Former Head Coach Bill Parcells used to warn his players not to "eat the cheese," meaning not to get too caught up in their own good press. Cheese, he reasoned is used to bait traps.
 
There are a lot of things I don't miss about Big Bill, but now would be a good time for the Cowboys to heed the that advice. And for fans still giddy about the first play-off win since 1873 (or whenever,) don't be too quick to drink the Kool-Aid.
 
Now, I am not predicting a loss, by any means. In fact, I am sticking with my recent habit of not predicting anything at all, mostly because I am so often wrong, and i don't want to jinx anything. But let's get serious about this game.
 
All the sports talkers keep telling us Dallas is "the hottest team in the NFC," "the most complete team," or even "Super Bowl favorite." But it was only a month ago they were saying the same things about New Orleans and Minnesota. They are all three still the same teams.
 
You can say Minnesota had a late season slump, losing 3 of their last five, but they scored 30 points in one of those losses, an overtime loss on the road, and scored 30 and 44 in their two wins. You can say Brett Favre threw four of his seven INTs in the season's final month, but he has still only thrown seven of them. You can say Adrian Peterson had a down year, but he had about 1800 total yards of offense and 18 touchdowns. You can say Jared Allen got eight of his 14.5 sacks in two games against the Packers, but nobody on the Dallas defense has gotten eight sacks in any two games.
 
I could go on, but you get the point. These guys are pretty good, and this is going to be a tough, tough game. It is winnable, no doubt, but not by cheese-eaters.