It's that time again. Time for the annual pre-season take on what's to come for our beloved Dallas Cowboys. Now, this is not our first rodeo together and, for those of you who are new to BTB or have not taken the opportunity to read prior posts or, if you just want to stroll down memory lane and laugh (or cry) at some of the commentary from prior reads, here you go;
Let me start by saying that 2014 is a little off for me. Something just isn't the same. Normally, I come into each season with the sentiment of Everyfan. Now, Everyfan has unbridled enthusiasm and believes, in their heart of hearts, that their team is a bona fide Super Bowl contender because, well, they're tied for first place. It doesn't matter if your team is the Browns or the Raiders or the Chargers - at this wondrous moment in time - your team has as good a shot as any. However, for some reason, I don't bring with me the spirit of Everyfan. In conversations with family and friends, I just haven't been able to find the right words to describe how I feel. More on that later.
This...undertaking of mine is one where I try to surmise what we'll all be looking back on after the season is over and think to ourselves, THAT was the underpinning of this team's body of work. So what is it that we'll all be talking about in February? What will we say was the central theme of the 2014 Dallas Cowboys?
Not. So. Fast.
You can't move too far forward without first looking at where you've been. This has not been your typical offseason. True to his dogmatic form, Jason Garrett (with the support of the front office) made some of the most drastic personnel changes on the team since 2007. Gone are DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher from a defensive unit that was as porous as any in team history. The release of Ware was as divisive an issue for many Cowboys fans as there has been in quite some time. As if that wasn't enough, Dallas shied away from the shiny thing (Johnny Manziel) and drafted yet another Offensive Lineman with their first round pick, which marks their third in four years after going two decades without a first round O-lineman! Their biggest acquisition in free agency was Henry Melton, who is coming off of a major injury. They also added some second tier free agents to fill holes on the DL and OL. Sadly, maybe the biggest personnel story of the offseason was the loss of Sean Lee to season-ending injury. Lee, when on the field, is as good as any in the game. His problem has been the fact that the most important ability in pro football is AVAILability, and his has been sparse at best.
The coaching ranks were not immune to the wave of change brought about by Garrett either. With the elevation of Rod Marinelli to Defensive Coordinator, Dallas goes into the season with its third Defensive Coordinator in as many years and 4th in five seasons. The same could be said of the offense, where Scott Linehan was brought in from Detroit to call the plays after the last two seasons were a hodgepodge of Garrett and Bill Callahan signaling the plays in to Tony Romo. And while we're on the subject of Tony, he is coming off of a not-insignificant injury and subsequent back surgery. Things to watch closely as he'll be 34 years old (or young depending your vantage point) this season.
Whew!
Back to the issue at hand. Well, there are a lot of possibilities for that headline story when we go back and assess the 2014 season. For instance;
Could it be the Season of Rod? Is there anyone in the organization who has a more difficult road ahead of them than the former Marine (hint: never say "ex-Marine") and current DC for the Cowboys? He has the daunting task of improving the NFL's worst defense WITHOUT the services of Ware, Lee and Hatcher (and Scandrick for a quarter of the season). For better or worse, he is not radically changing the alignment. I guess the good news is that there's nowhere to go but up and, statistically speaking, defenses tend to improve in year 2 of their major scheme changes. But, and here's why I think it isn't about Rod, if Dallas finishes in the bottom quartile on defense in 2014, would anyone be shocked? Would anyone blame Marinelli for them NOT being a top 10 defense? Surely not. So, I guess it's safe to say that people doubt this defense can shut any team down and that the expectations are low.
What about this ‘Process' thing? It's Year 4 for JG and his process, replete with RKG's, has yielded a 24-24 record in three seasons. Not at all what the fanbase expected. What we don't know is whether that is a whole lot better than we should have expected or a whole lot worse. It could just as easily be argued that Garrett has done a great job of masking the Cowboys' many deficiencies and keeping them competitive up until the last whistle in the 16th game of all three of his seasons as head coach as it could be that he has led the team to nothing but endless mediocrity. Wherever you sit on the Jason-is-on-the-hot-seat continuum, I think most fans aren't going into this season thinking Jason's roster is loaded up for a deep playoff run. It seems like even though many doubt the ‘Process', it may need more time before it's fair to evaluate it. Then again, it could be cut off at the knees before it runs its course. So, it's not the Season of the Process.
