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The exotic hair product Dallas blog - Final.


Art

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Settling back in, slowly, to good, wholesome Redskins living. Title of this week's blog should take you to Something About Mary. That's all for now.

Murf and I getting setup.

11 a.m. Saturday - Packing up. Mom is taking a quick nap. Little girl is screaming bloody murder that mom is taking a quick nap. Dad puts little girl in bed. Big girl is very interested in this whole concept of me going somewhere to watch football, but doubly interested in the El Coque Dora we have on.

2:40 p.m. Saturday - Packed in to a small shuttle plane, this tiny little guy next to me starts crowding me. I wake him and tell him to learn how to get small. We have tension the rest of the trip. Don't screw with the Art's personal space. Homie don't play that.

4:20 p.m. Saturday - Pulling down into Dallas and I realize something I'd previously missed. The first visible sign from the air as you cruise in is a Hooter's sign. Something about this just seems right.

5 p.m. Saturday -- At baggage claim with bag. Call the Murf to tell him to buzz me when he lands so we can do the rental car thing. Read the ridiculous Footprints of God book, which is so outrageously ludicrous it's splendid time burning.

5:30 p.m. Saturday -- Murf is in the hizzy. Notice I can still pull off the use of hizzy as if hip. Meeting at Hertz where we discover the kind Redskins travel people have booked AND paid for a compact car. Apparently they forgot the memo that not only does Art not do compact but Art has cars with a dozen people in them hours later. We upgrade to the SUV and I make Murf put it on his card and swear to pay him back. Sucker. I offered to put it on my card if Murf would spoon me, which he too readily agreed to, but it was in his name.

5:55 p.m. Saturday -- Call from the Redskins.com TV boys wondering where we are. Last year's 90 year old gate guard is gone, replaced by a cabana boy who waves us in as we tell the boys we're getting close. Told I have to remember that we need to make a stop at the liquor store for a liter of vodka for post-game flights home. Sound plan.

6:05 p.m. Saturday -- Murf discovers how cool it is to come to games with me. When I'm here we get upgraded rooms. We don't actually have a room. We have a "villa" and we're offered a ride to it as it is a full minute away from the main complex. We are very important people. Team only has us down for one night so we extend for two and hugs abound as the crew catches us at check in. I am not sure how much longer I will do these trips, but, it is always a lot of fun. Room is quite nice. We even have a little veranda which would be put to use later.

7 p.m. Saturday -- Fresh dressed like a million bucks, Murf and I walk up from the villa to the main building. Low key at this point. Golston is sitting on a bench with some friends. Fred Smoot is rolling with about 20 family members near the main entrance. We hit the bar off the lobby. Hailredskins ***** is there with Mr. Clean, Gary, Larry and, of course, our new friend, the blogger. I quickly inform the blogger not to be intimidated by being in the room with two people (Murf and I) who both turned his job down. But, naturally, he was. We are pretty cool you know.

7:30 p.m. Saturday -- Find out from the blogger that someone is crushing him on the internet using my e-mail address. Says he had to ask around to make sure it wasn't actually me. Wasn't. I do the direct confrontation when I don't like someone. Like at my new favorite site about firing some lousy local beat reporter who after years on the job still doesn't know NFL rules without hand holding.

8:00 p.m. Saturday -- Acquainting with the crew. Talking quite a bit with the blogger, giving him my point of view. Most important thing to know about any of the stuff we've ever done was conveyed now to the blogger who was talking about how he's still learning what he can and can't write and I asked who's told him he can't write something. He said no one. And I said that's the secret. Write whatever you want.

8:15 p.m. Saturday -- Horrified to discover Irving is a "dry" county with no where to buy booze. We are somewhat concerned the Goose and Tonic, tonics, we'd had all night were somehow criminal acts, but decided against understanding Texas county laws due to that whole shoot first and ask questions later thing they have going on. Directed to a place just outside the county line to buy booze. Three 12s of Fat Tire beer, one liter of air plane vodka and one liter of booze for the veranda purchased, then we stack back in the car with the standard crew and the grumpy Mr. Broyhill, who is mentioned solely due to his hair and how close it is to Jim Zorn's and ties to the title of this blog.

