Hail To The Deadskins

Umpty Dance: Witten, T.O. and the Boys didn’t just beat the Bears, they beat the officials, too.

In all of the euphoria following the Cowboys’ dominating performance over the Bears, let’s take a moment to remember one of the worst officiated games since the refs gave away Super Bowl XL to the Pittsburgh Steelers with a host of huge, game changing calls against the Seahawks.

Last night, I counted no fewer than nine calls or non calls that went against The Boys that are, to the say the least, questionable. They are:

• Jason Witten called for block in the back.
• Offensive pass interference on T.O.
• Non-call after Crayton was interfered with.
• Letting the clock expire at the end of the first half.
• Non-call after Julius Jones was horse-collared.
• Non-call after Jason Witten was speared in the back with a helmet.
• Holding on Flo Adams on Q4 Jones run.
• Non-call when Crayton was driven to the ground out of bounds on punt return.
• Non-call when MBIII was horse-collared late in the game.

That said, the Cowboys are unquestionably a top tier team. Discuss.

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Broken Wing: Has this Eagle landed?

If I say it I’m begging for a pitiful performance by Romo against the Bears this week, but I can’t help but think the Cowboys have the best quarterback in the division. McNabb and Campbell both looked rough last night. And boy does Campbell have a big windup. It’s a cannon, but it takes a long time get it fired. And what an absolute comedy of errors at the end of the first half, only to have Campbell hit Cooley for a TD.

If you held a draft today, I’d take Romo, Eli, Campbell and McNabb, in that order. At receiver I’d take T.O., Plaxico, Moss and Crayton. At tight end it’d be Witten, Cooley, Shockey. And in the backfield: Westbrook, Barber, Portis. And now here’s a couple things from the…

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Crime Seen:Here’s Goodell’s rationale for Wade Wilson’s hefty fine and suspension. Maybe I don’t completely understand the scope of what Wilson did. Was he knowingly purchasing HGH illegally? Or was he a unknowingly a customer of a company that was illegally selling the substance? If it’s the former, I’ll probably have to backtrack from some of earlier criticisms of Goodell’s decision.

Spike TV: One of our regulars recently opined that Jason Witten is at least as good on the field as Jeremy Shockey, and has a way better attitude. Uh, yeah. Terrell Owens got flagged for the same thing Sunday, but he’d just gotten body-rocked after a catch and threw the ball down as he jumped up. More akin, in my book, to throwing your hammer down after you just blasted your thumb. Anyone ever done that, Ringer?

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Not So Goodell: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

And now we know. Goodell’s punishment of the New England Patriots and coach Bill Belichick is a grand total of $750,000 in fines and the likely loss of their first round draft pick in 2008. This is arguably a very reasonable sanction for the team and coach’s blatant misconduct…except…

Except for Wade Wilson. The man lost a much greater portion of his salary than Belichick and is sitting at home for the first five games of the season for an unquestionably much less egregious foul. And now Wilson is considering an appeal. As he should.

Let the speculation begin about why Belichick’s sanction is so much less than Wilson’s (the fact that Goodell works for Pats owner Bob Kraft and the other owners, perhaps?), but there is an inescapable inconsistency here. As I wrote when Wilson’s sanction was first announced, a long-tenured NFL good guy has been thrown under the league’s PR bus by the commissioner himself.

Everyone makes mistakes, Mr. Goodell. Will you own up to yours?

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Hand Jive: Pats coach Bill Belichick has apologized. Goodell ought to make him really sorry.

What will Roger do now? A New England Patriots team employee videotaped NY Jets defensive signals during Sunday’s game in violation of NFL policy. Put simply, they got caught cheating. Oops.

Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a huge deal. Yes, cheating’s wrong and they were way too blatant…but lots of teams are trying to cop signals in the NFL. Why do all offensive play callers cover their mouths when they call in the play? If you said, “lip readers,” you’re our grand prize winner!

Here’s the rub: What might have been a couple lost draft picks a few years ago, could now be a much harsher penalty. If a coach like Wade Wilson lost five games and probably half his salary for trying to prop up his “quality of life” by using HGH – an unconscionable penalty as noted here previously – what then will Roger Goodell do to the cheating Pats?

Anything less than a multi-game suspension for Belichick, forfeiture of the Jets game, a $1 million fine and the loss of a high draft pick, or some combination thereof, will pale next to Wilson’s evisceration for trying to treat diabetes-related impotence. Roger’s ironfisted rule gets a real consistency test here. So, Commish, what’s it gonna be?

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The Back Pack: Here’s more on the literally lightning fast medical response that may have preserved Kevin Everett’s ability to lead a normal life. Should all NFL teams have the ability to react this quickly?

