Aug 29, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett on the side lines during the second quarter of the game against the Miami Dolphins at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-US PRESSWIRE

All we need to do is remember the 1992 Dallas Cowboys for inspiration.  That team which was arguably the best Dallas Cowboy team ever, beat the then Superbowl champion Washington Redskins in the Monday Night Football opener. After that big win, Dallas would then get blown out on the road by the Philadelphia Eagles in week 4 by the very similar score of 31-7.

That Dallas team also had a young inexperienced aggressive defense, a young star running back, a controversial #88 at wide-receiver, and a quarterback who needed to take charge and put it all together to reach his full potential as a MVP and Superbowl Champion.   The final result – the 1992 Cowboys rebounded at home the next week, ironically shutting out the Seattle Seahawks, 27-0. They then went on to finish the season 13-3, become NFC East Champions, and won the NFC Title game in San Francisco against the #1 seed 49ers.

I am not saying we didn’t hit a speed bump on Sunday. But if I was head coach Jason Garrett, I would draw this comparison between the greatest Cowboy team ever. A team he was a member of.  It only proves that a season is not lost with one blow-out road loss. This season is far from over.

The chart below lists the starting players from both teams and the player with the advantage is marked with a *+ symbol, then that players stats for that year is listed in the last column.  The results may surprise you.  The 1992 Cowboys won the overall battle 15 players to 10 players, however what was surprising is that the best Dallas Cowboy Defensive team ever (The 1992 team allowed the least amount of points scored for any Superbowl champion) lost the battle to the 2012 Cowboys on defense- 6 players to 5 players, mostly thanks to the talented current Dallas Linebacker core naturally led by future Hall Of Famer DeMarcus Ware.

The 1992 Cowboys obviously got the nod on Offense due to the large advantage on the 1992 Offensive line, best fullback ever Moose Johnson, and the Hall of Fame triplets (Aikman, Smith, Irvin).  The 2012 Cowboys did also receive offensive votes for Tony Romo, who statistically should become the best Dallas QB ever when all is said and done. Romo just needs that elusive SuperBowl ring before I can give him the advantage over Aikman.  Jason Witten has earned the title of best Dallas Tight End ever and beat out Jay Novacek who was a good player but nowhere near the talent of Witten.

Therefore, thanks to Kobe Bryant’s question, we can all now conclude that the 1992 Dallas Cowboys are indeed the Dallas Dream Team, but the 2012 Cowboys may still have something to say about that beginning this September, because as we can see this team has the talent to start doing some dreaming of its own.

Sep, 18, 2011; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart (28) runs as Green Bay Packers free safety Nick Collins (36) defends in the fourth quarter. The Packers defeated the Panthers 30-23 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

Now nearly eight months later, after being released by the Green Bay Packers, Collins will decide whether or not to continue his NFL career.  Modern medicine has made it possible for a player like Collins to even have the option to make this decision.   In fusion surgery, the soft disc tissue is removed from between the vertebrae – in Collins’ case between C-3 and C-4 – and a bone graft taken either from the patient’s hip or a bone bank is inserted between the vertebrae. A titanium plate is then screwed into the vertebrae to make sure they don’t move while the bone graft fuses to them. ”Once everything is healed, the risks are minimal” said Joseph Maroon, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ team neurosurgeon and clinical professor at the University of Pittsburgh. “But there’s always risk. Some choose to retire, some continue to play.”   “One certainty is that if the fusion occurs properly, there won’t be a problem with those two vertebrae again. Of all the cervical fusions that have been done on NFL players, not a single one has failed.”

Doctor Andrew Dossett, a spine consultant for the Dallas Cowboys and a former football player at the University of Southern California is quoted as saying “Once fused, then it’s game over, It’s behind a block of bone. Nothing is going to happen to it.”   Both doctors have said that Collins should regain full range of motion in his neck with a single-level fusion.

Collins, 28 underwent a series of tests in New York two weeks ago, the outcome of which haven’t been made public, and are scheduled to be released later this week.  Those results will determine if Collins will be medically cleared to continue playing out his NFL career.   My question is not if he should play, because only he can make that difficult call. But with all signs pointing to him being medically cleared, should the Dallas Cowboys take a chance and sign him to an incentive based contract to patrol the middle of the field in Rob Ryan’s defense?   The answer can only be a resounding YES.

In my opinion, the addition of a healthy Collins will give the Cowboys the best secondary in the NFL and will advance their defense light years from where it was at the end of the 2011 season.   I would equate the signing of Collins to the one of former Pittsburgh Steeler Thomas Everett, who was added to a young Dallas secondary in the 1992 offseason and along with Charles Haley was viewed as the missing veteran player that made the Cowboys defense one of the best ever, leading to a Super Bowl title 20 years ago.

So remember to pay attention later this week to the news on Collins test results and career decision.  If Collins decides to continue playing, although it will be at great risk, he is the missing piece in Dallas and will be viewed by many Cowboy fans as the true risk/reward story of the upcoming 2012 NFL season.