One of the main differences between the Seahawks and the Cowboys was on full display for everyone to see on FirstTake yesterday.
This is the second time Demarco Murray has been on FirstTake. The first time he was on a year ago, they ridiculed him for being too P.C. and giving too many cookie cutter answers to their questions. I gave him the benefit of the doubt because it might have been the first time he was in that environment. Now he comes on for a second time yesterday and the interview was embarrassing. Dude let SAS clown his QB with no rebuttal from Demarco, all of his answers about the team's 8-8 struggles were straight out of Garrett's C-3PO handbook, and he seemed rattled by the grilling he was taking. At one point he tries to change the subject to the corporate sponsor that sent him there to promote their product/event. Overall, he came off corporate, rehearsed, unconfident, and detached from what they were asking him. I couldn't help but think I was watching a microcosm of the country club the Dallas Cowboys have become.
Immediately after Demarco was interviewed, Seahawks LB Bobby Wagner came on (remember this was the linebacker that Jerry Jones claimed the Cowboys were planning on taking in the 2nd round if they had not traded that pick away to draft Claiborne). His demeanor was night and day from Demarco's. Bobby was direct with his answers, extremely confident, and borderlining on cocky. He showed off that Seahawks' brashness a couple of times when he made the claim that Broncos receivers were scared to go over the middle against them in the Super Bowl and that Jimmy Graham was lucky to get his new contract before playing the Seahawks D because they would make him look pedestrian.
The Cowboys used to have players who talked, walked, acted like this in the 90s. I don't see them anymore. Where have they gone? Dez would flourish in that Seahawks environment but instead he gets muzzled here, why? X' and O's are important but so is player/team confidence so are things like team chemistry as Wagner mentioned in the interview. Cowboys lack it, they lack the personality of a winner, unfortunately I don't know where it's going to come from within this organization. Ideally it would come from the head coach and trickle down to the players but Todd Archer said in Q&A last week that the coaching staff lets their player's weakness scare them from using them. Is anybody surprised by this opinion from one of the top Cowboys beat writers? How many times have we begged for the offense to enforce their will on teams and how many times has prevent defense killed us at the end of halfs and games? This team, from the top down, needs a personality transplant more than anything. Improve the defense and oline all you want, until this happens we'll never win the big games.
