Ok, lets go down the list.
We have blamed Jerry
We have blamed Wade
We have blamed Jason Garrett
We have blamed Wade (he deserves 2)
We blamed the Offense
We blamed the Defense
We blamed Special Teams
Some idiots have blamed Romo
People have blamed Felix
Who is left?
I know !!! I Know !!!
This team was put together as a championship team. They were told they were going to the Super Bowl. They were coddled in camp. They were coddled in the preseason.
Miles Austin caught everything thrown in his direction...last year.
This year Miles dated Kim Kardashian, got a big contract, and leads the league at balls going through his hands and into the hands of the defense.
Marion Barber was a tough short yardage runner...2 years ago.
He got a big contract, and now thinks he has the speed to get outside.
These are only a couple of examples, but this team has become a bunch of premadonnas.
The hardest working guys are the ones still proving something.
Doug Free has been the best offensive lineman.
Dez Bryant has been the best player...PERIOD!!
Until someone, whether it is the coach or the owner or someone, this team is never going to win a championship. Someone needs to get in here and rip some ASS!!!
Until that happens, these are the results.
As Always, I want to hear from you. Send it to john@bigbadsportsdaddy.com
Peace, John Conner
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Its Time
It is TIME!!
I have been hearing that all year, but never really believed it. I knew the 2010 Texas Rangers were gonna be good, but I never had any idea they would be this good.
In the 1970s and 80s, this team was a laughing stock. They were the doormats. They had some good players, and occasionally did ok in the standings, but no one ever thought this team would compete.
In the 1990s, this team was developing some great players. They developed 2 time MVP Juan Gonzalez, and 1999 MVP Ivan Rodriguez. They signed Will Clark and then Rafeal Palmeiro as free agents. This team could hit. They hit so well that they made the playoffs in 1996, 98, and 99. They ran into the New York Yankees every time, and the result was the same. In 10 games, New York won 9. The Rangers never had pitching.
In the 2000s, Tom Hicks tried to buy players. He outbid himself for Alex Rodriguez and Chan Ho Park. He over payed for roll players like Todd Van Poppel and Jay Powell. Eventually, it caught up with him, and the team dismantled.
The team started on a plan in 2007. At the trade deadline, they traded Mark Texeira and Ron Mahay to Atlanta for Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Jarrod Saltalamachia and Beau Jones. They also hired Ron Washington as manager.
Jon Daniels then set a precedent by signing players that had something to prove. He signed them cheap, one because he had no money and because the player wanted to prove himself. He got Eric Gange and turned him into David Murphy and 2 minor leaguers. Kenny Lofton became Max Ramirez. He did this over and over, and slowly built up the farm system.
Again, the team finished 3rd, but it was an improving third. They were doing it with young players rather that overpaid veterans.
2008, the Rangers decide to take a chance. They traded one of their top pitching prospects, Edinison Volquez to Cincinnati for Josh Hamilton. Nobody knew what to expect from Hamilton. He was coming off a season in which he hit 19 homers and drove in 49 runs. But the Rangers saw something.
This team lacked pitching. It had Kevin Millwood and then a bunch of guys trying to prove themselves. But behind Hamilton and Michael Young, they moved to 2nd place.
2009, Hamilton was injured on and off, and the team finished 2nd again, tied with Oakland.
Now 2010. The team had an interesting off season. They were up for sale. Hamilton was coming off and injury. They had signed Darren Oliver and Vladamir Guerrero away from Anaheim. They resigned Colby Lewis, who had pitched in Japan the last 2 years. The moved CJ Wilson into the starting rotation. They signed Rich Harden, and gave Scot Feldman a new deal.
But you felt something with this team.
Harden, Feldman and Saltalamachia were all ineffective, yet this team fought on. Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter stepped into their roles and were solid. Matt Treanor was unbelievable at catcher. You expected nothing from him, but he stabilized the pitching staff, and he contributed some offense.
