It's that time of year again. Large family gatherings, turkey, pie and of course football are always headlines for the Thanksgiving holiday. However, it can be easy as a Dallas Cowboys fan, to forget to be thankful.
You might wonder what you could possibly be thankful for in what seems to have been a mediocre season so far. Here are a few things I'm thankful about in regards to the Dallas Cowboys.
- A healthy offense. It's been really easy to focus on how beat up the Cowboys' defense is, but with the return of Miles Austin, the offense could likely start playing to its full potential. Otherwise, the only major loss for this offense has been the veteran Brian Waters. A healthy Demarco Murray also showed how much he can help the offense against the Giants rushing for 86 yards and providing some great offensive balance.
- Tony Romo. Yeah yeah yeah. I know he is one of the most polarizing players in the league but the simple fact of the matter is he is having one of the best years of his career. Overall he is currently ranked 8th among all QBs. He is fourth in touchdowns thrown this year with 23. He has only thrown 7 interceptions. He also has 11 fourth quarter or OT game-winning drives over the last three years which is the most in the NFL. I'm thankful that we have Tony Romo as a QB especially when I look around the league to see teams struggling to find the answer at the most important position on the field.
- The Few. With the defense struggling through so many injuries, the play of a few of the defensive leaders has been critical. This defense is obviously very flawed, but they have been creating turnovers. Jason Hatcher is playing the best football of his career, getting consistent pressure on the opposing quarterback. Brandon Carr and Barry Church have done everything they can to keep this secondary functional and Orlando Scandrick has stepped up his game as well. It's never easy for a secondary that has to go against Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning all in one year. I think this tough lineup has made the Dallas secondary look much worse than they actually are. I'm thankful for the few defensive players that have not fallen to injury.
- 4-0. National media seems to focus on the fact that this team can't seem to distance itself from the .500 trenches. Here's what I care about: the Cowboys are undefeated in NFC East play. With only two division games left, the Cowboys could easily go 6-0 in division play. And that means playoffs for Dallas.
- Cowboys Nation. I am thankful to be a member of the greatest fan-base in the world. Whether you like it or not, the Cowboys are still America's team, and that's what makes Cowboys Nation so special. This team may put us through an undeserved amount of stress and heartache but we always come back to fill AT&T Stadium to cheer on our favorite team. I am thankful to be a part of Cowboys Nation.
It can be easy to be negative, but given the time of year it's important to remember to be thankful. Eat some turkey, enjoy some time with family and watch some Cowboys football. Happy Thanksgiving.
