For the record I'd like to acknowledge that I know relatively little about professional sports. I know some of the lingo but would be hard pressed to explain advanced principles to others. I know enough that if I was an owner of a professional sports team to hire someone who knows what they are doing to make the team related decisions. In spite of my lack of knowledge about pro sports I'm able to see when a team is bad. For instance, the Cowboys, who gave up points on Chicago's first 8 possessions are very bad. Yes, that's right the Cowboys couldn't stop the Bears from scoring. Dallas' best defense was when there were only 6 seconds in the game and Chicago kneeled down to end the game. It's a sign of a bad defense when a team doesn't force their opponent to punt an entire game.
If you are picking a sports franchise to cheer for, the worst franchise to be a fan of are those that have a rich, delusional and out of touch owner. Two such franchises are the Dallas Cowboys with Jerry Jones and the New York Knicks with James Dolan. Neither Dolan or Jones seem to have any self-awareness, neither seems to realize they are the main thing holding their own franchises back. For some reason it seems when one has a ton of money that they lose touch with reality. Is it because they start living in a bubble? Is it that they surround themselves with yes men? Is it because they've been so successful in past endeavors that they think they can't fail? I'm not sure what it is, but both owners exhibit many of the above traits.
One sign that both owners are out of touch with reality, they both think their bad teams can actually win a championship. Before the season Dolan stated that he expected the Knicks to win the NBA title this year. To which the rest of the NBA laughed. From ESPN's Ian Begley:
"In a recent meeting with the coaching staff and some team executives, Dolan said he believes the Knicks have enough talent to win a title and that he expects them to do so this season, league sources with knowledge of the owner's message during the meeting confirmed."
If it wasn't so pathetic, that delusion would be laughable. I've written previous blogs about these two dysfunctional franchises multiple times, especially the Cowboys. The NFL team I grew up cheering for has been destroyed by the stupidity, narcissism and lack of football IQ of Jerry Jones. Once again Jerry's stupidity came out Tuesday, he's still supporting defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. What has Kiffin's defense done this year, not much. They are about 160 yards away from the NFL's all-time worst statistical defense- yes all-time worst. Of course instead of firing Kiffin like he should, Jones is supporting his fellow senior citizen today.
The following stats come from a Jean-Jacques Taylor article on ESPN Dallas:
"This defense has yielded at least 490 yards in a game five times this season. No other team has done it more than twice. The Cowboys have allowed an NFL record four 400-yard passers, and three times they have allowed 200 yards rushing. Chicago became the third team to score more than 40 points against defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin's unit."
From a Todd Archer column on ESPN Dallas: the Cowboys have allowed 426.8 yards per game, 6.2 yards per play, 24.9 first downs and 26.8 points per game. I'm going to break down these numbers a bit. To get a new first down a team must travel 10 yards and have four plays to do so. Thus Dallas's opponents are averaging a first down every second play. Think about that for a minute. While the Cowboys defense has been pathetic, their offense has been solid. The only reason the Cowboys have more wins than losses is because their offense is averaging 27.46 points per game. But still that offense leaves much to be desired.
Jerry's puppet coach Jason Garrett says about the defense ""We just gotta go back and work and fix it." It's 13 games into the season, how are the Cowboys going to "fix it"now? They haven't been able to fix it or even improve the defense throughout the season. What's going to change in the last 3 weeks of the regular season that would suddenly make this defense competent? That's right: not a damn thing. I expect an announcement in the next couple of days that Sean Lee is going to be out for the season after being injured again last night. At the least the Cowboys should insist he skip the rest of the season and Lee should seriously consider playing football ever again. Update: As of Wednesday morning it seems that Lee will be fine, but how much will be be able to play the rest of the season.
