For Dallas Cowboys, it's gut-check time in Pittsburgh
Dallas Morning News
by Tim Cowlishaw
The race to become the first NFL team to win six Super Bowls is on. The Cowboys are not leading the way.
If the Pittsburgh Steelers do as they are expected to do this afternoon at Heinz Field, they will continue to lead the AFC North and maintain their position to get a first-round bye in the playoffs.
If that happens, the Cowboys will sink further south in the NFC East and in the conference's playoff chase.
With Pittsburgh leading Baltimore by a mere one game and the Cowboys in the thick of a fight with three NFC South teams and Washington for a wild-card spot, this game is more than just the next big one on Dallas' schedule.
The Steelers' defense represents what the Cowboys aspire to. In some ways, they are comparable. While Pittsburgh leads the NFL in sacks and Dallas is a close second, the Cowboys actually lead the Steelers in sacks per pass attempt.
But in other ways, the Steelers' defense represents something Dallas isn't close to at this time.
Pittsburgh is No. 1 across the board in run defense, pass defense and total defense. The Cowboys, after feasting on the bad offenses of Seattle and San Francisco, are 10th, 11th and ninth, respectively.
A more significant number: The Steelers have surrendered a league-low 170 points.
The Cowboys are tied for 15th at 260.
These franchises are the only teams that have met three times in Super Bowls. Their success in the Super Bowl era is matched only by San Francisco, and the 49ers are pretty much taking a year off from Super Bowl pursuits with a 4-8 record, having undergone dramatic in-season changes at quarterback and head coach.
If the Steelers find themselves in a slightly superior position to the Cowboys, it has something to do with what took place in the off-season after 2006.
Both franchises were in the position of having to replace Super Bowl-winning coaches.
Bill Cowher had stood on the Steelers' sideline for 15 seasons and took the team to six AFC Championship Games. Bill Parcells' success mostly preceded him in Dallas, although he had turned the team in the right direction after inheriting a club that had finished 5-11 for three straight seasons.
The Steelers, the franchise viewed as part of the league's old guard and one of the most traditional, went outside the box and hired Mike Tomlin, a name unrecognizable to many NFL fans after just one season as a defensive coordinator at Minnesota. Tomlin was 34 at the time.
The Cowboys, who are looked upon in a completely different light given the nature of their gambling owner, Jerry Jones, made the much more traditional choice of Wade Phillips, who already had head coaching experience but no playoff success at Denver and Buffalo.
The Steelers didn't change their image under Tomlin, and they certainly didn't change their defensive coordinator since Dick LeBeau was in charge when this team won its fifth Super Bowl in 2005.
But Tomlin has re-energized the team, putting a new stamp on the toughness that has always been its hallmark.
Under Phillips, the Cowboys' defense has improved but has failed to play with the consistency that the unit's No. 1 picks and high-dollar free agents suggest that it should.
To be fair, Tomlin hasn't done anything more than Phillips just yet. In fact, the Cowboys have a better regular-season record over the last two seasons than Pittsburgh, and both teams lost playoff games at home last season.
But while the Cowboys have taken a step back this season while dealing with injuries to key personnel, the 9-3 Steelers have dealt with some significant injuries, too, and surged ahead.
At home, on a field that can get sloppy in bad weather, the Steelers are expected to separate themselves even more from the Cowboys. If they do, the likelihood of Phillips collecting that first playoff win as a head coach in Dallas grows more remote.
by Tim Cowlishaw
The race to become the first NFL team to win six Super Bowls is on. The Cowboys are not leading the way.
If the Pittsburgh Steelers do as they are expected to do this afternoon at Heinz Field, they will continue to lead the AFC North and maintain their position to get a first-round bye in the playoffs.
If that happens, the Cowboys will sink further south in the NFC East and in the conference's playoff chase.
With Pittsburgh leading Baltimore by a mere one game and the Cowboys in the thick of a fight with three NFC South teams and Washington for a wild-card spot, this game is more than just the next big one on Dallas' schedule.
The Steelers' defense represents what the Cowboys aspire to. In some ways, they are comparable. While Pittsburgh leads the NFL in sacks and Dallas is a close second, the Cowboys actually lead the Steelers in sacks per pass attempt.
But in other ways, the Steelers' defense represents something Dallas isn't close to at this time.
Pittsburgh is No. 1 across the board in run defense, pass defense and total defense. The Cowboys, after feasting on the bad offenses of Seattle and San Francisco, are 10th, 11th and ninth, respectively.
A more significant number: The Steelers have surrendered a league-low 170 points.
The Cowboys are tied for 15th at 260.
These franchises are the only teams that have met three times in Super Bowls. Their success in the Super Bowl era is matched only by San Francisco, and the 49ers are pretty much taking a year off from Super Bowl pursuits with a 4-8 record, having undergone dramatic in-season changes at quarterback and head coach.
If the Steelers find themselves in a slightly superior position to the Cowboys, it has something to do with what took place in the off-season after 2006.
Both franchises were in the position of having to replace Super Bowl-winning coaches.
Bill Cowher had stood on the Steelers' sideline for 15 seasons and took the team to six AFC Championship Games. Bill Parcells' success mostly preceded him in Dallas, although he had turned the team in the right direction after inheriting a club that had finished 5-11 for three straight seasons.
The Steelers, the franchise viewed as part of the league's old guard and one of the most traditional, went outside the box and hired Mike Tomlin, a name unrecognizable to many NFL fans after just one season as a defensive coordinator at Minnesota. Tomlin was 34 at the time.
The Cowboys, who are looked upon in a completely different light given the nature of their gambling owner, Jerry Jones, made the much more traditional choice of Wade Phillips, who already had head coaching experience but no playoff success at Denver and Buffalo.
The Steelers didn't change their image under Tomlin, and they certainly didn't change their defensive coordinator since Dick LeBeau was in charge when this team won its fifth Super Bowl in 2005.
But Tomlin has re-energized the team, putting a new stamp on the toughness that has always been its hallmark.
Under Phillips, the Cowboys' defense has improved but has failed to play with the consistency that the unit's No. 1 picks and high-dollar free agents suggest that it should.
To be fair, Tomlin hasn't done anything more than Phillips just yet. In fact, the Cowboys have a better regular-season record over the last two seasons than Pittsburgh, and both teams lost playoff games at home last season.
But while the Cowboys have taken a step back this season while dealing with injuries to key personnel, the 9-3 Steelers have dealt with some significant injuries, too, and surged ahead.
At home, on a field that can get sloppy in bad weather, the Steelers are expected to separate themselves even more from the Cowboys. If they do, the likelihood of Phillips collecting that first playoff win as a head coach in Dallas grows more remote.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:51 AM
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