By RANDY GALLOWAY
rgalloway@star-telegram.com
Looking back. Looking ahead. Then there’s today.
It was Atlanta last week. That game, you remember, would define the season for the Dallas Cowboys to this point. And suddenly, the vibes were much better after an impressive win.
It is Philadelphia next week, in Philly. Green Bay after that, also on the road. Instead of the season being defined, stone-cold reality will arrive, at least until December.
But what about today?
Sandwiched between the feel-good moment against the Falcons, and the anticipation of what comes next, the Seattle Seahawks present an interesting emotional football conflict at the Big Yard in Arlington.
This is either looking way too easy, or it’s the Eagles playing the Raiders a couple of weeks ago. And the Seahawks, for all their current problems, are not to be confused with the Raiders, who, in case you forgot, did shock Philly.
The preaching has been done at Valley Ranch. All last week, the message centered on focus, focus, focus. Focus on Seattle only. Last week is gone, next week is next week. It’s about right now.
But even at the NFL level of football, this most elementary process of taking one ... game ... at ... a ... time can become blurred.
Talking to linebacker Keith Brooking on Thursday, he seemed totally confident the locker-room focus is where it needs to be. On Seattle.
Then again, the Cowboys’ locker room also knows what we know. This is a messed-up Seahawks team coming to town.
Already wiped out by injuries, the Seahawks learned last week that their best defensive player, linebacker Lofa Tatupu, is officially lost for the season after missing the previous two games. And their most decorated offensive player, tackle Walter Jones, was also declared out for the season. Again, all in one week.
Jones, who has been Mr. Pro Bowl in his career, would have been responsible for DeMarcus Ware, although Walter was actually injured on Thanksgiving a season ago, against, yes, the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. He hasn’t played since because of the knee wreckage, although the Seahawks had expected him back by now.
Replacing Jones has been, of course, impossible. But it’s also worth noting that four players have been used this season at left tackle (again, where Ware roams), and today I think it’s like the third stringer due to start, since the replacement for Jones is also hurt.
Go back to Thanksgiving a year ago, and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was also a casualty of the Cowboys’ 34-9 blowout, missing the rest of the season after being sacked seven times. Hasselbeck will start today, but in a 2-4 season he’s been absent for half the games, obviously still not healthy.
So it goes in this injury wipeout for Seattle.
Meanwhile, it looks
sooooo good for the opposition. The Cowboys have returned to the peak of health for today. And that’s physical and mental health, based on what the Atlanta win did for the collective noggins.
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