C
Cr122
Guest
09:34 PM CDT on Friday, August 13, 2010
Column by TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
tarcher@dallasnews.com
Column by TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News | tarcher@dallasnews.com
OXNARD, Calif . – As the American Airlines jet came to a rest at 3:25 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, there was only a hint of a breeze and a bright blue California sky.
In 2008 when the Cowboys arrived at Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, the weather was just about as perfect, but the scene was entirely different.
HBO's Hard Knocks cameras were on the plane and on the tarmac awaiting the arrival. At least a dozen video and still photographers and countless other members of the media were in attendance. Cheerleaders greeted the players as they disembarked. The players were treated like rock stars as a few hundred fans waited in a nearby hangar for an autograph session.
On Friday, the fans were there again, but there were only five cameras, a handful of media and no cheerleaders.
"You've got to walk the walk," DeMarcus Ware said. "If you talk but you don't show it, then it doesn't do any good. We're trying to be under the radar as quietly as we can."
That's easier said than done, considering this is the Cowboys and they are among the NFC favorites.
They were the favorites in 2008, too, after a 13-3 finish to the 2007 season. The 2008 team carried a sense of entitlement with them. The loss in the divisional round to the New York Giants was viewed as a bump, not a mountain.
Terence Newman referred to a Bill Parcells saying when remembering 2008: "I think we bit the cheese."
They bought into the hype. They thought they were better than they were. Hard Knocks didn't help. Bradie James said personalities were brought out that the players didn't know even existed because of the show.
"Talking doesn't equate to wins," James said. "It takes passion, camaraderie and togetherness and also some talent level and the right coaches. It's a lot of things that going into winning a world championship. That's why they celebrate it so much. We just failed. We failed miserably ... We didn't respect the process. That's what it was."
The players swear it is different this time. The failure of 2008 drove them in 2009. A togetherness James talked about was fostered throughout last season that even when December started with two straight losses, they managed to keep things together.
They won the NFC East for the second time in three seasons. They won a playoff game for the first time since 1996.
But the 34-3 loss to Minnesota in the divisional round knocked off any of the swagger they could carry. Still, becoming the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its home stadium has been the rallying cry for everybody if not the players.
"It's more of the way we go about it and just deflect all of that, don't even talk about it," Newman said. "If it's going to happen, it's inevitable. It's nothing we can touch now. We can't touch that game. We have a long way to go."
The work starts again today after a break of sorts because of last Sunday's Hall of Fame Game and Thursday's preseason home opener against Oakland.
"It's going to be a little bit of a task to get back into training camp mode again," cornerback Mike Jenkins said, "but it's something we've got to do. There's a lot of work left."
Column by TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
tarcher@dallasnews.com
Column by TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News | tarcher@dallasnews.com
OXNARD, Calif . – As the American Airlines jet came to a rest at 3:25 p.m. Pacific time on Friday, there was only a hint of a breeze and a bright blue California sky.
In 2008 when the Cowboys arrived at Naval Base Ventura County at Point Mugu, the weather was just about as perfect, but the scene was entirely different.
HBO's Hard Knocks cameras were on the plane and on the tarmac awaiting the arrival. At least a dozen video and still photographers and countless other members of the media were in attendance. Cheerleaders greeted the players as they disembarked. The players were treated like rock stars as a few hundred fans waited in a nearby hangar for an autograph session.
On Friday, the fans were there again, but there were only five cameras, a handful of media and no cheerleaders.
"You've got to walk the walk," DeMarcus Ware said. "If you talk but you don't show it, then it doesn't do any good. We're trying to be under the radar as quietly as we can."
That's easier said than done, considering this is the Cowboys and they are among the NFC favorites.
They were the favorites in 2008, too, after a 13-3 finish to the 2007 season. The 2008 team carried a sense of entitlement with them. The loss in the divisional round to the New York Giants was viewed as a bump, not a mountain.
Terence Newman referred to a Bill Parcells saying when remembering 2008: "I think we bit the cheese."
They bought into the hype. They thought they were better than they were. Hard Knocks didn't help. Bradie James said personalities were brought out that the players didn't know even existed because of the show.
"Talking doesn't equate to wins," James said. "It takes passion, camaraderie and togetherness and also some talent level and the right coaches. It's a lot of things that going into winning a world championship. That's why they celebrate it so much. We just failed. We failed miserably ... We didn't respect the process. That's what it was."
The players swear it is different this time. The failure of 2008 drove them in 2009. A togetherness James talked about was fostered throughout last season that even when December started with two straight losses, they managed to keep things together.
They won the NFC East for the second time in three seasons. They won a playoff game for the first time since 1996.
But the 34-3 loss to Minnesota in the divisional round knocked off any of the swagger they could carry. Still, becoming the first team to play in a Super Bowl in its home stadium has been the rallying cry for everybody if not the players.
"It's more of the way we go about it and just deflect all of that, don't even talk about it," Newman said. "If it's going to happen, it's inevitable. It's nothing we can touch now. We can't touch that game. We have a long way to go."
The work starts again today after a break of sorts because of last Sunday's Hall of Fame Game and Thursday's preseason home opener against Oakland.
"It's going to be a little bit of a task to get back into training camp mode again," cornerback Mike Jenkins said, "but it's something we've got to do. There's a lot of work left."