The Most Talented Group Of 'Boys Does Not Make a Team: The 2008 Dallas Cowboys

Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Roy Williams, Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson, Marion Barber, Zach Thomas, DeMarcus Ware, and Terrance Newman.

Wade Phillips and Jason Garret.

Jerry Jones.

The list of personalities in this organization is incredible. The bankroll is immense. The expectations are sky-high. The drama rivals that of a weekday afternoon soap opera.

All of that equals to nothing. Nine wins and an early trip home for one of the most disappointing teams in recent NFL history.

The 2008 Dallas Cowboys were the sexy pick entering this year. Everyone was looking for an easy Super Bowl favorite, and on paper, the Cowboys were it.

Unfortunately the talent on paper does not always translate to the field.

It's no secret that Jerry Jones will do all he can to get big names down to Dallas, no matter their past or current situations. This was made evident when he traded for a player who was suspended at the time of the trade, and gave up multiple draft picks for a receiver on an 0-5 football team.

But Jerry Jones does not stop at players, he'll pay his coaches big bucks as well.

After a 14-2 2006 campaign in San Diego, the front office decided to clean house by firing Marty Schottenheimer for once again failing in the playoffs.

Jerry Jones went after the well-known defensive coordinator Wade Phillips to be his head coach, and as Jerry always does, he got his man.

Jones looked like a genius the following year as Wade Phillips led his Cowboys' team to a 13-3 regular season record. But, just like the man Phillips used to coach under, his team came up short in the playoffs.

The monumental collapse of the 2007 Cowboys would wind up to be no match for that of the 2008 version of "America's Team."

After jumping out to a quick start in '08, the Cowboys looked to be on their way. The offense was clicking on all cylinders and the defense was playing lights-out football.

Then, in an overtime loss to Arizona, Tony Romo's pinkie made headlines that rivaled Tom Brady's foot in years prior.

Romo missed three games while nursing his broken pinkie back to health, and during that stretch he watched the 'Boys go through two different quarterbacks and an unenviable 1-2 run.

During that time, Jerry Jones went out and acquired malcontent Roy Williams from the hapless Detroit Lions, giving Tony Romo another target and the Cowboys some new drama.

Now sitting at 4-2, the Cowboys were still in decent shape but looked to be in some trouble. Romo was out and the defense had just barely been able to pull out a 13-9 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A win where the Dallas offense set a franchise record for the least yardage put up in a win.

But after a bye week, Romo returned and the ship in Dallas seemed on the right path to the playoffs and were full steam ahead towards a trip to Tampa in early February.

Sitting at 8-4, the Cowboys were poised to make a playoff run. The only thing in their way was not opposing teams, not injuries nor was it even themselves.

The month of December.

Tony Romo entered the month of December with a losing record for his career in said month. This 2008 December would turn out no differently.

After losing a couple games back to back, Ed Werder shook the entire state of Texas with his ESPN report that their had been a rift created in the Dallas locker room. He cited numerous quotes from anonymous players saying that Cowboys players were at odds with one another and coaches alike.

Not to be outdone, Terrell Owens decided to inject his own drama into the story.

He felt as though Tony Romo and good friend and roommate Jason Witten were creating secret plays for one another in order to get Witten more touches during games. Owens accused Romo and Witten of intentionally keeping Owens and fellow receivers Patrick Crayton and Roy Williams out of the gameplan.

It's evident now that the "D'"in "Big D" really simply stands for, "Drama."

Dallas was in meltdown mode and their seemed to be no end in sight. The players were attacking one another and when they weren't at each others throats they were accusing offensive coordinator Jason Garret of running a predictable offense and calling bad plays.

Help came in Week 16 against a slumping New York Giants team on Sunday Night Football. In that game, the Cowboys saw the emergence of rookie running back Tashard Choice and convincingly beat the defending world champion Giants 20-8.

And, for at least one week, all was right in Dallas.

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