Which NFL Team Will Be the Team of the Teens?

Who will be The Team of the Teens? By that, I do not mean the team of kids between 12 and 19. I mean the team that will outshine all others in the 2010—2019 decade. The team that will record multiple Super Bowl victories. The team everyone else will hate and emulate at the same time. The team that will define the decade.

In every decade, the NFL has unofficially declared one team the premier team. In the 1960s, it was the Green Bay Packers, with their hard-charging, single-minded head coach Vince Lombardi. The ’70s belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Terry Bradshaw, as they claimed four Super Bowl trophies to outshine the Dallas Cowboys, who made a remarkable five trips to the Super Bowl in that 10-year span, winning two.

The 1980s were all about The San Francisco 49ers; the emergence of the West Coast offense, the brainchild of their genius head coach Bill Walsh; and that skinny quarterback with the steely nerves and the indomitable will, Joe Montana.

The ’90s belonged to the lip-smacking, never-a-hair-out-of-place Jimmy Johnson; the brash new face of the NFL, Jerry Jones; the fair-haired, golden-armed Oklahoma kid from California, Troy Aikman; and the Dallas Cowboys in general. They won three Super Bowls in four years, the first time that had ever been done.

The first decade in the new century brought us Bill Belichick with his cut up sweatshirts and his unbelievable sixth round find, Tom Brady. The Brady Bunch won three consecutive Super Bowls. They then posted the first-ever perfect 16-0 regular season mark (the Dolphins’ perfect season was in the 14-game era), blew through the AFC playoffs, and then lost a heart-breaker to the upstart New York Giants.

So, who is next? Which team is poised to claim its very own decade and become part of that “greatest team ever” argument? To ascertain the likeliest candidates, it is first necessary to contemplate the formula. History suggests there is a predictor—a formula that seems too consistent to ignore.

Every team of the decade had a couple things in common: A relatively young coach coming into his own and establishing himself as a great leader/technician/motivator; a young superstar quarterback; a dominating (or at least very difficult to deal with) defense.

Consider…

• The 1960s Packers had Vince Lombardi, whose influence on the game was so significant they named the Super Bowl trophy after him, and Bart Starr. Now, Starr was not a sensational quarterback, but he was a great field general who understood and executed his coach’s offense to perfection.
• The 1970s Steelers had Chuck Knoll, who began a coaching tradition like no other there in the Steel City. They also had Terry Bradshaw and the Steel Curtain. The honorable mention Dallas Cowboys had a fellow named Tom Landry and a quarterback named Roger Staubach, not to mention DoomsDay I & II.
• The 1980s 49ers had Bill Walsh forever changing the game with his X’s and O’s and Joe Montana making his case for best quarterback ever. They had a salty defense led by the likes or Ronnie Lott, too.
• The 1990s Cowboys were lead by Jimmy Johnson, the first coach ever to win both a NCAA championship and a Super Bowl. They were led on the field by the unflappable Troy Aikman. And, they had a defense that was quick, nasty, and sometimes downright dominating.
• The 2000s Patriots. Belichick. Brady. Bruschi. What more need we say?

So, if we assume this formula works and is a pretty good indicator of things to come, which team currently stands poised to climb Mount Domination in the 2010s? Here are my top six candidates, beginning with No. 6:

No. 6: Cincinnati Bengals

I know. Carson Palmer is already a six-year veteran. The Bengals are good defensively, but not dominating. Marvin Lewis is not on many people’s “next coaching genius” list. Let’s not forget, however, that Lewis did help construct that Baltimore Ravens’ defense.

He did spend valuable time on that Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching staff. Carson Palmer is a strong-armed quarterback with more than sufficient skills to get the job done. Chad Ochocinco is no slouch. The running game has found its legs.

Most importantly, this beleaguered franchise has the taste of victory fresh in its mouth.

 

No. 5: Arizona Cardinals

The biggest missing piece here is the young quarterback. What they have at QB right now is pure greatness. Kurt Warner is also nearing Methuselah’s age. The other pieces are in place, though.

Coach Whisenhunt has already made his mark on the team, getting them into last year’s Super Bowl, and coming within a Roethlisberger drive of winning it. The defense can be stingy and opportunistic. The receiving corps is as good as any in football.

And…the team finally believes it can.

 

No. 4: Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco is the X-factor here. Will he become more than a game manager? Will he be a play-maker? John Harbaugh, like his brother, appears to be the real deal. He could be the kind of young coach that makes his mark on the league. The defensive tradition in Baltimore is already well established and must simply be replenished.

 

No. 3: Green Bay Packers

The long shadow of Brett Favre is withering as the traitorous legend leads the Packers’ arch enemy into the playoffs. It is withering because of the play of  their Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It is withering because the Packers’ defense ranks ninth in points allowed and second in yardage yielded. It is withering because Head Coach Mike McCarthy has his team poised and focused on the future, rather than dwelling on the past.

Could that future include another “team of the decade” for the citizens of the diminutive city of champions to cherish? It could.