Hamilton, Guerrero and Nelson Cruz carried the team. Ian Kinsler got hurt, and Joaquin Arias stepped in.
The team was plugging along in 1st place, but were still not being taken seriously. Rightfully so. The division was weak.
But Daniels didn't rest.
Before the deadline got close, he first added Jorge Cantu and Bengie Molina. A little veteran leadership, but the team still lacked a bona fide ace. Battling the Yankees again, New York thought they had a deal in place with Seattle. Seattle called Texas, and Daniels said, "ALL IN!!"
The Texas Rangers acquired Cliff Lee. There is your ace.
Down the stretch, the Rangers were getting some national whispers. The swept the Yankees in a series in Arlington and slowly pulled away in the West.
With the division sewn up, the started playing the big bad AL East. 3 wins in Boston, 2 in Tampa and 1 in New York. Not bad against the big boys.
Playoffs roll around. CLIFF LEE!! Nelson Cruz was a beast at the plate, and the pitching staff was awesome. Cliff Lee pitched a brilliant game to clinch the division.
American League Championship Series started awful. A 5-1 lead in the 8th inning of game one, and they eventually lose 6-5.
Heartbreak. The Yankees again.
But this wasn't the same Texas Rangers. They fought back and took game 2 in Texas to head to New York tied 1-1. In New York, the pitching took over again. Cliff Lee pitched an amazing game 3, and the bullpen was phenomenal in game 4. The Yanks got one in game 5, so it is back to Texas, with the Rangers having a 3-2 lead. Game 6. Colby Lewis was on. He gave up 3 hits in 8 innings. He was unhittable. Rangers win 6-1 and take the series 4-2 to head to their first ever World Series.
As a fan of the team for over 20 years, I got a little emotional. I teared up a tad, I yelled, I ran outside and high fived my neighbors. I didn't care how I looked. My team is in the World Series.
Let me say that again...The Texas Rangers are in the World Series.
This team has shown more resiliency than any team I have ever seen. I am proud to call this my team. I don't care who they play in the Series and either do they. This is AWESOME.
And yes, I will scoot over and give you a spot on the bandwagon.
I love this for Nolan, Chuck, Ron and the whole team.
With this team, anything is possible.
Let me hear from you. john@bigbadsportsdaddy.com
Peace, John Conner
I have been hearing that all year, but never really believed it. I knew the 2010 Texas Rangers were gonna be good, but I never had any idea they would be this good.
In the 1970s and 80s, this team was a laughing stock. They were the doormats. They had some good players, and occasionally did ok in the standings, but no one ever thought this team would compete.
In the 1990s, this team was developing some great players. They developed 2 time MVP Juan Gonzalez, and 1999 MVP Ivan Rodriguez. They signed Will Clark and then Rafeal Palmeiro as free agents. This team could hit. They hit so well that they made the playoffs in 1996, 98, and 99. They ran into the New York Yankees every time, and the result was the same. In 10 games, New York won 9. The Rangers never had pitching.
In the 2000s, Tom Hicks tried to buy players. He outbid himself for Alex Rodriguez and Chan Ho Park. He over payed for roll players like Todd Van Poppel and Jay Powell. Eventually, it caught up with him, and the team dismantled.
The team started on a plan in 2007. At the trade deadline, they traded Mark Texeira and Ron Mahay to Atlanta for Neftali Feliz, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, Jarrod Saltalamachia and Beau Jones. They also hired Ron Washington as manager.
Jon Daniels then set a precedent by signing players that had something to prove. He signed them cheap, one because he had no money and because the player wanted to prove himself. He got Eric Gange and turned him into David Murphy and 2 minor leaguers. Kenny Lofton became Max Ramirez. He did this over and over, and slowly built up the farm system.
Again, the team finished 3rd, but it was an improving third. They were doing it with young players rather that overpaid veterans.
