Ahmad Bradshaw had just made a major contribution to his New York Giants’ upset victory over the mighty New England Patriots. He and his teammates had just been crowned world champions for the second time in four years.

So, what did the folks at the NFL Network want him to talk about? The Dallas Cowboys!

The world over, the city of New York is seen as the great American city. Football is the great American sport. The NFL is the great American sports league. The New York Giants are one of the storied franchises of the NFL.

But the New York Giants still cannot escape the shadow of America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys. Despite the Giants having won two Super Bowls in four years, despite the Cowboys having been a nonfactor in the Super Bowl hunt for 15 years, Bradshaw was asked what he thought about the Cowboys chances of winning it all.

“I don’t see it happening,” Bradshaw told the NFL Network when asked if the Cowboys will ever win a Super Bowl with Romo at the helm. “I don’t think they believe it, and they’re America’s Team. If America don’t believe it . . .”

Bradshaw was asked to clear his comment, about whether he was referring to the team itself or the fans.

“It all comes together,” Bradshaw said. “If the fans don’t believe it, the team doesn’t. They’re kinda doubtful with Romo.”

How frustrating must that be for the Giants? They have owned the Dallas Cowboys, winning six of the past eight meetings with them. They are 3–0 in Cowboys Stadium. Giants quarterback Eli Manning has more Super Bowl rings than big brother Peyton.

But the talking heads at the NFL Network don’t want to talk about those things. They just want to know whether Tony Romo is the man to get the job done in Dallas.

As frustrating as the America’s Team thing is for the Cowboys’ NFC East bunkmates (Note Bradshaw was not asked about the Eagles or Redskins), it should be equally embarrassing to the Cowboys themselves. I am sure the boys with the stars on their helmets would be just as happy if that bullseye was taken off their chests.

No matter how badly the Cowboys may want folks to just forget about that whole America’s Team thing, no matter how badly the Giants may want to be the team everybody either loves or loves to hate, neither franchise can escape the fact that the mediocre Cowboys are still America’s Team, or so says Gary West of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

The Thanksgiving Day victory over the Dolphins was the most-watched game of the regular season; in fact, with 31 million viewers, it was the most-watched program. Three of the 10 most popular programs were indeed Cowboys’ games. With 27.6 million viewers according to Nielsen, the finale against the Giants was the most-watched regular-season primetime game in 15 years and the most-watched primetime game ever on NBC. And with 17.1 million viewers, the Cowboys’ Monday night game against the Redskins was the most-watched program on cable television.

As for embracing bold innovation, these Cowboys could be the most American of America’s Teams. They play, after all, in the largest air-conditioned space in the world, beneath the largest television in the world, in a $1.2 billion monument to boldness.

And so don’t accept impostors or substitutes. Don’t consign the nickname to the trash, or put it in the freezer or hide it in a drawer beneath the old socks. The Cowboys, Staubach said, are still America’s Team. And America’s quarterback is right. Yes, amid dubious poll results and pullulating flapdoodle and perennial piffle, America’s Team still stands out.

Bradshaw himself referred to the Cowboys as America’s Team, as if there were no arguing the matter, as if winning a Super Bowl, or  a couple of Super Bowls, or every Super Bowl from now one would not be enough to change it.

He may be right about that.

But, more importantly, he may also be right about Romo.

What do you think?

It has been 16 years since the Dallas Cowboys beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. In those sixteen years, the Cowboys have made the playoffs just seven times. In those seven playoff appearances, they have managed to win but two games.

On January 1, 2012, the Cowboys needed to get one win at home against the New York Giants. Just one win and they would be NFC East champions and playoff bound. Of course, the Giants clobbered the Cowboys 31–14 and took the first step towards the unlikeliest Super Bowl triumph since the last time the G-men won the Super Bowl.

The game that catapulted the Giants into history relegated the Cowboys to ancient history. The team that was once considered the shining star, the flagship franchise of America’s greatest professional sports league is now all but irrelevant.

During the sixteen years since their last taste of glory, the Cowboys have wandered aimlessly through the Wilderness of Mediocrity. They have employed six head coaches and been led by seven different quarterbacks. But the man with the compass, the fearless leader of this ill-fated expedition is the only general manager the team has ever had under owner Jerry Jones.

That would be GM Jerry Jones.

Jones and those in his deluded company may console themselves by saying, “Look! The team that beat us to get into the playoffs won the Super Bowl.”