Now I've never been a Tony Romo fan and I highly doubt I'll ever be. He's failed too many times in big situations. There's a reason he only has one playoff win. Yes, I know a lot of that is because of the terrible team GM Jerry gives him. Again so not a Romo fan, but I say to those who criticize him for the loss last night clearly aren't paying attention. That's the kind of thinking that got the Cowboys into this mess in the first place. Jerry watched the game last night, saw his offense be out scored by 17 points and probably thought what the Cowboys needed to do is get a better offense. Obviously I don't know that, but it wouldn't surprise me. Jones has made so many head scratching decisions in his dictatorship.
However Monday's loss is all placed on the tissue thin Dallas "defense". A too old coach, using a scheme that's no longer effective in the NFL, with many defensive players that are afterthoughts. Jerry is all about getting the flashy player, rather than a bunch of effective, non-flashy, hard working players. Jones also favors the offense when drafting, neglecting the defense. Well you can see the result of that thinking last night.
The Dallas defense is the so-called Tampa 2 which Kiffin was one of the people who created it. Jon Gruden and Kiffin rode that defense to the Super Bowl a few years ago. But the Tampa 2's time has passed and no longer has much usefulness in the modern NFL. Even Gruden said on last night's Monday Night Football that the time for the Tampa 2 has passed.
How bad was the defense? Well Dallas' defense made the previously unheralded Josh McCown look like an All-Pro quarterback. McCown, who isn't even the Bears starter, was 27 of 36 for 348 yards. He also passed for 4 touchdowns and ran for another touchdown. I can't remember the exact stat, but it seems McCown last scored a rushing touchdown about 8 years ago.
Let's discuss the alleged head coach, Jason Garrett, the man obviously isn't cut out to be head coach. But what can you expect of a coach that has no head coaching experience or even full authority over his team? What can you expect of a coach who's hamstrung by his own owner who thinks he knows what he's doing. And even if Jones fires Garrett, will that make much of an effect? No, because Jones is just going to hire another puppet.
After facing a back up quarterback in McCown, it looks like Dallas will face back up quarterbacks in their next two games. It seems Aaron Rodgers won't be playing Sunday, which means the mediocre Matt Flynn will probably be playing. Then it was leaked this morning that Kirk Cousins will be the quarterback when the Cowboys visit the Redskins in about 1 1/2 weeks. Then Dallas closes out the season at home against the Eagles, a team they only allowed 3 points to in their first meeting. Although Nick Foles has been playing better of late than he did in that game. The Cowboys schedule is giving them all the breaks. If the Cowboys can't reach the playoffs in the weak NFC East, that shows truly how much Jones has ruined this team.
Solutions to solve the Cowboys' problems. The Cowboys need drastic action if they ever want to be relevant on the field ever again. I could care less how much money the team makes or how valuable it is, those aren't reasons why I cheer for the Cowboys. All I care about is hard and smart effort on the field and intelligence off the field. Even in the best of circumstances the Cowboys aren't going to win every game, but I sure would like to see them fight like hell to win every game. Gruden said the 'Boys weren't playing with urgency Monday night.
Jones has proven for over 17 years that he has no clue what he's doing. So the first drastic action Dallas fans must do is stop buying anything that has the Cowboys logo on it and stop attending games. We must do this until Jones becomes so miserable that he's forced to sell. Sadly that will probably take at least a few years, but it's better than being in this annual rut of mediocrity.
Once the stank of the Jones family is gone the Cowboys must hire a real GM and a real coach. No more deluded GM or puppet coaches, both must be true football men. They must work together to build a solid foundation in order to move forward. They must sign and draft the best players not the flashiest players- one of Jones' many weaknesses as a GM. In other words they must run the franchise almost completely opposite of the way it's being run now.
Monday night's game and the Lions-Eagles game on Sunday are two good examples of how the Super Bowl likely will be. Why did the NFL choose to place the Super Bowl in New York in the winter? (Of course due to the idiocy of corporate America, it's all about money.) As my kids would say "massive fail". I'm hoping the weather is absolutely brutal to expose how horrid of an idea the NFL had. The idea alone is bad enough, but the NFL actually acted on it. What the hell?
