2017 Dallas Cowboys Season

[eagle eye]

I had a thread of this same title going but it seems to have disappeared off the site. Okay, we'll just start another one to take its place.

Dallas came off their bye week with a huge victory over the San Francisco 49ers. 40-10 to be exact. It was the 3rd game in a row Dallas had scored 30 or more points and ironically enough two of them were losses. Because of inexplicable losses to the Rams and Packers Dallas is now 3-3 instead of 5-1 and by the same token they are 2 games behind first place Philadelphia in the NFC East. So is Washington, the Cowboys opponent this week. The difference is Washington is banged up all across their roster with their offensive line the hardest hit. Up to 4/5 of the Redskins offensive line is liable to miss the game and one of their backup linemen is also injured. The only thing that could save Kirk Cousins from being buried under a sea of Cowboys pass rushers is the fact that there is 100% chance of rain in Washington tomorrow which will make the field slick and difficult to run on.

Dallas has gotten healthier over the last two weeks getting LB's Sean Lee and Anthony Hitchens back on the field. Last week they lost K Dan Bailey for at least 4 weeks when he pulled a groin muscle warming up for what would have been his 3rd extra point try of the day against San Fran. Dallas signed veteran kicker Mike Nugent this past week to fill in for Bailey. Nugent played most of his career in Cincinnati until he started having trouble kicking extra points. Hopefully, those troubles are behind him. Nugent doesn't have as strong a leg as Bailey which limits his effectiveness to 49 yards or less. To make room for Nugent DT Demontra Moore was released. There have been posts on Facebook that claim Moore was let go because he raised his fist in a 'black power' salute at the end of the National Anthem at home against the Packers. Who knows if this is true but teammate David Irving did the same thing at the same time in the same game and last week he raised the 'black power' salute after the National Anthem in San Fran so there is no real evidence Moore was released for anything other than he wasn't playing all that well, they needed to get first round pick Taco Charlton more reps and they needed a roster spot for Nugent. Facebook, I'm finding out, is notorious for twisting facts to fit an agenda.

Dallas also let QB Kellen Moore go and they brought up practice squad player TE Blake Jarwin from Oklahoma State. According to DallasCowboys.com the team was afraid another team would poach him off the practice squad so they signed him to the active roster. Apparently, the Cowboys have no such fears about Kellen Moore.

Two weeks ago the NFLPA filed a motion for an injunction against the NFL's suspension of Ezekiel Elliott which has not been ruled upon yet because the presiding judge has been on vacation. So far a win for the Elliott/NFLPA since he has been able to play the past two games. The judge in the case is due back this week and the NFL has asked for a rush to a ruling because they feel the apocalypse will occur if he doesn't serve his suspension. If the NFLPA lawyers can keep the focus on the unfair appeal hearing that Elliott got then Elliott has a real chance to play out the rest of this season. If the NFL makes it about the improper process the NFLPA's lawyers took in filing their injunction before the final decision of the appeal was announced then Elliott is toast from the suspension standpoint. So, will this be Elliott's last game until mid December or will it be the next in a season for Elliott? Only time will tell but when Jerry Jones tells the media Elliott is getting screwed you kind of hope he wins. The fact is, the NFL disciplinary appeals process is a joke and it needs to be fixed and an Elliott win would be just the impetus for just such a change.

Jerry Jones said last week while the team was coming off their bye week that any player who kneels or otherwise does something that is disrespectful of the National Anthem and what it stands for will be benched. So far, the Cowboys have had no players kneel as part of the Colin Kaepernick-led protest for police mistreatment of black people and now it seems unlikely there will be anyone going forward doing it. Good for Jerry to take a stand on this issue.

Cowboys-Redskins, a classic rivalry and it should be fun. I just hope nobody is seriously injured in the rainy weather.

