Bleacher Report - Articles by Dan DeMagistris

The Dallas Cowboys And The Emotional Roller Coaster Ride

Dan DeMagistris — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 05:30:59 -0500

The demand for perfection is everlasting and unrelenting in Dallas. The star is not just a symbol of pride donned by a nation of faithful, but a mark of honor, courage, and the relentless fight for championship, after championship, after championship. Jerry Jones made a statement when he bought the Cowboys in 89' for a cool $150 million and then immediately fired legendary Head Coach Tom Landry. It isn't about anything but winning. The Dallas Cowboys were a great team in 2008. Despite losing Romo early to injuries, that some may say he could have played through, and despite Pacman Jones being an angry pothead (who knew they even existed), the Cowboys find themselves on the brink of another chance at that long awaited playoff victory. They are healthy, hungry, and peaking at the exact right time. Cowboys fans are sent through the emotional ringer every sunday watching their Boys take 2 steps forward and 1 step back, and still their faith remains. The Dallas Cowboys are the Sopranos of sports. The drama that unfolds on the sidelines on Sundays is a testament to their belief in something bigger then themselves, and something so few ever get to experience. The Cowboys demand perfection from real mortals, and that will never change.

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Jerry Jones' Road to Perfection Is Paved with Humility

Dan DeMagistris — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:51:51 -0400

Jerry Jones has ruined the Dallas Cowboys.

Millions of people tune in every Sunday to watch arguably one of the most talented, star-studded teams in all of sports fumble around (pun totally intended) and get stomped.

Why is a team full of Pro Bowl athletes getting embarrassed by teams like the Rams? The answer lies within the infamous bowels of Jerry Jones' money-gobbling, power-hungry executive cabinet.

No other professional team in the history of sports has come under more media scrutiny than the Dallas Cowboys.

Jones loves it and openly invites this kind of attention to the practice fields and locker rooms.

The practice field is where teams prepare for war. When you allow 100s of nit-picking, instigating, propaganda-slinging reporters onto the field to get a rise out of any and all players within ear shot, it is going to be extremely difficult for your head coach to keep his players minds focused on football practice.

Jerry Jones is your problem, Cowboys fans.

The central

modus

operandi of the Cowboys used to be "simply win, at all costs, just win."

Father Jones has managed to inflate the "Cowboy" trademark to such epic proportions that Terrell Owens, who used to just be an athlete on a team, can't blow his nose without being accused of potentially having a coke problem.

This is not a football team to Jerry Jones. This is a business. The proverbial coal for its fire is national attention. As we've seen from the HBO documentary, Jones is very interested in exploiting every aspect of his franchise. He wants to sell drama where there is no place for it.

Is anyone aware that the Titans are 6-0? Is it because Kerry Collins is oh so talented? Maybe it's Alge Crumpler's dominance? Perhaps there are nothing but good little boys on this team who never complain about their quarterback or coach?

No.

They're out of the limelight. They have nothing to do but practice hard and win football games. There are no expectations, other than play hard, play together, don't make mistakes, and win. It's also no surprise that their turnover ratio is +6, to the Cowboys fantastic -6.

When you can focus at practice, you can remember that the coach said its bad to start moving before the rest of the offense. Apparently that’s called a penalty.

Wade Philips and his players are the ones left to confront the media, while Jerry Jones skulks off to calculate how much money he may have lost.

Tank Johnson and Wade Philips impressed me with their comments after the loss to the Rams. Their tone was of disappointment, not the disbelief that you would get from Mr. Jones. The players and the coaches are aware of the changes that need to be made, and the only way to make the changes is during practice.

Unfortunately, in this writer's opinion, Jerry Jones has thrust this team into a black hole of such intense strength that their very hearts will be sucked out of their chests as the media, like great white sharks, only grows stronger as the team starts to fall apart.

The only chance for the Cowboys is for a leader to emerge. I, personally, am hoping for a Jason Witten freak out, where he beats the hell out of several people in the locker room and ignites the spark that Dallas once had.

It’s the only way they will make the playoffs this year.

Life Without Tony: The Cowboys' Guide To Winning

Dan DeMagistris — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 11:00:17 -0400

It's a new day in Dallas.

Not only did they lose starting quarterback and resident team leader Tony Romo to a broken pinkie, they got their proverbial you-know-whats handed to them (rather unceremoniously) by the formerly mediocre-at-best Arizona Cardinals.

I hope Travis LaBoy and Darnell Dockett both received game balls after Sunday's game against the visiting Cowboys. I don't remember the last time two players disrupted an offense more effectively than these two. They were reminiscent of Strahan and Umenyiora, except Dockett was coming up the middle.

Where was the Dallas offensive line on Sunday? Jason Garrett better start limiting his front five to a pound of pasta per day from now on. They were slow, weak, and bursting with technical errors.

