Monday, September 17, 2007

Cowboy football: Return to the Dark Side?

Obviously, the NFL has spun up again. Part of the reason for my extended blogging hiatus has been my ambivalence about those Dallas Cowboys.

On one hand, Jerry Jones is still with us, and is more involved and obnoxious than ever (as evidence, see the YouTube post below). Terry Glenn is hurt and Drew Bledsoe is spending quality time with his 7-iron. No major changes have been made to the roster which was responsible for the end-of-season meltdown from last year. And Wade Phillips is still pretty underwhelming.

On the other hand, however, The Pear-Shaped Football Genius has turned his taciturn derision on idiot beer-drinkers in those inane Coors Light commercials. TO Owens seems to have become a model citizen. Terrence Newman, if he ever gets on the field this year, has a chance to become an all-timer. Jason Garrett is easy to pull for. And Tony Romo has turned into a sort endearing character.

Can I invest another year of bile on this team? Or am I getting sucked in?

You know, I think it's the latter. I may not have realized how much Bill Parcells contributed to my disdain. His absence alone makes it alot easier to get behind this thing.

So, here we are at 2-0. What do we make of this?

On offense, there isn't much to complain about. Romo is looking like the real deal and is handling himself well on and off the field. TO Owens cracked me up with his clandestine filming bit after yesterday's TD. Garrett's play-calling has been nothing short of genius. And everything is working.

Is this offense as good as it looks? Maybe, but I don't think it's really been tested yet. The Giants? Maybe the worst defense in the league right now. The Dolphins? Their D was on the field A TON due to their completely inept offense.

Chicago will tell us a bit more about the Cowboy O than anything we've seen so far.

And on defense, Wade Phillips' calling card? I think we got a better sense of this defense in Week 1 than we did yesterday. The Giants have a bit on offense. Miami has NOTHING. How does Trent Green still have a job? Why does he still have a job? That guy looks like he's thinking about his next concussion a heck of a lot more than what he's supposed to be doing out there.

Chicago won't provide much of test for the Cowboy defense, as Rex Grossman is every bit as bad as Green, with many fewer excuses.

Where does this leave us? For me, it's on the bandwagon, I suppose. I'm making an effort. It sure seems like, with the exception of the Patriots and Colts, there aren't any really good teams this year. Why can't the Cowboys compete?

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