As I take in all of what was the 2011 Dallas Cowboys campaign, I'm left with the feeling that there are a number of ways to get to your destination, but that you need to put together a map if you want to get there. We've debunked myths and called out good, bad and ugly of 2011. With that behind us, we can start to look forward. To that end, let's focus on the six critical changes that stand between Dallas and the ultimate glory of a sixth bling. Here's the plan;

First, Jason Garrett needs to add a true offensive coordinator. I believe Garrett can become a good, if not great, head coach in this league if he takes the time to focus on his craft and masters it. The problem is that he is going to be reluctant to give up the thing he knows best - the X's and O's of offensive strategy. Unfortunately, that has to take a back seat because it distracts him from what is most important; the good of the team. As long as the HC is doing double duty in Dallas, it will be just as bad as an Owner also acting as the GM. Oh, wait a minute...anyway! It's still somewhat unknown as to what Bill Callahan's responsibilities will look like. Will he be calling plays? Will he be more of a background guy? Freeing Garrett up from the play calling will allow the team two pairs of eyes on the game both when Dallas has the ball and when they are on defense. He'll be able to better evaluate the performance of his three units and their leaders. It's the right thing to do.

Second, Dallas has to invest in its pass rush. Of the 5 guys who regularly play face-to-face with opposing offensive linemen, only DeMarcus Ware could be considered a pressure player. Coleman, Ratliff, Hatcher, Spears, Geathers and Spencer (wow, just writing those names was painful) cannot be counted on to beat their men on a consistent basis. If you look at playoff teams with good defenses, almost all of them have a minimum of two pressure players up front who are then flanked by players who can beat their opposing number and create plays at critical moments. If you looked to the draft to do this, then guys like Brandon Jenkins, Dont'a Hightower or Whitney Mercilus might be available at #14. But I would go a different route and try and find a more proven commodity here, only because Ware's clock is ticking and we need someone who can deliver 10 sacks in 2012, not 2014. My choice for that role? Arizona's Calais Campbell. He looks like a future star and his position, having played the three-technique in Arizona, has been a Cowboys weakness since the day they moved to the 3-4. The intention and hope here is that he wins the one-on-one matchups that he would get playing opposite #94. He's young and could be a long-term fixture at DE.

Third, Dallas needs a big time, heady presence in the middle of its offensive line. People keep talking about an OG as the answer to all that ails us, but there's no OG worthy of #14 (yes, that includes DeCastro) mainly because I don't think Guards should be drafted that high. I submit Branden Albert, a fine player in his own right, who was more highly touted than DeCastro and drafted at #15, as foundational evidence. In addition, a great OG can look pretty poor playing next to a sub-par center while the reverse is seldom true. Speaking of that position, we haven't had what anyone would call a cerebral center since Mark Stepnoski left. As Dallas looks to become more balanced and lean more on the budding superstar that is DeMarco Murray, it makes sense that they're going to need a center that can fend off bull rushes by beefy nose guards but who can also get push in the middle and pull and trap when needed. Here is where I would look very closely at Wisconsin's Peter Konz in the first round. Now, my initial reaction was that #14 might be too high to take Konz, but the fact is that you have to get the player you want when you draft in the top 15. Most sites have him pegged in that 15-20 range and I don't call getting a stud center a reach, ever. This is a draft that has some pretty easily identifiable blue chippers, but what sets Konz apart is that the center plays a far more important role in an O-line's (and thus, an offense's) performance than a Guard ever would. Konz is widely regarded as the best center to come along since Alex Mack was taken by Cleveland and they have Peyton Hillis (certainly not the runner that Murray is) running untouched through the A-gaps against some of the best run defenses in football. Flip Tyron and Free, add Konz and you could insert OCC and KD Drummond at Guard and still have the makings of a top-flight O-line.

Fourth, assuming that Brent Grimes isn't pining over the idea of coming to play for the Cowboys to the point of giving them a huge discount, Dallas will need to add a cornerback in this upcoming draft to replace the necrotic Terrence Newman. That's the bad news. The good news is that this is the deepest draft in years at the CB position and there are 6-8 CB's who could go in the second round this April. It seems like Dallas will have a shot at one of the top 8 CB's with their second round pick. I am not prepared to mock anything or anyone (yet), but I like the CB's in this draft class a lot. Take one in round 2 if it makes sense.

Fifth, continue the purge. Dallas has more "dead money" on its salary cap than any team in the NFL. The difference is that much of that dead money is being paid to players currently on the roster (see what I did there?). Most teams release players once they've passed a point where their salaries are no longer commensurate with their contributions to the team. Not Dallas. If the Cowboys are truly interested in changing their fortunes and holding true to Jason Garrett's rhetoric about accountability, then they are obligated to do right by the players who will be long-term contributors and take out the freakin' trash. Beyond the Newman's and Brooking's of the world, there are others who need to find work on teams who are better than Dallas, so as to level the playing field relative to talent.

Sixth, and you probably expected this if you've read any of my past rants, Dallas must add a true Nose Tackle and move Ratliff to the three technique. I don't care if it is Antonio Garay or Aubrayo Franklin or Kelly Gregg or Konishiki, but Ratliff needs to be at NT only in 3rd and long situations when Dallas puts their best penetrators on the field. Rat's sands are falling through the hourglass of time and his days of being able to take on double teams by Centers and Guards are numbered. His in-season performance drop-offs start much earlier now than when he was 25 years old. It's just too much to ask of a 295-pound guy to play the O-gap, regardless of where he says he "likes" to play. 320 lbs. is the minimum to play the plugger in the Ryan 3-4 and, optimally, you'd like to see a guy in the 330-340 lb. range there.

Again, one thing I know is that there are a lot of ways to end up at the same place in the NFL. Instead of signing Campbell and drafting Konz, could Dallas sign Nick Hardwick and then draft Dontari Poe and achieve the same goals? Sure. Draft Quinton Coples in round 1, Ben Jones in the 2nd and then sign Brent Grimes and Sione Pouha? Why not. The point is that Dallas has problems to solve and not a ton of money to solve them with, but they won't be able to beat the Eagles and Giants, both of whom made Dallas look silly too often this year because of the holes discussed herein, unless they chart a course toward making some changes and building quality depth in the trenches, where this team continues to falter each December. Follow this plan to a much more competitive football team in 2012 and one that could challenge the Eagles and Giants for divisional supremacy.