Next week, the Boys' in blue roll into St. Louis to face another average-at-best defense that just helped its team break an eight-game losing streak by bringing down Washington QB Jason Campbell four times and forcing three fumbles.

Several things need to happen next week in order for the Cowboys to get a win against the Rams, and even more things need to happen to get a win against the Bucs in week eight and the Giants in week nine.

First, Jason Garret needs to have a chat with his offensive line and they need to figure out how to keep the 40-year-old Brad Johnson off his behind as much as possible in the upcoming weeks. Johnson is no spring chicken and I think there are a limited number of hits left for Johnson to sustain in his career. The next step is Brooks Bollinger—no thanks.

Next, defensive coordinator Brian Stewart, needs to set up a Pop Warner tackling drill to remind the cowboys defense (especially Zack Thomas and the secondary) that in the NFL you can't slap someone to the ground. I've never seen so many arm tackles in my life. "Head in front, hit, wrap, lift, and drive" should be the mantra chanted for at least three hours a day by the Dallas defense this week. Football is not a contact sport, it's a collision sport.

The majority of the Rams' tackles against Washington last week came from defensive backs, which is a good sign for Cowboys fans. The Cowboys o-line needs to get a solid push up front, open some holes, and Marion Barber will be lowering his shoulder into 190-pound cornerbacks instead of 300-pound defensive tackles.

I think the mere presence of both Barber and rookie phenom Felix Jones will command a lot of respect and attention on the field. Sans Romo, the Cowboys may prove hard to handle, as the play action will become most effective. Defenses are going to look to pressure Johnson with the blitz and while also shutting down the running game. This will provide a significant chance for the old war vet to hit Owens and Co. downfield for big gains.

Obviously, with Johnson taking the helm, the Cowboys offensive scheme is going to shift somewhat, giving Barber and Jones the chance to prove their leadership abilities.

Losing Romo is the first real emotional test for the Dallas Cowboys since Romo took over for Drew Bledsoe. Look for the Cowboys to rally around each other. If they are able to tune out the naysayers and feed off of each others talents, you are going to see a very dangerous team next week against the Rams.

If they can significantly roll over the Rams, I think they will gain enough momentum to hit the Meadowlands at 6-2 and overcome the favorite Giants. When's the last time that the Giants were favored against the Cowboys?

Like I said, it's a new day in Dallas.

Terrell Owens: The Most Misunderstood Player in Football

Dan DeMagistris — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:36:34 -0400

Whether you are a Giants fan, a Cardinals fan, an Indy fan, a Cheese head, or you bleed silver and blue, you know damn well every time you check ESPN.com you are expecting to see something relating to Terrell Owens.

The man is simply a cartoon character. He is a beacon of media attention and symbolic tomfoolery. From the pen in the sock in San Fran, to the end zone popcorn shower in Dallas, the man has set the tone for on- and off-field hilarity in the NFL.

Chad Ocho Cinco, formerly known as That Incredibly Overrated WR from Cincinnati, went through the steps of legally changing his name, and I think it's safe to say that the general public was still more interested in T.O. doing sit-ups in his driveway. But what about the man himself?

Has anyone besides me noticed that he has developed from a punk kid with a big mouth who idolized Jerry Rice into a role model for the rookie receivers, who loves his role, his team, his coach, and his quarterback, and is quickly becoming (if not already) comparable to his aforementioned idol?

It's funny that it seems mainstream sports media is almost upset to see him happy and successful. I don’t know if anyone caught the "controversy" recently between T.O. and Tony Romo. Actually, I’m sure no one did, because it didn’t exist. However, due to media rumblings, T.O. was forced to waste an entire radio show defending his distaste for losing.

What? An athlete that hates losing? Ridiculous; Dallas should remove that cancer from its team before he hurts morale.

Are you kidding me? I was an athlete in my youth, and you better believe that it was difficult to be eloquent after a tough loss. T.O. officially has a quarterback who gets him. There really isn’t a better way to put it.

Owens, without question, is a therapist's dream. Raised without a father by his mother and grandmother, clearly attention-seeking, quick to show his emotions rather than collecting his thoughts and relaying information calmly and rationally. You cannot get any more real than that though. And that is something that should be respected immensely.

Romo somehow knows that all T.O wants to do is win - and that’s what Romo wants. Together, my friends, they are going to win a Super Bowl. T.O. officially belongs to an organization that knows just who they have, and how to use him. You won't ever see T.O. following Tony Romo like a yipping puppy up and down the sidelines trying to convince Tony to throw the ball to him more often.

Owens has matured into a leader and a wide receiver so technically and physically sound that he may end his career as the most prolific wide receiver ever to play the game. So the next time you hear someone talking about Terrell Owens in a negative light, ask what year of T.O. they are talking about. If they are talking about T.O. 2k8, they might want to revise their opinions.