A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
From time to time this season, I’ve killed time on Sunday nights while watching SNF by compiling the most entertaining images, GIFs, and videos from the day in professional football. Since this is the final week of the regular season, I can’t pass up my final opportunity for one last trip to the NFL’s lighter side.
There is a radio host here in Dallas, where I live, who often refers to the city as “our fair burgh.” For about 1,200 Packers and Steelers fans who bought tickets, flights, hotel rooms, and took time off of work to watch their teams in the Super Bowl, but who then were told upon arriving at Cowboys Stadium that they would be unable to sit in their seats, “unfair burgh” is probably more along the lines of what they are thinking.
This video shows the reactions of some of the fans who got screwed out of watching the Super Bowl live due to “TicketGate” – otherwise known as Jerry Jones’ Monomaniacal Quest to Set a Super Bowl Attendance Record That No One Cares About.
As you’ve seen in the past, I will sometimes allow a little Dallas sports talk to bleed into the proceedings here at MSF. The primary reason for this is that I live in Dallas and cannot escape being inundated with incessant Dallas sports punditry. Every now and then I need an outlet for my own built up opinions and frustrations.
So here we are.
The Dallas Cowboys are quite possibly the most disappointing team in NFL history. That’s not hyperbole. A team many people thought would go to the Super Bowl is inexplicably 1-7, with only one key injury to speak of (though, granted, it’s their QB).
After last night’s national TV shellacking at the hands of the injury-riddled Green Bay Packers, many people expect that Jerry Jones will fire Wade Phillips. Jones was expected to meet with his coaches today to explain what he meant when he said, “There are a lot of people here who are certainly going to suffer and suffer consequences.”
Phillips has a press conference this afternoon, where we may or may not find out Jerry’s plans for the coaching staff. Lucky for you, I snuck into Valley Rance with my camera, a recorder, and Photoshop to get the details of Jerry’s conversation with Wade before anyone else.
Last week, there were two nominees for the NFL Play of the Day from Sunday: Adrian Peterson’s stiff-arm romp against the Browns and Brandon Stokley’s improbable TD catch to lead Denver to victory over Cincinnati.
This week, I think it’s safe to say that there is only one.
While there were certainly plenty of highlights yesterday, as there always are on Sundays, no play was more impressive or important than Ray Lewis’ amazing 4th and 2 stop of Darren Sproles.
The stop sealed the road win for Baltimore over San Diego, which moved Baltimore to 2-0 on the season, and proved that Ray Lewis still has at least a little bit of gas left in the tank.
Something tells me that this was not the look on Philip Rivers’ face as Ray Lewis stuffed the Chargers’ chances of winning.
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The video is below.
Coming in a close second for Play of the Day has to be Jerry Jones, who dug hard but probably did not go deep enough to get what he was looking for (booger or victory, you decide).
Honestly, this video is not really all that big of a deal, and wouldn’t even merit a mention if it weren’t for Jerry Jones. For a guy who is so obsessively consumed with his own image, and that of the Cowboys, I can’t imagine he’ll be happy to see this video floating around.
Add in the fact that it came on perhaps his most important night as an owner — the opening of his immaculate shrine to himself (where the Cowboys will also play their home games) — and the irony makes it funny.
Hat tip to MoonDog for his video:
Well, here we go again.
After a royal butt whipping at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles in a Win-and-In game Sunday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys are saying everything but the right thing.
The Cowboys had an opportunity to reach the playoffs with a win at Philly, but all they accomplished was wasting 3 hours of my day (actually about 2, because I couldn’t stand to watch any more) and costing me another point in my football pool.
The frustrating part of this is the fact that I have yet to hear anyone stand up and say, you know what, Philly played a great game and that we didn’t deserve to win. Instead, all I am hearing is that it’s so and so’s fault, or listening to T.O. cry again because his quarterback played terrible when it matters.
I do think that Jerry Jones needs to look in the mirror a little and understand that money doesn’t buy championships. The Cowboys lack unity and toughness. When the chips are down, the finger pointing begins; yet when things are rolling well, the cocky Cowboys think “we are the best team in football.”
It’s apparent that Jerry Jones is going to bring Head Coach Wade Phillips back next year. I guess I have to respect that decision, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I truly believe that the attitude and mental toughness of a team comes from a coach that has a strong personality and demands the best out of his players. It’s an attitude, and it starts at the top. There’s no doubt the Cowboys have the talent to be an elite force in the NFL, what they lack are the guts and passion to go out and make it happen.
I don’t mean to slam on Dallas, and I have been a Cowboy fan for many, many years now. But more than anything, I am a football fan. I follow the Chiefs, Rams and Cowboys. I guess that’s maybe where my frustration is coming from, because the first two are terrible and the Cowboys were the only hope this year. Oh well, I will still enjoy watching the playoffs and Super Bowl.
The Cowboys will move into their new $1.1 billion dollar stadium next year, and the question is whether or not they will field a team worthy of this commitment. I for one will be interested to see what, if any, changes are made during the offseason.
coop92 is a contributing author to Midwest Sports Fans, as well as the editor at Midwest Sports Junkies. Check out his site for additional analysis of the St. Louis Cardinals, the BCS, and Missouri Tigers football.
Before writing this I paused, wondering if a discussion of Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones was really within our jurisdiction here at Midwest Sports Fans. But then I remembered that most of the Midwest sports fans I know actually take great joy in seeing Jerry Jones and his beloved Dallas Cowboys suffer, so I am throwing caution to the wind.
