THEY AIN'T DEAD

Imagine this, it is 2nd and 4 and you are a defensive coordinator. On the other side of the line of scrimmage you see Tony Romo in the shotgun flanked by Marion “the Barbarian” Barber and Felix “Catch me if you can” Jones. You immediately start to scratch your head wondering how you are going to stop these two. Then you notice that Terrell Owens (whom I hate) and Roy Williams are lined up at wide receiver. That causes even more concern, but just when you think you know what defense to call to stop them you take another look from the booth and notice that Jason Whitten is flanked out on the side with Roy Williams. At that moment you realize that you are facing your worst nightmare and that you just wet your pants. So Mr. Coordinator, what do you call? Do you double T.O. and leave Whitten and Williams one-on-one on the other side (with a linebacker or safety covering Whitten)? Do you put eight in the box and play the receivers one on one? Do you play Cover 2 and give Barber and Jones all kind of running lanes? What do you do?

This is the problem that the Dallas Cowboys will pose to all defensive coordinators when they get their full complement of skill players healthy. There is no doubt that the Dallas Cowboys are struggling. There are many causes, but no excuses for their current struggles. They are currently dealing with the consequences of making a deal with the devil and signing Pacman Jones. The real T.O. is starting to rear his ugly head, and they have been ravaged by injuries to such players as Tony Romo, Felix Jones, Roy Williams, and Terrance Newman. Looking at their current situation, plenty of people have decided to jump off of their bandwagon and leave them for dead. There are some people that I know that are saying things like they are not going to make the playoffs. Prior to the start of the season, they were my pick to be the NFC representative in the Super Bowl. Although their recent struggles have puzzled me, unlike most people, I AM STANDING BY MY PICK! Now don’t get me wrong, I realize that they are not playing up to their potential. There is also a chance that they won’t make it to the Super Bowl. However, saying that they won’t even make the playoffs is absolutely ludicrous. Due to the overwhelming amount of offensive talent on this team I can see them getting everyone healthy and turning it around in time to go on an insane winning streak. When that happens, I don’t want to see anyone trying to jump back on the bandwagon and saying that they knew all along that they would make the playoffs.

I am by no means a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. I am simply looking at the situation as a person that knows a little something about football. Looking at this team objectively, I see a team that has some holes in their defensive secondary. These holes came from injuries to Terrance Newman (one of the best corners in the game) and Roy Williams (although he can’t cover his bed with a blanket, he is a devastating hitter that make receivers think twice about coming across the middle). We can also contribute some of the secondary problems to the Pacman Jones experiment. In case you didn’t hear, he was suspended again. Is anyone surprised? I guess we can now safely say that he wasn’t worth the risk. Their defensive line and linebackers are playing pretty well. They are led by DeMarcus Ware (my pre-season pick to lead the NFL in sacks) who is currently leading the NFL in sacks.

The offense is only being held back by injury. When they get everyone healthy they should be fine. We have not seen this group play together yet and when we do, they will be a treat to see. My real question to all of the naysayers is, ‘Where were you when they started 3 – 0 with three impressive showings?’

Picking the two teams in the pre-season that will play in the Super Bowl is very difficult. If you don’t believe me just think back over the past couple of years. Raise your hand if you picked the Giants to go to the Super Bowl last season, or better yet if you had the Seahawks or Steelers a couple of years ago. So there is a chance that my pick of the Cowboys could prove to be incorrect. But saying that they aren’t making the playoffs is just stupid.

The Cowboys currently have a record of 5-3 and will probably have all their key players healthy a week or two after their bye week. Therefore, we can safely say that the best is yet to come. I’m even going to go as far as to say that they will finish the season with a better record than the Giants, who are the defending Super Bowl Champs and currently leading their division. That being said if you really don’t see this team making the playoffs, please comment and name the six teams in the NFC that will make it over them. Remember your comments will be posted on this blog forever, so think carefully before counting them out and naming your six teams.

Oh, I almost forgot about my original question, ‘What defense would you call?’

I look forward to hearing from all of the doubters.

****COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION DAY****
WE ARE NOW 9 DAYS AWAY FROM ELECTING THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. NOW THAT EVERYONE IS REGISTERED TO VOTE, BE SURE TO GET OFF YOUR BUTTS AND ACTUALLY VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4TH. SPEAK NOW OR SHUT UP FOR THE NEXT FOUR YEARS!!!!