The Cowboys are now a very bad football team
The Cowboys are now a very bad football team and it’s not really injuries. It has a lot more to do w/ coaching. This is the most penalized team in the NFL; that’s coaching. This team never seems to have a strategy that ever catches the opponent off guard; that’s coaching. The secondary always looks confused w/ guys constantly out of position; that’s coaching, (why in the world was Campo, a proven looser brought back?). This team continually lacks any sort of intensity or motivation; that’s coaching. The Patriots, for example, have had just as many serious injuries as the Cowboys have and are playing much better football than Dallas to this point in the season; that’s coaching.
It turns out that the best replacement for Parcels was already on the staff when he left; Tony Sporano. Look at how well the Dolphins are playing this year and how inventive some of their game plans have been; that’s coaching. The offensive line problems this year have a lot more to do w/ Sporano’s absence then anything else.
Wade Phillips, (next to Campo) is the worst coach this franchise has ever had. His teams never seem to play w/ any intensity and the game plans are rarely inventive. I used to believe the Garrett might be the answer but now feel he should leave town when Wade goes.
They have, for example, barely tried to use Roy Williams at all in the last 3 games, (not even as a decoy, running some type of fly pattern to clear out the secondary and opening up things underneath.) Garrett never really devised any sort of game plan that plays to Johnson’s strengths, (his ability to read a defense and check down to someone open on an underneath route). Instead Garret has every pattern develop further down the field, outside of Johnson’s comfort zone for accurate passing. Did Garrett ever call on pass play on first down over the last 3 games while the score was still within reach, when the defense might be caught a little off guard? Nope. What’s wrong w/ some type of 4 to 5 yard completion on first down, (instead of an obvious run that will get will get stuffed 9 times out of 10)? On 2nd & 5 the defense is much more likely to be caught of guard and it opens up the entire playbook.
The defense (except for Ware) has never impressed me. I’m not even sure they really are built for a 3/4 scheme. The Patriots for example have 3 down linemen in their 3/4 scheme that dominate the line of scrimmage, (in particular Wilfork and Seymour) and free up their linebackers to make plays. I am not really all that impressed w/ the likes of Ratliff and Canty etc…
This team needs a new staff from top to bottom and perhaps a little less of Jerry in the management roll. The future of the team this could still be very bright if they get a good staff in there. And of course if there is no cap in 2010. If there is then the Cowboys will never win this group because they will be way over and have to cut half the team.
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Right on Wade but Wrong on Garrett.
Dallas is soft. Wade is soft.
Garrett is not soft. He may not be THE guy, but he is better than the guy we have now.
Time to make the change.
"Well, we didn't block real good but we made up for it by not tackling."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
From what I saw on Hard Knocks
I don’t think Jason Garrett will be an excuse-making softie. The way he held was to-the-point with some of the rookies with his evaluation of them and even during the film session — in my opinion — is just a glimpse of how he’d be as a head coach.
He appears to be a man who doesn’t mince words and holds his offensive players accountable at the moment.
I’d be interested to see how he would take that to another level as the head coach.
If King Jerry fired Wade like now — it would give Red Ball and the team a two-week transition. In addition, it would give Jones a “try-before-you-buy” preview of what Garrett could do.
"I got a fever. And the only prescription is more cowbell." -- Bruce Dickinson
www.brainfriednetwork.com [NEWS/SPORTS/FOOTBALL]
but that would leave the defense
in the hands of Stewart, so the season would essentially be lost.
In Romo we Trust
good point
"I got a fever. And the only prescription is more cowbell." -- Bruce Dickinson
www.brainfriednetwork.com [NEWS/SPORTS/FOOTBALL]
how much worse
WOULD THAT BE THAN THE START OF THE SEASON?
I admit the Cowboys are not a well coached team
and that is the root of a lot of their problems.
In Romo we Trust
agreed
We are getting out coached in a lot of games. Wade keeps taking the blame, so Wade needs to go. You just can’t do it now.. I would love a demotion for Wade and showing Stewart the door..
"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"
I completely and utterly disagree on Ratliff...
