ST:Victory obscures Parcells' big blunder

[denverdan]

I couldn't believe the 49ers put up so many points against the cowboys, this puts things in perspective, seems we are not the only team getting ripped apart after a win. I for one will be rooting for Norv this week

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/12752337.htm

IN MY OPINION

Victory obscures Parcells' big blunder

By JIM REEVES

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

I've reached that point in my life where I'm allowed to have a "senior moment" at any given time. The mind goes blank. A name won't come. A word refuses to be summoned to the tip of the tongue.

Or, if you're an NFL head coach, you call a fake punt at an absolutely ridiculous time.

Hello, Bill Parcells. Have you had your Ensure today?

Of all the things that came out of Sunday's roller-coaster 34-31 Cowboys victory over San Francisco, none worries me more than Parcells' uncharacteristic mental blunder in the third quarter.

We were thisclose to having to watch Big Bill stand up in front of a postgame media mob and say out loud: "I lost this game for us."

We don't want to see that. We don't want to hear that. What we want to know is that we can count on Parcells to always make the right decision.

And if that's not a given, then throw everything we think we know about the Cowboys out the window, because the world has turned topsy-turvy.

As it was, we still had to watch on TV as the cameras caught Parcells mouthing the words "my fault" on the sidelines after the 49ers easily stuffed Patrick Crayton -- Patrick Crayton? -- and took over deep in Cowboys' territory.

That is not something you ever want to read on the lips of your favorite NFL head coach. Profanities are occasionally acceptable, given certain circumstances. But "my fault"? Never, ever, thank you very much.

No wonder Parcells chided reporters afterward about being negative after the Cowboys had somehow snatched back a game they'd given away half a dozen times during the afternoon. I'd be trying to steer them toward Drew Bledsoe and Keyshawn Johnson, too, if I'd just made the silliest call of my coaching career.

That's a potential exaggeration, of course, since I've only truly seen Parcells on a weekly coaching basis for the last three years, but it's hard to imagine that he won two Super Bowls somewhere else making calls like that.

It was the worst call by a Cowboys' coach since "load left" in Philadelphia -- which takes in some territory, since Dave Campo wasn't exactly stellar in clock management -- but you expect that from Barry Switzer. You don't expect Parcells to make calls that can get you beat.

And you don't expect to have to mention him in the same breath as Switzer and Campo, either.

Two quick disclaimers: (1) I thought Jerry Jones' decision to lure Parcells out of retirement was brilliant. Parcells has forgotten more about football (which is what worries me) than most coaches ever learn; (2) For all the bad things that happened Sunday, the Cowboys somehow walked away with a victory, and in today's "any given Sunday" NFL, that's always the bottom line.

But despite Big Bill's accentuation of the positive, there were some warning signs that simply can't be ignored, starting with the head coach.

If it was just the fake punt call, maybe we could give Parcells a "senior moment" benefit of the doubt. After all, he did just turn 64 last month. Time catches up with all of us.

But let me remind you that we just heard Parcells second-guessing himself after last week's loss to the Redskins. He said in retrospect he wished he hadn't put the Cowboys' two-minute offense into action with 2:28 to play and had simply run the ball.

Then there was an at least questionable decision to go for a 2-point conversion in the second quarter against San Francisco and a ridiculous naked-bootleg call on third-and-one when the Cowboys were in field-goal range early in the game.

The Cowboys have three Pro Bowl linemen and a jim-dandy running back in Julius Jones. Why are Drew Bledsoe or, for heaven's sake, Crayton running the football on third- or fourth-down short-yardage situations?

And don't give me Sean Payton's cutesy play-calling, please. Parcells has the final say.

Finally, Parcells made his what-in-the-world call on fourth down in the third quarter. That call alone showed how desperate he was feeling about the Cowboys' chances.

No wonder. The 49ers picked the Cowboys' defense apart. Quarterback Tim Rattay made Cowboys' cornerback Anthony Henry his personal valet.

Henry, who had received Parcells' blessing as the Cowboys' best player in the season's first two weeks, looked like a cast member on Lost. He couldn't cover. He couldn't tackle. He might as well have been running in quicksand.

Did the Cowboys have any safeties on the field? Didn't notice them if they did.

The kicker missed a vital extra point, and almost had his head taken off by Larry Allen because of it.

The Cowboys won because Bledsoe is giving them their best quarterback play since Troy Aikman's heyday. They won because Johnson and Terry Glenn made big-time plays.

They won in spite of the defense and in spite of Parcells.

That's the positive we can take out of all this.

But they can't afford to play the same game next weekend in Oakland. The Raiders have that Cowboy-killer at wide receiver, the one who gives everyone fits.

I'm sure I'll be able to think of his name here shortly.

[Dirk Diggler]

Even though they won, it should have been talked about. But what else do you expect when the media is completely infatuated with Tuna? In their loss to us I only saw a handful of "experts" mention how painfully conservative Tuna got when they had the lead. Oh well, I guess he's simply infallible in the media's eyes.

Still, that fake punt confirmed what most of us have been saying about Dallas's defense - that it's vastly overrated. When your own coach can't trust you to make a stop and get the ball back - it's game, set, match. There really shouldn't be any debate whatsoever about who has the better defense: Skins vs. Boys.

[bubba9497]

Did the Cowboys have any safeties on the field? Didn't notice them if they did.

:laugh: paging Roy Williams

[TheLongshot]

They actually talked a lot about it during the game. It was pretty surprising that he'd do that so soon. It shows that Dallas has some serious problems to deal with.

Jason

[GoDannyBoy]

Dallas to the super bowl. :laugh:

:dallasuck