There’s Always Next Year

Now that the dust has settled from the media’s love affair with all things Terrell Owens, I offer my thoughts.

The Cowboys made the right move.  By all accounts, Tony Romo and T.O. could not coexist.  Whether it was Owens accusing Romo of diagramming plays behind his back or the perception that Romo finally got tired of publicly stroking T.O.’s ego, the love affair that allowed T.O. to catch 38 touchdowns in 3 years with America’s Team (the most by any player in that time span) had reached its breaking point.  And after taking into consideration their relative ages (T.O. is 7 years older), salary commitments (Romo–6 years $67.4 million; T.O.– 4 years $34 million), and how hard it is to find a franchise quarterback, the choice was obvious.

More than the quarterback however, this move will allow the Cowboys to utilize weapons who might not have been getting enough touches last year: the newly acquired Roy Williams and a trio of talented running backs.  Roy Williams will have the opportunity to show why the Cowboys shipped a package equal to a small nation’s Gross Domestic Product in football terms (a first round pick and a third round pick in April’s draft) to the Lions and proceeded to sign him to a 5 year, $45 million extension last November.  After a full off-season to prepare and get in sync with Romo, he will be all out of excuses if he doesn’t produce.

As for that talented backfield, I think this move signals a shift to a more run based attack.  First of all, this will ensure that the Cowboys are getting the most out of a backfield that includes a Pro Bowler in Marion Barber and two rookies from last season who each flashed brilliance at times, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice.  By giving more touches to the running backs, Tony Romo should be able to cut down on costly errors at inopportune moments, a recurring theme that eventually led to the Cowboys downfall.

Finally, Wade Phillips and his staff will never be mistaken for military drill sergeants.  Phillips is known around the league as a “players coach” which many take to mean that he is too easy on his team.  He gives his veterans plenty of days off, rarely practices in pads, and generally runs the team without much discipline.  T.O. of course took full advantage of Wade’s lax atmosphere and filled the leadership vacuum that was created.  And because Owens is so charismatic, he had plenty of followers.  However, when you let Hannibal Lecter run the asylum, it is not a positive thing.  The coaching staff cannot do its job when their credibility is constantly undermined.  And while you could argue that the coaching staff is the real problem and Jerry Jones should’ve shipped them out instead, once it was apparent that he wasn’t going to do that this year, T.O. had to go.