Jean-Jacques Taylor

Archive | Blog | E-mail

IRVING – In five days, the Cowboys return to the site of the most gutless performance in franchise history.

It's not debatable, so please don't waste time making excuses for the Cowboys' abject performance last December with a playoff spot on the line. You'll only make yourself look foolish.

Philadelphia 44, Dallas 6.

"We got our ... [rear ends] kicked," Patrick Crayton said. "Don't sugarcoat it."

OK.

This game against Philadelphia, the NFC's most consistent team during the last decade, will tell you just about everything you need to know about the Cowboys heading into the second half of the season.

It will reveal much more about Dallas than victories over Kansas City, Atlanta and Seattle ever could.

Don't misunderstand. This is not a must-win game. There's too much of the season left for that.

But this game will show us whether the Cowboys have the mental fortitude to compete at the highest level against a team that knows how to win. Or whether they will lie down like chumps when faced with adversity, as they did last season.

The Eagles have played in five NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl this decade, and don't forget, they have beaten the Cowboys by double digits 10 times since 2000.

Eight times, Andy Reid's Eagles have beaten the Cowboys by 20 points.

Ridiculous.

The Eagles, who have won seven of the last nine games against Dallas at home, will yield nothing.

Dallas will need all the resolve it can muster to overcome its personal demons – this team has a recent history of choking in big games – and beat the hated Eagles in front of the league's meanest, vilest and most unruly crowd.

Admit it, you can't wait.

You want to see whether your Cowboys will man up and play the kind of gritty, physical game that's needed to beat the Eagles on the road, especially after being forced to relive every sordid detail about last December's debacle.

You can't wait to find out whether Tony Romo's new approach – it's called controlled aggression – will work when the Eagles pressure him relentlessly.

More important, Romo has a national reputation for choking in big games. It's pointless to debate its veracity.

That's his reputation, and it ain't changing until he wins an important regular-season game like this one for first place in the NFC East.

You know Miles Austin can dominate games against average cornerbacks, but you want to see him do it against Philadelphia cornerback Asante Samuel, who's among the game's best.

If Romo and Austin perform against Samuel the way they have the last three weeks, there's no reason to think this offense won't roll all season.

You also want to see whether this defense, which has 17 sacks in the last five games, can play well against Philadelphia's big-play offense. Can Terence Newman, average thus far, turn in a quality effort or will DeSean Jackson school him like he did last year?

And those questions are just off the top of my head.

In the last few years, the questions about the Cowboys have never revolved around talent. This team, like those teams, has plenty of talent.

The questions have always been about intangibles such as character and heart and performing under pressure.

Jerry Jones released talented players such as T.O. and Greg Ellis and cut dead weight such as Pacman Jones because he wanted to create a more harmonious atmosphere – and it is.

He fired defensive coordinator Brian Stewart and special teams coach Bruce Read to upgrade the coaching staff, which has happened with Phillips calling the defense and Joe DeCamillis handling special teams

These Cowboys, playing their best football of the season, have won three consecutive games. This is the perfect time to play the Eagles.

This is the time for the Cowboys to prove to themselves, more than anyone else, that they have what it takes to be a factor in the NFC.