He’s a freak, a monster, and if I could ever actually find one, my next jersey purchase. I love the absolute ANGER (it goes way beyond intensity with this dude) he plays with. He scares the living bajesus out of me and I actually feel sorry for Tank b/c he doesn’t need to be on the field…unless of course, we got to the 4-3. That’d be a meeeeean gut to try to run on.
by AikmanNailedMySis on Nov 3, 2008 11:46 AM CST reply actions
Ratliff is playing out of position
He is a 3-4 DE, not a 3-4 NT. When we get a wide bodied 3-4 NT we will be better against the run which in turn the ILB’s will be able to move more freely. Right now Tank, Ratliff are getting pushed back into the ILB’s face and they are not good enough, big enough or strong enough to break free. That has been the problem all season. Wade had Jamal Williams in SD. Until we get a nasty NT here things won’t change in the middle. Ratliif needs to replace Spears ASAP. With Ratliff and Spencer on that side of the line would be nearly impossible to stop once they get used to playing next to each other.
Look up... get up...Don't ever, ever give up!!
Yep, a Bad Football Team
Please excuse my rant (or feel free to ignore)
I completely agree that at this point the Dallas Cowboys are a bad football team. Not average…not OK…..but BAD. I would be shocked if the return of the injured guys makes this team anything more than average, and I don’t expect to see any substantial difference in the remaining seven games. There is no discipline, no passion, no heart and no team unity. Penalties, turnovers and missed tackles and a selfish, me-first attitude are what define this ‘team’. You don’t just magically flip a switch and correct those problems. They are endemic to who this team is. That starts with the coaching staff and includes all the players. A few other observations:
• The talent on this team has been significantly overrated. We can stop referring to our team as ‘one of the most talented in the NFL’
• The coaching staff is terrible. It was inexcusable to trot Brad Johnson out there for even one snap Sunday. The minute he walked on the field the game was lost – not just because he sucks, but because it sent a message to the other 52 guys that We Have No Chance Today. Human nature is fairly predictable: when you have no chance, you put forth little effort or concentration.
• The offensive line continues to be a huge mess. How did three guys make it to the pro bowl last season and now they suck? Flozell looks like he should simply retire.
• Romo is no magic bullet for this team. He has been throwing picks, fumbling and making poor decisions for quite some time now. He has shown precious little in the all-important Leadership category. In my opinion he has regressed significantly since that Green Bay game last season. During the offseason we had many a heated discussion on this board about where Romo ranked among NFL and NFC East quarterbacks. Boy, would I ever like to have Eli Manning quarterbacking the Cowboys right now.
• Barber is a nice back and entertaining to watch, but he is nothing special and it was a mistake to sign him to that big deal. My guess is that Tashard Choice would do just about as well as Barber.
• Can Newman really make that much difference to the defense? He looked average and sometimes terrible before he got hurt.
In summary, while I still love my Dallas Cowboys, I am no longer looking at this version as anything other than a 7-9 or 8-8 mess. Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised….but an honest look and analysis says otherwise.
by Cowboy Louie on Nov 3, 2008 12:58 PM CST reply actions
you must be Deke's ghost writer
and if you really feel that way you should just do yourself a favor and become a Giants fan.
In Romo we Trust
While...
You must be the rose-colored glasses Jerry has been wearing the past few weeks.
~Texas Massacre 08~
Time to take them off people
because if our owner has, then the rest of you need to. This team is in some serious trouble. Romo is NOT going to fix it. Like Jerry said it is unknown if Romo will be ready or what kind of rust he will have. Were not making the playoffs. Were not winning 5 olut of 7 down the stretch. Not happening, not with this group, not with this coaching staff.
Look up... get up...Don't ever, ever give up!!
ok and I'll remind you in 3 weeks when we are offically out of the playoffs
Your trophy QB can’t help with all the problems we have. One person doesn’t make or break a team. The good teams overcome and adapt to injuries ie., the Patriots with Cassel. One person doesn’t make a team. ..get it? Ask anyone that’s been around sports and they will tell you the same thing.
If QB was the only problem we had then I would agree Romo would make us 10 times better, but we have so many other problems not including QB. Are problems started with the Redskin game when Romo was playing. Since then it has snowballed…Were done, over..you heard it here first….
Look up... get up...Don't ever, ever give up!!
great qb play covers up a lot of warts
ask anyone who has played football and they will tell you the same thing and BTW, if we had Cassell as our backup we’d be better than 5-4, you can count on it!
In Romo we Trust
I still say that you are really...
Stephen Jones
:-)
"Well, we didn't block real good but we made up for it by not tackling."
