WHITT'S END: 12.23.13

      Whether you're at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt's End:

   *I'm not saying a referee's mistake helped the Cowboys pull off their Hail Murray in Washington. But it sure didn't hurt. Look at these pics for proof ...

   *Wait, in the post-game locker room Cowboys' vice president Stephen Jones screamed at which national media reporter? ...

   *Is this the best high-school football team of all-time? ...

   *Cowboys 24, Redskins 23: My Top 10 Whitty Comments are over at NBC 5's Blue Star Blog.

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WHITT'S END: 10.23.13

      Whether you're at the end of your coffee, your day, your week or even your rope, welcome to Whitt's End:

   *Told y'all to chill on the Cowboys' salary-cap panic. I know the rest of the NFL wants to think Jerry Jones is such a financially-handcuffed dufus that he won't be able to even field a team in 2014, but the way out of their perennial predicament is - once again - not all that complicated. I explain over at NBC 5's Blue Star Blog.

   *I'm intrigued by the World Series. Best two fandoms in baseball, right? I've been fortunate enough to watch games in both Fenway and Busch, and those folks don't just love their baseball. They know their baseball. They live their baseball. DFW is a baseball town, sure. But Boston and St. Louis are baseball neighborhoods, much more passionate and close-knit communities of one. When a big, positive play occurs at Rangers Ballpark, the fans' nights just got better. When it happens in Fenway or Busch, those fans' lives just got better. And, for what it's worth, I don't hate either team enough to invoke Failure Jesus.

   *So does former PGA Tour member-turned-Golf-Chanel-analyst Brandel Chamblee think Tiger Woods is a cheater? Or not? I'm a little confused. He gave Tiger's five-win season a score of "100", yet a grade of "F." Said he got a "little cavalier with the rules" and cited four incidents. But in the wake of creating the controversy, Chamblee both stood by his story and apologized to Woods. How can it be both?

   *As expected, Chris Arnold returned to 105.3 The Fan Monday after a week's suspension for plagiarism. We all make mistakes, but usually they're innocent errors. Not pre-meditated, calculated theft. We accidentally knock the lamp off the nightstand; We don't scheme to steal our neighbor's chandelier. As a writer in this market for 27 years I've been wrong on predictions or breaking news, but never have I blatantly just copy-and-pasted somebody else's work and sold it as my own. Chris' job has survived. But I don't see how his credibility does.

   *I know this is weird, but the best Cowboys' offensive lineman through seven games has been Doug Free. And their best defensive back? Orlando Scandrick. I'd have lost that bet back in August. You?

   *Okay, maybe there is hope for this country after all. Despite some protests from ninny parents who erect statues for the kids when they finish half their morning juice, the Keller Youth Association football league is discontinuing the embarrassing and dangerous act of participation trophies. "Life makes you earn everything you get," the group says, causing anyone who's ever been screwed over by life to stop what they're doing and give a standing ovation. (Stopping. Standing. Clapping.)

   *Hot.

   *Not.

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   *Happy Humpdaaaay White Truck Wednesday. Was stuck in traffic on 121 in the Mid-Cities yesterday for the 19th consecutive day, and got caught behind a big you-know-what-color construction dump truck. On the back of its bed read this sign: "NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR BROKEN WINDSHIELDS!" Says who? I mean, just because you underline a word and use all caps accented by an exclamation point doesn't absolve you of spraying rocks all over the highway. Otherwise, why don't bad guys with guns just bust down a door, shoot up a joint and then walk away free men while pointing to a T-shirt that reads "Not responsible for death"? Putting that sign on that truck isn't a pro-active safety move, it's a lame attempt to cover the company's ass in the wake of lots of complaints from drivers who have driven behind it before and, sure enough, had rocks fly off it and break their windshields. That sign might as well have read "F*k You."

   *As I've said before I think the NFL overdoes it with the pink-for-a-month breast cancer awareness initiative. And this story says that only 8 percent of the total proceeds from pink items actually make it to the cancer research level. But a couple thoughts: How can you possibly have too much cancer awareness? And, unless you've given more than 8 percent to the cause, you have no right to belittle the NFL's effort.

   *An example of how Fantasy Football negatively affects the NFL: There are actually fans debating and writers actually analyzing a trade that would send Adrian Peterson to the Cowboys. Happens in Fantasy leagues all the time. Happens in the NFL none of the time.