Who Lied About Eli? How many words can one columnist write on the subject of Eli Manning’s bum shoulder, while still leaving me confused?

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Stand Up, Guy: Kevin Everett in his days as a Miami Hurricane.

Not the Cowboys’ dominating offensive performance. Not Green Bay’s impressive win over the Eagles. Not the Broncos’ bogus last second field goal. The greatest story in sports this week is the news that Bills tight end Kevin Everett might just walk again. Sounds like it has the potential to be a real medical breakthrough.

Here are some more observations from the…

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Later, Sooner: The 31 jersey collecting dust in my closet and I hate to say it, but we both agree with this assessment of Roy Willy’s opening day performance.

What Can Browns Do For You? A “starting quarterback” for a sixth round pick? And Cleveland got the better end of the deal. Mwaaaahaaahaaaaa.

Form Tackle: I bet Cowboys DE Chris Canty’s getting some pretty good grief in the locker room for tackling his own guy on an interception return.

Previously Owned: Maybe I saw this wrong, but it looked like the Eagles pregame scrum – where the team gathers in a big knot and chants a slogan – was punctuated with the cry of “All In.” Let’s hope nobody tells them that was the Cowboys’ (ultimately futile) rallying cry last year.

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The Best Nation Is A Donation: Ron Springs (l) and Everson Walls played for the Cowboys in the eighties.

Everson Walls was a rookie in 1981, which was probably the first year I really intensely became my own fan – wanting to watch games and know how the Boys were doing independent of the participation of friends or family. And Walls was the first player I have a ready recollection of following game to game. He picked off 11 passes that year, setting an NFL rookie record, and I remember how amazing his interception streak seemed to me at the time.

In March, Walls donated a kidney to former Cowboys teammate Ron Springs, an act of pure selflessness few people would contemplate for anyone other than a family member. Walls and Springs were honorary captains on Sunday night, and were interviewed during NBC’s otherwise mediocre halftime show. But what the cameras didn’t show was perhaps the best moment of the evening.

Before the game, Walls pushed Springs in his wheelchair out to the midfield star, where both men were hailed with a lengthy standing ovation. The moment was sealed when Everson helped Ron to his feet. The two men stood together – a simple thing that would not have been possible without the transplant – as an outpouring of cheers and applause rained down. I’m quite sure I wasn’t the only one with a tear in their eye.

You Want A Piece Of Me? Here’s what friendship looks like.

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Here Lies Eli Let’s see lots of this, ‘kay?

And here it starts. Game one. An NFC East battle becomes litmus test for a team with a new coaching staff and approach, as well as for a coach who has attempted to exhibit a warm and fuzzy side to his personality. For both, it’s the first true assessment of what the team is or can be. Fingers crossed.

Look for me Sunday night. I’ll be ninth row, corner of the end zone – the guy with a five year old constantly repeating the word “boring” sitting in his lap.

Let the fun begin.

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Exhibit, Eh? Cowboys QB coach Wade Wilson has, unconscionably, been made an example. Of what, exactly, is he an example?

In NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s five-game suspension and $100,000 fine of Cowboys assistant coach Wade Wilson, the inherent weaknesses of autocratic rule have finally been made manifest.

Throughout this off season of gridiron discontent, both pundits and public have hailed Roger the Stodger’s get-tough approach to miscreants like Adam Jones and Chris Henry. Few seem to have expressed discomfort with Mr. Goodell’s judge/jury/appellate court/executioner stance. And now the other shoe has dropped.

To recap the story, Wilson obtained human growth hormone for personal use from an internet pharmacy while an assistant with the Bears. Whether he sought it to improve his quality of life in dealing with diabetes, as he asserts, or just wanted to stay chiseled into old age like Sly Stallone is open for debate. And there a number of applicable and debatable issues regarding how the NFL addresses substance abuse versus performance enhancers, the latter of which is in a zero-tolerance category.

The crux of the matter is that in Goodell’s iron-fisted rush to purge the league of a disreputable image – an image vastly overblown by the media, by the way – he has meted out a punishment on Wilson that is grossly disproportionate to the crime.

Yes, this is a Cowboys blog and the penalty affects a Cowboys coach, but there’s no homerism here. (The Boys’ early season challenges hinge to an exponentially greater degree on people named Newman, Ellis and Glenn.) This is about a long-tenured, stand-up NFL player and coach who at worst made a big bonehead mistake.

Goodell likely feels considerable pressure to make examples of those who are currently pushing the edges of the league’s policies, and perhaps felt even greater impetus to make an example of someone in a position of authority. Instead, he has pushed a solid citizen under the NFL public relations bus and provided a stark example of just how unforgiving unilateral power can be.

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