 

No. 2: Dallas Cowboys

OK. Call me a homer, but I like where this team sits right now. The unknown quotient is a biggie: namely, who will be the coach going forward? The quarterback Tony Romo, however, I believe, is poised to become one of the league’s best. He has already set a number of team records in just his third full year as a starter.

This is no small thing when you consider he holds the position held by guys named Meredith, Staubach, White, and Aikman.

The defense, under the guidance of current coach Wade Phillips has begun to assert itself, keeping some of the league’s most potent offensive attacks in check. Most of the defense is young. In fact, apart from the aging offensive line, most of the team is fairly young.

The Cowboys could be set to do that every-other-decade thing they do. It all depends on Jerry and the choice he makes at head coach.

 

No. 1: New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees and Sean Payton have proved a lethal duo. This team hangs basketball-like numbers on opponents with a good deal of regularity. And now, they have Gregg Williams running the defense.

The Saints have already come within a game of the Super Bowl a couple seasons ago. They have gotten the home-field advantage for themselves in the current playoffs. They are young, hungry, and poised to become a force for the next eight to 10 years.

Of course, plenty of other teams could have something to say about this. The Redskins may finally be headed in the right direction with the changes in front office leadership. The Colts and Patriots are still quality, well-oiled machines with quarterbacks whose names are already legendary and will be forever in any argument about the best to ever play the game. I like where the Texans are. The 49ers have the right coach in place, I believe.

My honorable mention team, however, is Norv Turner’s San Diego Chargers. Phillip Rivers and Company are—and should continue to be—a force with which to be reckoned.

It is conceivable that this will be the decade dominated by parity, that no team will assert itself. The magic wand may pass from hand to hand, team to team, city to city. History, however, suggests some team somewhere will emerge as the team to beat.

It could be yours.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Which NFL Team Will Be the Team of the Teens?

Who will be The Team of the Teens? By that, I do not mean the team of kids between 12 and 19. I mean the team that will outshine all others in the 2010—2019 decade. The team that will record multiple Super Bowl victories. The team everyone else will hate and emulate at the same time. The team that will define the decade.

In every decade, the NFL has unofficially declared one team the premier team. In the 1960s, it was the Green Bay Packers, with their hard-charging, single-minded head coach Vince Lombardi. The ’70s belonged to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Terry Bradshaw, as they claimed four Super Bowl trophies to outshine the Dallas Cowboys, who made a remarkable five trips to the Super Bowl in that 10-year span, winning two.

The 1980s were all about The San Francisco 49ers; the emergence of the West Coast offense, the brainchild of their genius head coach Bill Walsh; and that skinny quarterback with the steely nerves and the indomitable will, Joe Montana.

The ’90s belonged to the lip-smacking, never-a-hair-out-of-place Jimmy Johnson; the brash new face of the NFL, Jerry Jones; the fair-haired, golden-armed Oklahoma kid from California, Troy Aikman; and the Dallas Cowboys in general. They won three Super Bowls in four years, the first time that had ever been done.

The first decade in the new century brought us Bill Belichick with his cut up sweatshirts and his unbelievable sixth round find, Tom Brady. The Brady Bunch won three consecutive Super Bowls. They then posted the first-ever perfect 16-0 regular season mark (the Dolphins’ perfect season was in the 14-game era), blew through the AFC playoffs, and then lost a heart-breaker to the upstart New York Giants.

So, who is next? Which team is poised to claim its very own decade and become part of that “greatest team ever” argument? To ascertain the likeliest candidates, it is first necessary to contemplate the formula. History suggests there is a predictor—a formula that seems too consistent to ignore.

Every team of the decade had a couple things in common: A relatively young coach coming into his own and establishing himself as a great leader/technician/motivator; a young superstar quarterback; a dominating (or at least very difficult to deal with) defense.

Consider…

• The 1960s Packers had Vince Lombardi, whose influence on the game was so significant they named the Super Bowl trophy after him, and Bart Starr. Now, Starr was not a sensational quarterback, but he was a great field general who understood and executed his coach’s offense to perfection.
• The 1970s Steelers had Chuck Knoll, who began a coaching tradition like no other there in the Steel City. They also had Terry Bradshaw and the Steel Curtain. The honorable mention Dallas Cowboys had a fellow named Tom Landry and a quarterback named Roger Staubach, not to mention DoomsDay I & II.
• The 1980s 49ers had Bill Walsh forever changing the game with his X’s and O’s and Joe Montana making his case for best quarterback ever. They had a salty defense led by the likes or Ronnie Lott, too.
• The 1990s Cowboys were lead by Jimmy Johnson, the first coach ever to win both a NCAA championship and a Super Bowl. They were led on the field by the unflappable Troy Aikman. And, they had a defense that was quick, nasty, and sometimes downright dominating.
• The 2000s Patriots. Belichick. Brady. Bruschi. What more need we say?

