Jones would give him the world, if you know what I mean, but stop short of giving him that title here. So it appears Garrett very deliberately will weigh offers from Baltimore and a likely one coming from Atlanta, his next stop.
Sure would be surprised if the Miami Dolphins weren’t naming Sparano their new head coach as early as Wednesday, especially since they flew up to Dallas on Tuesday to retrieve the Cowboys assistant head coach for a second interview. Look, to me, Bill Parcells knew exactly what he wanted to do when he took the job there as VP of football operations, including doing reconnaissance on Jeff Ireland as his GM , Brian Gaine as assistant director of player personnel (officially named Tuesday) and Sparano as the head coach. As in, if I take this job, will you guys do this? Bill’s not big on dealing with or trusting strangers.
Also, word out of Miami is, “when” the Dolphins name Sparano head coach, the two guys on the Cowboys defensive staff he’ll be courting are secondary coach Todd Bowles and linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni, both with expiring contracts. Remember, it was rumored last year Parcells would have named Bowles his defensive coordinator had he stayed. Who knows, defensive line coach Kacy Rodgers, also with an expiring contract, might not be far behind. And if Garrett takes a job, might he be able to get brother John to go with him even if the Cowboys tight ends coach is under contract?
Should Garrett leave, and this is just talking out loud, but the other day when Jones was asked about replacing members of his scouting department and coaching staff, he said you’d like to first look from within. Might quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson be in line for the offensive coordinator’s job? That at least would keep continuity on offense for a young quarterback. Or how about Ray Sherman, an offensive coordinator for the Vikings (1999), the Steelers (1998) and the Jets (1994)?
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After watching a little tape, there were two plays in particular that would have resulted in touchdowns had the Cowboys blocked the Giants. The first came on a second-and-8 at the Cowboys 44 early in the fourth quarter. The Giants had eight on the line of scrimmage, leaving Miles Austin in single coverage on the right side with R. W. McQuarters. Austin smoked him, but the Giants’ six-man rush caught up with a scrambling Romo for a sack. Then there was the third-and-20 deep throw for Owens from the Cowboys 49. The Giants showed a six-man rush, but only came with four, and when Justin Tuck beat Kyle Kosier – actually Kosier tripped over the guy Andre Gurode pancaked – Romo was unable to step into the 50-yard throw to an open Owens, the ball coming up short at the goal line.
By the way, that was an erroneous report Sunday on one of the TV pregame shows saying Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, as incentive, gave each player two free tickets for the NFC title game before Sunday’s Giants game. The truth of the matter is when tickets were distributed by the team’s ticket office for this game, the tickets for a potential second home playoff game at Texas Stadium were included for expediency sake . . . just like everyone else in the organization. The Giants even had something to say about that, but hey, let’s not worry about accuracy.
Not sure who was at fault on Giants tight end Kevin Boss’ 19-yard reception, but Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said that was the same play the Giants hit the Cowboys on previously with Jeremy Shockey and that they worked and worked on that coverage all week. Didn’t matter, because the Giants, against a four-man rush, were able to get Boss in man coverage on nickel linebacker Kevin Burnett for that 19-yard curl to the sideline without receiving any help . . . or help in time. From the 4, Eli Manning had easy pickin’s, hitting a wide open Amani Toomer for the touchdown.
In case you were wondering about the Mannings being spread a little thin for the playoffs, Archie was in Indianapolis to watch Peyton play against San Diego while mom Olivia was here to support Eli.
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So you all got what you wanted, Marion Barber starting and getting all but three of the carries. And Marion “Boom Boom” Barber was great, gaining 101 of his 129 yards rushing in the first half. But what did it get the Cowboys? A 14-14 first-half deadlock and then a 21-17 loss. The Giants were willing to withstand whatever running the Cowboys threw at them if that meant not giving up any huge passing plays as they did losing the first two meetings this year. And they didn’t. The Cowboys’ longest passing play was 20 yards, and of the 18 completions, only nine went to wide receivers. Why, the quarterback who led the NFC averaging 8.1 yards per passing attempt during the season would only average 4.8 in this game.