Bitter fans, however, will be incensed and say, “Look! The team that beat us to get into the playoffs won the Super Bowl.”

What Jerry sees as hopeful, the discouraged, disheartened, distrustful fan will see as hopeless.

Ah, Jerry Jones.

Here is a fellow that says, “Come with me. I know the way.”

But he keeps changing the map, altering the direction and getting nowhere. Long ago, it became painfully apparent to anyone paying attention that Jerry Jones does not know the way, he cannot read a map and when it comes to building and guiding a successful NFL franchise, he is as lost as a goose in the desert.

Meanwhile the Roman numerals keep rolling. Each passing Super Bowl is another mile marker along the Lost Highway for the driver that has no idea how to get there and is too stubborn to ask directions of anyone that does.

Somewhere a coyote howls, a tumbleweed ambles aimlessly across the lonesome prairie and Jerry Jones studies his map.

It is a great time to be alive and living in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Dirk Nowitzki— the NBA finals MVP, world champion and Dallas Mavericks great— threw out the first pitch at game three of the World Series, where the Texas Rangers find themselves for the second straight year.

The very next day, last year’s American League MVP and Rangers’ great Josh Hamilton served as honorary captain for the coin toss of the Dallas Cowboy – St. Louis Rams’ game at Cowboys’ stadium.

The Cowboys went on to crush the Rams 34—7 on the strength of DeMarco Murray’s record-setting day toting the pigskin. Murray rushed for 253 yards, eclipsing Tony Dorsett’s 206-yard Cowboys’ rookie record for running backs. He also surpassed Emmitt Smith’s Cowboys’ single game rushing record of 237 yards in a game.

More importantly, Murray, Romo, Witten and company pulled themselves back to a .500 record. They now sit 3—3 and tied for second place in the NFC East, one game behind the New York Football Giants. Not great, but not bad.

As Cowboys’ Stadium emptied, the Ballpark in Arlington, a mere stone’s throw away (if it is Nolan Ryan throwing the stone), was cram-packed with rabid Rangers’ fans ready to get the taste of a 16—7 drumming at the hands of the St. Louis Cardinals out of their mouths. Stung but not stunned, the only team to have ever been owned by an eventual United States president silenced the might Cardinals, 4—0, and evened the 2011 World Series.

The Mavericks are reigning NBA champions, a title they may hold an extra year the way the NBA labor talks are going. The Rangers are repeat World Series participants. The TCU Horned Frogs and SMU Mustangs are enjoying a resurgence on the college football scene. The Trinity Trojans of Euless are a perennial national powerhouse in the all-important world of high school football.

Heck, even the soccer team, FC Dallas, played for a championship last year.

While we wait for our beloved Dallas Cowboys, the flagship Metroplex sports organization, to join the party, we will be satisfied to cheer the baby steps.

Thank you, DeMarco.

We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

We’re not in the NFC East race anymore, either. We’re also not in the playoff picture. We’re not even relevant.

The Monday night debacle between the Dallas Cowboys and their hated rivals from New York, the Giants, was surreal. I kept feeling like I was watching yet another re-run of that creepy classic, The Wizard of Oz. I was hearing that annoying Munchkin song and the evil cackle of the Wicked Witch of the West over and over and over again.

This was Monday Night Football, right? So, why was the entire cast of The Wizard of Oz there?

If I only had a brain!

Several of your Silver and Blue Heroes were vying for the role of Scarecrow.

Rookie fullback Chris Gronkowski is a favorite to snag the top Scarecrow spot. He was so anxious running a check-down flare pattern that he failed to see Giants’ linebacker Michael Boley barreling untouched through the Cowboys’ line. Gronkowski’s gaffe resulted in a broken collarbone for Tony Romo and a lost season for the team.

If not for his coach, Gronkowski would surely get the role. But he may find himself playing understudy to the inimitable Wade Phillips. You remember him? Mr. Fix-It. The ballyhooed defensive genius. The man who got caught with his pants down on the goal line, when he didn’t have a cornerback on the field and ended up covering Hakeem Nicks, the Giants’ most dangerous receiver, with a safety.

Add to that stupidity, the usual post-game bonehead statement about the team giving “a real good effort,” and thespian Phillips is hard to unseat when it comes to playing a brainless bunch of straw stuffed into a shirt.

The Tin Men cometh.

Actually it’s eleven tin men, but whose counting? The Dallas defense will collaborate to play the role of the heartless, hollow tin man.

