We Gotta Talk About……Dem Cowboys!

One of the features of Fourth & 15 I hope to start is ‘We Gotta Talk About…’ – a dive into a franchise making the news for the right, or wrong reasons.

We start with ‘America’s Team’, ‘Dem Cowboys’ or as I have branded them in 2020 the ‘Brokedown Cowboys’. The 2020 episode of the best soap opera in Dallas since….well Dallas is shaping up to one of Jerry Jones’ best yet.

Let me take you back to pre-season dear reader, our young hero Dak Prescott wants to be paid what’s he’s worth. He followed the path well rushed by his mate Zeke….the result, he’s now on the franchise tag.

It’s not as if he’s under any pressure, the back up is the play-off averse Andy Dalton…..

On the field it’s fair to say it’s not gone well. Mike McCarthy came in after a year off following his firing in Green Bay to a certain air of ‘ABJ’ – Anyone but Jason.

Dem Cowboys had grown tired of Jason Garrett, a man from I always felt the job was too big for. But Jerry liked him and like an over-protective father, Jerry always stood up for little Jason when the going got tough.

Jason did his bit too though, he was the support act to the biggest problem facing the Cowboys, the fact that nearly 30 years on it’s still the Jerry Jones Show.

Jerry’s never met a microphone he didn’t like and when you combine that with the fact he remains GM of the Cowboys, any coach is going to feel the heat from the moment they agree their contract.

Look at the last few Super Bowl champions; the Chiefs, the Eagles and of course the Patriots. Do you hear from Clark Hunt, Jeffrey Lurie or Robert Kraft on a daily basis? No. Do they run the football business as GM, No

McCarthy, Garrett and many before them have all felt Jerry’s breath on their necks when the going got tough. It’s not a situation which is going to lead to success.

It might explain why this year marks 25 years since one of the most storied franchises in the NFL took their place at the Super Bowl.

The Cowboys went to the big dance three times in Jones’ first six seasons under Jimmy Johnson and then Barry Switzer. Since then, nada, nilch, nothing

In fact, the last three coaches have accrued just seven post-season adventures dating back to 2003.

McCarthy is already under pressure with a 2-5 record, a defence which rarely needs unlocking as they’ve often left the door open themselves and outright rebellion among the playing staff.

Seven weeks in and already the locker room ‘doesn’t rate’ McCarthy and his coaching staff which is code in Dallas for ‘we’ve been to see Jerry’.

And it’s clear the feeling may well be mutual as McCarthy didn’t hold back in slating his Cowboys for not having a crack at Jon Bostic for his illegal hit which put Dalton out of the game yesterday.

While McCarthy was right, his comments aren’t going to help matters in a dressing room which is not the happiest place to be at this moment.

Maybe this is the time for Jerry to let McCarthy dominate the headlines somewhat, let his head coach be the voice of the franchise and not him.

Because something’s gotta give in Dallas, especially with a divisional game against the Eagles next Monday before the 5-0 Steelers and their hot defence come to A T & T in prime time on November 8.

Lose both and McCarthy will be 2-7. Wade Phillips still holds the record for the only Cowboys head coach to be terminated during the season. His record? 1-7

Could it happen? Possibly not as McCarthy is only in his first year in Dallas. But in Jerryworld anything can happen from one week to the next.

Will Bell toil or toll in Kansas?

HUGELY encouraging to see Le'Veon Bell becoming the latest toy for Patrick Mahomes to play with in Kansas, not for the rest of the league admittedly, but the best QB in the business now has yet another outlet.

After leaving the Steelers under the stormiest of clouds, it's fair to say life in the Big Apple didn't go anyway near to plan for one of the three B's.

I'll admit I was expecting him to chase the payday allegedly on offer from the Dolphins but it speaks a lot about Bell that he recognises the potential for a Super Bowl ring is much closer with the Chiefs than in Miami.

If this comes off then my very best wishes to every defensive co-ordinator who has the Chiefs on the schedule between now and week 17 and beyond. Because scheming a response to that offence is going to cause many, many sleepless nights.

Block 'em all, Mahomes will rush you to death. Block the speed merchants at wide receiver, I mean all of them and who's this catching the football? Oh hi Travis!

You've got to love how the Chiefs are seeking to build on their February triumph. Bell is far from a panic purchase, just another addition to the free-scoring offence being led by Mahomes and directed by Eric Bieniemy.

But there has to be buy in by Bell for this to work, he's now walking into a facility where Pro Bowls mean less than Super Bowl rings. Any demands to be number one receiver will be frowned upon, Papa Reid looks the sort of coach who will make you earn things.

Plus he needs to earn Mahomes trust, Patrick has plenty of friends he likes to play ball with and while one more won't hurt he still needs time in the park to build up the partnership needed when its third and 8 with time ticking down.

Christmas has come early for him though, after the payday and the arrival of the fastest thing on two legs in Clyde Edwards-Hillaire it's going to take a heck of a defence for Mahomes to wander off saying 'I had no options'.