One of the toughest penalties the Cowboys had to accept was the 15-yard personal foul called on Leonard Davis, who took out Michael Strahan when he was on the ground as Tony Romo was completing a first-down pass to Jason Witten. That was the possession the Cowboys were forced to punt and R.W. McQuarters broke three tackles to set up the Giants’ winning touchdown drive at the Dallas 37. Poor Davis. He was just playing hard, he said. “It wasn’t like a cheap shot,” said Davis, who claims he didn’t see Romo release the ball before hitting Strahan again. “The ball was still in play. If he gets up and hits the quarterback in the mouth, then what?”
And I know everyone is down, but just how good is DeMarcus Ware? After the Giants’ 45-yard kickoff return to the 50, and a first down later, Ware saved the day – temporarily – with the most timely sack of the game, dropping Eli Manning one of the three times the Cowboys did in this game for a nine-yard loss back to the 47. The Giants eventually punted.
On the final play for the Cowboys, the McQuarters interception, Romo had no choice. The Giants doubled Owens, he said, and covered up the other receivers, and with no timeouts and only 16 seconds remaining, he couldn’t check down underneath. They never would have gotten off another play. So he did the only thing he could do, fire down the hash to his receiver facing single coverage, going down swinging. But Terry Glenn never was open. Ball game.
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One factor always important in the playoffs is kicker, you know, having someone capable of making that pressure kick with the game on the line. The Cowboys sure seem to have that base covered, as quietly as it’s been kept this week. Pro Bowl kicker Nick Folk has made 26 of 31 attempts this year, and has only one legitimate miss less than 50 yards, that coming in the debacle at Washington in the season finale, when he simply miss-hit from 28 in the rain. The rookie’s other sub-50 miss was a block he had nothing to do with. The other three were 50-yarders. “He’s almost a guarantee,” veteran linebacker Akin Ayodele said.
The Cowboys haven’t forgotten how they got suckered into those post-play penalties by Giants running back Brandon Jacobs in the past meeting. Ayodele said you can be sure he will be “talked about” before the game. And as said Kevin Burnett, one of the culprits last time, “This time 15 yards can get you sent home.”
And the score . . . this one is tougher than normal since without Terrell Owens in the lineup this game would take on a whole together different look, but here’s my guess: Owens plays and plays well, and the Cowboys finally get that playoff monkey off their back. Cowboys 34, Giants 20.
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Oh sorry, left this out of today’s column. But I see with all these reasons swirling why the Giants will obliterate the Cowboys on Sunday at Texas Stadium those idiots in Vegas have made the Cowboys 7½-point favorites. They must be blind or deaf . . . or know something all the others don’t because these guys operate heartless up there.
Hey, just in case you want to get your scouting work in before Sunday’s playoff game, I see where NFL Network will air its abbreviated replays of the Cowboys’ two games against the Giants on Thursday, the Week 1 game showing at 8 p.m. (CST) and the Week 10 game at 9:30 p.m. (CST).
What you will see in those two games is the Cowboys completing 10 passes for at least 20 yards on the Giants’ defense, and six of those going for touchdowns. I see where they’re saying up there Corey Webster played so well against the Bucs that potentially missing starting corner Sam Madison (strained abs) Sunday won’t matter. Hmmm. If I remember right, starting Webster in that first game against the Cowboys for the missing Madison was a huge excuse for giving up 45 points. Gosh, I just seem to never get this stuff straight.
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The Dolphins are denying it. Tony Sparano is denying it. So it must be true, the Cowboys assistant head coach will become the next head coach of the Miami Dolphins. Intent and what’s official are two different things. The Dolphins couldn’t make this official – yet – since they had yet to interview a minority candidate and know they can’t hire a guy whose team still is involved in the playoffs. But I’d be shocked if Bill Parcells’ intentions weren’t to hire Sparano as his head coach even before he became VP of football operations. Hey, he didn’t just show up in Miami one day, decide to fire Cam Cameron the next and then begin a search for a coach. Parcells knew exactly what he was going to do before he even took the job. He’s that thorough. But you know what, good for Tony. He’s been a long-time loyal NFL assistant.
