Worry Wart Alert: The Sky Is Falling In Dallas
After two less than stellar preseason games, some fans and pundits are starting to question if the Dallas Cowboys are truly a powerhouse team.
Clarence Hill’s article here reveals that even the players are mixed on how the team looks. The theme to the article is very reminiscent of the problems that plagued the Cowboys for the past two seasons. Some players believe the team needs to have a sense of urgency, while others are more relaxed about adverse situations (like looking poorly during two preseason games).
According to the article, Bradie James and Jason Witten want the team chemistry to improve. They want all players to feel a sense of urgency.
Tony Romo and Terrell Owens think everything will be OK.
That’s a problem, folks.
Terrell Owens says there is no need to worry about poor performance during preseason games. I think he is right, for the most part. The coaches are obviously testing players and using schemes they otherwise may not use or change during a game. But one can also be alarmed at how poorly the second team players look.
Owens says:
“There is no need to panic. You can’t assess how the season is going to go by the way you play throughout the preseason. The Giants won the Super Bowl [last year] and they only won one game in the preseason. It’s not a real true game feel assessment, because you are not really playing four quarters. We have made some strides. We are confident about the season.”
I agree with what Owens says. But what is of concern is how there is an appearance that the chemistry may not be their yet. I am not a fan of Romo’s laidback approach. It works sometimes, and it also fails in other moments. The Cowboys have never had a quarterback like him before.
I am not going to make cries that the Sky is Falling. The fact of the matter is that no one can measure a team’s success in the preseason. You cannot even measure a team after two regular season games. We won’t know how good this team is going to be for awhile. So, we might as well sit back, relax and watch this team grow. There is no reason to fret so early.
Sometimes you need a little adversity or controversy to give the team something to rally around.
August 19th, 2008 at 7:56 pmTrue. I remember week 2 of the season last year and the Giants looked like they were going to be one of the worst teams in the league. Their defense couldn’t stop anything. So there’s hardly a need for any team in the league to panic right now. The good news (for you) is that as bad as you guys might have looked, I’m pretty sure the Browns looked even worse on Monday night football. Man they stunk.
Of course, on the other hand, sometimes you look really bad in the pre-season because you *are* really bad. For every superbowl team that went 0 and 2 in the pre-season there are six teams with losing seasons that also went 0 and 2 in the pre-season.
August 19th, 2008 at 10:27 pmActually, I just changed my mind. My advice to you: Panic. Your savior and the second coming of the allmighty himself, Jason Witten, is concerned. If he’s worried, then you should be worried too.
WWJWD?
August 19th, 2008 at 10:29 pmIt’s a long season.
That is all.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:53 amNo need to worry yet. If they look like crap in week one then ok go ahead and worry. Preseason is work out the kinks anyway.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:15 amThen again, RG, haven’t the ’skins been undefeated in a few preseasons recently?
August 20th, 2008 at 6:31 amUh…no. I don’t think so. Sorry MBIII, I think you’re thinking of someone else. Last year we lost at least one game and the year before that our starters didn’t score a touchdown the entire preseason or something stupid like that. Our preseason record has been a winning record, but hardly undefeated.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:19 pm