5 Questions with the Cowboys

It's Dallas Week! The Redskins and Cowboys both come into Sunday night's game 0-1, both facing questions and pressure from local media. To show that we can be as hysterical and unreasonable as the traditional media, we've asked Dave from Blogging the Boys to exchange 5 questions about this week's game. You can find my answers to his questions here. Drop by, register for an account and leave a comment or two to show your Redskin pride. As usual, SBNation community site Hogs Haven has linked up as well. Spread the love.

Added bonus: Blogging the Boys and Hogs Haven have exchanged game previews, with a bet that the loser has to write a glowing piece about the other team on the other's blog. Let's hope Dave is squirming.

And now for this week's edition of 5 Questions With... the Cowboys!

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Curly R: since the Jaguars game, it seems to be all about Bledsoe. He had a 45.8 passer rating in the game, and Parcells himself said he thought Bledsoe could have played better. I'm already reading about how strong and mobile Tony Romo is, and how Parcells is grooming him for the longterm. Is there a quarterback controversy brewing in Dallas? If the Cowboys go 0-2, is that it for Bledsoe? What about Parcells? After he showed up to the season-ending loss last season in ratty sweats that seemed to me to be screaming FIRE ME PLEASE, do you feel he is honestly stewarding the franchise toward the future, or just playing out the string?

Blogging the Boys: There is a QB conteroversy brewing in the press and among some of the fans about Bledsoe and Romo, but I get the feeling that in Parcells' mind there isn't a controversy. Parcells has a strong belief in Bledsoe as a QB and it would take a lot for him to pull Bledsoe. Both Parcells and Jerry Jones think that Bledsoe is the best candidate at QB for Dallas to get into the playoffs and beyond, so he would have to turn in a few consecutive performances like the one last Sunday for Parcells to bench him in favor of Romo. Even if we lose Sunday, I don't think Parcells would change QB's, unless Bledsoe has a really, really bad game. Then he might give it some thought.

As for the "ratty sweats" and "FIRE ME PLEASE" part of the question, I have no idea what you're talking about. Seriously, I don't. Of course Parcells isn't just playing out the string, nobody believes that and it's ridiculous to even comtemplate that scenario. It should be obvious that Parcells desperately wants to win another Super Bowl before he retires and is doing everything in his power to accomplish it.

(Ed note: Parcells at the Rams loss
last season -- his sweatpants were
too short and he looked to me
like a man unable to walk away
on his own, begging to be excused)

Curly R: Texas Stadium. Forbes published their list of most valuable NFL franchises for 2006 and the Cowboys are number 3. Of the top ten teams, only the Cowboys have not opened a new stadium within the past ten years, and Texas Stadium opened in 1971. Clearly, the Cowboys would be the most valuable franchise if Jerral W. Jones were to build and own a new stadium outright, and I'm reading now that drawings of the new, publicly-funded stadium cannot be released for fear of exposing it to terrorist attacks. What's up with this project? Is this a municipally-owned stadium or will the team have some part ownership? I also read the city used eminent domain to force property owners to sell to make way. That can't be a crowd pleaser. Where is the stadium planned and what's your take on all this?

Blogging the Boys: I haven't followed the building of the new stadium in Arlington that closely. What I do know is that the city of Arlington voted to fund half of the stadium's cost, about $325 million and the other half of the costs will be taken on by the Cowboys, meaning Jerry Jones. Yes, the Cowboys forced some land-owners to sell their property and there were some lawsuits to try and stop it. But I believe all of that was settled. At this time, the Cowboys have already broken ground on bulding the stadium, which is located in Arlington, TX and the plan is to start playing there in 2009.


Curly R: September 19, 2005, week 2, Monday Night Football. Brunell to Santana, twice in under 4 minutes. After so many years of tragic beatdown by the Cowboys, Redskins fans feel like that was the reintroduction of the Rivalry. The Cowboys finished 9-7 last season, out of the playoffs, but if they had held on to that lead and won that game, the Cowboys almost certainly would have gotten the Redskins' playoff spot at 10-6, sending the hated rivals home. The home loss to the Rams set off a wave of speculation about Parcells and led to the signing of TO, the guy that might be the Cowboys' savior (this season), or might be a cancer.

In this context, does that defensive breakdown and loss make you bitter, or truly bitter?

