This December is the most important of them all

by Grady90 on Nov 29, 2009 6:31 PM CST

Guess what?

The Dallas Cowboys are out of excuses/reasons for being a bad football team in December.

In 2008 the team, media, and fans blamed (well, maybe the team tried to hide this) the epic 1-3 December fail on locker room dissonance with clowns like T.O., Pacman Jones, and Tank Johnson causing problems. The mental toughness and testicular fortitude of the team was questioned nonstop over the offseason. So Jerry fired those locker room cancers and created a Romo-friendly offense.

This season, the offense, defense, and special teams are all working together. We've found a new weapon in Miles Austin, and Keith Brooking is a locker room leader who adds a lot of toughness to this bunch.

So we go down the list:

locker room harmony: check

working as a team instead of a series of divas: check

a balanced offense that's still explosive: check

a championship defense: check

mental toughness: double check

I read someone's opinion that last year's group would have lost to the Redskins. I agree. This year's team came back to win 7-6. The mental toughness is there.

Thus, if the Cowboys fail again this December, there's nothing to blame it on this time, and the Cowboys will be left with questions that may never be able to be answered.

Sure we may be able to blame Wade Philips and a lack of a number one receiver for a possible future collapse, but they're both looking pretty good at 8-3.

I actually have more confidence in this group than the 2007 and 2008 Cowboys going into December. This appears to be a mentally tough team that will do well in the last month of the regular season.

If they don't, it's going to be an offseason of not knowing what to fix.

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Comments

Those weren't excuses last year

Injuries, and being a physically and mentally worn out team were very much responsible for our 1-3 December.

This years team is very different and it will show this December.

In Romo we Trust

by Terry on Nov 29, 2009 8:03 PM CST reply actions

What many people don't realize

is that Jerry has secretly been cutting the head off one chicken every day at valley ranch to get rid of the bad Cowboy Mojo.

Trust me on this: If the December illness strikes again, this time there will be human sacrifices.

Oh, and I lol’d at ‘testicular fortitude’

by One.Cool.Customer on Nov 30, 2009 5:51 AM CST reply actions

To be completely honest

if the Cowboys collapse again or simply can’t get it done down the stretch (as far as making the playoffs), it will be because we actually aren’t that great of a team; not because we are “chokers” or “can’t win in December.”

If I had a nickel for every Super Bowl the Eagles have won, I would have zero nickels.

by Cowboyfan729 on Nov 30, 2009 8:31 AM CST reply actions

From an Eagles fan...

your team this year DEFINITELY looks like the most complete team you’ve fielded in a while. Of course you haven’t been perfect, but you’ve done enough to win 8 of 11 games. I’m hoping the division comes down to our week 17 game, and of course I’m hoping for the same outcome as last year…but your team now scares me, while my team is trying to find enough players to put on green and step onto the field.

"What did it feel like? That collision, I didn't feel nothing, because he was pretty much defenseless. It was like running through a cardboard box. Seriously. Cardboard box."- Sheldon Brown on his pounding of Reggie Bush in the '06 Playoffs

by jalarsen1 on Nov 30, 2009 10:30 AM CST reply actions

agree

I’m also an Eagles fan and this year more then in the past the Cowboys scare me. They are finally playing as a team and they don’t really have distractions on the team. Other then the little fit that Williams put on (which in my opinion he’s making excuses why he is so bad of a receiver). But to get back on point, your team is a team. Although I’m hoping for a December crumbling like in past years I’m afraid I just don’t see it happening this year.

Here’s to a good game in a few weeks!!!

by slandog on Dec 2, 2009 12:57 PM CST up reply actions