eagles_victory
12-29-2008, 02:05 PM
I do a little blogging for some websites so I just wanted to try my take out on the Cowboys miserable season on the downlow first (just a rough draft). Feel free to disagree or post your opinion.
First off I really think what the Giants defense did in the playoffs put out somewhat of a blueprint to attack the Dallas Cowboys offense. It seems like that game and a lot of this game people used the Cowboys having a huge slow offensive line against them. The offensive line just seemed to struggle so much more this year than last year.
Secondly Garret never adapted to the difference in his personell this year. I really think not having Julius Jones or a guy to fill the place Julius left as a starter then having Barber come in to relieve hurt how Jarret called games. He was use to having Marion come in and get a lot of mileage off running the ball a lot in the second quarter and hitting big plays from the play action or against fronts to stop the run. Another example of not adapting to his personell was when he couldn't use Roy Williams in the offense after a midseason trade. The offense was never able to use all of its weapons and spread the ball around to the talent that was there. Austin and Crayton were vastly under used by this offense as well. Also, what about Martellus Bennett guy was playing great for a while then he didnt get an opportunity for the rest of the year even though he did battle a few injuries. Plus last year they lead most games and it is a lot easier to call plays from ahead than behind so he had some easy situations last year to flourish under.
Next, this is the NFL you play one game a week so training camp and preseason is important to get all your pieces together and working. You can't bring in a superstar WR in the middle of the season and expect him to come in and gel right with the system. It takes time for him to get on the same page with his QB and for the two to learn to work together. I really feel like all the communication and chemistry of the offense was thrown off when Roy was brought in to the mix. I think this is why you don't see a lot of NFL teams make big time moves for star players in the NFL like you do in MLB and NBA play. Another thing is if your willing to give that much up for Roy Williams you could of gotten him back in the offseason why pull the trigger when they did Austin and Crayton were solid 2 and 3 guys even though they weren't big names.
The quarterback situation was one that was heavily critcized this season. As far as Romo I understand he is a gun slinger Quarterback and will from time to time make mistakes because of that style. However, you cant just write off all the turnovers he has made because his style of play. Part of being a great quarterback is playing your style but knowing when the opportunity is there and when it is not. He has great improvision skills but this is the NFL at times you have to throw the ball away or take a small gain running the ball you can't try to make a play everytime. The defenses are too good in this league just to throw the ball up to a spot and expect someone to catch it. Maybe what people are saying about the scheme is true but he has just made some terrible throws and tried to put the ball where it shouldn't be put. As for Brad Johnson, hingsight is always going to be 20/20 and coming in I believe most thought he was a solid backup. Not a great Qb but a guy who could come in and win some games by managing the team if needed. It is now obvious he is done but I you can't really blame the front office not everyone knew how bad he truly was going to be. You can't predict when a former Super Bowl winners arm turns into a toy watergun that belongs in a 6 year olds stocking from Santa Clause. Needless to say its time to upgrade the backup position this offseason.
The defense was pretty bad this year outside of a stretch of a few games. If you look at some of the games Dallas lost the defense let down big time. Yes, they did win some games for the Cowboys and should be credited for that but it seemed like in key situations they couldn't step up to the plate. For example, vs St Louis when you know Romo is out and are going to lean on the defense they come out and get ran all over by Stephen Jackson and are hit for big plays by a passing game that was all but dead the rest of the season. Also, against Baltimore the two long runs the defense had two big chances to stop the Ravens and get the offense the ball with a chance to win and couldn't do it either time. I honestly believe the reason the game got so out of hand yesterday is because early on the defense couldn't get off the field on 3rd down. You can't let a team go 4 for 4 on 3rd and longer than 7 in the first half. Also as a defense you have got to force turnovers to help your offense out and this Dallas defense never did that this year. Last year they intercepted 19 passes this year only 8 that was a huge part of why the offense had trouble scoring not as many short fields to work with.
Marion Barber I like Marion and how he plays the game but I think he has become a bit overrated by Cowboy fans. Marions game was coming in with fresh legs last year against tired defenses and running hard and making plays that way. This year as the starter I just felt he never quite made the change and injuries hurt him because the way he runs you are very injury prone. However, this year he averaged only 3.7 yards per carry that is 40th in the NFL that is unacceptable. Last year, he average 4.8 yards per carry which was near the top of the league. I just think you have to put Choice or Felix Jones as one of your primary carriers early in the game next year and bring Marion on in the roll that he played last season.
