Jerry Jones is No Jackass

For years, Jerry Jones has been the favorite whipping post of some of Dallas' most iconic sports media. Randy Galloway, the half-sober, deep-voiced columnist and radio personality has worked overtime to paint Jones as a bumbling idiot. Dale Hansen, the egomaniacal sports anchor for the local ABC affiliate, can barely hide his hatred of the Cowboys' owner (and I am sure it has nothing whatever to do with Jones firing him as the Cowboys' radio network color analyst.)



Certainly, Jones brings much of the criticism on himself. He isn't the best-spoken individual. In fact, he may be among the worst. His public speeches and interviews are usually laced with misspeaks, butchered words, and nonsensical ramblings. In that regard, Jones is sort of like our much-maligned president. People assume he is a dummy because he stumbles over his words so much. (Not really sure how many self-made "dumb" billionaires there are in the world, though.)

So Jerry gets criticism from every corner but one. You never here current or former players go off on him. You never hear them talk about how he sucks as a general manager or as an owner. And you sure never hear them say he is unfair in his dealings with them. Why would they? From Troy Aikman to Emmitt Smith to Tony Romo, Jerry has proven that he will loosen the purse strings and pay market value or better to the men who make his organization go.

Jerry got it right with Romo. He waited to see if last season's production was an aberration, but he didn't wait too long. He didn't use the incredible leverage he possessed in the form of a franchise player tag. He didn't let negotiations drag on and become a distraction to the team or a sore spot for Tony. Nope! Jerry ponied up. He always does. Now it is up to the sixty-million dollar kid with the hundred-million dollar grin to prove he's worth it.

Hey, I am not saying Jerry is above criticism. Heck, I will find more than ample opportunity to do just that myself. I am just saying that, contrary to Tweedle Dee (Dale Hansen) and Tweedle Dumb (Randy Galloway), Jerry is neither a dumbass (that would be Galloway) nor a jackass (Hansen).

Did The Longhorns' Old Dogs Learn A New Trick Saturday?

The Texas Longhorns narrowly escaped another upset(ting) loss Saturday, this time to the lowly Nebraska Cornhuskers. The escape artist's name? Jamaal Charles.

Charles came within a few yards of setting a new NCAA record for yards rushing in one quarter when he went off on the Huskers in the fourth quarter for 216 yards. The fleet back had a total of 290 yards on 33 carries, the most ever gained by any back against the storied Huskers' Blackshirts defense, and the fourth most ever by a Texas running back.

For three quarters, things looked as bleak as ever for the struggling running back and his underachieving teammates. Going into the final stanza, the Horns trailed 17-9 and Charles had only rushed for 74 yards on 20 carries. But then offensive coordinator Greg Davis began mixing in the zone read shotgun option offense that had worked so famously during the Vince Young era, and Jamaal began breaking off long runs, three of them for touchdowns.

What Saturday proved to me was that the Shotgun Option offense is a nice change-of-pace attack for the current offensive personnel. It should not be the featured package, but sprinkle it in here and there and you catch the defense flat-footed or headed the wrong direction. That's when the world-class speed of a Jamaal Charles becomes a game-changer.

You have to believe that when upcoming opponents break down the game film from this contest, they will conclude that sneaking eight, or sometimes nine, men into the box might be prudent. Imagine what that will do for Texas' talent-laden receiving corps. They might actually become the scoring machine they ought to have been all along.

Of course, this offensive epiphany comes a couple losses too late for this season to be anything special. But hey, Greg Davis and Mack Brown are what they are...and you know what they say about old dogs and new tricks.

Beantown is Booming

Boston fans were so much less annoying when they spent every Summer and Fall lamenting and bemoaning the Curse of the Bambino. They were the lovable losers, sorta like the Cubbies. Now look at them!

Not only are their Sox up two games to nothing in the World Series, their dadgum Patriots are undefeated and torching and plundering every other NFL city in sight; their BC Eagles are flying high, ranked second in the nation and just last night pulled off a miracle win over Virginia Tech; and now, even the Celtics appear set to make a run at returning to their former glory.

It's a good time to be a Bostonian...and a rather annoying time for the rest of us. Guess we just have to wait it out.

Colt McCoy Backs Me Up!

For two years, I have been calling for the Texas Longhorns' offensive coaches to wake up and realize Vince Young has gone to Tennessee and he ain't coming back. The shotgun option attack the 'Horns employed for Young and running back Jamaal Charles was a thing of exquisite beauty. But it worked because of Young, not Charles.

Because the defense had to account for Young's incredible running skills, Charles found himself slicing and dicing opponents' defenses, despite running from a set that was not best suited to him. The shotgun option has Charles running parallel to the line of scrimmage rather than hitting the hole quickly and popping into the defensive secondary, where the speedburner's quick feet and blinding speed are most effective.

Now, Chip Brown of the Dallas Morning News quotes the Longhorns' quarterback, Colt McCoy, who, in effect, admits that I am a football genius and the Longhorns' offensive braintrust is neither brainy nor trustworthy:

"Jamaal's going to be fine. He knows he hasn't done as well, but we've got
to play to Jamaal's strengths," McCoy said. "I think we've got to get him up
inside a little bit more instead of running him sideways.

"We've got to spread him out and let him catch the ball. ... He knows
he can run the ball. He's just got to get his confidence back up."

Thank you very much.

The Seahawks' Scene Is Pretty Cool

After a weekend trip to Seattle to visit family and take in the Seahawks/Rams game, I can personally vouch for the notion that the 'Hawks have themselves a pretty cool scene. From the moment we stepped out of our vehicle, you could feel the electricity in the air. Those fans are rabid, avid, voracious, involved, and 100% committed to their team.

Once inside the stadium, I was struck with how much the place resembled a college gameday atmosphere. It was as if the entire crowd were a student section. There were chants and cheers and the constant roar of the crowd was reminiscent of the Sea-Tac International Airport just a few miles away, down I-5.

The Seahawks stumbled into the weekend on a two-game losing streak. They were just 3-3 going into Sunday's game. The Rams showed up with not a single win to boast of. The two are division rivals, and there is something to be said for that. But still, 0-6 versus 3-3? Not exactly the stuff of memorable NFL moments, right? But if all you had to go on was the enthusiasm of the home crowd, you would have thought the game pitted undefeated rivals or something.

Every time the opposing team had the ball, the fans went berserk, making such incredible noise they caused three or four false starts for the hated Rams. Even when the game was out of hand, and victory was in the bag, rather than leaving early, the crowd ramped it up even more. It was deafening. They showed why they are rated the loudest stadium in the NFL, and demonstrated exactly why, since opening Qwest Field, their stadium leads the league in opponents' false start penalties.

Those fans don't just show up to cheer on their Seahawks. They go there to make a difference.

And that's just what they did.