[eagle eye]

As I sit here counting the minutes until the Astros-Dodgers Game 6 I find myself really not giving a damn about anything else. Oh, I don’t mean I don’t care about my family or friends or my job, it’s just that other things are so not on my mind right now. I have to keep my stuff together so I’ll just force myself to look outward a little bit. Darned if my first outward thought was about the Cowboys. I heard on Mike and Mike this morning Elliott’s bid for an injunction was denied by Southern New York Justice Katherine Failla. She did grant a 24-hour grace period before the 6-game suspension levied by the NFL back in August goes into effect. This grace period allows Elliott’s attorneys to decide on their next course of action, if any exists, to stop Elliott from serving the suspension until the real matter of the original injunction is heard. The real matter is whether, or not, Elliott was given a fair appeal hearing by the arbitration judge, Harold Henderson. In the appeal, the woman who originally accused Elliott of domestic abuse was not allowed to be questioned. Nor was Commissioner Roger Goodell to testify. Evidence previously unknown to either the NFL or Elliott’s lawyers was allowed into evidence during the appeal. Not only that but, one of the NFL’s own investigators who turned in the opinion that no action should be taken against Elliott was not allowed to testify. Sounds like a railroad job to me, and to a lot of other people as well. Instead of the case being about the unfair appeal Elliott got the NFL lawyers made the case that Elliott’s lawyers made the mistake of filing the original injunction in the Texas Circuit court before the verdict on the appeal was rendered. The NFL argues that Elliott’s lawyers failed to wait on the verdict and while they were waiting on the verdict Elliott’s lawyers filed the injunction meaning Elliott and his lawyers had not exhausted all avenues of the appeal process before filing the injunction. A ticky-tack point of order and the reason we all hate lawyers. Jerry Jones is disappointed over the suspension being upheld and he said Elliott was overcompensation for the debacle Goodell made of the Ray Rice incident and other rulings that have hurt the NFL League Office credibility. Goodell is a monkey boy and needs to be fired and rumblings around the owners is Jones is actively trying to block the contract extension of Goodell. Jones is not on the contract committee but he carries a ton of clout amount the owners. Jones and Patriots owner Robert Kraft both have felt betrayed by Goodell and they would like nothing better for the Goodell era as commissioner to be over.
BTW, Mike Nugent did a good job last game in place of Dan Bailey. Nugent made four of five field goal attempts, missing his first attempt of 49 yards, and 3 extra points. Maybe we can breathe a little easier about the kicking game for a while.
Demarcus Lawrence got another sack against the Redskins meaning he has at least one sack in each of the first 7 games and he is second in the league with 10.5 sacks. In his second game following a 4-game suspension to begin the season David Irving got 2 sacks giving him 3 in the two games played. Maybe Dallas has finally, and quietly, got themselves a pass rush. Maybe.
The Cowboys opponent this week is the Kansas City Chiefs who struggled to a victory on Monday night against the Oakland Raiders. Without Elliott, this game could turn out to be a shootout type of game featuring a rejuvenated Alex Smith and Dak Prescott. I am not sure if Dak is able to carry a team in a shootout. Prescott is good but he’s not a huge threat to carry a team on his back throwing the ball. Unlike Tony Romo who spent most of his career carrying the team on his back Dak depends on Elliott and the running game to be successful passing the ball. This will be a very interesting, and nerve wracking game, this Sunday.

[eagle eye]

Just like my disappearing thread of the Cowboys 2017 season, it's hard to explain the rotating mess this Ezekiel Elliott thing is. On Thursday, Elliott's lawyers got a brief stay from the 6 game suspension that Elliott actually began serving on Tuesday. This legal Hokey-Pokey dance has got to be exhausting for everyone but most of all by Elliott himself. The NFL doesn't want the real issue to come out in these proceedings. You know, where the NFL stacked the deck against Elliott determining that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, they were going to suspend Elliott for 6 games and they rigged his appeal of the suspension so he couldn't possibly win? Yeah, that one. You all know this Odyssey by now. Suspended, granted an injunction to halt the suspension, injunction invalid in New Orleans, injunction put on hold in the Southern District of New York because the judge was on vacation, reinstating the suspension because the judge, coming off vacation, agreed with the New Orleans court and now the temporary stay from the New York appeals court. So, Elliott gets to play this Sunday against Kansas City and that's a good thing but it seems there is no end in sight for this saga. At what point would you think the NFL league office gets tired of blowing a boat-load worth of money on ridiculous crap all the while losing fans and money over the National Anthem protests. This is easily the worst tenure of a pro football commissioner in my lifetime. Seriously, Roger Goodell is the worst and he can't be ousted soon enough for me.

