That Cowboys 'Implosion'
That Cowboys 'Implosion'
'Boys Look Sharp -- 'Cept For Wardrobe Malfunctions
By Mike Fisher -- DB.com
I’ve discovered it. It’s now obvious. The 2008 Dallas Cowboys do indeed have a fatal flaw:
Whoever dressed the team’s poster couple, Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson, is trying too hard for the “hip-and-distressed’’ look.
Seriously, the two of them, always wearing raggedy ballcaps and recently photographed in retro-cool T-shirts (he wore the “Hoosiers’’-themed HICKORY jersey, she wore a full-chested T-shirt that read “REAL GIRLS EAT MEAT’’). … these kids always look like they need a tailor, a dry cleaner and maybe a shower.
But otherwise – naysayers notwithstanding – the ’08 Cowboys appear to be the epitome of potential excellence.
Ah, but there have been naysayers. How could it have been that just a few months ago, ProFootballTalk.com predicted that the upcoming season would mark an “implosion’’ for the franchise?
Maybe because that was the epitome of a cheap shot, the epitome of an overreaction, the epitome of jealousy.
We wrote that then. With some time and some perspective, PFT’s reflections and predictions seem even more ridiculous. Yes, last winter’s Playoffs debut – a 21-17 loss to the Giants that kept Dallas from the NFC Championship Game and maybe the Super Bowl – was memorably painful.
And the memories linger. That doesn’t mean the loss has a negative carryover effect. Let’s review just how misguided Cowboys critics seemed to be, and discuss some reasons why. …
PFT wrote that “There's a sense in some league circles that, regardless of how the 2007 season turns out for the Dallas Cowboys, a decline is on the way.’’
With time and perspective, we can all see how preposterous that is. We can even suspect that PFT kind of made up that “league-wide sense.’’ Even with the crushing loss, were there really NFL decision-makers who thought, “Good! Now that the Cowboys have lost a playoff game, they’ll never win! We won’t ever have to worry about those rummies again!’’?
Are the Cowboys doomed because of their crummy, egomaniacal owner? That was another claim by PFT (and by oh-so-many other critics of the Cowboys who have no real idea how Jerry ticks.) Jerry’s “ego’’ has driven him to three Super Bowl titles and to the assemblage of a roster that went 13-3 last season and seems capable of another run this year. … and the year after that. … and the year after that.
This is really about more “America’s Team’’-type envy. You live in Arizona or Seattle or Tampa and you hate Jerry Jones? Go ahead. … while you also secretly dream that he owned your hometown team.
PFT said back then that it had a “source’’ who was predicting that Miami-bound Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland are "going to pick (Dallas) clean," and that it would contribute to “the destruction of the Cowboys. Jones thinks he doesn't need them.’’
Of course, Cowboys followers knew all along that Tony Sparano would join the Dolphins. And they Dolphins did end up with a couple of backups off Dallas’ scrapheap.
But “picked clean’’? Does Dallas roster seem “picked clean’’ of talent?>>
The Cowboys are working at OTAs right now and will storm into training camp in Oxnard with a dozen returning Pro Bowlers. That’s half the starting lineup! They have first-team All-Pro types such as quarterback Tony Romo, left tackle Flozell Adams, tight end Jason Witten, wide receiver Terrell Owens, linebacker Demarcus Ware, cornerback Terence Newman and yes, cornerback Pacman Jones.
Who is the best QB in football? It might be Romo? Who is the best receiver? It might be Owens. Who is the best defensive weapon? It might be Ware? Who represents the best cornerback tandem? T-New and Pacman have a chance to be in that conversation.>>
Barber, Ware, James, Witten, kicker Nick Folk, safety Ken Hamlin, pass-rusher Anthony Spencer, nose tackle Jay Ratliff, D-lineman Marcus Spears and D-lineman Chris Canty are among the many Cowboys in their mid-20’s. Four of the five starting O-linemen – Leonard Davis, Andre Gurode, Marc Colombo and Kyle Kosier – are on the right side of 30.
By our count, the Cowboys have the fourth-youngest roster in the NFL.
By the judgment of most unbiased observers, the Cowboys might have the BEST roster, regardless of age, in the NFL.
And thanks to that “egomaniacal loser’’ Jones, they’re pretty much all signed for the long term, from Romo on down.
“Picked clean’’? Most teams can’t reach high enough to pick clean the Dallas tree of talent.
Apparently thinking the Cowboys would be sent reeling by a single playoff loss – or maybe hoping? – PFT and other late-winter critics apparently thought the Dallas run was over. Heck, the Cowboys had three decades of “runs’’ under Landry, and another decade of excellence as “The Team of the ‘90’s.’’ Maybe the critics believe the Cowboys don’t deserve another “run.’’
PFT claimed to have a source who said, Dallas is "going to be a disaster within two years."
Well, let’s worry about two years from now when it happens. … or the year after that. … or the year after that. …
Right now, let’s concern ourselves with the 2008 Dallas Cowboys. Oddsmakers have them as a strong favorite to be the best team in the NFC and to qualify for the Super Bowl. They will storm into Oxnard. Then, chances are, they will storm into the playoffs. And after the completion of the 2008 season, whatever happens, they will storm into their glorious new stadium – thus providing more reasons for envy.