Now that we've debunked the three biggest myths about the past season, it's time to dive a bit deeper into what was so memorable about Dallas' performance in 2011. Clearly, it was a season of breathtaking high's (leading the division 11 games in) and excruciatingly low lows (another December to remember). Nonetheless, the team had very bright spots and some very dim ones as well and they all come together to provide the indelible memories of the 2011 campaign.

The Good

Tony Romo's performance after the Detroit game - if you've read my posts for any length of time, you know that I haven't always been kind to Tony. Romo is still inconsistent, can hold the ball too long and hasn't yet put together the kind of season that would have me mentioning him ahead of sub-elite guys like Eli and Schaub, but you have to give him credit for finding a great balance of playmaking, risk-abatement and cerebral play in the latter portion of the season. The biggest advance he has made is that I think he's seen almost every blitz known to man and has developed the ability to diagnose it before the snap. I saw a very good, even elite QB playing for Dallas down the stretch and if he can consistently deliver that same standard of play in 2012, this team will be far better than 8-8.

Personnel gems - Dan Bailey, Laurent Robinson, Tony Fiametta and DeMarco Murray were true finds and look like long-term contributors (contracts notwithstanding) and even a potential star or two in the mix. Give credit to the pro and college scouts. They earned their paychecks this year.

DeMarco Murray - of all the players Dallas has seen join their roster over the last 5 years, no one provides me as much hope for what may be to come than the running back from Oklahoma. His balance, speed, toughness and, most of all, his instincts made him look like one of the best backs in the NFL shortly after being inserted into the starting lineup. New Year's wishes for Murray - get healthy, stay healthy, hold onto the ball and just keep doing what you do!

Chaff out, wheat in - Dallas waived goodbye to noteworthy figures such as Roy Williams, Andre Gurode, MBII, Tashard Choice and others as they charted a course toward upgrading talent and getting younger at key positions. Many of those people had the wrong psychological makeup for what Jason Garrett wanted to build. I liked the boldness in the decision-making of the Trinity of Jones, Jones and Garrett.

Sean Lee - this might be the best thing we remember about Wade Phillips. I like how this guy plays the game. If he stays healthy, and that may be a big ‘if', 50% of our LB corps could be elite next year. Nice.

Witten - How can you not just love this guy?

No surprises - they beat the teams they were better than and they lost to teams who were better than them. Taking a look at all of the team records now that the season is over, you can plainly see that Dallas didn't lose to a team that finished with a record worse than their own 8-8 mark. And really, how far off were they from beating the Jets, Giants (game 1), Pats and Lions? Trying to put this into perspective for the long haul, I distinctly recall Dallas beating Green Bay 27-16 in 2008. After the game, Mike McCarthy said "they are just a better team than we are right now". Two years later, those Packers won the Super Bowl and are the favorites to double up. Just let that sit a while.

The Bad

Doug Free - the worst O-lineman on the team, which is truly saying something when you look at who we had at guard and center, he didn't live up to his hype or his pay check. Opposing defensive ends routinely beat him like he owed them money. Romo and the rest of the offense suffered as a result.

Romo's games up to and including Detroit - he caught a ton of flak about his play during this period (some of it deserved, some not) and the team looked like it had an offense with a leader that couldn't get his ship righted.

Jason Garrett's double duty - it became plainly evident that Garrett was too inexperienced to jump into a dual role the likes of Andy Reid or Sean Payton. Why he chose to (and why Jerry let him) go without an offensive coordinator just because he struck out with Paul Chryst is utterly inexcusable.

The interior O-line - question: what happens when you insert a rotating group of three JAGs at center and both guard spots into the starting lineup for a team that should be a playoff contender? Answer: the Dallas Cowboys in 2011. 'Nuff said.

The Pass Rush - I know, I sound like a broken record, but in the 1990's, Dallas knew it needed a great outside pass rusher to serve as the missing piece to its burgeoning defense and Charles Haley complemented the younger DE's and DT's to create a nightmare for opposing QB's. In 2011's version, if you doubled Ware, you generally stoned the Cowboys' pass rush. I've watched that last game against the Giants a few times now and it was just heartbreaking to see so many defensive players unable to beat their man and create any pocket pressure. Ratliff (who really should not be a NT in Rob ryan's scheme) got next to no push in the middle and Coleman & Hatcher weren't much different than 2010's Spears and Igor. You know what's REALLY bad? 23. That's the number of sacks generated by all of the Dallas defenders not named DeMarcus Ware. As a result, the DB's and LB's were forced to shadow pass catchers for far too long and Dallas made average QB's look like pro bowlers.

The Ugly

The defensive secondary - it had to be one of the worst in football because they literally were lost in coverage at critical moments in so many big games. I don't know that they single-handedly lost Dallas a ton of games, but they sure didn't help us win many. With Dave Campo gone, hopes run high for a new DB coach that will help that group better prepare for their opponents.

Punting and Kicking - why is it that I was unable to breathe every time we kicked the ball or had the ball kicked to us? My close calls with asphyxiation had more to do with missed tackles, questionable coverage schemes and revolving door blocking techniques (that's a unique coaching skill) than any chronic medical condition I might have. Thankfully, we didn't give up any TD's on returns, but we were 27th in yards-per-return on punts and 21st on KO's. If not for the season's biggest surprise in Dan Bailey, Joe DeCamillis would be in a witness protection program.

The Eagles - Dallas is dangerously close to letting the Eagles get into their heads in the same way Dallas got into the heads of the Redskins some years back. Dallas has played far too many non-competitive games against them and it looked like the two teams were headed in the exact opposite directions as the year ended. That, and having your owner/GM say he is scared of them doesn't bode well for their contests in 2012. 54-14 in two games. Yeesh!!!

Whatever it is we do between offensive plays - is it me or do the Cowboys coaches and players just pay NO attention to the play clock? Why are so many snaps just barely getting off at the :00 mark? Why is Romo having to tell people who just came out of the huddle what their assignment is? This is the SAME offense we've had for four years now! It's the same guy calling the same plays. It's incomprehensible. And does Romo really need to keep the linemen in their stance for 12 seconds while he goes through his pre-snap reads? If Aikman had ever done that with Larry Allen, he would have lost a few teeth in the ensuing conversation to help get his mind right.

