The Dallas Cowboys Have The Talent to Win, But Can They Put it Together?

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What comes to your mind when I mention players like Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, and Emmitt Smith?

How about champions, greatness, tradition, and everything that epitomizes who the Dallas Cowboys are. Those four players were some of the biggest reasons the Cowboys were called "America's Team" for so long. It's the reason the Cowboys are still known as one of the best franchises in NFL history.

When those four players left for retirement, a new era of players donned the silver star on the helmet.

But in each of the last 16 seasons, the Cowboys haven't shown the greatness this franchise use to be all about. In fact, they've been everything but great.

A single playoff victory is all this franchise has been able to accomplish since the aforementioned four players hung up their gear for good.

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The team formerly known for greatness is now known for underachieving and mediocrity with no end in sight.

With the 2011 season very much in question, new head coach Jason Garrett, quarterback Tony Romo, and a list of talented offensive and defensive players, this team has no more room for error.

During the 2010 season all of the team's problems were blamed on then head coach, Wade Phillips. While the team played better under Garrett after Wade was fired, this team still missed the playoffs by a long shot. Now that their reason for losing is out the door, their excuses have no room to make their presence known.

No longer are they able to say they aren't motivated to play and no longer can they say their head coach isn't holding them accountable.

It's time for the Dallas Cowboys to step up and become the team they once were.

After the team drafted running back DeMarco Murray, it became the first step in moving on from Marion Barber who has been less than impressive over the last few seasons. The guy who used to be one of the up and coming stars did a disappearing act and has fans begging to see a trade to send Marion out of town.

Murray, a former running back with the Oklahoma Sooners, along with current running backs Tashard Choice and Felix Jones, makes a scary trio out of the Cowboys backfield.

Romo will return to the quarterback position after sitting out most of the 2010 season with a broken collarbone. Though some of his teammates say he should have to earn the starting role again against backup Jon Kitna, it's not likely that Garrett will have any sort of battle between the two veterans.

Wide receivers Roy Williams, Miles Austin, and Dez Bryant are arguably three of the most talented wide receivers in the league and it doesn't hurt that they play for the same team.

There's no reason this Dallas Cowboys' team can't make it deep into the playoffs if the 2011 season ever gets underway.

They have no excuse as to why they would falter or sputter and die before getting to the Super Bowl for the 17th straight season. The players are in place and the head coach is in place.

All they need to do now is show it on the field.

The Dallas Cowboys Need a Change and it Starts With Carson Palmer

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The Dallas Cowboys have to be tired of losing, no matter how good they've gotten at it over the years. Owner Jerry Jones wants another Super Bowl championship banner hanging in his new stadium, though he hasn't done a lot to show that by the moves he and the front office have made.

Chan Gailey, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips and now Jason Garrett. Four coaches, one playoff victory in the last 16 seasons. The Cowboys need a change and they need one quick.

No matter how many fans you talk to, most will tell you that they're tired of seeing mediocre football being played each and every Sunday. They're tired of taking to the radio airwaves on Monday morning and calling for Jones to step down as the general manager or for the head coach to be fired.

They know there are changes that need to be made but one that seems to be argued over more than any other is whether or not the team can get anywhere with quarterback Tony Romo. There are some that will defend him and others that want to trade him out of town for another "future of the franchise." The only thing most fans won't be able to give you, at least realistically, is who they want to take his place. Who should be the quarterback of the future for the Dallas Cowboys?

Are the Dallas Cowboys Really Shopping Dez Bryant?

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With all the goings on with the Dallas Cowboys this past off season including hiring Jason Garrett as their new head coach, there was an interesting rumor that came out today.

As most of you fans know, wide receiver Dez Bryant surprised a lot of people this season but missed the last few weeks because of a fractured ankle. Next to that, he was a guy that the Cowboys loved at wide receiver.

At least I thought so.

Making it's way around the Twitterverse today was a rumor that the Cowboys were allegedly shopping their first year player for a pick in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Keith Whitmire of Fox Sports Southwest has a piece out this afternoon talking about this apparent rumor and shoots down that the team would even be remotely curious about trading a guy that Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones loved from the moment he drafted him.

