Season Wrap Up Part 1: Dallas Cowboys Myths Debunked

It would be has since the “Holy Trinity” is being used as a proper noun representative of a singular entity.

Respectfully,

resident grammar Nazi

BUILDING: The act, process, art, or occupation of constructing.

As foyes eloquently lays out below, thin about the dead weight that was cast off along with the new pieces that were inserted. You get rid of Roy Williams and you bring in Laurent Robinson. You jettison MBIII and supplant him with DeMarco Murray. You replace Alan Ball at FS with Abe Elam. Colombo out, Tyron in.

If that’s not an indication of demolition and an ensuing construction project, I don’t know what is.

One go about recording a post. Do we simply say it or is there a button? If so it isn’t on the iPhone app.

Some pessimism is warranted. There were a lot of things that didn’t go the way they should have gone.

Unlike past year’s teams, this one had a ton of fight in it. I never saw ‘quit’.

That, in and of itself, is a huge accomplishment in one season.

…as per usual.

I’d say the restocking part is a constant challenge.

The part I would ask you to consider is this; what if the pro bowlers on this team’s next “version” were the same in number but came from different positions?

What if the next group has a pro bowl RB instead of a pro bowl TE? What if we get a pro bowl center instead of a NT? What if we had a pro bowl ILB instead of a pro bowl OLB?

Get my drift?

Would you invest in a DB or a lineman with your first pick to help Ryan’s D?

I have to say I’ve watched more college football than I had in many years. This is a good opportunity for Tom Ciskowski and the Dallas scouting department to really help this team.

I already have my eyes on a few good options.

:-)

It’s hard to know how Garrett communicates with his staff behind closed doors, but I think you have to look at three things;

Structure – Is the team structure lined up so that the roles and responsibilities (and accountabilities) are abundantly clear? One thing the GM should do is make sure the coaches know what’s expected of them and the groups they lead. In sales, it’s quotas. In production, it’s quality. In war, it’s kills. In football, it’s positive things like sacks, turnovers, 20+-yard plays and, of course, points. It’s also negative things like penalties, missed assignments, etc. Those are things you cannot tolerate and the accountability lies with the group leaders and ultimately the HC. I doubt Jerry is the kind of GM that would be so prescriptive in his approach.

Scheme – does the scheme give me confidence and lead me to conclude that, if executed properly, the team would win? If so, good. If not, I would intervene in a socratic way.

Talent – is the group responsible for upgrading talent doing ‘better’ than their peer groups, especially in key areas of need?

Personally, I have a great affinity for toughness. Larry Allen was one of my favorite players. Not just because of his great play, but because he rose above his “station”, growing up in the toughest of situations, and later became a mainstay on his team. I like those players. I like brutish, nasty physical players who want to impose their personal will over any and all comers. So, I’d try to steer the team that direction.

Not sure I answered your question though.

Some stuck, some didn’t.

That was awesome!

Jerry had so little to do with what happened on the field because he knew that he and his HC were of like mind about what needed to happen.

I remember Jimmy saying, incredulously, that the coaches under Landry (in the midst of a horrific season) were leaving work every day at 5:00.

Do you think Joe Avezzano was leaving work at 5 when he worked for Jimmy? Was Wanny leaving at 5?

Nope.

I don’t think JG disagrees that the O-line is still undergoing change. We’ll see if Jerry and Stephen continue to support him in that regard.

There’s a lot I will point out about the needed fixes later, but let us take a moment and think about the lasting POSITIVE memories from 2011. There’s a lot to be excited about, especially if they can address what look to be glaring needs in a few areas.

…but JG will only pick someone he trusts. Beyond Paul Chryst, who might that be? Sparano was Tuna’s guy and probably not aligned with a Zampese style offense. Norv doesn’t make sense given how Jerry dissed him. Who’s left?

I wanted more from 2011, but in the polls that were on BTB prior to the season predicting final records, I picked 8-8 every single time.

So they “met” my expectations i that regard. Where they exceeded my expectations was in the area of effort and intensity. For me, that’s table stakes to build a perennial contender.

I appreciate the nautical intervention. It’s not my forte.

