Lets Contain Our Enthusiasm a Little

Even though I am one of the biggest Cowboys fans I know, I try to be objective about things and not be polarized to one extreme or the other. This was not always the case though. When I was in college ('93-'97), I was the type of fan that thought the Cowboys could do no wrong and expected them to blow teams out every single week. I was pretty annoying about it too which is why I was given such a hard time anytime Dallas lost. Even if it wasn't a significant game but just the garden variety weekly game, and the Cowboys lost, it was a party at the house. I would hear about it all week but then I would give back, just as good as I got, when the Cowboys got back to their winning ways...and they did a lot of winning during that time.

The other day I heard someone call in to the sports talk radio station I listen to and honestly say he thought Dallas would go undefeated...after the 3rd game of the year. I mean, what? He was serious too. He really believes the Cowboys will not be beaten this year. All I could do is shake my head and just remember back to my college days when I acted like that idiot. Mind you, I never thought the Cowboys would go undefeated though. The '72 Dolphins are the only team to accomplish that feat and I believe no team will ever go undefeated again. Today's NFL is a different league than it was in 1972. The season is just too long and teams are too good these days for any team to go undefeated. Just look at last year's Patriots team. As good as they were, they failed to go undefeated. Dallas WILL slip up and have a bad game, or will run up against a team having a good game, and will lose. It's not a question of IF it will happen, but WHEN it will happen.

One thing Dallas will need to solve, if they hope to make a trip to Tampa in Feb. '09, is the perplexing trend of late season let downs. I knew the in past several years, the month of December was not very nice to the Cowboys but I didn't think it went further than that. I was surprised to learn the following:

-'98 season: Dallas started off 8-3; finished 2-4*.
-'99 season: Dallas started off 6-5; finished 2-4*.
-'00 season: Dallas started off 4-6; finished 1-5.
-'01 season: Dallas started off 4-8; finished 1-3.
-'02 season: Dallas started off 5-7; finished 0-4.
-'03 season: Dallas started off 7-2; finished 3-5*.
-'04 season: Dallas started off 5-7; finished 1-3.
-'05 season: Dallas started off 7-3; finished 2-4.
-'06 season: Dallas started off 8-4; finished 1-4*.
-'07 season: Dallas started off 12-1; finished 1-3*.

(*went to the playoffs that season)

So, over the past 10 seasons, Dallas has finished their last 4-6 games with a record of 14-39 including 5 first round playoff exits. That is definitely NOT finishing the job. And the remarkable thing is that those weren't just bad teams that did that. Those teams ranged from bad to good to very good with different players, different coaches and different offensive/defensive philosophies. And all of them ended their respective seasons with a thud with last year's team, arguably, experiencing the biggest collapse in franchise history when they lost to the Giants.

Are the Cowboys are good team. Certainly. Are they a great team? I think we can say they are. But let's just hold things right there and make no prophesy of being undefeated, especially after the 3rd game of the season. Let's enjoy the ride because this could be a special year for the Cowboys but let's also remember that they haven't accomplished anything yet.

And while were on the subject of trends Dallas will need to change if they want to reach the Super Bowl, here's one more...Dallas is a -3 in the turnover margin (last season, they ended the season a +10). The Cowboys have no interceptions on the year either. And guess who they share that distinction with...the Bengals (0-3), the Rams (0-3), the Lions (0-3) and the Chiefs (0-3). So Dallas has gotten away, this far, with turning the ball over more than they have gotten turnovers but that definitely has to change. I can't remember a team who went to the Super Bowl that was a minus in the turnover margin. But they have only played 3 games so I'm not terribly worried about this stat...yet.