The Cowboys spent a little time in a court related matter as Jerry Jones, Robert Kraft and Bob McNair had all their phone, email and text records subpoenaed as the Colin Kaepernick collusion case moves forward. Kaepernick is claiming there was collusion by the NFL to deny him a job based on his National Anthem protests which began last year. In truth, the protests may have something to do with his leper status to NFL owners but the fact is between the fact that Kaepernick isn't all that great a QB and the numbers since Jim Harbaugh left the 49ers prove that and the fact Kaepernick wants to make top QB dollar, wants to start, doesn't want to be a backup and just an overall diva attitude has a lot to do with why he's unemployed right now.

So, there's a game today if everyone can tear themselves away from court long enough. Kansas City is coming to Arlington and the most interesting thing about this game is the fact that Tony Romo is making his Dallas broadcast debut. Yep, the Cowboys and Chiefs will be on CBS this afternoon and Jim Nantz and Romo are calling the game. Should be interesting TV for sure. That's not to say the game with the 6-2 Chiefs won't be a nerve-wracking, nail biting, sweat producing contest. It will, given the Chiefs are getting a suddenly Aaron Rodgers-like performance out of Alex Smith and Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelsey have stepped up to put a punch in the Chiefs offense to compliment the strong defense the Chiefs have had. To me, this game comes down to who has the ball last. I think it's going to be a shootout type game that Dallas really needs to win. They are less able to afford a loss than the Chiefs and the Cowboys need to keep the Eagles within a stone's throw as they are already 2-1/2 games behind the front running Eagles. What happens over the next 4 or 5 weeks will go a long way to determine whether Dallas will make the playoffs and right now it looks like if they make it they will have to do it as a Wild Card. It all starts today with KC. I thought when the Astros finally won I would leave this nerve-wracking stuff behind. Oh well, I guess that's just sports.

[eagle eye]

The 2nd District Court in the state of New York denied Ezekiel Elliott's application for a stay of the 6 game suspension until his official appeal is heard which we now know to be December 1st. This means Elliott will miss four games before his case is even heard. Because of a technicality the application for a stay filed in Texas, which was granted, was filed incorrectly. The NFLPA lawyers representing Elliott jumped the gun and filed the appeal before the appeal to the NFL was ruled upon. That is the technicality, believe it or not, that the NFLPA's lawyers knew good and well that the NFL would deny Elliott's appeal so with the opening day of the 2017 season looming close Elliott's lawyers felt they would expedite matters by going ahead and filing a temporary stay with the District Court in Texas. The trouble with that was, subsequent to the ruling by the Texas judge granting the stay the NFL lawyers contended that Elliott's lawyers improperly filed the temporary stay meaning they didn't wait on the NFL arbitration ruling which mean they didn't exhaust every means in the appeal process with the NFL. It was for this reason that the NFL filed an appeal with the Texas judge which, of course, he denied. He wasn't going to overturn his own decision any more than the NFL was going to overturn their own decision to suspend Elliott.

After the Texas judge denied the NFL's emergency appeal they took their case to the District Court in New Orleans where a 3 person jury ruled in favor of the NFL thus re-instating the suspension. The NFLPA lawyers appealed the District Court decision in New Orleans which was denied and then they filed an appeal for a hearing with the NFLPA claiming the NFL's suspension appeal was unfair, the NFL stacked the deck against Elliott to make sure he would fail which is fundamentally against the law. The NFL did it simply because they could and it gave Elliott no honest chance to win. That's exactly what the Texas judge ruled granting the first stay saying, in effect, the NFL was completely unfair in Elliott's appeal and Elliott deserved his day in court. The NFL lawyers never wanted to address that, they instead leaned on the failure of the NFLPA lawyers to follow the process completely thus negating any right for a stay based on any reason. What's funny is every appeal the NFL filed was an emergency appeal which is totally ridiculous. There was no emergency other than the NFL, like a spoiled little child wanted to get its way. The NFL argued that the NFL league would be irreparably damaged if the suspension didn't go forward. I'm sorry, what? The proof is right there for everyone to see, the NFL has not disintegrated into a big ball of goo despite the fact we are now 10 weeks into the season. On the contrary, it continues to flourish despite sagging ratings and lost revenue as a result of the National Anthem protests that have been taking place since last year. What's even funnier is Elliott is being suspended despite the fact that the Columbus Ohio police would not bring charges against Elliott for the simple reason that the woman who filed the complaint against Elliott was not a reliable witness. The woman is gold digger who made the claims ostensibly to punish Elliott for breaking up with her. She is bat-crap crazy to boot! Even one of the NFL's own investigators recommended no action be taken against Elliott. It's a snow job that Elliott is paying the price for because the NFL fucked up its handling of the Ray Rice situation, the Greg Hardy incident and the kicker for the New York Giants multiple incidents. T