How about the players themselves? Could it be the Season of Dez or Romo or even the Season of the OL? By most accounts, Dez is poised to have another good season and anything less would be a surprise. Romo has become consistent...a known quantity. He has cemented himself as a top 10-15 QB in this league and while he may never be a Peyton, Rodgers or Brady, he shouldn't have to be to win a Super Bowl since guys like Eli and Flacco have blings on their fingers. As for the OL, it's young and has what look to be 3 stalwart pieces, but doubts linger about the other two positions. They need some time to mature and maybe one more quality piece before we start making comparisons to the Great Wall of Dallas. No Season of Romo, Dez or OL.
After reading through what 2014 would NOT be a few times, a recurring theme popped up (did you find it in the first read-through?) and suddenly I realized why I wasn't brimming with the enthusiasm normally associated at this time of year with Everyfan. With that realization came the true epithet or moniker for the 2014 season that I so desperately sought.
You see, I'm not Everyfan. I'm a special breed. I'm a long time (okay, really long time) Dallas Cowboys fan and, if you count yourself among that demographic, you know that we don't use the same yardstick to measure our team's success as fans of the Eagles, Lions and Bengals. A division title is a great accomplishment and a playoff win is worthy of chest-thumping, but our truly great seasons have been marked by players, coaches and owners hoisting the Lombardi trophy high overhead for the world to see. Maybe I should be more realistic. Maybe I should find solace in the fact that these 8-8 seasons weren't 5-11 seasons. But I don't. Every single solitary season, I want to walk into every opening game and truly believe that my team has a reasonable chance to contend for a title. But again, this year, something is off. I find myself harboring - and this isn't easy to admit - doubt. I can't pinpoint the reasons. But it's there. This ugly, sinister thing that eats at my pre-season confidence and serenity. It should come as no surprise. THAT is the centerpiece of this season. Maybe more than at any time in recent memory, we've all let doubt seep into our fandom and insidiously erode our once stalwart positions touting how ‘next year is our year'. I've heard Cowboys fans on Sirius XM Radio stations tell the Dan Lebatards, Colin Cowherds and Peter Kings of the world that they think Dallas will finish dead last in the division. I read how pundits like Nate Davis think we'll be 3-13. I've seen the comments on BTB that say another 8-8 season would be a huge accomplishment. I've heard the arguments and, even though I hate to say it, they are not without merit.
- The team continues to lack stability at key coaching positions
- The roster (especially on defense where it will not be mistaken for one of our Doomsday iterations) has big holes and lacks depth
- The coach is, if only because he is not signed to a contract in 2015, on the hot seat
- The quarterback is in the twilight of his career and coming ‘back' from injury
- More talented versions of this team have only been able to muster an 8-8 record
- It has not been a banner pre-season
Even through my Cowboys-tinted lenses, one must, at some point look at the facts. The organization has sold us on a plan that revolves around some key principles that have played out in both the roster and coaching changes they've made, their practice routines and even the way they dress. The entire approach has become more professional, maybe even more stoic and Landry-like. It all still sounds good, but the results have not been there. Now, after 48 football games, isn't it human nature that dictates we question the path we are on? Is there really a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow or are we simply sailors on a ship of fools? So yes, I harbor doubt. Fault me if you will, but I do...and I am willing to admit it. If you do too, then you need to let it out. It's a catharsis. It makes the burden much lighter.
But all is not lost, because this is the NFL and surprises abound every single year. The Chiefs and Panthers came out of nowhere last year. The Seahawks weren't the Seahawks until something just clicked. There is absolutely nothing that says the Cowboys cannot be a 2014 surprise team and make the pundits look silly. The Cowboys have the ability to help overcome all that plagues me (and others) and erase my doubts, replacing them with joy and enthusiasm. This team, in spite of all of the bad luck injuries and player defections and tumult at the coordinator spots, can STILL rise to the occasion. This 2014 Cowboys can overcome the adversity they face and win games that few expect them to. They can prove that the ideals of ‘RKG' and ‘Process' and locker room chemistry and leadership are well worth the long-term investments that we've all endured and that our patience will be rewarded. Who says they can't be a team that regains its status as a perennial contender? Who says they can't be the team we all want them to be?
So there. It is settled then.
It's time. Time to salute the team and brace ourselves for whatever lies before us. So, with that, I raise my glass and salute you, my fellow Cowboys fans. To 2014, The Season of Doubt!
GO COWBOYS!!!!!