8:30 p.m. Saturday -- Driving continually by the place we want to eat now with Murf navigating with the Garmin. We are unable to understand how the hell we can't get there when we discover Murf is not taking us there. He's taking us back because he thinks the airplane vodka needs to be delivered now. Notice I'm not telling you WHO gets this airplane vodka :). Secrets of the road. Murf has navigating rights removed. We finally make it to the Keg. We have a choice of following a perfectly lovely brunette to the bar area or going to the main dining room and playing waitress roulette. We pick the dining room and get stoner boy and feel quite crushed. Talk of game leads to many different viewpoints. I think we'll get hammered. We've not held up well in loud stadiums where our line is getting jumped and we can't get a rhythm on offense. Blogger is decided in the Zorn camp and has a huge man crush on Zorn. And thus Mr. Broyhill due to the hair. I'm skipping much of the nightly commentary as it will forever be remembered and never repeated.

10 p.m. Saturday -- Back at the team hotel. We walk in to the nicest hotel in the state carrying a case and a half of fat tire beer and two brown paper sacks. Straight bamas we. Danny Smith is outside talking to people and seems amused by our caravan of booze. Rock is in the lobby and notices the Fat Tire...beer. Hailredskins *****, Gary, Murf and I work our way to the villa to drink. There's a very large wedding going on across from our villa in a large out building from the hotel. We are trying to encourage hailredskins ***** to offer the new bride her first legitimate pleasure as a married woman. Monetary enticements don't quite do the trick sadly. Mr. Clean calls from the bar to tell me I'm wanted. Duty calls.

10:45 p.m. Saturday -- At the hotel bar again. Kelly Johnson, who I've commented previously is stunning in person, is stunning in person. Several of the Redskins big wigs are at a table outside. I join, seating myself next to the blogger. Lots of good football talk. For those of you reading down to here, my earlier comments about getting crushed may no longer apply. Watch for us to change the pace offensively and, more importantly, Coach Zorn (who wasn't there of course) has been very excited about something this week. He sees something this week. Someone, he thinks, could have a VERY, VERY big game. I am talking around this on the remote chance anyone from Dallas sees this and believes it and it in any way alters anything. I'll talk more about this later, but, hearing what I heard will give me a real view of just how successful Zorn may become or not become as a coach. The talk was like the OLD Gibbs players talk of KNOWING they would win on Wednesday when the gameplan was going in because they could tell the staff had the other team figured out. This is not to say Zorn has the Cowboys figured out, but, he thinks something is. If he's right and it executes as planned, it'll be a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE positive for our future. If he's wrong, well, we'll see :).

1:30 a.m. -- Coaxed into rousing rendition of Hail to the Redskins for table of execs, table of banking exec types and the Comcast table. Murf is with us now. Song sung with great passion, impressing the banking guys. One Redskins marketing/sales lady coaxed into coming down stares right at Murf and me and asks, "Who are you?" Drinks are purchased by many for many. This gets Kelly Johnson even to TRY the song. She does not do it well, and will need fans to provide her coaching on the words, but, she gave it a shot. Hyena guy at her table was enjoying himself greatly with laughs that were blood curdling. Sometime later, the bank sales lady visits our table and begins pitching something but I was unable to listen due to her incredibly strappy nice shoes, which, we determined, even with a collapse of the bank in this environment would allow her never to be poor in life :).

9:45 a.m. -- Wake up call from the family. Big girl wants to know if I'm at Dallas and if I'm watching the game. Then if I could make momma turn on a Dora. Dora is evil I've decided.

10:30 a.m. -- Murf and I move into the lobby just people watching. Again, not much going on. Karl Swanson is doing his check out. Randy Thomas is well dressed and sitting with a young boy, likely his son. No other players milling about.

11 a.m. -- We get our stuff and meet some of the guys out front as we are their ride to the stadium. Lady at the limo entrance takes our parking pass so we have to circle around. No trust in Dallas. After dropping the guys off we have to make four circles of the stadium before we can get the right way into our lot.

11:20 a.m. -- Among first guys in the press box. We see Dan Steinberg of the Post and stop to say hello. I ask him if there is anything I can do to go after him today. He suggests I start a firedansteinberg web site. But we need a hook. How can we work up real disdain for Dan? Has to be a way.

