The Rant

I think after all the Cowboy fans question the picking up of Gramatica and not because of the loss of Vanderjact, but because we don't know about him, I would say, trust in Parcells.

A lot of people questioned Parcells about putting Romo in.  Parcells knows what he's doing so I hope Gramatica will bring some stability in.

Trust the Tuna!

Parcells said in the press conference that Gramatica's problems were due to bad health.  We'll have to see if that is the case since Martin has had a full season to get healthy.

YES, YES, YES.

Head Lines should read.

Cowboys kicker given the boot.
With a 1.3 million 2007 salary cap string.

and Remember HBTCB stands 4 How Bout Them Cow Boys

Do you think the Saints saw this coming and that is why they snatched up Billy Cundiff last week?

gramatica is a team player!  just what dallas needs!

nomore smiles from a wide right kicker--brilant!!!! lets start over with a positive attitude!!!! good luck to our newest cowboy!! good luck martin and welcome to dallas

Justice, but not justified, there is no other kicker out there who is going to come in here and do just as well, that may not be saying much cause he's only 13-18, but its the truth, all of his misses where only about 3 feet off to the right, thats fixable.

I guess he was worse at practice than what I thought.  Bill is big on tracking throws and kicks.

If its true that Parcells had a deal in place with the patriots, not to go after Vinateri, or drive up his price, that wasn't in the best interest of the Cowboys or there FANS, its cost us a clutch kicker if that was the case.

How can you say that no one will come in here and do as well?  There are 23 kickers in the NFL this season with better made percentages than Vanderjagt.  There are 32 kickers with a better percentage of made field goals in the 40-49 yard range, 23 in the 30-39 yard range, and 29 in the 20-29 range.  If that many active kickers are better, it isn't far fetched to believe that a free agent kicker couldn't do, at least, as well.

I think this was a smart move on the Cowboys part. Yes we will take a hit on the salary cap but its worth the money if we can get someone in here with a better attitude. I'm almost suprised it took this long for this to happen. I mean its not that the guy was missing field goals but his attitude was always like oh well i'll make it next time. I mean he could very well have cost us the game against the Colts if Manning had scored on that last drive.

At least Gramatica is better at kickoffs then Vanderjagt so that will help in the ball position game.  

I for one am extremely glad. Not only was he completely unreliable, he was arrogant to boot. Yeah, pun definitely intended. Besides, we're not married to Marteeeen!

If its changing Coach Parcell's decisions on how he manages the game...good bye Vandy Jerk!
I think he was damaged goods when we got him...we should ask for a rebate!?!?

If you listened to the press conference, you would have heard Bill say that he had "reliable sources" helping him make this decision, and he knew where Grammatica was this summer.  Obviously, he spoke to his friends in New England before making this decision.  

And the thing about Parcells having a deal in place with NE about Vinaterri doesn't bother me.  That is a part of the business, just like any other business.  At the time he made that deal, he knew Vanderjact and Longwell were still available, he just didn't predict what a head case Vanderjact would become.

Great move at this point in the season but followed up with questionable recourse.  Not sure how good Gramatica's kickoffs are(they better be deeper than Vanderclank's) but are they going to be as consistent as Suisham's??  Seems like Parcell's biggest mistake was in letting go of Steve Hoffman.  I do recall rumors that Parcells let go of Hoffman because he didn't want a buffer between him and his kicker. (He wanted mentally tough kickers that he could verbally abuse??) In a week full of cliches like Vick being called a "Coach Killer" are we finding out that Parcells is a "Kicker Killer"??  Let's hope Gramatica can hold his own or this could make for a very interesting debate in the coming weeks.

Rick

If it is fixable then a veteran like Vandrjact should have been able to fix it. This wasn't a one or two week thing. He has been off all season. It was time for him to go. As far as Cundiff...please.....I just bet the Saints were sitting around saying., oh my word Billy Cundiff is still there and the Boys might release Mike...man we'd better pic him up.......like they have nothing better to do...it ranks right up there with the drive up the price conspiracy.....you guys watch to much X Files...I notice the return of the stupid nicknames too at least you dindt let me down

I think they should come out with a bobble head guy of look alike Mike Vanderjagt then he could see his own self shaking his head all the time thank goodness I will not have to look at that anymore. I think Miami might need a kicker although there bringing there record back up maybe not.

