LIONS NEXT OPPONENT: Cowboys trying to shake traditional December deep freeze
December 3, 2007
FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES
IRVING, Texas — It’s an uneasy time at Valley Ranch. As the days continually grow shorter and the end of the calendar year nears, there is a confidence throughout the entire Dallas Cowboys organization. They know the beast is back.
They also know the other beast is back: December.
Even if every single statistic suggests the 2007 Cowboys should not only win the NFC East but earn the top seed in the conference, December is different.
“I’m concerned,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.
“We’ve all sat down and we’ve talked about it, the captains have talked about it with the team, and we’re going to address it again,” linebacker Bradie James said.
“We’ve tried to let go of the past, but one thing that we’ve done .. .here is just faltered. We’ve nose-dived in December.”
Starting in 1997, the team is 16-29 from the time Dec. 1 hits to the end of the regular season; they haven’t had a winning record after Dec .1 since 1996. Fully aware of their annual December collapses, the Cowboys know this team won’t truly be any different unless they can finally rid themselves of their well-earned reputation as December gag artists.
And unlike years before, there are no valid reasons why this team should collapse again.
“I don’t think it’s going to be like that this year,” linebacker DeMarcus Ware said.
These days, such rhetoric from Valley Ranch shouldn’t inspire the masses. They said it in 2003. They said it in 2005. They said it again in 2006. And every time the faithful fell for it.
In coach Bill Parcells’ first season in 2003, they collapsed, and instead of winning the division they fell to the sixth seed and lost in the wild-card round.
The excuse? The team wasn’t that good to begin with.
In 2005, the team was 7-4 but collapsed and missed the playoffs. The excuse?
“We lost (left tackle) Flozell Adams (to injury),” Jones said, “and that was a good excuse for us.”
Last season, Dallas was 7-4 and playing well behind quarterback Tony Romo. But no one saw the Cowboys’ collapse coming as they blew their NFC East lead and slid into the fifth seed in the playoffs.
The excuse? Take your pick.
The quiet explanation is that Parcells was too stubborn to let the defense do anything other than what it had been doing and that they became easy to game-plan for.
The louder explanation is that the team was gassed.
“As much as people say, ‘Oh, we were worn down,’ that’s not it,” tight end Jason Witten said. “The fact is it’s happened every year.”
And when the Cowboys lost 39-31 at home last year in the regular-season finale to the Lions, who finished 3-13, any degree of confidence was lost. They knew they weren’t very good.
“You’re trying to buy back in (to believing), but it’s hard,” Witten said. “When you’re winning there is so much confidence that comes with it.”
The Cowboys are confident again. More confident than possibly any Cowboys team in the past decade.
Their offensive line is solid. They have a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Terrell Owens, and they should get Terry Glenn back at some point.
Their defense has been solid enough.
Tony Romo is the NFL’s best passer not named Brady. That includes Peyton Manning, too.
While the remaining schedule features three road games, the Cowboys play but one team with a winning record—the Lions, who are 6-6 and in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
Save for a major injury, there are no reasons—or excuses—this team will repeat such a dramatic flop again.
“I know that everybody said the end of the year the last couple of years the team has faltered a little bit,” coach Wade Phillips said. “I don’t see that from our team.”
No one does. Of course, no one saw it last year. Or the year before that. That’s why it’s an uneasy time at Valley Ranch.
FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES
IRVING, Texas — It’s an uneasy time at Valley Ranch. As the days continually grow shorter and the end of the calendar year nears, there is a confidence throughout the entire Dallas Cowboys organization. They know the beast is back.
They also know the other beast is back: December.
Even if every single statistic suggests the 2007 Cowboys should not only win the NFC East but earn the top seed in the conference, December is different.
“I’m concerned,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said.
“We’ve all sat down and we’ve talked about it, the captains have talked about it with the team, and we’re going to address it again,” linebacker Bradie James said.
“We’ve tried to let go of the past, but one thing that we’ve done .. .here is just faltered. We’ve nose-dived in December.”
Starting in 1997, the team is 16-29 from the time Dec. 1 hits to the end of the regular season; they haven’t had a winning record after Dec .1 since 1996. Fully aware of their annual December collapses, the Cowboys know this team won’t truly be any different unless they can finally rid themselves of their well-earned reputation as December gag artists.
And unlike years before, there are no valid reasons why this team should collapse again.
“I don’t think it’s going to be like that this year,” linebacker DeMarcus Ware said.
These days, such rhetoric from Valley Ranch shouldn’t inspire the masses. They said it in 2003. They said it in 2005. They said it again in 2006. And every time the faithful fell for it.
In coach Bill Parcells’ first season in 2003, they collapsed, and instead of winning the division they fell to the sixth seed and lost in the wild-card round.
The excuse? The team wasn’t that good to begin with.
In 2005, the team was 7-4 but collapsed and missed the playoffs. The excuse?
“We lost (left tackle) Flozell Adams (to injury),” Jones said, “and that was a good excuse for us.”
Last season, Dallas was 7-4 and playing well behind quarterback Tony Romo. But no one saw the Cowboys’ collapse coming as they blew their NFC East lead and slid into the fifth seed in the playoffs.
The excuse? Take your pick.
The quiet explanation is that Parcells was too stubborn to let the defense do anything other than what it had been doing and that they became easy to game-plan for.
The louder explanation is that the team was gassed.
“As much as people say, ‘Oh, we were worn down,’ that’s not it,” tight end Jason Witten said. “The fact is it’s happened every year.”
And when the Cowboys lost 39-31 at home last year in the regular-season finale to the Lions, who finished 3-13, any degree of confidence was lost. They knew they weren’t very good.
“You’re trying to buy back in (to believing), but it’s hard,” Witten said. “When you’re winning there is so much confidence that comes with it.”
The Cowboys are confident again. More confident than possibly any Cowboys team in the past decade.
Their offensive line is solid. They have a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Terrell Owens, and they should get Terry Glenn back at some point.
Their defense has been solid enough.
Tony Romo is the NFL’s best passer not named Brady. That includes Peyton Manning, too.
While the remaining schedule features three road games, the Cowboys play but one team with a winning record—the Lions, who are 6-6 and in the midst of a four-game losing streak.
Save for a major injury, there are no reasons—or excuses—this team will repeat such a dramatic flop again.
“I know that everybody said the end of the year the last couple of years the team has faltered a little bit,” coach Wade Phillips said. “I don’t see that from our team.”
No one does. Of course, no one saw it last year. Or the year before that. That’s why it’s an uneasy time at Valley Ranch.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:29 PM
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