During last weekend’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints, the Wife observed on the striking resemblance between Brad Childress, the Minnesota head coach, and Les Grossman, Tom Cruise’s character from Tropic Thunder.

I had to agree.

I stayed up way past my bed time last night to watch the entire Dallas Cowboys preseason game against the Oakland Raiders. Here are are some of my thoughts.

The audio for the telecast was awful. Sounded like it was coming across an old am radio.

The starting Dallas offense looked quite good. Romo spread the ball around well, and the timing was on for everyone, especially for a first game.

Football season is long over. Even the fill-in-the-gaps events of the draft, recruiting and spring football are done for the year. And there are more than three months until football starts back up.

One way to fill the long hours until football returns is by watching football movies. Here, in my opinion, are the ten best.

The Big Twelve Conference had a solid showing in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft, with seven players taken in the initial thirty-two picks.

The St. Louis Rams took Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith with the second pick. A 6′ 5″, 309 pound converted tight end, Smith was the first non-special teams All American for Baylor since 1995.

Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree was picked tenth by the San Francisco 49ers. Crabtree is easily the most talented receiver in this years draft, but dropped quite a few spots due to concerns over his attitude and resilience.

Brian Orakpo, former defensive end for the Texas Longhorns, was picked by the Washington Redskins as the 13th pick in the first round of the 2009 NFL draft. By dropping to the Redskins, he is guaranteed to visit the state of Texas at least once every year, as he tees up Tony Romo in one of their two games every season.

Said Orakpo shortly after the pick was announced:

I can’t put it into words how I feel right now. Being a first-round draft pick is a dream come true. It really shows how hard work pays off and is a tribute to my family, coaches, teammates – everyone that helped me get here. It was tough to wait a little longer than I expected, but when it came down to the Washington Redskins, I was really excited. I had a great visit their with Mr. Snyder, Vinny Cerrato and Coach Zorn. It just felt like the perfect fit. It’s a lot like Texas, a great organization with a proud history, a winning tradition, great fans. I can’t wait to get to work and do my best to help the Redskins. I told them when we had dinner on my visit there that I guaranteed them I would work as hard as anybody, and now I’m ready to show them.

© Copyright 2009 Randy Bish – All Rights Reserved.
Used with permission.

John, I enjoyed watching you coach the Oakland Raiders and I enjoyed you commentary during NFL games. And I will always be grateful for your introducing me to the turducken.

You will be missed.

While there is no official word yet, ESPN and Fox News reported late last night that the Dallas Cowboys are going to cut Wide Receiver and Chief Derision Officer Terrell Owens. Good. If I want drama, I’ll watch American Idol.

The NFL has extended invitations to wide receiver Quan Cosby, defensive tackle Roy Miller, running back Chris Ogbonnaya, defensive end Brian Orakpo and corner back Ryan Palmer to participate in the 2009 NFL Scouting Combine. The Combine is a week long showcase that occurs every February in Indianapolis. College football players will perform physical and mental tests for coaches, GMs and scouts of the NFL.

The situation in Dallas is beginning to make sense.

It was announced this week that Michael Irvin is going to host a reality television show involving the Dallas Cowboys. Twelve wannabe football players will compete for a spot on the Dallas Cowboys’ opening eighty person training camp roster.

In a move that surprised few, the Dallas Cowboys fired Brian Stewart today. If Jerry Jones continues to follow the my-team-is-in-a-death-spiral playbook and lets Jason Garrett walk out the door, Wade Phillips is likely safe for at least one more season.

Stewart was far from one of the core problems at Dallas. His unit was eighth in total defense, and led the league in sacks. He was, however, quite publicly stripped of his play calling duties after the 34-14 loss to the Rams this season.