Funny how the local media jumped on those Internet reports of Tony Romo getting in some R&R with squeeze Jessica Simpson in Cancun over the Cowboys’ bye weekend, one in which head coach Wade Phillips instructed his guys to get away from football. Now it would be above the papers to actually report this first hand, but as long as the paparazzi expose the trip first with discretely snapped photos, the papers have no problems running with the juicy gossip and following up with questions because, you know, people are talking out there and we just want to clear it up. Right. Funny thing was, when Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips still was being peppered with questions about his QB’s weekend vacation following his press conference, here came a smiling Romo down the same hallway, sensing exactly what was going on. As he took the turn and went about another 10 yards down another hallway, Romo playfully yelled, “I’m not talking on Wednesday.” I think.
Romo II: Jason Witten was right. Romo knows the score when he does something like this, so as his tight end said, it wasn’t as if they were trying to sneak around doing something bad by heading to Mexico for the getaway. Romo sort of revels in the attention he draws the organization, and as he said when we casually exchanged greetings in the hallway, it was just a good place to go “to watch the games.” Everyone, take a deep breath.
What in the world is Parcells doing, hiring a quarterbacks coach before he hires a head coach? That will be damaging, right? But I’m guessing because it’s Parcells reportedly hiring former Cowboys quarterbacks coach David Lee as the Dolphins new quarterbacks coach before he can officially announce a new head coach the move will be considered genius. Wonder where he learned all that from? Suspecting Parcells retiring and without a contract, Lee left the Cowboys this off-season to become the University of Arkansas’ offensive coordinator and then headed to Ole Miss with Houston Nutt when he resigned his Razorbacks job to become the Rebels new head coach.
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OK, time to get back to football and put all this interviewing behind them. Tony Sparano and Jason Garrett should be talked out, the Cowboys assistant head coach interviewing with Atlanta, Miami and Baltimore over the weekend while their offensive coordinator met with Atlanta and Baltimore. My guess is someone will have to blow Bill Parcells away to prevent him from hiring Sparano, but for some reason I think Garrett will return. And while the Dolphins were skating on thin ice hiring Jeff Ireland last week, not sure they will push it by admitting they are hiring Sparano until the Cowboys either lose or finish the Super Bowl, per NFL rules. Also not shocking Parcells wants to bring Brian Gaine to Miami with him. He was responsible for bringing Gaine from the Jets to Dallas. But come on Bill, you can’t have him too before May.
Boy, did you see what it’s like to have a strong safety being able to cover a tight end one-on-one? Seattle’s Deon Grant did a nice job Saturday covering Washington tight end Chris Cooley in the Seahawks 35-14 fourth-quarter dismantling of the Redskins. Sure, Cooley caught five passes, but for only 46 yards and no touchdowns.
Word to wise: Cowboys, just button it up this week. No trading silly barbs with the Giants, and especially Brandon Jacobs. They’re the ones who have lost twice to you this year, and they will be the ones who will need to talk themselves into being able to win this game. Word-to-the-wise II: Don’t let Brandon Jacobs do his thing, again. Just walk away from the NFL’s ultimate antagonist. Never seen how one guy can get under so many people’s skin. I mean after the baloney he got away with the second time around, I see where he provoked New England’s Vince Wilfork into poking him in the eye, drawing a hefty fine from the NFL.
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Bradie James couldn’t help from smiling while talking to some overzealous media members, especially when someone asked about the fans’ and media’s lack of confidence in the team, as if that should mean anything to the players. Said James, “All I can control is the locker room. We won’t panic.” Isn’t it funny how the media can turn its perception into perceived reality?
Can’t wait to hear Terrell Owens’ response when asked what he thinks of former Cowboys wide receivers coach Todd Haley, now the Arizona offensive coordinator, being considered a candidate for the Miami Dolphins’ head coaching position. I’d buy a ticket to hear that one.
Not sure if it’s gamesmanship or what, but there seems to be a much more positive buzz around The Ranch concerning Owens’ potential return for the first playoff game on Jan. 13, much more so than after the Carolina game when he suffered the high ankle sprain. That he’s improving daily seems to be the word.
And the score . . . hey, I deserve a break right? OK, how about just some winners. I’ll take Seattle over Washington, the Giants over Tampa Bay, San Diego over Tennessee and Jacksonville over Pittsburgh (providing it’s not snowing like a foot).
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