- John McKay, the first coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The biggest reason the O-line is not as good is because Sporano is gone. He did a great job of coaching those guys last year and his absence is very noticeable this year.
The secondary, especially when Newman and Jones are back could play a lot better if the coaching staff would allow these guys to play more press coverage and stop lining them up 10 to 15 yards off the line.
I still think Barber is an outstanding back who can’t really do much more when the o-line no longer blocks for him and the opponents are stacking 8 to 9 guys in the box because they no longer fear the Cowboy passing game. He also benefits greatly from having a change of pace guy like Felix Jones coming in.
It really comes down to coaching for me. The good coaches know how to put the teams they have in a position to win by knowing their available personnel and putting them in position to use their strengths.
A COUPLE OF THINGS
first, funny how once all the Parcells assistants leave things start to go to hell.
second, funny how we raided Miami to get a “creative genius” to replace sparano who was boring and then we annointed garrett head coach. now sparano is creative as heck in miami and making something out of nothing while garrett has failed to make much out of the dallas situation.
Hudson Houck sucks as a OL coach
Miami knew what they were doing…
Look up... get up...Don't ever, ever give up!!
Sparano was always creative...
Parcells kept him on a short leash when he was head coach and stifled some of that “creative genius”. Now that Sparano is “the man” in Miami you can see he’s the real deal. But for those of you who wish he had been named head coach here, remember, he was always a Parcells guy. When Bill went to Miami there was no way Sparano would have stayed in Dallas.
The Red Ball Express will be rolling this year!
Louie
Put down the crack pipe brother. Barber is a MONSTER! Just the TD production alone is worth the money. Do you think those last two yards are easy to get? This team has a ton of talent which is why they went 13-3 last year while being poorly coached. Could you imagine we had an elite coach like Fisher, or Belichick. We have a retarded guy who walks around with Benny Hill music playing in the back round. That is the problem.
I see things you don't see.
I
love how people get all panicked and start acting like the Cowboys are all of a sudden the Bengals and Lions. Good god. They’re 5-4 (with their Pro Bowl QB and Pro Bowl CB injured), not to mention a nice rookie RB who’s a great change of pace back, and makes the offense a lot different. it could be worse. We could be the Jaguars.
LOL, very good point
I do find it comical how so many negative Nellies go on their rants when this defeat was expected. They are above .500 and have a lot good players coming back after the bye that will make a big difference. You would have thought we lost our 8th game in a row with some of these rants.
Sure the team isn’t all that well coached and that has a lot to do with the issues on this team, but compared to a lot of teams in this league, we’re still in good shape.
In Romo we Trust
The team is 5-4
But it’s also 2-4 over the last 6 games and finished last season 1-3 including the playoffs.
All told this team has gone 6-7 over its last 13 games, (including the playoffs) since that great 12-1 start last season. Now I agree that the when healthy this team is a lot better than what we’ve seen recently and I for one think the Roy Williams pick up is going to be huge down the road and make them even better. But this team will just not ever win a Super Bowl w/ this coaching staff.
I’ve never seen a super bowl champ w/ a staff this bad. So either this staff needs to be replaced in some capacity or else they have to use a different approach from what we’ve seen so far.
Exactly
I’m sick of the “Romo coming back won’t cure anything BS”. First off, he’s not the only guy coming back. Second, anyone who thinks this team’s offense resembles anything close to what it was when Romo was healthy is not watching the games.
Does this team play perfect? Nope. The penalties and bad tackling at times is on the coaches and apparent lack of discipline, but this is far from a bad team.
I’m pretty exited to see the offense back at full strength with the new addition of Roy WR.
T-New, shutting down WR's for Dallas since 2003
+1
Football at the pro level is all about the qb, you generate points through the passing game, its that simple. If you don’t have a qb who can play, you’re not going to score and therefore you’re not going to win, its really that simple.
The qb is by far and away the most important position on the team and without a good one, you have no chance.
Of course the rest of the team has to play well because its the ultimate team sport, but the man pulling the trigger can mean all the diffrerence in the world between being a contender and a pretender.
With Romo, the Cowboys are definitely a contender and will be competitive, that I know for sure.
In Romo we Trust
The QB touches the ball on 99% of offensive plays.
That’s why it’s such an important position. If you don’t have good QB play, then you have to have SAFE QB play like the Titans do with K.Collins.
