MVN: Most Valuable Network

     The man who wrote Peter Pan, James Matthew Barrie, once said, "God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December."  With the Thanksgiving thrashing of Seattle, the Cowboys now sit alone in second place in the NFC East with an 8-4 record. 

     After being written off by many, including this writer, it now seems Dallas still has very legitimate postseason hopes.  However, you shouldn't mention that when you see them because this group has an uncanny ability to take any compliment as a pass to quit playing. 

     With such strong performances against the 49ers and Seahawks in a short, five-day span, the Cowboys earned some rest this week.  And, boy, they are going to need that rest for this month, I tell you what.  Dallas has the most difficult December schedule in NFL history: at Pittsburgh, home for the Giants and Ravens, then ending the year in Philadelphia. 

     History suggests that the team needs only go 2-2 (resulting in a 10-6 finish) in order to reach the playoffs.  While 10 wins may very well get a playoff spot in the NFC, the tougher task will be getting just two wins.  Given the difficulty of this schedule, and the inconsistency with which Dallas has played, an 0-4 or 1-3 month is not improbable.  Of course, the team could also make an effort each week and finish the year 12-4 or 11-5.  That's the problem: you never know which team is going to show up on the field.

     Over the past few years, the Cowboys have had, um, "problems" in December: since 2002, Dallas is 10-15 in games played during the year's twelfth month.  In the last two seasons, those poor December efforts have carried over into January's games, which is a big part of why the team hasn't won a playoff game since 1996.

     The Dallas Cowboys certainly have the individual talent to win every game this month and make a deep postseason run.  However, in order to do this, they need to become the most talented team (which, currently, is the New York Giants).  Although Tony Romo apparently is the "magic fix" the offense needed, and the defense has been outstanding since the bye week, the team must remember how awful it was for the six weeks before the bye.  The team must remember all the December losses from years before, lest they again lose their edge when (if?) they are in the playoffs.

      There will be no easy games this month; the Cowboys need to bring a big lunch each week because they are in for a full day's work trying to beat each opponent.  If the team plays with the same lazy, entitled attitude of earlier this season, they are going to get whupped each day and miss the playoffs.  However, if they continue to show some passion--if each player does his individual best--this team has a chance to prove in the postseason why so many Dallas fans booked Tampa hotel rooms back in June.

        The Cowboys have done well over the last three weeks to save the season and remain in playoff contention.  The memories of this season--both the good and bad--must serve as motivation for this team over the next four weeks.  Maybe the Cowboys will get their "roses in December."  And maybe, just maybe, those roses could blossom into Lombardi trophies in February.

 

     Brian Smith can be reached at BLSmith@mail.utexas.edu

 

     Sunday: Romo Returns; Cowboys Win; Season Saved.      Monday: Off; season remains saved.      Tuesday: Tony Romo takes homeless man to movies.      Wednesday: Adam Jones reinstated to team.      Thursday: Felix Jones out for year with toe injury.      Sadly, such a week is the norm in Dallas now.  Which of these events doesn't belong?  The answer is D--Pacman reinstated.  Adam Jones belong in prison, where he cannot do anymore harm to society.  He's had many more chances that he deserves.  You know he is not going to change.  He's a criminal and always will be.  Just 41 days into his "last shot" at the NFL, Jones was suspended for drunkenly brawling with his bodyguards.  Now, after "rehab" he's supposed to be a new man?      PUH-LEASE.      He will let down the team again.  Obviously, this exposes the absolute joke Roger Goodell is willing to let his league become.  For a moment... Read more

     Hopefully, Dallas fans aren't getting unrealistic about what the return of quarterback Tony Romo means to this team.  Yes, Romo is a great player, and the Cowboys must have him in order to win football games.      However--as has been written so many times over the past six weeks--the problems of the Cowboys got beyond Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger (although both do get a substantial amount of blame because they are such deficient quarterbacks).      Given the problems of the team at all positions, especially along both lines and in the secondary, it would be silly to think that Romo's return will resurrect Dallas' season.  The team's problems involve just too many players.      For starters, the shock of the implosion of the offensive line has been surpassed only by the stunning speed with which it has occurred.  To paraphrase Mike Tirico, opposing defenders attack Dallas quarterbacks "like a... Read more

     Horrible.  Shocking.  Awful.  Unbelievable.  Atrocious.  Repulsive.       Though but a few of the terms certainly applicable to Sunday's trouncing from the Giants, these do not even begin to describe the absolute travesty this season has become for the Dallas Cowboys.       In the game, New York solidly vanquished the Cowboys, eliminating any chance at a second consecutive division title and, for all practical purposes, relegating this Dallas team to spectator status for the NFL playoffs.       The season is lost; the franchise is lost.      Now, this is not to take anything away from the performance of the Giants.  They played exceptional football for 60 minutes, never letting up against a clearly inferior opponent.  (Nor should they have; for goodness' sake, it's the National Football League.  The players are grown men.  Go after them.)      The Giants are without doubt the best team in football and must be considered... Read more

