Potential roadblocks loom for Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Morning News
Jul. 20--With many important and long overdue things finally in place -- a franchise quarterback, a lockdown secondary, a wrecking ball for Texas Stadium -- it's still wise to proceed with caution as the Cowboys go west for training camp.
If they are indeed to head to the other coast -- well, Tampa Bay is almost the other coast -- for Super Bowl XLIII, a few things do have to go right for Dallas. More important is that the Cowboys avoid the 10 stumbling blocks, five from within and five from the outside, that could keep them from what is assumed by many to be their destiny.
This isn't about winning a record sixth Super Bowl; it's about just getting to a record ninth. Here's a look at those 10 stumbling blocks, in reverse order of importance:
Romo's winless playoff record
10
I think this one is irrelevant. The team wasn't very good when it went to Seattle two years ago. It was really good a year ago, but the Giants were on one of those missions that just happen -- especially when the team with a bye is facing a team it has already beaten twice by double digits.
Playoffs or not, it was hard for the Cowboys to think a team they averaged 38 points against could hold them to 17. The offensive woes that day were not solely related to Romo. He was just the focus because of that trip to ... oh, I don't even want to go there again.
Hopefully, he won't either.
High-flying Eagles
9
Philadelphia's defense wasn't bad in an 8-8 season, and the Eagles added cornerback Asante Samuel from New England and drafted help for the defensive line. This team would scare you more if it had a wide receiver that looked anything like Terrell Owens did in 2004.
Or if Donovan McNabb looked anything like he did in 2004.
It's still a team you respect, and one that has a chance to get off to a really good start the first few weeks, even if it loses a Monday night game in Dallas.
Offensive line health
8
Nothing makes a bigger difference in a team's season and gets talked about less than continuity on the line. Face it, it's not the sexiest topic.
You probably haven't heard anyone shake their heads and say, "Man, what if Kyle Kosier can't start all 16 games again in '08?"
The Cowboys had a very good line last year, with three players meriting Pro Bowl attention. All it takes is an untimely injury or two to derail an offense.
Hey, look, Brett's back
7
The longer the Brett Favre saga drags on, the less chance of him coming back to Green Bay and repeating the outstanding season he had in 2007. It's not too late yet -- training camp hasn't begun -- but the acrimony isn't helping.
I've heard from people -- I'm talking about Packers fans -- who insist the team will be better this year with Aaron Rodgers than with Favre.
Respectfully, I (and the rest of the sane people on the planet) disagree. Respectfully.
Calling Terry Glenn. We need you!
6
Terrell Owens is 34 and has played in all 16 regular-season games twice in the last nine years. Now, most of those seasons he hasn't missed much time. But even a game or two without Owens leaves this wide-receiving corps thin.
I haven't been able to reconcile owner Jerry Jones' willingness to overspend and take risks in so many areas with his hard-line stance toward paying Glenn. We know he only got a few plays out of Glenn last season, but that's gone. And the chance for a title is here.
Playing hardball with Glenn won't matter if Owens is happy and healthy for 16 games heading into the playoffs. If not...
They might be Giants
5
What if the New York team we saw in January and February shows up all season? The Giants may have been a team that caught fire at the right time. And maybe Eli Manning will hear boos again in Giants Stadium.
But certainly, that team believes in Manning more than ever. Brandon Jacobs is just getting started at running back. Whatever issues they had in the secondary may have been resolved in the draft.
At the very least, the Giants give the Cowboys two better games than they did in '07. We will see about the third.
Try to remember that swoon in December
4
Remember how Wade Phillips' kinder, gentler approach was going to keep the Cowboys from running out of steam in the final month as they inevitably did under Bill Parcells? Well, they ran out again.
The Cowboys peaked Nov. 29, when they beat the Packers to get to 11-1. After that came a very fortunate 28-27 win over the Lions, a bad loss at home to Philadelphia, a seven-point win over a Carolina team with rookie Matt Moore at quarterback, a meaningless one-sided loss at Washington, then the playoff defeat.
Burn out? Who knows?
Fade out? For sure.
Vikings on the run
3
For those who insist only elite quarterbacks produce Super Bowl glory, I give you Baltimore's Trent Dilfer in 1999 and Tampa Bay's Brad Johnson in 2002.
Both those teams could run the ball and stuff the run.
The Vikings have Adrian Peterson. Their run defense was No. 1 in the league last season. Not a lot more needs to be said.
If Tarvaris Jackson can be average and get some help from former Bears receiver Bernard Berrian, this is a team to beware.
Will the real Doomsday please stand up?
2
We have seen the picks the Cowboys have used, the millions owner Jerry Jones has pledged to free agents, the dice he has rolled on Tank Johnson and Adam Jones, all to help the defense.
Some Sundays, it shows up. Some weeks, it doesn't.
The Cowboys have the makings of an elite defense. But can they be in the top five in total defense, top five against the run and, with all those defensive backs, top five in interceptions? The answers a year ago: No, no and no.
Saints can march again
1
Even if Deuce McAllister fails to make a full recovery from last season's knee injury, the Saints are loaded with offensive talent. Over the last 12 games of 2007, Drew Brees had better numbers than Tony Romo, and the Saints outscored the Cowboys.
You wouldn't know it because Brees was so awful early and New Orleans was 0-4 out of the gate. The defense has been upgraded and the schedule is oh, so, favorable for that unit.
If you assume the quarterbacks listed as starters remain starters, the Saints this season face Jeff Garcia, Jason Campbell, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith, Tarvaris Jackson, JaMarcus Russell, Jake Delhomme, Philip Rivers, Chris Redman, Brodie Croyle, Aaron Rodgers, Garcia, Redman, Rex Grossman, Jon Kitna and Delhomme.
March on that.