Where's Felix?
by Aaron Novinger on Nov 3, 2008 4:17 PM CST up reply actions
even Collins is playing well
there is no way a team can go 8-0 without very good qb play, Collins might be at the end of his career, but he can still play.
Just think if we had him as our backup, I bet we’re a lot better than 5-4.
In Romo we Trust
we had optiosn
That is what pisses me off. We ignored the problem. We had huge debate on here on who we should pick up before season started and Dallas rolled with Brad.. WTF?
"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"
Quinn Gray
I know he got cut by Indy, but he is still better than what we had.
George Teague did it all.
by Aaron Novinger on Nov 4, 2008 11:31 AM CST up reply actions
Believe me if you’re right I’ll be one of the happiest people out there
But I just don’t see it. First of all the entire NFC East is loaded w/ good QB’s so this is not something that is unique to the Cowboys when healthy. The Cowboys have got the worst defense in the NFC east, by far. Even when the team was healthy they were giving up way too many long sustained drives. You just can’t win 41-37 all year and expect to win a super bowl.
Also Wade Phillips by FAR is the worst head coach in the division. As long as he is on the sideline the other team (regardless of who they are) will always be better prepared and have a better game plan than the Cowboys. Now in the past the Cowboys were able to overcome it with sheer talent. But throw in a few injuries and it all falls apart. And even when they’re healthy the Cowboys still won’t win against the better teams in this league (i.e. last year’s playoff loss to the Giants or this year’s losses to the Redskins and Cardinals) because the other team is so much better coached.
I’m sorry but until someone at least semi competent is on that sideline this team is not going anywhere. But please Wade, prove me wrong; I’d LOVE to eat crow on this one.
+1
I’m sorry but until someone at least semi competent is on that sideline this team is not going anywhere. But please Wade, prove me wrong; I’d LOVE to eat crow on this one.
I will be right there also eating crow, but I don’t see it. Well see what happens with the Washington game. If we lose that game we will be 5-5 and all but out of the running. Wade is going to lose the players, if he hasn’t already if we lose the Redskin game. Were not making a run with this team and this coaching staff.
Look up... get up...Don't ever, ever give up!!
If Romo returns..
Washington is going to have a tough time game planning for us..
"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"
All teams have to do
is load up and injure him again to ruin Dallas’ season, because everybody knows our coaching staff can’t overcome the loss of our starting QB.
George Teague did it all.
by Aaron Novinger on Nov 4, 2008 11:33 AM CST up reply actions
Cross your fingers because it's uncertain if he will return for the game
They said today he will start throwing, but that is not practice. Totally two different things. The Redskins don’t need to game plan. They know Romo and this team. We play them twice a year so there is no secret. I know the Reskins lost last night, but they are going to be hard to beat in DC. There defense was strong last night, but Campell could’nt get it done when they needed him to make a play. They have two weeks to prepare just like we do and that favors them.
Look up... get up...Don't ever, ever give up!!
They don't know Romo
With Roy Williams.. :)
"If you see me up in the mountains with a lion, I ain't lyin
don't help me, help the mountain lion"
I never liked the Cowboys Hire of
Wade, he is NOT his father (Bum) when it comes to being a head coach, he lakes energy, management skills and is too soft. until the correct coaching staff is hired, (this team injuries or not) will go nowhere, they have a fine WR in Roy Williams and they use him only on 3rd down plays, that is a flat out crime, you have a rookie DB who wont tackle, it’s all really pathetic.
Marion Barber, money
He signed his big fat contract and now he runs like Reggie Bush. Look for his highlight reels from last year and this year, big difference in how he finishes runs. Defensive players no longer fear him and now just throw weak tackles his way that get him down. They have no pass game because the defenses are not beat up from his brutal runs.
Last year
The Cowboys always used to pass earlier, get a lead and then run late w/ Barber to secure it. Barber didn’t even start last year, Julies Jones did. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the defense were beat up by Barber and that was the real reason the passing game worked. The passing game worked last year because it was more dynamic and innovative and Romo had much better pass protection.
Last year and so far this year defenses have adjusted and the Cowboys and their underwhelming coaching staff have failed to readjust. Barber still runs hard but now he’s facing 8 to 9 man fronts from defenses that have no fear of the Dallas passing game.
Again the problem is not the players, it’s the coaching staff.

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