Derick, earlier in the season Jerry was asked about the kicking situation, and answered by saying "who am I going to bring in off the street that is going to do better", not an exact quote, this isn't like the Romo situation, where you (Parcells) have a good feeling about the switch, for someone you have been grooming. Just doesn't make sense to me.

Sometimes what's said in the media has less to do with reality and more to do with quieting criticism.  All I know is the numbers show that most kickers are performing better than Vanderjagt.  The numbers don't lie.  I really don't think it's going to get much worse.  Gramatica's numbers before his injury in 2003 were very good (80% regular season and 92% in playoffs).  They didn't call the guy "Automatica" for nothin'.

I think we should have kept Vanderjerk and tried to convince the NFL that if between the uprights counts as 3 then hitting one of them should count as at least 5. I don't see how anyone with half a brain can see this as a bad move I just have 2 words for Vanderjagt BYE BYE !! And I also have 2 for Grammatica Welcome aboard!!!

The bottom line is that if Vanderjagt did not receive the signing bonus that he got, he would have been released 4 weeks ago.Aside from his contract it would not be a discussion on cutting him or not.

The decision to go with Gramatica is a wait and see deal.Because if you can remember,when Dallas had Jimmiy Johnson coaching they had a couple of washed up back up qb's on the roster.

I think that we should wait to see how this pans out.In the end would you rather a kicker with the highest career avg. miss a big field goal,oran avg career kicker hit a crucial 35 yarder??? Not to mention a better attitude.

What was the league average for FG's before guys like Vanderjagt and Vinateri raised the bar??

I pray this dumb move by Parcells doesn't come back to bite us in the ass. The players have worked too hard to have to rely on a guy who hasn't kicked in two years.

Arrogant? Cocky? God forbid anyone believing in themselves these days. Might get yourself labeled as a jerk, selfish, or even idiot. Gee, if I could do anything at 87% accuracy I'd be a bit cocky as well. If Vanderjagt was cocky and arrogant I never saw it.

It's the same ol' story with Parcells and a veteran that isn't one of 'his' guys. He bent over backwards for bums like Vinny, Bledsoe, Key, and the like, and even drafted a kid from a former player that we didn't need. But guys like Quincy, Galloway, T.O. Bryant, Ross, and now Vanderjagt were in his doghouse from day one and was gone at the earliest convenience (minus T.O.....as of right now, at least).

Don't forget that he ran Emmitt out of town too, even though he had probably one more good starting year left in him.

That 87% accuracy that you reference wasn't his average for this season.  How long could he live on reputation.  The guy was kicking at a 72% accuracy level (again, he was ranked 29th in overall accuracy percentage - that sucks).  This is a "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" business.  Vanderjagt has been very inconsistent since training camp, so his greatness was never realized by the Cowboys.

I hope I'm wrong about this, and Gramatica or who ever follows him (Martinez) does well, Bill always preaches how many games are decided by 3 points. With all of Vandys bad kicks, I always felt like he would make them when they count.

How many times do you have to get bit in the ass before you know it's happened? Luckily none of the Fgs that were missed cost us a victory Maybe you think we should have just kept Vanderjagt around until it did. Also about that Emmitt remark No one and I mean NO ONE was any sadder than I was when Emmitt left the team but That was more about the precious salary cap than anything. I assure you Parcells was not the only one responsible for that decision. Salary cap or no If I was the owner of the Cowboys Emmitt would have played the game until he was ready to leave. But with Jones it's just business

ok heres the deal. Parcells is scared to death. He knows that we will be in the playoffs and he doesnt want to have to rely on an unreliable kicker. I dont blame him. Vandy has had all season to prove that he was alright and as far as im concerned he didnt prove poopy. I like the move and I dont think that Parcells would sign
                       Gramatica without seeing him in practice so keep the faith that Parcells knows what he is doing.

