Even though the Dallas seems to have survived a forgettable month of Brad Johnson and Brooks Bollinger and are now back in the playoff race, former Cowboys running back and ESPN wordsmith Emmitt Smith is still disappointed in the team that won 13 games last year.
"Mediocre." ... "[I'm] disappointed because I saw this team being a lot better than it is," Smith said. "Chemistry has a lot to do with it. And for some reason, the chemistry of the Cowboys this year has been thrown off a little bit.
"Either there's too much salt in the gumbo or not enough meat in the gumbo. Something's wrong. Whatever it is, they need to get it corrected. It's just been a blah kind of season for me."
Bottom line: there's something wrong with the gumbo. Smith is right, though, chemistry has been an issue; according to an unnamed PFW.com source, "a faction of the players that feels that Pacman Jones' presence could throw off the chemistry and positive swagger that the Cowboys have worked hard to regain."
Smith also points out that Dallas beating San Francisco and Seattle -- two teams they were supposed to beat -- is hardly reason to assume they've fixed the midseason problems. In fact, it sounds like he's still hung up on how a promising 2007 campaign ended so abruptly.
"My last memory of the Cowboys being absolutely physical was when they got hit in the mouth by the Washington Redskins last year. Then they turned around and got hit in the mouth again by the New York Giants [in the playoffs]. That's not a good memory."
Wade Phillips agrees. We'll find out Sunday afternoon if Dallas' new gumbo recipe is any good; they travel to Pittsburgh to face a physical Steelers team in some pretty lousy conditions.
Emmitt Smith Is Disappointed in Cowboys, Calls 2008 Season 'Mediocre' originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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