Connect with your Facebook Account

Contact

27

Some Thoughts on the Cowboys

Posted by EyesOfTX on January 18th, 2010 under Football

Cowboys fans this morning are very predictably lashing out at their two favorite whipping boys of the last few seasons:  Head Coach Wade Phillips and Quarterback Tony Romo.  I’m sure you’re all shocked to read that.  The fans are wasting their energy – neither Wade nor Tony will be going anywhere else anytime soon.

And in reality, that’s the way it should be.  Phillips just won his second division title in three years as the team’s coach, and secured the franchise’s first playoff victory since the Clinton/Dole campaign of 1996.  Jerry Jones would look like even more of an idiot than usual to fire his coach under such circumstances.

Tony Romo is like any other QB – he needs 2-3 seconds to make his reads and get the ball away. When he gets that, as he did in the 9 previous games, he thrives and is as productive as any QB in the league.

But when he doesn’t get that, he is more mistake-prone than most NFL QBs. He is more prone to fumble, more prone to make stupid throws, like the 4th quarter INT yesterday.  He was under constant pressure yesterday, and he made a lot of mistakes.  This should come as a surprise to no one, least of all to the management of a franchise that has managed to develop not one, single drafted offensive lineman into a truly excellent NFL player since Flozell Adams came along, lo, those many years ago.

The Cowboys can get to the Super Bowl with Romo at QB, but they can only do so if they somehow build a truly excellent offensive line. Once Adams went to the sideline with an injured calf yesterday, the Dallas OL became a terrible collection of also-rans at 3 different positions. An OL can have one weak spot and thrive; it can have two weak spots and be adequate. But there is no way to cover for three holes in five positions.

Leonard Davis has become a perennial Pro Bowler since coming to Dallas. Andre Gurode is a very good center, although he might make an even better guard at this point. When healthy, Adams is good, but he is now 36 years old, and must be replaced in the next year or two.

But the team has to have a new right tackle and a new left guard, not to mention some quality depth. This, more than any other priority, has to be their focus in the off-season if they really want to be able to compete in championship situations.

They also need the following:

* – a real play-making safety. Sensabaugh and Hamlin are ok, and one or the other could be a starter on a championship team. But not both. Any championship team needs at least one safety who can make plays – these two had one INT between them this year. Not good enough.

* – at least one more, and really two more quality WRs. Roy Williams was worse than useless yesterday, after a season of being merely useless. He should be cut today, asap. Crayton is ok as a fourth option, and Ogletree looks as if he might be able to develop into a good third WR. But look at the other teams left in the playoffs, and you see each and every one of them has at least 2 WRs who can freaking play football, and most of them have 3. The Cardinals have 4 WRs who are vastly superior to any WR on the Cowboys’ roster except Miles Austin. This is a real weakness.

* – a cornerback to replace Terrance Newman, who may well be the single most overrated player in the NFL. Newman was horrific yesterday in every aspect of the game. Mike Jenkins is outstanding, and should have made the Pro Bowl. Orlando Scandrick can play, but it remains to be seen whether he could stand up as an every-game starter at the position. This is a real need.

* – and obviously, a real field goal kicker. The team would have been within one score going into the 4th quarter and the game would have had an entirely different complexion yesterday had those field goals been made rather than missed. Suisham is obviously not the guy, and the team needs to stop trying to get by on the cheap in this aspect of the game.

This was a very encouraging season for the team, in my view. They won their division, beat the Eagles 3 times, swept the Redskins, developed a great wide receiver and the most productive running game in the NFL, and showed great character down the stretch. Put a real, high-quality offensive line and a real placekicker on this team, and it could beat anybody, even with the other weaknesses cited above intact.

It will be very interesting to see how the team approaches the off-season in terms of the draft and going after key free agents. With the right moves, the Cowboys could become real contenders to participate in the next Super Bowl, which will be held in Jerry World.  That would drive a lot of people crazy, but sure would be fun to watch.

Hook ‘em!!!

More from this Barker


Share This

  • StumbleUpon

27 Responses

  1. sizzlechest said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 7:22 am

    No NFL football in 2010, IMO.

