On Thursday's Halftime Heat, Ian Beckles breaks down the Dallas Cowboys' final two-minute drill of the 2021 season, while Jay Recher talks about six big-time teams that are not meeting expectations.
IAN BECKLES:
I’ve heard others talking about the last two-minute drill in the Cowboys-Niners game for two straight days now.
First and foremost, some quarterbacks and coaches are great at the two-minute drill and some are not.
Coaching the two-minute drill has loads of coaching points, some big and some small.
The Cowboys were terrible all year in the last two minutes of the first half and the last two minutes of the game, so why are we all shocked?
Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff are clearly not sticklers for details.
I’ve heard numerous former quarterbacks say that 16-18 seconds was the cutoff time to run the ball in that two-minute situation.
So nobody should have been shocked when the time ran out on Dak and the Boys.
Dak ran too far and the line set up without allowing the ref to spot the ball, which is also an important coaching point.
The Cowboys have a bunch of talented players, but it seemed like we complained more about their coaching moves than their play this year.
Mike McCarthy may retain his job, but I’m not sure I’ve seen a less-qualified candidate in a huge coaching role than McCarthy. He never looks or sounds like he knows what he’s doing.
And nobody can tell me that the Cowboys are well coached.
Well, that’s the Cowboys issue, and this uncertainty couldn’t happen to a better owner than Jerry Jones.
I remember a day when our Bucs organization was in turmoil, but it ain’t today.
Better them than us.
Go Bucs!
JAY RECHER:
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how dynasties were good for sports and that any time one of those teams loses, it just adds to the storyline.
With that being said, there are six big-time teams in their respective sports that are just wildly underperforming.
Let's start with the NHL and the Montreal Canadiens. Wow, how the mighty have fallen. From the Stanley Cup Final last year to now the worst team in the whole league. They've got 24 Cups yeah, but they have 21 points this season. The Lightning have 27 wins.
Staying with hockey and to another Original 6 team, the Chicago Blackhawks.
I thought this would be their year. The year they'd come back and be a big time difference-maker in the West. The young Kirby Dach to go with Kane, Toews and future Hall of Fame goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Nope, they're 15-18-6 and sit at 7th place in the Central Division. Sorry Mamola.
Let's go to college hoops now and two teams that have had some real success in their programs' history.
First up, Michigan. This team was balling last year under Juwan Howard. 23-5 last year and a run to the Elite 8 before falling to UCLA. Things looked bright in Ann Arbor. Now? They're 8-7 and 2-3 in the Big 10. No bueno.
Next, let's go with Georgetown. For the love of Dikembe Mutombo what is going on there? Patrick Ewing in year 5 now as the head coach and they're 6-8 and dead last in the Big East.
You're not getting away that easy Pat.
Ewing's former pro team isn't anything special either. The Knicks, after a playoff berth last year, look to be a shell of themselves under Tom Thibodeau sitting in 11th place in the East with a 22-23 record.
And last but certainly not least, it's showtime! Well, not right now for the Lakers.
They lost last night 111-104 to the freakin' Pacers! Russell Westbrook was benched and Frank Vogel is on the hot seat.
Somehow they're still in 8th in the West, but a team with LeBron, AD, Russ, Melo, Dwight Howard & co. thought they'd be contending for a title.
Think again.
Cover Photo: Getty Images