Reflections on the 2007 Dallas Cowboys

Another season comes and goes and the Cowboys will once again watch the super bowl on TV. This year, the end of the team’s season is even more disappointing because the Cowboys were 13-3 during the regular season and were the top seed in the NFC. And now it’s gone, and what makes this pill even more difficult to swallow is the Giants are the ones who tossed us out after the Cowboys nailed them twice during the regular season. Congratulations to the Giants. We will fight again next year and may the Cowboys extract revenge. Who knows, perhaps we will. I do take comfort in two things, though, after this disaster. First, the Giants and their fans will almost certainly be feeling our pain next week. As much as they were the better team today, I cannot see them defeating Green Bay on the frozen tundra. And even if they did somehow, the Patriots would smash their guts out in the Super Bowl. I don’t care that their first meeting ended 38-35. Once the Patriots shifted gears, the Giants were blown away, scoring their last touchdown only in garbage time. But Giants fans are better off than Cowboys fans now and there is no denying this. Second, Colts fans are probably more in shock than we are. It is nice to know someone else is in as much pain as we are. Misery loves company. Sure the Colts can remember last year’s Super Bowl win, but to lose at home to a Chargers team minus their starting quarterback and superstar running back has got to hurt. It will be interesting if Payton manning receives as much criticism as Tony Romo. Both quarterbacks los by four points while playing at home with 13-3 teams behind them. For the record, I’m glad we have Romo and I think we have a quarterback who we can count on for years to come. Even Roger Staubach could not bring the team back all the time.

Despite all the frustration and disappointment, though, we have had many good times this year. For most of the season, our offense was one of the most exciting and dynamic in NFL history, just not when we needed it most. We had a number of comeback wins that would do Roger Staubach proud. Who can forget the miracle in buffalo? I was on Crete at the time, in the middle of nowhere listening to Brad sham on the radio via the internet. My internet time was running out and in fact, time ran out just when the Cowboys were called for a penalty on that last drive. I ran down to the lobby at 5:30 in the morning (I was on Greece time) to buy more internet time. When I got back I expected to read about the loss, only to discover that amazing 25-24 win. Our first match against the Redskins came down to the wire with the defense holding on in that one. We were also pleasantly surprised when, early in the season, we smoked Chicago, the defending NFC champions, in their own house. We didn’t know at the time they wouldn’t make the playoffs.

We saw one of the most amazing quarterback scrambles of all time when Romo picked up an errant shotgun snap 33 yards behind the line of scrimmage and turned that disaster into a four yard gain, and we saw Marion Barber slip away from the entire Patriots team to avoid a safety. We saw the Cowboys make Adrian Peterson look like a mortal after his monster game the week before. We saw Jason Witten tie and NFL record for catches by a tight end in a game, his last in that game giving the Cowboys a 28-27 thrilling win against a Detroit team desperate to stay alive.

Yes, our season ended in frustration, but we could have been the Dolphins, Saints, Bears, Vikings, Lions, Bills, 49ers, Cardinals and a host of other teams. For that matter, we could have been the Colts, who are probably more stunned than we are right now. A few years ago, we were the Cardinals, Dolphins and Falcons. We had three 5-11 seasons in a row. Thanks to this year’s Cowboys, we had some good times and wild rides. Who knows what the future holds. If Owens and Glenn can perform at a high level next year, being a year older, then the Cowboys should contend again. Hopefully, we’ll get some good draft picks and a special teams which actually knows how to contain a return. Maybe the Cowboys are like the Colts in Dungy’s early years, always close, but never quite there. Last year, they arrived, and perhaps with a little luck, we’ll arrive next year. I do not think we’ll pull a Chicago and completely lose it next year.

As for this year, I’m hoping the Patriots go 19-0. I was around when the ’72 Dolphins went 17-0 and it would be nice to see that mark beaten.