JJT: Arrogant offseason approach has Cowboys at bottom of NFC

[windward]

other than maybe not addressing RB in the draft, there isn't much to complain about.

Backup QB too.

Point being, this thread doesn't exist if Romo is never injured.

 

[Direwolf63]

Can I post this in defense of Dez? (despite his indefensible performance against Green Bay).

The system doesn't excuse all of Dez's dropped balls this year.

 

[Cmac]

The system doesn't excuse all of Dez's dropped balls this year.

OK....will try it for JWitten's routes on 3rd down.

 

[khiladi]

Clueless except for his offenses have always been in the top 10.

In yards, because of Romo.. Its dropped in terms of scoring every year he's gotten more control. For example, when he took total control from Sparano, who wasn't a good OC by any means in the grand scheme of things, the offense dropped in scoring from 2nd to 18th. TOs and penalties have been among the worst as well.
And Garrett's gotten gradually worse in red-zone scoring, bottom half ever since he controlled the offense. The only exception was last year and now that Callahan and Romo are out, we are back to awful in red-zone scoring with his offense.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

So did we or did we not win the offseason SB???? I gotta know.

I like all the moves we made in the offseason given the information we had at the time.

Revisiting that offseason in December with the benefit of hindsight is asinine.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Not arrogant.

They "assumed" too much

 

[big dog cowboy]

Our rock star GM and coach thought Randle was going to carry the load

RBBC?

 

[Common Sense]

I like all the moves we made in the offseason given the information we had at the time.

Revisiting that offseason in December with the benefit of hindsight is asinine.

Plenty of people thought this offseason was questionable as it was happening. No hindsight needed.

 

[JoeBoBBY]

other than maybe not addressing RB in the draft, there isn't much to complain about.

Backup QB too.

Point being, this thread doesn't exist if Romo is never injured.

But he was.........whoops.

I see team after team after team step up and actually win NFL football games with their backup QBs.

 

[cowboyblue22]

at least this season a person really knows what kind of depth and team the cowboys are so in the future when jerry and Stephen start al there talk about how good the team is then we know to wait and see. this is not a taem that is any where near ready to compete for a super bowl.

 

[khiladi]

DMC had two 50 plus yard runs yesterday, one on a fake hand-off right that went back to DMC on a pitch left. If misdirection works once, plan on not every seeing it again. Our play-calling is trash....

 

[Wayne02]

I agree. JJT is a tool.

Attacking JJT with an ad hominem won't change the truth in what he said here.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Arrogant offseason approach has Cowboys at bottom of NFC
39m

Jean-Jacques Taylor, ESPN Staff Writer

IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys find themselves in last place in the NFC East and tied for the worst record in the NFC because they took an arrogant approach to the offseason.
It was easy to do because they finished 12-4 and won the division behind the game’s best offensive line in 2014. DeMarco Murray produced a franchise-record 1,845 rushing yards and Tony Romo had never played better when it mattered most.

And that’s why they believed their own hype.

The Cowboys pride themselves on making decisions collectively, so you can blame the quartet of owner/general manager Jerry Jones, vice president Stephen Jones, head coach Jason Garrett and scouting director Will McClay in any order you choose.

Brandon Weeden the Cowboys’ backup quarterback, because it’s obvious Garrett and offensive coordinator Scott Linehan had zero confidence in Weeden.

They gave him a Pop Warner game plan, then wondered why he didn’t produce before demoting him as starter after three winless starts. Matt Cassel, Weeden’s replacement, was acquired the week Romo broke his collarbone and the Cowboys knew they would need a starter for nearly two months.

Cassel has a 1-5 record as a starter, with five touchdowns, six interceptions and a 73.5 passer rating overall this season. He has flunked a quarterback’s most important job, which is getting the team into the end zone.

The Cowboys have scored one touchdown or less in four of his six starts. Pathetic.
A lot of the Cowboys’ offensive issues besides the obvious absence of Romo can be traced to the team's negotiating tactics with Murray. Clearly, the Cowboys were afraid of his age and his workload, which included more than 400 touches in 2014, so there was no way they were going to give him the five-year, $40 million deal he received from Philadelphia.