Overall inconsistency - no unit on this team was ever able to establish any degree of consistent high performance nor even some measure of consistent improvement, over the course of the season. From game to game you didn't know which group would underperform. The offense would hang 44 on the Bills one week and then score 60 total over the next 3 weeks. The defense would look confused against the Lions one week and then lock down Brady, Welker and Gronkowski the next. Maddening. Garrett talked about how they would practice and prepare and improve every day as being some of the hallmarks of his leadership paradigm. He has work to do.

There's a sampling of what I'll be thinking about this offseason as the Trinity looks to continue the Cowboys' makeover. What about you?

GO COWBOYS!

As I close the book on 2011 for the Dallas Cowboys, there are some topics needing further discussion and scrutiny before we delve too deeply into things like pre-Combine mock drafts and signing 30 Free Agents so Dallas can solve every talent problem overnight and become football's version of the 1927 Yankees. In fact, it's high time we shed light on some widely held, but largely unfounded 'myths' about the Cowboys and replaced them with facts.

Myth: One lockout-shortened year is enough to eradicate the deeply-rooted, flawed culture of the Cowboys

Fact: Culture change is an evolutionary process and it takes time and a certain degree of patience

Having personally led corporate organizational performance turnarounds, some with several hundred employees, my experience (and every book, Harvard Business Review case study and success story I've ever heard of) tells me that there is no "easy button" available to Jerry, Stephen and Jason to make this happen quickly. The uniqueness of the Cowboys situation is that the poor performance which this team has suffered through has extended into every area of the organization. The player personnel has declined to a level unseen since Dave Campo was trying to make Larry Lacewell's drafts pay off, and we know how that worked out. The accountability in the locker room was so absent that players possessed voices louder than their coaches. The offense, defense and special teams all had their own unit-based silos to operate in and there was no cohesion in the team's goal-setting. Let's also not underestimate the fact that any changes the coach(es) wanted to make had to pass through a complex organizational decision-making filter that is unlike any other in the NFL. Only now do Jerry and Stephen combine with Garrett to make up an unlikely Holy Trinity with a more democratic process that looks a lot more like a typical NFL franchise. This isn't like turning a motorcycle, it's more like turning an aircraft carrier.

Opponents will point to turnarounds like the one in San Francisco and it's hard to knock Jim Harbaugh (he was my pick for the opening in Dallas) and what he has accomplished there in a very short time. But SF was the beneficiary of many years of terrible records and top 10-15 picks, and many of their investments were made on offensive and defensive linemen. Over two seasons, they invested high picks on their offensive line and have made it into one of the most highly touted in the league. They had young, solid, if unspectacular, personnel on defense. They don't have an erratic, politicized decision-making process and they just needed a singular personality to rally around. Dallas' problems, as stated, are much more complex and widespread. Garrett needs 2 more years before we will be able to properly judge his performance.

Myth: Rob Ryan is a sub-par Defensive Coordinator

Truth: Schemes can cover up a weakness, but they can't cover up being weak

Ryan has to contend with a dearth of talent at key positions along the defense that have been addressed over the years about as well as the Greek economy has been. Kenyon Coleman was a 5th round pick by the Raiders in 2002, Jason Hatcher was a 3rd rounder in 2006 and Jay Ratliff, who is out of position in a Ryan defense, was a 7th rounder in 2005. Cowboys fans sometimes mistake that group for Vince Wilfork, Ty Warren and Richard Seymour. When they don't see the same kind of pressure from our defensive line that those Patriots generated, they want to be accountable. Unfortunately, that someone ends up being Ryan. Bad drafts can kill a team. The 2009 draft had a boatload of players that were supposed to play roles on the 2011 defense. That didn't work out so well. Blame Ryan. It doesn't matter if he wasn't here or not, blame him. The annual joke that is the Cowboys' glaring hole and thus, the need to draft ANOTHER outside linebacker to pair with DeMarcus Ware is surely Rob Ryan's fault. 2007's 1st round investment in Anthony Spencer hasn't panned out, but it must be Ryan's inability to pound that round peg into the square hole that's the problem here. Sure, that's it. Who cares that he's been here a matter of months and Spencer has been here 5 years (just writing that was painful) and done nothing to fulfill the promise of becoming the kind of bookend pass rusher that we seem to fall prey to every December. With Bradie James hanging on for dear life, the LB's are a 50-50 proposition. How about those DB's? Once the Josh Thomas project ended, we ended up with the usual suspects at CB. I'm not going to waste anyone's time reciting Terrence Newman's inability to turn his body in a space smaller than that of a navy battleship or Mike Jenkins' in-again, out-again, injury history and inconsistent play. The secondary has been and continues to be a known weakness. It's hard to know which unit is going to struggle each week. But we expect this collection of future football legends, that Ryan didn't draft, to play like and be all-pro's.

Guys like Dick LeBeau, Dom Capers and others have been given time to become what we know them as today - defensive masterminds. Along the way, they benefitted from drafting personnel to fit their systems. Pittsburgh has guys like Polamalu, Harrison, Woodley, Taylor, and Hampton. Capers has Clay Matthews, but he also has the best young NT in the game in BJ Raji, AJ Hawk, a budding star in Tramon Williams and an up and comer in Morgan Burnett. Dallas goes barely three deep with top talents on defense and that is if you give more credit to Sean Lee and Jay Ratliff than they are due. Just think how much better this defense would be with the kind of nose tackle (aka the bigger kind) and bona fide pass rushing presence opposite Ware, whether it be a DE or an OLB, to act as the counterpart that almost all of the elite defenses have. How much better would this team be with a playmaking safety that could help mask some of the weaknesses of our CB's? If Ryan only had to cover up for one unit's underperformance, few experts believe that he couldn't do that. But nobody should be expected to cover up weaknesses up front, in the middle and in the secondary. This too needs some time, and maybe even more importantly, some better talent before we formulate a fair assessment.

Myth: Dallas is a contender

Fact: Dallas is building a contender

Last time I checked, NASCAR drivers had the opportunity to change their tires while at a pit stop. The expectations in the NFL don't afford head coaches that same luxury. They put the best tires that they can find on their cars before the race starts and then they have to change the tires on those cars while driving at top speed DURING the race. No pit stops. No way to push pause on the remote control. This is the reality of their world. Now, I'm a huge fan of unrealistic expectations because I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan and that's what separates me from a Bengals fan or a Lions fan or a...wait for it...Eagles fan (ooh, that felt so good). I'll admit it. I'm spoiled. Chances are, you are too. I'm not going to apologize for it. But what may be missing in the way that some fans approach the time in between periods of greatness is the joy and excitement that comes from seeing them improve and develop. This isn't Madden 2011. There are no quick fixes. Watching your team stumble and learn from their errors is something we should all treasure. I love the fact that I can say I saw how the 90's teams were formed, and was able to appreciate the changes that were taking place from 1989-1991, and how they came together to become one of the all-time best.

