After the Dallas Cowboys won the Falcons game, my good friend and fellow NFL fan voice, Dan Parzych, messaged me this: “I must say….that was one impressive victory for your Boys today. I’d say big, BIG statement game.”

This was a big statement game yes, but did it surprise me? No, it did not.

The Dallas Cowboys were under a lot of pressure. They were a 4-2 team that looked like it was hanging on by the skin of their teeth instead of the dominant team that they were in 2007 or the team that looked great at times in 2008.

They were not a bad team, but more of a team that was without focus and had mistakes instead of executions for plays.

They had not even beaten a team that had a won a game. The Buccaneers still haven’t won a game, and the Chiefs and Panthers won games after they lost to Dallas.

So, they were going up against a team that had the reigning NFL Coach of the Year, a hotshot young quarterback who was the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, the NFL’s all-time receiving tight end, a running back who led the league in rushing last year, and a receiver who had the most receiving yards last year.

Oh, and they had made playoffs too.

It was not going to be easy. Many thought the Cowboys were, to quote T.I. and Timberlake, “Dead and Gone” and were going downhill from there with a team that had just blown their chances to beat the Giants and were done away with against the Broncos.

Dallas not only won the game, but aside from two drives, they dominated the Falcons on all three parts of the game. They scored 37 points, Tony Romo threw for three touchdowns and 311 yards.

The defense had four sacks, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. The special teams had amazing coverage and scored a 73 yard touchdown on a punt return.

Why am I not surprised though? Why am I, James Williamson, not surprised by what Dallas did to that team?

Because Dallas is capable of doing that to, if not all, most of the teams in the National Football League, and I am as serious as a heart attack when I say that.

I remember thinking to myself, before the game started, “This team is not better than us. The only way they should win is if Dallas becomes a chicken farm and starts laying eggs.”

I have watched this team for three years now. I’ve reviewed the film so many times, I’ve actually had dreams with it playing. If I didn’t know this team, then I’d be an underachieving fan voice to say the least.

These guys are special. I know they are. When they are on, I don’t think any Dallas team can compare to them.

The problem is that they don’t stay on. They are a flickering light bulb that is unreliable and that is what makes them a tough team to watch because the light bulb will fizzle out at the most inopportune time.

Look at the talent level around them. They have an outside linebacker who I think, when it is all said and done, will be up there with the likes of Lawrence Taylor and Derrick Thomas in terms of pass rushing, and maybe better than both against the run.

In case you are still wondering who that is, I’m ashamed of you if you call yourself a Dallas fan and not know how special DeMarcus Ware is on this team.

The defensive line is very good by itself, and add in the linebacking group of the aforementioned DeMarcus Ware with Bradie James, Keith Brooking, Anthony Spencer, and several capable reserves, this team’s front seven has no reason to not execute.

When they started to struggle after the first part of the season, Wade Phillips apparently challenged the guys to be the kind of group they were last year. He wanted to see the group that led the entire league in sacks with DeMarcus Ware having 20 by himself.

The secondary, while weak at times, has the potential to be great. Mike Jenkins has exceeded my expectations of him as a cornerback. Last year, he had one interception and he already has two now.

Same with Orlando Scandrick. He didn’t have a single interception last year, but he came up big against Atlanta with an interception.

Terence Newman is one of the top corners in this league. He is up there with Asante Samuel, Nmandi Asomugha, and Champ Bailey. He may not have as many interceptions as them, but he isn’t thrown on that often because of what he will do if he intercepts that ball.

Case in point, the interception against the Panthers that he took back for a touchdown.

Gerald Sensabaugh has been an amazing replacement for Roy Williams at safety. He may not intercept the ball, but he is such a ferocious hitter that the players lose control of the ball, and he can bat down passes very nicely.

He’s in the right system, with the right mindset, and on a team that is better than his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

When you have that kind of situation, that player is usually going to prosper because he feels great about everything, and attitude is one of the things that is overlooked when it comes to success in football.

