After one year of writing for ASM, I have to say that unequivocally, without a doubt, I am the most unknown writer on this staff. I mean, I can’t even write provocatively enough to get readers to hate me, which was evident by the weak response to my Against the Grain blog. Maybe I am trying too hard or maybe I am not trying hard enough. Either way, 2008 is a make-or-break year for me. Either, I can successfully evoke a response out of readers with my words or realize that I am just another overzealous fan with a keyboard.

Recently, one of my editors, David Hale, asked the writers to nominate their best piece to be judged for the annual “best story” contest. You know what piece I choose? None. I realized at that moment that I had to reevaluate my writing. If I didn’t feel confident in my own writing, how could I expect anybody else to read it? I am going back to basics, I am going back to what feels right. No more trying to force puns and jokes or come up with something witty. Just write what I know and what I feel.  

Last weekend’s loss for the Dallas Cowboys really opened my eyes. As much as I tried to muster the energy to watch the highlights, I couldn’t. I was more devastated than last year when Tony Romo bobbled the snap. I didn’t think it would be so hard to watch my favorite team lose in the playoffs again, after six years between playoff wins. But it was very disturbing. I wanted so much not to feel that pain. I blamed the referees for calling tickytack penalties, thought the Giants were cheating, and finally I convinced myself that the game never took place. But you can only do that for so long.

Then I started to wonder what went wrong. No. 1 seed in the NFC? Check. Home-field advantage throughout the playoffs? Check. Healthy players? Check. Where did it all go wrong? Then I realized I had to dig deeper for answers. I had to view this loss without any bias. 

1st Perception: Wade Phillips’s laid-back mentally caused the Cowboys’ performance to slack off toward the end of the year.

Reality: The players slacked off at the end of the year, but Coach Phillips’ coaching style was not the catalyst. Under Bill Parcells, the Cowboys were routinely bad in December and January as well. Since the same players did not respond well to Parcells’ strict guidelines, a change in philosophy should yield different results. Yet, here we are the week of the NFC Championship and for the first time since the NFL went to a 12-team playoff format, the No. 1 seed is sitting at home. Hindsight is 20/20 and hypothetical questions can be asked all day, but the reality is that the players did not answer the bell.

These players have been exposed to two different coaching styles yet the same results were produced. This reminded me that coaches do not play the game. They manage personnel and call plays but they do not play the game. The players have to execute. Poor execution and mental focus unraveled Dallas’ Super Bowl hopes, not a coaching style.

Wade Phillips didn’t fall down trying to tackle Amani Toomer. Phillips didn’t drop an open crossing pattern either. Nor did Phillips allow a Giants offense to drive the length of the field in 50 seconds before halftime. Nope, the players did. 

2nd Perception: Tony Romo’s new love interest deterred his focus at the end of the year.

Reality: As much as I and my fellow Cowboys fans want to place the blame on the blonde bombshell, we shouldn’t and we can’t. Jessica Simpson had very little impact on Romo’s playing slump. Yeah, she showed up at the Philadelphia game, grabbed her jersey and acted like a 15-year-old freshman going out with the star QB, but that didn’t faze Romo. What stopped Romo in the last quarter of the year was Romo. He is starting a terrible trend that he has to break in order for the Cowboys’ offense to remain a well-oiled machine. Romo has to learn how to adjust. Unlike the Patriots, there is a blueprint for beating the Cowboys. The Patriots showed the league it existed, the Eagles confirmed its usefulness, and the Giants patented its authenticity.

The Patriots, Eagles, and Giants showed that making Romo a pocket passer takes away his ability to improvise. Slowing Romo down has become a two-prong attack: 1.) Contain the open lanes which will keep him in the pocket, and 2.) Blitz unexpectedly to disrupt his rhythm. Two things all the teams Dallas lost to have done well, especially when they are healthy. However, if Romo wants to be considered in the same class as Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, then he has to make an adjustment to teams adjusting to him. Learn how to throw more precise passes or just do what Parcells advised him to do: “Throw the damn ball away.” Romo has to fine tune his internal clock. If the play hasn’t happened in so many seconds, tuck the ball and run for positive yards or throw it away. 

These two percepts will get a lot of play over the next few days as the reasons for the ’07 Cowboys demise. But maybe people will see what I see now that the season is over and we’ve had a few days to analyze this defeat. I see the silver lining.

The Cowboys, for the first time since the Jimmy Johnson era, are a threat to win a Super Bowl, not just get to the playoffs. The Cowboys have come a long way from those three straight 5-11 seasons at the end of the ‘90s. Romo, Owens, Barber, Witten, and Glenn are good cornerstones on offense and with their counterparts Ware, Newman, James, and Williams matching their leadership on defense, Dallas should be ready do it all over again. For Dallas this offseason will be extremely important. If the right decisions are made the Cowboys may be a perennial powerhouse like New England and Indy. If the wrong decisions are made, well at least we had San Cabo.

In retrospect, I may never win any journalism awards and my writing style may never be insightful or engaging, but the reality is that I have come along way from the Ice Cold Truth, which means, I am making progress.