Reading material

As I've written before. The NFL is a coaches' league. You can have a great QB. A great defense. But it doesn't matter if your coach can't handle the pressure or keep his players focused. That was the theme of many stories in out-of-town newspapers after Week 13.

• First and foremost there's Dallas. The Cowboys thought they were done with this kind of mess when they dumped Wade Phillips. Wrong. Jason Garrett's bungling of the last 30 seconds of yesterday's game was beyond anything I've seen Wade do. There is no defending not calling a timeout with 26 seconds left. No defending it. I would link to a column from the Dallas Morning News but my free online subscription does not give me access to columnists. I have to get the newspaper delivered for that. But I don't live in Dallas. Gee. I wonder why newspapers (and their websites) are struggling.
• A little further east in the NFC division of the same name finds the Eagles falling to new lows. In Seattle. Andy Reid has lost his team and after 13 years looks well on his way to losing his job.
• Another sign that a coach doesn't have control of his team is penalties. The Raiders have been famous for this for years. The Detroit Lions have taken their place as the most undisciplined team in the NFL. Coach Jim Schwartz has a cocky attitude for a guy who hasn't won anything yet. When they were 5-0 he was strutting around the sidelines. He hasn't been strutting lately.

So Pats fans. As you are reading about the state of coaching in other NFL cities, take a moment to be thankful that Mr. Kraft agreed to give up that first round pick to the Jets just a little more than a decade ago. Greatest first-round pick in the history of the league.