I think I am right when I say Tony Romo doesn’t play defense. Yet, after the franchise quarterback went down, the defense lay down. Sporting a 20-7 lead, they decided to stand by and watch as the Giants peeled off 31 unanswered points in a matter of just 14 minutes. Eli Manning looked like John Elway, Joe Montana and Roger Staubach rolled into one impressive passing machine, completing 14 of 15 passes.

Of course, any NFL quarterback can complete passes when there is no defense interfering.

When a good team loses its leader, they rally. They close ranks. They find a way to make do. Witness the Pittsburgh Steelers, who, in the absence of their two-time Super Bowl winning QB Ben Roethlisberger, lost only one game.

The Dallas Cowboys are not a good team. They are a team with plenty of good players, but they are not a TEAM.

Tony Dorsett, one of the greatest Cowboys from one of the team’s greatest eras, nailed it when he called the current version of the team “a bunch of underachievers.”

Sorry, Wade. There is just no defending your defense this week.

The Cowardly Lion cowers.

One man has asserted himself as the prime candidate for this role: offensive coordinator Jason Garrett. For two weeks, he has coached scared. He has loaded his game plan with draw plays, screen passes, and quick hits. He has been scared of opposing defenses.

Well, he may have had good reason, I suppose. He apparently knows something the rest of us don’t: His offensive line is pathetic. He cannot call a pass down the field because it will get his quarterback killed. That was his reasoning, and apparently it was correct.

On second thought, let’s give the part of the Cowardly Lion to the Cowardly Line. They are big. They are tough. They are strong. And they can’t open a running lane or pass block to save their lives. They don’t pick up stunts. They whiff at speed rushers and shrink before bull rushers. They are, aside from Wade Phillips and his inept coaching staff, the single greatest culprit in this 1-5 mess of a season.

The Wicked Witch ain’t from the West.

Is it just me, or does Tom Coughlin look like a stern Puritanical grandmother?

That is beside the point, though. Monday night, he played the role of the Wicked Witch.

With his team down 10-0 and having given up an interception on each of its first two drives, the evil Coughlin pointed to Phillips and said, “I’ll get you, my pretty.”

And he did. He did what Phillips has never been able to do. He rallied his troops. He got them focused. He kept them cool. He guided them to an unlikely, come-from-behind, runaway victory in enemy territory.

The Wizard and his Wizardry Won’t Work

Like the Emerald City, the shiny new Cowboys Stadium rises out of the bland north Arlington landscape, all sparkly and shiny, promising a new day of hope and fun.

But it’s an illusion. The man behind the curtain is no wizard at all: He’s just a not-so-smooth-talking salesman. He has been doing his dead-level best to sell Cowboys fans and the nation-at-large on the idea that he has put together a title contender, that he has the right leadership in place, that he assembled a championship caliber team.

Unfortunately for Jerry Jones, the curtain has been ripped back. We know it is all a sham. There is no Emerald City. There is no Super Bowl contender. It was all just a dream, and we may as well be in Kansas. Heck, they have a team that might be a legitimate contender in Kansas City.

The real wizard was Tony Romo, whose rare abilities managed to mask the deep-seated problems in the offensive line. But the wizard’s wand is broken. And so are our hearts.

After the storm: Where are we anyway?

Cowboys fans are left with a team that has enough talent to be taken seriously in the race to Super Bowl XLV…if they only had a brain, a heart, the “noive.”

No. This is not a crack pipe in my hand. No. I am not delusional, deranged or mentally deficient, despite any testimony to the contrary by anyone who knows me well.

I know that, since the NFL went to the current playoff formula, only five in 1,345,277 one-and-four teams have made the playoffs. (OK, so the second half of that formula is a bit exaggerated, but the first half is accurate. Only five teams have done it.) The Dallas Cowboys ought to make it six just because they can.

Yes, they can. Moreover, they can win the NFC East outright. Here is why. And here is how.