So, if we assume this formula works and is a pretty good indicator of things to come, which team currently stands poised to climb Mount Domination in the 2010s? Here are my top six candidates, beginning with No. 6:

No. 6: Cincinnati Bengals

I know. Carson Palmer is already a six-year veteran. The Bengals are good defensively, but not dominating. Marvin Lewis is not on many people’s “next coaching genius” list. Let’s not forget, however, that Lewis did help construct that Baltimore Ravens’ defense.

He did spend valuable time on that Pittsburgh Steelers’ coaching staff. Carson Palmer is a strong-armed quarterback with more than sufficient skills to get the job done. Chad Ochocinco is no slouch. The running game has found its legs.

Most importantly, this beleaguered franchise has the taste of victory fresh in its mouth.

 

No. 5: Arizona Cardinals

The biggest missing piece here is the young quarterback. What they have at QB right now is pure greatness. Kurt Warner is also nearing Methuselah’s age. The other pieces are in place, though.

Coach Whisenhunt has already made his mark on the team, getting them into last year’s Super Bowl, and coming within a Roethlisberger drive of winning it. The defense can be stingy and opportunistic. The receiving corps is as good as any in football.

And…the team finally believes it can.

 

No. 4: Baltimore Ravens

Joe Flacco is the X-factor here. Will he become more than a game manager? Will he be a play-maker? John Harbaugh, like his brother, appears to be the real deal. He could be the kind of young coach that makes his mark on the league. The defensive tradition in Baltimore is already well established and must simply be replenished.

 

No. 3: Green Bay Packers

The long shadow of Brett Favre is withering as the traitorous legend leads the Packers’ arch enemy into the playoffs. It is withering because of the play of  their Pro Bowl quarterback Aaron Rodgers. It is withering because the Packers’ defense ranks ninth in points allowed and second in yardage yielded. It is withering because Head Coach Mike McCarthy has his team poised and focused on the future, rather than dwelling on the past.

Could that future include another “team of the decade” for the citizens of the diminutive city of champions to cherish? It could.

 

No. 2: Dallas Cowboys

OK. Call me a homer, but I like where this team sits right now. The unknown quotient is a biggie: namely, who will be the coach going forward? The quarterback Tony Romo, however, I believe, is poised to become one of the league’s best. He has already set a number of team records in just his third full year as a starter.

This is no small thing when you consider he holds the position held by guys named Meredith, Staubach, White, and Aikman.

The defense, under the guidance of current coach Wade Phillips has begun to assert itself, keeping some of the league’s most potent offensive attacks in check. Most of the defense is young. In fact, apart from the aging offensive line, most of the team is fairly young.

The Cowboys could be set to do that every-other-decade thing they do. It all depends on Jerry and the choice he makes at head coach.

 

No. 1: New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees and Sean Payton have proved a lethal duo. This team hangs basketball-like numbers on opponents with a good deal of regularity. And now, they have Gregg Williams running the defense.

The Saints have already come within a game of the Super Bowl a couple seasons ago. They have gotten the home-field advantage for themselves in the current playoffs. They are young, hungry, and poised to become a force for the next eight to 10 years.

Of course, plenty of other teams could have something to say about this. The Redskins may finally be headed in the right direction with the changes in front office leadership. The Colts and Patriots are still quality, well-oiled machines with quarterbacks whose names are already legendary and will be forever in any argument about the best to ever play the game. I like where the Texans are. The 49ers have the right coach in place, I believe.

My honorable mention team, however, is Norv Turner’s San Diego Chargers. Phillip Rivers and Company are—and should continue to be—a force with which to be reckoned.

It is conceivable that this will be the decade dominated by parity, that no team will assert itself. The magic wand may pass from hand to hand, team to team, city to city. History, however, suggests some team somewhere will emerge as the team to beat.

It could be yours.

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Open Letter From Jerry Jones to Wade Phillips: Even Love Has Its Limits

My Dearest Wade,

I have noticed how giddy you have been during our alone time lately. It warms my heart to see you so happy…especially at Christmas.

I know you had hoped to find a contract extension in your stocking. Please don’t think I am a Grinch for not putting it there. Besides, everybody loves an Applebee’s gift card. Take your lovely family out to dinner on me and have a nice, fat, juicy steak for yourself. You deserve it.

I cannot express how much it means to me to have beaten the previously undefeated Saints. They were just way too full of themselves. It was especially sweet because that coach, what’s-his-name, the one who used to languish anonymously on our staff when Purcells (I know it is PAR·cells, but I always said it pur·CELLS, just to tick off the overrated Tuna) was making me and everybody else around here miserable as heck.

Isn’t it just wonderful how that smug S.O.B. is under .500 and about to miss the playoffs, while that little Tuna Helper up there in the Big Easy—and it was easy, wasn’t it? Like taking candy from a baby—gets knocked off his “I’m a football genius” pedestal?

But anyway, I digress. Back to your giddiness. I know you heard my interview with the Sunday Night Football bunch and got all excited. I know you think it means that an extension of your contract is inevitable. But did you really listen to what I said? Did you hear what I didn’t say?

