Making the correct decision has been a major problem of the Dallas Cowboys this season.  This is a problem from the top of the organization all the way down to the bottom.  I had bought into the RKG way with the way that Jason Garrett was selling it this pre-season.  I probably drank too much of that Kool-Aid but 6 weeks into this season and really longer than that including the abbreviated off-season and pre-season, I find myself doubting the organization

We as Cowboys fans have always had a problem with Jerry's decision making, it comes with the territory.  However, it seemed different with Jason Garrett.  Draft day was what gave me the feeling that things were different.  We drafted captains of college teams, it was a transformation of player types and attitudes.  We moved to a smaller, more agile line that was supposed to improve our running game and offer Romo better protection.  This has not been the case.  Maybe I am jumping to conclusions too soon (that probably is the case with O-line) but the decision making on this team and in this organization has not changed and it is the disease that causes us to lose and will keep us a mediocre team until it is changed.

The decision making starts at the top with Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett.  Roster moves have boggled my mind at times.  The first and most recent is the waiving of Dwayne Harris today.  Harris has not done anything special this year but he showed some promise in the pre-season and was adequate on returns.  With Felix Jones being hurt, Demarco Murray should not be used on returns.  Dez Bryant should not be used as we do not need him to get hurt.  Bryan McCann has already been cut.  AOA is on the practice squad.  Who is going to return punts and kicks?  The only person that comes to mind for me is Newman which is not something I want to see.  I would prefer to keep him healthy then risk him getting injured returning a punt.  Or Ogletree?  I would rather have him cut than Harris.  He has showed an inability to know the right routes and play well.  The Bryan McCann cutting was another decision that made me turn my head.  While Frank Walker has played well and has surprised me (somewhat mitigating this decision), McCann was one of our biggest playmakers at the end of last season and was a young player who was coming along.

Next, Jason Garrett's play-calling and game management decisions have been atrocious.  These decisions have been discussed in great detail all over BTB so I will not lambast Garrett again on specific play calls but I will talk about things on a macro-level.  The running game has been almost non-existent except for two long runs by Felix in one game.  This O-line is not built for between the tackles running.  We should be running stretch plays, sweeps, and tosses.  If these do not work, how about adopting what Chicago and Detroit do in using Forte and Best as receivers on short passes and screens.  Our RBs are built in that mold and this can substitute for an ineffective running game.  It seems that Marty B gets more screen passes than our RBs which makes absolutely no sense to me.

Finally, the decision making of the players has been poor as well.  Players learn from the top so the decision making is a result of the leadership.  As Garrett's faults have been discussed in great detail so have Tony Romo's.  My only comment on the matter is that Romo needs to learn to throw the ball away sometimes instead of forcing passes.  It is better to throw it out of bounds and re-group for another play than to throw an INT.  Penalties are a result of decision making as well at times.  Anthony Spencer had two awful decision making penalties last game.  The Roughing the Passer and Running into the Kicker penalties both extended drives and were definitely avoidable.  It is bone-headed plays like these that hurt the time and jeopardize our chances of winning.  Felix Jones' running out of bounds on 4th down was another dumb decision being made.   These are the examples that are coming to mind right now but there are many more that could be written about.

Decision making is something that needs to be changed in the Cowboys organization.  It is impossible to be successful without proper decision making.  This team has the talent to win games and be successful; however, they continue to handicap themselves with mental mistakes and poor choices and until that stops it is going to be a bumpy ride.