I feel bad for any player who's going through a dry spell and may even possibly be on their way out of the NFL, and I don't remember seeing him seem cocky while with the Cowboys. I wish him the best elsewhere.

But I also understand it's a business and that the playoffs are likely to be in the Cowboy's future this year, and if there's a way to fix a major weak spot, now is the time to do so. Being a major Cowboys fan, this is the best I've seen the team look for a while, and I have a lot of hope for them.

But there are also other teams out there who can play great and have most of their weaknesses worked out, so I can't blame the organization for trying to after giving every oportunity they could afford already. I also think Jerry's a stand up guy and that he really wanted to see Vandy work out for the 'Boys, but he also wants to win.

I hear you on the part where it didn't seem Vandy has been being cocky, at least not since joining Dallas, anyway.

But I don't believe Bill got rid of him for not being one of "his guys." After all, Bill also set aside "his guys" when they weren't performing well (see Drew this year) or got caught up in off-the-field problems like Quincy did.

As far as Emmit's concerned, I did NOT want to see him on another team, though I'm grateful to the Cardinal's org for the chance he got to play and start and get his record yards set even higher. But I also understood Bill was looking at the Cowboys as a team who'd had some terrible years and needed rebuilding, and it's tough to rebuild when some players that don't project in the future plans are eating up a lot of the salary cap. If it wasn't for the cap, I have a strong feeling we'd have seen Emmit finish in a Cowboys uniform and would see a lot of other great players stay with their original teams through their entire career.

Vanderjagt got what he deserved. Coach Parcells and the Cowboys are in this business win, and he didn't see Vanderjagt as part of the winning puzzle. I don't think anybody did. If anyone has been following since the start of the season, they should have sensed it wasn't going to get better. If it was, there would have been a change for the positive four or five weeks ago.

Great move Cowboys.

I think we made a mistake here.
Vandy was missing his kicks barely right and I mean barely. They were still precisely straight and strong. He had one blocked that would have won the game for us. I think if he could have been somehow convinced to make his starting point a little to the left he would be perfect again this year.
He'll be picked up quickly, recover and fully appreciated somewhere else. I just hope he doesn't end up hurting us this year.

Bill did this for many reasons, but mostly the same type reasons as going to Romo.  Better chances to WIN. He saw the same problems IN PRACTICE as he did in games.  He had everyone in on this decision as he stated in the press conference.  They took a 1.6M hit for this.  It didn't come easy.  Of course you want the most accurate kicker in history to get it together and work out.  It didn't, period.  The same problems were happenening in practice and Bill saw that day in and day out.  The team needs someone they can trust in and to make a difference in the run for and in the playoffs.  Grammatica, they believe, should be an improvement, not a step backwards.
P.S. Kill the giants.

Truth is Dallas let there kicking coach go a couple of years ago. i think his name was hoffman, and we have been paying for it ever since.

I consider myself a diehard cowboys fan and have been for 27 years, players and coaches come and go, I cheer for the Jersey, not the name on the back, good organizations no when to let there players go, Aikman, Emmitt, Dorsett, etc... all cowboy ICONS, but it was time for them to go. If not they handcuff your team like Favre is doing to the Packers.

Please!! When has Gramatica EVER, EVER, EVER been a better kicker than Vanderjagt??

I swear, some of you just LOVE sucking on Parcells' tool.

Parcells has been through 7 (SEVEN) kickers since he's been here. The second he showed up as head coach he fired the kicking coach.Gee, what's the common denominator here??

How anyone can defend this is beyond me.

And if Jerry Jones graded Parcells the way Parcells grades some players he'd been gone after that 6-10 Vinny debacle.

my last post was in response to letting Emmitt go, not Vandy.

new blog up

There is a new blog guys...come join me over there, it's currently lonely.

