LOW HANGING TVS, NAPA POLICE REOPEN CASE & CHIEFS TIVO REVIEW
If you missed the debut of the Dallas Cowboy's new home, the 'Jones-Mahal', then you didn't get to see the doinkathon of punts ricocheting off the massive HD replay screen gondola suspended from the roof. The 4-screens aren't hung high enough from the playing surface & both Tennessee punters were banging kicks off of it during pregame warm ups. Titan rookie punter A.J. Trapasso struck it flush during the 3rd quarter & the ball fell right back toward the surprised punter. Titan coach Jeff Fisher had to throw the red challenge flag to alert game officials the punt had struck the video screen array. Jerry Jones, initially embarrassed, was sort of defiant when asked about the massive obstruction after the game, "we're not going to raise it, if it gets hit, they'll just have to kick over, like they did tonight." Somehow I don't think that's gonna cut it Jerry. The NFL does everything it can to keep it's games near 3 hours in length, banking footballs off the TV & having to line everybody up over & over to punt the ball won't be one of the options, sorry Jer. NFL Vice President of Football Operations, Ray Anderson, will be in charge of finding a solution to the problem. These screens have been the focal point of the stadium every time it's been profiled. The 2 facing the sidelines are the largest HD screens in the world at 160' wide by 90' tall & the 2 facing the end zones are just about half that size. They are 90' above the playing surface & certainly in range of the league's better punters.
Also regarding the new Cowboy stadium, ESPN's "Outside the Lines" did a show about it Thursday. Considering this stadium was on the drawing board in 2005 & was projected to cost $650 million of Jones' cash, another $250 million would be ponied up by local government tax bond issues. Unfortunately, Jones' timing couldn't have been worse, with the financial meltdown of Wall Street last year, financing to cover the estimated $350 million in cost overruns became way more than Jones could comfortably handle. He had to kick in most of it out of his pocket. Much of the money to build this stadium is of the high-interest type. Jones admitted he was "dancing with the devil" getting the place built. Plus it was pointed out Jones was overly optimistic about ticket & suite sales. Over 30 luxury suites have gone unleased & in this economy, it's doubtful someone will jump at the chance to spend upwards of $500,000 to watch punts caroming off the TV screens. Jones stated they had sold 95% of the single game tickets, but The Dallas Morning News puts the sold ticket number at about 88%, quite a discrepancy. In an 80,000 seat venue, that 7% difference amounts to about 5,600 tickets, so added to what Jones is admitting to, 5%, if sales don't pickup, the Cowboys could be facing some local TV blackouts. Jones has, so far, been unable to sell the stadium naming rights either, which is $5-10 million a season in revenue. One positive note from last night's Titan-Cowboy game is the Cowboys played very well, Tony Romo didn't seem to miss T.O. at all.
The Denver Broncos continue to dig their collective heels in when dealing with pouting WR Brandon Marshall. The Bronco charter left for tonight's pre season game in Seattle without Marshall on board. Denver management decided to leave him at home. Marshall was demoted to the scout team on Thursday, burying him on the depth chart. This has become a total war of wills here, it's hard to predict the bigger loser, the are certainly no winners in all this ugliness.
The Napa Police Department has re-entered the Randy Hanson assault case. Hanson, an Oakland Raider defensive coach was allegedly attacked by head coach Tom Cable & he sustained a broken jaw. Now that the police have opened an investigation, the NFL will have to become involved as well, with all the penalties commissioner Roger Goodell has handed down in the last 2 years, ignoring it would be the worst kind of hypocrisy.
After watching the Chiefs game again this afternoon by myself, in total quiet, I noticed a few more things. I said last night that Tank Tyler played pretty well at nose tackle, now I'd say he played even better than I originally thought. Tyson Jackson moves really well for such a big man, on one play he flushed Tavaris Jackson from the pocket, Jackson threw the ball 30 yards downfield & before the whistle was blown, Jackson was on screen, having covered all that ground in just a couple of seconds. He got some decent penetration on passing plays too. I like the 2 down linemen sets Clancy Pendergast uses on 3rd & long sometimes. With 4 linebackers jumping around along with a corner & a safety, it tough for the O-line to figure out who's coming & from where. Yeah, they failed to get a sack, but they'll come I believe. I mentioned my disappointment in Mike Goff so far & add Mike Brown to that, for a Pro Bowl player, he made a couple of rookie mistakes. Dorsey didn't get blown off the ball, but he didn't make anything happen either. Jury is still out on #72.
Also regarding the new Cowboy stadium, ESPN's "Outside the Lines" did a show about it Thursday. Considering this stadium was on the drawing board in 2005 & was projected to cost $650 million of Jones' cash, another $250 million would be ponied up by local government tax bond issues. Unfortunately, Jones' timing couldn't have been worse, with the financial meltdown of Wall Street last year, financing to cover the estimated $350 million in cost overruns became way more than Jones could comfortably handle. He had to kick in most of it out of his pocket. Much of the money to build this stadium is of the high-interest type. Jones admitted he was "dancing with the devil" getting the place built. Plus it was pointed out Jones was overly optimistic about ticket & suite sales. Over 30 luxury suites have gone unleased & in this economy, it's doubtful someone will jump at the chance to spend upwards of $500,000 to watch punts caroming off the TV screens. Jones stated they had sold 95% of the single game tickets, but The Dallas Morning News puts the sold ticket number at about 88%, quite a discrepancy. In an 80,000 seat venue, that 7% difference amounts to about 5,600 tickets, so added to what Jones is admitting to, 5%, if sales don't pickup, the Cowboys could be facing some local TV blackouts. Jones has, so far, been unable to sell the stadium naming rights either, which is $5-10 million a season in revenue. One positive note from last night's Titan-Cowboy game is the Cowboys played very well, Tony Romo didn't seem to miss T.O. at all.
The Denver Broncos continue to dig their collective heels in when dealing with pouting WR Brandon Marshall. The Bronco charter left for tonight's pre season game in Seattle without Marshall on board. Denver management decided to leave him at home. Marshall was demoted to the scout team on Thursday, burying him on the depth chart. This has become a total war of wills here, it's hard to predict the bigger loser, the are certainly no winners in all this ugliness.
The Napa Police Department has re-entered the Randy Hanson assault case. Hanson, an Oakland Raider defensive coach was allegedly attacked by head coach Tom Cable & he sustained a broken jaw. Now that the police have opened an investigation, the NFL will have to become involved as well, with all the penalties commissioner Roger Goodell has handed down in the last 2 years, ignoring it would be the worst kind of hypocrisy.
After watching the Chiefs game again this afternoon by myself, in total quiet, I noticed a few more things. I said last night that Tank Tyler played pretty well at nose tackle, now I'd say he played even better than I originally thought. Tyson Jackson moves really well for such a big man, on one play he flushed Tavaris Jackson from the pocket, Jackson threw the ball 30 yards downfield & before the whistle was blown, Jackson was on screen, having covered all that ground in just a couple of seconds. He got some decent penetration on passing plays too. I like the 2 down linemen sets Clancy Pendergast uses on 3rd & long sometimes. With 4 linebackers jumping around along with a corner & a safety, it tough for the O-line to figure out who's coming & from where. Yeah, they failed to get a sack, but they'll come I believe. I mentioned my disappointment in Mike Goff so far & add Mike Brown to that, for a Pro Bowl player, he made a couple of rookie mistakes. Dorsey didn't get blown off the ball, but he didn't make anything happen either. Jury is still out on #72.
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