  2. Romo played at the same level as his OL. Favre played at a higher level than his OL.

  3. That’s an interesting viewpoint, and may even be right. But for argument’s sake, it’s wrong to just say that Favre’s OL performed as badly in pass protection as Romo’s. Romo was hit 17 times in the game, including 6 sacks. Favre was hit 9 times, including 3 sacks.

    Certainly not saying Romo is as good a QB as Favre, but there is no question Favre was better protected in this game than Romo. There is also no question that Favre’s coaches did a much better job of adjusting their game plan to anticipate and take advantage of a heavy pass rush than the Cowboys’ did.

    Romo didn’t have a good game yesterday, but he is far from the only reason why the Cowboys lost.

  4. It was a team loss for the Cowboys. Romo isn’t the type of player whose abilities can elevate the performance of others. He made bad situations worse with his TOs. And he has a long history of this.

  5. Yeah, I agree with all of that. Romo is in fact very similar to Brett Favre during the first 8 years or so of his career.

  6. Garrett deserves some heat. How about at least attempting to roll Romo away from pressure? Nothing else was working.

  7. Wade deserves a pass, but that was a horribly coached football game.

  8. Mysterious Package said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 8:37 am

    Agreed they need to focus on OLine in the off season, and their ability or lack there of to adequatley draft this position is killing this team.

  9. TTomTerrific said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 8:44 am

    nice read, as usual.

    but a waste of your time.

    you are complaining about symptoms.

    Sean Payton should be the coach.

    Bill Parcells should be the GM

    The Dallas Cowboy’s starting QB needs to be a whole lot better than a guy like Romo.

    Then cut Roy.

  10. I have real issue with your viewpoint of Roy Williams. They didn’t look at him yesterday at all. You have to have a coordinator willing to use your weapons and a QB to look and throw your way and neither happened, just like the entire season. 1 target is all he had and it was a throw away ball to Deon Anderson that Roy went and laid out for out of bounds to try and catch.
    He had 86 targets on the year. I bring this up for 2 reasons. 1) If he caught 100% of the balls thrown to him this year, he would still be 2nd on the whole team in receptions and 2) 86 targets puts him behind 50 other receivers and 10 TEs in targets. 86 targets represents 15.6% of the pass attempts for the whole year.
    If you want your star receiver to be better than “useless”, you have to use him more than for clearing routes and blocking and that falls on the OC. If you want him to be better than “worse than useless”, you have to take away looks from Witten and that fall on the QB.

  11. Yes, I know Texas cheerleader fans have a real issue with my pointing out the truth about Roy Williams and his utter, complete lack of value to this football team. But the truth is what it is.

    Hook ‘em!!!

  12. TTomTerrific said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 8:57 am

    oh, and Jenkins needs to go.

  13. Jenkins does?

    Garrett does deserve a lot of blame. I thought we would see a lot of screens/draws but we really didn’t against the Vikings killer pass rush. That made this game very easy for the Vikings D to shutdown the cowboys. Those missed FGs were very deflating as well.

  14. TTomTerrific said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 9:05 am

    yes.

    watch his play and his constant complaining to the refereees.

    vs. Denver he allowed the receiver to get up and run into the end zone as he signalled incomplete pass instead of playing to the whistle and putting his hand on the guy as he was down.

    this kind of thing happens weekly with this guy if you pay attention.

    inexcusable for a guy getting payed to play football.

    again, though, these are symptoms of a much bigger disease within that team.

  15. Colts and Saints win while Cowboys and Chargers lose. Can’t get any better for me.

  16. PatronSaint said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 9:22 am

    Roy was my favorite player when he was a horn. His time overlapped mine at the 40 acres. It is disappointing to see him as an unmitigated disaster for the Boys.

    One of his many problems is that he does a double touch on a lot of his catches. He blocks the ball with his first touch then snatches it with his second. That worked in college but in the pros, he was getting hit in that instant between the first and second touch, and unable to reel it in.

  17. I’m glad you use stats and facts to back up your thoughts.

  18. Just a guess, maybe they were less eager to run the draw against the Williams brothers who were playing inspired in the middle. The one block on the draw that has to go well is in the middle. Maybe that’s why we didn’t run such a useful play during Chris Hall’s time here.