You know buddy its guys like you that sometimes make me wonder about some Cowboy "fans"...Quincy, Ross, Bryant??? Are you kidding me chump. Those "tools" are either out of this league for good, doing time in prison, or are about ready to for getting liquored up and running their fat mouths. Seems like YOU'RE the one sucking the tools of bad characters...ones who NEVER did SQUAT for this team. You can have the criminals and I'll take the "Parcells' guys" anyday. At least "His guys" give a damn about team play and WINNING. Never saw that from any of those fools that you mentioned. Makes me wonder if you're not a closet G-girls fan. Stay away from blogging fool until you figure out the differance between a "team player" or an individual "self-promoting" STATHOG!!!

Derek you hit it right on buddy, this guy was too full of himself and I can see why players in Indy was giving it to him after those two misses a couple a weeks ago.

Hey, IhaveNUTalloverMYface, do you know anything about football? Better yet, do you know ANYTHING...other than how to get on all fours?

What happened to those players AFTER THE FACT isn't the point. The point is the man you love to RECEIVE from treats 'his' veteran players differently from other veterans. Vinny did NOTHING good for Dallas, yet he was still starting games when the team was MILES AWAY from playoff contention. Henson (or Romo) could've been playing a lot earlier than they did and we couuld've found out LONG AGO whether or not they could play. It took him 22 games to realize that Bledsoe JUST MIGHT be the worst decisionmaking, pressure avoiding qb in the WORLD. Take Parcells 'guys' just like you take his choad. I'm sure you're really good at it. None of them ever won anything outside of Keyshawn, who was basicall Mr. Irrelevant in the Super Bowl he won, as Tampa's defense annihilated Oakland.

Parcells cut Vanderjagt in haste, without even thinking about the consequences (as in paying TWO kickers, signing a K that NO ONE else wanted [much like 'his guys'], among other things).
Team player?? Lol. Vanderjagt was kicking all the FG's and PAT's for himself. Riiiihgt. That made a lot of sense, you soap dropper.

I AM FROM OXNARD,CA HOME OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS TRAINING CAMP!  I SAW IT AT CAMP THIS SUMMER HIS KICKS WOULD ALWAYS SAIL RIGHT!  I WOULD ALWAYS GET AFTER VANDERSHANK AND LET HIM KNOW IN TRAINING CAMP!  IM GLAD HE IS OFF THE TEAM!  IT WAS ABOUT TIME PARCELS PULLED THE TRIGGER!  IF MARTIN DOES THE SAME THING PULL THE TRIGGER ON HIS AZZ!  DONT WASTE TIME PARCELS GO GET A NEW ONE TILL WE FIND THE RIGHT ONE!  OUR TIME HAS COME AND WE CANT AFFORD FOR THESE KICKERS TO COME AROUND!  THE COLTS GAME DID IT FOR ME!  VANDERHOOK IS MORE MENTAL THAN ANYHING I THINK IT DATES BACK TO LAST YEAR! GO COWBOYS!  GIANTS SUCK!  WE WILL WOOP ON THEM! GIANT FANS YOU GUYS SUCK!

I think they should have kept the kicker coach they had when Big Bill got here. He could have probably helped Vanderwhatsit fix his problem.

I believe the reason they gave for letting him go was that it would save money. How ironic is that.

Of course, I've been wrong before, a time or two at least.

cmsix

He wasn't very accurate, but he was tall and handsome!  (Just ask him...  hahaha)

DID ANYONE KNOW THAT VANDERJAGT WAS A QUARTERBACK WHO COULDN'T CUT IT SO HE TRIED KICKING AND MADE IT HIS CAREER. THAT'S WHY HE WAS ALWAYS TALKING STUFF ABOUT MANNING HE WAS JEALOUS. I LIKED THAT WE SIGNED HIM BUT HE HAD ME NERVOUS ON XP'S. MORE THAN DREW GETTING SACKED WHEN HE DROPPED BACK. I HOPE AUTOMATICA IS TRULY AUTOMATIC WHEN CALLED UPON WHICH WON'T BE OFTEN. JUST MAKE ALL THE CHIP SHOTS BECAUSE I DON'T CARE IF IT'S 3RD AND 25 WITH ROMO TO TG PC JW. WE ARE DRIVING INTO ENEMY TERRITORY.