Ken Hamlin still struggles at times, but he is trying to get back to his former Pro Bowl self, and I think he can do it.

This is just the defense. The offense is just as amazing to me.

Yeah, we don’t have T.O. anymore, but maybe it is for the best.

Many times Jerry Jones said in conferences that he felt that our younger receivers were progressing, and he wanted to see how they would develop if given the opportunity, and Owens was probably a distraction on some level to the team, certainly Tony Romo.

Tony Romo is now in a situation where he can worry about the only thing that matters to this team. How do they win the football game?

He doesn’t have to worry about feeding T.O. a perfect ball for a touchdown now. He can just throw to whoever is open now.

We lost a deep threat in Owens, but Jerry’s gamble paid off when Miles Austin came to the spotlight.

I don’t want to overrate the guy yet. He has only started two games, but in those two games, he was just awesome.

He apparently has more receiving yards in his first two starts than any receiver ever had in three!

He, at least, is a dangerous weapon to watch. Even if he doesn’t require double coverage all the time, he should get it, at least, some of the time. That means one less cover guy on the other receivers.

Patrick Crayton was originally the starter, but Miles Austin took over after Crayton was struggling, but he is still a great threat to defenses.

He understands the game, great hands, runs very good routes, and is very tough.

I actually like Crayton as third receiver though. Because the third receiver is in the slot and goes up against the nickel cornerback, who is the third cornerback.

I think Patrick Crayton is better than any nickel cornerback in the NFL, so that is an amazing advantage for him and the Cowboys.

Roy Williams has been a disappointment at wide receiver lately, but there could be reasons as to why he hasn’t made it big yet.

One is probably that he and Romo are still working on their chemistry together. Two, he did have a big rib injury, so he could be hurting while he runs.

I do have faith that the combination will work, but even if it doesn’t, the Cowboys have other weapons to work with.

The addition of Martellus Bennett is very unique because the Cowboys have one great tight end in Jason Witten, so to put a guy who is almost as dangerous on the other side is just brillant thinking by Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett.

Besides being a great receiving tight end, Jason Witten is an amazing blocking tight end. If you put every tight end in the league in a line and asked which man is just as dangerous as a receiver as he is a blocker, Jason would be the guy.

The other blockers with Witten are some of the best lineman in the game. Leonard Davis, Andre Gurode, and Flozell Adams are regular Pro Bowlers, while Marc Columbo is a Pro Bowl snub, and Kyle Kosier is just as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.

The running back trio of Tashard Choice, Marion Barber, and Felix Jones is arguably the best group in the NFL. Jones with his amazing speed, Barber with his bruising runs, and Choice is just a solid mix of both toughness and speed with an amazing sense for the holes and the first down marker.

Even our fullback, Deon Anderson, is effective as a blocker and he can make a play as a receiver at times.

Our special teams is great with new coach Joe DeCamillis and a few new players like David Buehler, our kickoff touchback specialist.

Add Pro Bowlers Matt McBriar and Nick Folk at punter and placekicker respectively, and I’d say Dallas is particularly strong at special teams

I don’t care what the critics say about Tony Romo because, to me, one of the best quarterbacks in the game. He may have his mistakes, but I do see a Lombardi trophy in his future. Maybe even more than one.

If you put down a list of quarterbacks who are so important to their team that their success leads to the team’s success, Tony Romo would be on that very short list.

Tony Romo is 31-14 as a starter here in Dallas. People who say this guy isn’t a good quarterback are out of their minds.

He doesn’t just play quarterback, he wins the games unlike some quarterbacks who have won the Super Bowl because of the team around them.

With all this talent, why should I be surprised that they won 37-21 against a playoff team?

This team is starting to turn on and stay on the entire game. If they can do that the entire season, I don’t see them missing playoffs at all.

I’m not surprised. I’m excited that our Dallas Cowboys are showing what they truly are capable of now.

Here’s to a great season!