11:45 a.m. -- We see Sonny and Larry down the other side of the box and work our way down to sit and chat. Sonny has a pretty good feeling about the game. That thing I'd mentioned earlier that Zorn seemed to think could be exploited was also mentioned by Sonny. Pretty standard football talk really, but for me, it's the best. There's just something pretty cool about sitting and talking football with Sonny Jurgenson.

2:17 p.m. - Cowboys begin entering with skill positions.

2:19 p.m. - Boos greet Skins skill position players.

2:22 p.m. -- See JLa and offer greetings, and long time no see.

2:25 p.m. - PA introduces Dallas highlight video by saying the 56 wins over the Redskins is the most by any team over another or some such. Sets Cowboy fans into cheering.

2:30 p.m. -- Cowboys enter as a team now to begin stretching. Sun already shades them to the 30-yard-line.

Kickoff and first drive -- Working with one of the team guys on some board stuff but now it's football. Crowd is more amped up than last year here. Louder in the press box. Early quick moving of the pocket. Keeping the Cowboys from jumping us and they were coming up the middle. Portis on a true stretch play. Had room if he'd gotten through the front. Third down was just easy. Good drive already. Already a win. Just generate yards. Screen opens up beautifully. Pass to Moss. Again, wide open. The Cowboys are not covering anyone at the moment. Timeouts suck. False starts suck. Good drive ends. In all a fair start. There was a lot the Cowboys were not doing much against on that drive. The penalty kills.

Cowboys from the 10 -- Great coverage by Springs. Ball is thrown to Owens so early. That's just a throw I don't know how you make it but it's complete. That's what makes Romo sits to pee a level above right now. Horton is in to help with Witten, but Barber bashes him pretty good. Skins change personnel. Nickel on first. Third down with Evans in at tackle. And Horton does what he's supposed to do today. Why he started. He can bulldog in man coverage and does exactly what he needed to do. Two drives end with us actually losing 2 yards on our first starting position. But, after one drive we're looking far more on it. Just one drive.

Skins take two -- Second drive. Dallas sitting on short routes on second. Third down is a long one and tough one and a sacked one. Cowboys taking the field possession advantage with a 25-yard difference from first to second starting positions. A 60-yard punt doesn't suck though.

Pokes take two -- Rocky is a beast again. Third down, Smoot flies out to move Rocky off Witten. Smoot makes the play. Good he did that :). I'll take that matchup all day. Four possessions, four punts. Early crowd emotion is already lower.

Skins the third -- Just reading a text from Murf. Landry was walking off the field with a Redskins TV guy saying this is a suicide mission for TO. Love it. Happened just before the game :). Third drive needs to get moving now. First down was very wide open. Not sure how that was missed. Third down sack. Second third and long with good coverage and no where really to go. Gotta have an outlet or change of pace.

Pokes the third -- Another five yards closer to start for them. We continue to have GREAT coverage right now. Big third down play. That little diag route they run kills us. Good pressure on the play, but just too open. Refs give Cowboys a rescue, but it was a hold. We don't want Washington on Witten I'm afraid. That one is to their advantage. 7-0 bad boys. Need to get on schedule again and avoid the long third downs to keep pace.

Fourth try -- End of first. Easy throw to keep things in the range we want. We're not threatening deep, so the Boys are going to swallow the little stuff up if we don't keep them honest. Cowboys come hard up the gut. We pick it up and get space. On schedule we're doing well. Crowd gets subdued quickly. Cowboys cheering giving up a 5-yard-run. Stop cheering. Second and five though is our type of game plan. Nice stretch play. Good counter drive. Crowd is dead quiet. More short passes. But they are generating well after the catch. Cooley beaten around the edge, but Campbell nails it. First and goal from the three. If we pass, it will go to Cooley. Ooops, wrong. Moss. Cooley is the one to watch. They have some things in for him in the red zone. Surprised we didn't see it. But if you don't cover Thrash, that works too. NICE counter boys. 7-7.