What Whitmire also talks about are the whispers that Bryant wasn't the most focused person on the team. He apparently was late to several team meetings and didn't exactly study the playbook as much as he should have.

Late to team meetings? Didn't study the playbook? Maybe the Cowboys see another Terrell Owens forming in Bryant. Then again, there may be nothing to this talk and it'll die off in the coming days or weeks.

But, on the flip side, this talk may heat up especially with the draft just a few months away. We know Jones loves him. Why else would Bryant be handed the No. 88? A number worn by two big names in Cowboys' history. But could new head coach Jason Garrett not be a fan of Bryant's and could that really be the writing on the wall that sends the rookie out of town?

The problem with the reports that surfaced today is the fact that we don't even know if there's going to be a season in 2011. As far as we know, with no Collective Bargaining Agreement signed, we could be looking at a work stoppage and silent NFL stadiums around the country.

So with so much unknown at the moment, why trade what seems to be a very talented young man for a draft pick that may not be anywhere near the caliber of Dez Bryant and someone that may not even see a practice or game until the 2012 season?

Those questions would lead me to believe that these rumors have absolutely nothing to them. Although, that's been said before about rumors we thought had nothing to them and watched as they became reality.

For right now, Bryant is still a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. Who knows, maybe all the talk is a shot across the bow and a wake up call for someone who thought he could do what he wanted to do because the owner liked him.

If this is a preemptive strike from the Cowboys it's one that couldn't have come at a better time. They could be bluffing and it could get the reaction they need.

It could also be the start of what could be one of the more shocking moves for this team in quite some time. We won't know until someone from the Cowboys comes out and denies all the talk that's been going on today.

Until that time, I'm not so sure a team like the Dallas Cowboys would be ready to give up on a player they've had for a single season. A player they drafted with their very first pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

If I'm wrong about this, then maybe this team is starting to change their stripes and becoming more serious about winning games and not just selling merchandise.

If that's the case, it's about time.

In Terms of Mediocrity, the Dallas Cowboys Get Four More Years

 
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Since their last Super Bowl victory in 1995, the Dallas Cowboys have since won just a single playoff game in 16 years. That's what I would call far less than mediocrity and here I thought that word was as bad as you could get in sports.

Apparently not.

This afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys announced a four-year contract for their new head coach. No, it wasn't Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden is still in the broadcast booth and Jim Harbaugh is still with Stanford. At least for now.

So if it wasn't those three big name coaches who did Jerry Jones bring in? After a dry spell like they've had surely Jones would want a proven coach who has been to the Super Bowl and knows what it takes to bring home the biggest prize in the industry. Surely he wants to bring a championship back to Dallas to show off in front of the home fans as well as the bandwagon jumpers.

For those of you think like I do, unfortunately we were both wrong. Jones decided to bring him yet another "yes man" to be his next puppet also known as the next head coach. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages I present to you the new head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jason Garrett.

HUH?

Yes Cowboy fans you can rejoice that a brand new era is about to begin in Arlington and it will be under good ole 'red head' himself.

Now before you Cowboys fans who still have their blinders on start ranting and raving about how he "earned" this job I would love for you to tell me how he earned it? And don't give me "he finished 5-3 when Wade Phillips was only 1-7," speech. I'm bored with that one already and it has nothing to do with that.

Garrett was going to be Jones' boy regardless of who the owner should have hired. It didn't matter how Garrett did when he took over for Phillips, he knew he had the job wrapped up.

Jones is not going to give up control to anyone. That being said I do know that Jones has given final decision rights in hiring and firing of assistant coaches to Garrett. But that's not saying a whole lot because you know Jones is going to give his opinion and if Garrett does end up hiring the guy Jerry wants, he can still say "hey, it was my head coach's decision not mine."

As you can tell I'm not at all sold on this hiring and I think it has everything to do with Jerry's ego and not on the right guy being hired. If Jones wins a Super Bowl with Garrett as his head coach, he can say "see, I told you I didn't need a proven coach."

