If you want a seminal snapshot of the season to date, it was right there, late in the game, for the nation to see in all its dominance and glory.
Five linemen, a fullback, and DeMarco Murray celebrated together in the end zone, apart from the shiny toys on offense, away from Romo, isolated together in the end zone of the world champs. They hugged and head butted, knowing full well what they’d just done, and what they’ve become.
They are one. The most dominant collective unit in the National Football League. Soak in that for a moment.
They are also everything Jerry Jones avoids at every turn, which makes it all more improbable and twice as delicious. They are fat guys with 70-something jerseys that don’t sell in the pro shop. “Zack Martin picks get you to 8-8,” said Jerry the Football Imbecile. How’s your boy Manziel doing, eh Jerry?
It’s so much more enjoyable knowing Jerry is looking at it from the outside with “I told you so” etched in lipstick across his thick skull. I’ll let you figure out who’s lipstick.
Yesterday was so much more than a win. Somebody every week upsets a team in difficult circumstances, especially in the watered-down parity the NFL has devolved into. There’s nothing specifically noteworthy about that in and of itself.
But that’s not what happened yesterday. This was an institutional change in NFL hierarchy. Richard Sherman’s cockiness and bravado turned into congratulatory daps with Dez, and a post-game hug of respect with Romo. Pete Carroll’s early camera smugly smirks turned into lost looks of confusion and helplessness.
Dallas had just Seattle-ed the Seahawks, as if to say, “Looky here, boys, we are now who you used to be.”
Dominance is a tricky concoction to make. It needs a catalyst, perhaps two, to fester into the fabric of reality. It’s quiet, and it’s everywhere. You know it when you see it because you can feel it, too.
That’s what this offensive line has done for this team. Everything is feeding off of it, the backs, Romo and his now deadly play fakes, receivers and tight ends blocking downfield, and a defense that is flying around and hitting everything without mercy. Everybody feels fresh, mentally and physically, for four quarters and every Sunday.
Even Gavin Escobar is blocking. Good gosh, it’s a miracle.
Such a unit infects malady into the other team, too. We watched Drew Brees stand on the sideline as a spectator. Russell Wilson did the same yesterday, merely a face in the crowd, watching a bloodletting reversal. Seattle’s offense looked impatient and uncertain, as if their identity had been ripped from their souls and held up to their faces. Fingers pointing, coaches pacing, opposing fans pondering. Oh crap, the stinking Cowboys are back.
Murray for 5, Murray for 3, Murray for 7, Randle for 15, Dunbar on a catch for 20. Pound, pound, pound. The message is loud and clear. We’re running right there, and you can’t stop us. And when needed, Romo can still work his magic. And lest you forget, our receivers are pretty dadgum good, even the ones you barely know. I can’t remember the last time first downs tallied with such ease and expectancy, but it’s making this a superbly fun season.
OK, it’s October, I know. Ten games to go, fraught with potential injuries, and pits of calamity lurking around every corner. Learning to live with expectations remains unproven. Wearing the proverbial “team to beat” target is a burden, even when accustomed to what wearing the Star brings by its very nature.
But I take you back to that picture of Murray and his team of gladiators in Seattle’s end zone. That’s a bond that doesn’t break in thick or thin. That doesn’t wilt in the cold and pressure of December and January. That’s a constant in any equation.
This is a playoff team, and a mighty serious one at that.
Great article. But Meh on the Jerry dissing. He takes the blame for the bad so you gotta give credit for the good.
i would have said the jerry bashing was unnecessary to but for jerrys stupid 8-8 comment about manzeil
It’s necessary because this could have happened so long ago if not for Jerry. He was there in the 90s. He played offensive line in college. Yet, he ignored the proper course for so many lost generations of players. He meddled and took Mo Claiborne instead of DeCastro. He fascinates over the Manziels of the world. He’s PT Barnum, not a football man.
This team is everything Jerry isn’t. Disciplined, blue collar, fundamentally sound, a group of RKGs. Jerry is the black sheep of it all. He doesn’t belong in the picture of this group of Cowboys. He’s the leper on the other side of the glass.
Thank Jason Garrett for that.
He was there in the 90’s right. So how many of those oline guys were 1st round picks. Zero. I get it. You blame Jerry for 20 years of misery. Rightfully so. He deserves more than his fair share of it. But to blame the oline failures on him is ridiculous in mind. He meddled and took Claiborne? Well thats just not factual at all. Stephen Jones had that trade worked out the day before the draft. Not Jerry. How long do you have to be involved in football to be considered a football man? See, the problem is you start off blaming everything on Jerry and then you say this team is everything he is isn’t? So when did Jerry stop meddling? When did he stop making picks? When did the “football man” start making picks? Who is this “football man”? If you look back on it Jerry has almost always made draft choices depending upon what his head coach wanted. He did it with Parcells, well except for that one time Parcells wanted to take Spears at 11 and pass on Ware. Ol Barnum Jones decided to take Ware and wait on Spears. So what if he fascinates over Manziel? Did he pick him? No. He was fascinated by Dez Bryant and thank God he took him. It’s obvious you hate Jerry and blame him for everything and will never give credit for anything. Not trying to change your mind. Believe me, I’ve done my fair of Jerry cursing. But I give credit where credit is due. I don’t bash him for bad picks and then give credit elsewhere when a good pick is made.
Jerry is the embarrassingly drunk rich uncle at the wedding that won’t stop feeling up the bridesmaids on the dance floor. He writes the check for the shindig, so he gets the mic when he wants it.
Fortunately, he’s largely ignored these days. Players, coaches, even his own family…nobody takes him seriously as a serious person anymore. He’s just Daddy Pocketbook.
Excellent, deadly accurate observation on Jones, who will look to again take credit for the insights of others who must keep him from making bonehead choices like Manziel. This line should have been addressed following the ’07 season, but it was Romo’s improvisational skills that allowed him to neglect what made the Cowboys great when they were winning SuperBowls. While I have my reservations about Garrett still, he has to at least get some credit for what we are seeing now…hard as that is for me to admit. Jones has always had a perverse penchant for “bling”.
Great write-up Erod.
What a bunch of hot air over a football game, and a regular season one at that. Seattle lost, Cowboys won. There’s nothing revolutionary or poetic about a football game. If you think you can write, use your talents on something worthwhile like a real writer, don’t waste them on blowing a bunch of hot air over a child’s game.
…says the guy who logged on to a football site to read a column. Things a little slow over on the Redskins forum, or whatever rock you crawled out from under?
Hey Jerry Jones 1 Dallas Fans 0…………Go be a dick somewhere else.
too bad that is the wrong picture you have up…that one is the TD pass to 82
You got the right one???
I asked for the other, but it’s no where to be found apparently. This was the closest we could find.
Good write up… still all in all this team has improved greatly under Marinelli and Linehan… it’s certainly not because of their “HC”….garrettkeet the puppet. My only fear is that they are hired away and garrettkeet stays because it’ll be right back to mediocre football…