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As any casual gambler can attest, every time a trip to Vegas with your friends looms on the horizon, each guy will invariably swear that he’s going to utilize discipline, proper money management, patience, and not go crazy with the bets. He promises himself and to each of his buddies that he’s going to stick with flat betting a certain amount, say $10 or $25 and not venture beyond that no matter what the situation whether he’s down a lot or up a lot the duration of the weekend. Of course any casual gambler will also agree with me when I say that lasts for maybe all of 2 seconds as the thrill of winning and the desperation of losing could both induce ultimately the greed of degenerative gambling. What starts with flat betting in accordance to patience, discipline, letting the cards come to you instead of chasing bets, and taking risks, really ends up turning into taking 75% of your bankroll and placing $200+ on one hand of blackjack only to see the dealer almost always turn over a king with his 6 card up, then dealing himself a 5 to figuratively crotch-punch you and your feeble 18.

I would venture to say this scenario figures analogously to what Tony Romo must have gone through last Sunday. All preseason we have heard all the chatter that Romo is a changed quarterback, that without the burden of appeasing Terrell Owens, he will be a better quarterback using all his discipline, patience to find the open receiver and not force or take gambles with the football. He would take care of the ball and try his best not to turn it over. But like any gambler at heart, what starts out as “money management” usually turns into an adrenaline haze of “all-in” aptly put, “cowboy-like” freestyle of risk.

In my overrated opinion, whereas Romo demonstrated a newfound efficiency and proper ball protection in week 1 vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, for one reason or another he reverted back to his reckless ways of taking unnecessary risks and heaving costly interceptions. I personally think Tony Romo got caught up in the moment, fanfare of opening night, and wanted to make sure his team got the win in front of a capacity crowd. You cannot fault him for caring so much, but you can fault him for not taking care of the ball better and putting the team in a better position to win.

Honestly as the QB of the Dallas Cowboys, Romo assuredly knows by now that as the face of the franchise, he basks in all the glory when the team wins but also carries all the blame whenever they falter. To be fair, he threw two ill-advised INTs that turned immediately into points for the New York Giants, and a third INT was a fluke play that bounced off TE Jason Witten’s feet and into a defender’s hands. More importantly, the Cowboys Defense could not produce an effective pass rush, not recording a single sack, nor could they cover anyone over the middle of the field. The Giant’s M.O. is their power running game, yet Dallas could stuff the run, but soon gave up big yardage through the air.

Consider the fact that the New York Giants are really the better team. Maybe the best team in the NFC. They are sound in almost every area of their team. Their only perceived weakness is the WR corp comprised of young inexperienced players who made leaps in their development on national TV in front of disappointed Dallas faithfuls. I fully expected a win, but am nonetheless hopeful the Boys can bounce back from a hard fought battle with their bitter divisional rivals. Tony Romo deserves some of the criticism from this game, but I admire more that he cares enough to the point that he psyched himself out in the first game at Cowboys Stadium, and proceeded to have stage fright. Doesn’t speak positively for his nerves and reputation as a “big game” QB, but I contend that the guy is still a young player in the NFL going through the pangs of what it takes to win. Admittedly the leash grows shorter with every shortcoming, but there are worse ways to go through life. Playing professional football and being paid handsomely should always factor into the larger perspective of things.

I do think the chorus of former Cowboys greats rallying against Romo is a bit harsh. From Troy Aikman, to Emmitt Smith, to now Tony Dorsett, using any air or face time to take their respective shots at Romo may be what he needs to motivate himself. It could also represent the immense pressure for excellence that comes with being a Dallas Cowboys. It could also be petty jealously. A young single man playing in the most glamorous position in sports in an age of instant access, and instant information void of privacy should expect as much. Whatever the case, even the likes of Steve Young, John Elway, and Peyton Manning had mountains to climb. Even if Tony Romo never turns out to be nothing more than just a slightly above average QB in the annuals of NFL history, right now I rather have him than 80% of the other signal-callers in the league. Don’t forget this is a team that trotted out Quincy Carter, Drew Bledsoe 5 years past his prime, Vinny Testeverde 15 years past his prime, and Ryan Leaf 7 years before he made a run for the Canadian border. Consider that, and the fact that Cowboy fans are only 2 injuries away from the Stephen McGee era!

Without further ado, I must comment on what multitudes of others have already said. The stadium… is… awesome! It’s enough for one trip to take in a game, I could not honestly see myself being a season ticket holder as I have the bladder of a 5-year old girl and could not squeeze through thousands of other fans in the middle of the game to trek myself down stairs after stairs just to stand in line in the bathroom waiting for a urinal. There are 100,000 people in Cowboys Stadium with maybe 10 urinals and 5 toilets per section! Thats pretty much like the shortage of life boats on the Titanic… you know without the seriousness, morbidity and Leonardo DiCarpio-ness of the situation.

The gigantic HD screen is as advertised as any section along the sidelines had a good view of the TV. I told myself I would watch the ants playing down on the field in spite of the immense images vividly available before me. I only stole glances for replays or when the guy in front of me kept standing up to order beer that was not for him but for his disinterested wife texting profusely on her iPhone. The stadium is truly a testament to architectural wonder and the flash is well received for any football fan. It’s far from the 9th wonder of the world that Jerry Jones cheesily advertised before kickoff, but it sure comes close.

Last week: 6-10-0
Year to date: 14-18-0

Tennessee Titans +2.5 @ New York Jets

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Houston Texans -3.5

Kansas City Chiefs @ Philadelphia Eagles -8.5

Cleveland Browns +13.5 @ Baltimore Ravens

New York Giants @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers +6.5

Washington Redskins @ Detroit Lions +6.5

Green Bay Packers @ St. Louis Rams +6.5

San Francisco 49ers +6.5 @ Minnesota Vikings

Atlanta Falcons @ New England Patriots -4.5

Chicago Bears @ Seattle Seahawks +2

New Orleans Saints -6 @ Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins +6 @ San Diego Chargers

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals +4

Denver Broncos -1.5 @ Oakland Raiders

Indianapolis Colts +2.5 @ Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers @ Dallas Cowboys -8.5