Aikman on the radio
Recap by IM from a sports forum:
You get to broadcast the Cowboys right off the bat. Do you think this Cowboys team is improved this year?
Yes. One thing that is overlooked is the Cowboys had a heck of a training camp. They looked great. Tony Romo stepped up, and it looks like they got a good young quarterback. It was lost in all the TO controversy, but the people around the league and especially in Dallas know that this team could contend. But I don’t think people really know how good they can be, because people don’t understand how good they were in preseason until they go and break it down. All 4 teams in the NFC East think they should be in the playoffs. Three teams should definitely feel that way, since two of them made the playoffs and the Cowboys went 9-7 and probably should have won a couple of other games. And the Eagles could be a good team too. That’s unique.
How do you think the TO story will play out this year?
I think players are resilient, and a lot of what people outside teams think are distractions really aren’t. Players just go out and play. But I do think there will be tension there, whether between Parcells or Bledsoe. TO is going to want his touchdowns. I’ve seen it for too long. If he’s not getting the ball, there will be commotion. That will play out. In training camp, its one thing if a player is getting attention because he’s injured and has no control over it. Its another if he’s drawing attention to himself by wearing biking outfits. No teammate worth his salt would appreciate that.
This might be the best defense the Cowboys face all season. We could be saying this OL isn’t improved any.
Yeah, and we’ll be saying “Who are all these geniuses that picked this team to be good?” That’s the thing about Week 1. After this week, you’ll have 16 team who think the yare undefeated and 16 teams who don’t think they’ll win a game. Both defenses are very good. This could be a game decided by special teams. Offensively, the Cowboys are much more explosive. So that probably puts more pressure on Jacksonville. I don’t think they’ll run the ball effectively, but they got weapons and an experienced QB. Jax doesn’t have great WR’s and some people believe Leftwhich shouldn’t even be the starting QB.
Is the balance of power hugely tilted towards the AFC again?
Not as much as it wasBack when the NFC had a huge run in the 90’s, it was fair to say that our top 3-4 teams in the NFC were better than anything in the AFC. So we thought the NFC Championship game was the Superbowl. I don’t think you can say that now. The AFC has a streak now, but a lot of people will tell you that St. Louis was a better team than New England that year. I don’t think Pitt was that much better than Seattle, they just played a better game. I think the top 5-6 NFC teams are comparable to the top 5-6 teams in the AFC.
Did you guys have a great team chemistry or did you have a great team first and the chemistry build from that?
We had both. You gotta have both to win. I’ve always said I’ll take a less talented player who worked hard and I’ll win more games. We had great chemistry in that guys enjoyed being around each other. Players hung around each other, not just when we had to. We didn’t have any factions in the lockerroom. I’ve found as a broadcaster when get around teams with success, it doesn’t take long to walk through a lockerroom and know why these teams win. Just the way a lockerroom interacts with people. The way they’ll go up and shake people’s hands. The critics of Parcells can say he’s 25-23 as a HC, and that’s true … but when you go through the Cowboys lockeroom, minus TO, you’ll see a lockerroom that has a makeup similar to what we had in the 90’s. Oustanding guys. Whether its Parcells last year or not, they are positioned to be really good for a long time. And if he leaves this year before he wins a Superbowl, I don’t think he’ll get the credit he deserves for building this team.
Which rookie QB do you think will have the biggest impact?
I think Leinert will. If not him, Jay Cutler. I haven’t watched Cutler much, but I like Shannahan as a QB coach. So if he moves up in the draft to get him, that tells me he’s pretty good . Leinart had great success with a pro style offense in college. Then he goes to a perfect situation in Arizona with all those weapons and Denny Green, who I think is a very good coach. He had a great preseason. VY didn’t have a very good preseason. Honestly, I don’t understand that pick. I don’t know how he goes 3rd in the draft I heard TEN drafted him because they want to keep the same offense they had under McNair … but McNair was a passer first. But I think Leinart is going to be outstanding.
Do you think its important for a rookie quarterback to start year 1 or sit the bench?
You can point to guys and find examples of each. It depends on the type of personality of the QB and the team around him. If I put that kind of money in a draft pick, I would probably expect him to play but I would keep a very close eye on him to make sure that he never loses confidence. Jerry Rhome coached me one year in Dallas, and he just refused to let me get down on myself. He wouldn’t let me. It was a good thing for me, but what is good for me isn’t good for everyone else.
