September 2011 Archives

Every week during the 2011 NFL season, gridiron expert Hatley Vittitow dissects America's Team and its challengers.

ARLINGTON--Tony Romo has grown up. 

Five years ago, a kid on the sideline walked around wearing his cap backwards, smiling without a care in the world. Now, a general barks orders to his team. Despite the droning Jaworski hyperbole, Romo has indeed become a coach on the field - directing his teammates where to line up, who to block, and what route to run. He is all business. He's leading by example too; playing through the pain of a cracked rib and punctured lung has inspired Dez Bryant and Felix Jones to tough it out. A year ago, Jones would have spent Monday night nursing his separated shoulder off the field. Instead, he plays through the pain, racking up a career high for single game rushing yards in the process.

This newfound toughness is thanks in part to head coach Jason Garrett. Garrett has set a new way of thinking at Valley Ranch that hasn't been seen in since the Jimmy Johnson era. He makes everyone accountable on the team, and it starts with his stars. Don't expect consummate slackers skating by on their upside to stick around much longer (Martellus Bennett).

Every week during the 2011 NFL season, gridiron expert Hatley Vittitow dissects America's Team and its challengers.


ARLINGTON--Monday night, it's Cowboys versus indians. It's Southwest versus Northeast. It's a battle between the two wealthiest franchises in football. It's also a fight between two legacy teams that have won a combined two playoff games since the turn of the century. 

That doesn't change the fact that this is the best rivalry in the National Football League. Even before the Dallas Cowboys franchise had been established, these teams hated each other. In 1958, Clint Murchison Jr. needed approval from all NFL owners in order to start a franchise in Dallas, but one owner voted against it. It was Washington Redskins owner George Marshall. Murchison ended up buying the rights to the Redskins' fight song, which forced Marshall to approve the expansion team in Dallas if he wanted to keep "Hail to the Redskins" blaring for home games. Since the Dallas franchise was established in 1960, the Cowboys and Redskins have faced off in the regular season 100 times, with the Cowboys leading the series, 60-38-2 record.

Enough about the past. Let's examine the match up.

Michael Stipe and co. called it quits on Wednesday, after several harmonious decades as R.E.M. This is somewhat of a bummer, though it'd be disingenuous to claim any sort of long-standing fandom of a band enjoying its heyday as ATG sucked back pacifiers. But as music fans, there's an inherent need to cover the right bases when landscape changes occur. ATG reached out to the pre-eminent R.E.M. scholar in the field, my buddy Josh Bradshaw:

"Before you start, watch Michael Stipe in this clip from The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

R.E.M.'s career is neatly divided between the IRS years (80-88) and their Warner Bros albums (88'-94/96')...and well, the 'meh' years (94 or 96'-now).

I'd recommend starting with the IRS compilation, Eponymous to see which albums the tracks you like are on, then going from there to explore their '80s work. Murmur's great but I feel it's one of those historically hyped albums that's easily disappointing.

Green, Out of Time, and Automatic For The People are the huge albums. Out of Time is easily the poppiest and most divisive (i.e. the "Shiney Happy People" song). Green's a bit heavier and darker (for R.E.M.) and Automatic is one of the best albums ever recorded by anyone ever.

It gets kinda dicey after that. Monster and New Adventures in Hi-Fi were their last solid albums. Up and Reveal had some good singles but are pretty mediocre. Around the Sun will put you to sleep. If you've managed to get hooked, save Accelerate and Collapse Into Now for last, they are great to end on, but, I dunno, they don't mean much if you haven't heard their previous work."