We wanted to be one of the elite teams and obviously we're not...

Wade Phillips, Dallas Cowboys Head Coach, following the Cowboys 48-27 loss to the New England Patriots Sunday.

"The last time we were here, they booed us, It was good to hear them cheering us."

LaDainiain Tomlinson in San Diego after his eighth career 100-yard game against the Raiders. LT rushed for 198 yards and 4 scores in the Chargers 28-14 win over Oakland.

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"Wherever he's watching today, which quarterback will Drew Bledsoe be pulling for?"

Randy Galloway, my favorite sports media personality and writer for the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Three championships later, you'd think Bledsoe is still more upset about Tom Brady replacing him in New England. But he wasn't exactly giddy over losing his job and his football career last season to Tony Romo.

From Couch Potato To Hot Potato: Early last week 43 year old ageless wonder Vinny Testaverde's phone rang as he was sitting on the couch. He turned down a job offer from Arizona, then accepted one from Carolina moments later. Testaverde signed with Carolina on Wednesday. In some interesting news reported first by NFLNetwork and then posted on ESPN Sunday morning, the Arizona Cardinals will likely sign fellow couch potato Tim Hasselback as a back up to newly acquired couch potato Tim Rattay. Hasselback is the brother of Seahawks QB Matt Hasselback and the son of one time NE Patriots tight end Don Hasselback.

There’s no reason to take the Bears seriously. Not for the next month at least, probably not for the rest of the year, maybe not until the draft."... a quote from The Rosenblog, contributing sports writer for the Chicago Tribune after the Bears loss to the Vikings. The Minnesota attack was led by Adrian Peterson's 224 yards, an 11.2 yards per carry average and three touchdowns, all 35 yards or longer.

"I'm not really worried about him, when the ball is thrown, I just want to make plays and do what I'm supposed to do." ...Kellen Winslow, the class act former University of Miami star after being the victim of casino thug Joey Porter trash talk all week leading up to the Miami/ Cleveland game Sunday.

Last week, Porter had lambasted Winslow in an interview, dismissing him as less than a true tight end because he is more of a passing threat than a run-blocker. "It really hasn't been a war," Porter said Wednesday. "It's been one-sided. I've never lost to him. You've got to win some to make it a war. ... Until you beat me, it's one-side." Porter took heat last season for using a homosexual slur when talking to the media about Winslow in a post-game interview on Dec. 7.

Winslow answered Porter's pre-game trash talk with five catches for 90 yards in Sunday's 41-31 victory. With 32 seconds remaining, Winslow hauled in a pass and - rather than attempt a juke to break free - chugged straight into Porter for a 15-yard gain. Two plays later, Winslow got behind Porter down the seam for a 33-yard catch to put the ball on the Dolphins' 3 with eight seconds left. After an incomplete pass, the Browns kicked a field goal for a 27-10 lead.

"I could care less. We won the game. I'm glad it's over, just like the other records. We're 5-1, so it feels a lot better than having no picks and being 1-5."

Brett Favre, who became the NFL's career interception king with an errant pass picked off by Redskins safety Sean Taylor in the third quarter of the Packers' 17-14 victory Sunday.

"Very solid team effort. There was some adversity we had to fight through early in the ballgame. Guys did a nice job of playing with discipline and poise, two things I stressed during the week." ...

Jacksonville head coach Jack Del Rio referring to the team's recovery of giving up 2 turnovers early in the game, yet managing to lead at halftime as a result of an on side kick which led to a field goal. The Jags went on to beat Houston 37-17.

"I feel sorry for Wayne Huizenga, our owner. I feel for our former players and I feel for our fans....These times are tough, but this is the business and we have to get this thing solved." ...Coach Cam Cameron of the Miami Dolphins regarding the late great franchise falling to 0-6 and dead last in the NFL.

Three Stars and the Purple Jesus The Ragnarok blog, a fan blog of the Minnesota Vikings, gives out three "star" awards to the top 3 players of the game for Minnesota every week. This week he pushed the envelope a bit further and added the Purple Jesus award to Adrian Peterson for his Sunday performance of scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 224 yards on 20 carries, breaking Chuck Foreman's team record of 200 yards set 31 years ago.

He showed his speed and quickness. He showed he's a fine back. He got around us. He cut back. It's too hard to come back, as a rule, when you dig a hole like that for yourself.''... Mike Holmgren following Reggie Bush's 97 yards rushing and 44 receiving on 25 touches as the Saints defeat Seattle 28-17 for their first win of the 2007 season.

"I went around and told the guys, 'If you want to win, stop them now. If we want to win, let's stop them right now and we'll win the ball game. To see the way that we responded – everybody out there on the defensive side of the ball – we've got to enjoy this one."... Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Takeo Spikes following the Eagles 16-9 victory over the New York Jets. With the Jets down by seven and facing a second-and-1 at the Eagles' 4-yard line in the waning moments of the fourth quarter, the defense simply refused to give the Jets that solitary yard.

A picture paints a thousand words:

Matt Bryant's 43-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining Sunday gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a 13-10 victory over the Titans. Tennessee had a five-game road winning streak halted after the 2005 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year limped off the field in the third quarter.