If the Super Bowl was played in a warm weather site, I think a Saints-Broncos Super Bowl would be a blast. But this season's Super Bowl is probably going to be more of a war of attrition than an aesthetic pleasure.
Then in New York I had to laugh as I followed the Knicks-Celtics game Sunday morning. The Knicks were completely outplayed in every facet of the game. New York fell to 5-14 following their 114-73 beating at the hands of the rebuilding Boston Celtics. With a score like that of course the game was played in Boston right? Nope the game was played at the supposed basketball mecca known as Madison Square Garden.Now I've never been a Tony Romo fan and I highly doubt I'll ever be. He's failed too many times in big situations. There's a reason he only has one playoff win. Yes, I know a lot of that is because of the terrible team GM Jerry gives him. Again so not a Romo fan, but I say to those who criticize him for the loss last night clearly aren't paying attention. That's the kind of thinking that got the Cowboys into this mess in the first place. Jerry watched the game last night, saw his offense be out scored by 17 points and probably thought what the Cowboys needed to do is get a better offense. Obviously I don't know that, but it wouldn't surprise me. Jones has made so many head scratching decisions in his dictatorship.
However Monday's loss is all placed on the tissue thin Dallas "defense". A too old coach, using a scheme that's no longer effective in the NFL, with many defensive players that are afterthoughts. Jerry is all about getting the flashy player, rather than a bunch of effective, non-flashy, hard working players. Jones also favors the offense when drafting, neglecting the defense. Well you can see the result of that thinking last night.
The Dallas defense is the so-called Tampa 2 which Kiffin was one of the people who created it. Jon Gruden and Kiffin rode that defense to the Super Bowl a few years ago. But the Tampa 2's time has passed and no longer has much usefulness in the modern NFL. Even Gruden said on last night's Monday Night Football that the time for the Tampa 2 has passed.
How bad was the defense? Well Dallas' defense made the previously unheralded Josh McCown look like an All-Pro quarterback. McCown, who isn't even the Bears starter, was 27 of 36 for 348 yards. He also passed for 4 touchdowns and ran for another touchdown. I can't remember the exact stat, but it seems McCown last scored a rushing touchdown about 8 years ago.
Let's discuss the alleged head coach, Jason Garrett, the man obviously isn't cut out to be head coach. But what can you expect of a coach that has no head coaching experience or even full authority over his team? What can you expect of a coach who's hamstrung by his own owner who thinks he knows what he's doing. And even if Jones fires Garrett, will that make much of an effect? No, because Jones is just going to hire another puppet.
After facing a back up quarterback in McCown, it looks like Dallas will face back up quarterbacks in their next two games. It seems Aaron Rodgers won't be playing Sunday, which means the mediocre Matt Flynn will probably be playing. Then it was leaked this morning that Kirk Cousins will be the quarterback when the Cowboys visit the Redskins in about 1 1/2 weeks. Then Dallas closes out the season at home against the Eagles, a team they only allowed 3 points to in their first meeting. Although Nick Foles has been playing better of late than he did in that game. The Cowboys schedule is giving them all the breaks. If the Cowboys can't reach the playoffs in the weak NFC East, that shows truly how much Jones has ruined this team.
Solutions to solve the Cowboys' problems. The Cowboys need drastic action if they ever want to be relevant on the field ever again. I could care less how much money the team makes or how valuable it is, those aren't reasons why I cheer for the Cowboys. All I care about is hard and smart effort on the field and intelligence off the field. Even in the best of circumstances the Cowboys aren't going to win every game, but I sure would like to see them fight like hell to win every game. Gruden said the 'Boys weren't playing with urgency Monday night.
Jones has proven for over 17 years that he has no clue what he's doing. So the first drastic action Dallas fans must do is stop buying anything that has the Cowboys logo on it and stop attending games. We must do this until Jones becomes so miserable that he's forced to sell. Sadly that will probably take at least a few years, but it's better than being in this annual rut of mediocrity.
