Dallas Cowboys: Not Quite Good Enough

The Dallas Cowboys are officially getting ready for the 2009 season down in San Antonio, and for people like me, that means the football season has started.

Most everyone is wondering how the Cowboys are going to do this season, and I tell them, they have the personnel to go to the playoffs and maybe even make some noise. There is a problem, and he's pretty far up the food chain.

1st the personnel. Tony Romo is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and now that he doesn't have to worry about T.O. and Jess, his mind is free to think on football matters and football matters alone.

3 running backs. I think that says it all. Most teams would kill to have 2, 2008 showed us that the Cowboys have 3. Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice are back to take the pressure off Romo and the receiving corps. If you take a look at last season, the offense started to sputter once Jones was injured. Keep that guy healthy, and the Cowboys will score points by the bucket load.

Defensively, the Cowboys are led by Demarcus Ware at outside linebacker. He's good, and Bradie James is a play maker. However, the rest is a bit of an unknown. That said, head coach Wade Phillips is a good defensive coach, so I am pretty sure the Cowboys "D" will be a force to be dealt with for other teams.

Now we come to the problem. While Phillips is a good answer for the defense, his style as a head coach may be the thing that keeps this team out of the playoffs.

Phillips has a history. Because he's a "players coach", the team he takes over does better his 1st year as the head coach, but "players coaches" do not demand discipline, and that means they fall off in his 2nd year. That happened last year in Dallas. This season is a little different because this is the 1st time an owner has given him a 3rd year.

I hope Phillips will lead the Cowboys to a deep run in the playoffs, but I am a skeptic. I don't trust that Phillips can get the job done. Games usually come down to the little things. Phillips style doesn't encourage a team to worry about the little things.

Here's the pick, I think the Dallas Cowboys will go to the playoffs this season, but I don't think they will win a playoff game for the 13th season in a row.