DallasCowboys.com Columnist
Jan. 18, 2005, 5:28 p.m. (CST)
Culpepper. It's not ALL about the quarterback.
This is what these ears hear when they hear Parcells talk about who's around the Cowboys' quarterback maybe being more important than the fellow's identity. Somehow, people hear that and hear, "We don't need a good quarterback to win."
Well, of course they need a good quarterback to win. Take it a step further: They need one playing better than Vinny Testaverde played last year to win.
But it's not all they need. Try to employ some perspective, and you'll remember a few little details like the salary cap. Or the pool of available players. Or the fact that you can't do everything at once, as the Romans found out.
What these ears hear Parcells saying is roughly as follows: If you can guarantee me Aikman or Marino, swell. Absent that, I can win with functional, if I can put the right stuff around it. If I can have a tough offensive line without glaring holes, if I can have runners, plural, and receivers who will run where they're supposed to and catch it when they get there, and if I can have an attacking defense and a solid kicking game and a smart team that doesn't commit penalties and turnovers, if I can have all that, I can win with a functional quarterback who will manage the game. I don't have to have a superstar.
Where in there does it say anything about the quarterback stinking? Where does it say the quarterback's not important? It's just not the only thing on the agenda.
No one said you couldn't cook. We just want a little salt.
For crying out loud.
