Kevin Sherrington

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Other than the fact that it was an extremely bad week for Patrick Crayton, who lost not one job but two, and a loud week for the owner, here's what we know for sure about the Cowboys going into today's game at JerryWorld:

They have to beat the Falcons.

Or maybe they don't.

My suggestion is that they go ahead and give it their best shot, just in case.

The confusion stems from seemingly opposing viewpoints that show the Cowboys coming off their best week of the season – and they didn't even play – or the position that no one really knows how good anyone else is.

How many of you figured going in that Denver and Minnesota would be 6-0 and Tennessee 0-6?

How many predicted Cincinnati would lead the AFC North?

How many really thought the Jets and their rookie quarterback would beat New England? How many Jets converts consequently bet on Miami and Buffalo?

Granted, the Cowboys have no reason to strut around Valley Ranch, either. Not with a 3-2 record and various problems beating the league's worst teams.

But what about the rest of the big, bad NFC East?

The Giants' best win was against Dallas, and they're coming off a three-touchdown loss to New Orleans.

Philadelphia couldn't beat Al Davis' honorary pallbearers.

And Washington? The Redskins proved once again last week that, as long as Danny Snyder is alive, Jerry Jones isn't the craziest owner in the room.

Minnesota may have the NFC's best team when both Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin are healthy, but its offense is run by a 40-year-old quarterback. Brett Favre faded badly last year. How long can he last in his latest comeback?

New Orleans could give the Vikings a run in the NFC, especially at home, where the Saints will play the Cowboys in December.

But after Minnesota, New Orleans and maybe the Giants, which teams do you really like?

Take today's visitor, Atlanta. The Falcons are 4-1 and well coached. They have wins over winning teams, something the Cowboys can't claim. They also have everyone's favorite young quarterback, Matt Ryan, the latest Peyton Manning.

So how do the Cowboys compare with the Falcons?

Consider the analysis of Keith Brooking, who just spent the last 11 seasons in Atlanta:

"This team is the most talented I've been on."

The same Cowboys that consistently find new ways to look bad, winning or losing.

Even this week, with Felix Jones and Gerald Sensabaugh returning and all the starters back except maybe Roy Williams, the Cowboys managed to screw up the good news.

For instance: Crayton lost his job as a punt returner to Allen Rossum and his starting position at receiver to Miles Austin. No problem here with either move. But Crayton learned about Austin's promotion through the grapevine, which is not how professionals act.

Unfortunately, it's just another example of the details that seem to elude the Cowboys.

From top down, organizations set a tone on how to conduct business. So what does it say to his impressionable charges when Wade Phillips claims after a game that he didn't know if Marion Barber was available? Or when he says he's sure someone told Crayton he was out?

Blame Jerry for the miscommunications. He started it when he made Jason Garrett the offensive coordinator and Phillips the defensive coordinator and left no one in charge.

Unless you count Jerry, who was his old self last week.

Besides an appearance on Jay Leno's show and other entertainment highlights, he revealed in cryptic terms that the Cowboys could have made a big trade.

Or it could have been a line of bull to distract the media from issues at hand.

With the Cowboys, it's always something. For this problem, Brooking has some advice for his teammates:

"Don't worry about all the distractions about being a Dallas Cowboy. Winning ballgames has to be your priority. At the end of the day, we have to be a mature football team and not allow anyone or anything to distract us from doing what I know we can do."

Of course, that's been the prescription since long before he got here.