(Hopefully I throw it into the wind a little better than Tony Romo, or another blog may intercept this post and run it back for a link on Deadspin.)
Gotta love the mixed metaphors.
Anyway, back to our discussion of Jerry Jones. We all know about the Dallas Cowboys loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, and many of you have probably heard by now that Jerry Jones basically called out Marion Barber for being a wuss and not playing with his injured pinkie toe. Yes ladies and gentleman, a grown man who has gotten a face lift and danced in public with Steve Urkel insinuated that one of the toughest running backs in the NFL is a wuss.
He of course backtracked off of those comments once they caused a stir in the media, but you tell me how this is taken out of context (from the Rick Herrin story in the Fort-Worth Star Telegram):
“He can play with that injured toe,” Jones said. “He can play with the soreness and a combination of those things. I see nothing that led us to believe he couldn’t.”
Seems pretty cut and dry to me: Jerry Jones thinks Marion Barber should have been able to play, yet Barber did not even make the trip to Pittsburgh. I’m confused though by how there was not better communication about this injury within the Cowboys organization leading up the game. Hell, I posted in the middle of the week last week that Marion Barber most likely was not going to play, and I’m just a schmuck blogger for a Midwest site who’s lived in Dallas for less than a year. Yet somehow I was more up to date on the status of Marion Barber than the Cowboys owner.
Maybe the fact that Jerry Jones seems out of touch is because he has something a little more pressing on his mind that regular season football. Something like…a $1 billion stadium for which he is currently short about $350 million.
I actually did some Photoshop work for an article that was written on this topic last week. Entitled “Dallas Cowboys Stadium Shortfall: Bailing Out Jerry Jones“, I learned that a little over five weeks ago Jerry Jones hosted a variety of banks to try and secure the final $350 million that he needs to complete his ridiculous stadium in Arlington. The article itself is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at what some of Jerry’s options might be to get the financing he needs, including whether a federal bailout would be a worthwhile use of tax dollars. Because honestly, if the Dallas Cowboys suffer, don’t we all?
Just to give you a little taste, here is one of the images from the article. This one was produced as an illustration of the possibility of Barack Obama funneling some money Jerry’s way, in an effort by Barack to have a better chance at winning the state of Texas in 2012. My favorite part is the expression on Jerry Jones’ face as he is forced to shake hands with a Democrat, and the sobbing Tony Romo in the background:
You can click on the image for a full-size view. To view the other images, including “Jerry Jones Field at He Loves Him Some Him Stadium” which features Jerry Jones grinding up next to a shocked Tom Landry, you’ll have to go check out the article.
It will be interesting to see what actually happens with the new stadium, and with the Cowboys team, leading into the 2009 season. There is absolutely no question that Jerry Jones fully expected to be heading into the new stadium in 2009 riding a wave of momentum from a Super Bowl win in 2008. It was all I heard on the radio this offseason and during training camp.
Now, after 13 weeks of up and down football and an 8-5 record, Jerry Jones is:
(By the way, after you go read the article about the new Cowboys stadium, check out the link above. It is from 1310 The Ticket here in Dallas, and is a regular bit they do every Monday called Fake Jerry and Fake Wade. It is hilarious.)
Anyway, with the Cowboys taking on the Ravens, Giants, and Eagles in their final three games, and needing to win at least two just have a prayer at a playoff berth, the rest of 2008 is not shaping up to give Jerry Jones much relief. And to be quite honest, his unnecessary comments about Marion Barber’s injury make me think that Jerry may be coming unraveled and starting to feel the pressure of the enormous stadium budget and the reality that his team is merely good, but not elite.
I realize that this is a rant about the Dallas Cowboys on a Midwest sports blog, but if I do not get this out of my system, I might break down into tears. Can someone please tell me why Adam “Pacman†Jones is still inthe National Football League? I am at a complete loss. It is astounding how many chances this man (and I use the word extremely loosely) has been given by Roger Goodell and Jerry Jones.
A quick review of Adam “Pacman†Jones’ rap-sheet shows a laundry list of bad decisions, arrests, and more bad decisions. And while I am in no way saying Adam is responsible for it, someone stole my Ipod from my local gym last year, so…
My point in all this is to ask why Roger Goodell is not setting an example for the rest of the league. The time of second chances is over, and has been for a long time. The National Football League has to take a stand at some point. Meaningless suspensions simply are not getting the message across. The Dallas Cowboys are in my mind the epitome of greatness in sport, whose feats of might and athletic prowess are only surpassed by the likes of Hercules and Samson. However, after this debacle, I am beginning to wonder how a football genius like Jerry Jones can make such a tragic blunder.
Adam Jones has had his chances. I do not mean to sound harsh, because I truly believe in the power of second chances. Jerry Jones made the right call of bringing Tank Johnson to the Dallas Cowboys. Tank seems to have learned the error of his ways. The same goes for Terrell Owens… ok maybe he still has an ego that makes Jerry Jones look like Mother Theresa, but at least he has simmered somewhat. However Adam “Pacman†Jones has crossed the line too many times.
This is not so much a problem for Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys as it is for Roger Goodell and the entire National Football League. Eventually, players will begin to realize that Roger Goodell’s promises of punishment for infractions are hollow and are worth about as much as Confederate money. When that happens it won’t be too long before we see more Adam Jones’s.
There, I said it and now I am at peace. Of course, if Adam “Pacman†Jones were to run back a punt or two this week against the Steelers or get a game winning pick-six, I might be back next week accusing Jrod of hacking my account and writing this post, but we’ll just have to wait until Sunday to see if that is the case.
