windward
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In many ways the 2008 season was a monumental disappointment for the Cowboys. Coming off of a 13-3 year in 2007, a 9-7 finish ending with a 44-6 loss to the hated Eagles could not be more crushing to Cowboy fans.
Crying and whining about our failure all offseason will not do any good or raise the quality of discussion on this board. That being said, here is my take, position-by-position, on what happened with the Cowboys this year and what our goals should be going forward to get back to the playoffs in 2009.
Here is part one, which deals with the offense.
Quarterback Tony Romo was expected to make a similar leap in 2008 that he made from 2006 to 2007. It didn’t happen. He got off to a solid enough start, but the broken finger derailed things quite a bit. The dropoff in accuracy was painfully evident. Coupled with his gunslinging nature, this led to the well-documented problems here. It may have been the biggest reason for our season turning out the way it did. Brad Johnson is done. Bollinger is JAG We need a new #2 and should draft a QB in the middle rounds, just to hedge our bets. Romo is the guy next year; I want to make it clear. Anyone who wants him gone is irrational or has an agenda-driven ax to grind. Those who say Romo will never win a playoff game are full of it. It’s far too early to write the book on his career[/font]
Running Back Clearly an area of promise for us. Barber, Jones and Choice. If Garrett (or whoever is our OC) can figure out how to properly integrate all three, watch out NFL.
Wide Receivers The big question is , do we bring back Terrell Owens? I think we should. He is showing the beginnings of decline, but is still one of the most dangerous receivers in the league. Roy Williams was a disappointment, but I’ll give him a full offseason and training camp with Romo before I make any meaningful conclusions about his ability to be our #1 receiver sometime in the future. Crayton should flourish in the slot and if Miles Austin can stay healthy we have a receiving corps that is as good as any in the league.
Offensive Line The line needs to begin rebuilding. Our frontline starters are fine but we have little to no quality depth. Putting out low-grade players like Cory Proctor didn’t exactly help out an injured Romo. Flozell Adams is aging and is past his peak. The sooner we get his replacement, the better. Kyle Kosier’s injury hurt. Losing Montrae Holland was worse because it put Proctor back on the field in the most critical time of the year and Romo was running for his life the last few weeks of the season. Gurode, Colombo and Davis are solid but all over 30 as is Kosier and Flozell. This has to be an emphasis in the draft. No doubt about it. Our ability to be a top-tier offensive team depends on it
.
Tight Ends Jason Witten is a gem and the best TE and toughest player in the league IMO. Martellus Bennett showed promise this year as well. Tight end is the least of our problems.
Jason Garrett I won’t be heartbroken if he leaves or is fired. He had a poor season, failed to reign in Romo when needed , when to protect Romo with a good gameplan when needed. How much and well he utilized our running backs is very much in question. His philosophy seemed to quickly grow stale. He needs to improve this if he wants to be a HC in this league, if he wants to take this offense anywhere significant. If that means learning from other OCs so be it. Whatever it takes. If he can’t or won’t do it he needs to be gone
Overall: This team is loaded offensively which makes season’s struggles all the more frustrating. Getting to 2007 levels will require a combination of Romo progressing next year like we expected this year, Garrett/or whoever giving this offense more of an identity and Jerry Jones and the scouting dept rebuilding our Oline. If they can do for the Oline what they did for the CB and RB position in 2008, we’ll be well positioned for success in 2009.[/font]
Crying and whining about our failure all offseason will not do any good or raise the quality of discussion on this board. That being said, here is my take, position-by-position, on what happened with the Cowboys this year and what our goals should be going forward to get back to the playoffs in 2009.
Here is part one, which deals with the offense.
Quarterback Tony Romo was expected to make a similar leap in 2008 that he made from 2006 to 2007. It didn’t happen. He got off to a solid enough start, but the broken finger derailed things quite a bit. The dropoff in accuracy was painfully evident. Coupled with his gunslinging nature, this led to the well-documented problems here. It may have been the biggest reason for our season turning out the way it did. Brad Johnson is done. Bollinger is JAG We need a new #2 and should draft a QB in the middle rounds, just to hedge our bets. Romo is the guy next year; I want to make it clear. Anyone who wants him gone is irrational or has an agenda-driven ax to grind. Those who say Romo will never win a playoff game are full of it. It’s far too early to write the book on his career[/font]
Running Back Clearly an area of promise for us. Barber, Jones and Choice. If Garrett (or whoever is our OC) can figure out how to properly integrate all three, watch out NFL.
Wide Receivers The big question is , do we bring back Terrell Owens? I think we should. He is showing the beginnings of decline, but is still one of the most dangerous receivers in the league. Roy Williams was a disappointment, but I’ll give him a full offseason and training camp with Romo before I make any meaningful conclusions about his ability to be our #1 receiver sometime in the future. Crayton should flourish in the slot and if Miles Austin can stay healthy we have a receiving corps that is as good as any in the league.
Offensive Line The line needs to begin rebuilding. Our frontline starters are fine but we have little to no quality depth. Putting out low-grade players like Cory Proctor didn’t exactly help out an injured Romo. Flozell Adams is aging and is past his peak. The sooner we get his replacement, the better. Kyle Kosier’s injury hurt. Losing Montrae Holland was worse because it put Proctor back on the field in the most critical time of the year and Romo was running for his life the last few weeks of the season. Gurode, Colombo and Davis are solid but all over 30 as is Kosier and Flozell. This has to be an emphasis in the draft. No doubt about it. Our ability to be a top-tier offensive team depends on it
.
Tight Ends Jason Witten is a gem and the best TE and toughest player in the league IMO. Martellus Bennett showed promise this year as well. Tight end is the least of our problems.
Jason Garrett I won’t be heartbroken if he leaves or is fired. He had a poor season, failed to reign in Romo when needed , when to protect Romo with a good gameplan when needed. How much and well he utilized our running backs is very much in question. His philosophy seemed to quickly grow stale. He needs to improve this if he wants to be a HC in this league, if he wants to take this offense anywhere significant. If that means learning from other OCs so be it. Whatever it takes. If he can’t or won’t do it he needs to be gone
Overall: This team is loaded offensively which makes season’s struggles all the more frustrating. Getting to 2007 levels will require a combination of Romo progressing next year like we expected this year, Garrett/or whoever giving this offense more of an identity and Jerry Jones and the scouting dept rebuilding our Oline. If they can do for the Oline what they did for the CB and RB position in 2008, we’ll be well positioned for success in 2009.[/font]
