adjectives

Yesterday, I was talking with my brother, who is an eternal optimist. We were talking about the Dallas Cowboys. My brother, who has an astonishing, voluminous vocabulary, was running out of adjectives to describe the abysmal performance of the Dallas Cowboys this season. All I could do was listen as he compared this year’s team to those led by Quincy Carter and the early years of Troy Aikman/Steve Walsh (1-15).

Although beating the Philadelphia Eagles would be satisfying, it might mean absolutely nothing. The Eagles are struggling. The magic that Michael Vick had just 18 months ago seems to be gone. The one bright spot of the Dallas Cowboys can brag about would be Rob Ryan’s defense. They have played well despite a number of key injuries.

This afternoon, I will be scrutinizing special teams and the offense. So far this year the offensive line play has ranged anywhere from mediocre to awful. If they can’t keep Tony Romo in his comfort zone, the Cowboys will lose. If Tony Romo has an interception-o-rama, the Cowboys will lose. If Dez Bryant can’t run the correct routes, the Cowboys will lose. I have no idea how the Cowboys are going to run the ball, which they sorely need to do. Demarco Murray is out. They have no healthy running backs who can actually run the ball. Felix Jones is done. When he was drafted, he was one of the fastest guys in the NFL. He ain’t that guy now. He hasn’t shown the ability to fake anybody out or break tackles. He doesn’t have blazing speed any more. He has turned into Julius Jones (he also has Julius’ fumbling problem). I still haven’t figured out who or what Phillip Tanner is. All I know is he doesn’t look like the answer.

I will not even mention the Dallas Cowboys’ special teams.

The Cowboys need to start building on something. They need to show that they want to play football. They need to show me that they deserve their huge salaries. They need to show me something. So far this year it’s been all down hill since the opening game of the season. (BTW, whatever happened to Jason Garrett, the offensive genius?)