e-mail   murphy@murphymartin.com

Murphy Martin Commentary
January 3, 2007

"How Soon We Forget"

Isn't it amazing how quickly we forget what we said just a short time ago? This is particularly true it seems when discussing what our favorite teams are expected to do before they play the game and how quickly we change those thoughts if things don't go as expected in the game.

And, if you make your living reporting sports news, or hosting radio talk shows, heaven forbid if your team does not fare well. Remember how most of these sports reporters who cover the Dallas Cowboys were saying things before the Washington game like: "The Cowboys don't have anything to play for. This may be a good time to rest some of the starters and ALL those who are a bit nicked up." "Don't risk Romo re-injuring his thumb."

"Maybe just play the starters for a couple of series and rest them for the rest of the game!" "The Cowboys have nothing to play for, they already have won the East and have home field advantage."

When the Redskins, who were playing for survival, strapped a 27-6 loss on Dallas, who was the first to forget what they had said BEFORE the game? Most of those who make a living covering the Cowboys! Of course many of these people think they know more than the coaches anyway. They would have you believe they also know more about who should be playing, what the game plan should be, and how much better the Cowboys would be if Jerry Jones, Wade Phillips et al would follow the press corps suggestions.

Despite the fact most of these people thrive on controversy, maybe a closer look at the Dallas-Washington game may change some of the knee-jerk reactions that have filled the airwaves and sports pages first reports.

For those who claimed Offensive Coordinator Jason Garrett "abandoned the rushing game" against Washington, excluding kicking plays, Dallas ran only 43-plays in the game and 16 of those were rushing plays. Is that abandoning the rushing game? Marion Barber , the Cowboys best runner, had minus six-yards rushing in the first half. Could that have led to the calling of more passing plays? Could it have been the offensive line without Pro-bowler Andre Gurode was less effective than normal?

Maybe the quick scoring by Clinton Portis who cruised through the arms of Roy Williams and Anthony Henry en route to a 26-yard touchdown scamper, part of his 104-yard total on 25-carries for the day. Was Jason Garrett responsible for defensive flaws? Will Roy Williams ever learn to "wrap up" a runner rather than only try to "knock him down"?

How many fines and suspensions will it take to change this hard-hitting safety?

Yes, Cowboy fans were perhaps expecting to see a better performance than we saw. Lest we forget, Dallas was playing for pride while the Redskins were playing for survival and a spot in the playoffs. There is a difference.
Coach Wade Phillips summed up the Cowboys' performance as "uninspired". We agree. He added that he would take the blame, saying "I need to do a better job of coaching."

The Cowboys were given Monday and Tuesday off and resumed work yesterday. They will play the winner of the Seattle-Washington game or New York Giants-Tampa Bay on January 13th at 3:30 P.M. in Texas Stadium.

Maybe a more legitimate question for Cowboy fans as they prepare for their first playoff game after this bye-week, is how soon do they get Terrell Owens, Andre Gurode, Jay Ratliff, Terence Newman, Keith Davis and all the other injured players back to full speed? If they get all those players back to near full strength, maybe the level of play will be more like the Cowboys showed when they snatched home-field advantage away from Green Bay with a solid win over the Packers. If they return to that level, which they used to get the bulk of their 13-wins in regular season play, many of our worries will end.

Then they can put to rest those concerns about "the sky is falling." As Coach Phillips said: "It's not!" We believe him.

Folks, you don't win thirteen games in the NFL unless you are doing a LOT of things right. Let us get back to business, concentrate on our next opponent only and work our way to Arizona in February. Who knows what could happen there. Remember how you felt as Dallas was bringing those five Super Bowl trophies to Texas?

How soon we forget!

That's my time and I do thank you for yours.

