Hey Cowboys fans, did you hear about the guy who smashed all those fruits? Apparently it was a real Slaughter-Melon. Ok, that sounds like the kind of terrible joke your dad might make but it is actually a true story and that man was none other than Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, Mike McCarthy used a sledgehammer to smash watermelons in a team meeting prior to the Cowboys match up against the Vikings. The purpose of this display was to drive home his emphasis on playing physical and attacking the football and the team responded with a huge Dallas Cowboys win. The victory pulls the Cowboys within 1/2 game of the division leading Eagles and more importantly provided a huge confidence boost off of the bye week.
Many Dallas Cowboys fans remain conflicted after the win believing that the best chance the Cowboys have for future success is by losing out and securing a top 5 draft pick. However, even the most ardent supporters of “team tank” had to feel good about that outcome. That Dallas Cowboys win over the Vikings was a hard fought, physical, and gut wrenching victory. The Cowboys came out hitting hard and they played inspired football on offense, defense, and special teams. It was the type of performance that gave Dallas Cowboys fans a sense of pride lacking for most of the season thus far. There was finally some evidence of a team that has some fight in them. That was the type of effort which was simply non-existent for the entire first half of the season although there were flashes in the previous two losses to the Eagles and Steelers.
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This was a significant Dallas Cowboys win for several reasons. First of all it was a win. Losing is contagious and so is winning so getting that victory is a major psychological achievement. Secondly, despite the fact that the Vikings have a losing record, the Vikings were a hot team who had won three straight. Lastly, the Vikings are a physical team with a dominant run game. We all saw what happened to the Cowboys against another such team like the Browns this season. We are also still traumatised following the losses to the Colts in 2018 and the playoff loss to the Rams the same season. It is monumentally important that they were simply not pushed around at the line of scrimmage and dominated in the run game.
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It appears that for better or for worse long term, the remaining players on the Cowboys roster have bought in. The believe in Mike McCarthy as head coach, Mike Nolan as defensive coordinator, and John Fassel as special teams coach. There has been a vast improvement in defense and special teams and for the first time since Dak Prescott went down, the offense is looking functional. Finally, the coaching staff has evolved and appear to be willing to make the necessary changes in order to win more games. They have Givin opportunities to players like Donovan Wilson and Connor McGovern and those players have responded. They have finally realised that despite their faith in players like Terrance Steele and Darian Thompson, those players are not giving them a chance to win. Veteran cornerstone players are starting to rise to the occasion as well. DeMarcus Lawrence and Leighton Vander Esch are playing like we know they are capable of playing. Other veterans like Antwaun Woods, Jourdan Lewis, and Tyrone Crawford are starting to perform. The much hyped rookie class is proving to be as good as advertised. First round pick CeeDee Lamb solidified his status as a superstar and entered the realm of legendary with his unbelievable, acrobatic catch which was one for the ages. Trevon Diggs and Tyler Biadasz have proven to be key building blocks going forward despite suffering injuries and Neville Gallimore has emerged following his breakout performance against the Steelers. There is finally reason for hope for this Dallas Cowboys team and playing in the NFC East gives us a shot.
Where do we go from here? Is this team really good enough to truly compete? Are they just too banged up to actually make a playoff run? Is it even worth it to win the division if this team is just going to get blown out in a home playoff game? Without a crystal ball to tell us what the future holds there is just no way to know for sure. The only question that really matters is; Can the Dallas Cowboys win the NFC East? The answer is a resounding yes. So let’s take this one game at a time. If the Cowboys lose out, at least they have shown some signs of life and we can all look forward to that early draft pick and all the possibilities (particularly trading down) that it entails. If the Dallas Cowboys do happen to win some games along the way, just sit back, relax, and enjoy it. Who knows! It may seem impossible that this Dallas Cowboys team is capable of winning it all, but maybe there is a slight chance…like say, one in a melon.
*Photo by Joe Glorioso All-Pro Reels https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/legalcode