Once the stank of the Jones family is gone the Cowboys must hire a real GM and a real coach. No more deluded GM or puppet coaches, both must be true football men. They must work together to build a solid foundation in order to move forward. They must sign and draft the best players not the flashiest players- one of Jones' many weaknesses as a GM. In other words they must run the franchise almost completely opposite of the way it's being run now.
Monday night's game and the Lions-Eagles game on Sunday are two good examples of how the Super Bowl likely will be. Why did the NFL choose to place the Super Bowl in New York in the winter? (Of course due to the idiocy of corporate America, it's all about money.) As my kids would say "massive fail". I'm hoping the weather is absolutely brutal to expose how horrid of an idea the NFL had. The idea alone is bad enough, but the NFL actually acted on it. What the hell?
If the Super Bowl was played in a warm weather site, I think a Saints-Broncos Super Bowl would be a blast. But this season's Super Bowl is probably going to be more of a war of attrition than an aesthetic pleasure.
Let's look at some of the hilarious stats from that game. The NBA's greatest player, at least in his own mind, Carmelo Anthony was 5 for 15. The supposed great offensive player is only shooting 43% on the season. My favorite stat of the entire game is that that the Knicks were out scored by 40 points with Anthony on the floor. There goes Anthony's reputation as a defensive stopper. The Knicks starters only scored a total of 29 points, whereas the Celtics starters scored 89 points. Two Knicks starters, Iman Shumpert and Raymond Felton, didn't score the entire game!
It's no wonder the Knicks are so bad, they signed the terrible shooting Ron Arrest in the offseason, as apparently they didn't have enough bad shooters. Arrest is shooting 39% on the season. They also resigned the brick laying J.R. Smith to a multiple year contract- read that again. Smith was 1-5 on Sunday's game and is shooting 34% this season. Yes, these are professional basketball players!
The Knicks lost again Tuesday night and lost to another rebuilding team. The irony is that New York should be a rebuilding team, this steaming pile of crap isn't going anywhere. Not having a grasp of the true state of one's team is only one of the many bad things about being run by a delusional owner. The Knicks lost 109-94 to the Cavaliers, but they actually shot pretty well, 46%. And more good news, their starters actually scored 50 points in this game. Even Anthony had a good shooting game, he easily surpassed the Meads Metric. That's something that doesn't happen often for so called "volume shooter". (That means you have to shoot a lot of shots to score a lot of points.) Then how did the Knicks lose by 15 points to a not very good team? That's what happens when you give up 57% shooting.
The Knicks will be featured in their game Wednesday against the Bulls. Both teams will be playing their second game in back to back games. The Bulls will be coming off a game where they shot 37% and scored only 74 points Tuesday night. ESPN may want to reconsider showing what's sure to be an ugly game between the Eastern Conference's 8th placed team and their 14th placed team.
The Knicks need to blow up their atrocious scouting department. They must find scouts that will find the Knicks great players. Who are the Knicks players the scouts badly missed on? The first is Carmelo Anthony. He could be a great player, but he would have to completely change up his game. They also signed the poor shooting J. R. Smith- to a multi-year contract no less. Read that last sentence again. They also willingly signed the poor shooting and thug Ron Arrest. Smith is shooting 35% and Arrest is shooting 39% from the field. They also signed the what's the point? guard Raymond Felton. But the worst contract is the Amar'e Stoudemire's albatross. He actually has one of the better shooting percentages on the team at 53%, of course a lot of shots he takes are close to the basket.
Knicks fans are allegedly some of the smartest fans in the NBA. First of all I think that's bullshit, if they are so smart why are they supporting such a terribly run franchise? Why do they continue to put money into Dolan's pockets?
If you wanted to watch a real NBA game, then you should've watch Tuesday night's Heat-Pacers game. A hard fought game between two very good and evenly matched teams. It was a battle between two well run organizations and two very good teams. Unlike the Knicks and the Cowboys, those two organizations do things the right way. Both teams have General Managers that actually know what they are doing. And that has made all the difference.
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