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.

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.