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The Dallas Cowboys have enjoyed a better preseason this year than they did in 2012.
Of course, that isn't saying much, considering the rash of injuries they endured in camp last year. The 12-7 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday was simply more ammunition for coaches preaching about turnovers. No serious injuries occurred. The offensive line performed adequately. The defense did a fine job of holding Arizona to all field goals despite all the gifts the offense handed the Cardinals.
Dez Bryant has been dominant. Lance Dunbar looks as though he could start for many teams. Joseph Randle is looking good. Miles Austin and Jason Witten look great as well. And then there is DeMarcus Ware, who looks poised to wreak havoc all season.
But that's the Kool Aid talking. Reality tells us a different story.
The offensive line has no depth. The defensive line is counting on Jay Ratliff to bounce back and remain healthy all season. Without him, Rod Marinelli's scheme is seriously lacking in the kind of athletes required to make it work at a high level. And Ratliff is 31 and coming off of an injury-riddled season. It's anybody's guess what he will contribute this year.
Tony Romo has not been great this preseason. Forget the stats. Watching the games tells us that he has missed several wide-open receivers who would have scored touchdowns. This can't continue. In contrast, Tom Brady looks to be in midseason form despite having his entire receiving corps changed out on him.
What happened to all of the conventional wisdom of needing a season to get in sync?
Romo's last meaningful game was absolutely atrocious—there is no way to candy coat it. Against Washington, he was beaten by a rookie quarterback playing on one leg. His last play of the game was throwing another pick to a 37-year-old linebacker.
Garrett may have cost this team some wins in the past couple of years. Icing his own kicker will haunt him forever, for example. But Romo is in the position to take this team to a Super Bowl if he can just get a handle on his sports psyche and learn to stay on top of his game.
If he can't do that and we get the same old Romo who oscillates between greatness and blunders, this team will wind up right back where it's always resided: in the mediocre middle.
Garrett knows this.
He also knows that the more Kool Aid his fans drink, the more the pressure mounts on Romo. There isn't any way to prevent that, however. So Romo will need to find a Yoda of some kind. Someone who teaches him to meditate and visualize and basically not choke when the stakes are high. This can be done.
There are numerous examples of athletes who worked on their mental game until they became champions. Until Romo is counted among them, you can drink all the Kool Aid you like, but it'll only give you a bellyache when the games begin to count.
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Of course, that isn't saying much, considering the rash of injuries they endured in camp last year. The 12-7 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday was simply more ammunition for coaches preaching about turnovers. No serious injuries occurred. The offensive line performed adequately. The defense did a fine job of holding Arizona to all field goals despite all the gifts the offense handed the Cardinals.
Dez Bryant has been dominant. Lance Dunbar looks as though he could start for many teams. Joseph Randle is looking good. Miles Austin and Jason Witten look great as well. And then there is DeMarcus Ware, who looks poised to wreak havoc all season.
But that's the Kool Aid talking. Reality tells us a different story.
The offensive line has no depth. The defensive line is counting on Jay Ratliff to bounce back and remain healthy all season. Without him, Rod Marinelli's scheme is seriously lacking in the kind of athletes required to make it work at a high level. And Ratliff is 31 and coming off of an injury-riddled season. It's anybody's guess what he will contribute this year.
Tony Romo has not been great this preseason. Forget the stats. Watching the games tells us that he has missed several wide-open receivers who would have scored touchdowns. This can't continue. In contrast, Tom Brady looks to be in midseason form despite having his entire receiving corps changed out on him.
What happened to all of the conventional wisdom of needing a season to get in sync?
Romo's last meaningful game was absolutely atrocious—there is no way to candy coat it. Against Washington, he was beaten by a rookie quarterback playing on one leg. His last play of the game was throwing another pick to a 37-year-old linebacker.
Garrett may have cost this team some wins in the past couple of years. Icing his own kicker will haunt him forever, for example. But Romo is in the position to take this team to a Super Bowl if he can just get a handle on his sports psyche and learn to stay on top of his game.
If he can't do that and we get the same old Romo who oscillates between greatness and blunders, this team will wind up right back where it's always resided: in the mediocre middle.
Garrett knows this.
He also knows that the more Kool Aid his fans drink, the more the pressure mounts on Romo. There isn't any way to prevent that, however. So Romo will need to find a Yoda of some kind. Someone who teaches him to meditate and visualize and basically not choke when the stakes are high. This can be done.
There are numerous examples of athletes who worked on their mental game until they became champions. Until Romo is counted among them, you can drink all the Kool Aid you like, but it'll only give you a bellyache when the games begin to count.
Read more Dallas Cowboys news on BleacherReport.com
Continue reading...