If this is how the Chiefs react after a defeat then the NFL might not want to make the Andy Reid's men angry for the rest of the season. You won't like them when they're angry

Quinn pays the price for refusal to accept Super Bowl collapse

“I’m past it, but I’m not over it. I don’t think I’ll ever be and that’s a good thing.”

Dan Quinn to NFL.com a month after his Falcons blew a 25 point lead to the Patriots at Super Bowl 51 in February 2017.

If you want to understand why Quinn got his pink slip on Sunday evening then start from that quote then look at the past three years. 2017 saw them back in the play offs, albeit after a 10-6 season, then 2018 and 2019 saw successive 7-9 campaigns.

Quinn only made it into 2020 after turning a 1-7 start in 2019 into a 6-2 finish to put a little gloss on a disappointing campaign.

Yes the Saints are the top dogs in the NFC South but please, Matt Ryan is no Nathan Peterman and has the toys to play with on offence.

Truth is the Falcons play like a team with the world’s worst hangover, a 29-10 lead over the Cowboys in week two became a 40-39 loss and then there was that Bears game….

With 15 minutes left the Falcons led 26-10, the first W was one good quarter of football away. Heck the Bears benched their starting QB! The result? 20 unanswered points from messers Foles and company and another L.

By not being ‘over it’ Quinn projected his feelings of that incredible February night onto his team. He’s not the only coach or player to taste pain at the big dance, ask the Bills Marv Levy and Scott Norwood, the kicker who had a shot at winning Super Bowl XXV for Buffalo if it still hurts.

Ask John Elway, the QB who led the Broncos to a 10-0 lead over the Redskins in Super Bowl XXII only to see 42 unanswered points in response, if he still hurts all these years on.

The answer will be yes, of course it will they are professional sportsmen. But the very best deal with it, move on and don’t dwell on something they can’t change.

Foxborough’s own Darth Maul is often mocked for his ‘We’re on to’ comments after a defeat but Belichick’s genius is that not only does it prevent the media from picking over a defeat too much but it sends a message to the locker room that defeat is an unwanted visitor.

Quinn would have been better served challenging his men to think about it a lot and channel the hurt into winning football games.

Instead he gave his players an excuse. ‘Well if coach isn’t over it then we sure ain’t.’

Quinn then sacked his co-ordinators, it was everyone else’s fault but his own.

He was right, until he started the season 0-5. Then he found out the truth, maybe it was his fault all along….

Bye, Bye, Bill

FIRSTLY welcome to Fourth and 15. Another British take on all things NFL from a proud Colts fan #ForTheShoe!

I'll be sharing my thoughts on the news around the NFL and we have to start with the first head coach firing of the new season and we're only in Week 4! Black Monday could soon be a thing of the past if this continues.

Here's my immediate take on Bill O'Brien, he tried to be like Belichick and failed. There ain't nobody in the NFL today who can act as HC and GM - there's simply too much to do. When Darth Maul does ride off into the sunset in New England, Robert Kraft will need a GM to work with Josh McCoward (that is how you spell McDaniels in this house)

I know the Texans had a rough schedule to start the season so 0-4 is no surprise but if you want full control of the franchise you have to deliver, you have to go into Pittsburgh and win, you have to run the Chiefs close then they did.

You have to utilise one of the finest QB's in the league today better than O'Brien managed. I can't imagine Deshaun Watson is packing his bags and hanging up his cleats in Houston this evening at the O'Brien's demise.

Yes O'Brien took them to the playoffs but lets take a look at their last two visits to the post Christmas party. In 2018 they had home-field advantage against my Colts and basically stunk the place out as Lord Andrew Luck took us to a 21-7 win.

Last year was worse for the Texans, the Bills rode into Houston and were one quarter away from handed O'Brien another short playoff journey. A combination of Josh Allen forgetting he was an NFL quarterback and Watson turning up the gas as the star I think he will become saw the Texans home in OT,.

What happened next? The Chiefs stuck 50 points past them despite the Texans racing into a 24-0 lead after which the score was an embarrassing 51-7 against O'Brien's side.

He took an good roster into the playoffs, but there's the problem again. As GM he needed to put the pieces together to go from good to great, instead he took a good roster and hampered it with some simply awful trades.

DeAndre Hopkins GONE to the Cardinals for David Johnson and a second round pick. Two problems with this Johnson hasn't pumped in the numbers since 2016 at wide receiver because of injury and the state of the Cardinals offence. Oh and you give away your number 1 WR for a second round pick in the year you don't have a first round pick in the draft!

The thing is that's just one of a host of examples I could give you. O'Brien was simply awful at deal making, often waiting until it was too late and spending vital draft capital.

I'd imagine the McNair family won't be seeking an all powerful replacement for O'Brien who will resurface somewhere, he's clearly a good football coach and by all accounts an honourable, decent man.

So long Bill, hopefully that's two divisional wins for the Colts sewn up this year!