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In losing to the Green Bay Packers in embarrassing fashion Sunday afternoon, the Dallas Cowboys failed to build off of the momentum they gained from pulling off a big division win on the road over the Washington Redskins last Monday Night. And the cause for their downfall was once again their anemic offense. The Cowboys were only able to put up seven points while passing for less than 100 yards as a team.
When you sit back and think about it, those are the kind of results you expect to see when an FBS powerhouse like the Ohio State Buckeyes plays an FCS weakling like Cal Poly. Sure the Cowboys have had their fair share of injuries this season, but yesterday they were the healthiest they’ve been all year. On the offensive side of the ball, they were only missing their starting quarterback Tony Romo. So that meant they still had the best offensive line in football, they still had the services of a rejuvenated Darren McFadden and they still had two of the best receivers in the game in Dez Bryant and tight end Jason Witten.
Yet somehow they managed to get shut out in the first half and were forced to play catch-up the entire game. I realize that Romo is by far the team’s most important player, but this isn’t basketball where the absence of one player can effectively kill your chances of winning; there are 21 other starters out on the field who can have an impact on the game. It is up to the coaches to make the necessary adjustments to fit whatever personnel is on the field.
Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan has to open up the playbook more and allow backup quarterback Matt Cassel at least an opportunity to take advantage of the stars around him. Far too often he calls conservative and predictable plays that the defense is just sitting on as they know the Cowboys want to keep their offense as basic as possible to guard against turnovers. But the irony is, their conservative calls are leading to turnovers; look at their opening drive’s pick in the end zone.
On a rainy day where the Cassel is struggling to get anything going in the air and the leading running back has 111 yards on nine carries, a team should be constantly feeding the running game. Not Linehan and head coach Jason Garrett — they decide that it’s best to continue throwing routes that are short of the first down marker and killing drives. This shows just how valuable Romo is to this team. He has the green light to audible out of a play at any given moment. It makes you wonder just how many times he got his offense out of a terrible play call from Linehan and into one that would actually allow them to be successful.
Well, eventually the defense wore down and the Packers ran away with the game. And that is a microcosm of the season right there; their defense keeps them in the game while the Cowboys’ coaches and their pathetic offense continues to let them down. One can only hope that the team’s real coordinator in Romo is able to return completely healthy next season if they have any hopes of living up to their potential.