Let me remind you of my words:

“When I look at our team and I look where our needs are and where our input needs to be, I like Wade Phillips’ skills there. I just want for him and for our Cowboys fans to culminate in a Super Bowl run.

“There’s nothing in me right now that wants to make a coaching change, that thinks we need to make a coaching change. I want that feeling ratified by some success and we’re at the cusp, maybe, of being able to have it.”

So, yes, my dear Wade, I did confess my love for you.

Of course I like having you for my coach. You don’t suck like Chan Gailey or Dave Campo. You aren’t disinterested like Barry Switzer. You know football, but you don’t insist on actually being the coach the way Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells did. You are perfect for me. You let me be the coach when I want to be, but never call attention to the fact that I am doing it. You…complete me.

I love you, Wade. But even love has its limits.

You will note in my words that I said I wanted this thing to “culminate (get your mind out of the gutter) in a Super Bowl run,” and I mean it. I say it is for the fans, but you know it is really for me. My legacy is in danger. Those three Super Bowls in the ’90s and all the goodwill they bought me are no longer enough currency to stave off a mutiny if we don’t win a playoff game soon. You hear me, Wade? A playoff game, damn you!

No more of this “well, we finished in the top eight” crap, either. You make yourself look like a loser and an idiot, and that hurts me, because it makes me look like a fool for loving you.

Am I a fool, Wade? I don’t think so. I want this feeling ratified. Justify my love, Wade. Gratify my ego, Wade. Satisfy our fans, Wade.

Or we are through.

Happy New Year.

I remain…

 

Your Biggest (and sometimes only) Fan,

Jerry Jones

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Dallas Cowboys Should Be Patient with Jason Garrett

Many have clamored for Jason Garrett’s termination; I have not.

Some have noted a dearth of Jason Garrett criticism in my writing. While I have called Wade Phillips everything, but something good to eat and have been vocal on the notion that he is not the type of head coach this team (or any team with an eye toward the ultimate prize) needs. I have been less inclined to cram an editorial boot up the proverbial arse of the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator.

The reason for this apparent discrepancy is simple: I believe that Wade Phillips’ body of work as a head coach is sufficient to deem him unsuitable to take a team to an elite status and keep it there for any length of time. He has shown that his leadership skills are as wanting as his defensive schemes skills are effective.

He has managed to post a better-than-average regular season record (79-54), but has never won a single playoff game as a head coach.

Jason Garrett, on the other hand, is still young and relatively new to the position of offensive coordinator. Phillips is past 60 and set in his ways. He is what he is and that is what he is going to be. Garrett is 43 and still growing and developing as a coordinator.

Sure, there have been misfires. At times, it has appeared that Garrett lacked the ability to adjust on the fly. Sometimes, he has appeared to get stuck in one mode or another or he has worked too hard to shoehorn one player or another into the game plan.

Of course, the position of armchair offensive coordinator is quite easy. Any informed football fan can fill it. When you have the benefit of hindsight and the knowledge of how a play,a drive, or a game plan actually worked or failed to work, it is not difficult to draw up a better scheme in your mind.

But let’s not overlook the positive impact he has had on Tony Romo and the Cowboys’ offense.

Remember, it was just a season ago that Garrett was the hottest head coach prospect in the NFL. He was courted by the Baltimore Ravens and the Atlanta Falcons and it was reported he could have taken either of those jobs. The prospects of losing Garrett prompted Jones to make him the highest paid assistant coach in the NFL (and in the history of the league, for that matter). Phillips promoted Garrett, naming him assistant head coach.

Though it was denied, many assumed at the time that Jones and Garrett had some sort of gentleman’s agreement that made the highly-regarded coordinator the de facto head coach-in-waiting for the Dallas Cowboys.

Unfortunately Garrett’s freshman season, which saw him mold, guide, and direct one of the NFL’s most prolific offenses and help the Cowboys to a 13-3 regular season record, was followed by a sophomore flop. The 2008 edition of the Cowboys collapsed and crumbled at season’s end, closing out the season with humiliating losses to the Ravens and the Eagles.

They finished the season 9-7 and missed the playoffs entirely. Furthermore, after being ranked second in the NFL in points per game and third in yardage in 2007, the Cowboys fell to 18th and 13th respectively in ’08.

Suddenly, Jason Garrett’s rising star was seen more as a plummeting, gaseous meteorite, crashing into the Cowboys’ shiny new home. Crash and burn; yesterday’s hero became today’s goat.

”Get rid of the bum,” has been the cry of many.

Never mind that Tony Romo’s play has continued to improve and impress. The oft-maligned quarterback has now gone four consecutive games without throwing a pick for the first time in his career.

Never mind that an undrafted free agent wide receiver,Miles Austin,has begun to establish himself as one of the league’s best. Never mind that the running game has appeared formidable at times and unstoppable at others.

Never mind that the offense is currently ranked third in the NFL in yards gained. Never mind that we have never seen a team run a better draw play.

Never mind that every week Garrett shows a new wrinkle. Remember that play on the goal line against the Chargers, where they faked a screen pass on each side and then hit a wide open Patrick Crayton in the end zone?