Ego wins the day. Better get used to what you've had over the last 16 years because there's more where that came from.

Whether It's Jason Garrett or Tony Romo, The Dallas Cowboys Need To Make a Change

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The Dallas Cowboys are about to carve another notch in the 'Tree of Disappointment' as soon as this season comes to a close.

As of right now, it has 15 marks in it. When this season comes to an end the team will put a 16th mark on it. Those marks signify the number of consecutive seasons without a Super Bowl title.

Over that same time span the Cowboys have just one playoff victory. No Super Bowl appearances, no NFC titles, just a single playoff win which came in 2009.

Yes, a change needs to be made in Dallas. Only problem is, will it be the correct change or just one good enough for Jerry Jones to still have his thumb on this ball club? Or maybe a little of both?

When Jones fired then head coach Wade Phillips, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett took over as the new head coach and has since picked up four wins in the seven games he's been in the position. Doing so without Tony Romo, maybe more impressive than most would think.

But with that change came questions from media and fans alike as to who would be the man going forward. Would Garrett remain in the position for the long term or was Jones looking for "his guy" behind the scenes? The answer to that question would depend on who you ask.

Newy Scruggs of NBC 5 doesn't believe Garrett is the right guy for this team going forward not to mention not being the guy that can lead this team to another Super Bowl title. On the flip side of the coin, Richie Whitt of the Dallas Observer believes the opposite and thinks Garrett deserves the job.

For those that have been fans of this team and have watched what has transpired over the last five to 10 years, you know that Jones will only hire someone that he can control. A 'yes man' if you will.

Garrett is exactly that. Phillips was exactly that. Bill Parcells was not that.

When the season ends for the Dallas Cowboys you'll hear the rumors start being thrown out quicker than you can keep track of them. You'll hear names like Bill Cowher and Jon Gruden along with Jason Garrett and several others thrown around and there will be numerous opinions as to who it will be.

If the Cowboys are going to turn things around, Garrett is not the guy to do that. No matter how many people believe Jones will bring him back as the next head coach of this team, it's not the right decision for this team's future.

Jerry Jones wants two things. Control and another Super Bowl Championship banner being hung at his stadium. But when push comes to shove, will he be able to give up one to get the other? We've seen over the last 15, soon to be 16, seasons that total control has given this team nothing but a single playoff win. It hasn't given this team a lick of success.

There's another factor in the story of success for this team. It's quarterback.

This has been a topic that I haven't given fans the warm fuzzies when I bring it up. While most would agree they don't want Garrett as their head coach, they are still hanging on to their love affair with Cowboys' quarterback Tony Romo.

We can sit here and argue just how good Romo has been since he's been the starter and what he's been able to accomplish. However, at the end of the day, what has he really accomplished?

You can compare his numbers to quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and try to say he's just as good but, in the end, both Manning and Brady have Super Bowl rings.

Romo does not.

So now that I've picked on both Jason Garrett and Tony Romo, the next question that I would normally ask someone that doesn't want a certain player around is, who do you want instead?

I'm glad you asked.

If Jerry Jones really wants a Super Bowl there's only one decision and one phone call he needs to make. Bill Cowher. Only problem with Cowher is he wants complete control of player personnel decisions as well as his own coaching staff. Something Jones isn't like to give any coach.

Here's how I look at this situation. If Jones really cares about this team and really wants to celebrate a Super Bowl Championship at the stadium that he built, than something has to give. Jones needs to give up control or risk making it 17 seasons or perhaps even more.

Cowher is a proven winner, something the Cowboys desperately need. He's a guy that can bring out the best in his players week in and week out. If Jones is really serious about turning things around, this is his guy and this is the right time to make that move.

As far as the quarterback position goes, that's more of an open-ended question. Romo hit the sidelines during their week seven loss to the New York Giants. Since then, the team has won just three of their next seven games, though there really hasn't been a lot to blame on backup Jon Kitna who has played better than a lot of fans, and media, expected.

That being said, 3-4 in seven games is still not playing Cowboys' football. They need someone that can light up the scoreboard and move this team up and down the field every time he's in the game.

