It’s been an eventful week for the most beloved/hated team in the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys. First, owner Jerry Jones
finally pulled the plug on head coach Wade Phillips after an embarrassing 45-7 defeat against the Packers in Green Bay last Sunday night. Immediately after that move, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was promoted to interim head coach and pulled a “new sheriff in town” routine setting new rules requiring players to wear suits on game days.
While Marion Barber promptly ignored the suit rule the Cowboys ignored the bookies and responded with a 33-20 upset over the heavily favored Giants in New Jersey yesterday.
Okay, it’s just one win, but could things be turning around in Big D?
It appears the team has clearly responded to the change in attitude. Phillips’ “players coach” style ultimately was his downfall, as the team clearly quit on him during his last few weeks on the job. Garrett, the former Cowboys backup quarterback to Troy Aikman during the team’s glory days and once thought to be the successor to Bill Parcells, immediately installed more discipline and seems to have won over the locker room.
The results speak for themselves so far. Quarterback John Kitna had his best game since taking over for injured QB Tony Romo, throwing for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running back Felix Jones had 136 total yards, including an impressive 71-yard touchdown reception off a screen pass. Rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant continues to look like an emerging star, hauling in three passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. The much maligned (and injured) defense came up big when the Giants appeared ready to stage a comeback, forcing three turnovers – one of which was a key 101-yard interception return for a touchdown by Bryan McCann.
It was a performance so impressive that the power went out during the third quarter, causing some of Meadowlands Stadium to go dark. (No truth to the rumor that the power lines were snipped by a disgruntled gambler to took the Giants laying 14). Naturally, this inspired the annual ritual of drunken idiot fans beating each other up in the stands.
There is some room for optimism in the near-term. The lowly Lions come to Dallas this Sunday, followed by the annual Thanksgiving game against the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. Keep in mind that the Saints have been up-and-down this season, and the Cowboys have a 27-14-1 record all-time on turkey day.
Let’s face it – the Cowboys aren’t going to make a playoff run in the difficult NFC East, but these last 7 games ARE their playoffs. While the schedule gets more difficult in December, Garrett & friends will take great pleasure in playing the role of spoiler to teams such as the hated Eagles and Redskins.
And here’s an interesting thought to ponder: could Garrett end up being the NFL’s version of new Cubs manager Mike Quade? If his team continues to play hard and string together some victories, Jones may have no choice but to hire Garrett. After all, he does have the support of Cowboys legends Jimmy Johnsonand Aikman.
Then again, this is Jerry Jones we’re talking about here – the man who covets new, big-name coaches like Larry King does new wives…
Used with permission of the author.
Chris Lardieri also covers the NFL for Sports Climax and the Los Angeles Dodgers for Examiner.com. He has written about Major League Baseball for Inside Edge, a scouting company that provides content to ESPN Insider and Yahoo Sports. He previously wrote for 1766, the Rutgers Alumni Magazine, and popular blog, ‘The Outer Loop’. Be sure to follow Chris on Twitter for more MLB and sports observations
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