IRVING – Since one of my New Year's resolutions was to be more positive, here's the No. 1 reason the Cowboys have a chance to beat Seattle on Saturday night: Mike Furrey doesn't play for them. After torching the Cowboys' secondary for 11 catches and 102 yards, Furrey spent several minutes Sunday explaining how the Seahawks could win.
His plan includes launching balls in the general direction of the Cowboys' secondary, which has helped several quarterbacks resurrect their careers in recent weeks.
This team's rallying cry at this point is, "Hey, the Seahawks are pretty bad, too."
I just heard owner Jerry Jones say on the radio that he has the healthiest club in the league, but it doesn't make much difference when your healthy players are a bunch of stiffs.
Maybe it's time to stop talking about how much this defense is underachieving and just admit that it's pretty awful.
I mean does anyone know where Stephen Bowen came from? This guy saw meaningful action Sunday and actually came up with a sack.
But with the exception of DeMarcus Ware, all this alleged talent keeps coming up empty.
It would appear that Bradie James is a better spokesperson than he is a linebacker after watching him continue to get lost in pass coverage.
And watching safety Roy Williams short-arm a certain interception in his own end zone was another embarrassing moment for a guy who's supposed to be a cornerstone.
The fact that the defense was making wholesale changes after what seemed like every play speaks to its desperation. You're almost two years into the most talked-about scheme change in league history and you suddenly make a change to the 4-3.
Either Greg Ellis deserves to be in Ring of Honor tomorrow or we vastly overrated this defense coming out of Oxnard.
Nothing against Greg, but I'm leaning toward the latter.
Now, keep reading for more inspiring information.
Things I jotted down on my 8½x11¾-inch notepad: It's hard to believe there was a time when Lions wide receiver Mike Furrey didn't dominate this league.
Last year, the former XFL great started 11 games at safety for St. Louis, where he had four interceptions.
On Sunday, Furrey caught 11 passes for 102 yards and caused an estimated $200 in property damage.
After his 13-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, Furrey celebrated by rifling the ball against one of the stars hanging on the end zone wall.
The fiberglass star came crashing to the ground and Fox cameras were able to reveal a large crack.
After the game, Furrey went with the typical, "I thought it was part of the wall" alibi, but Texas Stadium Corp. vice president Bruce Hardy wasn't amused when reached by phone late Sunday.
"I didn't see it happen," Hardy said. "But when I saw them showing a crack on TV, my heart just dropped. We want this place to look great for our fans, so I don't think it's funny."
Hardy said he won't send Furrey a bill for the damages and that a new star will be "molded" soon.
"I didn't think it would come off," said a contrite Furrey, who then talked about how much his teammates loved it.
League officials were meeting late Sunday night to discuss how to better protect decorative end zone pieces. ….
In other touchdown celebration news, T.O. performed the Hokey Pokey dance following his 56-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. He began by putting his right foot in and taking his right foot out before shaking all about.
This variation of the Hokey Pokey was popularized at the Seagoville Super Skate in the early '80s and was usually followed by the awkward "couples skate." …
When affable nose tackle Jason Ferguson can't come up with anything positive after a game, you know it's bad. He said the defense was in a "slump" and didn't think a late-season scheme change was going to turn things around. Ferguson was embarrassed about the performance and said he was tired of the offense "having to tote the defense." …
And if you're wondering why Ed Drummond was lighting up the Cowboys, Ryan Fowler told me the Lions' punt return unit did a great job of setting up a backside wall for Drummond to turn the corner on his 40-yard return early in the first quarter. On his 32-yard return later in the quarter, Fowler said the unit got too conservative and allowed Drummond to escape up the middle. "Hey, this guy has been one of the best in the league," Fowler said. …
Congratulations to Australian punting genius Mat McBriar for finishing the season with a 48.2-yard average. He's the first punter to average over 48 yards for a season since Yale Lary did it in 1963. …
Rookie linebacker Bob Carpenter said he found out that he was starting during a Saturday night meeting. He finished with two tackles and a pass deflection but he was upset with himself for coming up empty a couple of times when had a chance to sack Jon Kitna. "I knew he was a good quarterback because I used to be a huge Bengals fan," Carpenter said of Kitna. …
I'm told Fox analyst and former Cowboys offensive lineman Brian Baldinger had the scoop of the day when he announced that Bill Parcells began his coaching career in Wichita Falls.
For years, Bill has listed Wichita State as one of his early coaching stops, but Dinger finally cleared things up. ….
Bumped into Lions fans Steve Novak of Dallas and Pat Johnson of Plano before the game. The two Detroit natives said they were rooting against the Lions because they wanted the No. 1 pick in the draft, but Sunday's victory spoiled their hopes. …
Knew it was bad karma when the Meow Mix theme song (Meow, meow, meow …) came blasting through the PA system as the Lions took the field. …
Still trying to figure out why Tony Romo took his anger out on McBriar after Romo fumbled early in the third quarter. Romo walked by an unsuspecting McBriar and slapped a football out of his hands. …
Parcells lost his challenge of Roy Williams' first-quarter touchdown, in part, because Fox used three hand-held camcorders to cover the game. …
Am I the only one who has a problem with safety Roy Williams taking a cheap shot on former Cowboys tight end Dan Campbell?
E-mail mmosley@dallasnews.com
