'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
The Dallas Cowboys have reworked the contracts of five starters, including DeMarcus Ware, Jason Witten and Miles Austin, to save salary cap space.
Tony Romo sat alone on the Dallas bench, his stare frozen at the ground on a cold night in Washington.
The Dallas Cowboys have been here before. Well, not exactly here as in FedEx Field against the Washington Redskins in the NFC East championship game on Sunday night, but the Cowboys are well-versed in winner-take-division season finales.
The quarterback position is the most exalted in American sports. No other attracts such attention, scrutiny and adulation. It's a function of football's popularity and the nature of the game. The quarterback handles the ball on every play. His decision-making and execution directly correlate to his team's success.
Jason Witten had nearly as many drops as catches through three games this season, back when his side still hurt just about every time he moved because of a lacerated spleen.
The Dallas Cowboys couldn't trust receiver Dez Bryant to even run the right routes less than two months ago.
Tony Romo knows what matters the most when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys. So while it's nice to break Troy Aikman's franchise record for career touchdown passes, he's focused on getting his team to the playoffs.
Great one game. Hard to find the next. A scene at the mall one year. Trouble with the law the next.
After another close loss, the Dallas Cowboys hit the midway point of their season with only three victories.
Matt Ryan came up with two words to describe his performance Sunday night.
We have separation at the top of the NFL: Atlanta, Houston, San Francisco, Chicago and the New York Giants.
Just like that, the Dallas Cowboys are a .500 team again.
Jason Witten was supposed to stay home. Kevin Ogletree was supposed to be a bit player.
So there we were, the final game of the 2011 season, the Cowboys at the Giants with the NFC East title on the line.
Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew ended his 38-day holdout — without a new contract.
"If we don't do a good enough job then it is the same old story," Witten said Monday in a quiet and mostly empty Cowboys locker room. "We've just got to stomach it up and get better because of it. That's the only way to get to the top."
"Hey, they're going to be ready for these situations, too," Witten said. "Their backs have been against the wall just like ours. For the last half of the season they've just kind of rallied it up with a well-coached team. … It's going to be a fight and hopefully we can match the intensity Sunday night."