2008, the Rangers decide to take a chance. They traded one of their top pitching prospects, Edinison Volquez to Cincinnati for Josh Hamilton. Nobody knew what to expect from Hamilton. He was coming off a season in which he hit 19 homers and drove in 49 runs. But the Rangers saw something.
This team lacked pitching. It had Kevin Millwood and then a bunch of guys trying to prove themselves. But behind Hamilton and Michael Young, they moved to 2nd place.
2009, Hamilton was injured on and off, and the team finished 2nd again, tied with Oakland.
Now 2010. The team had an interesting off season. They were up for sale. Hamilton was coming off and injury. They had signed Darren Oliver and Vladamir Guerrero away from Anaheim. They resigned Colby Lewis, who had pitched in Japan the last 2 years. The moved CJ Wilson into the starting rotation. They signed Rich Harden, and gave Scot Feldman a new deal.
But you felt something with this team.
Harden, Feldman and Saltalamachia were all ineffective, yet this team fought on. Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter stepped into their roles and were solid. Matt Treanor was unbelievable at catcher. You expected nothing from him, but he stabilized the pitching staff, and he contributed some offense.
Hamilton, Guerrero and Nelson Cruz carried the team. Ian Kinsler got hurt, and Joaquin Arias stepped in.
The team was plugging along in 1st place, but were still not being taken seriously. Rightfully so. The division was weak.
But Daniels didn't rest.
Before the deadline got close, he first added Jorge Cantu and Bengie Molina. A little veteran leadership, but the team still lacked a bona fide ace. Battling the Yankees again, New York thought they had a deal in place with Seattle. Seattle called Texas, and Daniels said, "ALL IN!!"
The Texas Rangers acquired Cliff Lee. There is your ace.
Down the stretch, the Rangers were getting some national whispers. The swept the Yankees in a series in Arlington and slowly pulled away in the West.
With the division sewn up, the started playing the big bad AL East. 3 wins in Boston, 2 in Tampa and 1 in New York. Not bad against the big boys.
Playoffs roll around. CLIFF LEE!! Nelson Cruz was a beast at the plate, and the pitching staff was awesome. Cliff Lee pitched a brilliant game to clinch the division.
American League Championship Series started awful. A 5-1 lead in the 8th inning of game one, and they eventually lose 6-5.
Heartbreak. The Yankees again.
But this wasn't the same Texas Rangers. They fought back and took game 2 in Texas to head to New York tied 1-1. In New York, the pitching took over again. Cliff Lee pitched an amazing game 3, and the bullpen was phenomenal in game 4. The Yanks got one in game 5, so it is back to Texas, with the Rangers having a 3-2 lead. Game 6. Colby Lewis was on. He gave up 3 hits in 8 innings. He was unhittable. Rangers win 6-1 and take the series 4-2 to head to their first ever World Series.
As a fan of the team for over 20 years, I got a little emotional. I teared up a tad, I yelled, I ran outside and high fived my neighbors. I didn't care how I looked. My team is in the World Series.
Let me say that again...The Texas Rangers are in the World Series.
This team has shown more resiliency than any team I have ever seen. I am proud to call this my team. I don't care who they play in the Series and either do they. This is AWESOME.
And yes, I will scoot over and give you a spot on the bandwagon.
I love this for Nolan, Chuck, Ron and the whole team.
With this team, anything is possible.
Let me hear from you. john@bigbadsportsdaddy.com
Peace, John Conner
Sunday, October 17, 2010
WTF
I give up. I really do.
I have tried to figure out how the Dallas Cowboys can win a game, and I came up with nothing.
They are a top 5 offense, a top 10 defense, and the special teams are ok.
So why can't they win a game?
Because there is no discipline on this team.
They got called for excessive celebration last week against Tennessee that cost them field position, and eventually the game. So what happens after their first touchdown against Minnesota? Excessive Celebration. Congratulations Miles Austin.
But don't worry, Miles was just getting warmed up.
You had 2 steps on a guy for at least a huge gain, but lets push off anyway, run for a touchdown, only to get it called back. After that, Austin disappeared.