Sometimes, we have to regain our composure when it comes to our Cowboys and take some joy from that well executed block on the O-line that we could never execute before, or that great catch by the 3rd string tight end that could be the future for us at that position or just that high draft pick on a guy who plays a non-glamour position. This is year 1 of the Holy Trinity and it's a lockout-shortened year at that. While Dallas may not have achieved the ultimate goal that some had for them this year (and every year), they've made progress and, in the final analysis, that is what will serve to heighten expectations for each successive year as they add the right pieces necessary to contend. It renews our license on hope.

Go Cowboys!

I'm a proud alumnus of UCLA. Although I spoke to him on three separate occasions, I wasn't lucky enough to be there when John Wooden was coaching the basketball team, but I can tell you that his presence could be felt everywhere on that expansive campus. Long after he had left, Wooden was still a factor in every facet of our lives while in school. It's not that he was a great coach. He was that - in spades. No, he was much, much more than that.

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"We've all heard that we have to learn from our mistakes, but I think it's more important to learn from successes. If you learn only from your mistakes, you are inclined to learn only errors."

- Norman Vincent Peale

Every season, I find myself pleasantly surprised by the play of unheralded newcomers. Someone who was never expected to be that much of a factor - a real factor, steps out from behind the shadows and into the light. They ‘wow' us with performance that belies their hype or, more appropriately, lack thereof.

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For those of you born in the 1980's or later, forgive me for leading with an idiom that you may not be familiar with. You see, the phrase was used quite a bit "in the old days" to refer to someone who took a back seat or lesser role to someone else. If you're in your 20's, think of it as the way Leonard allows Sheldon to dominate most conversations on the Big Bang Theory. Okay, I jest...a little. Actually, playing second fiddle is a way of describing how two people can work together for the betterment of the larger group with one taking the lead and one taking a secondary role. Think of it as Hillary Clinton agreeing to serve as Obama's Secretary of State after she, herself, vied for the office of the President.  

As a general context, the Dallas Cowboys offense has been a moribund group for some time now. I can say that because I look at one quantitative value to determine how an offense performs relative to its peers. No, it's not Adjusted Net Yards per Attempt or any sort of multi-variable statistic that require a paragraph to describe and the inevitable subsequent posts to explain why it isn't predictive of wins and losses.

I look at points scored. I then compare them to their peers, that is, other teams. After all, isn't that the raison d'être for an offense?

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One of my fondest memories of the 90's Dallas Cowboys dynasty was the year, 1990. Dallas, for those of you who were too young to witness it, was 7-9 that year. For those not paying close attention, there was really nothing all that spectacular about that team. Emmitt smith gained less than a thousand yards, Troy Aikman had 11 TD's with 18 INT's, Kelvin Martin, not Michael Irvin, led the team in receiving and the defense was middle-of-the-road. Again, nothing to write home about.

Or was there?

Dallas won four of its last six contests that year and, if you watched those games (and I did) closely, you probably saw the same thing I did. While the team was not seeing the kinds of results, aka wins, that would make most fans happy, it was clear to some fans that this team had gone back to its roots and made a commitment to a set of core values that created a more "spirited" level of play. Their intention was to be tough, physical and passionate. I'm glad I was there to see that formation of greatness taking place because, without it, I wouldn't have appreciated their time at the top as much as I did. The bottom line is that I liked that team. I REALLY liked that team and I liked where they were heading.

On the other hand, there was that team in 2007. They were 13-3 with a top seed in the Conference. You know what I remember about that team? I remember that the biggest personality in the organization was a mercurial, self-obsessed egomaniac of a Wide Receiver. I remember a head coach who did not understand what it took to build toughness and passion. I remember the team being leaderless and, while I enjoyed the wins, I never really liked that team. I didn't like where they were heading.

Five contests into the 2011 campaign, I have a distinct sense of déjà vu. I've seen this somewhere before. The good news is that I know exactly when and where I saw it. The better news is that I also liked where it led. Now, I'm not making any sort of predictions about this team, this coaching staff or where they are headed, but I absolutely CAN tell you that learning to win is not an event, but rather a process. When I think about the effort and energy put forth by the entire team against the New England Patriots in Foxboro last weekend, well, it may just have been a watershed event for this team. Some people will say, "You're nuts. It's just another loss". Au contraire mon frere.

I saw that same thing in 1990. They lost some tough games where they were clearly NOT ready for, pardon the pun, prime time. But in those losses, I also saw a group of players that had become the embodiment of its head coach. He was unyielding. So were they. He was hardnosed. So were they. He was all about learning what it took to win. So, we would later come to find out, were they.    

Now, I am going to take a moment and chastise some of you for your positions on last Sunday's game because I think you've gotten caught up in the moment. As I read through the post-game threads, I saw a lot of bashing going on. I saw people bashing the defense. Really? The defense?!?! Why? Because you predicted they would hold Tom Brady to 13 points through the bulk of 4 quarters of football? Maybe you did. And even if you did, why berate them for one drive when Dallas was the first team in some time to keep the Patriots under 30? In their house no less!! No...what I saw was a group of defensive players who were flying around, playing with toughness, staying disciplined within their roles and playing with an edge. How can you not appreciate that given what we saw last year?

Another segment of the BTB population went after Garrett. Now I'm not JG's biggest supporter and the jury is clearly still out on him, but many of you were screaming your bloody heads off in prior weeks about him calling passes in situations where runs were more appropriate, especially given Romo's roller coaster performances late in games. So here he plays it conservative, takes the ball out of Romo's hands and gets the safe field goal to take a lead late in the 4th quarter. Lo and behold, many of you say THIS loss is about him not being more aggressive. Can you say hypocrite?

Maybe all of the angry detractors are right in saying this team isn't any different than previous iterations where the bottom will fall out and the true losing colors of this team will be revealed. Maybe this team is really just as poorly run and undisciplined as all of the others we've had to tolerate since Jimmy Johnson left town. But...what if they're wrong? What if what we're witnessing is the education of a team and an organization that just needs to learn what it takes to be a winner? What if this is the foundation-building process for an organization readying itself for a run at high performance over an extended period of time?

