Is the "Big D" Really Big Enough For Everyone?

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."

There is no question that the Dallas Cowboys have once again put together a roster that is laced with talent, top to bottom. All of their skill positions on offense and defense have big names, big price tags, and big-talent players.

Only in Texas can you get the likes of Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Roy Williams, and DeMarcus Ware all wearing the same uniform. After all, they do say everything’s bigger in Texas.

But we can only wait and see if Texas is big enough for all of the personalities and egos this 2008 squad will encompass. 

You would think Jerry Jones would have said grace after having a season with Terrell Owens's combustible personality staying intact long enough to see Dallas win 13 games, en route to the top seed in the NFC. But as Jones has always been, he pushes the envelope to lengths that would make Houdini say, “Whoa man. Do you really want to do that?”. 

Jones brought on Tank Johnson last year, this being the first full season as a Cowboy, and Adam “Pacman” Jones this year. Throw in the fact that Tony Romo is playing his, “Yep,  I’m the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys” card to the fullest with the paparazzi, and with celebrity women following, and you have one hell of a mix.

Did I mention the beef between Terrance Newman and Roy Williams? 

The question isn’t if Dallas has the talent to win the Super Bowl. Looking at all the teams on paper, I give the Cowboys the definitive No. 1 ranking. They are much better than New England and Indianapolis on paper.

But as I know too well, being a Washington native, being good on paper means nothing come Sunday. Dallas boasted an NFL-record 13 Pro Bowlers last year. There are teams who haven’t had 13 Pro Bowlers in five years!

But with individual success and recognition comes ego. It’s natural. Does this team have the leadership to have all egos checked at the door? 

It starts with the head coach, Wade Phillips. He came into Dallas known as a defensive-minded coach, but it was the offense that caught all the headlines last year. Some think that Phillips’s nonchalant attitude is what T.O. needed to stay in line.

I disagree. I think it was the fact that last year was his final chance to earn himself another contract, which he obviously got. Now all bets are off, again.

You also need leadership from your players. One of the things that put New York over the top last year was the emergence of leadership from Eli Manning. Tom Brady always has been in control of his squad, and we’ve seen Peyton basically coach his own ballclub.

Is Tony Romo that guy? Can Tony Romo be a leader, and not just “one of the guys”? He needs to be for this team to be successful in the postseason. 

While we’re on the topic of Tony Romo, let’s all start this season with rational minds, and let's try to go three or four games without comparing Romo to Manning or Brady. I know the guy is good, but what quarterback has not put up career numbers while playing with Terrell Owens?

Romo makes plays, but T.O. deserves a lot more credit for that than he receives. (I never thought the day would come that I would say "T.O. deserves a lot more credit...". Unbelievable.) Anyway, back to the topic at hand.

The Cowboys did well in the draft and have put together what may turn out to be a devastating one-two punch at running back with Marion Barber and Felix Jones. They also added rookie Mike Jenkins to bolster the corner position, alongside Anthony Henry and Terrance Newman.

Plus, Zach Thomas playing right inside linebacker in the 3-4 scheme should make this defense a terror. So they have depth and talent at all skill positions, along with some youth, courtesy of the draft. They are loaded. 

But it’s not like this team wasn’t already really good last year. They won 13 out of 16 games for a reason. They didn’t lose to New York because of a lack of talent. They were out-coached and outsmarted. New York defeated Dallas mentally just as much as they did physically. You could tell by the body language of players. 

Though I don’t see them getting outplayed by anyone else this year, I can see them outplaying themselves. Very rarely do star-studded teams win a title.

Most recently in the NFL, you saw the Patriots fall short. Kobe, Shaq, Malone, and Payton couldn’t do it in the NBA. A-Rod, Jeter, and Giambi haven’t been able to put it together yet in New York. It just becomes too difficult to manage all the egos and personal agendas. 

I can already hear some of you screaming “BOSTON CELTICS”.  Do I really need to explain the difference between Ray Allen’s personality and Terrell Owens? Or the difference between Kevin Garnett and Adam “Pacman” Jones, or Paul Piece and Tank Johnson? I didn’t think so.

The only way a team with so much personality and star power can succeed is through a coach who can command attention of the troops. I’m not saying you need a Marty Schottenheimer, Bill Parcells, or a Bear Bryant type of guy. But you do need someone with the ability to call anyone on the team out if it is warranted; whether it’s the star quarterback or the third-string linebacker.

I’ve always firmly believed that the coach cannot be your friend. He is not there to be your buddy or your “guy”, just like your parents are not supposed to be your best friends. The coach is the authoritative figure who calls the shots. The Cowboys don’t have that.

Ironically enough, the last coach in football to manage this many egos and personalities coached the Cowboys; a guy by the name of Jimmy Johnson. 

I don’t think there is any doubt that Dallas has a clear path to the Super Bowl, if they can get everyone on the same page from day one. However, the only way you can predict the future is to go by the information you have gathered in the past.

Everything that we know about the coach, players, and personalities of the Dallas Cowboys leads me to think that it is asking too much for all of them to do what they need to do in order to win a championship. 

To take it back to the quote that began this article:

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships” –Michael Jordan