HAVE THE COWBOYS BEEN TESTED?

by Mike, The Pig Pen

TONY ROMO, DOIN IT THE BURLS WAY
Are the Cowboys as good as we think?
It's been a long time since teams have feared playing the Dallas Cowboys. Not since the triplets have the Cowboys strutted a sense of cockiness around the football field. A certain demeanor that instills a love/hate relationship between the Cowboys and football fans around the country. And after a decade which saw the Cowboys reach the playoffs twice, it looks as though they've finally found what they're looking for.

But is it too early to jump to conclusions?

Through four weeks, the Cowboys have catapulted themselves as the favorite to win a depleted NFC. Dallas has stunned the football world with an offensive explosion to open up the 2007 season, scoring 141 points in four games. Their defense? Improved since Week 1 where they gave up 35 points to the a drunk Manning and a running back I've never heard of in Derrick Ward.

Since Week 1, the Cowboys traveled to Miami where they dominated a Dolphins team that is already looking forward to next season. Another perfect day for Tony Romo. Another touchdown for TO. A 2-0 start and a trip to Chicago looming. A game slated for Sunday Night football, and a game fans labeled a measuring stick for the rest of the season. After Dallas' 34-10 shunning of Chicago at Soldier Field, a game which acted as the last straw in the Rex Grossman saga, the words Super Bowl or bust came shooting out of Big D.

But after this weekend, a weekend which saw the Cowboys dismantle another team more suited for conference play, the uneasy feeling of the Cowboys being overrated slowly but surely entered my head. With Detroit making Chicago familiarize themselves with a team rebuilding rather than a team defending an NFC Championship, it sure looks as though the Cowboys haven't been tested. If Chicago sucks, Dallas hasn't beaten anyone worth talking about. Dallas' opponents combined record stands at 3-13, including Miami and St. Louis who've won as many games I have.

So what do you take from a team who has beaten the shit out of four teams asking to get the sh*t kicked out of 'em? It looks like we might have to wait until Week 6, when Tom Brady and New England travel to Texas Stadium in a showdown that experts and analysts alike have tagged as a Super Bowl preview.

(Originally published 10/1)