Dallas Cowboys Need to Change Their Ways

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After being lambasted by the Philadelphia Eagles 44-6 yesterday, the Dallas Cowboys were eliminated from postseason contention with a finishing 9-7 record. It was one of the bigger surprises of the 2008 season considering the Cowboys were preseason favorites (by many fellow sports writers and general football folk alike) to go to Super Bowl XLIII. With arguably more talent than any other team in the NFL, it was almost unfathomable that Dallas played as poorly as they did in the month of December. But this has become the norm for the Cowboys. As much publicity as they get for being “America’s Team,” the fact remains they haven’t had a winning record during the month of December in 12 seasons. The team is still living off the past glories of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. Nevertheless, change is necessary if Dallas is going to turn back the clock and Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips is all for it:

“We have to (make) changes as far as overall the team. But there are other things, including off-seasons, mini-camps and practices that I have to look at and alter some things and modify some things. But to get to the standard we want and our fans want, I don’t see any other way.”

If the coaching staff is not going to change (and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones says that it will not), I believe the necessary change begins with personnel. Job one should be to get rid of receiver Terrell Owens. NFL Network analyst Terrell Davis was in a bit of an argument with NFL.com’s Michael Lombardi on this very subject on Total Access this evening and I completely agreed with T.D. — get rid of Terrell Owens. He’s a cancer to this team. As far as T.O. is concerned, it’s always going to be about him first and foremost. He’s proven that time and time again. He’s a very talented but spoiled diva athlete. His stats and his catches and his involvement as a highlight in an offense will always be more important than the team and I would recommend trading him this offseason because there is a team out there stupid enough to take a chance on his talent in exchange for what will absolutely be a distraction at some point in their season. Plus, the Cowboys stand to cash-in on valuable Draft picks or a proven, team-oriented talent as part of a deal for T.O.

Still, I wonder if the Cowboys are smart enough and truly committed to the kind of change they desperately need? As long as Jerry Jones is in charge of the organization, I have my doubts. Mr. Jones likes big name athletes and a lot of drama. That’s why he’s spending over a billion dollars on his new stadium. He’s all about image and making a grand presentation. Unfortunately for him, this does not usually equal success in terms of wins and losses — which is really all that matters when you get right down to it.

Other than dealing T.O., I think releasing Adam Jones is a no-brainer. Enough said. And I’m still not sold on quarterback Tony Romo. I never was. When it seemed the rest of the world was going crazy over Tony and whatever celebrity female he was dating at the time, I was left wondering what was so great about him. Let’s face it. He’s an average QB with below-average performances in games that count the most. He may still come around and prove to be one of the league’s better signal callers, but he’s going to need to be put in a position to succeed and right now he’s not even close.

Source: DallasCowboys.com