As the playoffs heat up, so do the intensity of the matchups and the intrigue of the story lines on the field. With eight teams remaining in contention to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Glendale, Ariz., on Feb. 3, Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole, Charles Robinson and Michael Silver will spend the rest of the week exploring key questions heading into the divisional round. Their first question deals with the health of a certain superstar receiver in Big D.
HOW MUCH TROUBLE WILL THE DALLAS COWBOYS OFFENSE ENCOUNTER IF TERRELL OWENS IS SIDELINED OR GREATLY LIMITED?
Cole: To borrow a line from my boy Silver (or Silvah as he likes to be known around the 'hood in NorCal), Dallas will be toastier than Tony Romo after a day of throwing down Cabo Wabo-laced refreshments on Mexican beaches with Lady Jess and JWitt by his side. Without T.O. around to create matchup problems, the Dallas offense is about as stagnant as Scott Stapp's career. You can juggle the likes of Patrick Crayton, Terry Glenn and Sam Hurd all you want, but none of them scare a defense – not even the suspect secondary that New York employs.
Robinson: Without Owens, Dallas' offense will be as painfully awkward as one of Jason Cole's forced metaphors. OK, maybe not that bad, but the Cowboys without T.O. are far and away a different animal, just like any offense would be when losing one of the league's elite playmakers. Crayton is solid, and Jason Witten is reliable, but neither commands a minimum of two defenders on every play. Even when he's not catching passes, Owens makes both the passing and running game better just by occupying attention on the field. And before folks start trumpeting the return of Glenn, they should realize that Cowboys coach Wade Phillips isn't even entirely sure what kind of workload his veteran receiver can handle at this point.
Silver: How much will change for Dallas' offense if Owens can't play, or if he isn't himself on Sunday? Try everything. Yes, Romo is a terrific quarterback who will likely elevate his game for the playoffs, and he's dialed into Pro tight end Jason Witten, with whom he just perfected passing routes while kicking it poolside in Mexico. And yes, Glenn, a first-rate receiver when healthy, is back after missing most of the year with a knee injury. However, T.O. is the one who makes it all go, and if he's out or ineffective, defenses will play the Cowboys differently, loading up on Witten and paying less attention to the wideouts while giving more frequent safety help to stopping the Dallas running game. With all of that said, I expect T.O. to rally and excel while playing through his pain, as he did in Super Bowl XXXIX.
