Cowboys Named 'Biggest Threat' To Bucs by Former NFL GM
FRISCO - There are two things to like about former NFL GM and now ESPN analyst Mike Tannenbaum's view that the Dallas Cowboys are the “biggest threat” to the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ back-to-back NFL championship aspirations.
First, though, to Tannenbaum's quote.
“They are,'' Tannenbaum said during a recent episode of ESPN’s Get Up!, "the biggest threat in the NFC to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.''
Now, to the two aspects of Tannebaum's take that should have appeal to the "America's Team'' faithful.
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One, contrary to the view of some Cowboys haters - but driven in part by team owner Jerry Jones' annual unbreakable optimistic hype - it is a legitimate enough prediction. Dallas is favored by most oddsmakers to overcome Washington to win the NFC East. If a team is a division winner, it is by definition a "threat.''
And yes, with QB Dak Prescott back under center and his longterm contract negotiations wrapped up, the Dallas offense seems locked and loaded. ... and maybe prepared to drag the Cowboys' mediocre-at-best defense along with it to the NFL playoffs.
But there is something else in play here when Tannenbaum adds, "I expect this team to compete against Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship Game.''
That is a different-level prediction. That's not saying, "threat.'' That's the old GM putting his reputation on the line to envision a Tampa-Dallas title game. And what should appeal to Dallas fans here is that unlike the TV squawkers who peddle their wares with noise, fake expertise and manufactured hatred (yes, you, "showboat'' Skip, and you, "Diamond-Encrusted Toilet'' Orlovsky, and you, Stephen X. Smith - the "X'' standing for "xenophobe'') ...
Tannenbaum is not given to flash.
He thinks it's Dallas vs. Tampa because he really thinks it.
And what do we think? We think we'll be with the Dallas Cowboys from training camp through the preseason and we will join them to pay a visit to the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, Sept. 9. ... at which time the reality of the rosy predictions will begin to unfold.
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