Happy New Year everyone! The Dallas Cowboys sure know how to put the bummer on a holiday. They capped off Christmas Day with a stunning failure, and then kicked off New Year's Eve with an inept debacle. Other than that, it's been great.
But I didn't want to kick off 2007 with a depressing post, so I won't deal with the Detroit game until later. Besides, there's tons of good college football to watch today, so the film review will be late this week.
Here's the thing though, it's a new year. With that comes the superstitious right to believe in renewal; last year is last year, with a new year comes a clean slate. You can mentally wad up all those mistakes from 2006 and throw them into the cosmic trash can. So Bill Parcells and the Dallas Cowboys also get a shot at renewal this Saturday. They have one week in this new year to get things right. But you can't go into the new year and expect things to change without having some resolutions.
Here are a few resolutions I would like to see some Cowboys make.
For Bill Parcells - resolve to take over the play-calling for the playoffs. This team is in a funk, it needs a shake-up. Let's see if you got one more run in you Tuna. Take all the responsibility on your shoulders and take all the credit if it works. Help us, and help yourself, decide your own future, because if things keep going the same way, the decision might not be left up to you.
For Tony Romo - resolve to love the football even more than Carrie Underwood or life itself. If the ball remains in your hands, the Cowboys can win. If you give it to the other team, with this defense, we probably lose.
For the offensive line - resolve to make Tony Romo the next Tom Brady. Romo may resemble Brett Favre, but it took Favre a while to mature. Brady got it in his first year. Maybe Romo can get it too, but he needs some help from the big guys up front.
For the defense - resolve to always get a turnover before 3rd down. Only then, do you stand any chance at success.
For Mike Zimmer - resolve that on 3rd down, you will do the opposite of your initial thought. If you are thinking about playing a zone Cover 2 with no blitz, then immediately call a man-to-man and bring the house.
For Julius Jones - resolve to get over your fear of open spaces.
For Terrell Owens - resolve whatever you like, just resolve to not tell us about it.
For Jerry Jones - resolve to resist the temptation to hire yourself as the coach after the season. Also, resolve to continue only as a "GM in name" and hire a strong coach if Parcells isn't back.
As for myself, I resolve to give the Cowboys one more chance. I'll treat this week as if they still have the opportunity to put things right this season. What else can I do? As Parcells likes to say, they aren't going to cancel the game, so you might as well play.
Happy New Year!