he NFL, in all it's sanctimonious, pompous bravado, wanted a win and Zeke Elliott was the sacrificial lamb. So, the NFL is suspending Elliott 6 games for something the police wouldn't even prosecute under the NFL's Code of Conduct policy. That's the ultimate joke because in that same Code of Conduct it clearly spells out just exactly how players are supposed to behave during the playing of the National Anthem and the NFL, as well as 31 of the 32 owners, have said and done nothing to stop this travesty of a protest. Roger Goodell is a terrible commissioner and he's fucked up every controversy beginning with Ray Rice to date. His biggest fuck up could be that he made a dyed in the wool enemy of one Jerry Jones who has been maintaining Elliott's innocence from day one and he continues to stand behind his player. I could see a bunch of owners falling in line behind Jones for no other reason than Goodell's mishandling of the Anthem protests. If you believe reports the NFL is hemorrhaging money with one their biggest sponsors, Papa John's, accusing the NFL of costing them business and revenue. Other NFL sponsors have also jumped ship refusing to support a league who appears to support un-American behavior. That last statement is correct as can be because despite having a legal means to stop the protests Goodell won't chance pissing off the players in fear that all the players will walk out as a result. Goodell works for the owners and he is taking the hit on the jaw on their behalf so they are culpable in all this too. A group party without a single nut between them for sure. Jerry Jones is the only owner who has taken a stand and he told the world that if any of his players kneels or otherwise disrespects the flag, what it stands for and the people who fought and died for that flag that player, or players, would be benched. So far all the Cowboys players have stood for the National Anthem with only Demontre Moore and David Irving throwing up the Black Power salute after the end of the Anthem. This was not during the Anthem but post Anthem. Demontre Moore was released last week but it wasn't because of the BP salute, contrary to the fake news on Facebook claiming he was released because of it. Moore was let go to make room on the roster so Dallas could sign kicker Mike Nugent who was needed to replace an injured Dan Bailey who pulled a groin muscle during the San Francisco game. What made Moore expendable was the depth they had on the defensive line with addition of David Irving who returned to the lineup after serving a 4 game suspension to begin the season and the fact Moore just hadn't been playing all that well.

So, the NFL, who will be referred to, by me, from here on out as the Nazi Football League. I will continue to refer to the league as Nazis and Roger Goodell as Adolph as long as he has a job as NFL commissioner. That shield Adolph is so fond of protecting should be emblazoned with a swastika instead of the Red, White and Blue with stars because there is nothing American about the NFL league office any more. Adolph and his cronies don't dispense justice for the good of the league, they dispense punishment just because they can. 70 odd years ago when the original Adolph and his henchmen for the 3rd Reich did the same thing to 6 million Jews and even more Russians than that just because they could. Those people didn't fit into their Code of Conduct policy. What the real Nazis did was not comparable to stacking the deck against a player who is trying to clear his good name but the same disregard for what is fair and just is not all that far off. I wonder if Adolph will mind if I refer to his wife as Eva? Fuck it, I don't care.... Eva, Eva, Eva, Eva............................................... .............................

I apologize for the profanity in my post, it's not my habit to write like this but sometimes I get really mad and really frustrated and I start to drift toward the dark side.

One last item, did you all hear about the proposed NFL boycott this weekend? It is centered around Veteran's Day which is officially Saturday. The boycott is appropriate as most people feel the kneeling bit during the National Anthem is disrespectful on many different levels, especially to the military, police, firemen and other first responders who serve our county and communities. For that reason, and for the reason that my son is in the military, I will not watch any NFL games this week beginning Thursday night and ending Monday night. I will not buy any products advertised during NFL games for the same time frame. People think that the players have a right to protest (they don't but that's another rant) but we all have a right to protest a league that allows this disrespect to continue. I'm not talking about the players because I honestly believe the vast majority of players are good people with families that do really good things in their communities to help the less fortunate. There are just a few who have chosen, what I believe is, an inappropriate way to protest. No, this boycott is for Adolph and the rest of the Hitler youth that run the NFL. I encourage each and every one of you who is sick and tired of these disgraceful displays to join me. I have to admit, it will be hard not to watch my Cowboys play Atlanta especially now that they are on a bit of a roll. I would love to see how they do without Elliott. As for Elliott? We won't see him play until Christmas Eve against Seattle. See ya then, Zeke. Say goodnight, Gracie.

