Perfect September has Dallas fans optimistic
By STEPHEN HAWKINS
Associated Press
IRVING - Ah, the Arizona desert in early February. What a super trip it will be.
A dozen years after Troy, Emmitt and Michael won Super Bowl XXX in Arizona - their third in four seasons and the fifth in team history - the Cowboys will be back for another trophy.
Imagine how much sweeter it will be three years later when Dallas and Tony Romo become the first team to win a Super Bowl at home.
OK, so people are getting a little carried away in the euphoria of the Cowboys' 4-0 start - the first unblemished September since the Triplets' last championship season.
It's only October, and just one-fourth of the regular season has been played.
Sure, Dallas is undefeated and has won by larger margins in each game under new coach Wade Phillips.
And that Romo kid is playing so well that it's not out of line to mention him in the same breath these days with those quarterbacks from Green Bay, Indianapolis and New England. Those are the only other teams, all Super Bowl winners as well, that made it through the first month without a loss.
For now, though, forget February in Arizona. And forget 2011 when the Super Bowl is played in the Cowboys' new $1 billion stadium that is under construction, even though Dallas should have a better chance than Arizona, Tampa Bay or Miami (the next three Super Bowl hosts) at winning it all in its own stadium.
As giddy as optimistic owner Jerry Jones is about a 4-0 record, even he knows that a perfect opening month only puts the team in better position for the rest of the season - and doesn't stamp a ticket to the Super Bowl.
"Your next 12 games, you have a little more room than if you had a different record. I'm pleased with that," Jones said. "We know the wheels can come off. They usually do. The good teams put them back on, get up right and then go into the playoffs, and you're in good shape."
The Cowboys made it through September without a loss only one other time since Jones bought the team. That was 1992, the first of the three Super Bowl championships seasons that preceded what is now the longest winless postseason drought in team history - 10 seasons.
Phillips has a much different delivery than predecessor Bill Parcells, but Phillips' message is the same: Don't believe the hype. Don't listen to what everybody else is saying, especially all the glowing reviews. Listen to the coach.
"Everybody is telling you these things, [but] you need to believe what I say. You can get overconfident. You can think you are better than you are and that you don't have to play as hard," Phillips said. "You want them to be confident. There is a line in there, though."
Romo already has three 300-yard passing games and 11 touchdown passes to put the Cowboys on a record scoring pace. And the defense has given up fewer touchdowns each week - from four in the season opener to none in the latest victory.
Then again, the defense should be improving considering who they've played lately.
St. Louis, Chicago and Miami - the last three opponents - are among the NFL's four worst offenses. The Rams and Dolphins haven't won a game, and the defending NFC champion Bears are 1-3 and unsettled at quarterback.
A much better indicator for this defense will come Oct. 14 at home against the New England Patriots, whose 148 points are only three fewer than the Cowboys have scored.
Looking ahead to that potential matchup of undefeated teams, however, is a trap for the Cowboys. They have another game before that.
Dallas still has to travel to play the Buffalo Bills (1-3), who are coming off their first victory and are hosting a Monday night game for the first time since 1994.
For the record, Aikman, Irvin and Smith didn't make it to 5-0 that last championship season. The last time the Cowboys were 5-0 was 1983, when Tom Landry was still the coach.
But what if Dallas beats the Bills and Patriots? The Cowboys then would have a six-week stretch that includes their bye week and just one team with a winning record right now.
"We don't have any control over who we play or how many games they win or lose," Phillips said. "But sometimes you falsely think that because you are playing somebody that everybody says that you ought to beat, if things don't go well, you can get overly frustrated."
That hasn't happened yet, even Sunday against the hapless Rams, who tied the score with Dante Hall's punt return for a touchdown just before Romo's wild scramble that led to his go-ahead TD run with 11 seconds left in the first half. Romo then threw three TDs in an 11-play span of the third quarter.
Just think, if everything goes right, it could be Romo, the kid from Wisconsin, against his boyhood hero, NFL career passing TD leader Brett Favre, in a matchup of undefeated teams at Texas Stadium on the last Thursday night in November, a week after Thanksgiving.
OK, let's not get too carried away - yet.