Why the Cowboys can still win their division:

1. Because the division is weak. No one is poised to run away with the NFC East. Philadelphia is still trying to figure out whether Michael Vick or Kevin Kolb gives them the best chance to win. Just yesterday, they blew a comfortable eight-point lead against the Tennessee Titans and were ultimately blown out, 37-19. Washington is trending upward, but that team needs a year to marinade in the Shanahan success sauce. The New New York Giants remain unconvincing.
2. Because the NFC is a mess of middle-of-the-road teams. No one but no one in the NFC has asserted themselves through the first seven weeks of league play. Some thought to be the strongest contenders, like Dallas and the Minnesota Vikings, have suffered massive implosions, while others, like the New Orleans Saints, have just stumbled along with a win here and a loss there. Did the Cleveland Browns really dismantle the defending champs in the Super Dome yesterday?
3. Because the only thing this Dallas Cowboys team seems to respond to is desperation. Witness their one win in Houston. After an 0-2 start, the Boys felt like they were on the ropes. So, what did they do? They went to Houston, a place where the fans and the football team hate them with the kind of hatred only jealousy can produce, hate them for being to Texas everything neither of their franchises ever could, and tanned their hides.
4. Because, if they don’t, Jerry Jones will be forced to fire the coach who acts more like a favorite uncle than a football coach, and they will have to actually work for a living.

How the Cowboys can still win the NFC East:

1. Romo! Romo! Wherefore art thou, Romo? While some people who may well be crack-smokers think Romo is more on the problem side of the equation than  the answer side, football minds know better. This guy can do things few others can. He has the skill set and the mindset to be a champion, if he is put in a position  to succeed by his offensive coordinator and his offensive line. While Romo remains a lightening rod for heated debate among fans, he is widely recognized by NFL players and analysts as a rare talent, a franchise quarterback. If ever there were a time for him to step up to the challenge, that time is now.
2. Beat your bunkmates. The Cowboys have lost four games they could— and probably should— have won. Lucky for them, only one of those games was against a division opponent. They lost in week one in Washington. They still have the Redskins at home, and they still have two games each against the Eagles and the Giants. To win the division at this point, the Boys need to sweep these games.
3. Stop the tom-foolery. The penalties and turn-overs have to stop now. A serious championship contender cannot lead the league in penalties. Nor will they be careless with the ball. Self-destruction has put you where you are. It will keep you there, if you don’t stop now.
4. Begin tonight. The Monday Night Football stage is set. You face a hated-but-vulnerable division opponent on a national stage. Come out and play solid football, dominate the Giants, score a big division win, put yourself just a game and a half out of the division lead, and regain your confidence. (Leave the swagger to someone else. 2-4 teams are still closer to “stagger” than “swagger.” Just do your business.)

We keep hearing that there are 1-4 teams and then there are the the Dallas Cowboys. A win tonight against the New York Giants will go a long way toward substantiating the general feeling that this Dallas team is better than their record.

A loss, on the other hand, may bring Dandy Don Meredith out of retirement just long enough to sing a bar or two of “Turn out the lights, the party’s over.”

Despite all my best efforts to prevent it, my knee keeps jerking. When a writer is a fan first, he has the liberty to throw the mythical notion of objectivity out the window and just say what he thinks or feels.

After a loss like the one the Dallas Cowboys suffered at the hands of the overmatched-but-still-victorious Washington Redskins, a fan/commentator finds it nigh impossible to keep his knee-jerking under control.

So, then I ask myself: Why bother? And I cannot give a decent answer.

Therefore, I shall proceed to knee-jerk like a spastic, freshly-murdered corpse whose nervous system hasn’t quite reconciled itself to its new condition. And, since everyone loves a list, I will do it in orderly fashion.

I can count on one hand the reasons the Cowboys lost to the Redskins and on the other hand I can count the reasons Jerry Jones’ dream of his team becoming the first in NFL history to play a home game for the Super Bowl is only slightly more likely than Texas Rangers’ skipper Ron Washington speaking the King’s English in a post-game press conference.

