Playoff Drought - RIP

Felix! Felix! Felix!

Those were the chants permeating inside the ninth wonder of the world, known as Cowboys Stadium, during the third quarter of last night's Cowboys/Eagles playoff game in Arlington, TX. Felix Jones had just ripped off an untouched 73 yard touchdown run, the longest in Cowboys playoff history. Felix's TD run made the score 34-7, Cowboys favor, with just over 20 minutes remaining in the game. You could feel it in the crowd. You could sense it in the air. You could see it on Coach Phillips' face (if you were looking at the largest flat screen in the world).

The Cowboys were about to pull off an improbable season long trifecta against their bitter rival the Philadelphia Eagles, and most importantly, end a 13 year-long playoff drought.

Two days prior to the game, my mother called me and asked if I would like to go to my first ever Cowboys playoff game for my birthday. I believe my response was something along the lines of, "Hell yeah!" or "That would be nice.". We were able to track down a couple a tickets online in section 219, at a very reasonable price I might add.

Realistically, I wasn't expecting much of a view. I've been to Cowboys games in the old Cowboys Stadium, and I've sat in just about every section. I can honestly say that the best seats were on the 50 yard line in the second deck. You're high enough to see over the players on the sideline and close enough to take in all the action on the field. Last night, we had two of the best seats in the house for the money. The thing is...every seat in the house is phenomenal.

From the time we were molested by security guards walking into the stadium, to avoiding all the meandering drunkards outside of the stadium after the biggest Cowboys win in recent memory...the experience had to be one of the greatest sports spectacles I've ever witnessed. I found myself watching the big screen for the majority of the game...along with high-fiving about 7 different people every time the Cowboys made a big play. My hand is killing me today.

My only complaint about the whole night is this...Eagles Suck! Eagles Suck! Eagles Suck! That was the clever chant the Cowboy fans repeated throughout the night. Please Cowboy fans, let's get a little more creative.

So overall, it was a fantastic game between a seemingly cohesive Cowboys squad and a flailing Eagles team that needed a trick play from a former dog fighter to get on the scoreboard. My buddy that went to the game with me, Tyler, said, "I wonder if Keith Brooking will go up to Mike Vick and say "I sure am glad we got the hell out of Atlanta."?

These were a few things that hit me during the game:

1. Mike Jenkins is the next great shutdown corner in the league. He and Terrance Newman held Eagles wideout, Desean Jackson, to three catches for 14 yards in last night's game. Jenkins also added two interceptions during the game and made one hell of a play on a key deep ball in the first half that could have been a turning point in the game.

2. The Dallas pass rush is downright scary. They remind me of the days of Charles Haley, Russell Maryland, Jim Jeffcoat, and Ken Norton. That defense was also overlooked because of all the stars on offense. The similarities give me goosebumps. I'm going to pray for Brett Favre next weekend. If what we did to Donovan McNabb is any indication...imagine what we can do to a 40 year old quarterback with zero agility.

3. Wade Phillips will keep his job next season, no matter what happens in Minnesota. Just by getting the monkey off his back last night, Phillips has all but secured his job with the Dallas Cowboys for at least another season.

4. Next weekend's game against Minnesota is my unofficial "Super Bowl". In my opinion, these are the two most balanced teams in the NFL. I feel like New Orleans faded down the stretch and lost their edge against Dallas. Indianapolis cannot make any stops in the fourth quarter. Every close game that they played in this year, the other team made boneheaded mistakes or went for it on fourth down as if they were playing a game of Madden. Minnesota and Dallas are the only two teams that you know what you're going up against when you play them. Relentless pass rush, smart middle linebackers, and balanced secondaries on defense. Quarterbacks capable of making every throw, running backs with home run speed, tight ends that move the chains and wide outs that are red zone threats on offense. I'm stoked about next week's "Super Bowl". Let me know what you think!

Old School

Call me boring. Call me a antiquated. Call me old school. Whenever I watch college football these days, it makes me cringe every time I see a "dual threat" quarterback, a 6'7" point guard, or better yet, a 6'4" 230lb safety. My problem isn't with the athlete that I'm watching. They're hardly to blame for using their athletic gifts.

The blame lies solely on the shoulders of the college and high school coaches who misguide their student-athletes. Are these coaches doing their due diligence or are they just trying to be progressive in their respective sports at the expense of their athletes?