In the end, the December swoon this team went through could be a lightning rod for the Trinity to see what needs to change much more clearly.

oh, and I’ll probably steal the idea and turn it into a post titled ‘Dallas Cowboys Draft myths debunked’ – unless that would have been your Pt. II, Blings.

Publicly laud them and privately beat the hell out of them.

Nothing all that new about the modus operandi. His dad did that too.

His team committed far fewer mental errors than Dallas did. Last year, Singletary’s group was bumbling and stumbling all over the field. He cleaned that all up in a short offseason.

Garrett made some errors but I think much of that is the result of not having an OC. He will likely blow some key decisions again in 2012 if he doesn’t find a play caller.

His track record is too short and I don’t want to overhype (or, as is Jerry’s MO, overpay) him or anyone else for a good year.

He’s clearly a bright, rising star, but I need more than a year before I make the call. I’d say the same about Dan Bailey.

He went down to see if he was removing Romo from the game and considering he was our only hope to make it to the playoffs, I would have too if I was Jerry.

But I agree with you that the biggest part of the culture is Jerry.

In almost all hierarchies, the leader sets the tone and Jerry is, unquestionably, the leader.

Did you not feel like the draft, the personnel changes and the overall way the Cowboys operated represented a shift in the culture?

I always think of myself as pretty balanced, but I also know that when I call out Romo or others with constructive criticism, you see me as the “hater”.

Beware Part deux. It won’t be all rosy.

I’m not sure how much cap room they can clear to sign FA’s with, but that’s where the bookend pas rusher will need to come from, along with an OG and a DB.

I doubt he pays much attention to a hack like me.

If you look at FA D-linemen, would you break the bank for a Calais Campbell? Jason Jones? Someone else?

So who is going to profile the FA’s?

Since Chia does the draft profiles, someone else needs to step up.

can you use the underlined ‘reply’ option beneath the comment when you’re replying to it? It helps me scan faster and see if you’ve asked a question or made a comment I’d like to add to and it keeps the comments germane to the topic of the moment together so others can add as well.

Happy New Year.

Not sure what you mean.

…anyone who tried to tell me he didn’t do more with largely the same group as Winnie had last year would be spouting mythology.

We may come to find out he’s not great, but sub-par? No way.

Alas, my schedule is erratic and taxing. I truly appreciate people who can do what the FPW’s do. I wish I could do more, but sometimes life gets in the way.

Thanks again.

I’ll keep writin’ if you’ll keep readin’ (and commentin’).

I don’t think the problem can be solved on defense with better CB’s. Yes, Newman played like he was paralyzed below the waist at times, but he’s never been good with the ball in the air. Jenkins and Scandrick could be quite good if they knew they didn’t have to cover for 5 seconds per play.

The problem on defense is the pass rush. In 20008 and 2009, when the defense was ranked in the top 10 in terms of yards given up, Jay Ratliff was at the top of his game, generating a lot of pressure up the middle (13.5 sacks over 2 seasons at NT is simply outstanding) and it was that quick penetration which more than compensated for his lack of size and, although he wore down at the end of both seasons, he was still serviceable. The rest of the defense benefitted greatly from his inside pressure.

Unfortunately, the years of playing at sub-300 pounds have taken the toll I have said they would take on his undersized body. Ratliff is a warrior. But you cannot get blood from a stone. His pedestrian performance as a pass rusher at NT this year (2 sacks), coupled with his inability to hold his ground against double teams, really hurt the Cowboys defense. The book on Dallas was that if you could stifle Ware, they had no other pressure player up front to contend with. Game over.

A good pass rush can make a very average group of DB’s look like ballhawks. Just ask the guys playing the Packers this weekend.

I’m not quite sure how they do it given their cap limitations and the lack of a BJ Raji-type of player in this draft, but Dallas has to find pressure players in this offseason because if they don’t, you can put Deion, Lester Hayes, Ed Reed and Brian Dawkins (in their primes) back there and they’d still get toasted.

On the offense, it will be interesting to see how Garrett approaches year #2 of rebuilding this offense. What’s more, I wonder how the addition of an OC might change Garett’s perspective on what needs to be addressed and in what order on that side of the ball.

And you rank Guard over Center?

Please explain.