01/30/13: D-FW sports chat with columnist Kevin Sherrrington

I'm in early today. Let's go.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:00:54 PM
Do you think Nelson Cruz's silence says a lot about his involvement in the Florida drug scandal?

by Devin 1/30/2013 4:00:57 PM
Not necessarily so, but it doesn't make me believe in his innocence, either. When you've got other guys who have already been found guilty associated with Tosch, and Cruz's name comes up, too, and in such a specific example, it doesn't look good for him. I'd expect he'll get a 50-game suspension, which is a significant blow to this team. They're not going to be able to replace his power in the lineup, unless they make a deal I'm not aware of.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:02:41 PM
Was last night's Mavericks loss the last straw for a playoff run or indicative of why this team will be in the bottom fourth of the league the rest of the way?

by Rich 1/30/2013 4:02:44 PM
I think it's the same old stuff we've been seeing all season. This team makes way too many turnovers. It's the sort of thing that makes Rick Carlisle and Dirk Nowitzki crazy. Dirk got used to Jason Kidd's big basketball IQ, and it's difficult dealing with these guys. How you put yourself in a position to get a charge called against you with 1.5 seconds left in a tie game, I don't know. But this is who the Mavs are, and will continue to be.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:04:33 PM
Who makes the calls on offense doesn't really matter. If the Pokes don't have a line that blocks, the running game will not succeed. And whatever call Garrett sends in, Romo ends up changing anyway and snapping the ball with about one second left on the play call. Just my thoughts of the day.

by Brad 1/30/2013 4:04:39 PM
Brad, I can't disagree with any of that. The Cowboys had a below-average offensive line last year for at least the second season in a row. That's uncons
ic

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:05:22 PM
Sorry, Brad, hit the wrong button. What I was saying was, that's unconscionable. A football man has to understand that the places you start with winning football are in the offensive and defensive lines, and you work outward from there. And the play-changes at the line of scrimmage just drive me crazy. It's like watching "The Hurt Locker" every week: a guy trying to keep a bomb from blowing up in his face. The Cowboys desperately need a hurry-up offense that they can run other than at the end of games.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:07:17 PM
Entering next season, would you have more faith in Monte Kiffin or Rob Ryan running the Cowboys' defense?

by Mitch 1/30/2013 4:07:21 PM
I like Kiffin better. Ryan still hasn't proven himself. He's already missed his five-minute deadline, which is what he said it'd take to get another job. All of a sudden, his new boss in St. Louis decides it's not a philosophical fit. I'd say there was probably a little more to it than that. Having said that, I don't think Ryan needed to be the fall guy for what went wrong. All things considered, he did a pretty good job with a defense that suffered a lot of injuries. The hiring of Kiffin wasn't a bad idea, just how the Cowboys went about it. Bottom line: It should be a good hire.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:09:22 PM
So Jerry Jones doesn't step down as GM. Has he made significant moves lately to make that job better, as in changing draft staff, etc?

by Burton 1/30/2013 4:09:25 PM
No changes in the scouting department, at least not as I'm aware of. What's hurt the Cowboys more often is Jerry's impetuous, impulsive nature. You have to be patient in the draft and stick to your board. Jerry doesn't like to do that. He also needs to draft a QB at some point. Look what the 49ers did. They already had Alex Smith, but they took Colin Kaepernick in the second round. That seemed to work out pretty well for them.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:11:04 PM
The Big 12 proved to be pretty pedestrian last season. Is there a concern that they could lapse into ACC territory, playing no one significant and then getting pummeled in bowl games?

by Phillip 1/30/2013 4:11:11 PM
The Big 12 didn't have a good year, but that's mainly because Texas was so mediocre, and Oklahoma bellied up in big games again. If you look around, what conference, other than the SEC, was great? Even the SEC didn't do particularly well in bowl games. The SEC was really good at the top and not so good from that point down. The Big 12 was probably as good from the third or fourth teams on down, just not as good at the top. Too much talent in Texas for the Big 12 to slide for long.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:13:06 PM
Hi, Kevin! What do you expect out of Kliff Kingsbury's first year at Tech?

by Chris 1/30/2013 4:13:08 PM
I expect there to be a lot of excitement and enthusiasm, and then I expect there to be a little transition time. He's got a lot of answers to fill. He was part of a staff at A&M that made a tremendous leap in a season when no one expected it, but that team had some great offensive lineman and a freshman QB no one could have predicted. The good news for Kingsbury is, he's already got so much goodwill on his side, fans will be patient, as they should be.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:15:05 PM
In your opinion, who is the most influential person in the recruiting process of a college player?

by Miles 1/30/2013 4:15:08 PM
A good question, which means, of course, the answer is, "It depends." If a kid has a great relationship with his parents, they'll be the most influential. If not, or if there's not a father figure, it's more likely to be the high school coach. In basketball, it might be the AAU coach, which is another can of worms entirely. The assistant doing the recruiting often does a phenomenal job of building a relationship in a short time. The college head coach just seals the deal, but some are extremely effective at it. Mack Brown comes to mind.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:17:26 PM
Michael Irvin tells Randy Moss that Jerry Rice is the best receiver of all time. Any disagreement? Surprised at the Playmaker's humility? Randy sure lit up the Cowboys.

by Manny 1/30/2013 4:17:35 PM
I'll have to agree with Michael on that one. Moss was a terrific receiver, but Rice can make any argument you want: stats, wins, importance to his team, whatever. Some polls would argue that not only is Rice the greatest receiver ever, he's the greatest player at any position. I wouldn't say that. I'm more of a Jim Brown, Sam Baugh kind of guy. But Rice is much closer than Moss.

by Kevin Sherrington 1/30/2013 4:19:09 PM