It is true that the offense has stalled in the red zone more than a time or two. It is true that more than a few drives have ended with a deflating missed field goal by former kicker Nick Folk. It is true that the team’s point production does not jibe with the massive amounts of yardage they have racked up.

It is also true that patience is a virtue. It was not that many years ago that Sean Payton, the current offensive genius in the league, was being stripped of his play-calling duties in New York. Think anyone thought then that he would be what is he now?

Like Payton, Garrett has shown himself to possess an innovative offensive mind. Like Payton, Garrett appears to be a steadying influence on the sideline. Like Payton, Garrett has had to fight his way through the on the job learning curve.

I believe that, like Payton, Garrett will soon prove himself to be the winner we all believed he was in 2007. In fact, I am not entirely convinced that he is not the right man to take the helm in Dallas when Jerry finally says goodbye to Phillips. How is that for a minority opinion? The Republicans will get more say on health care than I will get supporters on that one, I am sure.

I know that after 13 years of frustration, Cowboys fans are not inclined to patience. That particular virtue is wearing thin. But, where Jason Garrett is concerned, it will pay off.

Believe that.

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Twas The Night Before Christmas In Cowboys Land

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the stands
Not a person was cheering, not one single fan.
They all held their breath in the brisk night air,
And wondered if Santa would bypass them this year.

Their faces were painted all silver and blue,
With streaks of flesh-color from a stray tear or two.
And mom in her Nine jersey, and me in my cap,
Hoped our team would not go for that long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn I heard the snow splatter
And sprang from my chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a news paper predicting another bad year.

With a flick of his pen, and his sharp-edged wit,
The writer predicted the team would just quit.
He called to my memory Christmases past,
And he smirked and insisted, “This winning won’t last!”

“Now Phillips! now, Romo! now, Garrett and Witten!
And Newman, and Spencer, they’ll all be a-quittin’!
So don’t get your hopes up, you silly old fan,
These guys will collapse and disappoint you again!”

With dry lips and wet eyes, I read on with a sigh,
Who’s this fool anyway? Just a regular guy.
Not Nostradamus anymore than I.
So I rolled up that paper and started a fire.

And then with a sigh, I said to St. Nick
Come rescue this season and come do it quick.
Surely you’ve room in that magical sleigh,
To bring us a victory this coming Sunday.

We will leave the roof open so you can get in,
And we’ll greet you with shouting and clamoring din.
And we’ll hear you exclaim as you take off again,
“Merry Christmas to all…except you Redskins.”

 

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Twas The Night Before Christmas In Cowboys Land

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the stands
Not a person was cheering, not one single fan.
They all held their breath in the brisk night air,
And wondered if Santa would bypass them this year.

Their faces were painted all silver and blue,
With streaks of flesh-color from a stray tear or two.
And mom in her Nine jersey, and me in my cap,
Hoped our team would not go for that long winter’s nap.

When out on the lawn I heard the snow splatter
And sprang from my chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a news paper predicting another bad year.

With a flick of his pen, and his sharp-edged wit,
The writer predicted the team would just quit.
He called to my memory Christmases past,
And he smirked and insisted, “This winning won’t last!”

“Now Phillips! now, Romo! now, Garrett and Witten!
And Newman, and Spencer, they’ll all be a-quittin’!
So don’t get your hopes up, you silly old fan,
These guys will collapse and disappoint you again!”

With dry lips and wet eyes, I read on with a sigh,
Who’s this fool anyway? Just a regular guy.
Not Nostradamus anymore than I.
So I rolled up that paper and started a fire.

And then with a sigh, I said to St. Nick
Come rescue this season and come do it quick.
Surely you’ve room in that magical sleigh,
To bring us a victory this coming Sunday.

We will leave the roof open so you can get in,
And we’ll greet you with shouting and clamoring din.
And we’ll hear you exclaim as you take off again,
“Merry Christmas to all…except you Redskins.”

 

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The Worst of Times: The Dallas Cowboys’ Deflating Decade

It was the best of times (for some). It was the worst of times (for them).

And so it ends. In a few days hence, just like that, the clock strikes midnight, Dec. 31, 2009, and the first decade of the 21st Century draws to an end.

It came in like a lion, with the threat of worldwide computer failure—the presumed result of the Y2K bug that so many experts feared would cripple the computers of the world, impacting everything from drinking water to banking systems. (Of course, the whole thing was much ado about nothing.)

It came in like a lion, as just one year into the decade, on the 11th day of the ninth month, terror struck at the heart of America. No one would ever utter the phrase 9/11 the same way again.

And now, with Congress locked in what seems an interminable debate over health care reform, with the economy stuck in the deep freeze of recession, with the election of the first black president and the declaration of Camelot II already losing its luster…this decade goes out like a lamb, slipping into the vault of human history, waiting its turn to be prodded, analyzed, labeled, and forever put on the shelf—another volume in the ever-expanding library of Father Time.

But what, you ask, of the NFL?

