Day: November 10, 2010

AFC East, Dallas Cowboys, Football, New England Patriots, NFL, Sports

All Things Must Come To An End ! Even The Good Ones ……….

Posted on by tophatal ...........

All Things Must Come To An End ! Even The Good Ones ……….

All good things come to and end it’d appear that calmer heads ruled the day as Jerry Jones made the decision to fire his much maligned incumbent head coach Wade Phillips. At 1-7 one might ask why it took Jones so long to come to a decision where clearly it was evident that Phillips had lost control of a Dallas Cowboys’ team that had for all sense and purpose was “mailing it in”. Highly overpaid athletes who as such couldn’t strap it all on and play hard for 60 minutes. I’ve often heard it said that NFL players are tough and some of the best athletes on the planet. Pardon me for saying this if the Cowboys are meant to be the basis for that argument then I feel everyone who subscribes to that premise really needs to pull their head out of their ass. This current Cowboys’ team couldn’t match the tenacity of teams past who wore a Cowboys jersey with pride. What we’re now witnessing are a bunch of high priced primadona players. As for Phillips his sacrifice was to fall on the sword without Jones being prepared to accept responsibility for this gaffe and the team’s fall from grace.

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Slide-show for your perusal.

Jerry Jones believes that the team can somehow rebound and play with a great deal of pride. Phillips’ offensive coordinator Jason Garrett will now become the interim coach of the team and he’ll be assessed by Jones as to whether or not he’ll become Wade Phillips’ successor. From my own perspective this might just be the only appropriate thing that Jones can do while he gauges the interests of former coaches Jon Gruden , Bill Cowher and quite possibly from the college ranks Mark Dantonio , Chip Kelly , Gene Chizik , Les Miles and quite possibly Jim Harbaugh of Stanford . Though from what we all know of Jones it’s highly unlikely that he’d be willing to hire a coach from the college ranks unless he knows that he won’t have to acquiesce any power whatsoever to his new hire.

Jason Garrett was originally meant to be their heir apparent to Phillips and while his title was in essence the team’s offensive coordinator he had also been assigned the title of assistant head coach. Collectively however, I do think that while much of the blame lays squarely on the shoulders of Wade Phillips and Jerry Jones , I do feel that Garrett simply has shown that as a coordinator and assistant coach he’s simply brought nothing at all to the table. This team lacks leadership, accountability but overall the Cowboys lack complete purpose and the will to win !. And given the inept display by the team in their 45-7 loss to the Green Bay Packers it’s easy to see why the Dallas Cowboys have become one of the biggest jokes of the NFL season. Other than the hapless 0-7 ___ Buffalo Bills has there been a more maligned team and none sensical story of this NFL season ? Granted we’ve had so many idiotic prognostications as to why the Cowboys ought to have been viewed as a preseason favorite for the Superbowl . I must’ve missed something here because this is the same Dallas Cowboys’ team that hadn’t won a playoff game in over decade and whose presence last year in the playoffs lasted almost as long as a sobriety rehab stay of Lindsay Lohan. Mauled and manhandled by the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC divisional playoff game it is easy to understand the reason why I personally think that this team is vastly overrated !

How in God’s name can a 6-1 team look so inept in every facet of an NFL game ? Given the premise that the New England Patriots were now being viewed as the best team in the AFC record wise. It was clear that they were going to be in for a rude awakening . And that came about in the Patriots’ humiliating 34-14 loss to the Cleveland Browns where former Patriots’ offensive coordinator , now coach of the Browns Eric Mangini and his coaching staff out-coached Bill Belichick . If the postgame interview and statement by Belichick was anything to go by then it’s clear that the Patriots’ coach in his own naivete took the Browns far too lightly. The New England Patriots were outplayed in every facet of the game and defensively this team still has its flaws , as they were continually exposed in the team’s pass and run defense. And if that wasn’t enough Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense were so inept that it is inconceivable that they actually ended up scoring fourteen points in this game. To top it all , Browns’ quarterback Colt McCoy had what might have been the best performance of his career in the NFL since his entrance, leading his team with a great deal of aplomb. Assisting him in that endeavor also was his teammate Peyton Hillis who racked up 184 yards on 29 carries , scoring 2 TD’s (avg 6.34 yards per carry). And if that wasn’t cause for concern it’s clear that this Patriots’ defense has a long way to go if the ambitions of Belichick are to be met in his aim to win a fourth Superbowl championship as a coach joining former Steelers’ coach Chuck Noll as the only four time winning Superbowl coach of the modern era in the NFL.

Within the AFC East the division has become something of a competitive one and it can no longer be viewed as the Patriots’ domain . Rex Ryan and the New York Jets have now become a welcome foe for the Patriots and with a rejuvenated and always forceful Miami Dolphins now looking for some semblance of respect from their divisional rivals as well as the rest of the teams within the AFC. It has to be said that whoever makes it out of the division as its divisional champion will be considered to be one of the favorites within the AFC for the Superbowl 45 (SBXLV).

If the Patriots are to get back on track then their next game against conference opponents the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh this upcoming Sunday will be a stern test of their resolve. They’ll be meeting a Steelers’ team having hit its stride and playing some of the best football in the league on both sides of the ball. Ben Roethlisberger having returned from his four game NFL mandated suspension has been guiding the team as its signal caller and with Troy Polamalu and Rashard Mendenhall having banner seasons it has to be said that this will be a tall order that is being asked of the Patriots to rebound from their loss to the Cleveland Browns. Mike Tomlin will have his team prepared to face whatever Bill Belichick has to throw at him strategically . This may well be one of the better games on offer in Week 10 of the NFL and it could go a long way in determining whether or not the Patriots are “for real” and whether or not the Pittsburgh Steelers are capable of making another return to the Superbowl in chasing down what would be their quest for a seventh Lombardi Trophy triumph.

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Picture gallery for your perusal .

What thoughts if any do you have concerning the decision of Jerry Jones to fire his coach ? Do you feel that it was a knee jerk reaction on his part and do you feel that under interim coach Jason Garrett the team will fare any better ? With regard to the New England Patriots do you feel that the team will be able to rebound from their rather inexplicable loss to the Cleveland Browns and some defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers this upcoming weekend ? Simply chime on with a comment on the issues raised within this piece and any other NFL story that was of interest to you this past weekend. Thanks as always for your continued support as it has always been appreciated !

Alan aka tophatal ………………………… 🙂

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Ali Milan

Eye candy Ali Milan . I’d definitely lick her ta-ta’s and other jiggly bits !

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