FanHouse Jerry Jones

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- You could smell this game as far away as Madison, and the part of it that stunk the worst was the Dallas Cowboys offense. On an afternoon in which everybody -- the officials, the head coaches, the offensive lines...everybody -- seemed to be conspiring to set the game of football back 40 years, it was the Cowboys who came up the smallest, committing 10 penalties and converting just 3 of 12 third downs in a 17-7 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field.

"This was an impressive win for Green Bay," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "But it was unimpressive the way we didn't execute, especially early, when we still had a chance to get the game going the way we wanted it to go."

But the most disappointing part for the Cowboys was that, by losing this game, they blew a very real chance to get the season going the way they wanted it to go.

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On the eve of a Sunday night NFC East showdown in Philadelphia, the Cowboys have gotten some bulletin board material via a comparison of their franchise and the Eagles. Strangely enough, the inflammatory statements weren't made by anyone with current ties to the Eagles, but by Ravens head coach John Harbaugh.

Harbaugh, a former Eagles assistant, was asked for a new book what made the Eagles more successful than the Cowboys over the last 10 years. Matt Mosley of ESPN.com shares the answer.

Wade Phillips isn't much to look at, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn't hire the Son of Bum to model puffy jackets. He hired him for his football acumen. The bloodlines and several successful stints as a defensive coordinator suggested he was up for it, even if Phillips doesn't exactly exude confidence.

I often think owners and general managers fall in love with potential head coaching candidates because of their assistant coaching track record, even though the biggest part of the job usually has more to do with, in Mike Tomlin's words, "leading men," than it does with Xs and Os.

Which goes a long way in explaining why some fans aren't sold on Phillips as the long-term answer in Dallas. And some media types, too. Like, say the Dallas Observer's Richie Whitt, who uses a recent Phillips radio appearance to illustrate the point.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has never been shy about spending big for superstars, and on Monday he spent very big to lock in one of the best defensive players in the league.

Linebacker DeMarcus Ware has agreed to a six-year contract extension that Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com reports is worth nearly $13 million per season and almost $40 million in guaranteed money.

The contract ensures that the 27-year-old Ware will play for the Cowboys, who selected him with the 11th overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft, through the prime years of his career.

Marion Barber, on his own blog, stated that he was well rested after Dallas' bye week and that his strained left quadriceps is "no longer a problem". Meanwhile, Felix Jones, who hasn't played since Week 3, is back at practice this week -- he's wearing a brace to protect his left knee, but he's still practicing.

With Barber and Jones back, why is it that Tashard Choice is going to get even more carries this week against Atlanta? The simple answer -- because Jerry Jones said so.

On his weekly radio show, Jerry Jones said that even though Barber was as healthy as he's been in two weeks, Choice would see more playing time. "Tashard certainly earned and is going to get a big part of the load."

NFL Coaches Fight Club: the Tournament. Because we have nothing better to do than predict what might happen if head coaches started punching each other in the face.

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Recently, some happy-go-lucky Dallas Cowboys fans christened the team's new stadium by gettin' busy in a Burger King Jerry Dome bathroom while the Cowboys were gettin' busy all over my beloved (and pathetic!) Carolina Panthers.

Everyone's seen this homemade porno, too (Deadspin's -- obviously NSFW -- post topped 200k views in short order). And when I say "everyone" I really mean that -- even Jerry Jones, whose money, fame and insanity unwittingly played a role in sexing up Cowboys Stadium, managed to sneak a peek at the pair of hardcore Michael Irvin fans knockin' sneakers (hey, it's Texas, it's either that or cowboy boots).

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

Pierre Thomas owners simply cannot catch a break. It was bad enough watching Mike Bell tear through defenses as Thomas sat out for the first two games of the season, but now that he is finally healthy (and Bell is not), according to FFToolBox, the Saints are giving first team repetitions to Lynell Hamilton (this was also mentioned in the Cram Session podcast by our Matt Snyder and Tom Herrera). Pardon my French, but who the hell is Lynell Hamilton?

To recap: the Cowboys' shiny, new, $1.3 billion stadium has the world's largest HD television too close to the playing surface, Party Pass holders have an exquisite view of, well, other Party Pass holders (but not much else), the concrete and steel behemoth is architecturally uninspiring, and Jerry Jones likes to pick his nose. Oh, and the Cowboys' lost in the first-ever home game in their new digs.

Otherwise, everything went off without a hitch, right? Eh, maybe not.

There are so many great things about being a Party Pass holder at the shiny new Cowboys Stadium, as this video illustrates. For instance: for 30 bucks you can't actually see the Cowboys, which, frankly, is a bargain. It also means that you can wallow in misery with hundreds of other party passers who share your fate. (Because, really, there's nothing sadder than having to endure your plight alone.)

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