You get to broadcast the Cowboys right off the bat. Do you think this Cowboys team is improved this year?
Yes. One thing that is overlooked is the Cowboys had a heck of a training camp. They looked great. Tony Romo stepped up, and it looks like they got a good young quarterback. It was lost in all the TO controversy, but the people around the league and especially in Dallas know that this team could contend. But I don’t think people really know how good they can be, because people don’t understand how good they were in preseason until they go and break it down. All 4 teams in the NFC East think they should be in the playoffs. Three teams should definitely feel that way, since two of them made the playoffs and the Cowboys went 9-7 and probably should have won a couple of other games. And the Eagles could be a good team too. That’s unique.
How do you think the TO story will play out this year?
I think players are resilient, and a lot of what people outside teams think are distractions really aren’t. Players just go out and play. But I do think there will be tension there, whether between Parcells or Bledsoe. TO is going to want his touchdowns. I’ve seen it for too long. If he’s not getting the ball, there will be commotion. That will play out. In training camp, its one thing if a player is getting attention because he’s injured and has no control over it. Its another if he’s drawing attention to himself by wearing biking outfits. No teammate worth his salt would appreciate that.
This might be the best defense the Cowboys face all season. We could be saying this OL isn’t improved any.
Yeah, and we’ll be saying “Who are all these geniuses that picked this team to be good?” That’s the thing about Week 1. After this week, you’ll have 16 team who think the yare undefeated and 16 teams who don’t think they’ll win a game. Both defenses are very good. This could be a game decided by special teams. Offensively, the Cowboys are much more explosive. So that probably puts more pressure on Jacksonville. I don’t think they’ll run the ball effectively, but they got weapons and an experienced QB. Jax doesn’t have great WR’s and some people believe Leftwhich shouldn’t even be the starting QB.
Is the balance of power hugely tilted towards the AFC again?
Not as much as it wasBack when the NFC had a huge run in the 90’s, it was fair to say that our top 3-4 teams in the NFC were better than anything in the AFC. So we thought the NFC Championship game was the Superbowl. I don’t think you can say that now. The AFC has a streak now, but a lot of people will tell you that St. Louis was a better team than New England that year. I don’t think Pitt was that much better than Seattle, they just played a better game. I think the top 5-6 NFC teams are comparable to the top 5-6 teams in the AFC.
Did you guys have a great team chemistry or did you have a great team first and the chemistry build from that?
We had both. You gotta have both to win. I’ve always said I’ll take a less talented player who worked hard and I’ll win more games. We had great chemistry in that guys enjoyed being around each other. Players hung around each other, not just when we had to. We didn’t have any factions in the lockerroom. I’ve found as a broadcaster when get around teams with success, it doesn’t take long to walk through a lockerroom and know why these teams win. Just the way a lockerroom interacts with people. The way they’ll go up and shake people’s hands. The critics of Parcells can say he’s 25-23 as a HC, and that’s true … but when you go through the Cowboys lockeroom, minus TO, you’ll see a lockerroom that has a makeup similar to what we had in the 90’s. Oustanding guys. Whether its Parcells last year or not, they are positioned to be really good for a long time. And if he leaves this year before he wins a Superbowl, I don’t think he’ll get the credit he deserves for building this team.
Which rookie QB do you think will have the biggest impact?
I think Leinert will. If not him, Jay Cutler. I haven’t watched Cutler much, but I like Shannahan as a QB coach. So if he moves up in the draft to get him, that tells me he’s pretty good . Leinart had great success with a pro style offense in college. Then he goes to a perfect situation in Arizona with all those weapons and Denny Green, who I think is a very good coach. He had a great preseason. VY didn’t have a very good preseason. Honestly, I don’t understand that pick. I don’t know how he goes 3rd in the draft I heard TEN drafted him because they want to keep the same offense they had under McNair … but McNair was a passer first. But I think Leinart is going to be outstanding.
Do you think its important for a rookie quarterback to start year 1 or sit the bench?
You can point to guys and find examples of each. It depends on the type of personality of the QB and the team around him. If I put that kind of money in a draft pick, I would probably expect him to play but I would keep a very close eye on him to make sure that he never loses confidence. Jerry Rhome coached me one year in Dallas, and he just refused to let me get down on myself. He wouldn’t let me. It was a good thing for me, but what is good for me isn’t good for everyone else.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:44 PM
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