I Made This Today!

An old poem

Here's an old poem I dug up from my myspace blog. It's still poignant....

The World is Lost, by Jared Brown

The world is lost,
and so am I.
Instinct says no, but still I try.
What lurks in the dead of night?
Something that logic yearns to fight.
Dreams of death?
No! The death of dreams!
In places even God can't hear you scream.
Can it be helped?
Can it be sought?
Yes! Through war and trials forever fought.
Powerful evils, yes, and plagues.
They invade the mind with glee.
Only in worlds created will you be free.
I've seen these worlds, they're in my mind.
They hurt for others, too, to find.
But in this realm no one sees it.
And that's because no one believes it.
I have a dream.
I have to try!
Because the world is lost,
And so am I.

Cowboys thoughts: Position by Position

This isn't really a sports blog. But there's a lot of fiction involved with the Cowboys (especially if you read the Dallas Morning News). It's something that's very important to me, so, here it is:


QB: Tony Romo is the present and future of this team. I wouldn't have it any other way. But for the love of pete, we need a backup QB that isn't absolutely terrible. I'd cut Brad Johnson before training camp, keep Brooks Bollinger and pickup a QB in the mid to late rounds.
*Draft selections (1) 5th round.

WR: Terrell Owens, Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin are safe. Sam Hurd and Isaiah Stanback are on thin ice. Sam Hurd is an overall better wide receiever, but is not the type of they need on the roster. The Cowboys are in dire need of speed. Stanback is fast, but is a very raw reciever. Nevertheless, the Jerry Jones and his cronies are going to have to make a decision if they want to cut one or both of them. They'll need to sure up the open position with a speed reciever pick in the late rounds.
*Draft selections (1) 7th round.

RB: Not much needs to happen here. Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice are all valued and I wouldn't even bother wasting a draft pick. I would, however, switch Barber back to his role of finisher and allow either Tashard or Felix to start. Personally, i'd prefer Tashard Choice gets the start and Felix handles Kick Returns and situational touches. No drafting required this year.
*Draft selections (0)

FB: Most of the Cowboy's schemes don't even use a FB and the times they do Deon Anderson has done a decent job. I really don't feel like the Cowboys need to make a move here. He does the job fine.
*Draft selections(0)

TE: Jason Witten is arguably the best Tight End in the league and Martellus Bennett has a very bright future. Tony Curtis is a servicable reciever and blocker and is about what you'd want from a 3rd stringer. Rodney Hannah turned some heads at last years training camp and I'd throw him back on the 80 man roster to participate in 2009 Training Camp to see if he's made in strides in possibly beating out Curtis for the 3rd string job.
*Draft selections (0)


OL: The O-Line, whether we like it or not, is pretty much set. Almost everyone is paid up and contracted through 2011. If they all stay healthy, this shouldn't be as big of an deal. The loss of Kyle Kosier for most of the season was a bigger issue than anyone could have guessed. However, depth is a serioius problem. Cory Proctor, while a fair Center backup, got abused for most of the season at Left Guard when Kosier was out. It seems the powers that be have little or no faith in Joe Berger and Pat McQuistan and are dubious at best about Montrae Holland. If The Cowboys sustain anymore than one loss on the O-Line due to injury in 2009, Tony Romo is going to be on his back most of the season. To me, this is a serious area of concern. That needs to be addressed to some extent in the draft and possibly free agency.
*Draft selections (2) 4th round, 4th round.

DL: Jay Ratliff had a great year at Nose Tackle and Marcus Spears/Chris Canty were decent at DE. Canty is a UFA this year and is expected to test the waters before resigning with the Cowboys. If he does leave, DE will certainly be an issue. Regardless of what happens there, though, Tank Johnson is almost surely not coming back, which leaves the NT rotation open. The Cowboys need to draft a NT as early as possible that has the ability to play DE. This is one of the few spots (this early in the offseason) that I have a specific player in mind for the draft. Fili Moala would make a great filler spot for the needs on the DL.
*Draft selections (1) 2nd round.
*Fili Moala, USC

LB: DeMarcus Ware is expected to recieve the largest contract ever given out to any Cowboy. That being said, he's gonna be a Cowboy for life. Bradie James and Greg Ellis should both return. The only spot in question is Zach Thomas. Given that Kevin Burnett will be a UFA, I'd offer him a starter's contract, while still picking up at least one linebacker in the draft. I'd let Thomas go unless he wants a backup position.
*Draft selections (1) 7th round.

CB: Injuries plagued this position in 2008, but it's really improved from recent years. Terrance Newman is clearly the most all around talented CB on the team and is the guy the Cowboys should continue to look to to shutdown those top notch WR. Anthony Henry is a good CB as well, but I think the Cowboys should use him elsewhere (see next para). Ideally, Mike Jenkins should step up into that #2 CB spot and fulfill his 1st round billing. Orlando Scandrick has proved to be a steal as a 4th round pick as he has been an amazing find as a slot corner. Alan Ball should definately stay in his backup role while they address the last spot in the draft or possibly free agency.
*Draft selections (1) 6th round.

Safety: This position is certainly an issue and opinions may vary from fan to fan. I personally am partial to the idea of scrapping Roy Williams and moving Anthony Henry over to SS and keeping Ken Hamlin at FS. Keith Davis, while not the greatest safety, provides great leadership on special teams ans is a guy you really want to re-sign. Pat Watkins and Courtney Brown can be judged on a case-by-case basis, but if you had to pick between the two, I'd say Courtney Brown is a better choice simply because he translates well to CB if depth were ever an issue there. Still, the Cowboys need to draft a mean coverage safety that, for god sakes, knows how to tackle.
*Draft selections (1) 3rd round.

Thats a total of (8) Draft picks. The Cowboys have 11, which, I expect they use some as compesatory picks for moving up on the draft board. This should be about right. I'll revise this post as the off-season progresses and the Cowboy's front office makes expected and unexpected moves on their roster.