From Terrell Owens to Tony Romo to Jerry Jones to Jessica Simpson to Pacman Jones (sorry, make that Adam), the Cowboys can dazzle on the red carpet or in the red zone.
They even had their own hit summer reality TV show, as HBO’s “Hard Knocks” spent a few weeks peering behind the scenes at Dallas’ training camp.
True NFL bluebloods, no team has a higher profile. And no team has greater expectations.
“It’s always a Super Bowl-or-bust kind of deal,” quarterback Romo said this week, “and we start the next year and it’s Super Bowl-or-bust again. It’s just part of it. Every team has pressure at the start of the year because every organization thinks they have a chance to be really good this year. We’re no different.”
Without a playoff win since 1996 - an eternity in demanding Big D - the Cowboys, 13-3 last season with 13 players in the Pro Bowl, will embark on another title run today. They open against the Cleveland Browns, a team with similarly high hopes and an offense capable of matching Dallas point-for-point.
While the Browns might not be able to match the Cowboys’ Q rating or star power, they also have eyes on the playoffs - and perhaps something bigger. And if the ball bounces the right way, who knows? The New York Giants weren’t exactly the trendy pick to win it all last season. But they did, knocking the Cowboys off their high horses in the first round of the NFC playoffs.
This, though, is supposed to be Dallas’ season.
“I think everyone knows across the nation that we have the talent,” receiver Owens said. “We just have to go out there and do what we do best. Everybody is excited with what can become of what we have in this locker room. We aren’t going to win the Super Bowl by what we do in Week 1.”
As is usually the case, Owens will be in the spotlight. He’ll be matched against a suspect secondary, which likely will be without safety Brodney Pool (concussion) and has 5-10 cornerbacks Eric Wright and Brandon McDonald. They will have to deal with the 6-3, 215-pound Owens, perhaps their toughest assignment ever.
“Big-bodied guy. Great receiver. Great hands. Great route-running ability. Pro Bowl starter,” McDonald said, listing Owens’ attributes. “We’re going to try to prepare the best we can and get ready for him.”
On his last visit to Cleveland, Owens caught a pair of touchdown passes in the first half for the Philadelphia Eagles and punctuated one of the scores by spiking the ball at a “T.O. has B.O.” banner that he then ripped down.
Earlier this week, Owens refused to discuss his previous trip to the Dawg Pound.
“I’m not really worried about what happened in the past,” he said.
Tell that to those hard-to-please Cowboys fans or Jones, the flamboyant billionaire owner. The Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl since 1995. Anything short of getting their hands on a sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy will be seen as failure by fans in Texas and other points where the five-pointed blue star is worshipped.
Now in his second season as Cowboys coach, Wade Phillips, who was raised in the Lone Star State, has learned to embrace the pressure of playing for one of sport’s most storied franchises.
“I told my guys early on, ‘If you don’t want to be in the spotlight, you don’t need to be with the Dallas Cowboys,’” he said. “You’ve got to be able to handle media and expectations and predictions and all those things and go on and do your job the Cowboy way.”
The Browns’ way in recent years has meant little more than being a punching bag. However, a surprising 10-6 record - only the second season with 10 wins since 1988 - raised the club’s profile. With five nationally televised regular-season games on its schedule, Cleveland again is being viewed as a pro football hotspot after years of neglect.
Led by an offense that racked up 402 points, the Browns have enough firepower to hang with any team. Injuries prevented Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Anderson, running back Jamal Lewis, wide receiver Braylon Edwards and Cleveland’s other offensive starters from playing a single snap together during a winless exhibition season.
Those games didn’t count. Today, everything matters.
“We’ve got high expectations for this team, not just the offense,” said tight end Kellen Winslow, who says he can improve on an 82-catch, 1,106-yard 2007 season.
As do the Cowboys, who will get their first look at Adam “Pacman” Jones, the troubled, talented cornerback/kick returner. Jones recently was reinstated by commissioner Roger Goodell after serving a 17-month suspension for a litany of off-field issues.
Mr. Jones, as Browns coach Romeo Crennel referred to him this week, hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2006, when he was with the Tennessee Titans. In his Dallas debut, Jones will return punts, join rookie Felix Jones on kickoff returns and might see some time at cornerback.
“I don’t want to get too overhyped, but Sunday I’ll be ready,” he said. “I’m just trying to not get too riled up.”