Matching Philadelphia’s deal wasn’t the problem. The Cowboys never really gave Murray a legitimate offer until free agency began. Everybody knows that if you allow a player to reach unrestricted free agency, the odds of him returning are virtually nil.

The Cowboys figured their offensive line was so good that even Joseph Randle, released after Week 6, and a running back by committee could get the job done.

They haven’t.

The running game may rank in the top half of the NFL, but it has been unreliable all season. The Cowboys have struggled in short-yardage situations and haven't controlled games with their running game the way they did last season.

The inconsistent running game has affected their ability to be productive with play-action passes and their deep passing game. See, it all works together.

Ignore the stats, which say the Cowboys have rushed for a 4.4 average on 346 carries and Darren McFadden has 798 yards and a 4.2 yards-per-carry average. If you’ve watched the games, you know the truth: They miss Murray -- or somebody like him.

The Cowboys eschewed selecting a runner in the best running back draft in years last spring, but it’s clear they need a starter. McFadden has been solid, but this team needs more than that because it wants a dominant running game.

In the process, the Cowboys have found out this line isn’t so good that anyone can gain 1,300 yards running behind it. You could not convince them of that last spring.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas-cowb...fseason-approach-has-cowboys-at-bottom-of-nfc

Pretty much what I've been saying all season.

 

[JoeBoBBY]

at least this season a person really knows what kind of depth and team the cowboys are so in the future when jerry and Stephen start al there talk about how good the team is then we know to wait and see. this is not a taem that is any where near ready to compete for a super bowl.

Not without Romo, and a lot of other variables going our way. If anything "bad" happens. They cant over come it. They arent a strong team to begin with......They need everything to go their way perfectly. Injuries, schedule, timing of playing certain teams, cosmic football gods bounce in their favor....etc etc etc....if any of those things go against us. We dont stand a chance. Like, were the bottom of the league bad.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Plenty of people thought this offseason was questionable as it was happening. No hindsight needed.

So very true. They acted like they didn't care if Murray came back. They could have gotten him cheaper than what Philly did and playing hardball with Dez backfired on them. I was not surprised he got hurt when he did. This has just been a wasted season.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Plenty of people thought this offseason was questionable as it was happening. No hindsight needed.

The crybabies over Murray only.

We made the right decision there.

Additionally we signed the top pass rusher in free agency to a 1 year bleow market rate deal. We added 3 1st round talents in the draft. And we retained our own biggest free agent.

What else did people want to get done other than overpay for a declining RB?

 

[Toruk_Makto]

So very true. They acted like they didn't care if Murray came back. They could have gotten him cheaper than what Philly did and playing hardball with Dez backfired on them. I was not surprised he got hurt when he did. This has just been a wasted season.

What part of we run the ball just about as well as we did last year despite missing Tony for most of the season don't you understand?

 

[ConstantReboot]

Clueless except for his offenses have always been in the top 10.

You think Romo had nothing to do with that? Take Romo out of the equation and this is what you get.

 

[JoeBoBBY]

What part of we run the ball just about as well as we did last year despite missing Tony for most of the season don't you understand?

No we dont!! Have you been watching the games? The running game is erratic and insignificant to the Cowboys. It was a huge mistake. They let the leagues leading rusher, one of the leaders on this team walk, and went Joe freaking Randle.

How anybody can say that wasnt a mistake, after what we have witnessed this season, is beyond me.

Randle isnt even in the league. I doubt any other team wants him. Theyt may bring him in for a look see next season, but I doubt he even makes the team. Thats who they decided to trust;

 

[ConstantReboot]

DMC had two 50 plus yard runs yesterday, one on a fake hand-off right that went back to DMC on a pitch left. If misdirection works once, plan on not every seeing it again. Our play-calling is trash....

Our playcalling seems like its built upon a checklist.

MacFadden, 1 pitchout in the 1st quarter. Check.
Turbin, two runs up the middle, 2nd quarter. Check.
Cassell, 2 play actions, 3rd quarter, 1 rollout 4th quarter. Check.
Team, 3 field goals, Check.