Finally, Garrett's culture bears fruit

— -- IRVING, Texas -- Admit it: You roll your eyes every time coach Jason Garrett starts talking about taking an unemotional look at the Dallas Cowboys' previous game, building on the good stuff and correcting the stuff that wasn't so good.

And you probably scoff whenever Garrett starts talking about stacking good days together, and having a good walk-through followed by a good meeting followed by a good practice, because that positions the Cowboys to play their best football on Sunday.

Garrett's rhetoric is monotonous, for sure, but it's designed to create a culture that allows his team to handle the highs of success just as well as it deals with the despair of defeat.

Since he became coach halfway through the 2010 season, Garrett has always emphasized focusing on the here and now -- not yesterday, not tomorrow -- and the aspects of preparation each individual player can control.

None of Garrett's mantras seemed to matter all that much when the Cowboys finished 8-8 each of the past three seasons, winning more than three in a row just once.

Now it matters more than ever because the Cowboys are 6-1 and tied with the Denver Broncos for the NFL's best record.