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Introduction

This has been an interesting offseason for the Dallas Cowboys. While the press continues to wait in desperation for Terrell Owens to erupt the Cowboys have gone through a great deal of change. The story of the Cowboys offseason began as the regular season ended. Cliche as that is to say, it is so true in this case that it must be said.

The events the game in Seattle set in motion have rocked the very foundations of the organization but have gone by with what amounts to very little noise. Surely, that lone game did not determine the course of the Cowboys' offseason but it did seal their fate.

Now that the season is getting ever closer I think it would be a good time to look over what has transpired since that fateful snap. Through the myriad of speculation and meaningless mud slinging that most of the media has engaged in there are some truly interesting goings on in Big D. 

A Little History

For the past few seasons the Cowboys existed under Bill Parcells' reign of terror. He micromanaged the team like the dictator he is and it resulted in an improved roster, three winning seasons, and two playoff losses. With that Bad Ol' Bill left town to joining up with ESPN and eventually slam the organization. It's only a matter of time before Parcells unloads on Jerry Jones and begins taking credit for any success the Cowboys have.

When Parcells first came to Dallas many gave him two years tops. They said the egos of Bill Parcells and Jerry Jones couldn't be contained in a single metropolitan area let alone a single stadium. Then later they said Terrell Owens would be good for one season only, drawing on the evidence they were presented with in Philadelphia.

For the group of overeager former players it was cut and dry, T.O. was a bad seed and had turned on Donovan McNabb. In fact, these gutless commentators have yet to speculate on whether or not Donnie's and his mommy conspired to run T.O. out of town when he became the hero like they would later when Jeff Garcia did. But that's a topic for another post.

Now, the "professional" media is using its wisdom to suggest that Wade Phillips is nothing but a puppet. Someone who Jerry Jones can control. They have no real evidence of this, any one the Cowboys hired was going to be labeled that way. But it gives them something to talk about and they've revved up their coverage of how Wade Phillips will deal with T.O.

The Draft

After hiring Wade Phillips the Cowboys began to focus their attention on the draft. Speculation initially centered on which of the many available Safeties (or Cornerbacks) the Cowboys would take with their first pick. Once Ken Hamlin was signed there was a slide to wide receiver.

The experts felt that the primary needs the Cowboys had to address were Free Safety (since everyone since Darren Woodson has failed) and backup Wide Receiver (Owens and Glenn arein their 30's after all). However, a few dissidents suggested the Cowboys could go after a Defensive Tackle (considering they didn't really have anyone else behind Jason Ferguson). No one could predict, however, the present that would fall into their laps.

The Brady Quinn Question

In those days of old, we were busy speculating on whether or not Brady Quinn would go first or third in the draft (come on, did anybody really believe the Lions were going to take anyone except Calvin Johnson or that the Raiders were going to take anything except a Quarterback?). Then, right before our eyes, the fall began.

Brady Quinn looked so pretty in his suit. He was just waiting to hear his name called and stride up to accept his place in NFL legend. He would enter NFL legend all right, but probably not for the reason he wanted. First, the Raiders picked JaMarcus Russell to little surprise. Then the Browns should they might actually know how to build a franchise and chose the franchise tackle. The Bucs showed commitment to rebuilding their aging defense and then the Dolphins shocked the world by picking Ted Ginn Jr.

Then he fell right into the hands of Jerry Jones at pick number 22. The Cowboys had a hot young Quarterback in Tony Romo but until last year no one thought he was "franchise" material. With Quinn he could make the fanbase happy while getting a nod from the "experts." But instead he did the smartest thing possible: traded the pick to Cleveland for their first round pick next year.

That gives the Cowboys two first rounders next season, one of which promises to be pretty high. Plus, they get to find out if Tony Romo is really their man or not without wasting any of Quinn's necessary development time. Jerry Jones pulled of####ood move and I think it's going to pay off big.

Eagles Trade: What were they Thinking

I swear, the Cowboys must have infiltrated the Eagles front office. I mean, the Eagles traded themselves out of the first round for virtually nothing to let the Cowboys pick up a guy they hope to become a sack machine. The Eagles drafted their potential future Quarterback while allowing the Cowboys to select the guy they hope will put him on the ground.

The Cowboys got the guy they were targeting the whole time in Anthony Spencer while securing their future. It was, quite frankly, masterful. Jerry Jones proved why he's a GM to be reckoned with, despite his many critics, and deserves all the credit for ensuring the Cowboys legacy (did anyone mention that massive new stadium that's going to host the Super Bowl in a few years?).

Greg Ellis

With the drafting of Anthony Spencer there has been a question about Greg Ellis. The veteran is again nervous the Cowboys are going to cut him lose. They drafted a guy who plays the same position with their first round pick and that makes Ellis feel left out. Personally, I don't think he has anything to fear. He is still a stellar player who can get to the Quarterback like few others can. He has a future in Big D and I could see him joining the organization in a different role once his playing days are over.

Phillips' Defense + Garrett's Offense = Super Bowl?

Tony Romo seems to think so. I'm not so sure. One of the biggest problems I had with Bill Parcells was that his schemes were vanilla; on offense and defense. The Cowboys offense was near prolific, one of the top scoring offenses in the league, and the defense was one of the best during the first two-thirds of the season. However, the bland defense couldn't hold up as the season wore on.

Parcells used the same defense every game. His defense focuses on one-on-one matchups and requires every player to preform their role perfectly; if one player is out of place the whole scheme falls apart. This defense worked all right when Ware was coming off one edge and Ellis was coming off the other. The offense had to worry about blocking them so much they tied up their weapons in doing so.

Once Ellis went down and that threat was mitigated offenses exploited the straight-forward nature of the Parcells' 3-4. The Cowboys offense, as prolific as it was, couldn't keep up. Parcells mechanical nature and adherence to some stupid sheet kept them from doing anything truly special.

Now, the Cowboys have a much more aggressive defensive scheme. It attacks the offense on every play and focuses on allowing the players to make plays. It works much more like a loose framework for the defense to play around rather than a strict code to which they must adhere. It enhances instincts and should allow the Cowboys to strike at the throat of the offense.

The offense should also be more aggressive. According to reports, Garrett's offense is number based. That sounds simple, but basically it allows the offense to adjust much more easily. Rather than a list of letters and phrases a number is assigned to each position. The players can then quickly and effectively switch a route or a block or whatever to better exploit the weaknesses of the defense.

If Tony Romo is the Quarterback all Cowboys fans hope he is then this could be truly special. Controlled aggression is the most effective strategy in sports (as far as I'm concerned). If you can keep the other team off balance and reacting to your moves then you have the advantage. With luck (and lots of practice) that's what this new combination will do.

Conclusion

Notice, not a single mention of T.O. or of Tony Romo being more of a man than all the critics who write about him. Nothing about how Wade Phillips is Jerry Jones puppet or how his "player-friendly" style is going to compromise the Cowboys chances. No, what's important about the Cowboys offseason is its quiet nature. You know somethings wrong when you hear a lot of screaming, and the quiet that has settled over Big D has given me some confidence.

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