2009 Dallas Cowboys: Don't Kid Yourself

The last time the Cowboys won a playoff game was December 28, 1996. Since then teams such as the Rams and Colts became NFL powers complete with Super Bowl titles, and even the lowly Cardinals have reached the big game.

Yet the Cowboys always rank among the most-watched franchises in the nation's most viewed league. But people are growing tired of a team that is more of a marketing creation than a product of on-the-field success.

Despite Super Bowl aspirations and expectations every single year, the Cowboys have yet to come even close despite what appears to be a roster loaded with title-worthy talent. And even though there are names aplenty on the 2009 roster - Tony Romo, Marion Barber, Jason Witten, DeMarcus Ware, etc. - this franchises’ fragmented sense of purpose will continue to hinder the actual football team. That and a coaching staff that appears to lack organization, among other things.

The Cowboys’ 2009 offseason has focused more on moving into a state-of-the-art, $1.2 billion stadium and all of the events it will hold such as a Jonas Brothers concert rather than football. That’s the Cowboys - glitz, glamour, marketing, then football.

The general manager runs the team more like a guy who is in charge of a minor league baseball team rather than one of the world's most visible sports teams. No other GM in all of big-time professional sports tries to sell suites, tickets, markets as well as oversees all of the team's on-the-field preparations. But since the Cowboys are Jerry Jones' toy, he does all of it. He even went so far as to gag not only his assistant coaches earlier in the offseason but the head coach as well, which is believed to be a first in professional sports. Jones' point was there is only one place you can get the "whole picture" of the Dallas Cowboys, and that's his mouth.

The 2008 Cowboys were perhaps the most disappointing team in the NFL when they finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs. Despite needing to win the regular-season finale to reach the postseason, they were humiliated 44-6 in Philadelphia to put a fitting end to the year.

Massive changes were made - they cut Pacman Jones, safety Roy Williams and even dumped Terrell Owens - in an effort to clean up what was a split locker room. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones’ philosophy during the offseason was to make the team “Romo friendly.” That’s a lot of pressure to put on quarterback Tony Romo, who has established himself as a solid NFL quarterback. He has demonstrated he is good, but he has not demonstrated he is good enough.

The Cowboys should be good enough to win the NFC East and compete for one of the top two seeds in the conference. There are solid NFL players at nearly every position, and nearly all of them are locked in with long-term contracts and big signing bonuses. The Cowboys added Roy Williams last season in a trade from the Lions, and fully expect him to be the No. 1 receiver that Terrell Owens was. Will it work? It better. But this is a guy the Detroit Lions - the Detroit Lions - traded.

Wade Phillips’ track record suggests a big, playoff-run won’t happen, and that this will be his final year as the team’s head coach. He is 0-4 in the playoffs, and he has never lasted longer than three years in his previous two head coaching jobs - Denver and Buffalo - and it’s doubtful he will here. He insists he can and will change, beginning with fining players and paying more attention to detail, but few believe that a man in his 60s with more than 30 years spent in the NFL can change his personality with a switch. He has already established who he is to the players, and anything different will likely be perceived as insincere or forced.

The Cowboys are banking on a few items for a solid 2009 season - a friendlier schedule that is as result of their 9-7 record. A better locker room atmosphere, which sans Owens will be improved. A clean bill of health, which no one knows how long will last.

If those things go as planned, there is no reason the team can’t finish 11-5.
But there are too many obstacles the team itself planted for a Super Bowl, beginning with a head coach who has established himself as a nice man, and a good defensive coordinator. Period.

- Michael Tyman