[eagle eye]

Looks I picked a good week to boycott the NFL. It seems that the Cowboys and Texans decided to boycott too. Not only that but, I kind of follow the Broncos and you all know my NFL guilty pleasure is Cleveland and both teams had a rough day too.
There are two players who should be candidates for team MVP honors because you saw the Cowboys fall flat on their faces without those two players. The first player is LT Tyron Smith who was out due to a groin injury along with back issues he’s been battling all season. Smith’s replacement was Chaz Green and he was absolutely terrible. It was ugly the way Green played as Dak Prescott was sacked 8 times in the game mainly because of failures by Green to do his job not to mention the countless times Dak was running for his life. Adrian Clayborn of the Falcons clowned Green and most of Clayborn’s 6 sacks in the game came at the expense of Green.
The other player Dallas missed was Sean Lee who reinjured his hamstring in the second quarter. The game was still tight at the time Lee went out but the floodgates opened wide after he left the game. In the games Lee has finished for Dallas this season the defense has given up an average of 18 PPG and that includes 42 points in that stinker of a game against Denver in Week 2. In the 3 games Lee failed to play or finish the defense has surrendered 32.3 PPG. If that isn’t evidence enough, with Lee Dallas has given up an average of 82 YPG rushing by opponents. Without Lee that number balloons to around 155 YPG. Yesterday, Dallas gave up 132 yards primarily to Tevin Coleman.
One thing I do know, if Dallas has no run game Dak isn’t able, at this point in his career, to put the team on his back and win with his arm. This is when Dallas misses Tony Romo because for 10 years that is just exactly what Tony had to do every week. Tony is more accurate than Dak, quicker with his reads and he knew how to throw guys open. I’m not saying Dak will never learn those things but right now in Year 2 of his career he is just not as good a Tony. The other thing is, Tony is a Jedi Master. We saw it too often, Tony was going to be blindsided but, at the last second, he spun out of the way and avoided a sack. There is no other explanation other than The Force was strong with him. Only a few QBs are Jedi’s and Tony is definitely one. It doesn’t mean Dak doesn’t have skills, Tom Brady is no Jedi but it doesn’t stop him from being great. Dak will get better but he’s only started 26 games over a year and a half. He is still a Padawan. He will learn. Okay, so now that I have totally geeked out I just want to say signing off now I will.

[eagle eye]

I can’t help it. I’m mad again over this Adolph Goodell issue. I won’t rehash stuff you already know but yesterday Ezekiel Elliott told his legal team to withdraw his appeal of the 2nd District Court of New York decision to uphold the 6-game suspension levied by the NFL and serve all six games of his suspension. The NFL responded in typical classless fashion by saying in a prepared statement, “Elliott’s decision (to drop his appeal) speaks for itself” meaning he is admitting guilt and he’s serving his penance. An arrogant statement on behalf of an arrogant commissioner. Adolph and the other Hitler youth are smug in victory. Did I mention that I have grown to hate Adolph Goodell? May seven plagues visit Goodell and his family and torment them for a generation.
The NFL league office was done with the Cowboys. This morning on Mike and Mike the boy reported that Jerry Jones received a letter from Adolph and his cronies saying Jones’ recent involvement in blocking the contract extension for Adolph “was conduct detrimental to the NFL and subject to disciplinary action.” WHAT???!!! Adolph, you’re saying one of the men who is your boss questions your contract which he subsidizes and HE is violating the NFL Code of Conduct??? WTF, dude? The blatant arrogance of that move is almost shocking. I’ll bet, by turns, Jones thinks that letter is funny AND infuriating. People forget, when Jerry first came into the league he was best friends with the Raiders Al Davis who was true renegade. Davis took on Pete Rozelle and the NFL on issues and won every single time and Rozelle was much more beloved and respected than Adolph Goodell ever will be.
What’s especially irksome is Goodell is claiming that old standby, violating the NFL code of conduct policy, crap when he sits by and allows the National Anthem protests to continue when kneeling during the Anthem is a clear violation of the Code. Adolph is a gutless swine and he’s great when he can marshal the resources of the league office against one player but he won’t test the waters if a group of players are banded together. That’s kind of how bullies operate, isn’t it? Nacissistic, egotistical, megalomanical bullies.