Boys down deep -- WE tackle Barber. It's nice to see how we match his fight with our own. Cowboys with a break on a tip. Would have loved to have that one. Springs is straight owning Owens. Cowboys are not on their game because we're matching their playmakers with our own. Field position is ours again. The crowd just seems to be unsure what they are seeing. It's lovely so far.

Skins near midfield -- Taking advantage of this position is huge. I am normally a go deep guy here, but I think we need just to gain 4 or 5 yards. That's the way we're keeping the crowd out of it and quiet. Late offsides play on the big third. Cooley comes in big. Moss running all the way across, uncovered. Amazing. Open receivers are viewable again. Campbell makes a big play avoiding that rush. Third down play now. And Campbell is emerging. His read was taken from him. Secondary taken from him. Third, touchdown. Cowboys are spinning. 14-7 good guys.

Step up D -- Here's our chance to consolidate the lead and take control. Defense can't give up a counter. Springs in control of Owens. Something good is going to happen there for us if they don't give that up. Delayed safety blitz on third works as Cowboys throw early and get away with a penalty. That's the PERFECT series. Defense does the job and we have good field position again. Cowboys are winded and uncertain. Boot. Throat. Now.

Going for the knockdown -- If the offense generates here and gets 3 with a long drive or 7 with anything, it'll be huge and sapping of this crowd and Cowboys. And we THROW the hay maker. Zorn is calling a BEAUTIFUL game. Clock. Ours. Position. Ours. Balance. Ours. We are doing this like Zorn's done it for years. It's stunning right now. Another big third down. Campbell has made three plays with his feet and patience in these drives. We appear to have more play makers than they have at this point. It's beautiful football. 21 is more beautiful than 17 :). Right now Zorn has the Cowboys defense guessing. Crowd is guessing too. They just don't have any juice. They know they need to be loud but they aren't really doing it all together. Not sure with Moss that a fade is the best route. Points is points though. 17-7.

Skins fans outside the box -- A good number of skins fans are outside the press box singing hail to the redskins. Cowboy fans are looking at them as if they can't believe it. Because they can't. Cowboys come out and again, we are all over their receivers. Romo sits to pee is just seeing us flashing all over his guys. We're in prevent which is scary but we're getting pressure. Cowboys content to play small ball, but it's going to get them in field goal range. That gives them a good feeling entering the half unless we step up and stop it. But we don't. Pokes get in easy range and take those three back. 17-10.

Halftime review -- We're winning both sides of the ball right now. We are simply better in coverage than their receivers are right now. We're getting great freedom and space against them in the passing game. We're owning the feel and control of the game, but we're only up 7. Adjustments will be huge. Pokes have to run more to get us out of the man coverage we're in. they have to get us facing them so they can have Romo sits to pee pick apart our zone. Defensively the Cowboys are going to need to sit the short routes and try to make a quick play turn their way. We go through lulls. We have to avoid that. Right now, this is more than I thought we'd see. It's everything we'd hoped to have seen.

Cowboys open -- Too good on the return. Then they drag Owens across trying to get him free. Cowboys look crisp and certain here. Owens getting them going and then finishing us off. That's too fast for them to take the feel of the game back. 17-17, despite how well things went now seems like we're trailing. Cowboys did exactly what they had to do to win this game in that drive. They found something we weren't ready to cover. The crowd has energy again.

Hitting back -- One-man screen to Portis to keep them at bay and us on schedule. Delayed draw looked like it would split for huge yards. Then the toss sweep with reverse action and it explodes wonderfully. The crowd quieting. Feeling like they can't do anything to stop us. Maybe they can't. Pump fake, off the first read, deep out. Well timed. YOU MUST SCORE A TD HERE. And we DO.....NOT. Not even sure Rabach came near that guy. He may have tripped him but he didn't seem to hold him. Third down. TOUCHDOWN......Rabach again. Damn. Not meant to be apparently. Can't overcome that. Put it in the end zone twice and neither counts. Officials didn't want us to score because the hold was garbage. Still haven't seen the ineligible man down field. Maybe, maybe not. 20-17 is not where we want to be but it's where we are. And, maybe it is where we want to be. Ahead in the third.

