Plankton
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There has been something about the 2017 season for the Dallas Cowboys that has seemed to be a bit off.
This feeling goes back to the playoff game against the Packers, when the team came out flat, and were ultimately unable to finish the game, suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Green Bay. With a young team, seemingly with its future secured at the quarterback position, at running back, and with the league’s best offensive line, the Cowboys appeared to be in a position to make a strong push for a Super Bowl berth in the 2017 season.
From there, the Cowboys have reverted to the same troubling pattern seen over the last decade – when expectations are low, the Cowboys rise above them, and play well. When the expectations are high, the Cowboys play well below the projections.
In the case of the 2017 edition of the Cowboys, it’s readily apparent that there was an overestimation of the strength of this roster by pundits, and most importantly, the Cowboy brass. The Cowboys stayed true to their commitment to not wade deep into free agency, and try to build their team through the draft. With a roster that had some holes in it if the examination was performed deeply enough, the team appeared to rest on its laurels while another team in the division made it their mission to take every opportunity to improve their roster.
The result of these two differing approaches to the offseason played itself out last night at AT&T Stadium, and the outcome was a humbling one for the home standing team.
In the 37-9 beatdown administered by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys exited more banged up than they entered the game, and appear to be a shell of the team that had won a team record 11 consecutive games just a season ago. For the second week in a row, the Cowboy offense was impotent, and if the season weren’t on the brink entering the game, it certainly is now.
The Cowboys right now don’t seem to be a team that is strong enough to weather the current adversity that it is facing. With a roster missing star running back and offensive fulcrum Ezekiel Elliott due to suspension and stalwart left tackle Tyron Smith and indispensable linebacker Sean Lee due to injury, the Cowboys are ill equipped to recover on either side of the ball without those players. As the game played on last night, the flaws on this Cowboy roster were laid bare for all to see, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. While every week appears to be a referendum on the state of the football team, and the NFL in general, the precincts from the viewing universe can likely agree on the following:
At this time, the Eagles realized something that was very apparent on the first drive, but they went away from inexplicably: the Cowboys are incapable of stopping the run without Sean Lee in the lineup.
In a manner reminiscent of a game from Eagles head coach Doug Pederson’s past, the Eagles saw a weakness, and went on to attack it. In 1997, the Cowboys, struggling through their first 11 games of the season, but hanging in the playoff chase, went to Green Bay, and with a defense missing star defensive tackle Leon Lett due to a suspension, managed to get to halftime tied at 10 against the defending NFL champions. The Packers realized at halftime what Cowboy fans already knew – without Lett, they could not stop the run. In the second half, the Packers attacked the soft underbelly of the Cowboy defense, and wore them down while running away with the game, 45-17.
The Eagles likely came to the same realization at halftime. The Eagles went run heavy in the second half, running 23 times for 180 yards, and taking the life from the Cowboy defense. The Eagles domination was felt to the tune of a 30-0 turnaround in the second half, and they coasted to victory. Going into the game, many felt as if the Eagles were the best team in the NFC, and they did nothing to dissuade those thoughts.
Another difference between the teams was seen in the ability to adjust to injury. The Eagles were also playing without their left tackle last night, as perennial Pro-Bowler Jason Peters has been out with a leg injury. The Eagles have plugged in unheralded Halapoulivaati Vaitai as a replacement, and their offense has continued to operate efficiently. The Cowboys plugged in more heralded and experienced players in Chaz Green and Byron Bell, and their offense is non-functional. Over the last two games, the Cowboys offense has scored one touchdown (after starting a drive at the Falcon 24 yard line), and has been outscored 47-0 in the second half.
One team has adjusted, and the other has settled.
Now, with the season in full crisis, the scheduling gods present a new obstacle – two games in the next 10 days, and an even shorter rest than usual for Thanksgiving following a Sunday night game. What awaits the Cowboys on Thursday is a hot Charger team that has won four of its last six contests, and boasts perhaps the best pass rush tandem the Cowboys will face all season in Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa. The Cowboys will need Tyron Smith back and healthy if they are to hold up against the pass rush capability of the Charger bookends.
Going back to the 1997 Cowboys, once the secret was revealed about their inability to defend the run without Lett, following the loss to the Packers, Dallas did not win a game for the rest of the season.
In order to not suffer a similar fate, the Cowboys need to turn the switch back on and quickly, or this season will be another missed opportunity and example of failing to live up to expectations.
This feeling goes back to the playoff game against the Packers, when the team came out flat, and were ultimately unable to finish the game, suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Green Bay. With a young team, seemingly with its future secured at the quarterback position, at running back, and with the league’s best offensive line, the Cowboys appeared to be in a position to make a strong push for a Super Bowl berth in the 2017 season.
From there, the Cowboys have reverted to the same troubling pattern seen over the last decade – when expectations are low, the Cowboys rise above them, and play well. When the expectations are high, the Cowboys play well below the projections.
In the case of the 2017 edition of the Cowboys, it’s readily apparent that there was an overestimation of the strength of this roster by pundits, and most importantly, the Cowboy brass. The Cowboys stayed true to their commitment to not wade deep into free agency, and try to build their team through the draft. With a roster that had some holes in it if the examination was performed deeply enough, the team appeared to rest on its laurels while another team in the division made it their mission to take every opportunity to improve their roster.
The result of these two differing approaches to the offseason played itself out last night at AT&T Stadium, and the outcome was a humbling one for the home standing team.
In the 37-9 beatdown administered by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys exited more banged up than they entered the game, and appear to be a shell of the team that had won a team record 11 consecutive games just a season ago. For the second week in a row, the Cowboy offense was impotent, and if the season weren’t on the brink entering the game, it certainly is now.