For the National Football League, the 2000s (old timers would call this decade The Aughts) will be remembered as the decade of dominance. The league took center stage on the American sports scene, easily outdistancing Major League Baseball to become America’s new pastime.

Glorious new stadiums rose like mighty Sphinxes from the earth to be filled to the brim and boiling over with fans eager to spend their disposable income—and their children’s inheritance, if need be—to be entertained by the American Gladiators, otherwise known as NFL players.

The team of the decade? The New England Patriots, of course.

For the Patriots, it was the best of times. They became the second team to win three Super Bowls in four years. They became the first NFL team to finish the regular season 16–0. They came within a miraculous Eli Manning-led drive of becoming only the second team in history to log an undefeated season, capped with the Super Bowl championship. Under the guidance of the derelict-looking genius head coach—and known cheater—Bill Belichick, the Patriots put together as good a decade as any team ever did.

But what, you wonder, of the Dallas Cowboys?

Ah, now we get to the meat of this New Year’s Eve dinner. You waded through this lengthy introduction to get down to the nitty gritty: How about them Cowboys?

Unfortunately, my anxious friend with the quiver in your voice and the gleam of hope in your eye, for your Cowboys, the Aughts (OK, the 2000s) were the worst of times.

Any way you slice it, the fifth decade of the NFL’s flagship franchise was as forgettable as a Friday night at home. It was far and away the worst decade in team history. Not a single Lombardi Trophy was added to the collection at Valley Ranch. In fact, there was not so much as a playoff victory to add to team lore.

The decade began with a volatile little madman named Dave Campo ranting and raving on the sideline and will conclude with the docile, doughy, take-it-all-in-stride Wade Phillips wandering aimlessly through another so-so season, all while relishing moral victories and congratulating his team on “fighting hard.”

Sandwiched between them was the football genius—if you don’t believe me on the “genius” part, ask him or anyone from New Jersey—Bill Parcells, doing his dead-level best to maneuver around the interferences of Jerry Jones to return the franchise to its rightful place of football glory.

Parcells failed to manage glory, but he did at least restore a level of respectability and left in his wake a roster many describe as being “as talented as any team in football.” (Maybe they are. If so, what a sad indictment on the whole team, from management to coaching to the players on the field. Such underachievement.)

I see the doubt on your face. You just cannot believe that, as bad as it was, this was the worst decade in team history. Fine. I will break it down, decade by decade.

Are your sitting down? Here goes…

 

The 1960s

Coach: Tom Landry

Record: 67 – 65 – 6

Winning Percentage: 50.7%

Playoffs: Four times

Championships: None

Remember now, this decade includes the birth of the franchise—and that first 0-11-1 season of theirs. The Cowboys did not even have the benefit of a draft their first year but were forced to pick up the castoffs and leftovers from the established franchises in order to field a team.

Still, with the steady hand of the fedora-topped Tom Landry at the helm, the Cowboys would play in their first Conference championship game in 1966. They would make the Conference championship again in 1967 and would make the divisional round in ’68 and ’69.

 

The 1970s

Coach: Tom Landry

Record: 105 – 39 – 0

Winning Percentage: 75.9%

Playoffs: NINE times!

Championships: Two

The 1970s Dallas Cowboys were as much the team of the decade as the Steelers. Their ridiculous winning percentage, their nine trips to the playoffs in those 10 years, their five Super Bowl appearances and two championships all put them in the rarefied air of a true dynasty. The ’70s Cowboys were 13-7 in playoff games.

 

The 1980s

Coaches: Tom Landry, Jimmy Johnson

Record: 79 – 73 – 0

Winning Percentage: 51.9%

Playoffs: Five times

Championships: None

The 1980s saw the ascendancy of Danny White to starting quarterback, due to Roger Staubach’s retirement after the ’79 season. The decade also saw the greatest run of winning football in league history finally come to an end, as Landry’s team aged and poor drafts led to the dilution of talent near the end of the decade.

The decade ended with the brash Arkansas wildcatter named Jerry Jones storming into Dallas, buying the team, and summarily firing the greatest—and most revered—legend in the city’s history, Tom Landry. The decade that began with three trips to the NFC championship game would end with Jimmy Johnson cleaning house and going 1-15 in his initial season, featuring, essentially, a bunch of rag-tag vagabonds and a rookie quarterback named Troy Aikman.

 

The 1990s

Coaches: Jimmy Johnson, Barry Switzer, Chan Gailey

Record: 101 – 59 – 0

Winning Percentage: 63.1%

Playoffs: Eight times

Championships: Three

The ’70s Cowboys can be argued to be one of the teams of that decade, but you might not win the argument if it is conducted against a Steelers fan flashing four Super Bowl rings in your face.

The ’90s Cowboys, however, were without question the team of their decade. To that point, no team in modern NFL history had been so dominant. No team had ever won three Super Bowls in four years.

Led by Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin—the Triplets—that team left an indelible mark on NFL history. They were so good that even a coaching change from Jimmy Johnson to Barry Switzer could not deter them from winning it all.

