ARLINGTON, Texas - A funny thing happened to the Dallas Cowboys on the way to 5-2.
They became a team. A real team.
Offense doing its thing. Defense doing its thing. Special teams doing its things.
And no pouty faces. How All-American-ly refreshing.
Why, with so many complaints swirling in the media after just a 2-2 start, even though the losses were a final-second two-pointer to the Giants and having been stood up in the final seconds at the two-yard line in a seven-pointer to the Broncos, talk began circling over the firing of the head coach, replacing the quarterback, replacing the offensive coordinator, replacing the general manager.
Yet no one at The Ranch panicked. No one started pointing fingers. No one said if they got me more involved we'd be winning these games.
And maybe the prime example of what we're talking about here is presented buy Patrick Crayton, who possibly would have subscribed to that sign I insisted should have been posted in last year's locker room, the one instructing everyone to Shut Up And Play when things don't go your way. The Cowboys promoted Mile Austin into Crayton's starting receiver spot two weeks ago, and then after signing veteran kick returner Allen Rossum, they gave him Crayton's punt-return responsibilities, too.
Crayton wasn't happy, but he was most unhappy about no one actually telling him he had been demoted, he said, when asked by the media. But that's as far as the complaint went.
"There never ever had been a thought that Patrick Crayton wouldn't walk out there and play like he had been named to the Pro Bowl," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "We shouldn't walk on egg shells around here about those things. We're all looking to be a part of this."
So in the next two games, all Crayton does is catch a touchdown pass in the first game, three more passes for 39 yards in the second and for the first time in his football career, he thinks, returns a punt for a touchdown in each, totaling three touchdowns in two games.
And as he was being baited late Sunday afternoon to say he turned in retribution performances in these past two games, Crayton countered by saying, "Well, some might say he's just doing what's he supposed to do, that's what I say.
"What, you expected me to explode in the media? Not going to do it. It's a team, man, a team. It's good."
Like all good.
Because since 2-2, the Cowboys have won three consecutive games, attaching the third on Sunday with a 38-17 pasting of the Seattle Seahawks (2-5) before 80,886 at Cowboys Stadium, and the game wasn't as close as even the 21-point spread.
They have scored 101 points over those three games.
They have given up an average of 19 points over those three games.
The QB has posted 100-plus QB ratings in all three games and for the first time in his short starting career has not been intercepted in three consecutive games.
The defense has recorded 11 of the team's 17 sacks in those three games and five of the nine takeaways.
The special teams, well, there are those two punt returns for touchdowns, Nick Folk converting on six of eight field-goal attempts and rookie kickoff artist David Buehler posting nine of his now league-leading 17 touchbacks.
And the entire team has gone from scratching around the depths of the NFC East to tied for first place with the 5-2 Philadelphia Eagles who deliciously await the Cowboys at the Linc next Sunday in what promises to be another one of those many Battle of The Bulges between these two bitter rivals.
A raw nerve was hit when someone asked Jerry Jones if this team is developing "chemistry," because to the owner you might as well scrape your overgrown fingernails on the blackboard as ask him about some mental H20.
"I'm not big into team chemistry," Jones bristled, "but what I am into is when you play as many people as we've been playing, a mix of young players and veterans, that to me is team concept . . . .
"It's great for our team and great for our fans that we are playing so many people and they are getting to participate. Just getting to have young people play and the numbers that are playing is healthy for the team."
There is that darn word again, huh, team, and even head coach Wade Phillips, who always has been into this team concept, emphasized how what took place Sunday afternoon "helps team atmosphere when guys feel like they are important to the team."
Let me count how many guys felt important on Sunday, while keeping in mind all 45 guys active on game day actually participated in the game:
The Cowboys scored five touchdowns against Seattle, and that list reads: Sam Hurd, Marion Barber, Roy Williams, Miles Austin and Patrick Crayton.
Then this: Of the 21 passes Tony Romo completed for 256 yards, 10 guys caught at least one pass, and that includes the first receptions of their NFL careers for rookie tight end John Phillips and rookie wide receiver Kevin Ogletree. That includes Hurd's first touchdown reception since the 2007 season opener.
When it came to running the ball, six guys touched the ball to comprise 113 yards rushing, the Cowboys' third straight 100-yard rushing performance and sixth in seven games. Get this, not since 1982 had the Cowboys coupled 10 guys catching at least one pass and six guys with at least one carry.
When it came to those three sacks, there was one each for Keith Brooking, DeMarcus Ware (fifth in three games) and Bobby Carpenter, who recorded his first sack since totaling 1½ on Dec. 16, 2006, of his rookie year, 42 games ago for the Cowboys.
And when it came to special teams tackles, check this out, four guys totaled nine tackles - each with at least two - and even Buehler got him a tackle on one of the few kickoffs that did not go for a touchback.
"Everybody is making big plays, everybody wants to make that big play," linebacker Bradie James said.
And no one, I mean no one is begrudging anyone else's success, and you know darn well what I mean. Didn't hear one guy ask if he thought he was not "targeted" enough times in the game or if Garrett failed to get him "involved" enough early in the game.
If you remember, the newcomer, Keith Brooking, warned you about this team stuff, saying he was impressed by how everyone on only his second team in 12 NFL seasons pulled for each other, how they were unselfish, but cautioned to check back after a few things went bad, and assured there would be some bumps in the road. There always are in a 16-game NFL season. (See the New York Giants.)
Well . . . .
There was a bump in the home opener, those four turnovers helping the Giants to 33 points and the win. There was the failure to get the ball into end zone on consecutive plays from the two-yard line at Denver in loss No. 2. There was needing overtime just to defeat the then winless Kansas City Chiefs.
Yet here the Cowboys are, 5-2, tied for first in the NFC East.
And if you need more proof of what is taking place, listen a little more to Crayton. He sees it. He sees how happy all the guys are on the punt return team after he returned two punts for touchdowns these past two games. Guys suddenly want to block a little harder, run a little fast.
Crayton might score, but as he says, "I tell them to meet me in the end zone."
And once again he got several key blocks on Sunday's return.
There was Ogletree, Alan Ball, Pat Watkins and a combo block from Deon Anderson and Sam Hurd, or as Crayton said, "They told me Kevin and Sam each got one. But before it's over with, everyone will tell me they got one."
And we're talking about bragging over a darn block.
You see?
To amplify all this, when Crayton came off the field with the ball returned for his second career punt-return touchdown in as many weeks, he tried giving the memento ball to Joe DeCamillis. You know, the Cowboys special teams coach who suffered the broken vertebrae in the practice facility collapse yet never missed a coaching beat following surgery to repair what could very well have been a paralyzing injury.
See, Joe's neck is stiff as a board, and he has not regained enough feeling in his right hand to shake hands. Still. We fist bump. And if you see him with his right fist under his chin, he's not contemplating. He's supporting his head since the neck and back just don't do enough on their own to get him through the entire game. Still.
He needs a shot to deal with the pain.
"I tried to give Joe the ball, and he wouldn't take it," Crayton said, shaking his head. "I mean, the dude didn't miss a practice after suffering the broken neck. You've got to give it up out there for him."
My point, that's how people do on a real team. And don't laugh. It's not corny.
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Mickey Spagnola - 