Five Reasons the Cowboys Lost to the Redskins

1. Wade Phillips. Wade is a brilliant defensive coordinator whose defense, once again, played brilliantly. The Redskins’ offense hasn’t scored a TD on Wade’s boys in three games. It is a beautiful thing to have a bona fide x-and-o genius coordinate your defense…unless you also give him the keys to the head coach’s office. That call at the end of the first half, the one that called for a hail mary or something insane like that, the one that every peewee football coach in captivity knew should have been a kneel down, was one more in a long line of firable offenses. But Wade won’t be fired. He is too good at being Jerry’s hand puppet. I know that many will blame Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett for the call, and I am sure he shares in it. But any head coach worth his salt has to know to veto such a bonehead move…and have the mettle to do it.
2. Jason Garrett. Yes, Garrett gets his share of the blame, and not just because of the blunder at the end of the first half. His play-calling mixed the genius of innovation with the miracle of the absurd. From calling nothing but three-step drops and quick screens to opting for a halfback pass near the opponent’s goal line, Garrett displayed a total lack of confidence in his prize collection of stellar offensive talent.
3. Alex Barron. There is a reason a first-round left tackle is available for trade. There is a reason the guy wasn’t good enough to be on the lowly St. Louis Rams’ squad. Simply stated: He sucks. He was caught holding three times in the ballgame, and every time mattered, but none mattered quite so much as the time he nullified the winning touchdown pass on the game’s final play.
4. Brian Arakpo. The defensive end-turned-outside linebacker was a tour de force. He wreaked some pretty good havoc and caused match-up problems for both of the offensive tackles, especially the knucklehead Barron.
5. Mike Shanahan. Somehow, Shanahan navigated the treacherous waters of unhappy 100 million dollar giant defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth, successfully introduced a new 3-4 scheme defense, and got just enough out of his offense to score an unlikely opening day upset victory over the hated Cowboys. There have been worse coaching debuts, for sure.

Five Reasons the Dallas Cowboys Are Not Likely to Become the First Team to Participate in a Super Bowl at their Home Stadium

1. Wade Phillips. After the devastating loss, a battle-weary and beaten-down Phillips faced the media. He accepted the blame for the disastrous last play of the first half, the one that resulted in a turn-over and touchdown for the Redskins. But then he proceeded to ease that blame over to the player, saying how silly it was for Tashard Choice to be fighting for an extra yard on such a play. Blame-shifting and excuse-making have been hallmarks of Wade Phillips’ tenure in Dallas. As long as that remains the case, it is highly unlikely he will ever lead this or any other team to the ultimate prize. Moreover, his team often seems unprepared on game day, too mistake-prone, and sometimes downright shell-shocked.
2. Jason Garrett. If the object of the game was to rack up as many yards between the twenty yard lines as possible. Garrett’s offense would be the most dominant in the league. But it isn’t. His erratic play-calling and poorly-timed trickeries more often than not result in field goal opportunities, punts, or turn-overs. He continues to show flashes of brilliance, but seems mostly incapable of designing an offense that finds a groove and stays in it. He often seems to outsmart himself.
3. The Offensive Line. All that firepower the Cowboys tout— i.e., the three-headed running monster, the Miles Austin-led receiving corps, all that talent at tight end, the supremely gifted Tony Romo at quarterback— means absolutely nothing if your offensive line cannot dominate the line of scrimmage. The Cowboys are trying to hold on until Kyle Kosier and Marc Colombo get back from injury. But these guys aren’t spring chickens and even when they return, there is no guarantee they play at the high level they are accustomed to, nor is there any assurance they won’t be plagued by an injury recurrence.
4. David Buehler. This kid has a cannon for a leg. There is no arguing that fact. As a kickoff specialist, he is a weapon. He can even clean up behind his kick coverage team and make spectacular tackles when necessary.He remains, however, a huge question mark in the field goal department. He made nine of ten kicks in the preseason. But this is not preseason and he is Oh! for one after missing a 34-yard attempt Sunday night.
5. The Green Bay Packers. The Packers did not play well in Philadelphia. Aaron Rodgers did not have a great day and admitted as much after the game. The played poorly. But…they won over a lesser opponent! The Cowboys faced an even more vulnerable opponent in the Redskins. The Cowboys didn’t have their A game either…and they lost. Good teams lose games they should win. Great teams win games they should probably lose.

Hey, I know. It is only week one and I have already admitted that this article is a classic example of disgruntled fan knee-jerking. My overreaction, however, does not mean there is no reason for concern. I am not yet ready to raise the white flag of surrender. But I sure see some red flags when I look at this team, not to mention a few too many yellow ones.

This is, I know, just one loss in a 16-game season. I am not quite ready to declare Fed Ex Field Wade Phillips’ Little Bighorn. I do believe, however, that if he doesn’t find a way to get this team to play to its potential, the 2010 season may well be his last stand.

I know it should be.

So, the NFL schedule is out and the mad rush to predict the future is on.

I personally think these April predictions border on the absurd. So much will change between now and the first week of the regular season. Not to mention that there is no real continuity any more. Yesterday’s thoroughbred is today’s nag and vice versa.

None of that, however, will stop me from throwing my hat into the prediction ring. I can be as ridiculous as the next guy. So, here I go with my very own formula for building an NFC East crystal ball and staring the future fearlessly in the face.