 

The 2000s

Coaches: Dave Campo, Bill Parcells, Wade Phillips

*Record: 79 – 74 – 0

*Winning Percentage: 51.6%

*Playoffs: Three times

*Championships: None

*These figures are through Week 13 of the 2009 season. The Cowboys’ final record and playoff fate is yet to be decided.

In every decade before the 2000s, the Dallas Cowboys contended for multiple championships. In two of those four decades, they won multiple championships. But from the years 2000 to 2009, unless the football gods are crazy or go on extended holiday at this, the end of the ’09 season, the Cowboys will finish having never contended for a single championship. In fact, they have not so much as posted a playoff victory in 13 years.

Before this decade began, Cowboys fans considered the 1980s to be the Dark Ages of team history, with the ultimate demise of the Schramm/Landry regime, and that dreadful 1–15 season at the end of that decade. Compared to the so-so product Jerry Jones and Company have put on the field over the past 10 years, however, the 1980s look like the halcyon days of team history.

 

Soon it will be New Year’s Eve, and around the world people will raise a glass of Champagne to toast the New Year. Some will drink to remember; others to forget. And then they will sing together that old Scottish refrain…

Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot and auld lang syne?

And, if you are a Cowboys fan…and if the “old acquaintance” is The Aughts…the answer will be a resounding “Yes! Let’s forget all about it, the whole thing. Just…forget it.”

And then raise your glass and toast a new year, a new decade, a new head coach, a new direction…and new hope.

Maybe, just maybe, the best of times are yet to come.

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Dallas Cowboys–New Orleans Saints: Get Your Bags Ready

Do the Dallas Cowboys have a chance of beating the New Orleans Saints Saturday?

No matter how many times I ask myself that question, I cannot make it so it doesn’t sound weird, even surreal.

Think about it.

Here we have two franchises on the opposite end of the success spectrum. One of them has been to eight Super Bowls and has won five of them. That team has been a fixture in the NFL playoffs for most of their fifty years in the league. The other has been, historically, the picture of ineptitude, failure, and disappointment. They have seldom ventured into the playoffs and only once advanced as far as the conference championship.

The Cowboys entered the league in 1960. They have been to the playoffs 29 times. They have won their conference eight times. They have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy five times. The Saints were born in 1967. They have made the playoffs a grand total of six times in 42 years.

Yet here we are. The first team, the one with more Lombardi hardware than any team not located in Pittsburgh (six-time champs) or San Francisco (five-time champions, tied with the Cowboys for second most all-time), is the team that—according to most—has little chance of beating the Saints. The Saints! (Wasn’t it the Saints whose futility once inspired their fans to wear bags on their heads?)

My, how fortunes have changed. How the mighty have fallen. How the vanquished have risen from the ashes to become the envy of the league.

How did this happen?

The answer is as simple as team management. One owner made an excellent hire at head coach and turned him loose. The other made a questionable hire, and then put his thumb on him. One owner traded for a guy named Drew Brees. The other mortgaged the farm for Roy Williams. One team is inventive and dynamic on offense and opportunistic on defense; the other is predictable with the ball and inept at taking it away when their opponent has it.

From the historical perspective, it seems silly to ask whether a Cowboys team has a chance against the Saints. Based on the two teams’ current status, it is even sillier to answer that question with a “Yes.”

Sure, this is the NFL, the “Any Given Sunday” league. Sure, the Cowboys are desperate for a win—you might even say any prayer they have of making the playoffs depends on it. Sure, the undefeated Saints are human (we assume).

But when you consider the various phases of the game, who do you like? Would you bet on the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator Jason Garrett over the Saints’ defensive guru, Gregg Williams? Would you bet on Wade Phillips’ defense to solve Sean Payton’s high-flying offense? Do you like Nick Folk kicking a game-winning field goal, if it should come to that?

The Saints’ winningest head coach? Jim “Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs” Mora with 93 wins. It took him 15 seasons to get that many. The Cowboys’ Tom Landry, an NFL legend, won 250 games in 28 years at the helm. But Tom Landry has gone on to his reward and Jim Mora has gone on to become a beer commercial legend. Which leaves us with Wade Phillips versus Sean Payton.

Prediction? The Saints get another win and take one more step towards that magical undefeated season, while the Cowboys suffer yet another December loss and are forced to wait yet another season or ten to get a shot at that sixth Super Bowl victory.

The bags are off the heads of Saints fans for the foreseeable future.

So, Cowboys fans—paper or plastic?

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Game, Set, Match: Cowboys Lose More Than a Game Against The Chargers

Out-manned. Outplayed. Out-coached. Out of options.

The Dallas Cowboys entered today’s game against Norv Turner’s San Diego Chargers with no margin for error. Then, with a first down on the San Diego goal line and four runs up the gut, each one stuffed by a charged up Charger’s defensive front, they committed the first major error of the day…and the one—along with another missed field goal by Nick Folk—that would leave them on the short end of a 20-17 final score.

