So much for Dallas

OK, my prediction of Dallas over San Diego in the Super Bowl doesn't look so good. Today the Eagles beat the snot out of the Cowboys (final score 44-6) to send them home for the winter. Way back when, before the season started, I said the Cowboys only weakness was its coach, and I still feel that way. There were other problems, like losing their QB for a month, the offensive line getting old, injuries in the secondary, and so on. But if they had a good coach, they could have overcome these obstacles. New England has 14 guys on injured reserve, including Tom Brady, and they still won 11 games (which isn't good enough in the AFC) but then the Pats have a real coach.

There was a moment in today's game which highlighted the problem. The game wasn't completely out of reach yet, and Dallas faced a 4th-and-1. Wade Phillips sent the punting team on the field, and Tony Romo waved them off. He kept the offense out there, and they picked up the first down. Great initiative by Romo, but who is running that team? I don't know a lot of head coaches (most of whom are typically control freaks) letting their players make those decisions. It begs the question: why do they need Wade Phillips at all?

At least the Chargers are still alive, although just barely. As I write this, they are leading Denver, and they need this game to finish 8-8, which will qualify for the playoffs. Hey, somebody has to win the AFC West. It's the Chargers luck to play in the weakest division in the NFL, where 8 wins gets you in the playoffs, while New England wins 11 games and misses out.

Which brings me up on my soapbox again. It's time to do away with all of the division and conference concept with respect to wild cards. San Diego can make the playoffs with an 8-8 record, while a bunch of teams with 9, 10, or even 11 wins didn't make it. Therefore, if I were king (or at least NFL Commissioner) I would decree that the teams with the 12 best records make the playoffs. Period. If there's a tie, the appropriate tie-breakers can be used, whether head-to-head competition, strength of schedule, or whatever.

My point is that the AFL-NFL merger took place almost 30 years ago. It's over. If the AFC has most of the best teams in the league, then they should send 7,8 or 9 teams to the playoffs if they have better records. There's no reason some underserving weak sister team in the other conference should be in the playoffs just because it won a weak division, or qualified for a wildcard in a weak conference. And the chance of this suggestion being adopted? Don't hold your breath.