Cowboys volley -- Springs got hurt covering Owens on the sideline. Something with his leg. Hold on Smoot on the next play well away from the ball. Not sure why the refs have decided every call away from the play should be made today against us, but they are working hard in that regard. Springs out. Third down. Springs is up and walking. Looks fine. Fourth down. Whew. Losing Springs could hurt. He is still limping now. Left ankle or knee.

Skins up 3 -- Up three with the ball. Cowboys really haven't stopped us much today. Continue that trend now please. Moss looks scary on that quick pass. Only 3 there, but he just seems so threatening. Portis just seems beastly. Nice power run. We continue to have good balance. Cowboys seem to need the pass to allow them to run. Cowboys showing a Skins/Boys highlight video from years ago and adding some from today before the first down play after the Ellis injury. Ratliff splitting the gap hurts us. We're not good on third and long. Two sacks earlier. Almost a third this time. Any negative play is hard for us to overcome today. Got one back from the refs there as that was a facemask.

Cowboys down three -- UGLY play, gets eight. Crazy. Springs not in. Redskins suck chant starting now during the Pokes timeout. Still no Springs. Second down and Barber owned. We really do a good job against him. Crayton too open on a nice route. Smoot dinged. Not good. Lets go Cowboys chant kicking in now. On the interception I'm telling Shripal next to me look how much space we're giving. We GOADED that. Horton was in the middle and was designed to go there. That's an incredible defensive call. That's a turnover by call.

US - I'm going to gush on that play call by Blache. How did he know that would happen. Did he know it based on formation? Based on how he bailed Torrence out? That's just beautiful. I'm going to find people to talk to about that play. It's as intelligent a football call as I've seen. No way Romo sits to pee accounts for Horton there when he's lined at middle backer. Offense lets Portis keep us on track again. Balance. We are thin in the secondary. We need a good, calm, long drive. Campbell saves another play. That's pretty lucky. That's pretty big. Cooley coming in play now. They are paying a lot of attention to him. Betts pounds it in. Pretty football. Pretty grinding wonderful football. Jansen jumps, but no call. Moss should have had that third even if a little high. We need these points though. Got them. 23-17 and Hail to the Redskins comes out.

Defense, hold on baby -- Summon whatever energy you need. Washington bounding around out there. Head bobbing. Cowboys making a lot of wash in the middle to free Owens. Worked on that first drive of the second. Not here. It's a messy way to get a guy open. Another to Owens thrown early but knocked away. Way to go Rogers. WAY TO GO ROGERS. Cowboys are merely doing screens to get Owens free for that. Not free then.

Clinching drive? -- Is this it? Defense gives three and out. Portis, Portis. Tick. Tick. First. Zorn brings in a pass here? Nope. Portis. Tick. First. Cowboys will HAVE to press. They can't let Portis eat them. Play fake. Randle El is in good position deep, but not easy. Cooley is easy. 12 MEN. Nice. We needed a break. Might be the key. Tick. Tick. Taking as much time as possible. Power. Tick. First. Redskin fans the only noise in town. Cowboy fans starting to leave. Not a lot, but some. Cowboys stacking the box. We still run. Joe Gibbs football? Redskin fans being obnoxious. Maybe too. Cowboys take their last time out. A made field goal and it's hard for them to win. Gotta MAKE it. Rookie holder. GOOD. 26-17. 12 plays. 55 yards. 6:54. That's how you win games folks.

Cowboys hanging by a thread -- But making a go. 18. 20. Damn. Too much, too fast. 21. Too easy. Two minutes. Come on. There's enough time if they score and get the onsides to quickly take this game from us. Second down. Have to make them catch one short here. A sack here. Incompletion works. Third down puts pressure on them now. First down. Touchdown. Killer there. Way too easy. If they get the onsides....no, think a different way :)

Onside kick -- GAME OVER. Heading down. Chat in a bit.

Locker room and post game -- Murf catches me as I hit the field and forces me to take a picture of him on the star. I believe there are now 80 such pictures :). Winning here is fun. When we got to the locker room the team was screaming a bit when the doors opened once. Not sure if they were celebrating a ton of handing out the game ball, but in the locker room, when we got there, things were not crazy. I spend a lot of time trying to figure out the team's mental state by how it behaves in the locker room. This amateur psychology rarely provides much accuracy, but, exists in my head. This team was not smug, nor thrilled, not, even so much satisfied. It seemed secure. It's a weird observation, but the team and chatter among the players and coaches was that of a team that always knew it was better than that other team and figures now most others probably know it too.