Murphy Martin

Your thoughts and comments forwarded to my website will be appreciated.

e-mail   murphy@murphymartin.com

Previous commentaries: 
"6 AM to Midnight"
"Americans Open Hearts and Pocketbooks"
"Unforgettable Hands"
"Smiling Through Tears"
"Christmas is Christmas"
"A Day to Give Thanks"
"Veteran's Day 2007"
"Bobby Bragan Still Helping Young People Attend College"
"Romo Runs the Table"
"Murphy's Law"
"Political Pot Heats Up"
"Bribery, Fraud, Conspiracy, Among Federal Charges in Dallas!"
"Up Close and Personal"
"It's All About the Money"
"Six Years of Change"
"Couric and Zahn Facing Attacks"
"Thompson Mapping Plans"
"Rove Retires - Returns to Range"
"A Champion Bares His Soul"
"Birthday Time"
"Candidates, Storms, Murders, Wars and Paris Hilton is Loose Again!"
"Strange Political Twists"
"What Happened to Common Sense"
"Early Predictions"
"Cell Users Have More"
"It's Called Infotainment"
"Fact or Fiction"
"Legends Live"
"Massacre in Blacksburg"
"Post-Easter Parade"
"Gone But Not Forgotten"
"Early Predictions"
"2008 Could Be Different"
"The Bug and Nostalgia"
"A Night to Remember"
"President's Week"
"Two Different Wars"
"Dungy Leaves Indelible Mark"
"All Kinds of Smiles!"
"Humbled, Not Bowed!"
"Free at Last!"
"Three Vastly Different Lives"
"America at Her Best"
"Holiday Surprises"
"Christmas 2006"
"Is the Fat Lady Singing?"
"Sixty Five Years Later"
"Make It Merry Christmas"
"Voices from History"
"Dreams - Reality?"
"Democrats Dominate"
"Honored and Humbled"
"Last Minute Sparring"
"Cheyenne Memories"
"How Much Will It Hold?"
"FOX Controls on Tenth Birthday"
"Clinton Points Finger Again"
"U.N. Nuclear Sparring"
"SRO for Latest Hall of Famer"
"Katie's Back, Legs and All!"
"Will T.O. Ride Bicycle Or Tricycle?"
"Couric News Carousel Approaching"
"George Was Not First"
"Cowboy's Control Canton"
"Despite Unfinished Business, Congress Takes a Vacation"
"Reality Television Rolls on Sunday"
"The President Speaks His Mind"
"The World Around Us"
"Birthday Time Again"
"Presidents -- Past and Present"
"Expensive Babies"
"Change of Pace"
"Yesterday Katie Said Goodbye to Today"
"Musical Chairs Continue at ABC-TV"
"No Quick Support for Bush Plan"
"Moussaoui Meeting with Virgins Delayed"
"What the Hell Happened?"
"His Name is Still Magic"
"The Tallest Pine is Gone"
"Keeping America Free"
"Remembering"
"Christians vs Muslims"
"Bush Bucks Bashing"
"Early Look at 2008"
"Contrasting Memories"
"Reporter's Rough Roads"
"Another Cowboys Loss"
"People, Places and Things"
"Super Bowl Wasn't So Super"
"State of the Union"
"Is God Dead in Europe?"
"Remembering Dr. King"
"This Week in Review"
"New Year, New Challenges"
"The Party's Over"
"Democracy in the Middle East"
"Unfinished Business"
"Merry Christmas Rules"
"Bush Unveils Plans"
"Today is Special"
"Border Security Now!!!"
"Stupidity Loses Financing"
"Crisis Christians"
"They Led the Way"
"Sadistic Saddam Hussein"
"Bourbon Street Bashing"
"Hurricane Aftermath"
"Standing Tall"
"Never a Dull Moment"
"Another Hero Laid to Rest"
"Blame Game"
"Senior Thoughts For the Young"
"Role Model Challenge"
August 18 - "Network News Anchors"
August 11 - "Now All Three Are Gone"
August 4 - "Trust in the Media"
July 28 - "Television Then and Now"
July 21 -  "The Mick"
July 14 - "Forty Years and Counting"