Of course there are many other things that went wrong but as of now that is all I have.
First off I really think what the Giants defense did in the playoffs put out somewhat of a blueprint to attack the Dallas Cowboys offense. It seems like that game and a lot of this game people used the Cowboys having a huge slow offensive line against them. The offensive line just seemed to struggle so much more this year than last year.
Secondly Garret never adapted to the difference in his personell this year. I really think not having Julius Jones or a guy to fill the place Julius left as a starter then having Barber come in to relieve hurt how Jarret called games. He was use to having Marion come in and get a lot of mileage off running the ball a lot in the second quarter and hitting big plays from the play action or against fronts to stop the run. Another example of not adapting to his personell was when he couldn't use Roy Williams in the offense after a midseason trade. The offense was never able to use all of its weapons and spread the ball around to the talent that was there. Austin and Crayton were vastly under used by this offense as well. Also, what about Martellus Bennett guy was playing great for a while then he didnt get an opportunity for the rest of the year even though he did battle a few injuries. Plus last year they lead most games and it is a lot easier to call plays from ahead than behind so he had some easy situations last year to flourish under.
Next, this is the NFL you play one game a week so training camp and preseason is important to get all your pieces together and working. You can't bring in a superstar WR in the middle of the season and expect him to come in and gel right with the system. It takes time for him to get on the same page with his QB and for the two to learn to work together. I really feel like all the communication and chemistry of the offense was thrown off when Roy was brought in to the mix. I think this is why you don't see a lot of NFL teams make big time moves for star players in the NFL like you do in MLB and NBA play. Another thing is if your willing to give that much up for Roy Williams you could of gotten him back in the offseason why pull the trigger when they did Austin and Crayton were solid 2 and 3 guys even though they weren't big names.
The quarterback situation was one that was heavily critcized this season. As far as Romo I understand he is a gun slinger Quarterback and will from time to time make mistakes because of that style. However, you cant just write off all the turnovers he has made because his style of play. Part of being a great quarterback is playing your style but knowing when the opportunity is there and when it is not. He has great improvision skills but this is the NFL at times you have to throw the ball away or take a small gain running the ball you can't try to make a play everytime. The defenses are too good in this league just to throw the ball up to a spot and expect someone to catch it. Maybe what people are saying about the scheme is true but he has just made some terrible throws and tried to put the ball where it shouldn't be put. As for Brad Johnson, hingsight is always going to be 20/20 and coming in I believe most thought he was a solid backup. Not a great Qb but a guy who could come in and win some games by managing the team if needed. It is now obvious he is done but I you can't really blame the front office not everyone knew how bad he truly was going to be. You can't predict when a former Super Bowl winners arm turns into a toy watergun that belongs in a 6 year olds stocking from Santa Clause. Needless to say its time to upgrade the backup position this offseason.
The defense was pretty bad this year outside of a stretch of a few games. If you look at some of the games Dallas lost the defense let down big time. Yes, they did win some games for the Cowboys and should be credited for that but it seemed like in key situations they couldn't step up to the plate. For example, vs St Louis when you know Romo is out and are going to lean on the defense they come out and get ran all over by Stephen Jackson and are hit for big plays by a passing game that was all but dead the rest of the season. Also, against Baltimore the two long runs the defense had two big chances to stop the Ravens and get the offense the ball with a chance to win and couldn't do it either time. I honestly believe the reason the game got so out of hand yesterday is because early on the defense couldn't get off the field on 3rd down. You can't let a team go 4 for 4 on 3rd and longer than 7 in the first half. Also as a defense you have got to force turnovers to help your offense out and this Dallas defense never did that this year. Last year they intercepted 19 passes this year only 8 that was a huge part of why the offense had trouble scoring not as many short fields to work with.
Marion Barber I like Marion and how he plays the game but I think he has become a bit overrated by Cowboy fans. Marions game was coming in with fresh legs last year against tired defenses and running hard and making plays that way. This year as the starter I just felt he never quite made the change and injuries hurt him because the way he runs you are very injury prone. However, this year he averaged only 3.7 yards per carry that is 40th in the NFL that is unacceptable. Last year, he average 4.8 yards per carry which was near the top of the league. I just think you have to put Choice or Felix Jones as one of your primary carriers early in the game next year and bring Marion on in the roll that he played last season.
Of course there are many other things that went wrong but as of now that is all I have.