In a season that’s had far to few of them, we Edwardses finally had a rousing-fun football weekend.
First, the Sooners went up to KU and took care of business, stifling the #2-rated offense of the Chickenhawks, and marching off Mt. Oread with a 35-13 victory in hand. Maybe it’s a lost season for the sake of national and perhaps conference titles, definitely for the NFL-caliber services of Jermaine Gresham and Sam Bradford. Still, a win is a win, and a real Sooner fan always cherishes that.
As for Bradford, I understand and totally approve of his decision to let Landry Jones have the reins for the rest of the season, get that shoulder fixed up, and head to the NFL. All he did was win the Heisman, deliver two conference championships, lead OU to the national title game and direct the most prolific offense in modern college football history — all with poise, class, intelligence and humility. OU was blessed to have him for as long as he was here. It will be a treat to see Sam’s statue placed in Heisman Park this offseason, while he puts his finance major to use with a lucrative NFL contract befitting a likely first-round draft selection.
Thanks for the memories, Sam! May you heal well and have a Hall-of-Fame pro career (but please, not for the stinkin’ Redskins).
Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys’ schizophrenic season (mirroring Tony Romo’s Jekyll and Hyde series of performances) definitely turned the right way on Sunday, with a 37-21 victory over the Falcons. They dominated a good team, for once, and finally played above the level of their opposition.
Is this an omen for the remainder of the season, or just a temporary attainment of the level of team competence befitting their talented core of individual players? With Creampuff S. Cupcake as head coach, a seemingly injury-prone roster, and a brutal late-season schedule, I am not ready to proclaim playoffs just yet; but any high-quality win always is welcomed.
Part of what made it possible was a crazy-good play by Romo to escape what looked like multiple sure tackles and leave four Atlanta defenders lying on the ground, while tossing a TD. The setting: no time-outs, under 10 seconds left in the half, inside the Falcons’ 10-yard line. If Romo takes a sack, the half is over, the Boys waste great scoring position and go into the locker room up only 10-7 at halftime. The play, known now and probably forevermore as the “Houdini Pass”: video via FanDome.
It’s about time the old Tony Romo came back! It’s a fine balance between overly protective, non-creative quarterbacking, which he simply doesn’t do very well, and goofy, turnover-prone gunslinging, which he has done too often in the recent past. That line is managing the offense in a safe and levelheaded manner the great majority of the time, while making situationally appropriate use of his outstanding improvisational skills to execute the occasional spectacular play. Tony did it this week, with the Houdini pass, a QB rating over 140, and no interceptions for once. Great job.
And how about that Miles Austin? Wow…just…wow. Over 170 receiving yards the week after he exploded for 250 in his first NFL start (which itself was an all-time league record in that category). Meanwhile T.O. rots his career away in Barfalo, clearly declining in skill while stuck on a lousy team. How fitting… It looks more and more like cutting him was the correct move. Meanwhile, given how terrible Roy E. Williams has been so far, Miles Austin has been a sudden godsend! I suspect the latter is going to see a lot more double-teaming in a hurry; so the former had better re-learn how to catch the football.
I thought Romo’s escape act was an amazing play; and it was. Then I saw a highlight of the best freight-train hit by a running back since Bo bowled the Boz in the late 80s, and it was by an old Sooner! Check out the video of Adrian Peterson, a.k.a. A.D. (All Day, as in how long he can run), absolutely steamrolling Steelers cornerback William Gay: courtesy NFL Network. What a smackdown! That’s the A.D. we knew and loved as a Sooner, and he’s still at it. Pittsburgh won the game, but I bet William Gay isn’t going to live down his hit-by-truck moment for a long time.
That’s going on some NFL Films all-time highlights DVDs in the future. Maybe, so will the Houdini Pass as well.
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