School Semester is Over / Deja Vu in Dallas

Now that the school semester is over, I can comfortably resume posting here on FTRS. The last couple of months were thick with schoolwork as the semester was drawing to a close.

Prior to the Red Sox winning the World Series, there had been a saying thrown around online and elsewhere that "when the leaves fall, so do the Red Sox." Perhaps it should be re-phrased as "When snow falls in December, so do the Dallas Cowboys." The Cowboys worst nightmares of a failed December are coming true...again.


Photo courtesy of the Syracuse (N.Y.) Post-Standard.

The Cowboys opened the month with a critical match in New York against the Giants, who had spoiled the opener of the Cowboys' new stadium in a close game. Motivation enough, right? After taking an initial 10-0 lead in the second quarter, the Cowboys went on to lose 31-24, thanks in large part due to terrible special teams play in the 4th quarter. Due to the Cowboys losing that game, it helped the Giants get closer to playoff contention and should the Cowboys deteriorate further, it could be the Giants going to the playoffs and the Cowboys staying home.

Then they played the San Diego Chargers yesterday in Dallas. Home-field advantage with 90,000+ fans in your favor, right? After tying it 10-10 in the third quarter, the Chargers surged in the 4th quarter to win 20-17. So much for home-field. The neck injury to star Cowboys linebacker in the 4th quarter made a huge difference, as the Cowboys had no pass rush. Without a pass rush, the opposing quarterbacks can sit in the pocket all day and throw with ease.


Photo of Cowboys head coach Wade Philips courtesy of WFAA-TV in Dallas.

But that seems to be the problem with this Cowboys team. One week, it's special teams, the next it's the pass rush, or lack thereof. The secondary has been an issue all year. The schedule-makers didn't do them any favors, either. Next week, they play the undefeated New Orleans Saints, which has a more explosive offense than San Diego, in New Orleans. Then, they play their rivals, the Washington Redskins, in DC and finally, they return home to play the Philadelphia Eagles, who are in first place in Dallas' division.

There are some teams constantly under a microscope. Some markets, like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia, have multiple teams that receive year-round attention from the local press. Other markets have that one team that everybody follows closely. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Cowboys are two examples. The Los Angeles fanbase likes the Dodgers, the Kings, and the college teams in the area, but everyone loves the Lakers. Of the SoCal teams, only the Lakers receive wall-to-wall year-round coverage. Likewise, Dallas fans breathe football. If you play for the Dallas Cowboys, you're in a fishbowl. Much of this is due to the level of success in the team's history and with those past successes, expectations are bred of championships on a yearly basis.


Photo of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones courtesy of mkrob.com

Maybe Dallas' December woes are a result of the intense scrutiny that comes with being a Cowboy, maybe it's a case of "self-fulfilling prophecy" (i.e., if you tell yourself you're going to fail, you're going to fail), maybe it's a poor coaching effort on the part of Wade Philips. Whatever it is, until the Cowboys get a win in December, the talk of a December collapse will always come up. Should that win not happen this year, Wade Phillips can pack his bags. The Cowboys would have then gone 14 years without a Super Bowl title, and for a team called "America's Team", that's too long.