I don't like losing. I don't believe in moral victories on the football field. But I do believe, wholeheartedly, that the very idea of becoming a champion is something that has to have a beginning. It has to have important milestones. It has to have its good and its bad, its highs and its lows, its wins and its losses. We see it every day, and not just in sports. We see it from our soldiers defending our nation at home and abroad. We see it in times of struggle and strife as we did with Katrina and 9/11. From personal experience, I can tell you it happens every day in the treatment rooms of medical facilities caring for people with terminal illness. It happens in schools between teachers and children. It surely happens on football fields with people of all ages.

The character and courage needed for people and groups to be great sometimes just needs a little time to truly reveal itself. If you didn't see at least some of the character traits and qualities that are requisite for a winning team, then I'm open to the discussion. If you didn't see a group of people fighting hard on the gridiron to make their fans proud, then you're barking up the wrong tree. And that's what you need to take some quantum of solace from. That's where you need to take a step back and revel in the idea that just maybe, this is the beginning of a new era of Dallas Cowboys football. They may not get the bling, but it won't be because they didn't give it their all. And, from one fan to another, while I want to win every single game by 40 points, I can certainly find peace and happiness in a Cowboys football team that displays the kind of effort I saw last weekend. That's probably because I like where they are heading.

So, as you sit back and think about what you've seen, and what you will see, from our beloved Cowboys this year, make sure you don't blink. You could miss this...

Having just witnessed the latest in epic comebacks by an opponent whose MVP was our $67 million QB, I start thinking; Is it time?

Coincidentally, we’ve passed the quarter pole on the 2011 Dallas Cowboys season and are headed into the Bye week. We’re a disappointing 2-2 staring at New England, St. Louis and Philly. Yeesh. There are, as usual, some things to feel really good about. Let’s start with them.

ON THE PLUS SIDE

The Defense! First and foremost, this defense has surprised almost everyone and looked nothing like the one Wade Phillips was running this time last year. Dallas defenders are flying around the field and actually making big plays to save games and change games. Sean Lee has been a revelation, being named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Month to start the season. The Cowboys have stifled running teams and passing teams. The run defense has been stout at the point of attack and you have to like the decrease in pre-snap penalties.

That Bailey guy. Who is this guy? He ties an NFL rookie record for FG’s in a game and nobody knew who the heck he was just weeks ago. He looks solid from distance and, even though David Buehler’s specialty was kcikoffs, this new kid has made me forget about him as his kickoffs have also been sailing deep into opposing end zones.

The Offensive Line. Are you kidding me?  Bill Nagy? Phil Costa? These no-names are performing well beyond their years AND their draft status, largely against some defensive fronts with household names as fixtures. No, this unit is doing quite well and Hudson Houck and his guys should be very proud of their first quarter of work. The one player people thought was a lock to be the anchor of the unit (Doug Free) has been the least impressive of the bunch. Wow!

The Coaching.  I’m sorry, but I like everything these coaches are doing with the players. The stupid penalties seem to have been eradicated, the execution and discipline that was lacking seems to be present across all three units. The DC and OC seem to have their acts together and I like the in-game adjustments being made as injuries have ravaged the DB’s and WR’s. Yes, this coaching staff has put together a nice 4-game set.

THE NEGATIVES

Number 9. Well, it is readily apparent that this team is a level-headed signal caller away from being 4-0 and competing for home-field advantage. Instead, we have Tony Romo, whose tenure as leader of this team has led to high high’s and interminably low low’s. It reminds me of a roller coaster. Not just any roller coaster, but the kind that take your breath away. A real screamer. You know the ones…they leave your stomach a bit queasy and your head spinning? They have names like Cyclone and Tower of Terror and Bizarro. They all sound like I feel.

Like this;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y14OkjSNmE4&feature=related

I love roller coasters, but the thing about them is that you only ride them when you’re on vacation. They’re short. They end. Then life returns to normal, steady footing. But not this one. Not with Tony Romo. This roller coaster feels like one we just can’t get off of. The car pulls into the loading area, but the safety harness stays down. It was fun and I liked the heart-pounding excitement, but once is enough. I’m ready to get off and do something else. But no. Off you go again. Pulled up to the top and then let loose upon the track again. Over and over and over. That’s how I feel.

I’d love to be able to spread the wealth and talk about other areas that I could call negative. Hey, the running game isn’t doing all that great. But, then again, this is the running game we all thought we would have, so it has kind of, well, lived up to expectations.

Nope, this ride is all about Tony Romo. It’s like it needs its own kooky name. I’ll leave that to the comments.

So here’s the question. When is it time to finally put our collective foot down and say enough is enough? When is it time to get off of this roller coaster?

he’ro: a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.

Putting on a performance nothing short of heroic, Tony Romo led the Dallas Cowboys to a fantastic comeback win against the San Francisco 49ers yesterday. The publicly lamented "Romistake" never reared its ugly head yesterday. Instead, he kept his cool-headed Dr. Jekyll on the field, instead of Mr. Hyde, despite constant harassment and while suffering a significant rib injury in the process.

Truth be told, Dallas was on a collision course with an 0-2 start, having been thwarted (for the second time in 2 weeks) on a drive inside the 5-yard line and coming away with no points, this time on the game's first offensive possession. The momentum shift was huge as the Cowboys proceeded to sleepwalk their way through the next few drives as though they had perfected the 3-and-out in practice. That allowed the 49ers to take control. With a run-heavy, play action passing game, the 49ers were opportunistic and were leading by 10 in the 4th quarter and facing the willing, but only semi-able, backup QB Jon Kitna.

But in what appeared to be Dallas' darkest hour, in came the White Knight. With the #9 emblazoned on his chest like Superman's ‘S', the fates called on Tony Romo, cracked rib and all, to save the day. He proceeded to lead the offense through a scintillating resurgence, ultimately finding a way to defeat their foes in overtime on the strength of Dan Bailey's FG. Like all epic novels, some have happy endings and some do not. Yesterday, Tony Romo made damned sure this one would not end badly.

