So, Who are the Cowboys?
 

Craig Sykes

Indeed, who are they. Before the season, many experts predicted that Dallas would be the worst team in the NFL and, thus, were a certainty for the #2 overall pick (even the writer of this article, a Jedi on the good side and of positive persuasion, could only see two wins) as Houston already had the #1 pick. But, as the season has gone on, it has become difficult to judge just how good/bad this Cowboy team is and how far along the rebuilding road they are. They have appeared to justify the label of ‘worst team in the NFL’ following performances against Philadelphia (twice), Seattle and Denver (first three quarters). On the other hand, following the performances against Arizona, Washington (away), Giants (away - first half, home - second half), Oakland and Tampa Bay they have appeared to have made a start on the rebuilding effort.

The first thing that has to be said is that if the Cowboys are a bad team then they are in good company - Detroit, Buffalo and Carolina are as bad as, if not worse than, Dallas. Secondly, this team has guts and determination. Even at the lowest points of the season, they are still giving it their all and that is a good foundation for the future. It won’t turn a team into a Super Bowl contender but it goes some way towards helping to do so.

I think the decision to make this season an evaluation season was the correct decision. The Cowboys needed to find out whether players such as Kelvin Garmon, Michael Myers, Mario Edwards and Dat Nguyen can actually play the game and to what level. Yep, there have been growing pains with many but the result has been to discover that these guys are actually decent players - not All-Pros but solid starters. Now, they may yield their starting spots to more talented players in the future but, should this happen, they will still be good back-ups (salary cap permitting, of course). The price for this evaluation was more than likely a couple of wins but, to me, that was a price worth paying if it leads to success in the future. ‘Throwing the season’ it is not; investing for the future it is.

The question that I keep asking myself (apart from the obvious why am I overworked, underpaid and under appreciated ..... sorry, I’m going off at a tangent.....back to the article) is ‘Have the Cowboys bottomed-out and are they on their way up or are they still on the downward part of the cycle?’ I would like to think it is the former but I am still in need of more evidence. Yes, they beat last year’s Super Bowl runners-up (the Giants) and, yes, they beat a team that had won their previous five games (the Redskins). But, the Giants have struggled this year and beating the Redskins is something the Cowboys appear to be able to do in their sleep at the moment. In other games, they are still making errors (penalties, turnovers etc.) that either make the difference between a win and a loss (e.g. first Giants’ game, Atlanta) or turn the game into a one-sided rout (both Eagles games). At the moment, it does appear that Dallas have to play a perfect game, or close to it, in order to give themselves any chance of winning. Anything less and they head to a defeat. They do not yet have the talent level that can overcome mistakes and still win.

But, there are some hopeful signs (or green shoots of recovery as I once said on da Munchers) - the defense, whilst not yet worthy of being called the next incarnation of Doomsday, has improved enormously on last season. There is work to do (they need to find a consistent pass rush without having to resort to the blitz being one area) but they are heading in the right direction. Another positive sign (already mentioned) is the fact that some of the young players have actually proved they are bona fide NFL players. Quincy Carter is unrecognisable from the player who started in the season opener - OK, that’s stretching it a bit but, he has improved and given hope for next season and beyond.

All in all, this season has proved to be better than expectations and I have enjoyed the wins over the Redskins (even after a five game winning streak they still lost to Dallas - fantastic!!). I hope that the improvement continues over the off-season (they need a good draft and they need to ensure players such as Darren Woodson and Michael Myers are re-signed) and into next season.