Cowboys fans face a bigger and bigger dilemma as each year passes following the Bill Parcells era in Dallas: Do they continue to root for their beloved Cowboys to have mild success and make playoffs, only to be manhandled by a better built team? Or do they dare root for the team to lose in a desperate attempt to make Jerry Jones change his ways?
Parcells didn't give the Cowboys playoff wins during his stay at Valley Ranch, but he led the most successful drafts since Jimmy Johnson walked out. The core players of those drafts are now aging leaders without much time left as effective players.
Instead of building on the successes of those drafts, the Cowboys owner reverted back to his old ways of hiring head coaches he could control and striking out on most of the draft picks he made.
This week was set up to be a classic cold shower of reality for Jones. If the Cowboys couldn't beat the Eagles at home during a season when the NFC East was a flaming train wreck, how could Jones have any more excuses?
Then Tony Romo's injury was revealed. The Vegas line went from favoring Dallas by a field goal to favoring Philadelphia by nearly a touchdown. Add one more convenient excuse for Jones.
Most of the nation expects the Cowboys to get throttled by the Eagles, but they are forgetting that the Cowboys spent a sizable chunk of change to keep Kyle Orton around as a very capable backup to Romo. Orton doesn't have Romo's ability, but he is a very savvy quarterback who is familiar with the Dallas offense.
This raises the question: What if the Cowboys manage to win this game? Obviously, the positive side would be that the Cowboys will have a winning season and make the playoffs.
On the other hand, a win could make Jones even more reluctant than usual to make any kind of organizational change. Plus, if the Cowboys manage to win against the Eagles without their starting quarterback, get ready for Romo haters to come out of the woodwork.
Even if the Cowboys get blown out of the playoffs the very next week, all we will hear about is how the Cowboys finally won a big game when Romo wasn't behind center. The ensuing and unneeded quarterback drama will hang like a cloud over the Cowboys through next season and distract fans from the real issue.
That issue, of course, is Jerry Jones' status as general manager and owner. From a business standpoint, Jones is wildly successful — how else can you explain a mediocre-at-best team remaining top-of-mind across the country? — but it's become clear Jones has no business in the war room.
The bluntly named website It's Jerry's Fault is asking disenfranchised Cowboys fans to "join the movement" and oust Jones as the team's general manager. It's unlikely that a T-shirt will dethrone him, but you've got to applaud the effort.
Regardless of what happens Sunday night, Cowboys fans will find themselves in a no-win situation until a major organizational change is made.
Tony Romo will be on the bench against the Eagles on Sunday.
