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| Sam Hurd was one of 10 Cowboys to catch at least one pass during the Seattle game. |
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ARLINGTON, Texas - A funny thing happened to the Dallas Cowboys on the way to 5-2.
They became a team. A real team.
Offense doing its thing. Defense doing its thing. Special teams doing its things.
And no pouty faces. How All-American-ly refreshing.
Why, with so many complaints swirling in the media after just a 2-2 start, even though the losses were a final-second two-pointer to the Giants and having been stood up in the final seconds at the two-yard line in a seven-pointer to the Broncos, talk began circling over the firing of the head coach, replacing the quarterback, replacing the offensive coordinator, replacing the general manager.
Yet no one at The Ranch panicked. No one started pointing fingers. No one said if they got me more involved we'd be winning these games.
And maybe the prime example of what we're talking about here is presented buy Patrick Crayton, who possibly would have subscribed to that sign I insisted should have been posted in last year's locker room, the one instructing everyone to Shut Up And Play when things don't go your way. The Cowboys promoted Mile Austin into Crayton's starting receiver spot two weeks ago, and then after signing veteran kick returner Allen Rossum, they gave him Crayton's punt-return responsibilities, too.
Crayton wasn't happy, but he was most unhappy about no one actually telling him he had been demoted, he said, when asked by the media. But that's as far as the complaint went.
"There never ever had been a thought that Patrick Crayton wouldn't walk out there and play like he had been named to the Pro Bowl," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "We shouldn't walk on egg shells around here about those things. We're all looking to be a part of this."
So in the next two games, all Crayton does is catch a touchdown pass in the first game, three more passes for 39 yards in the second and for the first time in his football career, he thinks, returns a punt for a touchdown in each, totaling three touchdowns in two games.
And as he was being baited late Sunday afternoon to say he turned in retribution performances in these past two games, Crayton countered by saying, "Well, some might say he's just doing what's he supposed to do, that's what I say.
"What, you expected me to explode in the media? Not going to do it. It's a team, man, a team. It's good."
Like all good.
Because since 2-2, the Cowboys have won three consecutive games, attaching the third on Sunday with a 38-17 pasting of the Seattle Seahawks (2-5) before 80,886 at Cowboys Stadium, and the game wasn't as close as even the 21-point spread.
They have scored 101 points over those three games.
They have given up an average of 19 points over those three games.
The QB has posted 100-plus QB ratings in all three games and for the first time in his short starting career has not been intercepted in three consecutive games.
The defense has recorded 11 of the team's 17 sacks in those three games and five of the nine takeaways.
The special teams, well, there are those two punt returns for touchdowns, Nick Folk converting on six of eight field-goal attempts and rookie kickoff artist David Buehler posting nine of his now league-leading 17 touchbacks.
And the entire team has gone from scratching around the depths of the NFC East to tied for first place with the 5-2 Philadelphia Eagles who deliciously await the Cowboys at the Linc next Sunday in what promises to be another one of those many Battle of The Bulges between these two bitter rivals.
A raw nerve was hit when someone asked Jerry Jones if this team is developing "chemistry," because to the owner you might as well scrape your overgrown fingernails on the blackboard as ask him about some mental H20.
"I'm not big into team chemistry," Jones bristled, "but what I am into is when you play as many people as we've been playing, a mix of young players and veterans, that to me is team concept . . . .
"It's great for our team and great for our fans that we are playing so many people and they are getting to participate. Just getting to have young people play and the numbers that are playing is healthy for the |
Mickey Spagnola - 
