The Essence of Sunday's Vike/Cowboy Playoff Game

I have not read or heard any of what I am about to say on television, in print on the web, or in any other format; because I had not yet written it. First of all, to say Dallas does not really need Marion Barber because of the emergence of Felix Jones and Tashard Choice is complete nonsense. Barber helps Felix have his identity on the field as the "speed guy". Just as a defense has to respect the pure flight of Felix on the edge, they also must account for Barber's absolute tenacity between the tackles. Now the offensive line is predominantly responsible for this, but be honest: when was the last time you saw Jones smash someone in the hole? Forget about this talk that M.B. does not break as many tackles as he used to, or he is not a punishing runner anymore, he is. When a defense has to go all out to bring a guy like that down play after play, it seasons them, if you will, for the speed guy. Against Philly this wasn't necessarily true, as the line was bringing back memories of 1993 with the freeway lanes they opened. In this scenario, Jones is without a doubt your man. And I know it is easy to look at the runs Barber executes and say, "Man, if Felix was running that play he would have scored." I know this because I said it myself. I love Felix Jones' talent and speed, who wouldn't? Just be prepared for more short yardage situations against the purple and horns, a sympton Barber is perfectly prescribed for. If you remember, we had good 3rd down situations against the Eagles and converted, again, due to the offensive line's dominance of the Eagles' front four.
This coming weekend, however, is quite different for our offense. Minnesota has some real tonnage on that defensive line, the Williams brothers namely, to go skull to bone crushing skull with what I think is the biggest, baddest, pulling est-and-hit-you-in-the-mouth offensive line in football. Enter the barbarian. Who else could do the punishing job of grinding out tough yardage against a front four like that? And let us not forget: Barber is no stranger to hitting a defense on the edge. With this in mind, the barbarian is my pick for "guy to get it done". Last week I picked Felix Jones, and it fit the opponent. I don't know about you, but I do not want nimble Felix running up in there on a power running play, trying to shake one of those behemoths off his back. Barber is the man for that role. And I know Jason Garret has a tendency to whip that ball around through the aerial attack when the ground game stalls, I leave that mixture to him.
Momentum is on our sides. Health is on our sides. We finally have some real leadership, which I might share in another blog, but foremost and firsthand, Barber is the key to this game. Sometimes an offense that is rolling like ours will get too crafty for it's own good. Garrett is definitely a crafty booger, and I love that. I just hope he and the Cowboys' fans don't forget how you handle a big, tough D-line like the Minnesota Vikings: HIT THEM IN THE MOUTH, with our iron-clad warrior fist, Marion "the barbarian" Barber. It's like D-Ware said, "Kill mode".