Loose Lips Sink Ships

There was an old World War II saying that went, "Loose lips sink ships." It meant: be careful with what you say because it could cost lives. On Sunday, the ship was the Dallas Cowboys and after a season of drama, in-house fighting, public criticism of teammates and coaches, it sunk like the Titanic.

After a 44-6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, which cost the Cowboys a playoff spot, there was plenty of blame to spread around, and plenty of finger pointing.

Quarterback Tony Romo hinted that the Cowboy offense, engineered by coordinator Jason Garrett, was exposed by the Eagles defense. Wide receiver Terrell Owens did more than hint, blaming the Cowboy's offensive ineptitude squarely on Garrett, "Putting guys in position to win. It all starts with the guys who are calling the plays." Of course the guys ON the field PLAYING the game had nothing to do with it. Owens would have us believe that they are merely pawns on a chess board, being moved about by offensive and defensive coordinators.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who usually has plenty to say, will only say that head coach Wade Phillips will keep his job after this debacle of a season in which the Cowboys were practically the consensus pick to win the NFC. And Phillips, as usual, continues to say nothing.

Of course, Jones refuses to acknowledge his mistakes, signing Adam Jones, trading for Roy Williams, stubbornly keeping the coaching staff intact, publically questioning running back Marion Barber's toughness.

With all of the arguing, blame, and refusal of players to accept responsibility for their play on the field, it is obvious that this team lacks at least one thing: TEAM. They have no chemistry and no accountablity to one another. So what are they playing for? Simply paychecks.

For all of the mouthing and blaming being tossed around, cornerback Terence Newman said the most insightful thing after the game, "We aren't the team we thought we were." But it took the Cowboys sixteen games to figure this out. Maybe Romo, Owens, Garrett, Jones, Williams, and Jones will shut their mouths, listen to Newman, and all take their share of the blame.