PFW Edholm Blog: Cowboys: Super Bowl or bust? Put a dollar for me on bust

[WoodysGirl]

Cowboys: Super Bowl or bust? Put a dollar for me on bust

I think, talent-wise, it's hard to argue against the Cowboys being the most talented team. But they were the most talented team last season in the NFC, and look where it got them. I don't care much about the fact that they haven't won a playoff game since Bill Cinton's first term. I just think this club has a potential combustability about it that scares the daylights out of me.

There's no doubt they are going to whallop some opponents this season, and if they get by a tough early slate -- at Cleveland, vs. Philly, at Green Bay, vs. Washington -- they will get a lot of sentiment as the NFL's best team. They'll get a cover story in our magazine, and their fans will be on Cloud 9 as they slice through a very lean middle part of the schedule.

But right now, I am just not buying.

Again, let me say this: One through 53, I have a hard time picking anyone but the Patriots as their rival. And sometimes the most talented team does win it all. Heck, you don't have to leave the city of Dallas to see that ... the early 1990s were pretty good proof that have the most ability can do wonderful things for you.

And this should have been a marvelous offseason. As esteemed PFW correspondent Mickey Spagnola, a man who knows this team pretty well I might suggest, points out in his latest column they Cowboys have made a host of wonderful and important moves this spring, not the latest of which were the Terrell Owens extension and the news that Pacman can join his teammates -- for now.

But Mickey also makes the bigger point, and I agree with him, that there is just way too much riffraff going on at Valley Ranch right now. Wow. And we're still three months away from the games! The good news is that it's not coming from Owens, and it's not related to Tony Romo's tabloid life in a jar, and (so far) Pacman has been on acceptable behavior.

Perhaps come July, Greg Ellis will be cool with his situation (he always seems to simmer down when the action heats up) and Terry Glenn will be a non-issue. And maybe the former bad boys and lightning rods will avoid issue. But I just get the feeling that something will happen, perhaps unrelated to the actual game on the field, that will sidetrack this team. Or, better yet, how could it not? The X-factor is Wade Phillips. Is he the right guy to be coaching this group of characters? I happen to think he's an excellent football coach who knows how to call a game and draw up a plan. I just don't think that his laissez-faire style, which worked so well early last season, can hold up.

Like I said, turmoil might just trump talent again. We'll see.

Posted by Eric Edholm on June 3, 2008 11:31 AM | Permalink

http://nflblogs.profootballweekly.com/AroundtheNFL/2008/06/cowboys_super_bowl_or_bust_put.html

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Hater.......

 

[Padd]

The trouble this team had last year had some to do with coaching but in my opinion, the bigger issue was this team learning how to win. The premier players have never won anything and are pretty short in the tooth. If the coaches understand this and can tap into the experiences this team had last year, they could turn into a beast!

 

[Idgit]

Actually, that's my single biggest concern going into this season, too, that Wade can keep this cast of characters focussed. We've got good leaders on this team, too, and Romo's temperament and ethic at QB in terms of setting tone might be more valuable than his skills on the field. I think we'll be ok, but if we're not, I'm more worried about a team collapse than I am about Crayton being our 2nd WR or Roy Williams in pass coverage.

 

[TheHerd]

Like I said, turmoil might just trump talent again. We'll see.

I'm not sure it was turmoil last week. I think we were victimized by Reeves and coaches whose heads were not in Dallas. Crayton also didn't help, but I think the assistant coaches were a big part of this.