Is God watching in Dallas? And if so, is he pissed?

Is God watching in Dallas? And if so, is he pissed?
by Drew Moss for Football Reporters Online

The swoon is in full swing.

The Dallas Cowboys continued their horrendous December efforts under Wade Phillips, falling to 0-2 this December by losing to Norv Turner’s San Diego Chargers 20-17 Sunday at Dallas Stadium.

For America’s team, with their 90,000 pairs of 3-D glasses and egregious video screens – It’s a lot of ugly to behold. And a lot of ugly to stomach. Just ask the twisted wizard behind this obnoxious curtain of silver and blue. “This is a bitter pill to swallow here at home… it’s a setback,” understated Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

At the hands of Turner and the surging Chargers, it’s more like a smackdown.

Lest Jones forget, the media (why is Jerry Jones holding a press conference after a regular season loss by the way?!) was very quick to remind him of Turner’s comeuppance. Even after his Super Bowl winning efforts as an offensive coordinator under Jimmy Johnson, Jones passed Turner over for Wade Phillips after Bill Parcells’ departure in 2007. Phillips is 3-7 in December as Cowboys head coach, and 0-1 in one January playoff appearance. Turner is 11-0 in December with San Diego.

At 8-5, the loss left the Cowboys looking up at the Eagles after Philly’s 45-38 shootout win over the New York Giants (will someone in this division make a tackle please?!) and also left them looking down the barrel at a date with the undefeated New Orleans Saints in New Orleans this upcoming weekend. The Cowboys are still talking semi-tough, but looking over their shoulder as they do it.

Efficient (19 for 30 passing, 249 yards, two TD’s, no picks) but uninspiring Cowboys quarterback expressed just such lukewarm confidence, “We just have to play better football. We can talk about it after it happens, but… we all just need to do it.”

“Doing it” on special teams, the offensive line or the offensive coordinator’s booth might be good places to look first. Start the debacle, with Nick Folk’s hooked 42 yarder early. (It’s Folk’s fifth consecutive game with a missed FG-attempt – his job is now in jeopardy). Add to this the Chargers no-brainer three play goal line stand against the obvious Marion Barber and yo uhave th emakings of a long day – and a long December.

Said Chargers linebacker Tim Dobbins (didn’t we see him in Bull Durham?), the next day in the Dallas Morning News,” In our mind, we knew he wasn’t blocking. He’s not getting paid to block.”



So in a huge spot, Dobbins and the Chargers defense did the only thing you can do in Big D - they followed the money. And in doing so, they stuffed Barber, took the ball back on downs, took the life out of the Cowboys - and maybe took the life out of the Cowboys’ entire season. Right in their own house.

That’s a big house. With a big ol’ hole in the roof. And a big ol’ price tag. And a big ol’ bag of late season woes. And if God is indeed watching as they say he is, he’s got a big ol’ scowl on his/her face.

Through it all, even though he shouldn’t be speaking at all, Jerry Jones is still talking tough.

“We have a team that’s capable of beating any opponent,” Jones asserted. Then after sharing some “personal triumph over credit card debt” rant that he used to inspire his beaten down team in the post-game locker room, through a sea of microphones he re-assured the Dallas faithful, “I know what hard times are like in Texas, and I know we can overcome it.”

How inspiring. Prophetic even. Maybe Jerry Jones knows something - or someone - we don’t. If so, he better check in upstairs. And if not, maybe he should be looking over his shoulder at that hole in the roof, too.