Brooking's Leadership

I have been wanting to comment on Keith Brooking for a while now, the 6' 2", 245lb. ILB for our beloved Dallas Cowboys. This dude is bad. Like certain folks consider Jarred Allen to be bad, this dude is bad. The first thing I noticed about Brooking was the guy just looks tough. His head seems to be made out of granite. How many people have heard other fans accuse Dallas of being "pretty" or "white collar"? This man is the antithesis to all that nonsense. Football is not pretty. Not supposed to be pretty. Inside linebackers are not supposed to be pretty.
Brooking has averaged 85 SOLO tackles since 1999 in Atlanta. Now this is not the inflated total tackle stat a lot of writers use, this is actual, roughneck mono y mono tackling here. By my count, that covers 11 years in the NFL, and he only played in 5 games his second year in the league (Which I counted among his stats I have discussed as a full year. Without it, he averages 91 solo). Other than that, this guy has started every single game except TWO. You don't need me to tell you that is toughness not seen all the time. London Fletcher is the gold standard for the position, but screw that guy right now, this is about Keith.
I am partial to the middle linebacker, it appeals to me as this is the quarterback of the defense. This is where your adjustments come from. Last time I watched a game (Sillydelphia, yes!) Bradie James was making most of the calls. You have to wonder are his days numbered? With Jerry Jones forcing Felix Jones upon us, and Brooking is Phillips' boy, you know? (On a side note, I am so glad Jerry was right about Felix, we all know he has some making up to do when it comes to draft picks, am I right?) But I digress. This is the essence of what makes Brooking great to me. You didn't hear him once talk about he wants to make the calls, or he doesn't like the scheme or anything like old what's-his-name. He just comes in, goes to work, and produces.
And leads. It did not take him long to toughen up our guys either. I cannot state enough how important it is to have guys like him and a Bradie James on our team. And don't mistake me, I love a Bradie James type, who brings his lunch pale to work everyday. We are just now seeing again what so many of us loved about Michael Irvin. That something we know is there, but because we are not on the team we cannot fully understand it: fire, drive, passion. And to think, that is still not enough. I used to call for Phillips firing very loudly, now I see that without him and one of his key past players brought to us now, this run would not be possible. Put Brooking in the Phillips tree. If these are the kind of men Wade is associated with, I say we, or Jerry rather, start scowling the list of "Wade guys". Parcells, remember? He brought them in by the droves. I read on DallasCowboys.com a question asking if Romo was doing enough to be considered a championship quarterback. The answer was a resounding yes. Through Brooking's steady, consistent play, tackle after tackle, it is obvious to me he is a championship quarterback of the defense, whether the technical term fits or not. He knows this scheme inside and out, and is the spark plug. One of those crazy bright, loud spark plugs with like seven contact points inside the cylinder, you know? THUNDER!!! BANG!!!! WHOOSH!!!! VROOOM!!!! So give this guy the defensive signals so that on every single snap his enthusiasm can be felt by the entire defense. What a good fit to this club. We are seeing how many good decisions an organization must make from top to bottom to be this great on the field. Football is not pretty, heck Brooking is definitely not pretty. But who wants pretty anyway?

The Essence of Sunday's Vike/Cowboy Playoff Game

I have not read or heard any of what I am about to say on television, in print on the web, or in any other format; because I had not yet written it. First of all, to say Dallas does not really need Marion Barber because of the emergence of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice is complete nonsense. Barber helps Felix have his identity on the field as the "speed guy". Just as a defense has to respect the pure flight of Felix on the edge, they also must account for Barber's absolute tenacity between the tackles. Now the offensive line is predominantly responsible for this, but be honest: when was the last time you saw Jones smash someone in the hole? Forget about this talk that M.B. does not break as many tackles as he used to, or he is not a punishing runner anymore, he is. When a defense has to go all out to bring a guy like that down play after play, it seasons them, if you will, for the speed guy. Against Philly this wasn't necessarily true, as the line was bringing back memories of 1993 with the freeway lanes they opened. In this scenario, Jones is without a doubt your man. And I know it is easy to look at the runs Barber executes and say, "Man, if Felix was running that play he would have scored." I know this because I said it myself. I love Felix Jones' talent and speed, who wouldn't? Just be prepared for more short yardage situations against the purple and horns, a sympton Barber is perfectly prescribed for. If you remember, we had good 3rd down situations against the Eagles and converted, again, due to the offensive line's dominance of the Eagles' front four.
This coming weekend, however, is quite different for our offense. Minnesota has some real tonnage on that defensive line, the Williams brothers namely, to go skull to bone crushing skull with what I think is the biggest, baddest, pulling est-and-hit-you-in-the-mouth offensive line in football. Enter the barbarian. Who else could do the punishing job of grinding out tough yardage against a front four like that? And let us not forget: Barber is no stranger to hitting a defense on the edge. With this in mind, the barbarian is my pick for "guy to get it done". Last week I picked Felix Jones, and it fit the opponent. I don't know about you, but I do not want nimble Felix running up in there on a power running play, trying to shake one of those behemoths off his back. Barber is the man for that role. And I know Jason Garret has a tendency to whip that ball around through the aerial attack when the ground game stalls, I leave that mixture to him.
Momentum is on our sides. Health is on our sides. We finally have some real leadership, which I might share in another blog, but foremost and firsthand, Barber is the key to this game. Sometimes an offense that is rolling like ours will get too crafty for it's own good. Garrett is definitely a crafty booger, and I love that. I just hope he and the Cowboys' fans don't forget how you handle a big, tough D-line like the Minnesota Vikings: HIT THEM IN THE MOUTH, with our iron-clad warrior fist, Marion "the barbarian" Barber. It's like D-Ware said, "Kill mode".