STEVE DENNIS :Howling At The Moon

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Howling At The Moon


By STEVE DENNIS
DallasCowboys.com Columnist


OXNARD, Calif. - Why do the Cowboys need another Chad Hutchinson? How many games has he played in the last four years? How could he be ready to play in 2004?

Would playing him in 2004 set him up for future failure?

Is he the Cowboys' quarterback of the future?

Do the Cowboys need a veteran backup?

Ever since the Cowboys signed him, and then especially when they released Quincy Carter, there have been so many questions flying around concerning rookie quarterback Drew Henson. And since he last played in a football game New Year's Day 2001, for the University of Michigan, they are all fair questions.

But, after four weeks of training camp, one scrimmage and two preseason games, it seems to me there is only one question that now matters, and all the others amount to a whole lot of howling at the moon:

What if this Wolverine is really a wolf?

On the morning of Aug. 7 out in Oxnard, Calif., Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells was asked if he would consider playing Henson in 2004.

"If he is good enough, yeah," the coach answered. "I don't know if he is good enough yet. In my coaching experience, I always get young players . . . that I don't want to throw to the wolves, until I find out that they are a wolf themselves. If they are a wolf themselves, I'm gonna put them in there with the other wolves."

What if Drew Henson is ready to howl at the moon?

Henson has grown plenty of hair and teeth since Aug. 7. So much so, Parcells is very close to determining he can be the backup to Vinny Testaverde this season. If that happens, the coach will deem Henson ready to play, if necessary.

A veteran backup? Not in the plans.

"This is what I'm doing...going with what we've got, right now, that's what we're gonna do", Parcells said earlier this week, "I'd rather have good players, don't care if they are veterans or rookies, I don't care."

When this wolf business was offered up to new Cowboy receiver Keyshawn Johnson, he offered this: "I don't even look at age, if you can do it . . . you can do it . . . it doesn't matter. LeBron James, experience wise, was pretty young too, he turned out to be pretty good in the NBA. I don't think age . . . experience . . . really matters . . . if you got it, you got it."

Now, I realize the Cowboys have cried wolf before when it comes to the quarterback position (see the failed Hutchinson experiment), and I also realize a rookie that is ready to dance with the wolves comes along once in a blue moon. But sometimes it does you good to think a little outside the box.

OK, let us now move onto the next set of questions. Admittedly, to those who are too rigid to think outside the box, it is way too early to even ask them. But that's no fun. Let's ask them anyway.

What if Henson is called into duty this season, and he makes the Cowboys markedly better?

What if this potential wolf (in sheep's clothing?) does for the Cowboys what his Michigan Wolverine teammate did in his second season for the Patriots?

Do you think New England fans recognized the wolf in Tom Brady? Sometimes you just can't keep the wolf away from your front door.

And furthermore, don't the Cowboys have similar pieces to the puzzle as New England, minus the star quarterback? If Henson is indeed a wolf, and Parcells runs him out there with the other wolves, is a Super Bowl completely out of the question?

AAHHRRWWOOOOOO!!!!

Cowboy fans, join me on the back porch tonight, and let's do a little howling at the moon.

[Wulfman]

Dale, did you give this guy license to copy my schtick?!?

This is very nearly plagiarism!

There's only room for one Wulf-related writer for the Cowboys, and I've got seniority...