No huge concerns, some questions for Cowboys

By Anthony Bialy  |   Monday, January 07, 2008  |  Comments( 8 )

Dallas Cowboys
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Is there anything about which the Cowboys should be worried? A well-earned extra week off before hosting a playoff game, two perks of dominating the conference, would indicate that they should be the unambiguous favorite heading into their upcoming matchup versus the Giants. Still, Dallas should be prepared for at least some adversity, namely a few specific issues it will have to overcome to get to the NFL semifinals:

1. The "It's hard to beat a team three times in a season" cliché. This platitude is dragged out in two sports during their respective postseasons, namely the NFL and college basketball. The Giants present a tough challenge, so what can the Cowboys do to ensure they don't suffer their first loss to this particular frequent opponent?

The key is to restrain the Giants from rolling on the ground. Dallas only conceded 94.6 yards per game rushing during the regular season, sixth best in the league, while it gave up a mediocre 213.1 yards on average through the air. The conventional defensive plan will be for the Cowboys to concentrate on stopping the rumbling Brandon Jacobs and rapidly emerging rookie Ahmad Bradshaw from running at will, letting the lesser of the Mannings try to beat them through the air.

Now, that's the strategy Tampa Bay unsuccessfully attempted, but the fact that the Buccaneers got away from their strength (finishing first overall in pass defense in the regular season) paired with Manning's inconsistency together mean that the Cowboys shouldn't modify their game plan just because it didn't work for the previous opponent.

2. Jason Garrett has to focus on the present. Believe every rumor, and offensive coordinator Garrett is a candidate for about 27 NFL head coaching jobs, including the top position of his current team, which is not technically currently open. To again make a collegiate comparison, there's the same sort of danger related to a lack of diligence that happens when a coach heads into a bowl game with rumors swirling regarding his departure.

Garrett's calls have been close to flawless as he's leaned on his runners at opportune moments between steady doses of a thoroughly efficient passing assault, and he just has to ensure his thoughts are on the current play and not a fat payday come February.

3. Wade Phillips needs to be sharp. His laid-back style has worked well for this roster this season, but will the designed lack of intensity serve them well in the playoffs? It seems like an eternity ago, but incidents such as his oafish indecision heading into the postseason regarding who was going to play quarterback for his 1999-2000 Buffalo Bills squad irreparably harmed that team and began a downward slide that led to him losing his job.

Of course, there's not exactly a quarterback controversy in Dallas, but the general relaxed atmosphere he's created could lead to questions about whether he is a good coordinator without the chops to captain the ship if things fall apart this postseason. He's naturally assuaged most of those fears after a quite successful regular campaign, and this first playoff game will be an interesting test to observe.

4. Owens must play. Patrick Crayton, while very good this season with 50 catches for almost 700 yards, isn't ready to be the primary guy anymore than Sam Hurd is prepared to be the full-time complementary guy, so the fitness of Terrell Owens' ankle is of supreme importance. It goes without saying that Dallas possesses a unique talent in tight end Jason Witten, but Tony Romo needs genuine downfield threats to achieve absolute success.

These are all mildly irksome concerns, but the Cowboys have adapted well to most of the adversity they have faced this year. There's no reason to stop now, particularly considering that the Giants were relegated to having a merely good regular season thanks in large part to two losses against a team that established itself as great. If they answer questions as well as they generally did during the past 16 games, there's little reason to think they'll fail to defeat obstacles they face in January.
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