Hostile
The Duke
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There's a classic old scene in "An Officer and a Gentlemen" where Richard Gere's character avoids setting a record on the obstacle course in order to help a fellow Officer Candidate get over the wall. It's a symbolic scene for a lot of reasons. The obvious one is the Officer Candidate actually scaling the wall which had been her only true obstacle throughout the training. There also was the symbolic wall that Gere's character has built up around himself. When he gives up personal glory to help a friend overcome an obstacle he actually achieves his goals too.
I find myself thinking about that wall a lot lately. Not that one in the movie, the symbolic wall this team has to get over. You know the wall. "The Cowboys have not won a playoff game since the 1996 season."
They have to get over that wall. If for no other reason than to preserve the sanity of this particular Cowboys addict. I know many of you feel the same angst.
Just like in the movie, before they get to the wall there are other obstacles to clear first. The first one, we all hope, was chemistry. Jerry Jones can deny the importance of it all he wants, but I think he's only deluding himself with the denials. It rings kind of hollow when you look at the focus of the off season upon ridding the team of the "locker room lawyers."
Is there chemistry between Roy and Romo? It depends on who you listen to. The media is reporting things don't look right. The players all say they think there is. Regardless of whether it has been achieved yet or not, it is an obstacle the team has to face. Whether we like it or not, the media is not done with Terrell Owens in Dallas. Not even the media who desperately wanted him gone. Every bad game the question of whether TO would have helped is going to come up. How this team clears the chemistry obstacle will tell a lot about them.
The next obstacle is injuries. Holy cow I do not remember a worse year for them than 2008. If there was one I don't want to be reminded of it either. Keeping Tony Romo upright is paramount in 2009. We saw how bad things can come apart when he went down. He was never right again all season and the season did the long slow swirl down the drain. The O-line was in shambles. The Safety position was a M*A*S*H unit. We got down to our 3rd RB. Thank all that is holy that he was so dang good. It could have gotten ugly.
The big obstacle is a two legged bird we eat with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberries. Post Thanksgiving this teams simply falls apart. It has been doing it since 1997. Maybe the problem wasn't cupcakes. Maybe it was pumpkin pie? I don't know what happens to this team after Dead Bird Day, but it is undeniable that the results are killing this team.
People focus too hard on Romo's record in December. The fact of the matter this team was collapsing in December long before Tony Romo arrived to ruin the day. The following stats are not intended to make you throw up. This is for your general information only and to support this supposition. Here are the Post Turkey Day results since 1997. The Thanksgiving Day games are not included.
1997...0-3
1998...2-3, including playoff loss
1999...2-4, including playoff loss
2000...1-3
2001...3-3
2002...0-4
2003...2-3, including playoff loss
2004...2-3
2005...2-3
2006...2-4, including playoff loss
2007...3-3, including playoff loss
2008...1-3
If I haven't forgotten how to add that is 20-39 overall and 0-5 in the post season. That is definitely an obstacle. The entire team needs to clear that obstacle, not just the QB. Someone needs to be Zach Mayo yelling at Seegar to climb that wall.
This fact isn't meant to make you sick either, but it has the potential to cause some yacking. Thsi team has not won a season finale since Chan Gailey had a headset on in Dallas. Campo was 0-3. Parcells was 0-4. Phillips is 0-2. This team has not won a season finale in this Century folks. 9 straight losses. Finishing is an obstacle this team has to clear.
If they clear those, we get to the Wall. That's the Post Season. 6 straight post season losses. At one time this team was miles ahead of any other team in Post Season victories. Chew on this before spitting it out. After the 1996 season we were 32-19 in the post season. We are stalled at 32 wins, but we've added 5 losses. After the 1996 season the Pittsburgh Steelers were 20-15.
Put those side by side.
Dallas was 32-19
Pittsburgh was 20-15
Know what they are now? 31-19 and have won a 5th and 6th Super Bowl. We're at 32-24. Nauseating huh?
We can't take back the post season superiority until we can clear that wall. We have to get over that damned wall.
I find myself thinking about that wall a lot lately. Not that one in the movie, the symbolic wall this team has to get over. You know the wall. "The Cowboys have not won a playoff game since the 1996 season."
They have to get over that wall. If for no other reason than to preserve the sanity of this particular Cowboys addict. I know many of you feel the same angst.
Just like in the movie, before they get to the wall there are other obstacles to clear first. The first one, we all hope, was chemistry. Jerry Jones can deny the importance of it all he wants, but I think he's only deluding himself with the denials. It rings kind of hollow when you look at the focus of the off season upon ridding the team of the "locker room lawyers."
Is there chemistry between Roy and Romo? It depends on who you listen to. The media is reporting things don't look right. The players all say they think there is. Regardless of whether it has been achieved yet or not, it is an obstacle the team has to face. Whether we like it or not, the media is not done with Terrell Owens in Dallas. Not even the media who desperately wanted him gone. Every bad game the question of whether TO would have helped is going to come up. How this team clears the chemistry obstacle will tell a lot about them.
The next obstacle is injuries. Holy cow I do not remember a worse year for them than 2008. If there was one I don't want to be reminded of it either. Keeping Tony Romo upright is paramount in 2009. We saw how bad things can come apart when he went down. He was never right again all season and the season did the long slow swirl down the drain. The O-line was in shambles. The Safety position was a M*A*S*H unit. We got down to our 3rd RB. Thank all that is holy that he was so dang good. It could have gotten ugly.
The big obstacle is a two legged bird we eat with stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberries. Post Thanksgiving this teams simply falls apart. It has been doing it since 1997. Maybe the problem wasn't cupcakes. Maybe it was pumpkin pie? I don't know what happens to this team after Dead Bird Day, but it is undeniable that the results are killing this team.
People focus too hard on Romo's record in December. The fact of the matter this team was collapsing in December long before Tony Romo arrived to ruin the day. The following stats are not intended to make you throw up. This is for your general information only and to support this supposition. Here are the Post Turkey Day results since 1997. The Thanksgiving Day games are not included.
1997...0-3
1998...2-3, including playoff loss
1999...2-4, including playoff loss
2000...1-3
2001...3-3
2002...0-4
2003...2-3, including playoff loss
2004...2-3
2005...2-3
2006...2-4, including playoff loss
2007...3-3, including playoff loss
2008...1-3
If I haven't forgotten how to add that is 20-39 overall and 0-5 in the post season. That is definitely an obstacle. The entire team needs to clear that obstacle, not just the QB. Someone needs to be Zach Mayo yelling at Seegar to climb that wall.
This fact isn't meant to make you sick either, but it has the potential to cause some yacking. Thsi team has not won a season finale since Chan Gailey had a headset on in Dallas. Campo was 0-3. Parcells was 0-4. Phillips is 0-2. This team has not won a season finale in this Century folks. 9 straight losses. Finishing is an obstacle this team has to clear.
If they clear those, we get to the Wall. That's the Post Season. 6 straight post season losses. At one time this team was miles ahead of any other team in Post Season victories. Chew on this before spitting it out. After the 1996 season we were 32-19 in the post season. We are stalled at 32 wins, but we've added 5 losses. After the 1996 season the Pittsburgh Steelers were 20-15.
Put those side by side.
Dallas was 32-19
Pittsburgh was 20-15
Know what they are now? 31-19 and have won a 5th and 6th Super Bowl. We're at 32-24. Nauseating huh?
We can't take back the post season superiority until we can clear that wall. We have to get over that damned wall.