     Although I haven't taken a formal math class in five years, let's begin with a quick problem: (1 old, immobile quarterback) + (NFL's top sacking defense) + (inconsistent pass protection) = X.  Solve for X.      Allow me; X = DISASTER.      Following last week's much-needed win over Tampa Bay, the Cowboys head to New York, where the 6-2 Giants are looking to effectively eliminate them from contention for the division title.  Tony Romo has never lost on the road to the Giants.  In fact, Dallas hasn't lost in New York since 2005.       Of course, Romo isn't playing this week, and the 2005 quarterback was Drew Bledsoe.  As far as scampering around the pocket, Bledsoe and Sunday's starter, Brad Johnson, are pretty much interchangeable.  The above equation worked for the Giants in 2005, and it'll work for them again on Sunday.      ON OFFENSE:  Maybe you heard that Dallas... Read more

     Forget the usual aphorisms: control the line of scrimmage; don't commit turnovers or penalties; run the football.      As important as each surely is to winning games in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys showed that one factor is the most important of all--playing with passion.  There had been very little, if any, passion or effort shown by any Cowboy player or coach on the field over the past month.  The results were blatant--bad football play (occasionally excusable) and losses (never excusable).       Given how the two teams had performed recently, no reasonable man could have predicted a Dallas victory over Tampa Bay.  Yet, at the end of the game, there were Wade Phillips, Brian Stewart, Bradie James, and the rest of the team celebrating an ugly 13-9 win over the Bucs.  The victory kept the Cowboys out of last place in the NFC East and still only 1.5 games behind the... Read more

     For the first time in several weeks, a playoff-caliber team will take the field at Texas Stadium.  Unfortunately, that team will be wearing the red and gold of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.      Yep, it sure is a good time to be a Tampa fan.  The Bucs are in first place in the NFC South; the Rays are just three wins away from their first world title.  Over in the Fall Classic, at least the Phillies are making the Rays earn that championship.       The Cowboys probably won't make the Bucs earn their win Sunday afternoon.      As Dallas continues its nosedive to the bottom of the NFC East, Tampa has won two straight, and five of six since their opening loss to New Orleans.  In fact, Tampa's two losses are by a total of 7 points.  The Bucs don't win pretty or big; they just win.  The Cowboys can't say the... Read more

Honestly, how bad is life when your car tires are getting knicked? Tires and rims were stolen from the 2008 Cadillac Escalade of Dallas Cowboys starting free safety Ken Hamlin, Dallas police said today. Mr. Hamlin reported that he found his car propped up on bricks in an apartment parking lot in the 13000 block of Noel Road near The Galleria, police said. Missing from the vehicle were all four tires and rims, valued at $15,000.And add this take-it-or-leave-it report from ESPN's Matt Mosley, formerly of the DMN, which means he presumably still has some sources for a report like this. He says that both Tank and Greg Ellis have gone behind Wade's back to Jerry because they don't think they're being utilized in the pass rush. I'll tell you exactly what that's about -- these are rats who see the ship sinking, and they're taking all they can before... Read more

     It started with Randy Moss.      As great as he is, he always seems to try even harder when he plays the Cowboys because he wants to prove to them they should've drafted him so many years ago.      Now, it seems we can add Steven Jackson to that list.       Playing against Dallas for the first time in his career, Jackson went bonkers, rushing for 160 yards and three touchdowns.  He admitted wanting to show the Cowboys what they're missing, and, boy did he ever.       Memo to Moss and Jackson: other teams also passed on y'all; take it out on them.      But, this article isn't about players scorned.  Instead, it's about a dreadful team with, presently, very little hope of playing football in January (not that they have the last two years, but that's another issue).      Without a doubt, the Dallas Cowboys are the single... Read more

So I've never been one of these people prone to throwing the baby out with the bathwater halfway through any season, especially when we're talking about something for which I'm desperately trying to be positive. But enough's enough. There are disasters. And then there are disasters. And then there's the Dallas Cowboys 2008 season through seven games. And it's not even close. Unfortunately there isn't one thing I can point to to tell you that, should the Cowboys just fix that thing, the NFC East is ours for the taking again. It's not even close to that simple. Wade Phillips, despite nasty internet rumors, is not the lone culprit, nor even the major one. He's certainly no more culpable than Brian Steward, who recently relinquished his defensive playcalling duties to Wade. It's certainly not just the injuries, but they haven't helped. If I'm saying, Terence Newman has been the most... Read more

      Now is the time to panic.       Make no mistake, there can be no positive spin to Tony Romo's broken thumb, no talk about how it gives the other guys and the defense opportunities to step up.      This is a bigger disaster than Atomic Twister (and I mean the symbolism of a tornado hitting a nuclear plant, not the actual movie itself).       The only word is "panic."  Abandon ship.  Save yourself.       The Dallas Cowboys are going down.      It started with the loss to Washington, which exposed some flaws in the team and on the sideline in offensive coordinator Jason Garrett's play-calling.      Then there was the non-loss to the Bengals.  Terrell Owens cried.  Wade Phillips, Romo, and the rest of the team were very defensive with the media about their 9-point win over the "best winless team in NFL history."  There were reports of arguments... Read more