Good vs. Evil

Jerry Jones signs Greg Hardy's 1-year $11.3 million deal

Dallas defensive end Greg Hardy is a bully who hurts women. Jerry Jones is a scoundrel who showers millions on bullies who hurt women.

Most football games are merely fun, with no real moral principle at stake, but the depravity of Hardy and Jones introduces a downright Manichaean dimension to tomorrow's contest.

We have the Cowboys--a team that implicitly condones violence against women--hosting the Seahawks, whose players visit kids with cancer in the hospital every Tuesday.

You're next, Coach.

During last week's loss in New York, Hardy threw a tantrum on the sideline, shoved a coach and got in a shouting match with Dez Bryant. How did Jones react to this fresh evidence that Hardy is still an out-of-control nut job? "I welcome that. Their type of juice, their type of passion - that's not a Knute Rockne speech.... Those guys, they walk the walk and talk the talk. So when they get in there giving it back and forth, then everybody in there knows that it's real and that they're very much doing that for their own benefit." Jones also indicated that he wants to sign Hardy to a long-term extension.

Jerry Jones likes Hardy's "type of juice... type of passion."

The only way to show Jones he's wrong is to beat his team. Of course, if holding the moral high ground won football games, then Desmond Tutu and Mr. Rogers would have been in the NFL.

On the field, it still comes down to Xs and Os and execution, so let's break it down.

With All-Pro Tony Romo starting under center, Dallas won their first two games.

Without him, they've dropped four in a row, including two at home. In one of those home losses, New England blew them out, but the Cowboys kept the other three contests reasonably close.

Seattle should not expect to dominate relatively easily like we did in Santa Clara the Thursday before last.

The Dallas offense still features an all-world offensive line and a strong stable of running backs. Joseph Randle is out, but Darren McFadden ripped off 152 yards Against the Giants and their middling rush defense last week. His backup tomorrow will be some kid out of A&M named Christine Michael who doubtless wants to prove something after getting so few opportunities in his two Seattle seasons.

The Seahawks generally play good run defense, but the Dallas O-Line poses a unique challenge. I would be tempted to go heavy on the defensive line, fielding three or four big tackles to stalemate the line of scrimmage, plug up the middle and stonewall the Cowboy running game.

Matt Cassell is 2-0 against Seattle, but he looked terrible and basically lost the game for Dallas last week by throwing three interceptions Against the Giants, who rank 30th out of 32 NFL teams in pass defense. Cassell probably won't do that again, but it's nice to imagine that Pete Carroll--his coach at USC--might know something to exploit.

Dez Bryant's probable return shouldn't matter much, now that Richard Sherman is shadowing our opponents' #1 receivers every down. More worrisome is Dallas Clark, since we still struggle to shut down tight ends.

Upon return from suspension last month, Dallas defensive end Greg Hardy said he felt like "The Kraken," a fictional sea monster that crushes sailors in its tentacles. Hardy is a real-life monster who grabbed his girlfriend, threw her around like a rag doll, forced her down on a couch strewn with guns, and then throttled & threatened to kill her. High character guy.

The Cowboy defense is a riddle. They are relatively stingy when it comes to yielding yards, but fairly generous in ceding points. Seattle should emulate New England and work to dismantle Dallas with a balanced air and ground attack.

Alvin Bailey needs to hit Hardy really hard

Given that Russell Okung is ailing, the O-Line is likely to take a step back, and Russell Wilson will be running for his life back there more than ever. If Okung can't go, then his backup Alvin Bailey will have to handle Hardy. Given the latter's record of violence against women, I hope our offensive linemen fully inhabit their roles as vectors of karmic retribution.

If Darrell Bevell can maintain his recent playcalling groove. situations , and if Russell Wilson can is in the zone--and stops stop throwing unnecessary interceptions--then the Seahawks should be able to bundle the Cowboys into body bags and bury their season on Boot Hill.

Dallas has it coming. We need to make them pay for desecrating Seahawks Stadium last year. Jerry Jones rivals Donald Trump as a buffoonish parody of a comic book villain.

Go, Hawks!