Would it change your opinion if you knew all of Washington had gone to bed glum in the third quarter, assured of another Cowboys ass-whipping? And that when we woke anew Tuesday morning to discover the win, that our oatmeal was a little tastier, the traffic a little better and our spouse looking a little younger?

Blogging the Boys: I'm really not sure what the home loss to the Rams has to do with anything and why that supposedly set off a huge wave of speculation. It didn't with anybody I know of or with the Dallas media. It was basically a forgotten footnote in the Cowboys season because we were already out of the playoffs. But for the record, Parcells treated it like any other game by playing all the starters for the whole game, including Drew Bledsoe, even though it was a perfect opportunity to see what Tony Romo had in a real game. The specualtion about Parcells was mainly about his decision on whether he wanted to continue coaching and Jerry Jones' desire not to have him on a one-year lame duck contract. Parcells decided he wanted to continue and Jones signed him to a 2-year extension. I expect some of the same things will occur after this year, Parcells is basically on a year-to-year thing with the Cowboys, and it's entirely based on his decision to keep coaching or retire.

Of course I was bitter after the loss, we spent hours upon hours blaming Aaron Glenn for some shaky coverage, Roy Williams for not providing adquate safety help and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer for putting Aaron Glenn on Moss instead of Terence Newman. But I can tell you that I was equally bitter about some of the games we gave away later in the year because we couldn't find a kicker who could hit a simple FG. Unfortunately, we're already in that same positon this year, even with the signing of Mike Vanderjagt.


Curly R: TO. He insulted his 49er teammates and insinuated his old QB is a closted homosexual. He flouted trade rules in the NFL to go the team he wanted, not the one the 49ers wanted him to go to, then when he got there, he pissed off his quarterback, the his coach, then the ownership, and the Eagles decided it was better to pay him to sit than to play. Once in Dallas, he went diva again, humiliating The Tuna and his disciplined ways with a fake injury to get out of practice and preseason, and apparently doesn't own an alarm clock. But no one can say he isn't a playa. What's your take? Are you a backer, is he a necessary evil or are you waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Blogging the Boys: Well, that's one way of looking at it. But the truth is he didn't go all "diva" again in training camp and no one associated with the Cowboys organization thinks he was faking the hamstring injury. In case you haven't noticed, several high profile WR's had hamstring injuries in the preseason like Steve Smith (who missed the first game) and Hines Ward. Parcells was humiliated? That's just silly. Parcells told the press all along that he would've liked for Terrell to practice, but you have to leave it to the player to determine when he's healthy and that Owens has been no problem in training camp in any way. So much for tabloid journalism.

I wasn't a backer of the signing of Owens. Given his history, I felt that at some point in his time here, something would happen that would be detrimental to the team. So my decision would've been not to sign him. But now that he's here, I guess we'll have to live with the issue of his behavior, but I can tell you he adds a whole new dimension to the offense. Last week in Jacksonville he was our best player on the field, and will probably only get better as he gets used to Bledsoe and the Cowboys offense. But certainly there is always the looming danger of him becoming a disruption, and that fear will never go away.


Curly R: how do you see the NFC East shaking out? What's your take on Eli? Who's going to be the surprise player in the East, and who's going to be the big disappointment?

Blogging the Boys: Going into week one, I honestly thought that the Cowboys would win the NFC East, and that wasn't just a homer pick. But after the Jaguars game, I'm not as confident because our defense, which I thought would be dominant, turned out to be rather ordinary. Bledsoe had one of his bad games, which he throws into the mix a few times every season, but I'm hoping that's not a sign of things to come. If the defense plays up to it's potential and Bledsoe stops turning the ball over (I know, that's always been a problem with Bledsoe) then I think we can still take it. Eli looks much improved this year, he played a good game agaisnt the Colts except for throwing that desperation INT towards the end of the game. Donte Stallworth looks like he might be the surprise player in the East, given his performance in week one.


Curly R: BONUS QUESTION
Are you with Jerral W. Jones in believing plastic surgery will enable you to cheat death?


Blogging the Boys: Cheat death? He looks like death. I'm thinking they used Skeletor as the model for his plastic surgery.

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Thanks to Dave for playing. Get over and check out my take on the Redskins. It's Dallas Week!



Bill Parcells: AP via NFL.com
Jerral W. Jones rictus grin: USAToday