Well, it’s been fun, hasn’t it? I’ll have so many memories of this Dallas Cowboys 2010 season. Remember when Dez Bryant had to pay $55,000 for dinner? I think we all had a good laugh when that happened. And how about Jason Garrett calling 587 swing passes to Felix Jones against Minnesota? Oh, oh! And what about DeAngelo Hall getting a TD fumble return when the Cowboys should have taken a knee to end the first half? Precious, precious memories.
You don’t need me to tell you the season is over now. Tony Romo’s initial prognosis is six to eight weeks out of the lineup. But really, why would this team bother to throw Romo back in if they’re 3-9 come December? Seven of the Cowboys’ final 10 games are against teams with winning records. Even if Jon Kitna’s cadaver can lead Dallas to a handful of wins, they’re not getting out from under the Giants, Eagles, and Redskins. Romo’s not coming back until 2011, and he’ll have a new head coach showing him the ropes.
Oh, Wade. Wade, we will miss you so. You were such a nice man. You weren’t anything like Bill Parcells. That guy was a JERK! You’re kind, and sweet, and jolly, and that’s probably why you were an awful head coach. But we’ll miss you all the same. No one bounced down a sideline or stood there in disbelief at a penalty quite like you.
The Cowboys have had many a failed season since their last Super Bowl title, but this one probably irks Jerry Jones the most. The Double J had a vision of this team improving upon its playoff run last year, culminating in a Super Bowl appearance in their home stadium. There’s no hope of that now.
And that’s really the tragic part of this season, and in fact the entire Wade Phillips run. If the Cowboys had been better coached, they probably could have beaten the Skins, Titans, and Vikings. Then they might have been able to weather the loss of Romo. But this isn’t that kind of team. This is an emotionally immature team that will almost certainly go into a death spiral now that Romo is gone. It’s going to be a very long, drawn out two months. And it didn’t have to be this way. This team could have shown more resilience if Jerry Jones had hired a real coach, and not a marionette.
The question is: What happens next? With Romo back, this team is still playoff material in 2011. Will the Double J cede control to a big name coach like Bill Cowher in hopes of taking advantage? Or will he still insist on doing everything his way? If it’s the latter, expect another early obituary next season, and in the years beyond. In the meantime, HOW BOUT DEM RANGERS?!!
