Now I'm not saying that anything is guaranteed for the Dallas Cowboys this season. But what I am saying is...why not Dallas? Why not this year? Are the other playoff teams really that much better than the Cowboys?Sure, you can say the Colts and Peyton Manning or the Cardinals and Kurt Warner have the experience edge over Tony Romo and the Cowboys. You can say the Vikings and the Saints are better than Dallas because they are the higher seeds in the NFC. You can say the Chargers beat the Cowboys late in the season. You can even argue that Brett Favre has seen it all so that gives him the edge.
But, realistically, the Cowboys are just as good as any other team remaining in the playoffs. The Cowboys have played the Saints and won. They played the Chargers and lost a close game. The majority of the core players on the team were here when the Cowboys beat the Colts and the great Peyton Manning a few years ago. There is no reason to believe that the Cowboys can't run the table.
Tony Romo is playing the best football of his career. The defense is peaking and really starting to play like the talent laden group that they are. Felix Jones is breaking out and may be on his way to star status if he keeps it up. All of the receivers are playing well...even Roy Williams looked pretty good last week. And, most importantly, the team has not lost a single player to a season ending injury this year.
That last statement is huge. What are the chances the Cowboys can go another season without a major season-ending injury to any player? Very, very slim. Every other team in the playoffs has lost not just players but starters to injuries. The Cowboys have the clear advantage on the injury front.
And the Cowboys have the confidence of a still somewhat young, but battle hardened team. Over the last few years the Dallas Cowboys have won and lost games in just about every way imaginable. But the key is that they seem to have finally put it all together and seem ready to finally take advantage of all of the talent on the roster. The Cowboys know how to win games no matter if it is a shootout, a defensive battle, or a game of evenly matched teams.
So maybe they won't win the Super Bowl this year. But maybe they will. No team left in the playoffs has a clear advantage over the Dallas Cowboys. It is just going to be a matter of which team plays the best football over the last month of the season. Who knows, it just might be the Dallas Cowboys. When was the last time you really believed that the Cowboys had a real shot to win it all? Probably not since the days of Aikman, Irvin, and Emmitt.
I'm going to sit back and enjoy the ride. Maybe, just maybe the Dallas Cowboys are going to make all of us happy and finish the year on top. It is nice to believe that could actually happen without feeling like I'm being delusional.
Just want to first say i look forward to your blog every week. You give a refreshing point of view to all us die hard Cowboy fans out here. The talent on this team is amazing. Tony Romo is making the right play everytime. Miles Austin has turned into a top 10 receiver right before our eyes. We always knew Felix was good he just needs more touches!! Now I really believe that besides Ware, Ratliff and Spencer the real X-Factor in this game could come down to Brooking and James. The interior work that they do in getting to the backs is amazing. If they can bottle up Peterson then this game is ours for the taking. Oh and I also want to say that Bobby Carpenter is playing like a beast. GO boys!!!!
ReplyDeleteOne disadvantage for the Cowboys is experience. Playoff experience. Winning the first one was huge, but winning 4 straight against the best of the best is a totally different beast.
ReplyDeleteYeah Daniel it would be tough, but the Cardinals came out of nowhere to accomplish that last year, and the Cowboys are better. It's not out of the question for Dallas to win it all.
ReplyDeleteI believe in this team. More than I ever have since the second time the Cowboys beat the Bills. I know they beat the Steelers a couple of years later, but I believe in this team more than I did that team.
ReplyDeleteEven if we go into sota and play well but do not come out victorious, I will be thrilled with how our team has progressed over the last 19 weeks to finsh out the season.
I think that this young team will be in the playoffs most every year for the next 5-8 years. How much fun that will be after the drought the team, coachs, owner and fans have had to endure.
I love the Cowboys. I have been and always will be one of their biggest fans! GO COWBOYS!
I really enjoy reading your blog every week, keep it up! I think I speak for eveyone when I say this is the best Cowboys team we have had in recent memory. The 2007 team pales in comparision to this team. Even then I never saw us winning it all, back then I thought we would win 1 or 2 playoff games and come back to be serious contenders in 2008 through 2011. Well it's the end of the 2009 season and we have great shot! I said all along if we beat the unbeaten Saints we will go to the Superbowl, I hope I'm right!
ReplyDeleteMinn can't get pressure with their front 4 alone, not against good teams anyway, and they can't afford to blitz without Romo picking them apart. This will be the key to the game, we can blitz while covering in the secondary and they can not. Jared Allen will get double teamed and we will move the ball on them. Our defense will contain (not stop) their run and pressure Farve. It will be a close game, but like the first Eagles game or the Saints game, we will always be a step ahead of them on Sunday!
GO COWBOYS!!
-Wes
To swollengoat - I'll give you the Cardinals, but they did have Kurt Warner. I know he hadn't played well in a while before last year, but experience is something he definately had. I still think the Cowboys can win it all, I'm just saying that it's tougher than they realize.
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