My formula for determining the strength of schedule for each of the three teams goes like so:

• I took the opponent’s record from 2009 and used their winning percentage as a base. If an opponent was, say 8 – 8, then the base would be .500. An opponent who was 12 – 4 a year ago gets a base of .750
• I then add 10 percent if the game is played at the opponent’s place. I subtract 10 percent if it is a home game for the team in question. So, that .500 opponent will be .550 if it is an away game and .450 if it is at home.
• Finally, I strike an average of the team’s sixteen opponents and that becomes the strength of schedule for that team.

This year, the NFC East has drawn a tough assignment in inter-divisional play. They are paired with the NFC North and the AFC South. So, the beasts from the East will run into a few buzz saws from places like Indianapolis, Minnesota, and Green Bay. They will also face some tough customers in the likes of the Texans, Bears, Titans, and Jaguars.

The only real patsy in the bunch is the Detroit Lions, everyone’s favorite whipping post.

DALLAS COWBOYS

In addition to the six divisional games and the eight games in divisional match-up play, the Cowboys will play host to last year’s Super Bowl champs, the New Orleans Saints and will visit the NFC West champions from a year ago, the Arizona Cardinals. The Cowboys have the third most difficult schedule in the entire league in 2010.

I have their 2010 strength of schedule at .571.

I have penciled the Cowboys in for five road losses: at Philadelphia, New York, Green Bay, Minnesota and Indianapolis. I have them perfect at home, thus finishing 11 – 5, the same record they had in 2009.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

The Eagles finished 11 – 5 as well last year, but their defensive breakdowns in the late going and the change from Donovan McNabb to the mostly untested Kevin Kolb.

I anticipate a bit of a rebuilding year for Andy Reid’s squad. The Eagles do get the Packers, Vikings, and Colts at home, but that advantage may not be enough to lift them into playoff contention. They will also face the 49ers in San Francisco and the Falcons at home, both tough draws.

The Eagles strength of schedule checks in at .567, and the crystal ball reveals the Eagles are headed for an 8 – 8 finish, missing the playoffs.

NEW YORK GIANTS

The New York Giants were a grave disappointment to their fans a year ago. 2010 may not offer citizens of the Big Apple much more in the way of hope. Tom Coughlin’s dour, no-nonsense approach to coaching is a fine thing when things are going well. He may grind on some nerves if the season goes into a tailspin.

Th Giants have to travel to Indianapolis, Houston, Minnesota, and Green Bay. That may prove to be Murderer’s Row for the G-Men. Their strength of schedule is .535, thanks largely to the fact that they get the Panthers at home and the Seahawks in Seattle.

The Giants will finish 8 – 8 and wait for another time to compete for a Super Bowl.

WASHINGTON REDSKINS

Hail to the Redskins! They have solved their quarterback quandary for the moment and have placed the future of their franchise into the capable hands of Mike Shanahan. They are on the right track.

The ‘Skins, however, have a ways to go before they threaten for the division, let alone anything more glorious. With a schedule strength of .531, this 4 – 12 team from a year ago will make some progress, but will not make .500.

Thanks to the soft draws of the Rams in St. Louis and the Buccaneers at home, they will pick up a couple of wins more than they had a year ago, finishing 6 – 10 with hope for the future.

My conclusion? The Cowboys win their second division in a row and challenge to be the first team in history to play a home game in the Super Bowl, while the rest of the NFC East get their legs under them, but fail to make the playoffs.

You can see my Strength of Schedule and Prediction Chart here. I welcome your feedback, criticisms, remarks, and admission of my genius.

Sports Talk, Philly Style

What do Philadelphia Eagles fans and Dallas Cowboys fans have in common? More than you might think.

I just came home to Dallas from a two-month stint in Philadelphia. No, I wasn’t sent there as punishment for my sins. Nor was I there as a missionary to convert the poor, lost Eagles fans. I was just taking care of business.

As is my custom when working abroad, I found the area’s most listened-to sports talk radio station, set my tuner, and left it there. In Philly, That means listening to 97.5 The Fanatic. They feature some very capable shows with big-time names like Tony Bruno (of Madden NFL and  ESPN fame), Vai Sikahema (former Eagle), and Mike Missanelli, the station’s anchor and among the best in the business.

Usually, when traveling other regions, I find the local sports talk to be talentless homers droning, yelling, or pontificating endlessly about topics only a handful of die-hard sports nerd fans of their team could possibly even care about. It involves a good deal of idol worship and good old fashioned butt-kissing.