Romo, Kitna and third-string quarterback Stephen McGee out of Texas Tech don't exactly have that capability. Kitna has held his own but he's also had his share of problems.

One quarterback who's also had his share of problems, and could also find his way out of the city he's currently in, is Cincinnati Bengals' quarterback Carson Palmer.

I know the name is going to surprise a lot of you but this is a quarterback who has a lot of talent and can do some big things with a team like the Cowboys. Over the years, he's been able to show what he can do when he has the right players around him.

Though he's struggled throughout the 2010 season, he hasn't had nearly the kind of players he had in his first few years with the Bengals. Bringing him to Dallas and putting the kind of players that the Cowboys have around him would allow him to be the kind of quarterback he can be.

There are those of you who are going to disagree with me and that's fine, that's why we have debate, it's why sports is what it is for a lot us fans.

But the bottom line is the Dallas Cowboys need to make a change if they're going to bring a Super Bowl back to Dallas. Those changes need to start immediately.

If they're not made, Garrett and Romo will remain with the team and it will be the same old same old over the next few seasons.

Maybe a few good regular seasons are in store but when it comes to the playoffs, they'll end up falling short as they've done for the past 15 seasons.

Miami Heat, Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets and the Thurday Morning Sports Report

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Good morning sports fans, today is December 16th, 2010. If you're interested in what happened on this day in history, about the Boston Tea Party on December 16th, 1773.

There's your little nugget of knowledge dropped on you this morning. Now that that's out of the way, what say we get to sports?


Miami Heat:  Streak Now at 10

As much as I don't want to give them a lick of credit, it's hard not to when a team has ran off 10 straights wins as the Miami Heat have. I find it a tad ironic that the 10th straight win came last night against LeBron James' former team, Cleveland Cavaliers.

Being unbeaten against them has to feel pretty good to ole King James. Not sure why we're still calling him that but apparently he thinks it's fitting. Even without a championship ring.


Dallas Cowboys: Is Jason Garrett a Shoe-In as the Next Head Coach?

When Wade Phillips was fired by the Dallas Cowboys, though really he fired by Jerry Jones, offensive coordinator Jason Garrett took over the team and has won three of the five games since he took over. There's sentiments among Dallas media that Garrett is a shoe-in to be the next head coach of the team.

When he first took over, most people thought he was just a temporary fix until Jones could go after a guy like Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher. However, that sentiment has changed and mostly due to the fact that Jerry wants a "yes man" and not a coach that wants full control.

If the media is right and Garrett takes over, you can chalk it up as the worst decision Jerry has made since hiring Phillips.


New York Jets: They're All Laughing at You

Congratulations to the New York Jets for becoming the joke of the NFL and not because of their play on the field. After the tripping incident over the weekend, it was found out later that this same coach wanted players to make a virtual wall just in case they were to have a run in with an opposing player.

Before, everyone was praising the Jets for their performance on the HBO show "Hard Knocks." Now the only knocking going on is the shots the media has been taking at the team since the game on Sunday.

J-E-T-S now stands for Just Entertaining To Some


In closing...

• Oregon over Auburn in the national championship game. Cam Newton is good, but Oregon will have something to prove.
• Still don't like LeBron James. Not that it's all that surprising.
• My bowl picks will be up tomorrow for the games going on this weekend, so stay tuned for that.
• I'm still a proud hometown kid from Fresno. For that reason, I still read and give a ton of credit to guys like Daniel Lyght, Mike Oz, and Bryant-Jon Anteola from the Fresno Bee. Still love my hometown paper.
• I get the absolute honor of sitting down with one of my all time favorite speakers this afternoon. If you don't know Tim Ross, here's a reason why you should.
• People here in Dallas are excited about the way the Dallas Mavericks are playing. But the regular season has never been the problem, it's always been the playoffs were things go wrong.
• When was the last time San Diego State (football and basketball) got more run in the local media than the San Diego Padres and San Diego Chargers combined?
• When football season is over, how are you sports fans going to fill up your weekend with nothing to watch on tv?
• Two months from today, pitchers and catchers report to their respective spring training homes.