If the Dallas Cowboys are known for one thing these days, it’s going 8-8. Blame it on Tony Romo all you want, but it takes a whole team to pull off mediocrity like that, year in and year out. Possibly the greatest receiver in Cowboys history, Michael Irvin, knows all about the talent in Big D, and what it can’t and can’t do.
“There was a lot of great talent, but they weren’t altering games. They went 8-8 with that talent,” NFL Network Analyst Michael Irvin said in an exclusive conversation with The Sports Bank at NFL Network/CBS Media Day.
“If those young guys don’t come up and say let’s play assignment football, let’s make sure everyone is ready to play, to use LT’s old word, like a bunch of crazed dogs, then you’re back to your identity, which are shootouts.
“The best part of this team is by far the offensive line,” Irvin said.
“If DeMarco Murray goes, they’ll better than 8-8. If DeMarco doesn’t go and that defense doesn’t do anything, the Cowboys will be praying to be 8-8.”
Tony Romo takes all the heat, but he just can’t be trusted with giving the ball back to this defense.
The Cowboys discussion with Michael Irvin starts right at the beginning of this podcast and runs until the 2:50 mark.
Have a listen below.
It’s fitting that the NFL Network has both Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin as part of their on-air talent roster. Both of these phenomenal athletes helped define what today’s NFL truly is with their physical talents and outsized personalities. Sanders and Irvin (the exclusive with him is coming tomorrow, it will be posted in a “Prime Time” slot) established the precedent of what a National Football League superstar must be in today’s mass-marketed, mass media landscape.
To my younger readers, I hope you realize that without Neon Deion or Irvin, who came into the league at almost the exact time a quarter century ago, you just don’t have a Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Richard Sherman or Darrelle Revis.
Go here to listen to Deion’s exclusive convo with TSB and hear his thoughts on the Cowboys.
Paul M. Banks owns and operates The Sports Bank.net, which is partners with Fox Sports, Yahoo! and the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He’s been a guest on news talk shows all across the world and been featured in hundreds of media outlets including NFL Network, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN2. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)