    Anyone remember Williams delayed blitz that allowed him to reach Romo unmolested? Or the play where the bigger one (I can’t remember who is the nose tackle and who is the 3-tech) chased down Felix Jones in pursuit? Sheesh. Does anyone in the nation have a better D-line than the Vikings?

  19. Sheesh. Does anyone in the nation have a better D-line than the Vikings?

    According to ESPN, Alabama and Nebraska.

  20. sizzlechest said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 10:26 am

    Duh, I meant 2011.

  21. I was wondering about that, sizzle, but just assumed I had missed something somewhere.

  22. Wade's Violent Temper said:

    January 18th, 2010 at 11:08 am

    Roy was only targeted 86 times this season for good reason. Not only did the offensive coordinator, quarterback, head coach, teammates and fanbase lose confidence in Roy – Roy lost confidence in Roy.
    TTT – Cut Jenkins and the line forms to the left, and it’s 31 teams deep.
    The OLine really got exposed yesterday. Columbo, who took an ass raping, looked like a slightly less mobile Herman Munster. Romo constantly stepped up in the pocket into the face of inside pressure because he didn’t (for good reson) trust the edge protection.

  23. Yes, Roy was targeted “only” 86 times because the team had a less than 50% chance of making a completion when the ball went his way. The reasons are many: 1) he seldom knew what route he was supposed to be running until about midway through the year, because hadn’t bothered to learn the goddam playbook; 2) he invariably makes the wrong read on choice routes; 3) he fails to read obvious blitzes constantly and got surprised by the ball coming his way more than any WR in the league; and 4) he dropped a higher percentage of easy grabs than any other potential target.

    Otherwise, he was awesome, dude.

  24. Dead-ass on.

    I would add inside linebacker to the list if the picks from last year aren’t the real deal.

    These safeties get nothing done except kinda keep the deep ball from happening.

    Corner is a real need since Scandrick has proven he can’t be a physical tackler.

    The OL has bee obvious for three years. Look at how the Jets built their line over the last three years.

    Would love to see Golden Tate make it to the Cowboy’s pick….also like the ILB Washington from TCU. Iupati, the big guard from Idaho is a road grader. Corner back picks are slim this year.

  25. Cowboys fans this morning are very predictably lashing out at their two favorite whipping boys of the last few seasons: Head Coach Wade Phillips and Quarterback Tony Romo.

    Sadly, I’ve long since quit giving a shit about the Cowboys enough to lash out at anyone for their failures. Thanks, Jerry…

  26. the cowboys two best wr’s were undrafted FA’s. that says a lot.

    They need to upgrade the playmaking ability on the outside in a hurry.

  27. hopefulhorn said:

    January 19th, 2010 at 7:47 am

    Thought Minnesota’s D-line dominated the game. Part of that is on Dallas’ issues in the OL but credit must be given the Vike’s DL which is one of the best in the league. Glad to see Brian Robison getting some snaps there and making plays with the opportunity.

    Agree that Dallas made some strides this season. They looked bad yesterday and have personnel issues in the places you note. Again, the Vikings had a lot to do with that in exposing those weaknesses with strong play.

    All the shouting by Cowboy fans is a measure of their narcissism. They got beat by a better team–deal with it.

Leave a Reply

Related Articles

Activity

  • Hiphopopotamus commented on the blog post Big Dance: Day Two   34 seconds ago

    Was pretty disappointed with OSU’s shitburger last night though. I’ve never seen Anderson so bad…almost looked hurt. 5-2 first round isn’t bad though.

    We really ought to get 4 team into the Sweet 16 though, with only Missouri having much of an excuse to not advance.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Hiphopopotamus wrote a new blog post: Bid Dance: Day Three   2 minutes ago

    A little late getting this up today, as our first game is already in the second stanza, but we’ve got plenty more to keep us all fat and giggly.

    Lunch

    2) Villanova v. 10) St. Mary’s – I like this to be a highly entertaining, competitive game from beginning to end. St Mary’s will likely jump out

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • NorthDallasSooner commented on the blog post Rumor Alert–TMG   9 minutes ago

    Cameron Clark, #5 3-position player in country (Scout) from Sherman, Committed. T.J Taylor, 3 star two guard from Denison, committed. We seem to have Texoma bottled up. Lots of others “interested.”

