Cowboys Must Shake Ghosts of Decembers Past

The man who wrote Peter Pan, James Matthew Barrie, once said, "God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December." With the Thanksgiving thrashing of Seattle, the Cowboys now sit alone in second place in the NFC East with an 8-4 record. After being written off by many, including this writer, it now seems Dallas still has very legitimate postseason hopes. However, you shouldn't mention that when you see them because this group has an uncanny ability to take any compliment as a pass to quit playing. With such strong performances against the 49ers and Seahawks in a short, five-day span, the Cowboys earned some rest this week. And, boy, they are going to need that rest for this month, I tell you what. Dallas has the most difficult December schedule in NFL history: at Pittsburgh, home for the Giants and Ravens, then ending the year in Philadelphia. History suggests that the team needs only go 2-2 (resulting in a 10-6 finish) in order to reach the playoffs. While 10 wins may very well get a playoff spot in the NFC, the tougher task will be getting just two wins. Given the difficulty of this schedule, and the inconsistency with which Dallas has played, an 0-4 or 1-3 month is not improbable. Of course, the team could also make an effort each week and finish the year 12-4 or 11-5. That's the problem: you never know which team is going to show up on the field. Over the past few years, the Cowboys have had, um, "problems" in December: since 2002, Dallas is 10-15 in games played during the year's twelfth month. In the last two seasons, those poor December efforts have carried over into January's games, which is a big part of why the team hasn't won a playoff game since 1996. The Dallas Cowboys certainly have the individual talent to win every game this month and make a deep postseason run. However, in order to do this, they need to become the most talented team (which, currently, is the New York Giants). Although Tony Romo apparently is the "magic fix" the offense needed, and the defense has been outstanding since the bye week, the team must remember how awful it was for the six weeks before the bye. The team must remember all the December losses from years before, lest they again lose their edge when (if?) they are in the playoffs. There will be no easy games this month; the Cowboys need to bring a big lunch each week because they are in for a full day's work trying to beat each opponent. If the team plays with the same lazy, entitled attitude of earlier this season, they are going to get whupped each day and miss the playoffs. However, if they continue to show some passion--if each player does his individual best--this team has a chance to prove in the postseason why so many Dallas fans booked Tampa hotel rooms back in June. The Cowboys have done well over the last three weeks to save the season and remain in playoff contention. The memories of this season--both the good and bad--must serve as motivation for this team over the next four weeks. Maybe the Cowboys will get their "roses in December." And maybe, just maybe, those roses could blossom into Lombardi trophies in February. Brian Smith can be reached at BLSmith@mail.utexas.edu