Yo, Meathead!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

I wanted to thank Ed so much for weighing in on the best team in the NFC after my last post. As much as it pains me to write it again, this past week, by thumping Green Bay, the Cowboys proved it—they are the best in the conference. Where did Tony Romo come from? I want that guy on MY team! Romo (along with the likes of Tom Brady) goes to show us all what a completely inexact science the draft is—more confirmation that the people in sports don’t really know as much as they think they do (or as much as they want you to think they do).

But back to Dallas. This Cowboys team is so good that, unlike San Diego, they are able to overcome their creampuff of a coach, Wade Phillips, and still kick some butt. I admit to being very surprised by this. At the beginning of the season, I think I ragged on both the Cowboys and Chargers for their choices of new head coaches. Seems like I was only half right. Somehow, Phillips is enjoying a career year as a coach, and this previous T.O. Team Turmoil is running smoothly on all cylinders. Meanwhile, in the AFC, the Chargers are still on top of the West, but they are not nearly living up to their billing after going 14–2 last year under Marty Schottenheimer. This team possibly has more talent than the Cowboys, but they continue to struggle toward the end of the season as if they were wading in molasses and their esteemed coach, Norv Turner, has them headed for playoff oblivion.

Yeah, yeah, I know some of you might be thinking, “Ah, well, the Packers would’ve beat Dallas if Brett Favre hadn’t been injured in the second quarter.” I submit to you that this sentiment is just a bunch of hooey. What about the Packers’ defense? It seemed stymied by the Dallas offensive attack. And speaking of offensive, it’s amazing that the word can be used in this connotation rather than its more “offensive” meaning, as it is usually applied to Terrell Owens. Ever since Bill Parcells left the Cowboys, T.O. has had the biggest ego in the room. Since there is no other ego with which he might clash (his ego is plainly many times the size of Creampuff Phillips’s), he has subsequently kept his mouth shut and let his play do the talking for a change. Unprecedented!

Is Dallas good enough to get to the Super Bowl? Probably. Are the ’Boys good enough to win? Only if they get really, really lucky.…

SEASONINGS: Other notes from around the league:

A real shame about Sean Taylor. And a shame that the criminal element is once again being associated with the NFL, no matter how innocent (or not) the involved player may be. With the way the Redskins lost in the final seconds to Buffalo, you wonder if they’re done for the season after this emotionally draining time.

Watch those Vikings! After their second impressive win in a row (smoking Detroit a week after picking off Eli Manning four times and crushing the Giants), Minnesota is back in the playoff picture. With the return of RB Adrian Peterson and a remaining schedule featuring some reeling teams, the Vikes have a chance to go on a bit of a run for one of the wild cards.

I can’t believe the Giants beat the Bears when Eli Manning looked worse than Rex Grossman for most of the game. But when it counted, the Giants defense held the Bears to a minimum of points and “Too Easy” Eli had enough left to lead two touchdown drives in the last 7 minutes, saving Tom Coughlin’s job in the process.

After losing to the Jets, I think the Dolphins are going to go winless! I guess it’s a weird kind of symmetry to match their unbeaten season in 1972—something to take the wind out of the sails of anyone who wants to brag about 1972 today. Also, the 1972 record could be threatened this year anyway—by the Patriots—adding another layer of intrigue to the Dolphins’ struggles.