Naturally, every sports fan will fire back at me with shots like "what's wrong with being progressive?" or "Isn't a dual threat QB a good thing?". My response is that there's nothing wrong with being progressive and yes, a dual threat QB is a great thing...when they happen to be a pocket passer with wheels and can score in the double digits of a Wonderlic test and by being progressive, it actually means improving an already functional system.

Let me ask you this: Can you name more than one dual threat QB to win a Super Bowl or a National Championship? There are three names that come to mind: Former Texas QB, Vince Young in 2005, current University Florida QB, Tim Tebow, and former 49er great, Steve Young, have been the most successful dual threat quarterbacks in football. Tebow and Vince Young have electrified fans with their play-making ability and carried their respective teams to NCAA titles. Steve Young didn't exactly electrify with his feet as much as he did with his laser-guided left arm, but he did rack up 4,239 career rushing yards.

Now, let me ask you this: How many athletic quarterbacks were highly regarded in college, but failed to win championships, and were high draft picks in the NFL and yet again, failed to win Super Bowls? I can name at least eight: Michael Vick (1st Overall Pick), Donovan McNabb (2nd Overall), Alex Smith (1st Overall), Charlie Ward (played in the NBA), Eric Crouch (Played 1 season as WR in the NFL), Randall Cunningham (2nd Round), Kordell Stewart (Played WR/RB/QB/P in the NFL), and Steve McNair (lost in the Super Bowl).

Suppose you were a coach and a statistician came up to you with a breakdown of the previous two paragraphs that looked like this -

Probability that your "dual threat" quarterback will win an NCAA championship - 1/20 (There have been four to six that have ever done this by my count, and Eric Crouch is a stretch)

Probability that your "athletic" quarterback will win a Super Bowl in the NFL - 1/43 (only one Super Bowl win by Steve Young)

No coach in their right mind would set up their own players for failure in their future professions for the sake of padding their own coaching resume, right? One would like to think so, but then there's Urban Meyer. He's at the head of the class when it comes to coaching quarterbacks with "upside" that eventually crumble in the NFL. Meyer's list includes the aforementioned Tebow, Josh Harris, Chris Leak, and Alex Smith. Each were utilized in his "progressive" spread offense that has won Meyer two national championships, two Mountain West Conference championships, and two Southeastern Conference championships. (Honorable mention for the coach who's most likely to kill a quarterback's chances in the NFL would have to be Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech - Michael Vick, Marcus Vick, Bryan Randall, and Tyrod Taylor to name a few)

Not surprisingly, Meyer's version of the spread has produced some of the most prolific individual rushing and passing seasons by a college quarterback in the history of college football. This is great for Meyer and even better for his quarterbacks...while they're still in school anyways. What is surprising is the lack of translation those numbers have when it comes to the NFL.

Meyer's spread offense demands athleticism and a strong arm. His quarterbacks rely on the scheme and their instincts. The occasional Cover 2 read or blitz read is needed, but for the most part, the plays are designed so well that it doesn't matter what defense they're facing. This may win his quarterbacks a Heisman Trophy or two, but it does them no justice when it comes to preparation for the NFL. My fear is that as long as sports fans and the media are obsessed with statistics, Meyer will always be judged as one of the best coaches in our era and continue to ruin the professional-potential of his quarterbacks.

The very thought of college football turning into nothing more than a high scoring track meet doesn't interest me one bit. There's a reason why track-and-field is only televised once every four years and that the Arena Football League quit for a season to "reorganize". I'll take a 20-17 chess match of field position, defensive adjustments, and a handful of play-action passes any day of the week. The day college football returns to it's glory of decades past, I'll consider myself a fan.

Side Note: While writing this, I was watching the SEC Championship game between Florida and Alabama. Here's what I came away with about Tebow and Alabama's pocket-passer, Greg McElroy:

• Perhaps this was Tebow's only game of his career against an NFL type defense...he didn't look comfortable at all. He still holds the football too low during his drop backs and his accuracy leaves a lot to be desired.
  

• Greg McElroy (Southlake Carroll HS, Texas), looked like Joe Montana in this game. He made every subtle play that a pocket-passer is expected to make to lead his team to a victory. His decision making was sharp and the execution of his throws was phenomenal.

Check back tomorrow for my NFL picks!