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In the midst of all the Romo-centric dialogue going on, there were some bright spots that we can all rally around as well as some questions whose answers may have started to form after the Jets game;

The Defense

 The entire unit had a cloud of uncertainty surrounding it what with the new DC and abbreviated offseason. No one was quite sure what to expect on that side of the ball. Predictions from the pundits all seemed to say that Dallas would not only lose, but that the Jets were going to hang a big number on Dallas. The fact is, the defense was considered our Achilles heel for the season.

Well, all they did was go out there and play the bulk of the game with only one of their top three cornerbacks and consistently baffle the Jets offense with a myriad of pressure packages and coverage schemes. I particularly liked how we controlled the vaunted Jets running game. Now, it helped that they were behind most of the game, but I liked how the DE's were crashing down and the backside pursuit was excellent. There was some confusion in the back seven at times when Jenkins was out of the game but find me a Cowboys fan that thinks the defense underperformed to expectations and I'll show you someone who needs medication...strong medication. It sure looked like Rob Ryan knew what he was doing out there.

The O-line

Are you kidding me? This ragtag group of no-names (only one player coming from the draft's first three rounds in the bunch) went out and put on a pretty darned good show against what was supposed to be one of the best and most imaginative defenses in the league. Hats off to Hudson Houck and the revamped Dallas offensive line. I realize it is just one game, but you have to like what we saw from this unit and what it suggests for the future.

In several cases, the line got great help from Witten and Felix. Those two will continue to need to protect the edge and deliver hard blows to middle blitzers if we want to see continued support for the downfield passing game.

The Play-calling

I've been dubious on the topic of Jason Garrett's ability to call a game, make adjustments and not be predictable. Well, I'll start off by saying that I'm one-sixteenth wrong about him because Garrett's play-calling against Rex Ryan was nothing short of masterful. Time and time again, the offense knew exactly which matchups to exploit, which alignments to be in and which personnel groupings afforded them the best chance for success. Garrett kept them guessing, mixed the running game in nicely and was just aggressive enough to beat a team many thought we could not move the ball on, much less score as well as we did. 

I've also lamented the lack of a downfield passing game and, to my surprise, Garrett was taking advantage of the Jets' aggressiveness by going downfield early and often to stifle their attack.

Only THREE teams have scored 24 or more points against he Jets in their last 16 home games. 3 out of 16! Dallas is in that elite group. Cool.

The Kicker

Welcome to the NFL, Dan Bailey. Again, nobody wants to get caught up in a body of work that has fewer kicks than a hand has fingers, but you had to like what you saw out of Mister Bailey. He was poised and made the kicks he was supposed to make. At least THAT part of our special teams delivered the goods!

Coaching

Despite some early misfires by the rookie RT, Tyron Smith, Dallas didn't do a ton of stupid things like drawing penalties and missing tackles or assignments. In fact, the tackling was solid. The flags were the ones you would expect from a team with 6-7 players in the game who've not had a ton of experience. Clearly there is work to do in terms of getting the play to Romo and getting Romo to the line with more than 6 seconds on the play clock, but keep in mind  it is an O-line full of newbies. On defense, you have to love the imagination and lack of predictability for a team that had new starters and subs. How cool is it that Rob Ryan will play the entire roster. That just adds to the fun. Again, couching this as 1/16th of a body of work, it appears Garrett's attention to detail and focus has paid early dividends and I know I speak for all of you when I say I hope this trend continues throughout the season.

GO COWBOYS!

You try not to overreact. You try to think positive thoughts. You try to convince yourself that it's not as bad as it seems and things will surely improve. Then, almost like a soundtrack playing in the back of your mind, you hear a familiar Led Zeppelin song. But you can't quite make it out. Not quite loud enough. What is that song? I know I've heard it before.

I'll never forget the time I was standing at the fence line in Oxnard during a Cowboys training camp. When I yelled across to Peter King (much heavier back then) and asked who looked good, fully expecting him to say Bledsoe or one of the WR's, he took no time to think and said, "Romo!". I had no idea how poignant that moment would become.

If you've ever read any of my posts about Tony Romo, you know my tag line has always been, ‘He gives me hope'. To this day, I believe that when Tony is playing QB for Dallas, there is no team we cannot beat on any Sunday at any venue. There has always been a lot to like about our QB. After all, he has a lot going for him. He's marketable. He's got magazine cover good looks. He got the girl. Not just any girl, mind you, but a former beauty queen. He's got great ability. He can make all of the NFL throws and he has shown he loves to compete. Plain and simple, if you were looking for someone to play the role of QB for America's Team, this guy would appear to have come directly out of central casting.

"I had a dream"

The truth is, you have to love the Tony Romo story. It is a fairytale of the highest order. Receiving no invitation to the Scouting Combine, he found his way onto the roster because of Sean Payton's relationship with his alma mater. From there he worked and worked and worked until Bill Parcells, and fate, gave him a chance. He did not waste the opportunity. Since then, he's been one of the most prolific NFL quarterbacks and demonstrated some highlight reel displays of athleticism worthy of NFL Films' best ever. By exploding onto the scene, he garnered the support of the team and the fanbase. As a result, he was rewarded with a $67 million contract.

But somewhere along the path to his pre-ordained destiny, he got derailed. The promise of the Super Bowl wins that put in him in the same class as his franchise QB predecessors, Aikman and Staubach, was not fulfilled. In what seemed like an instant, Romo became better known for a slew of big game failures, an ill-advised bye week trip and a rock and roll lifestyle replete with high-profile blonde bombshells as his chosen companions. At one point it got so bad that even his work ethic was called into question in a public way. The unanimity of fan support that carried him to his pinnacle became a house divided.

"Crazy dream"

His detractors claimed he lacked the intangibles needed to lead this team to the Promised Land. An apparent inability to keep from making that "Romistake" in the most crucial of situations always seemed to devastate the Cowboys' chances of winning. They bemoaned the toothy smile that always seems to come out when he misses a connection with a receiver as a sign of weakness and lack of fire.

He hit rock bottom in 2010, leading the team to a horrific start before being injured and sitting out the second half of the season. Again, his valiant supporters used the idea of his time off to fuel the notion of a rebirth. Watching Jon Kitna and the game from the sideline, they said, could be just what Romo needed to change his ways and become what all Dallas fans wanted him to be.

