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Home > Jeff Schultz > Archives > 2008 > December > 30
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday Countdown: Cowboys, Cards & Kate Walsh (hubba hubba!)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
10: No Terrell Owens. No Brett Favre. No DeAngelo Hall, Jeremy Shockey, Pacman Jones or Chad Zippo-Dumbo. When is the last time the NFL playoffs kicked off on such a pure note?
9: The funniest thing about the Dallas Cowboys’ collapse — and there’s a long list — is the day-after proclamations by coach Wade Phillips that he is going to be a tougher guy with the players next season. Look, Wade Phillips is a pretty good defensive coordinator. Nice guy. Solid guy. But he is not George Patton. He’s not even Will Patton. He doesn’t get into players’ faces and he’s certainly not going to strike fear into anybody, like, say, Bill Parcells or Jimmy Johnson. Fact is, with Jerry Jones having such a high-profile position with the team, it’s going to be difficult for any coach to establish some semblance of authority.
8: Classy bunch in Dallas. The day after the final game, few players made themselves available to speak to the media. One of those who did speak: former Tech running back Tashard Choice, who emerged down the stretch while the stars around him went up in flames. So there’s one guy to build around.
7: Time out for baseball: Just saw where the Mets are talking to the Dodgers about Andruw Jones (who would play in right field in New York). L.A. apparently is willing to pick up a big chunk — if not most of — next season’s $15 million salary just to get rid of him. Question: Would this be such a bad thing for the Braves to look into?
6: I don’t know what Frank Wren has planned — and given the way this winter has gone, it may not really matter what he has planned. But right now the Braves starting outfield reads (left to right): Matt Diaz, Josh Anderson, Jeff Francoeur. Jones can still play defense and I have to think three home runs and 14 RBI last year is an aberration. What are your other options?
5: Also just saw where Kate Walsh is suddenly available on the open market. Forget Andruw.
4: The Arizona Cardinals had the lowest net points differential of 12 playoff teams: plus-one. They were the third-highest scoring team at 427 points but allowed 426. Only four teams — Detroit, St. Louis, Denver and Kansas City — allowed more. And they finished a combined 12-52.
3: When the Cardinals go down, they go down like Pompeii. Their four biggest flops this season came to the New York Jets (56 points allowed), Giants (37), Philadelphia (48) and New England (47). I know there’s all this conjecture about Matt Ryan being injured or tired, given the way he finished the season. But this would be a good time for a painkiller and a shot of B-12. In those four games, Brett Favre, Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb and Matt Cassel threw for a combined 15 touchdowns — and Arizona had 15 turnovers.
2: How good have the Hawks been so far this season? At 20-10, they need go only 17-35 the rest of the way to equal last year’s record.
1: NFL playoff oddity: The four road teams are all favored. Three will win: Falcons, Colts and Eagles. The exception: Dolphins over Ravens.