Once again, the Cowboys’ running attack was able to chew up big chunks of yards, but then proved inept at the goal line. Once again, the defense played well, but not quite well enough—especially when they needed to get a stop in the fourth quarter and instead gave up a clock-eating, six-minutes-and-change drive. Consequently, the Dallas Cowboys lost another December contest.

The loss of the game could prove to be a minor detail in light of the fact that the Cowboys’ best player on either side of the ball, DeMarcus Ware, suffered a serious enough injury to require being strapped to a gurney and carted off the field and to a local hospital. The initial reports appear hopeful, but Ware’s immediate future and return will remain in doubt for awhile.

Meanwhile, as the Chargers charge through another December (they are now 16 – 0 in the month of December under Norv Turner), the Cowboys stagger into New Orleans next Saturday, currently the toughest place in the NFL for a visitor to get a win.

The Cowboys, to be sure, remain in the thick of things where the NFC East and the wildcard are concerned. However, they no longer have absolute control of their destiny. Should the Eagles beat the Giants, Philadelphia will move into first place in the division. If the Giants win, things are all knotted up in a three-team tussle that will likely not sort itself out until week seventeen.

Jerry Jones was visibly upset in his owner’s box after the Chargers kicked the field goal with less than two minutes left in the fourth quarter, essentially sealing the victory. He appeared to toss his pen or some other object. Another week, another squandered opportunity by his team to improve their playoff prospects. It may finally be too much for even Jerry to justify keeping Phillips around another year.

So, the Cowboys lose a game. They lose sole possession of first place in the NFC East. They potentially lose their best player. Jones loses his composure. Could it be that the Teflon coach will finally lose his job?

If another miserable December means no more Wade Phillips excuses, this loss may prove to be addition by subtraction…and no real loss at all.

 

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Cowboys – Chargers: Collision At The Crossroads

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. – Robert Frost

The Dallas Cowboys  are 8-4, and as coach Wade Phillips reminded the media, that makes them winners. Unfortunately, their foe Sunday, the San Diego Chargers, are 9 – 3, riding a hot streak, and, well, they, too, are winners.

The two teams, though they seldom meet—this is only their ninth meeting—have plenty of history. Norv Turner, the Chargers’ coach, is a former offensive coordinator for the Cowboys. Wade Phillips is the former defensive coordinator for the Chargers. Both men were strongly considered for the coaching position in Dallas after Bill Parcells left. Most thought Turner would be Jerry Jones’s choice.

He wasn’t. Phillips was. Jones figured he had the offense covered with Jason Garrett (who was a hot commodity at the time, you may recall). What he needed, in his mind, was someone to whip the defense into shape. Wade has done that.

Phillips has also posted a nice winning percentage with the Cowboys…especially if you do not count December or the playoffs. Dallas’s December woes are well chronicled and much debated. Meanwhile, Turner’s Chargers are 15 – 0 in December. Turner’s team made the conference championship in 2007, losing to the New England Patriots. They made the Divisional round last year and lost.

While the Chargers try to figure out how to take that next step and make the Super Bowl, The Cowboys are just trying to solve December and finally post a playoff win for the first time in thirteen years. The Chargers want to win this game; the Cowboys have to win it.

Phillip Rivers and company are as dangerous an offense as any this side of New Orleans. They create matchup problems all over the field, especially with Tight End Antonio Gates. The Dallas defense is playing well, though, currently ranked fifth in points allowed and 14^th in yards allowed per game.

The Cowboys’ high-octane offense, however, has not played as well in recent weeks. They run well one week, pass well the next, but haven’t put the two together in awhile.

Sunday’s game will come down to quarterback play, defense, and coaching. One might give an ever-so-slight edge to Phillip Rivers over Tony Romo, but it is razor-thin. Romo has played well this year, while Rivers is playing out of his mind. Defensively, you have to like Dallas. Phillips knows how to prepare a defense and call a game on that side of the ball. And he knows the Chargers.  

The coaching edge, it says here, belongs to Norv Turner, simply because he has proved he can get his team ready to play the games that matter most and get into the post-season, where he has had good success with the Chargers.

The wildcard may be Jason Garrett. If he can mix his game plan up enough to keep the Chargers off-balance and resist the urge to be cute when he needs to just be right, his offense could have a nice day against the Chargers, which ranks 15^th in points allowed and 12^th in yards given up.

The outcome of the game may very well determine Wade Phillips’s future with the Cowboys…and he knows it.

His margin for error is nonexistent after the loss last week to the Giants. Should his team lose its grip on the NFC East and fall into a wild card fight, or out of playoff contention entirely, he will need to dust off that resume.

The Chargers will come to play. Of that, there is little doubt. If the Cowboys do, as well, this could be the NFL game of the week. The series edge is decidedly in the Cowboys favor. They hold a 6 – 2 series edge over the Chargers. But this is not your daddy’s Chargers…or your momma’s Cowboys.

For Wade Phillips and his Dallas Cowboys, in light of recent late-season collapses, this is definitely the time for them to take that road less traveled.

Prediction: Cowboys win 27-24.

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