Comments on: Is It Christmas?

By: Oliver

Oliver — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 20:24:07 +0000

It’s like 70% humor. But the 30% is for guys like the Dallas fan I almost came to blows with once. There’s way too many of that guy in the NFL and almost half of them are Dallas fans. I hate the Cowboys because they’re our rival, and because in the ’90s as Norv Turner was killing the Skins, Dallas won a bunch of championships with genuinely good guys like Aikman and Smith (along with crackheads like Irvin). So I’m bitter.

Dallas sucks.

By: Texas Pete

Texas Pete — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:51:37 +0000

I agree that Jerry Jones is the biggest problem with the Cowboys. I grew up in Dallas and as a kid was a Cowboys fan when they couldn’t get a first down against high grass. The Landry years were wonderful as the Cowboys turned into a gratifying team to support — but since then the management has let down the fans over and over. It tests the resolve of those who believe you should support your team through thick and thin. The “Amerca’s Team” deal was embarrassing, Jones is a joke, except for Johnson his coaching choices were unreliable, and I hated them bringing T.O. to Dallas — but I can’t give up the team I grew up with. Nobody likes fair weather fans. And I have to say that while I love your Blog, Oliver, I do get tired of the apocalyptic hatred of the Cowboys. However arrogant Jones and PR office have been, I don’t think I and the other good Cowboy fans I know deserve that level of venom. But maybe it’s supposed to be humorous.

By: liberalrob

liberalrob — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:07:15 +0000

benny05 up there is right. The biggest problem with the Cowboys is the owner. His buddy Jimmy Johnson was a good coach and evaluator of talent, and they put together a great team. After Johnson left, Jones thought he was a football man a hired a string of failures. Switzer presided over the decline of the Johnson era and got one last good year out of them. Dave Campo and Chan Gailey were “company men” Jones brought in as his dogsbodies. Remember who it was who thought Quincy Carter was the new Randall Cunningham- Jones. Finally the area got restless and Jones realized he wasn’t going to get his new multimillion-dollar retractrable-roof stadium unless he got some better results, so he hired Parcells. Bill tried hard but the constant interference from Jones was just too much; “football man” Jones always seemed to be picking up fading stars like Keyshawn Johnson, Vinny Testaverde, and yes T.O. I don’t blame Parcells for hanging it up after this season. He could see the future, Jones would probably try to sign Michael Vick to be the new big-name star QB after he wears out his welcome in ATL, and there was already one “coach-killer” on the team.

Probably the worst thing Jerry could do would be to hand the job to a young unknown like Garrett let him see what he can do. T.O. and the vets would eat Garrett for lunch. You think Tom Coughlin has lost control of the Giants, Coughlin’s a proven NFL head coach; handing this collection of egos to a total unknown like Garrett would be a recipe for disaster. Signing Norv Turner, while probably not a way to success on the field (since Jones will still meddle and sabotage the team), would probably keep the team from disintegrating completely. Turner has at least been in the business a long time and would command some respect in that regard. And his success as an O-coord might help the team in other ways, since the offense is pretty young and could use some guidance that Parcells just wasn’t inclined to provide (being a defense-minded coach).

By: ed

ed — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 02:52:57 +0000

I found the short version

” Vegas highlight: Drove former Redskins coach Norv Turner from a $25 blackjack table last April at Mandalay (when the Coach was winning, no less) by looking at the ceiling and screaming, “The Coach … is … killing me.” This happened after Turner was winning big and inexplicably turned conservative, staying on “16″ three different times when the dealer had a “10″ showing. If you know anything about Turner’s tenure in Washington, you can attest to how funny this story is. I swear to God, it happened. “

By: ed

ed — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 02:46:44 +0000

Norv, who is a likable enough guy, is a good O-coordinator and a bad head coach. You see this a lot in Baseball (e.g., Ray Miller).

Post-loss press conferences with Norv were an entirely new level of Hell. Awful.

Anyway, I couldn’t find it for free in a quick Googling, but if you never read The Sports Guy’s (Bill Simmons) account of his buddy running Norv from a $5 Blackjack table in Vegas, well, you just haven’t lived. Good times.

By: RedBastardGod

RedBastardGod — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:34:57 +0000

Gibbs is no longer a head coach, he’s the chairman of the board. The Redskins organization has become a bureaucracy. Therein lies the problem.

By: Oliver Willis

Oliver Willis — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 23:23:27 +0000

Awful, which is twenty steps above if they were coached by Norv Turner.

By: Hedley

Hedley — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 22:16:19 +0000

How’d the Skins do this year?

By: Oliver Willis

Oliver Willis — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 21:33:06 +0000

Yes, thats why the Skins went to the playoffs last year while Dallas sat at home.

By: Jadegold

Jadegold — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 21:14:52 +0000

If the Cowboys want mediocrity–look no further than Joe Gibbs. The game passed Gibbs by about 15 years ago.

By: Retired Catholic

Retired Catholic — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 20:43:27 +0000

The NFL is littered with offensive coordinators who failed as head coaches. Al Saunders, Kevin Gilbride, Jim Mora and Norv Turner, among others, are prime examples. It would seem that guys who coach the other side of the ball do better as head coaches in this day and age. The exceptions seem to be those who learned from Don Corryell.

By: Hedley

Hedley — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:48:55 +0000

Who has done better than Turner in either Oakland or Washington?

By: RedBastardGod

RedBastardGod — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:39:45 +0000

After failing repeatedly as a HC (1 trip to the playoffs in ’99), Jones is more of a fool than I thought if he hires Turner.

And mark, how long did you live in DC? 4 months?

By: Oliver Willis

Oliver Willis — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:32:41 +0000

Joe Gibbs has won 3 Superbowls, the Redskins went to the playoffs in the second year of his return. Yes, this past season sucked ass but Gibbs’ second coming is still better already than the 7 years of Turner.

By: Hedley

Hedley — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:11:17 +0000

To be more accurate, I’m sure Toronto Blue Jays fans said the same thing about Joe Torre going to the Yankees.

My guess though is that the Cowboys will end up with either Wade Philips or Jason Garrett. Depends on whether they want to take a chance on Garrett now or groom him for a year or two.

By: Hedley

Hedley — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 17:00:39 +0000

I’m sure Red Sox fans said the same thing about Joe Torre going to the Yankees.

By: mark

mark — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:52:34 +0000

I’ve spent time in dallas and dc and there’s no difference in fan knowledge. The only difference is an obsession with and jealousy in DC of the cowboys that is pathetic.

You don’t even here about the redskins unless is the week you play them. In dc you hear about the cowboys all year long. Flattery in it’s finest form.

Turner could be bad, but not as bad as gibbs. Remember when you thought gibbs was the second coming oliver? How’d that work out for ya?

(which means your sports expertise might not be quite what you think it is)

By: jjcomet

jjcomet — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:32:32 +0000

I would hope that even Jerry Jones is not foolish enough to give Norv a head coaching position, although I’d welcome his return as offensive coordinator. If Jones does hire Norv as HC, however, it will give him a leg up on Dan Snyder as the poorest evaluator of coaching talent in the league.

By: benny05

benny05 — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 15:51:56 +0000

I’m not crazy about Turner going to work for the Pokes. I’m a Pokes fan, and the problem with the team is the owner, not the coach.

By: C.S.Strowbridge

C.S.Strowbridge — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 09:45:54 +0000

Thank god. I hate the Dallas Cowboys almost as much as I hate the New York Rangers