The Landry Hat » Reggie Wayne

The Trade of the Century – And with the #1 pick, the ________ select, Andrew Luck!

Jonathan Barger — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:00:20 +0000

The off-season officially started Sunday night, after QB Eli Manning and the Giants knocked off QB Tom Brady and the Patriots. Myself and fellow writers for the Landry Hat have spent countless hours at the library, pulling all-nighters researching to provide the latest, up to the minute, and in depth content on the web. So to relax our minds for a little bit, lets read about something different than the Dallas Cowboys needs, who is going to be released/resigned/FA signed/drafted… I bring you something fresh to wrap your brain matter around… the Trade of the Century.

Jan 2, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Stanford Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck (12) signals to his team during the first quarter against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

Peyton Manning, QB of the Indianapolis Colts, has just recently been cleared medically by 2 separate Dr.’s to play after k has healed, and Peyton could be back in uniform as soon as he is able to volley accurate footballs into hands of Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon. Without him, his Colts were an abysmal 2-14; bad enough to ‘win’ the 1st overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The prize, the Heisman Trophy Candidate from Stanford, Andrew Luck.

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Madden Curse: A Self-fulfilling Prophecy?

thelandryhat — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:08:18 +0000

By: Joe D.

I was convenience shopping today, and my heart skipped a beat. After being revived by the paramedics, I further investigated the Doritos and EA Sports partnership. They are “synergizing” and the public gets to vote on who next graces the Madden Cover.

Immediately I had an ambivalent reaction. The irrational sports side of my brain thought, “God, I hope Tony Romo isn’t voted onto the cover.” The logical side said, “I can’t believe how stupid I can be.” This fight between the two sides is as vociferous as the Hatfield V. McCoy battle. Sunday afternoons are the normal battleground – I have to avoid going to the bathroom so I don’t ruin the karma of the drive, where’s my lucky hat, why am I wearing my unlucky wedding ring (unlucky from day 1)?

I checked the Doritos website, and was relieved that Romo wasn’t even in the running. Drew Brees, Jared Allen, and Reggie Wayne will vie for the albatross this year. We (Dallas) play all three candidates this year raising the question, who would I prefer to be cursed?

The rational side of my brain spent the next few hours developing a counterpoint. Here is what bubbled up:

1. Players who grace the cover generally had a great year the season prior. Rarely do players have amazing statistical seasons and then improve upon the figure. Emmitt Smith followed his 25 touchdown season with a 12 touchdown season; Shaun Alexander followed his 27 touchdown season with 7 TD’s; Peyton Manning followed his 49 touchdown season with 28 passing TD’s; Tom Brady followed 50 touchdown season with a goose egg. It’s not uncommon for a great player to follow one great season with a mediocre season. When the Madden cover is graced with a star player who had a awful season the year prior, maybe we will start believing the cover aids in their comeback season.

2. Injuries occur in the most violent of the major sports. Back to back seasons of playing 16 games aren’t uncommon, but it isn’t surprising that a player is dinged or down for a game or two. Alexander, Mike Vick, and Troy Polamalu all suffered injuries the year following being on the cover. Not surprisingly, they were playing football when the injuries occurred. Brett Favre was quarterbacking a Super Bowl contender (Jets) until he suffered a biceps injury. Other than Vince Young, the cover is given to players who are established stars in the league, which means they have played several years in the NFL (taking an NFL sized beating each year). While they may still be in their prime, they certainly are compounding aches and pains which blossom into injuries.

3. The curse works in perpetuity. Vick and Favre were involved in off the field issues which consequently lead to a move to other teams. Those exploits have been well covered and will only be touched on. Vick was involved in dog-fighting well before the cover and well after. Favre has been considering retirement for nearly a decade (prior to and after gracing the cover). Attributing blame to the Madden Cover to events which were occurring prior to the cover and perpetually thereafter certainly seems fool-hearty.

As a whole, being on the Madden Cover doesn’t translate into a sub-par season, but rather the nature of the NFL provides the backdrop for heroes to ascend and fall. The exercise in logic and rationale does not remove the question of whether there is some validity to the curse. Therefore, I will vote for Drew Brees. The team will definitely have a worse season than in 2009. Will it be because of the Madden cover, or more likely it will be because each team will be gunning to the Super Bowl Champion? The latter is more likely, but the former is more fun.

Craps Shoot With Rookie Wide Receivers

thelandryhat — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:40:23 +0000

SI’s Peter King says he ran into Dallas Cowboys brass Stephen Jones, and they discussed wide receivers. Jones apparently told him that wide receivers are the toughest position to get players from the draft to come in and produce right away.

King did some unnecessary research, because we already know Jones is right. But, King reviewed the last eight rounds of this decade and made this conclusion:

Of the 34 first-round wide receivers since 2000, only three have caught at least 60 balls in their rookie seasons. Dwayne Bowe (Kansas City, 2007) had a 70-catch season last year. Michael Clayton (Tampa Bay, 2004) made 80 catches in his first year. Andre Johnson (Houston, 2003) caught 66 passes as a rookie.

Some great receivers have developed out of the first round, but not early. Reggie Wayne is terrific now, but he had a 27-catch, 345-yard rookie year. Roddy White‘s first two Atlanta seasons netted 59 catches, far from his third season total of 83 in 2007. Plaxico Burress caught 22 passes as a rookie. He’s averaged 64 a year since.

Dallas picks 22nd and 28th in the first round, and the last 10 picks of the first round have produced some god-awful wide receivers. R. Jay Soward … Sylvester Morris … Michael Jenkins. Dallas would be more than smart — especially in a year that owner Jerry Jones told me is a “now” draft year — to deal for a receiver, not draft one. If they can.

The Cowboys passed on Bowe in last year’s draft. King also believes there is tread left in the Roy Williams (Detroit) trade. But then in another article, King says he talked to Jerry Jones, who said he has never believed in throwing money at players in free agency to develop a Super Bowl-caliber team. The Cowboys first Super Bowl in the 90s was the second-lowest paid team in the NFL that year.

I hope the Cowboys brass treads lightly in these matters because the future largely depends on their actions.