But honestly, watching the Cowboys of the last few weeks, it's clear there is a culture problem of some sorts.
A team that has a strong leader, whether players or a HC, doesn't turn into a bunch of whiners about officiating. But I don't think I have ever seen a team whine as much about officiating over a 2-3 week period as much as this team, culminating in their "star" QB stupidly saying that he was OK with fans throwing things at the officials. Sure, he probably doesn't mean it and upon reflection he probably realizes it was dumb, but in that moment he clearly was whining about officiating.
The team didn't lose against Arizona due to officiating. They didn't lose to the 49ers because of officiating.
They lost because their run game was anemic in both games. They lost because there were constant breakdowns along the OL. They lost because their QB simply didn't play well and was missing guys. They dropped passes. They missed blocks. They had stupid, brain dead penalties.
That's why they lost. But in moments like this, you see the soul, the makeup of the team when you lose and one of the battle cries is the officials, especially in a game where frankly, almost all those penalties were the right call.
In many cases, one could purge this kind of excuse making with a HC changing, a flame thrower to the staff to send a message. But unfortunately, this is a culture grown by the GM/owner. He's self-entitled and pampers these guys so the team, save for some exceptions, operates the same way.
It's shame because honestly, I think there is a framework here that a real GM and a real HC could work with. But like other teams in the past that had the pieces that just needed a touch here and a direction from a quality coaching staff, this team is just going to keep doing what they always do. Spit the bit in big games and then think it was everyone else's fault but theirs.