I am so glad management had the b*lls to fire his butt. His attitude makes me sick. Let you or me have that kind of attitude at work and see how long we would last. He would cost us a game if not two down the road for sure. Maybe the "G-Man" will do better, he can't do any worse!

Was he a QB in college or high school?

Personally, I could not stand his attitude and then he was inaccurate for the Cowboys. We can't do any worse. I sure didn't have confidence in his kicks. Even the ones he made were for the most part ugly. Jerry wasted a lot of money even signing him. Hope this one is better, but he can't be any worse.....

I DOIN'T KNOW BUT I REMEMBER READING IT IN THE ESPN MAGAZINE AFTER WE SIGNED HIM THE SAME ONE THE HAD T.O. DOING CRUNCHES SAYING TEN EIGHT TEN EIGHT

I'M ABOUT TO LOOK IT UP REAL QUICK

IT WAS COLLEGE HE ORIGIONALLY SIGNED WITH MICHIGAN STATE AS A QB. HE ENDED UP PLAYING FOR ALLEN HANCOCK(CALIF) JUNIOR CLLEGE BEFORE TRANSFERRING TO WEST VIRGINIA AS A KICKER

BUT HE'S GONE IN COMES AUTOMATICA IS HIS BROTHER IN THE LEAGUE STILL. AND IS MARTIN THE KICKER WHO INJURED HIS SELF CELEBRATING AFTER HITTING A FG. WAS IT HIM OR HIS BROTHER IT SEEMS LIKE IT WAS MARTIN BECAUSE I SEE IT IN MY HEAD AS A BUCS UNIFORM BUT IT COULD'VE BEEN THE CARDINALS

6 kickers on the team since the start of last year. Impressive.

Oh, but let the 'SPINNERS' turn that into a positive somehow.

Seems as though his kicking problems could be corrected, though I've never kicked field goals.  If it was fixable, why didn't the Cowboys hire a kicking coach?  The Cowboys never had kicking problems when Agajanian and Hoffman were there.  If a kicking coach was available and the Cowboys did not hire one, makes me think Vandy's problems were deeper than that.
Hope Parcells is right on Gramatica.  If he can just hit the 40 yarders, with this offense, they should be able to get in that range most of the time.  Don't know about you, but I don't particularly like to see games won on 50 yd field goals, too easy to get dependent on it and let the offense get lazy.

Vanderjagt was horrible.
Unreliable.
Inadequate.
Enough already.
Bye.

Parcells said it best about the roster move.  Gramatica on, Vanderjagt off.  Cause that's exactly what he is (it'll come to you eventually).  Keep your mouth shut and perform.  No one cares what you did for the other team.  While he did not lose games for the 'Boys like the kickers last year (the block was not his fault), it was only a matter of time and Parcells knew it.

Vanderclank must be poison as a teammate and he must be missing A LOT in practice.  I'm sure all the clowns on here spouting off know everything about this situation just like the THINK they do...........NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*they

Personally, I got tired of the anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach everytime Vanderjagt stepped on the field for an attempted field goal. It reminded me of the days of Lin Elliot. I'm glad to see Vanderjagt gone and am just hoping Grammatica is the answer. Coach Parcells knows this team is right on the cusp of doing something very special this season and he doesn't want to take a chance on a kicker he doesn't believe him. I'm with Coach Parcells on this one for sure. Martin, please revive the Grammatica Automatica.

Mike got Vander-Jacked Up! (Thanks Michael Irvin)  Remember back in preseason when he missed a couple of field goals and he said, "I'll make them when it counts."  I guess someone forgot to tell him this IS the regular season...it counts.  I got tired of Vanderjagt missing a field goal, grabbing his hat on the sideline, putting it on backwards, placing a towel around his neck, and adjusting his earrings.  You missed the field goal--give me a break!  He is obviously too cool to allow reality to invade his fantasy world.  Wake Up! You just got Vanderjagt Up!