But then, the worst case scenario became the unavoidable reality. In game 1 of the 2011 season, the new and improved Romo ended up looking a lot like the old and untrustworthy Romo. Big numbers, gaudy even, but as before, he would make critical, game-changing errors at the worst possible time. It's not like fans hadn't seen this movie several times. In fact, many had become numb to what they saw as Romo's penchant for giving away what seemed like sure wins. This time, though, it was different. This time, he broke the hearts of some of his most ardent supporters. This time, it was just...too...big. On the grandest of opening week stages, with a new coach and a new commitment to discipline and rigor, Romo may have begun to write the final chapter on what is his Cinderella story with his late game Charlie Brown impression. Immediately, people begin calling for his head on a platter. "He can't win" and "choke artist" and even "loser" are the terms being used to describe his fall from grace.

Now the media has jumped into the fray in a colossal way. ESPN long-timer Dan Patrick played clips of Romo's apologies from previous games challenging callers to guess which year the apology was from. This was the kind of thing I saw Donovan Mcnabb live through and even though I dislike the Eagles, it was painful for me to see as a human being. The idea that this could happen to the guy who was supposed to be our hero? It was unfathomable. Not the best situation even for the most confident of personalities, much less someone whose mental toughness and ability to endure harsh feedback has been in question.

"Anything I wanted to know, any place I needed to go"

Now, like many others, I can't help but find myself thinking that Romo doesn't bring me the hope he used to. He's written too many checks against that account filled with good will. Now, those checks are bouncing. Now, many people sit on the edge of their seat wondering when and how he's going to make that mistake and hurt the team. Now, the Trinity will want answers. Now, his once-bright future is in doubt.

Now, the questions get tougher; can Romo turn this into an experience that fuels him in a way that leads to excellence throughout the season? Can this be THE defining moment of his career?  If not, then this could be the beginning of a swan song. If not, this could be another heartbreak season.

If not...then...The Song Remains the Same.   

GO COWBOYS!

As has now become custom, every year prior to the start of the season, I like to step back and take a more comprehensive look at the Dallas Cowboys. I play around with the idea of what the Season will be truly remembered for once it is over. No, I don't mean a play or a specific event. Nobody can predict those kinds of twists and turns. My purpose is to look at it more holistically. With a little over a week to go, it's that time again. First, a look back:

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I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan. Through and through, I root for them and tie myself to their fortunes in a way that makes it uncomfortable to explain to people who I don't know well. That's why this offseason has been so troubling. I've felt like I've sleepwalked my way through this entire labor dispute morass. Thinking back, I can tell you that Major League Baseball lost me because of their ridiculous labor dispute and I've never made it all the way back as a fan. The tenuous position the NFL put me in this year made it particularly difficult to talk about the things I love. Free Agency, draft strategy, organizational dynamics and all the other things that contribute to the joy that is football's annual emotional off-season roller coaster were absent in my heart and in my mind.

Maybe it was divine intervention and maybe it was just a prolonged melodrama that just needed to play itself out, but I don't care...BECAUSE FOOTBALL IS BACK!

Ah yes! There is joy in my heart again. I am filled anew with thoughts of everything from how to upgrade the defensive end position to which bargain basement free agents could make a big impact to how to sneak into the Cheerleader tryouts (again). Soon, the crack of shoulder pads colliding on the gridiron will fill my ears. The passes into the flat with Felix Jones in space will charge the hairs on the back of my neck with enough static electricity to power the Metroplex. The aerial rainbows from Romo to Bryant will have my mouth agape. The speed with which Ware bends the corner and wraps up opposing quarterbacks will leave me awestruck. The earth is again rotating on its proper axis.

It's a funny thing this football. I have friends and family in many countries around the world and it is nearly impossible to explain to people whose lives revolve around "futbol" how this game, our game, makes me feel. Baseball pundits tell you their game is much more cerebral. Basketball devotees claim their players are the best athletes in the world. That's fine. But watch a soccer fan or a baseball fan during a game and you'll see them look away from the field or the video screen while the ‘action' is taking place. I can never, ever, take my eyes off of the field once the ball is snapped. The very thought just makes me nervous. And maybe that's just me. Maybe I'm a little too..."fanatical" like that. But I'm okay with it.  

So when I see Romo stride through the tunnel for our first game, I'm sure I'll see, as I have in the past, visions in my head of Craig Morton and Roger Staubach and Danny White and Troy Aikman. When Jason Garrett walks over to the sideline, I'll pray that Tom and Jimmy have somehow helped him gather the wisdom and leadership needed to make this year's team a champion. And when Ware lines up on the edge with his ears pinned back, I'm sure I'll imagine Harvey Martin and Charles Haley in my head for just a moment because these decades of devotion have created sedimentary layers of indelible memories that I dearly cherish. It's those memories that connect NFL fans in a way that is entirely uncommon. Every fan I've met seems to have that one special memory that sticks out. Whether it was an off-field interaction with a player, an amazing play they saw while sitting in the stands or just a memory of going to the game with their family and/or friends. My old boss almost tears up recounting a game he watched with his dad where they watched Johnny Unitas perform acts of heroism. That kind of emotion is tangible and while I'm sure fans of other sports feel the same way, there is something different here.

The other thing about football is the primordial linkage we have to the physical contact that anchors the sport in its roots. Even with the new "player safety" rules, there is something almost indescribable about the feeling I get when I see a player really bring the lumber on a blindside blitz. We can see the collisions before they happen and as our anticipation reaches its apex, it results in that hit that rattles teeth. We can almost...feel it. I'm sorry, but that feeling is nonexistent in other major sports. It's unique to football.    

There's so much to love about America's Team playing America's Game and I could not be happier now that the elongated offseason is coming to an end. We're lucky enough to be fans of one of the most storied franchises in the sport, but that's the beauty of the beginning of every new season. EVERY team is a Super Bowl contender and EVERY fan can erase the pain of the prior season's disappointment with the blank slate each new season brings with it.   

It's part of every fan's special relationship with this game that we love so much.

I won't deny it. It's deeply personal. Why it means so much to me I may never know. But the return of this uniquely American endeavor that we call the NFL has once again renewed my faith in all things pure and good.

So welcome back football, we've missed you.

GO COWBOYS!!!

Many years ago, I was a lifeguard working at my University's pool system. I remember a visiting professor from Germany and his family who used to come to the pool. Because I was a physics major at the time, I struck up a relationship with him and his family and even helped his older (he had 2) daughter improve her swimming stroke. The younger daughter was 5 years old and what was immediately noticeable about her, beyond her youthful exuberance about all things chlorinated, was a wide and long scar that ran vertically from her upper abdomen to just below her neck. At one point, the conversation came up about her with her father and I learned that she had been born with a heart valve problem and had endured three significant surgical procedures to help fix the problem.

