Gadfly22
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There's only one good ending to any season, so a bad ending is always going to be more likely.
We learned that Spencer, Austin and Jenkins are all players. Romo still seems on the upswing. Special teams coverage improved. Yada, yada. It's easy to list some good things. But some things have to change -- even if it's unlikely they will:
1. The defense -- excellent as it can be -- has to create turnovers. It was lousy at that in the regular season, got better at the very end and then, yesterday, got bad again.
2. Roy Williams. There was a brief interval there when i didn't want a guy named '"Roy Williams" off the team. Now again I do. He and Romo can work out and practice together and play catch till their hands are sore, but they are just too seldom on the same page. At this point, Roy has become a "progress stopper".
3. FG kicker. Obviously. While yesterday wasn't a close game, there will be lots of them in the future.
4. O-line. It played well most of the season, but when it was bad (like yesterday) it was very bad. Romo got hammered in a few games, and he seems not to respond well to that. And even if you like your starters, it needs depth. Free's play has been good to see, but beyond him, there's not much to pin your hopes on. And Wade may not even be able to dress as many as he'd like because he has to carry Buehler on the 45-man game roster, so the ons he dresses better be good and versatile.
5. Get smarter. This is by far the toughest chore. The coaching staff seems unable to make necessary countermoves. Maybe it's the players' execution that's the problem, but it seems more like game plans don't take into account the opponent's adustments. Hard to really tell as a TV viewer, but Garrett especially seems to like what he likes. When he finds something that works, he's good at running it or variations off it. When he finds something that doesn't work, he just keeps doing it.
6. Marion Barber. Tough runner. Good guy. Needs to get healthy and into great shape. Not good shape -- great shape. He's got marginal RB speed at best and little elusiveness. I thought he looked a bit saggy-butted this season, and he has to be able to run outside or make a guy miss sometimes if he's going to stay the starter (or take carries away from Choice).
This team will be back in the hunt next year, no matter what. But to be really elite, it needs some fine-tuning. Go to work, Jerry.
We learned that Spencer, Austin and Jenkins are all players. Romo still seems on the upswing. Special teams coverage improved. Yada, yada. It's easy to list some good things. But some things have to change -- even if it's unlikely they will:
1. The defense -- excellent as it can be -- has to create turnovers. It was lousy at that in the regular season, got better at the very end and then, yesterday, got bad again.
2. Roy Williams. There was a brief interval there when i didn't want a guy named '"Roy Williams" off the team. Now again I do. He and Romo can work out and practice together and play catch till their hands are sore, but they are just too seldom on the same page. At this point, Roy has become a "progress stopper".
3. FG kicker. Obviously. While yesterday wasn't a close game, there will be lots of them in the future.
4. O-line. It played well most of the season, but when it was bad (like yesterday) it was very bad. Romo got hammered in a few games, and he seems not to respond well to that. And even if you like your starters, it needs depth. Free's play has been good to see, but beyond him, there's not much to pin your hopes on. And Wade may not even be able to dress as many as he'd like because he has to carry Buehler on the 45-man game roster, so the ons he dresses better be good and versatile.
5. Get smarter. This is by far the toughest chore. The coaching staff seems unable to make necessary countermoves. Maybe it's the players' execution that's the problem, but it seems more like game plans don't take into account the opponent's adustments. Hard to really tell as a TV viewer, but Garrett especially seems to like what he likes. When he finds something that works, he's good at running it or variations off it. When he finds something that doesn't work, he just keeps doing it.
6. Marion Barber. Tough runner. Good guy. Needs to get healthy and into great shape. Not good shape -- great shape. He's got marginal RB speed at best and little elusiveness. I thought he looked a bit saggy-butted this season, and he has to be able to run outside or make a guy miss sometimes if he's going to stay the starter (or take carries away from Choice).
This team will be back in the hunt next year, no matter what. But to be really elite, it needs some fine-tuning. Go to work, Jerry.