Not in Philly. Those guys will ask the hard questions, take unpopular stances, and even call a caller an idiot, if indeed he is one. Refreshing!

In that regard, the Fanatic reminded me of my favorite hometown station, the Ticket. The well-rounded sports talk was sprinkled with guy talk, humor, and current events/issues. Their approach to sports talk radio made my stay in Philly— a place I actually liked much more than I thought I would— much more enjoyable.

But the most surprising discovery was this: Fans in Philly have exactly the same concerns and the same complaints about their team as Dallas fans do. If you are a Cowboys fan and you read the local papers, listen to local sports radio, and watch local sports anchors, please tell me if any of this sounds familiar…

Here are the top three complaints I heard regarding the Philadelphia Eagles organization, its coach, and its players:

Number Three— The front office types don’t know football. Owner Jeff Lurie and General Manager Tom Heckert, to hear most Philly fans talk, don’t know the first thing about the game. Lurie needs a football guy in the front office.

Hello? Anybody home? Do you smell what I’m cooking here, folks? Their number three complaint is the Cowboy fans’ Numero Uno fret.

“That damned Jerry Jones thinks he is a football guy, and he ain’t. He ain’t at all.”

Number Two— The offense is too predictable. Callers and show hosts alike complain that Andy Reid’s pass-happy ways are just too predictable.

One fan said, “If I can sit on my couch and know what’s coming on the next play, don’t you think opposing defensive coordinators can figure it out, too?”

Another fan complained, “He never makes adjustments. He gets whipped by the Cowboys in one game and what does he do? He comes back the next game and does the same thing, hoping for a different result.”

How many times have we heard and read the exact same complaints about Jason Garrett and his offense? Too predictable! He doesn’t mix it up. He doesn’t alter his game plan. He doesn’t know how to adjust to what the defense is doing.

Number One—Donovan McNabb will never win the big one. Yes, he puts up great numbers during the regular season, but he fades in big games, or he makes the big mistake that loses an important game. He is a choke artist.

One fan said, “Sure, McNabb is the greatest quarterback in team history. My aunt is the tallest midget in the circus, too.”

Does this sound vaguely familiar to any of you people living in or around Dallas, Texas? How many times have we heard those very accusations leveled at Tony Romo?

Ringing Endorsement

I was dumbfounded by what I heard in Philly. Can it really be that the same exact problems are prevalent in both cities? Are these two teams really mirror images of one another, with identical shortcomings?

Or, is it possible that perception is one thing and the truth another? Is it possible that we armchair quarterbacks and Monday morning coaches don’t really know as much as we think we do? Is it possible that the formula for ultimate success in America’s greatest sports league is more complex and fraught with more intricacies and interweaving of timely decisions, superior talent, and good fortune than we can possibly grasp?

Or do Jeff Lurie, Jerry Jones, Andy Reid, Jason Garrett, Donovan McNabb, and Tony Romo really just suck? I leave you to ponder those questions and work out the answers for yourself.

The only argument I can really settle after my visit to Philly is this one: “Geno’s or Pat’s?”

Geno’s, baby.

"Yo! Ice Cream Man. Over here!"

The Dallas Cowboys beat the Giants Sunday. If you do not believe me, just ask head coach Wade Phillips. He will delight in telling you all of the good things his team did that day. He will outline all of the ways his team won.

It was, after all, a record-setting day for Tony Romo and a record-tying day for Jason Witten. The defense played well…well, if you don’t count that ridiculous 74-yard Brandon Jacobs “scamper” (if a play that lasts long enough for you to order and receive a Papa John’s pizza can be called a scamper) on a simple swing pass. Special teams were special except for that one little breakdown on the 78-yard punt return for a TD. You know, the one where every Cowboy on the field and half the ones on the sideline had their hands on him, but couldn’t get him to the ground.

Being a Dallas Cowboys fan these days can create enough mixed emotions to cause internal bleeding. On the one hand, of course, you want your team to succeed. You want them to bury the Ghost of Christmases Past and finally show up for December football.

On the other hand, however, you are desperate – desperate - to be rid of a head coach that just doesn’t get it…and never will. Wade Phillips will always have an excuse. He will always take consolation in statistics. He will always defend himself. He will never accept responsibility. He will never demand excellence of his players. He will never command respect.

He will, however, remain the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys if Jerry Jones can find the least excuse to keep him around.

