What are we missing

12-9 that is the Cowboy's record under Garrett. Of the 9 losses, the 'Boys had a 4th quarter lead in 8 of them. How do you lose a 4th quarter lead that often? You have an Achilles heal, a weakness that is repeatedly exposed. What is that weakness...

You lose a lead in the 4th quarter for one reason and one reason only. You have poor pass defense. People don't come back in the 4th quarter running the ball. There are two ways to have a pass defense that is susceptible. Lack of pressure and lack of playmakers in the secondary.

Lack of Pressure

The 'Boys have one pressure player and he is extraordinary but he is still one guy. In this league one guy can be schemed for and have his effectiveness reduced. Especially in the 4th quarter, after a whole day of seeing a guy do his thing, players begin to understand what coaches are telling them. I believe that Ware is great at doing what he does, but the other guys are good at what they do as well. Ware needs a partner, he hasn't had a consistent one since Greg Ellis. Spencer just is not the guy to bring the heat. He does a good job of doing what they ask him to do in stopping the run, but he just doesn't bring much as a a pass rusher. No one on the D-line brings heat consistently. I think it would be better to have a D-lineman in this role, as having two OLB's pushing upfield leaves you susceptible to the run. Ratliff has the potential to fill this role, if he weren't facing double teams all day long.

Secondary

No one in this secondary scares anybody. Who is a threat to pick off a pass. Newman has been bad this year, especially the last two weeks. Jenkins can't stay healthy. The safties are average, they certainly don't scare anybody. A couple of those Manning passes were real ducks and a ballhawk would have made him pay. But we don't have one, we have a bunch of JAGs and a china doll. Jenkins has real potential, but I just don't know what to think about him. Last year he was atrocious, he just seemed to lose confidence and interest and his effort was poor. This year he has played with max effort but he keeps getting hurt. The potential is there, but can he put it together?

This team will continue to lose in the 4th quarter until there is someone else who can bring some heat and someone in the secondary who makes people think twice about throwing one up for grabs.