Cowboys Pre-Season struggles

We are now 3 games into Dallas's Pre-season schedule and the results have been underwhelming. The Cowboys came into camp with very few jobs available. This is a veteran team with few players really trying to make the team. Perhaps having so many guys with spots locked up (especially on Offense) has created a camp that lacks intensity, or maybe it's simply a slow start to the season. Regardless of the reason, it is easy to see that the Cowboys have been thoroughly disappointing thus far.

The Offense has been the real culprit to the poor pre-season. The Cowboys have mustered only 1 offensive Touchdown in 3 games, and that came on the heels of a 80-yard fumble return by Barry Church. The Offense has been terrible at every position.

• Tony Romo (13-28, 141, 1-1) has been, at best, not good. His 5 yards per attempt combined with his 46% completion rate are putrid. He has been inaccurate and his timing with his receivers, not just Roy, has been inconsistent. Romo needs to get things together Saturday to build confidence going into the season.
• Felix Jones and Marion Barber have both been bottled up so far. Jones (6-15) and Barber (8-25) haven't had a ton of carries, but have not been productive when given the ball. Choice has been the best back (18-69), but is still averaging less than 4 yards per carry.
• The Receivers have not done Romo many favors either. Austin dropped a 1st down pass in the 2nd quarter against the Chargers, and their have been multiple drops throughout the Pre-season. Receivers have slipped on routes, and the bad timing is partially their fault.
• The Offensive Line has not been great either. I'm not an expert on blocking techniques, but I know it hasn't been good. There have been few holes for the running backs to run through, and they look confused at times. Romo's interception against San Diego came after Leonard Davis completely missed his block on the blitz and the LB ran untouched through the middle of the line. The Line's play will have to improve for this team to be a contender.
  

Their have been a few bright spots. David Buehler looks very good, and the Defense is picking up right where it left off last season. Alan Ball has looked excellent as he blends into the starting safety roll. He flies to the ball, and has been solid in pass coverage. The Cowboys have found an abundance of good looking 4th Corner/special team guys. Brian McCann, Cletis Gordon, Barry Church (Safety and leading tackler), Jamar Wall, and Danny McCray have all looked very good. Church and McCray have been excellent covering on special teams, and McCann, SMU, has looked good in the return game. It will be a tough decision at the end of camp of which 1-2 to keep here. I expect Gordon and Church will make the team, with McCann being signed to the practice squad. Wall and McCray may also have futures on the practice squad.

As we move forward in the Pre-season I will be watching this Offense very closely. I'm not worried about us being an anemic offensive team this year, but I would like for the Offense to be clicking going into the season. This division will be very tough this year, and a slow start would make things very difficult. Dallas plays in Houston Saturday night and should play the starters for the first half, and possibly the 3rd quarter. This will be an important 3 quarters for the team. The Offense needs to put up some points, and find some timing and consistency as they prepare to go into the season. The Starters will not be on the field much during the final game. It will also be important for the Defense, especially the secondary, as Schaub will be the toughest test they will see in the Pre-season.

The Cowboys are a trendy Super Bowl pick as we head toward the season. For this to become a reality the Cowboys will need to make improvements in the next 2 weeks. They have not even looked like a playoff contender yet. I know the potential for greatness is there, but I'm not making any Super Bowl declarations just yet.



A couple notes:

• Rich Harden's 6 2/3 no-hit innings last night was his best start thus far as a Ranger. Harden still had 5 walks, but had an incredible movement on all of his pitches. The feat was even more incredible as the Twins have been the top hitting team in the AL since the All-Star break. If Harden can find some consistency, and repeat performances like last night's, the Rangers will be able to have an incredible Playoff rotation with Lee-Wilson-Lewis-Harden.
  
• The Rangers successfully signed their first 20 selections including 1st supp pick Pitcher Luke Jackson. Jackson, a Miami commit, was hitting 96 and in the Spring, and signed on the deadline day for $1.557 Mil. Jackson, a late riser, is a guy who could make some noise quickly. The Rangers also signed in the last 2 days college Juniors Justin Grimm (Georgia) and Nick Tepesch (Missouri). Both Pitchers were seen as possible 1st round picks coming into the year, but feel due to poor Junior years. Both signed for over-slot money and could be nice signs if they can harness their stuff.
  
• Roddy Beaubois had successful surgery, and has begun rehab on his injured ankle. He is expected to miss all of pre-season camp, but should be ready to go around the start of the season. This will likely delay his entrance into the starting lineup, but shouldn't be a long-term issue.
  

Big week for the Rangers

This week will be one Rangers fans look back on for a very long time. 5 home games against New York and Boston in the middle of a pennant race with sell-outs expected for every game. Possible playoff pitching match-ups every night, and some of the best players in the league in Arlington for 1 great week of baseball. But none of these things are what Rangers fans will remember first. Tomorrow, on August 12th, an off-day for the club, Nolan Ryan and Chuck Greenberg are expected to be approved by Major League Baseball to become the new owners of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers will finally come out of the nightmare of bankruptcy court, and escape from the black cloud that was the Tom Hicks ownership.

6 long months ago this seemed like an inevitability. GnR won the bidding over Houston businessman Jim Crane, among others, and most expected the ownership group to be in place by Opening Day. Fast forward to August 4th and Jim Crane's group backed by Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban looked like locks to become the new owners after blowing away GnR through the first few hours of the auction. Thanks to a late arrival by 2 of GnR's main financial backers, GnR was able to outbid Cuban, and secure the Rangers Franchise.

This outcome is, in my opinion, the best case scenario for the organization. Greenberg and Ryan bring the perfect combination of baseball intellect, marketing genius, and the money to expand our pay role. The greatest fear, in my mind, to having a different ownership group win the auction was a change in the baseball operations department. Jon Daniels, Thad Levine, AJ Preller, and the rest of their staff is among the very best in baseball. They have done a great job building the Rangers through the farm system, and have placed the Rangers on the cusp of a run of greatness. The GnR ownership guarantees the stability of our front office, which will allow us to maintain our progress toward a bright future.

Now that this whole ownership debacle is figured out, Ranger fans can focus on the best Ranger team we've seen in Arlington in my lifetime. For the first time ever the Rangers have established themselves as legitimate World Series contenders. After kicking off the home-stand last night with a walk-off win off of the seemingly unbeatable Mariano Rivera, the Rangers can sweep the 2 game series behind Cliff Lee tonight. This was the first time the Rangers have ever-EVER- defeated Mariano Rivera (15 years). Perhaps this shows the Yankees mental stranglehold they have always seemed to have over the Rangers is loosening. The Yankees are seen by most as the class of the league, and a 2 game sweep would definitely get the attention of the national media (and if you heard Eric Karros on the Saturday telecast you will realize we have earned very little national respect).

I have never seen the fan support as high as it is right now for the Rangers. Last night's 8.0 TV rating destroyed the old record for a Ranger game (6.9 in September of 1996), and maxed out over 10 in the late innings. The fans have been waiting a long time on the Rangers to become the team Dallas baseball fans deserve, and it's finally happening. Tonight the best pitcher in baseball will put on a Rangers uniform and take on the defending World Champions in front of a full house on ESPN. Don't be surprised if last nights TV record doesn't last long. This has the potential to be the most exciting 3 months in Texas Rangers history, and I know I'm going to enjoy every minute of it.