Last but certainly not least:

Meet Tracy Phillips, actress, dancer, Bum's granddaughter, and Dallas Cowboys Coach Wade Phillips' daughter. Her IMDB page shows that she's starred in well-known films such as "Ides of March," "42K," the yet-to-be-released "Dark Streets" and she was an uncredited dancer in "Clerks II." She's danced in a number of music videos, for people like No Doubt, the Goo Goo Dolls, Ricky Martin and Will Smith.

While it is true that the Cowboys are 2-0 - for the first time since 1999 - they have simply won two games against bad teams, games they were supposed to win. Dallas has been in this position before. Just like 1999, this start means nothing in the grand scheme of a season. 1999 saw the Cowboys finish 8-8 and Chan Gailey (former Steelers Defensive Coordinator much likened to Wade Phillips now) fired as the first Cowboys coach to not win a Super Bowl. The '98 Cowboys had made the playoffs with a 10-6 record, and much like this year's team, were expecting to evolve to the next step in '99.

A 37 year old Trent Green is hardly the measuring stick of a very good team. The Miami game showed just how far the Dolphins have sank from prominence. Dallas will face it's first true test of the season next Sunday night in a road game to Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears.

This Bears team is quite an anomaly. They defy all logic and cannot be compared to any other team in modern era football. While successful teams are banking on player combinations such as Manning & Harrison, Brady & Moss, Romo & T.O., The Bears are doing it with Defense & Special Teams. While this morning's headlines depict gallant effort stories of quarterbacks leading their teams to victory, we see the typical Chicago headline:

Defense, Hester lead Bears to win

or this one from Bears website:

Hester puts on a dazzling show in home opener


The game plan for success on any given Sunday is to shut down the opposing team's offense. If you have your offense on the field moving the chains and putting up points, theoretically you are wearing down opponent's defense and denying them opportunities to score.

But this strategy plays right into the Bears hands. The best thing you can do for them is get Rex off the field and give the defense and special team an opportunity to score. The trick for Dallas is not simply to get Rex's offense off the field, it's how to wisely manage the time that Dallas will be in control of the pigskin.

One thing that was learned from watching Chicago play the Chargers and Chiefs is that having a premier running game is not the simple answer. Larry Johnson and LaDainian Tomlinson are the two most prolific running backs in the league, yet averaged only 2.45 yards a carry combined. Where they actually became effective was when the teams made adjustments and conceded the running game in favor of making them receiving backs. LT then averaged 7.3 and LJ averaged 10.7 yds per reception.

This will be an attempt at winning ugly, with Dallas hoping that a steady dose of Julius Jones and Marion The Barbarian is successful. Odds are that it will not be (but you got to like MB3's chances). Jason Garrett will be aware of this and should get the backs involved in the passing game early. One thing I do have faith in is the Dallas offensive line. They are capable of giving Romo time to make things happen.

Chicago has a definite advantage in Special teams and Defense. They also have the luxury of game films from the last two weeks against Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez, two of the leagues elite tight ends. The Bears will have a coverage plan for Jason Witten. The advantage Dallas has is depth of weapons on offense. Chicago concentrated on Antonio Gates & LT the first week, then LJ & Gonzalez the next. When you add a Romo, Terrell Owens, Fasano, Crayton and Hurd to the mix, Dallas stands a very good chance Sunday.

In two games Romo has led 14 scoring drives: 9 TDs and 5 FGs. Dallas will take a few strikes downfield, simply because they have additional weapons, something the Chargers and Chiefs lacked. A steady dose of JJ and MB3 with dink and dunk passes to them, Witten and T.O. with a limited few strikes downfield. Romo has shown the maturity of not trying to force something to happen, while doing all he can to make things happen. As a last resort he'll take the sack before throwing into coverage. We can't say the same for Grossman.

The Bears defensive squad is exceptional, in that it dares you to run at them, and they deny quarterbacks time to drop back and survey the field. When Romo drops to pass, Dallas' receivers will not be the only ones on the field thinking catch and run. Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher are one of the better cornerback tandems in the NFC. When Dallas does score (that's only assuming it will happen) it opens the game to the Bears greatest weapon - Devin Hester.

Grossman will have a bit of success early, as Green did. But as the game wears on and adjustments are made, the Dallas defense can and should make him a non factor. This Dallas defense is a better product than the unit that stumbled out of the gate in week one against the Giants.

The Cowboys game plan will be to grind it out in the trenches, manage the clock and not make mistakes - playing to not lose versus the usual plan of playing to their strengths - while playing a very methodical chess game of dink and dunk chain movement, which is all the Bears allow. If they can do this, and toss in an occasional strike downfield to T.O. & company, then this game is very winnable.

There is always a chance that Dallas' offense can blow a game wide open. That's not a probable scenario for this week. The recipe is simple - adequate coverage by the special team and just let Rex be Rex and Romo be a humble and calculated leader. It won't be pretty, but a check mark in the win column is all that Dallas is playing for anyway. The theatrics will most likely be on hold, at least until the following week where the Rams will be invited to Texas Stadium to witness what could turn out to be the 2007 version of the Greatest Show on Turf.