Doug Free has been the most consistent offensive lineman for the Cowboys this year. He gets beat one time, Romo hurries, and throws a pass off a helmet for an interception at the 20 yard line.
Late in the game, the Cowboys hold the Vikings to 2 yards, and need to hold on 3rd down to get the ball back with 2 minutes left. The heck with that, Mike Jenkins holds and the Vikings get to run down all but 13 seconds. Game over.
What does all this mean?
As much as I would love to blame Wade Phillips for all of this, he is not out there making bonehead plays. This team thinks that it is so talented, that it can just show up and win games.
I guess not.
If it wasn't for the Texas Rangers deep playoff run, the Dallas Stars starting 4-0, and the Dallas Mavericks about to start, I might be pissed. But, I am not.
This has been a year in the making. This team didn't have enough talent last year and did nothing this off season to improve the talent.
Yes, I understand that when you put the star on the helmet, you get a little swagger, but this team thinks it should have just been given a bye into the Super Bowl.
Whats worse is the fact that they think they could be 4-1 or at the least 3-2, and all would be good.
The reality is, you are 1-4, and the road is not getting any easier. This team will be lucky to win 5 games and it pains me to say it.
Right now, I really hate my team. Unfortunately, it is the only one I have. I will suffer through this season, and hope Jerry is more aggressive in the off season next year, but with a lockout looming, that doesn't look good.
The one thing positive I will say, we are watching one of the better quarterback performances in a Cowboy's uniform in a long time. For those of you that want to blame Tony Romo for this start, you are obviously football morons. He is the one bright spot, with possibly Roy Williams.
I will keep watching, but my hand is always on the remote looking for something better.
As always, I would love to hear from you. Send it to john@bigbadsportsdaddy.com.
Peace, John Conner
I have tried to figure out how the Dallas Cowboys can win a game, and I came up with nothing.
They are a top 5 offense, a top 10 defense, and the special teams are ok.
So why can't they win a game?
Because there is no discipline on this team.
They got called for excessive celebration last week against Tennessee that cost them field position, and eventually the game. So what happens after their first touchdown against Minnesota? Excessive Celebration. Congratulations Miles Austin.
But don't worry, Miles was just getting warmed up.
You had 2 steps on a guy for at least a huge gain, but lets push off anyway, run for a touchdown, only to get it called back. After that, Austin disappeared.
Doug Free has been the most consistent offensive lineman for the Cowboys this year. He gets beat one time, Romo hurries, and throws a pass off a helmet for an interception at the 20 yard line.
Late in the game, the Cowboys hold the Vikings to 2 yards, and need to hold on 3rd down to get the ball back with 2 minutes left. The heck with that, Mike Jenkins holds and the Vikings get to run down all but 13 seconds. Game over.
What does all this mean?
As much as I would love to blame Wade Phillips for all of this, he is not out there making bonehead plays. This team thinks that it is so talented, that it can just show up and win games.
I guess not.
If it wasn't for the Texas Rangers deep playoff run, the Dallas Stars starting 4-0, and the Dallas Mavericks about to start, I might be pissed. But, I am not.
This has been a year in the making. This team didn't have enough talent last year and did nothing this off season to improve the talent.
Yes, I understand that when you put the star on the helmet, you get a little swagger, but this team thinks it should have just been given a bye into the Super Bowl.
Whats worse is the fact that they think they could be 4-1 or at the least 3-2, and all would be good.
The reality is, you are 1-4, and the road is not getting any easier. This team will be lucky to win 5 games and it pains me to say it.
Right now, I really hate my team. Unfortunately, it is the only one I have. I will suffer through this season, and hope Jerry is more aggressive in the off season next year, but with a lockout looming, that doesn't look good.
The one thing positive I will say, we are watching one of the better quarterback performances in a Cowboy's uniform in a long time. For those of you that want to blame Tony Romo for this start, you are obviously football morons. He is the one bright spot, with possibly Roy Williams.