Associated Press
IRVING - Ah, the Arizona desert in early February. What a super trip it will be.
A dozen years after Troy, Emmitt and Michael won Super Bowl XXX in Arizona - their third in four seasons and the fifth in team history - the Cowboys will be back for another trophy.
Imagine how much sweeter it will be three years later when Dallas and Tony Romo become the first team to win a Super Bowl at home.
OK, so people are getting a little carried away in the euphoria of the Cowboys' 4-0 start - the first unblemished September since the Triplets' last championship season.
It's only October, and just one-fourth of the regular season has been played.
Sure, Dallas is undefeated and has won by larger margins in each game under new coach Wade Phillips.
And that Romo kid is playing so well that it's not out of line to mention him in the same breath these days with those quarterbacks from Green Bay, Indianapolis and New England. Those are the only other teams, all Super Bowl winners as well, that made it through the first month without a loss.
For now, though, forget February in Arizona. And forget 2011 when the Super Bowl is played in the Cowboys' new $1 billion stadium that is under construction, even though Dallas should have a better chance than Arizona, Tampa Bay or Miami (the next three Super Bowl hosts) at winning it all in its own stadium.
As giddy as optimistic owner Jerry Jones is about a 4-0 record, even he knows that a perfect opening month only puts the team in better position for the rest of the season - and doesn't stamp a ticket to the Super Bowl.
"Your next 12 games, you have a little more room than if you had a different record. I'm pleased with that," Jones said. "We know the wheels can come off. They usually do. The good teams put them back on, get up right and then go into the playoffs, and you're in good shape."
The Cowboys made it through September without a loss only one other time since Jones bought the team. That was 1992, the first of the three Super Bowl championships seasons that preceded what is now the longest winless postseason drought in team history - 10 seasons.
Phillips has a much different delivery than predecessor Bill Parcells, but Phillips' message is the same: Don't believe the hype. Don't listen to what everybody else is saying, especially all the glowing reviews. Listen to the coach.
"Everybody is telling you these things, [but] you need to believe what I say. You can get overconfident. You can think you are better than you are and that you don't have to play as hard," Phillips said. "You want them to be confident. There is a line in there, though."
Romo already has three 300-yard passing games and 11 touchdown passes to put the Cowboys on a record scoring pace. And the defense has given up fewer touchdowns each week - from four in the season opener to none in the latest victory.
Then again, the defense should be improving considering who they've played lately.
St. Louis, Chicago and Miami - the last three opponents - are among the NFL's four worst offenses. The Rams and Dolphins haven't won a game, and the defending NFC champion Bears are 1-3 and unsettled at quarterback.
A much better indicator for this defense will come Oct. 14 at home against the New England Patriots, whose 148 points are only three fewer than the Cowboys have scored.
Looking ahead to that potential matchup of undefeated teams, however, is a trap for the Cowboys. They have another game before that.
Dallas still has to travel to play the Buffalo Bills (1-3), who are coming off their first victory and are hosting a Monday night game for the first time since 1994.
For the record, Aikman, Irvin and Smith didn't make it to 5-0 that last championship season. The last time the Cowboys were 5-0 was 1983, when Tom Landry was still the coach.
But what if Dallas beats the Bills and Patriots? The Cowboys then would have a six-week stretch that includes their bye week and just one team with a winning record right now.
"We don't have any control over who we play or how many games they win or lose," Phillips said. "But sometimes you falsely think that because you are playing somebody that everybody says that you ought to beat, if things don't go well, you can get overly frustrated."
That hasn't happened yet, even Sunday against the hapless Rams, who tied the score with Dante Hall's punt return for a touchdown just before Romo's wild scramble that led to his go-ahead TD run with 11 seconds left in the first half. Romo then threw three TDs in an 11-play span of the third quarter.
Just think, if everything goes right, it could be Romo, the kid from Wisconsin, against his boyhood hero, NFL career passing TD leader Brett Favre, in a matchup of undefeated teams at Texas Stadium on the last Thursday night in November, a week after Thanksgiving.
OK, let's not get too carried away - yet.
posted by The Gryphon at 5:42 PM
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