Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, Miles Austin, Isaiah Stanbeck, and Sam Hurd. This was how the wide receiver corps for the Dallas Cowboys started out this year. Throw in the tight ends – Whitten, Bennett, and Curtis – and the running backs – Barber, Jones, and Choice – and this Dallas offense was loaded with potential. As the season kicked off this year, they were picked by everyone in the league as the most dominant offensive grouping that the league had to offer. Tony Romo at the helm gave us confidence, and his “miracle worker” style had everyone picking these Cowboys to go all the way. As we all know, the hype that is the prelude to the season is seldom as exciting as the reality of it.
Fast-forward to now, and we see Romo, Hurd, and Jones out going into week 7. I don’t think that anyone saw this coming. Brad Johnson will be at the helm when we line up against the Rams on Sunday, and Tashard Choice will be complimenting Barber this week, but the real focus is on the wide receiver position. Roy Williams from Detroit will be the compliment to Terrell Owens, and this is what has the fans and skeptics sparring today. Many say that T.O. will be retreating to his jealous ways from San Fran and Philly. They say that there will not be enough passes to go around, and that there will be internal rivalries that will seek to implode this bruised organization.
In my opinion, this gathering of talent is not just a mass of ego. If you look at T.O. and his “antics” with the Cowboys thus far, how much has been reality and how much has been hype? He definitely had issues with Parcells, but anyone that even casually watched the game could have seen that one coming. Let’s look at his productivity on the field and judge by that. His numbers this year have not been spectacular, but he is also fighting double coverage on nearly every play.
Any team that we have come up against has hung their best defensive players around his neck. Last week, T.O. threw a block for Barber, and he was the first one celebrating as he saw 24 streaking down the side line. He is thrown to, and he misses some catches that I think he should make, but his very presence on the field is felt every time he lines up. His passion is what makes him controversial, and that passion is what we so desperately need right now.
I think that you will see a happier T.O. as the weeks go on due to the presence of another dynamic playmaker on offense. With the addition of Roy Williams, the defensive secondaries that we face will be struggling to get enough people on the field to deal with all of the talent that is coming at them. If they line up and double Williams, then Owens will make them pay. If they double Owens, Williams will see his stats soar. If they double both, our new favorite meal will be the clock.
We will run rampant with Barber, and pick up 10-12 whenever we choose to throw to Whitten. For a change of pace, we will send in Jones and let him chew up yards like Joey Chestnut with hot-dogs on July 4th. This makes the defense more susceptible to the play action pass, and the rest will be history. This plays into Johnson’s wheel house, and he will pick defenses apart until Romo gets back to go for the jugular. As for the ego’s, I think that these athletes are intelligent. They see that their road towards the ultimate goal in the NFL is getting easier with each experience that is met.
Self-admittedly, T.O. ”loves him some him.” I think that he could love some Roy Williams, too – as long as he sees the Vince Lombardi Trophy in the wings.
