Dallas Cowboys Fortunate to Have a "Choice"

The revamped Dallas offense (first string),with an emphasis on ball control and running game,has looked very solid during the preseason. Wade Phillips is the envy of smashmouth fans everywhere, with three quality backs, each of whom could start on the majority of NFL teams.

Most casual fans already know about the smashing style of starter Marion Barber and the breakaway speed and excitement of Felix Jones,however,only the most ardent NFL fans know of Tashard Choice.

Choice came to Dallas by way of a fourth round pick a year ago. He had a nice career at Georgia Tech but nagging injuries curtailed his numbers and consequently allowed him to drop all the way to the fourth round...and squarely onto the lap of the Dallas Cowboys.

What a catch this young man has turned out to be. After he was selected during the fourth round, I listened to remarks from some of the young defensive lineman in the ACC who had played against him at Georgia Tech and virtually all of them had nothing but great things to say about Choice and a few were already telling bystanders that "Dallas just trumped the league again."

After an impressive and promising preseason,an injury to starter Marion Barber would shove Tashard squarely into the face of the No. 1 defense in the NFL,the Pittsburgh Steelers. A task that would make many rookies and even a few vets nervous and dreading the confrontation. Not Tashard—he looked forward to the duel.

He responded with a very good game both rushing and receiving,running hard every play and earning the respect of the Steeler defense. He ended with 88 yards rushing,one of the best games any opponent had last season against the mighty Steelers. Many say his style is a mix of his backfield mates, Barber and Jones.

He has the straight ahead power to get the tough inside yards ala Barber,yet had enough speed to turn the corner and blow by linebackers ala Jones. He had three quality games against some of the top defensive teams in the league(Pitt, NYG, and Bal).

He finished the season with 92 carries for 472 yards which averages out to 5.1 per carry...pro-bowl type numbers if pro-rated over an entire season.

Not only has Tashard proven to be effective on the field but also seems to have a positive effect in the locker room as well. He is known as a top notch prankster among the veterans and can be seen on his website or YouTube channel playfully harassing everyone from backfield mates to monstrous offensive linemen. He seems to have an infectious personality that can make even the grumpiest of Cowboys laugh and shake their head.

The Cowboys are in a position to be one of the best running teams in recent memory and,as we witnessed against the Titans,have the capability to keep the ball for 40+ minutes and that almost always equals convincing and dominant wins.

Of course it is preseason and many things need to fall into place to achieve the best case scenario. However, it must be very reassuring to Wade, Jerry, and Jason to know that, heaven forbid, something should happen to Marion, they have a back capable of putting up pro bowl numbers himself. Even Linus would be envious of the Cowboys security blanket.