    This is a rumor at this point and not confirmed, so we’ll see.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page   23 minutes ago

    Texoz,

    As much as we need to find an identity on offense, we also need to address our defensive schemes. If JCB and JH are two big contributors and we play a 6′6″ guy at 4 and a foul prone freshman in the middle then we need to re-examine our principles on defense. We

  • dick commented on the blog post Second Round Bets   37 minutes ago

    I ended up going the other way and taking St Mary’s. Unfortunately, we’ve all become experts at basketball team collapses this year and Villanova’s collapse looks too familiar.

    I really like Washington today for the reasons you mentioned. I have them in my Calcutta too so I have a lot riding on them.

    I am

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Recapping the West   40 minutes ago

    Yea, Mack was very good. He got really hot in the right game. Aubrey Coleman was pretty good too. And your definitely right Jordan Crawford. He’s fun to watch….

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Jorgrama commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page   1 hour, 1 minute ago

    Barnes has lost two longtime assistants and gained Paulino and Ogden–two guys who really only know what he’s taught them. Seems like he should look to the outside for some methodology.

    Two, got to recruit fewer projects. Fewer spindly white guys that need to gain 30 pounds of muscle. Fewer all-purpose guards who you

  • Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Recapping the West   1 hour, 2 minutes ago

    Thanks Patrick. UTEP played dumb and Butler was en fuego. Be nice to have a Shelvyn Mack on this Texas team, huh?

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Recapping the Midwest   1 hour, 3 minutes ago

    There were lots of fireworks and exciting games in this region. Let’s start at the top.

    Kansas vs. Lehigh

    Lehigh never had a realistic shot, but I’m sure they gained Kansas’ respect as a sixteen seed. They’re pretty athletic, especially inside. Again, I ask the tournament selection committee; this was the worst team in

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Recapping the West   1 hour, 24 minutes ago

    Great recaps, Trips, er Kev. Keep pumping out the great content. Sorry about UTEP…..

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Rumor Alert–TMG   1 hour, 30 minutes ago

    NDS,

    What will your team look like w/o those two guys? Who do you have coming in???

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Nike U in Turmoil   1 hour, 41 minutes ago

    Getting off a sinking ship. Bellotti is supposedly very much like Mack in his affinity for the media. I’ve always wondered about the assumption that Mack would be happy as the Texas AD when he could just go get a cushy analyst job. Mack clapping in studio would be great TV, no??

  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Recapping the West   1 hour, 42 minutes ago

    The Wild West was anything but considering all games played according to seed except for Vanderbilt and Murray State. Let’s start with the big dog.

    Syracuse vs. Vermont

    The Orange took an early first half lead and never looked back. Using five players with double figure scoring, and a new-look zone missing interior presence Arinze

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page   1 hour, 43 minutes ago

    AAS wrote a dumbed down version of this subject today. Barnes says he’s bringing in another guard. Good, because I feel very confident in our depth in the front court. Alexei, white stiff #1, and white stiff #2 make me ooze with confidence especially behind a true freshman and undersized 4…….

    Barnes, asked

  • Farmer Ted wrote a new blog post: Suh Meets with Lions   2 hours, 3 minutes ago

    Not too long ago we laughed at the idea that a team would consider taking anyone ahead of Ndamukong Suh in the NFL draft. Now it appears very possible — even likely — that the Rams will take QB Sam Bradford with the #1 pick, which would give the Lions the next shot at Suh

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Black Scholes commented on the blog post Texas Turns the Page   2 hours, 6 minutes ago

    Hamilton needs 1-2 years to seriously work on the deficiencies in his game. He goes now, and in a couple of years he’s “whatever happened to …?”. The risk is while he might get drafted now on potential, if he can’t/won’t develop as a player he won’t even have that to offer in

  • NorthDallasSooner commented on the blog post The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour   2 hours, 32 minutes ago

    “Coincidentally I maintain a subscription to Texas Monthly magazine in an effort to keep up with my roots in some way, shape or form. The April issue showed up at my house this afternoon and features a fairly in depth article about the ongoing drama between Texas Tech and the Dread Pirate Leach. The more

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Recapping the East   2 hours, 35 minutes ago

    Again, no news is good news when you’re one of the top seeds in the region. That motto holds true in the East as the top four seeds advanced.