Jul. 20--With many important and long overdue things finally in place -- a franchise quarterback, a lockdown secondary, a wrecking ball for Texas Stadium -- it's still wise to proceed with caution as the Cowboys go west for training camp.
If they are indeed to head to the other coast -- well, Tampa Bay is almost the other coast -- for Super Bowl XLIII, a few things do have to go right for Dallas. More important is that the Cowboys avoid the 10 stumbling blocks, five from within and five from the outside, that could keep them from what is assumed by many to be their destiny.
This isn't about winning a record sixth Super Bowl; it's about just getting to a record ninth. Here's a look at those 10 stumbling blocks, in reverse order of importance:
Romo's winless playoff record
10
I think this one is irrelevant. The team wasn't very good when it went to Seattle two years ago. It was really good a year ago, but the Giants were on one of those missions that just happen -- especially when the team with a bye is facing a team it has already beaten twice by double digits.
Playoffs or not, it was hard for the Cowboys to think a team they averaged 38 points against could hold them to 17. The offensive woes that day were not solely related to Romo. He was just the focus because of that trip to ... oh, I don't even want to go there again.
Hopefully, he won't either.
High-flying Eagles
9
Philadelphia's defense wasn't bad in an 8-8 season, and the Eagles added cornerback Asante Samuel from New England and drafted help for the defensive line. This team would scare you more if it had a wide receiver that looked anything like Terrell Owens did in 2004.
Or if Donovan McNabb looked anything like he did in 2004.
It's still a team you respect, and one that has a chance to get off to a really good start the first few weeks, even if it loses a Monday night game in Dallas.
Offensive line health
8
Nothing makes a bigger difference in a team's season and gets talked about less than continuity on the line. Face it, it's not the sexiest topic.
You probably haven't heard anyone shake their heads and say, "Man, what if Kyle Kosier can't start all 16 games again in '08?"
The Cowboys had a very good line last year, with three players meriting Pro Bowl attention. All it takes is an untimely injury or two to derail an offense.
Hey, look, Brett's back
7
The longer the Brett Favre saga drags on, the less chance of him coming back to Green Bay and repeating the outstanding season he had in 2007. It's not too late yet -- training camp hasn't begun -- but the acrimony isn't helping.
I've heard from people -- I'm talking about Packers fans -- who insist the team will be better this year with Aaron Rodgers than with Favre.
Respectfully, I (and the rest of the sane people on the planet) disagree. Respectfully.
Calling Terry Glenn. We need you!
6
Terrell Owens is 34 and has played in all 16 regular-season games twice in the last nine years. Now, most of those seasons he hasn't missed much time. But even a game or two without Owens leaves this wide-receiving corps thin.
I haven't been able to reconcile owner Jerry Jones' willingness to overspend and take risks in so many areas with his hard-line stance toward paying Glenn. We know he only got a few plays out of Glenn last season, but that's gone. And the chance for a title is here.
Playing hardball with Glenn won't matter if Owens is happy and healthy for 16 games heading into the playoffs. If not...
They might be Giants
5
What if the New York team we saw in January and February shows up all season? The Giants may have been a team that caught fire at the right time. And maybe Eli Manning will hear boos again in Giants Stadium.
But certainly, that team believes in Manning more than ever. Brandon Jacobs is just getting started at running back. Whatever issues they had in the secondary may have been resolved in the draft.
At the very least, the Giants give the Cowboys two better games than they did in '07. We will see about the third.
Try to remember that swoon in December
4
Remember how Wade Phillips' kinder, gentler approach was going to keep the Cowboys from running out of steam in the final month as they inevitably did under Bill Parcells? Well, they ran out again.
The Cowboys peaked Nov. 29, when they beat the Packers to get to 11-1. After that came a very fortunate 28-27 win over the Lions, a bad loss at home to Philadelphia, a seven-point win over a Carolina team with rookie Matt Moore at quarterback, a meaningless one-sided loss at Washington, then the playoff defeat.
Burn out? Who knows?
Fade out? For sure.
Vikings on the run
3
For those who insist only elite quarterbacks produce Super Bowl glory, I give you Baltimore's Trent Dilfer in 1999 and Tampa Bay's Brad Johnson in 2002.
Both those teams could run the ball and stuff the run.
The Vikings have Adrian Peterson. Their run defense was No. 1 in the league last season. Not a lot more needs to be said.
If Tarvaris Jackson can be average and get some help from former Bears receiver Bernard Berrian, this is a team to beware.
Will the real Doomsday please stand up?
2
We have seen the picks the Cowboys have used, the millions owner Jerry Jones has pledged to free agents, the dice he has rolled on Tank Johnson and Adam Jones, all to help the defense.
Some Sundays, it shows up. Some weeks, it doesn't.
The Cowboys have the makings of an elite defense. But can they be in the top five in total defense, top five against the run and, with all those defensive backs, top five in interceptions? The answers a year ago: No, no and no.
Saints can march again
1
Even if Deuce McAllister fails to make a full recovery from last season's knee injury, the Saints are loaded with offensive talent. Over the last 12 games of 2007, Drew Brees had better numbers than Tony Romo, and the Saints outscored the Cowboys.
You wouldn't know it because Brees was so awful early and New Orleans was 0-4 out of the gate. The defense has been upgraded and the schedule is oh, so, favorable for that unit.
If you assume the quarterbacks listed as starters remain starters, the Saints this season face Jeff Garcia, Jason Campbell, Jay Cutler, Alex Smith, Tarvaris Jackson, JaMarcus Russell, Jake Delhomme, Philip Rivers, Chris Redman, Brodie Croyle, Aaron Rodgers, Garcia, Redman, Rex Grossman, Jon Kitna and Delhomme.
March on that.
posted by The Gryphon at 10:22 AM
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