Mediocrity is unacceptable in Dallas-Fort Worth. The Dallas Cowboys did just enough to beat the Seattle Seahawks 23-13 on Sunday, but that kind of effort won’t get the job done against playoff teams.
Just a week earlier, the Cowboys got drubbed 34-7 by the Philadelphia Eagles just after clobbering the St. Louis Rams by the same score. Beating up on the NFL’s weak sisters just pads the stats; no contender can be that up and down in consecutive weeks.
The Cowboys have to pay attention to detail in order to rise from the pile of averageness that is the NFL. So many teams are .500 or one game below or above it. The league is more even across the board today than it ever has been. At 4-4, Dallas fits right in.
First things first; the Cowboys have to stop blowing opportunities to put games away. Dallas only scored two touchdowns against the Seahawks, but entered the red zone three times. One of those touchdowns came outside the red zone, making the Cowboys’ efficiency just 33 percent down there.
Dallas also can’t keep just sliding by on defense. Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch recorded his first 100-yard performance of the season against the Cowboys. Before the game began, the Cowboys boasted the NFL’s 4th-best rushing defense. Before the Eagles game, Dallas led the league in stopping the run before getting sliced to shreds by Philadelphia running back LeSean McCoy.
Giving up a big day to McCoy is nothing to hang your head about; he’s having an MVP-type season and puts up huge numbers no matter who the Eagles play. However, allowing Lynch to run for 135 yards and a score is beyond embarrassing.
For a team striving to become a Super Bowl contender again, the Cowboys are redefining the word “inconsistent” in the process. Dallas fans are getting impatient as well; Sunday’s televised win over Seattle drew the lowest number of local fans by any team this season.
To become an elite team, the Cowboys must start winning every game against weak teams and several against good teams. Teams that finish 8-8 every year always beat the winless teams but get stomped by the playoff teams. Dallas is exactly that right now, but has the talent to be better.
That’s the most frustrating part to the Dallas faithful; this is 90% the same roster that went 13-3 in 2007. The evidence is in the enchiladas. The Cowboys are being labeled a mediocre team following the win against the Seahawks, which is appropriate, but the talent on both sides of the football suggests otherwise.
Thus, Dallas is not playing up to its potential. The Cowboys are playing up and down to opposing teams each week. It’s now or never for a team with a 31-year-old quarterback in Tony Romo and an owner in Jerry Jones who won’t change quarterbacks until Romo can’t take the field anymore. There’s a new saying that goes something like this: “You know you’re a Texan when your favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys, whether you like it or not.”
Contact Jeric Griffin on Twitter @JericGriffin
Buy Dallas Cowboys Tickets | Buy Dallas Cowboys Apparel[...] Home › NFL › Dallas Cowboys Must Tighten Bolts to Shake Mediocre Tag [...]
[...] The last man to actually coach this franchise brought three Super Bowls to it. That’s right; Johnson is responsible for all three Cowboys Super Bowl wins in the 1900s even though he was only the head coach for two of them. Garrett started off well last season, but now seems to have lost his edge. He’ll have to regain it if this team is ever to become anything more than mediocre. [...]
[...] The last man to actually coach this franchise brought three Super Bowls to it. That’s right; Johnson is responsible for all three Cowboys Super Bowl wins in the 1900s even though he was only the head coach for two of them. Garrett started off well last season, but now seems to have lost his edge. He’ll have to regain it if this team is ever to become anything more than mediocre. [...]
[...] 502 transactions, Seahawks In ReverseSportspress NorthwestYahoo! Sports -ESPN (blog) -Rant Sportsall 1,241 news [...]
[...] Eagles, 30-24, on Monday night. Matt Slocum/Associated Press The Bears' Kellen …Dallas Cowboys Must Tighten Bolts to Shake Mediocre TagRant SportsSeahawks Vs. Cowboys: Dallas Looks To Get EvenSB NationHome comforts for [...]
5 Rants to “Dallas Cowboys Must Tighten Bolts to Shake Mediocr...”