    Kentucky vs. East Tennessee State

    This was a blood bath from the tip. Anyone that thinks this young Wildcat club may have one eye on the

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • NorthDallasSooner wrote a new blog post: Rumor Alert–TMG   2 hours, 43 minutes ago

    It’s certainly unconfirmed, but I got this email this morning from a friend who follows the hoops program very closely. Stay tuned……

    “A very reliable source close to the OU BB program told me yesterday TMG is gone. He packed his bags and unless Capel can talk him out of it our PG for the future has left

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour   3 hours, 2 minutes ago

    Great survey, whiskey. I miss football a lot.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Kevin Berger wrote a new blog post: Recapping The South   3 hours, 8 minutes ago

    There were lots of surprises in this region and a near miss or two that could have really turned this bracket upside down. But after the dust settled, seeds 1 through 4 remain alive…for now anyway.

    Duke vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff

    Let’s start at the top where Duke methodically disposed of an Arkansas -Pinebluff cub that gave

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Patrick Bateman commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   3 hours, 22 minutes ago

    Funny, an OU blog talking about a Texas’ team when referencing the state of unrest and embarrassment. I mean, you have such a rich history to draw from. I’ll miss Tiny. Like Sailor, I love his nickname…..

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Sailor Ripley commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   3 hours, 30 minutes ago

    Why do bad things happen to bad people?

    I will always love the name Tiny Gallon. I see him being a fan favorite in Turkey and he’s going to love the souvlaki.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • whiskey commented on the blog post The week in news- Pariahs, Malcontents and Power Hour   3 hours, 57 minutes ago

    This all might actually work out for Tebow in the end. If nothing else he is both a winner and a fierce competitor. I will be surprised if he goes the way of Eric Crouch. I am also liking Quinn’s chances in Denver. He knows that offense and he will

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Ag_in_TX wrote a new blog post: Utah State Post-Mortem   4 hours, 15 minutes ago

    Have You Read the Gospel According To Mark? – Sign hanging in Spokane last night.

    At some point, you have to ask if A&M is the best coached team in the Big XII. All due respect to Mr. Self in Kansas – but to use a poker analogy – Self is trying for a flush

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Trips Right wrote a new blog post: Second Round Bets   4 hours, 31 minutes ago

    Since my leans are hitting at a better rate than my wagers I’m going to go back to basics and post every thing I like but down to half a unit. We’ll see if that works.

    Here goes:

    Villanova -4.5: After a scare against Bob Morris, time for the ‘Cats to wake up. Too

  • Patrick Bateman wrote a new blog post: Texas Turns the Page   5 hours, 46 minutes ago

    Well, WTF was that?  A train wreck is what.  That’s how the entire Texas basketball season can be described.  A screaming, screeching, ugly train wreck.  After ascending to #1 in the nation for the first time in school history, the wheels just fell off during conference play.  You can read all about the final and

  • Ibas water bottle commented on the blog post Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   7 hours, 49 minutes ago

    At what point do A.Ds stop hiring Duke people? At a certain point former coach K players stop being successful college players and start being coaches with shady recruiting results right?

    Oh and God bless the crime rate in Stillwater. The simple odds keep the shit from hitting the fan regularly for us.

    Who

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Nate Heupel commented on the blog post Oklahoma Sooners – Recruiting So Far   11 hours, 33 minutes ago

    BOC: Neither has visited, yet we hold ’ships open for both.

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });

  • Nate Heupel wrote a new blog post: Because We’re Dedicated To Doing Stupid Things – Tiny Gallon Reportedly Took Payout   11 hours, 41 minutes ago

    TMZ reports that Tiny Gallon took a $3000 payout from an agent.

    My God, Capel has no control over this team whatsoever. This is 2007 offseason Texas football levels of embarrassing. You can’t let a half dozen bad apples spoil a bushel of 10 apples…that analogy sucked balls, but you get my

    SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: ””, url: ”” });