The Cowboys right now don’t seem to be a team that is strong enough to weather the current adversity that it is facing. With a roster missing star running back and offensive fulcrum Ezekiel Elliott due to suspension and stalwart left tackle Tyron Smith and indispensable linebacker Sean Lee due to injury, the Cowboys are ill equipped to recover on either side of the ball without those players. As the game played on last night, the flaws on this Cowboy roster were laid bare for all to see, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. While every week appears to be a referendum on the state of the football team, and the NFL in general, the precincts from the viewing universe can likely agree on the following:
- The Cowboys, to make up for the weakness last night at left tackle, became a very right handed offense last night. By the midway point of the third quarter, the Eagles had fully adjusted, and the Cowboys had no further answers for what Philadelphia presented defensively.
- While Dak Prescott had the most successful rookie season in NFL history a season ago, he has not progressed much further beyond those accomplishments. Prescott is still a good quarterback, but it is readily apparent that he is not capable of carrying the offense without a lot of help. As a bus driver, he has excelled at protecting the football. Last night, he was anything other than excellent at doing that.
- This is an offense that lacks a number 1 receiver. Dez Bryant is paid like one, but he no longer can dominate opposing cornerbacks as he used to. The opposition has figured out the need to tackle him low, and the loss of explosiveness due to repeated leg injuries has robbed Bryant of tackle breaking ability. His lack of precision in running routes, as well as him showing better hands than concentration hampers the offense’s ability to sustain drives.
- Jason Witten is having a more difficult time getting separation in his routes, gets very little yards after the catch and now doesn’t threaten defenses in the seam.
- Tyron Smith, even when he hasn't played as well as we have been accustomed to seeing him play, is one of the most underrated, underpaid players in the league. Smith is so good at protecting the blind side that Prescott has been able to get away with going to the end of his pass drop, and not climb the pocket to avoid duress. Prescott's bad habit has contributed to the pass rush heat that he has felt and absorbed from the blind side.
- Sean Lee is the MVP of this football team. However, the degree to which the defense depends on him is a result of poor roster building on the defensive side of the ball, and with the injury history that he has dating back to his sophomore season at Penn State, it’s positively mind boggling that the front office allowed themselves to be this dependent on a single player for a unit’s success.
- The coaching staff has done an exceptionally poor job of adjusting to the absence of players, and being creative in immersing the new players in the lineup. In a collision based, physically traumatic sport such as football, the ability to adjust to the loss of players due to injury is critical. One season ago, the Cowboys did this exceptionally well when Tony Romo went down in the third preseason game. One year later, their inability to do so has threatened their season.
- Distractions are always a presence for Jerry Jones’ Cowboys. It has been this way since his purchase of the team in 1989. It’s an internal hurdle that has to be navigated, managed and cleared by his teams each season, and doesn’t necessarily set his team up for success. The cloud of the Elliott suspension process and Jones’ very public war with the NFL Management Council, the commissioner and the league office makes the process of preparing for football games all the more difficult for the Cowboys. Jones proffered last night that he has done everything that he can to improve the Cowboys. What he doesn’t realize is that all of the noise from his many activities often has the opposite effect.
At this time, the Eagles realized something that was very apparent on the first drive, but they went away from inexplicably: the Cowboys are incapable of stopping the run without Sean Lee in the lineup.
In a manner reminiscent of a game from Eagles head coach Doug Pederson’s past, the Eagles saw a weakness, and went on to attack it. In 1997, the Cowboys, struggling through their first 11 games of the season, but hanging in the playoff chase, went to Green Bay, and with a defense missing star defensive tackle Leon Lett due to a suspension, managed to get to halftime tied at 10 against the defending NFL champions. The Packers realized at halftime what Cowboy fans already knew – without Lett, they could not stop the run. In the second half, the Packers attacked the soft underbelly of the Cowboy defense, and wore them down while running away with the game, 45-17.
The Eagles likely came to the same realization at halftime. The Eagles went run heavy in the second half, running 23 times for 180 yards, and taking the life from the Cowboy defense. The Eagles domination was felt to the tune of a 30-0 turnaround in the second half, and they coasted to victory. Going into the game, many felt as if the Eagles were the best team in the NFC, and they did nothing to dissuade those thoughts.
Another difference between the teams was seen in the ability to adjust to injury. The Eagles were also playing without their left tackle last night, as perennial Pro-Bowler Jason Peters has been out with a leg injury. The Eagles have plugged in unheralded Halapoulivaati Vaitai as a replacement, and their offense has continued to operate efficiently. The Cowboys plugged in more heralded and experienced players in Chaz Green and Byron Bell, and their offense is non-functional. Over the last two games, the Cowboys offense has scored one touchdown (after starting a drive at the Falcon 24 yard line), and has been outscored 47-0 in the second half.
One team has adjusted, and the other has settled.
Now, with the season in full crisis, the scheduling gods present a new obstacle – two games in the next 10 days, and an even shorter rest than usual for Thanksgiving following a Sunday night game. What awaits the Cowboys on Thursday is a hot Charger team that has won four of its last six contests, and boasts perhaps the best pass rush tandem the Cowboys will face all season in Melvin Ingram and Joey Bosa. The Cowboys will need Tyron Smith back and healthy if they are to hold up against the pass rush capability of the Charger bookends.
Going back to the 1997 Cowboys, once the secret was revealed about their inability to defend the run without Lett, following the loss to the Packers, Dallas did not win a game for the rest of the season.
In order to not suffer a similar fate, the Cowboys need to turn the switch back on and quickly, or this season will be another missed opportunity and example of failing to live up to expectations.