We're here too.

Dallas is, unquestionably, as talented a team as there is in the league. Romo sits to pee is brilliant, if careless at times. They are well coached and they adapt. They aren't better than the Redskins. They really haven't been. Personnel comparisons aside, the difference in these teams is clear. Dallas was reasonably efficient offensively. No one, save that last TO one hander, made a brilliant play offensively. They got what they got and didn't miss too much and didn't create a great deal.

The Redskins lose this same game by three touchdowns but for the supreme individual plays of Campbell. Dallas has Campbell scrambling and lost, and we connect on a long bomb to Moss. There's no where to go with the ball near the goal line, but he makes a play. He steps up under pressure and hits Moss again. Leaping, flinging to Cooley late. Campbell was always the guy who COULDN'T make that play. Couldn't win a game for you. He just did. In the place he cried when he couldn't a year ago.

More than anything, that will stand out as something to watch. The league's better teams all have some magic in the QB spot. Tonight Jason got to say tada for the first time. In general, where I fretted about losing Gregg Williams, Greg Blache calls a play as great as any in defensive coaching. Goading Romo sits to pee into that Horton interception is about prep and certain knowledge that ONCE, every game, on both sides of the ball, in JUST the right situation, YOU can make the other team do something you want and if you take advantage of it you win.

That play was immensely key.

Where I worried about hiring a new head coach after Gibbs, I now wonder why the team so rarely ever seemed to click so well under Gibbs as it seems to be now. No one would have been able to think this team would be where it is today.

For me, that's about the best reward there is as a fan who's long wondered why the team can never seem to surpass the expectations it has for itself and we set for it.

Watching this team seem so professional and prepared is strange for me because even with Gibbs, you just always felt you were never quite the team with the best prepared, best coached team. Gibbs II. Gibbs made the team around character and fight and determination. He did not make it around innovation. Williams did, but, it got too innovative. Right now Zorn appears to be changing that. As awful as the Giants game was, it now appears no one can quite figure out what Zorn is going to call when.

I watch as he calls an unconventional forth and 2 slant and smile as it works. I watch as he sets up a team for a left-handed roll to the flat to seal the game and it works. I watch as he runs and runs and runs and runs for almost 7 minutes and it works.

Right now Zorn just seems to have the right answer so much of the time when it comes to getting things where they need to be.

I'm still a skeptic. I thought this team could be atrocious this year adjusting to Zorn while Zorn learned. But, right now he is surpassing the expectations set on him when hired by the team. Hired to BE the coach YOU made, not the coach someone else did that you try to make fit you.

Zorn is our Jeff Fisher, someone said to me last night. He's the guy who will grow with the organization and the organization will grow around and become. We don't know if it'll work out like Cowher in Pittsburgh or Fisher in Tennessee, but the concept has worked. And Zorn seems like he's starting to be a guy you can believe will make it work here.

Maybe.

For now. Yes.

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Packed in to a small shuttle plane, this tiny little guy next to me starts crowding me. I wake him and tell him to learn how to get small. We have tension the rest of the trip. Don't screw with the Art's personal space. Homie don't play that. . .

Notice I can still pull off the use of hizzy as if hip. . .

Apparently they forgot the memo that not only does Art not do compact but Art has cars with a dozen people in them hours later. . .

Murf discovers how cool it is to come to games with me. . .

When I'm here we get upgraded rooms. . .

We are very important people. . .

Fresh dressed like a million bucks, . . .

I quickly inform the blogger not to be intimidated by being in the room with two people (Murf and I) who both turned his job down. . .

But, naturally, he was. We are pretty cool you know. . .

MORE TO COME.

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It's really amazing to me. The team can't fully grasp everything Zorn wants to do which limits us, but the league has no real book on Zorn so that gives us an edge. Right now the Cowboys are simply spinning. Zorn has them so they never can get a read on what we're doing. Now, consolidate it.

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