What's wrong with the Dallas Cowboys? On paper they are one of the most if not the most talented rosters in the league. Seriously, who has a better roster the Colts (4-0) or the Cowboys (2-2)?
There's a lot of things to talk about but we can narrow it down to a list of iniquities:
5. Defense - The Boys have not done a consistent job of pressuring the QB. DeMarcus Ware had 20 sacks last year and has exactly 0 by week 4 this season. The result? Their secondary is getting beat for big play. I don't necessarily see good discipline either. Last night I saw Anthony Spencer try to jump a route and intercept a ball meant for Buckhalter instead of batting it down and/or making the hit. The result? A big play for Denver. Did anyone watch that Carolina game? I haven't seen such poor tackling since my son's Middle School game. I'm assuming Wade has not taken over play calling duties from the Defensive Coordinator like he did last year, but he may need to soon. If he is calling the plays, then this really needs to be addressed.
4. Receivers - Romo is getting plenty of time in the pocket. But the fastest guy we have is Miles Austin who is our #3 receiver I believe. Our #1 is Roy Williams and he is big and slow. Patrick Crayton is a good, maybe slightly above average receiver. In a nutshell, Romo gets 4 seconds or so, but no one is getting open consistently. The result? Usually a sack, interception or incompletion because we all know Romo will not just throw the ball away. Jason Witten is the only real receiving threat and every team knows it
3. Tony Romo - Okay, Romo's been taking a lot of heat and most people would probably rank him #1 on this list. I refuse to do that. He is a very, very talented QB with so much potential. He is playing abnormally bad even for his standards. I mean, you don't expect to see him play this bad unless its a playoff game or a late December game. His biggest problems? He relies to much on his talent, he won't throw the ball away if no one's open, he forces the ball too much...all sound like the same problem right? Here's the kicker; he's not a leader. If we haven't seen it before, we're seeing it now. There can't be any leadership there because this team is underachieving, plain and simple. I like Romo, but he needs to toughen up mentally. He CAN be a franchise QB, but he's not playing like it right now.
2. Play Calling/Jason Garrett - I hate to put this at the feet of Jason Garrett, but the offensive play calling is his responsibility right? This team's personnel dictates that it be a run oriented, blitz oriented team. Do they play that way? No. With Barber, Jones and Choice there's no question we should be running, running, play-action, running, play-action...and a few passes sprinkled in. But that's not what's happening. In fact, during the game against the Broncos I saw a fairly successful 1st half of running the football. In the 2nd half they only ran in run situations. The results? Three and outs and an overall ineffective offense. Do you credit the Broncos defense? Somewhat. You can't argue the talents of Champ Bailey. However, look at Denver's defensive roster and then look at the Cowboys' offensive roster. Need I say more?
1. Coaching/Wade Phillips - I've got to start at the top. I don't even know if I need to make this point. Is there anyone who doesn't recognize that Wade Phillips is a very nice guy who runs a very good defense but is a complete push over? I feel like I'm jumping on the poor guy. So instead of listing the reasons why he can no longer be the head coach, I will put out a short wish list for his replacement. Guess what? Jason Garrett is not on the list. He's shown me nothing to suggest he would be a good coach for this team. Another team? Maybe. But not the Dallas Cowboys. Choice #1 would be Bill Cowher..I know, I know - some Cowboys fans would protest because of his Steeler affiliation, and Bill would probably refuse for the same reasons. But you've got to try when it comes to a coach of that caliber. Choice #2 would be Mike Shanahan. With his zone blocking schemes and undisputed success in the running game along with his knack for developing QB's he would be the perfect choice. The problem there, of course, is that Shanahan would want more control than Jerry Jones would be willing to give. Hmmm....maybe problem 1a should be Jerry Jones? That is for another article.
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