Last night’s 45-35 win was huge for Dallas.

Yes, the supposedly revamped defense orchestrated by defensive guru/head coach Wade Phillips gave up 35 points to an average offense. I understand that the loss of CB Terence Newman and LB Greg Ellis was felt…much like falling on a cactus. And, yes, there was obviously some Cowboys who overslept and missed the tackling drills in training camp. 

I agree that QB Tony Romo very well could be the real deal after living up to the off-season hype and piling up career numbers last night. RB Marion Barber played like a demon pissed off. The receivers were catching passes and running with a driven purpose. When you think about it, it’s no surprise that Jerry Jones hired Jason Garrett before Phillips.

I watched the game last night from start to finish, and I kept thinking to myself, “What is so different about this team? I see the product on the field scoring TD’s, giving up big plays, sacking Manning, missing tackles, etc. I know there are new faces weaved throughout this franchise, but there is something else about this Dallas Cowboys team that is peculiar.”

And then it hit me — They’re smiling.

There is a fresh, explosive wave of exuberance and revelry that is permeatting the locker room and carrying over onto the field that is contagious. Garrett is laughing and shoving players in good nature as he greets them coming off the field and talking to them. Romo makes a mistake, in a split second realizes what he did, and then grins. He gets over it. When he calls plays in the huddle, his hand gestures and facial expressions are lively.

Terrell Owens is smiling, laughing, and chest-bumping teammates who made big plays BEFORE he caught his first pass.

Even the defensive players were clapping hands and exhibiting poise while leaking at the seams.

Coach Wade Phillips cheered when the team scored and/or made big plays and ran onto the field hands raised when the final gun sounded. We haven’t seen this excitement from a coach since Jimmy Johnson.

I then realized how refreshing it is to not have grumpy Bill Parcells on the sideline. He did an excellent job finding his type of players to lay an unshakable foundation to build upon, but these athletes had unharnessed jubilance that were kept bottled up due to Big Bill’s demeanor and Marine-soaked philosophies. When he won a game, he walked onto the field like someone had left a steaming pile of manure on his freshly-stained deck.  If the offense conducted a momentum-changing play, he grabbed an offensive lineman and would chew him out for missing his assignment.

There is much to be excited about entering 2007, and you can tell by the shaken champaign bottles being uncorked.