   *Been inundated by the hype (Nov. 5 I think it is) for the next Call of Duty. As a guy who stopped playing video games the day I conquered Mario Bros. back in the early '90s, I no longer have a desire to just pretend to do stuff. But I was thinking how different life would be growing up as a 9-year-old in 2013 compared to my habitat in 1973. Nowadays kids have NFL Sunday Ticket. Whereas - I swear this is true - I actually spent considerable time as a punk waiting for the rain to stop so I could go outside have a grassboat race against my friend. A what-the-what you say? A grassboat race. We each picked a big blade of St. Augustine grass as our "boat", then placed them in the gutter that ran along the curb of our street and let the swift-moving water propel them through the neighborhood. We'd monitor and chase and cheer on those suckers for hours, until one of them crossed the "finish line" of our neighborhood creek. Yeah, try that idea on your 9-year-old.

   *Today? Final day of training camp at Pizza Buzz. Couple of pre-season games Thursday and Friday, then this weekend we start keeping score and playing for keeps. Don't be a stranger.

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Cowboys' Version of Mediocre Musical Chairs Exposes Woes Along Offensive Line

   Coulda swore I saw a decent block by David Arkin against the Cardinals. Must've been a hallucination, because the Cowboys don't think much of the offensive lineman.
   So low is their opinion, in fact, that they're tinkering with the idea - less than three weeks until their season opener against the Giants - of re-booting their entire line in a move that would redact him from the depth chart.
   We've discussed the Cowboys' woes along the offensive line. It's the main reason I'm skeptical about the upcoming season. I delve further into the five-man weak link today over at NBC 5's Blue Star Blog.
   So today at practice - CLUE #5: "baby" - the Cowboys demoted Arkin, moved Mackenzy Bernadeau from right to left guard, moved Doug Free to right guard, and inserted Jeremy Parnell at right tackle. Arkin started against Arizona last weekend, but clearly he isn't even a temporary answer as Dallas waits for the return from injuries of Nate Livings and Ron Leary.
   I know these moves are just contingency plans. Jason Garrett doesn't want to get caught last-minute shuffling against the Giants if Leary doesn't return. Last season Parnell pushed Free, who is better suited for this year's zone-blocking schemes. And we know Bernadeau - who started a game at center in 2012 - is flexible. But the uncertainty is, to say the least, troubling.
   So, if you're scoring at home, Arkin sucks and the Cowboys are confident of only two players along the offensive line - left tackle Tyron Smith and rookie center Travis Frederick.
   Good luck!

On Second Thought, This Cowboys' Offensive Line Could Really Suck

   We all know how bad the Cowboys' running game was last season. Uglier than Sam Cassell's head atop Montrae Holland's body.
   In 2012 the Cowboys set a feeble franchise record with only 1,265 yards rushing. That's right, as a team they rushed for 832 yards less than Adrian Peterson. The total was 542 yards fewer than the previous season and DeMarco Murray's team-leading 663 was the lowest for a No. 1 back since Paul Palmer's 446 back in the 1-15 campaign of 1989.
   Emmitt Smith had seven better seasons, by himself.
   Despite the increased commitment to run by new play-caller Bill Callahan and the 170 yards amassed in the pre-season opener against the Dolphins, there are ominous signs entering 2013.
   The Cowboys are so depleted along the offensive line that they reached out to 33-year-old veteran Brandon Moore. But the Jet - a supporting actor in the infamous Butt Fumble play from last Thanksgiving - never got on a plane for Oxnard and instead this morning retired, declining Dallas' $2 million job offer.
   Now - two years too late - the Cowboys will reach out to Brian Waters. I suggested him in 2011 when concerns over Holland's physical limitations mandated reinforcement. But the Cowboys passed, and Waters eventually made the Pro Bowl with the Patriots.

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When Tony Romo makes his '13 debut Friday against the Raiders, he'll do it behind a patchwork line that threatens his health and the futility of '12.
   Left tackle Tyron Smith is solid. Doug Free is, um, improving toward adequate at right tackle. Travis Frederick is a rookie at center. And that's the high points.
   Projected left guard Nate Livings, who started every game last season, is sidelined with his second knee surgery in six months. For now he's replaced by Ron Leary, who spent last year on the practice squad and didn't play a snap in a game.
   Projected right guard Mackenzy Bernardeau was only recently cleared for practice after missing two weeks with a strained hamstring. He, too, is returning from off-season knee surgery.
   Backup tackle Jeremy Parnell, whom most fans wanted to unseat Free, has missed most of camp with a hamstring. Center/Guard Ryan Cook has a bad back. Guard Kevin Kowalski is out with a bruised knee. Demetress Bell hasn't practiced because of a lack of conditioning and .... whew, the Cowboys signed camp fodder named James Nelson and Jeff Olson last week just to make it through practices.
   After his superb '11, Waters didn't play football last year. But at this point on the Cowboys' offensive line, he can't hurt.

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