OK, color me convinced. And consider the NFC East captured. Barring a complete implosion, possible only should Tony Romo get injured, the Dallas Cowboys won their first division championship since 1998 yesterday in New Jersey. After dominating the New York Giants 31-20, the Cowboys have a three-game lead and the inside track for their first NFC East crown since the quarterback was named Troy Aikman and the head coach Chan Gailey.
On consecutive Sundays, the Cowboys waltzed into hostile environments and whipped the Giants and Philadelphia Eagles by a combined 69-37. At 8-1, Dallas hasn’t been this good at this point since starting 8-1 in 1995 en route to winning Super Bowl XXX. Suddenly, rooting for guys like Terrell Owens and Tank Johnson doesn’t feel so icky, eh?
Still not sure if Dallas’ defense puts it in the same stratosphere with the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, but at this point the only speed bump between the Cowboys having home-field advantage at Texas Stadium throughout the NFC East playoffs is the November 29 home game against the 8-1 Green Bay Packers.
In light of Romo’s continued and still mostly unfathomable play, let’s make a list of the NFL quarterbacks the Cowboys would trade him for, shall we? Tom Brady? Sure. Peyton Manning? Um, of course. Carson Palmer, Vince Young, Ben Roethlisberger, Jay Cutler, Phillip Rivers, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, Brett Favre or Drew Brees. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no and no. Third-best quarterback? No wonder the Cowboys are the league’s third-best team. --Richie Whitt
