Todd Archer hits on some of the exact themes I've hinted at in my post-Eagles game posts.
When I said maybe it's just better competition for Tony Romo and the Cowboys, this is what I meant. A lot of what we did mid-season now turns out to be against teams that were not very good, but had inflated expectations. Now, the Colts are still a good team, but they've lost a few games lately and their defense was always a flaw for them. That game might've been the Cowboys finest moment on defense. New Orleans and Philadelphia are good football teams right now, when it really counts.
Next, turnovers, specifically Romo.
Romo has been shaky the past month. He's still good, but he can't do it alone, and with his offense sputtering at times, he may be pressing a little.
Then there's the defense, which is revealed by these damning stats.
Ouch. There's no escaping that.
And finally, the big theme - these Cowboys just aren't ready for the big time. I wrote a whole post about this subject, in their two biggest games, the Cowboys have played awful. They don't know how to win the defining games yet.
Tim Cowlishaw captures the frustration of the fan.
And when the opponents win, naturally, they are a team playing with passion and purpose, demonstrating the ultimate chemistry and camaraderie.
Owens has 346 yards after a catch, seventh among receivers and 20th overall.
"T.O. had drops when we got him," Jones said. "But we got him for just that, the run after the catch. You might have noticed after the game Philadelphia spent their time saying 'we weren't going to let T.O. go anywhere.' And that should have opened some other things up."
Once the season ends, the first big controversy will be the Parcells-Owens-Jones dynamic. Does Parcells want to come back? If he comes back, will he want Terrell Owens released? What would Jerry do if Parcells made that demand on condition of coming back? What will Owens say following the season to make things even more interesting? Those questions are still down the road, but not too far if the Cowboys don't play better in the first playoff game.
I neglected to post the infamous Terry Glenn quote that has Dallas in further turmoil.
"I'm not alone. The whole offense is frustrated," Glenn said. "They are looking around saying, 'Why can't we do anything when we have all these weapons?' "
It's unusual for Glenn to sound off in the press, and this was definitely a thinly-veiled shot at the coaching staff. Valley Ranch is a volatile place right now; we'll see how the Tuna is approaching things in his press conference today.