REMEMBER THE TEXAS STADIUM

Redskins Expose Cowboys Weaknesses

Watching the Redskins scalping the Cowboys deep in the heart of Texas reminded me of a few months ago. See, this is when I had written what was the one downfall could end Dallas' season prematurely from their Super Bowl dreams. Granted, the season is young. Injuries and many other circumstances could alter the inevitable outcome I foresee.

Actually, it is quite fitting that the Redskins won in their last game in Texas Stadium. If you can remember their last game in the Cotton Bowl, the Redskins beat Dallas 20 - 16 on October 3rd in 1971. It was the first game in Dallas for new Redskins Head Coach George Allen, a member of the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. It remains to be seen if Jim Zorn, a former Cowboy, will follow Allen into Canton, but he is the first Redskins coach since George Allen to win his first game in Dallas. Dallas opened Texas Stadium 3 weeks later, and trounced the New England Patriots 44 - 21 on their way to winning Super Bowl VI, the first championship in the franchises history.

What may be the reason the Cowboys don't reach the Super Bowl this year was on display during the Redskins 26 - 24 win Sunday. Though the lack of usage of Felix Jones by offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was a huge error, and shows he probably is not ready to be a head coach, the battle the Redskins won was where the Cowboys are their weakest. The line of scrimmage. Dallas has plenty of playmakers, but the New York Giants just won Super Bowl XLII by winning the battle of the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. That is exactly what Washington did. Washington had 161 yards rushing compared to the Cowboys paltry total of 44 yards. The Redskins did nothing special. No exotic schemes, nor blitz packages to clog up the rushing lanes. They just lined up man to man and dominated the entire game. The Redskins defensive line is their weakest unit, even if Jason Taylor had been able to play. This fact is proven in the Redskins having possession of the football for over 16 more minutes than the Cowboys.

When the playoffs come, assuming Dallas makes it to that point, these issues the Cowboys have will probably be exposed again. Playoff football is won in the trenches, and the Cowboys do not seem to have the talent, nor the depth to make this happen. All they can hope for is their skilled players to perform extraordinary. Sometimes that works, but history has mostly indicated otherwise.