Sorry, cheap-shooters, over-reactors and jealous haters. That “Cowboys implosion,’’ the “disaster’’ that causes the crumbling of the franchise’s foundation, is going to have to wait for another year. Or maybe another year after that. … or maybe another year. …
'Boys Look Sharp -- 'Cept For Wardrobe Malfunctions
By Mike Fisher -- DB.com
I’ve discovered it. It’s now obvious. The 2008 Dallas Cowboys do indeed have a fatal flaw:
Whoever dressed the team’s poster couple, Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson, is trying too hard for the “hip-and-distressed’’ look.
Seriously, the two of them, always wearing raggedy ballcaps and recently photographed in retro-cool T-shirts (he wore the “Hoosiers’’-themed HICKORY jersey, she wore a full-chested T-shirt that read “REAL GIRLS EAT MEAT’’). … these kids always look like they need a tailor, a dry cleaner and maybe a shower.
But otherwise – naysayers notwithstanding – the ’08 Cowboys appear to be the epitome of potential excellence.
Ah, but there have been naysayers. How could it have been that just a few months ago, ProFootballTalk.com predicted that the upcoming season would mark an “implosion’’ for the franchise?
Maybe because that was the epitome of a cheap shot, the epitome of an overreaction, the epitome of jealousy.
We wrote that then. With some time and some perspective, PFT’s reflections and predictions seem even more ridiculous. Yes, last winter’s Playoffs debut – a 21-17 loss to the Giants that kept Dallas from the NFC Championship Game and maybe the Super Bowl – was memorably painful.
And the memories linger. That doesn’t mean the loss has a negative carryover effect. Let’s review just how misguided Cowboys critics seemed to be, and discuss some reasons why. …
PFT wrote that “There's a sense in some league circles that, regardless of how the 2007 season turns out for the Dallas Cowboys, a decline is on the way.’’
With time and perspective, we can all see how preposterous that is. We can even suspect that PFT kind of made up that “league-wide sense.’’ Even with the crushing loss, were there really NFL decision-makers who thought, “Good! Now that the Cowboys have lost a playoff game, they’ll never win! We won’t ever have to worry about those rummies again!’’?
Are the Cowboys doomed because of their crummy, egomaniacal owner? That was another claim by PFT (and by oh-so-many other critics of the Cowboys who have no real idea how Jerry ticks.) Jerry’s “ego’’ has driven him to three Super Bowl titles and to the assemblage of a roster that went 13-3 last season and seems capable of another run this year. … and the year after that. … and the year after that.
This is really about more “America’s Team’’-type envy. You live in Arizona or Seattle or Tampa and you hate Jerry Jones? Go ahead. … while you also secretly dream that he owned your hometown team.
PFT said back then that it had a “source’’ who was predicting that Miami-bound Bill Parcells and Jeff Ireland are "going to pick (Dallas) clean," and that it would contribute to “the destruction of the Cowboys. Jones thinks he doesn't need them.’’
Of course, Cowboys followers knew all along that Tony Sparano would join the Dolphins. And they Dolphins did end up with a couple of backups off Dallas’ scrapheap.
But “picked clean’’? Does Dallas roster seem “picked clean’’ of talent?>>
The Cowboys are working at OTAs right now and will storm into training camp in Oxnard with a dozen returning Pro Bowlers. That’s half the starting lineup! They have first-team All-Pro types such as quarterback Tony Romo, left tackle Flozell Adams, tight end Jason Witten, wide receiver Terrell Owens, linebacker Demarcus Ware, cornerback Terence Newman and yes, cornerback Pacman Jones.
Who is the best QB in football? It might be Romo? Who is the best receiver? It might be Owens. Who is the best defensive weapon? It might be Ware? Who represents the best cornerback tandem? T-New and Pacman have a chance to be in that conversation.>>
Barber, Ware, James, Witten, kicker Nick Folk, safety Ken Hamlin, pass-rusher Anthony Spencer, nose tackle Jay Ratliff, D-lineman Marcus Spears and D-lineman Chris Canty are among the many Cowboys in their mid-20’s. Four of the five starting O-linemen – Leonard Davis, Andre Gurode, Marc Colombo and Kyle Kosier – are on the right side of 30.
By our count, the Cowboys have the fourth-youngest roster in the NFL.
By the judgment of most unbiased observers, the Cowboys might have the BEST roster, regardless of age, in the NFL.
And thanks to that “egomaniacal loser’’ Jones, they’re pretty much all signed for the long term, from Romo on down.
“Picked clean’’? Most teams can’t reach high enough to pick clean the Dallas tree of talent.
Apparently thinking the Cowboys would be sent reeling by a single playoff loss – or maybe hoping? – PFT and other late-winter critics apparently thought the Dallas run was over. Heck, the Cowboys had three decades of “runs’’ under Landry, and another decade of excellence as “The Team of the ‘90’s.’’ Maybe the critics believe the Cowboys don’t deserve another “run.’’
PFT claimed to have a source who said, Dallas is "going to be a disaster within two years."
Well, let’s worry about two years from now when it happens. … or the year after that. … or the year after that. …
Right now, let’s concern ourselves with the 2008 Dallas Cowboys. Oddsmakers have them as a strong favorite to be the best team in the NFC and to qualify for the Super Bowl. They will storm into Oxnard. Then, chances are, they will storm into the playoffs. And after the completion of the 2008 season, whatever happens, they will storm into their glorious new stadium – thus providing more reasons for envy.
Sorry, cheap-shooters, over-reactors and jealous haters. That “Cowboys implosion,’’ the “disaster’’ that causes the crumbling of the franchise’s foundation, is going to have to wait for another year. Or maybe another year after that. … or maybe another year. …
posted by The Gryphon at 7:22 PM
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