666: The number of The Tuna

By Os Davis  |   Thursday, September 07, 2006  |  Comments( 6 )

Dallas Cowboys
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They say that football is a religion in Texas; anyone who was there during the reign of those mighty Cowboy teams of the 1990s knows firsthand that Dallas is the world's biggest shrine for the game. However, a new cult is certain to arise once armchair numerologists spread the word of Bill "Number Six" Parcells.

It was twenty years ago today when the Tuna taught the New York Giants winning play. Ten years ago, Parcells took a bunch of unheralded youngsters called the New England Patriots to a surprise Super Bowl bid. 1986, 1996, and ... 2006? The Lone Star State's superstitious are salivating.

The 1986 Giants were the culmination of Parcells' first four years as NFL head coach. A hapless 1983 team featured a couple of name linebackers - young Lawrence Taylor and old Brad van Pelt - and little else. These Giants went 3-12-1 under his direction, but turned that into a 9-7 the following year, 10-6 in 1985 and a dominant 14-2 in 1986.

The 1986 team featured the number one defense against the run and a running game led by Joe Morris, who earned 1,516 yards on 341 carries. Morris' 14 touchdowns outscored the top five wide receivers on the team combined. Phil Simms was the starting QB that year, recording an innocuous 55.3% completion rating and 22 interceptions against 21 TDs. Simms and Parcells would get the Giants their second ring four years later in Super Bowl XXV.

In 1993, the Tuna washed up on New England shores and found a similar situation. Going 5-11 that first year, Parcells had the Patriots Bowl-bound in - you guessed it - four years. Curtis Martin dominated in 1996, with 1,485 total yards and 17 TDs, more than all offensive players not named Ben Coates combined. Drew Bledsoe turned in a career year with over 4,000 yards passing and 27 TDs against 15 interceptions. Oh, and young Terry Glenn caught the ball 90 times for 1,132 yards.

In the off-season, the Cowboys captured the imagination of free-agency watchers by bolstering the offensive line's run blocking with Jason Fabini and Kyle Kosier and adding marquee names Mike Vanderjagt and Terrell Owens. Naturally, given the Tuna's recent attention span (four years in New England, three with the New York Jets), such signings prompted talk that Parcells might soon be departing Dallas, extended contract or no. Looking at Parcells' career path it is indeed difficult to imagine he'll stick around for 2007.

What can be gleaned from his past successes? Aside from the extremely cyclical Olympic path his teams seem to take, some common factors emerge.

First off is the running game. The Cowboys will most likely platoon at halfback with Julius Jones and Marion Barber, a system the Tuna didn't need to employ with Martin and Morris. A running-by-committee system is de rigueur this season in general but the 1990 Giants divided running chores as well, with Ottis Anderson carrying just 225 times that year and representing just 41% of rushing yardage. Parcells' desire to run the ball more often has been repeated throughout the preseason and the offseason moves reflect this desire nicely.

D has always been key to Parcells success, and this year's squad may boast the Cowboys' best squad off the ball since the Jimmy Johnson days. Most of the unit is young but not green, and has come up under Parcells' tutelage. Of course, much of the Tuna's accolades on this side of the ball are these days attributed to a guy whose legend may yet surpass that of Parcells', Bill Belichick. However, defensive coordinator Bill Zimmer is no slouch, having held the position in Dallas for some six years and boasts one ring as a member of the coaching squad for the Super Bowl XXX 'Boys.

And then there's the passing game. Most important here is that the hype about Tony Romo stealing the starting job away probably has no basis in fact whatsoever. Parcells has no scintillating reason to replace Bledsoe, the guy who has run up the most attempts and yards for Parcells than any other QB. The Bledsoe-Glenn tandem has connected for over 1,100 yards three times, the only instance Glenn has run up that many yards in his career.

Parcells has stated that T.O. won't be catching the ball nearly as frequently as he's used to, but if Glenn can run up a sick 18.3 yards per reception as he did last year, Owens could be just deadly enough at 65 or 70 receptions. The two receiver tandem should overcome the Cowboys' relative weakness at tight end. Guys like Mike Bavaro (1,001 yards in 1986) and Coates (nine TDs in 1996) had career years in Parcells offenses, but it's unlikely Jason Witten and Anthony Fasano will do more than heavy blocking this season. No matter: Bledsoe was sacked 49 times last season, way too much for an aspiring Super Bowl team.

All things - including history - considered, these Cowboys look primed for 2006. And if you're a fan of the 'Pokes, start searching the signs for 4's and 6's. Lots of 'em.

See if 2006 is the lucky number for Bill Parcells and his Dallas Cowboys on RealFootball365.com.
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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