Tony Romo seems to put up huge numbers every year in terms of yards and touchdowns. That's all well and good, but there's one thing he hasn't seemed to figure out: The month of December. As the moment and stage get bigger Romo seems to shrink. The Cowboys' one playoff victory in the last decade and a half speaks volumes about Romo's inability to perform in crunch time. That's a major reason the Cowboys are pretenders.
The Cowboys' defense has simply been atrocious this season. They give up an average of over 400 yards per game and are dead last in the defensive rankings. New defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin is not doing a good job of getting this unit to play at a high level. Perhaps, letting Rob Ryan -- who is now thriving with the New Orleans Saints -- go was a big mistake.
Dez Bryant is as unpredictable a player as you will come across. When he's not catching passes he's yelling at teammates or throwing a fit. Bryant's play is also inconsistent. He had a crucial drop and also a huge fumble lost that almost cost the Cowboys the game last week. Bryant needs to clean this up. You just never know what you are getting out of the mercurial talent.
Tony Romo has been on his back far too often. While Tyron Smith looks like an up and coming left tackle the rest of the line remains a question mark. The interior got beaten like a drum last week by Cullen Jenkins and has looked shaky all year.
Jerry Jones just can't help himself. Frankly, he can't get out of his own way. Most team's owners cut the check and leave the football to the football people. Not Jones. He finds it necessary to comment on everything and at times feels more like the coach than Jason Garrett. This bizarre power structure and Jones' power over Garrett will be a major reason for the Cowboys' downfall and why they are a pretender this season.
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