So which cliché would they like to apply to our Cowboys?
Cliché 1: "Hey, the Cowboys had their best weekend of the year. ... and they didn't even play!''
There is still Cliché 2: "Out of sight, out of mind.''
My man Peter King of Sports Illustrated and NBC watches a lot of football. He spent Sunday trying to keep his eyes on all the action. As he does every week, he locked himself in a room and wrote a lengthy analysis of the day's action (his terrific Monday Morning Quarterback column). As he does every week, the column included his rankings of the best teams, The Fine Fifteen.
But this week, Peter justified a way to make it, as he wrote, "The Nice Nineteen.''
Peter gives us:
1. New Orleans (5-0), 2. Minnesota (6-0), 3. Indianapolis (5-0), 4. Denver (5-0), 5. New England (4-2).
Can we all buy all that? Sure.
Then Peter lists:
6. New York Giants (5-1), 7. Atlanta (4-1) and 8. Pittsburgh (4-2).
We still good? OK.
Then Peter goes with:
9. Green Bay (3-2), 10. Chicago (3-2), 11. Cincinnati (4-2), and 12. Baltimore (3-3).
Still OK? Well, not exactly. As you start to wonder where Dallas is to land, you note that Green Bay, Chicago, Cincy and Baltimore are all losers of two or more (like the Cowboys) and are something less than credentialed clubs. Heck, Chicago, Cincy and Baltimore just lost!
More from Peter:
13. San Diego (2-2), 14. (tie) Philadelphia (3-2), 14. (tie) San Francisco (3-2), 14. (tie) Miami (2-3), 14. (tie) Arizona (3-2), 14. (tie) Houston (3-3) and 14. (tie) New York Jets (3-3).
And at this point, I'm searching for a missing paragraph somewhere. Peter has expanded his top "15 list'' to a "top 19 list'' and has seemingly done so to accommodate the Dolphins and the Jets? Half the teams on Peter's list are more accomplished than the 3-2 Cowboys?
I've said before in this space that we shouldn't concern ourselves too much with anybody's rankings because how little weight (zero) those rankings carry. So this is more of a psychological exercise. If the Cowboys are looking for some "us-against-the-world'' edge, there is it.
The Cowboys, at this moment, are in the race even though they were out of the action.
But they are also out of sight.
And out of mind.
And out of Peter King's "Nice Nineteen.''