So, as a Cowboys fan, you want success in December, sure. You want your team to finally get a playoff win after thirteen embarrassing years of mediocrity, underachievement, excuses, and disappointment.

But is it worth it?

A conundrum is what it is. Does any football fan want to hear the coach of his favorite team whine like a middle school girl to a room full of media types?

“I coach them the way I want to coach them,” Phillips said in response to a question about whether he ever gets as angry with his players as he does reporters, “And you can report the way you want to report.”

We will, Wade. We will call it like we see it. And what we see is a team that lost an important divisional game because of mental breakdowns and give-ups on four huge plays Sunday. What we see is a team that went into the game against the Giants with sole possession of first place in the NFC East, and came out tied with the Eagles. What we see is the Giants nipping at your heels, a season sweep of your Cowboys in their hip pockets.

What we see is the calendar, Wade. It reads, “December.” What we see is another late-season loss. What we see is you down-playing the loss, defending your team and demanding nothing (well, nothing except the respect you so desperately want from the media).

What we see is a light at the end of a thirteen-year long tunnel and we hope it is an oncoming train…and that it carries you away…far, far away, to a place where Decembers don’t matter, where early season wins are just as important as playoff victories, where stat sheets are equal to scoreboards, where reporters never badger beleaguered coaches, and where “ifs and buts” really are candy and nuts.

It is a wonderful place where all of your dreams can come true, Wade. It is just too bad that Dallas Cowboys fans will be forced to endure one more nightmare just so you can dream.

Ha! You missed!

Cowboys 7, Redskins 6.

One could almost stop there and declare, “Enough said.” But it isn’t enough to repeat the shocking score from the Redskins’ first ever visit to the new Jerry World (aka, Cowboys’ Stadium).

No, we need to dig a little deeper if any lessons are to be learned from a 6-3 Cowboys team barely surviving against a 3-6 Washington squad. So, let us dig.

Lesson One is for Jason Garrett.

Hey, Red! Neither the media, nor the fans, nor a delusional owner are really qualified to hammer out a game plan. We know you took so much flak from all quarters after the Green Bay bit-spitting, that you decided you would show everyone and just run, run, run the ball.

Come on, man. Be a man. Plan your work and work your plan. Tell Jerry that he hired you to do a job and he can either allow you to do it or quit beating around the bush and do what he always dreamed of doing anyway: Namely, put on the headset and call the plays himself.

Granted, the plan Jason Garrett rolled out looked like it might work until the Marion Barber fumble deep in Redskins’ territory stalled the maiden drive. Still, Garrett ran and ran and ran some more. He ran so much that the passing game never really got untracked until desperation set in late in the fourth quarter, when it became eminently obvious that an upset was not only possible, but increasingly likely.

Everyone clamoring for more “balance” in the Cowboys’ attack might check the numbers from yesterday’s game. The running and passing were almost dead even. And the offense managed but seven points against a team that is contending for exactly nothing in 2009.

Lesson Two is for Wade Phillips.

Wade, you physical specimen, you. I cannot tell you how ridiculous you look when, after your defense has allowed the opponent to march into field goal range, only to have their kicker misfire, and you start fist-pumping and high-kicking like your team just accomplished something.

Please note that an unforced error by your opponent is not validation of your team’s prowess. Your defense was stellar and gave you plenty of opportunities and reasons to celebrate. Capitalize on those, if you must. Do cartwheels when they sack the quarterback, force a fumble, or get a pick to seal the deal (as they did yesterday). Just, please, for the sake of dignity, stop waving your pom poms on missed field goals.

Lesson Three is for Roy Williams.

Dear Roy, you are not in Midland anymore. You are not even in Austin. This is the NFL. You will not be able to put yourself on cruise control and rely on your natural talent to elevate you to the heights you envision for yourself. Everyone here is talented. And most of them are determined.

Get yourself some of that determination.

Lesson Four is for the Dallas Cowboys fan.

Your team is good, not great. They are talented, but not singularly talented.

The Dallas Cowboys have enough talent on the field to do some real damage in the playoffs, but the head coach is weak and the owner/general manager is…well, he’s Jerry. Enthusiasm for the team’s progress must be tempered by the knowledge that a weak head coach winning a Super Bowl title is an extremely rare occurrence in NFL history.

Lesson Five is for all of us.

This is the NFL. There are no Florida Internationals or Tennessee-Chattanoogas on the schedule. A win is a win…and it is precious.

“So, Good job everybody…?”