I will keep watching, but my hand is always on the remote looking for something better.
As always, I would love to hear from you. Send it to john@bigbadsportsdaddy.com.
Peace, John Conner
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Bye Bye Wade
I am not angry. I am not mad. I don't really feel anything except confusion.
When Jimmy Johnson left years ago, Jerry brought in Barry, then Chan, and then Campo. None of it worked. I know Barry won a Super Bowl, but Jimmy had those players ready to coach themselves. Barry just stood on the sidelines looking dumb.
Gailey never really got a shot, to no fault of his own. Campo, was well, a defensive coach, but not a head coach. I am not even sure Campo was a good defensive coordinator, but he is an outstanding secondary coach.
Then, Big Bill was brought in. The team went on a upward climb.
Bill left.
Now we get to Wade Phillips.
Once again, he is a great defensive coach, but head coach, not so much.
With Barry, Chan and Campo, there were too many penalties and turnovers and the coach was gone.
With Wade, there are too many penalties and turnovers , and yet he stays.
Why?
I will tell you why. This team has ten times the talent that Chan and Campo had. That is the only reason the Cowboys are winning games. The talent level that they have is overwhelming.
The problem is, they are getting out coached every week. I liked Chan Gailey. If he had this team, they would be 3-1 now, guaranteed.
I know Jerry, and I am disappointed in him for not adding more depth, but mostly, I am so sick of Wade.
This team was successful with Landry, Johnson, and Big Bill.
Why?
They held players accountable, and if they didn't do the job, they were replaced.
The Dallas Cowboys have an image, and right now that image is soft. Sometimes the talent is just so much better that they win games. But if the talent is equal or close to it, they lose, because they get out coached.
Jerry, if you can't see it shame on you.
As a fan of the Cowboys, I am now officially embarrassed of my team. I hate my coach, and I am pissed at the owner for not firing the general manager and head coach.
I am well aware that it won't happen, but can we get Bill Cowher in here fast. PLEASE!!!
As always, I would love to hear from you. Send it to john@bigbadsportsdaddy.com.
Peace, John Conner
When Jimmy Johnson left years ago, Jerry brought in Barry, then Chan, and then Campo. None of it worked. I know Barry won a Super Bowl, but Jimmy had those players ready to coach themselves. Barry just stood on the sidelines looking dumb.
Gailey never really got a shot, to no fault of his own. Campo, was well, a defensive coach, but not a head coach. I am not even sure Campo was a good defensive coordinator, but he is an outstanding secondary coach.
Then, Big Bill was brought in. The team went on a upward climb.
Bill left.
Now we get to Wade Phillips.
Once again, he is a great defensive coach, but head coach, not so much.
With Barry, Chan and Campo, there were too many penalties and turnovers and the coach was gone.
With Wade, there are too many penalties and turnovers , and yet he stays.
Why?
I will tell you why. This team has ten times the talent that Chan and Campo had. That is the only reason the Cowboys are winning games. The talent level that they have is overwhelming.
The problem is, they are getting out coached every week. I liked Chan Gailey. If he had this team, they would be 3-1 now, guaranteed.
I know Jerry, and I am disappointed in him for not adding more depth, but mostly, I am so sick of Wade.
This team was successful with Landry, Johnson, and Big Bill.
Why?
They held players accountable, and if they didn't do the job, they were replaced.
The Dallas Cowboys have an image, and right now that image is soft. Sometimes the talent is just so much better that they win games. But if the talent is equal or close to it, they lose, because they get out coached.
Jerry, if you can't see it shame on you.
As a fan of the Cowboys, I am now officially embarrassed of my team. I hate my coach, and I am pissed at the owner for not firing the general manager and head coach.
I am well aware that it won't happen, but can we get Bill Cowher in here fast. PLEASE!!!
As always, I would love to hear from you. Send it to john@bigbadsportsdaddy.com.
Peace, John Conner
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)