I think this was  a great coaching move on Bill's part.  It grated on me to even look at Vandergact.  And what  bothered me even worst than the misses was his " I dont care'  attitude.   Parcells means business this year, and he is not going to allow any primi donna to ruin it.   Tread Lightly ,  T.O.

For me, releasing Vanderjagt and replacing him with... well, anyone, was the same as benching Bledsoe for Romo.  We don't know if Gramatica will be any good, but we already knew Vandy wasn't getting it done.  Why stick with a guy who can't kick?  Why not give a guy who might be able to kick a chance?  You don't lose a darn thing in the process.

Well, it's sad to fear that the kicker will miss an extra point.

Mike looked very bad versus Tampa.

Martin is a strong guy, he needs to gain confidence quickly, remember he won a superbowl with Tampa Bay.

¡Vamos Martín! Todo el apoyo para ti. :D

Man didn't you just get tired of hearing the moniker "the most accurate kicker in NFL history."  Well guess what dude, this year you're 28th.  That will not do, specially since Morten Anderson is at 84 percent and he has been kicking since the stone age.

Score TD's and we wont have to worry about idiot kickers.  We won three Super Bowls in the 90's with three different kicker because we scored TD's!!!!!!!!!!!

GO COWBOYS...

Is it me or does it seem like kickers are left to themselves to correct problems?  Seems to me that the Cowboys haven't had a decent kicker since Steve Hoffman left in 2003.  He coached rookie kickers, like Billy Cundiff, Richie Cunningham, Chris Boniol and Lin Elliott into having very productive years for the team.  Before Hoffman, Ben Agajanian took care of kicking duties and had such greats as Rafael Septien and Luis Zendejas.  Seems like Suisham and Vanderjagt's inconsistencies were left for them to figure out on their own.  Does Bruce DeHaven, the special teams coach, take any responsibiltiy for the kicking woes?  If Gramatica has problems, will any coach help out with mechanics and such?  In baseball, they have a pitching coach that helps get pitchers straightened out when their heads are messed up or they pick up bad habits.  I think the Parcells needs to look closely at his coaching approach as the kicking game is obviously key to putting points on the board.

I do not want to sound negative. I've loved the Cowboys since I was 3 yrs old.
I live in Tampa Florida now and have for a long time. I was shocked.....when I saw we signed Gramatica. I've been reading the comments here and in the forum about averages, confidence, etc. MG has hit 27 of 48 since 2002. His confidence towards the end with Tampa was zero. It was awful. Tpa fired him so he went to NE. Didn't even make it a full season there and they fired him.
He was good once...and I hope and pray to God he found that confidence again but man....am I scared.
>>>>>>>>>>>deep sigh<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

We will find out this week if he is any good. If he can't make an extra point we can fire him also. Hope we don't need him for anything else but extra points.

Glad Vandercrap is gone, he needs some counseling.

Gramatica last kicked at 61%. He was once 4 of 11 in the 30-49 range. He missed more 40 yard kicks in one season than Vanderjagt missed in a span of 3 years.

People are HAPPY to have him on the team because..........

someone enlighten me.

Vanderjagt once made 42 CONSECUTIVE fg's in one stretch.

It's not so much that I'm happy to have Gramatica as Im happy to NOT have Vanderjagt. What he's done in the past doesn't mean squat if he can't do it now

Goon,  Yes, Vandy once made 42 in a row.  But that is history.  He cant do it now.  He is gone in the head.

well now that is one basketcase less to worry about, goon is wrong there is a difference between cocky and just plain f-in conceded, which vandermiss is, i do think you have to have confidence in yourself as well as your ability but who gives a *** if he could throw a ball 50 yards, he was signed to kick the ball not throw it he didnt, couldnt, and we shouldnt keep him, this has been a prob since training camp