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On the heels of OCC's recent post about BTB site stats, posters and the like, I've been thinking a lot about BTB and how we can continue to enhance the poster/commenter/lurker experience here and I thought I would throw out some observations and ideas for general feedback.

 First and foremost, I think BTB has an outstanding cadre of front page writers and contributors. But what sets BTB apart from other SB Nation sites is clearly the quality of its fanposters (aka Cowboys fans). What stands out is the sheer volume of posts that are so well-written (without huge flaws in grammar and sentence structure), well thought-out (organized in a way that is coherent) and present a cogent line of thinking about a worthy topic as a general rule. At the same time, what frustrates me is that, in the ensuing threads, people make fantastic comments, which garner praise for their insight from other readers but those readers FAIL TO REC THEM. One thing we seem to lag behind our SB Nation brethren in is the notion of making comments green within a thread based on rec's from other BTB'ers. This is a travesty because I can tell you, from being an avid reader of many other teams' SB Nation blogs, that the comments on our threads are as good if not better than anything fans of other teams can muster up with their limited grey matter. So, I started with an easy behavioral change here, folks...

NEW BEHAVIOR: Recommend COMMENTS in the threads when they're worthy

Next, and staying on the topic of recommendations, I wanted to bring up the discussion of when, why and how often we recommend posts or comments. This will sound like a criticism (and maybe it is) of our community, but I have too often seen some thought-provoking, well-written pieces that don't get recommended because people don't "agree" with them. By the same token, I think other blogs do a better job of making comments within the threads go green because people see value in the comment that made people think or articulated their thoughts in a way that was unique and laudable. Personally, I tend to recommend the posts and comments that spur me to challenge my own positions as well as those I am in alignment with. It may come as a shock to you but people who write posts that essentially say, "Jason Witten is the best all-around TE in the NFL" tend not to get my praise because, well, it's not something I consider novel. Frankly, posts like those leave me wondering why someone felt the need to write it. You just won't find me writing a post on the subject...especially to an audience of Cowboys fans. It would bore me just to type it up. Instead, let me propose that we modify the idea of recommending something because we completely agree with with the underlying premise and also start recommending things that force us to think, react, comment, whatever because they present an idea that you may not have considered. What would happen if the standard was to recommend posts and comments that elicit a strong reaction from you? Might the ensuing discussions be richer and more dynamic? I think so. By the same token, too often have I seen great works from posters get pushed down in favor of a single paragraph post (which BTW are likely to draw bigham's ire so beware) saying not much more than "I love the Cowboys" that got the requisite 3 recs. This phenomenon also makes posters less apt to put work into a longer, more thought-provoking piece of work. Maybe a comment like "Yay" or "I agree" was a better choice in those cases?

NEW BEHAVIOR: Recommend posts & comments that you disagree with as much as those you agree with as long as they are worthy of it

 I think we'd all agree the site is about fan participation. If you lurk around, read the posts and never post a comment, then, while you may not know it, you're making the task of writing, for those who do, far less appealing. Case in point, I just recently I saw one of the most detailed statistical write-up's by footballbusker on ANYPA/APNWHATEVER and while I personally tend to toss aside overly statistical views of the game in favor of my own observations, he truly had to have put a ton of work into that piece. While it wasn't, in my opinion worthy of a rec on its own (mainly because I didn't see any real conclusions drawn), I did leave a comment (albeit a somewhat snide one) because I see that comment as a way of letting the writer know that I read it and appreciated the effort. And I truly appreciated the effort! Again, fan participation...

NEW BEHAVIOR: Comment to show you care

BTB obviously attracts bloggers from other team sites (wannabes). I think it is important to set the standard on SB Nation for courtesy and decorum when it comes to their participation on our site. I've seen bloggers like Bigblueview and JimmyK play a robust role in some of the best football discussions ever on this blog. At the same time, I've seen some behavior by BTB'ers that made me think we were no better than the BGN jamokes who banned me years ago (that's another story altogether). Just like many of you, I can be a complete a-hole when I need to be, especially if someone says something idiotic (yeah, that NEVER happens on BTB...right), but to be vitriolic just because someone has an affiliation with another team, even a rival, displays an intolerance and narrow-mindedness that BTB just has to rise above. I like to think BTB can set the high watermark for the appreciation of ALL viewpoints regardless of who or where they emanate from.

NEW BEHAVIOR: Kill them with kindness (unless they do something to deserve worse...then just kill them)

I also wanted to poke at the front page writers a bit. I try to read all of the front page stuff that gets done for the same reason I try to peruse all of the fanposts. People write so that others will read. In the same way I'd assume they appreciate comments on their articles, I think it's important for them to be participants in the fanpost section more than they have been. I don't just mean tossing out a rec here and there, but also commenting on the topic and thought process of the poster. For instance, there was a myriad of articles written post-draft and I have no idea what most of the front page guys thought of it. Did they like the haul? Did they hate it? I realize there's a need to maintain some sort of literary impartiality to certain things, but too much fence-riding waters down the value of BTB.

NEW BEHAVIOR: Let the voices of the front page writers be heard...in fanposts!

Finally, let me say that the reason I write on BTB is because of the intelligent dialogue around so many topics (sometimes we even talk about football) that tends to sprout when I write a post. I've said before that BTB is like going into a sports bar, albeit without the hot waitresses and the Fat Tire, that has nothing but Cowboys fans sitting at tables with a different topic being discussed at each table. The great part is that one can participate in ALL of these sub-topics concurrently and agree and disagree to their heart's content. I think the notion of what truly connects us as fans of the greatest team in the greatest sport is unique and it's easy to be enthusiastic about this electronically networked gathering of Cowboys fanatics. So, I thank you all again for humoring me as I continue to wax philosophical on all things Cowboys.

GO BTB!!!

I was thinking about Danny White the other day. I liked Danny White a lot. Still do. In fact, I watched him play in one of the greatest games I ever saw. Many of you are too young to remember, but he led the Cowboys in an epic playoff struggle against the Atlanta Falcons in 1980 and if you've never seen it, try and find highlights online. It was amazing. Danny was a good QB.

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The ferris wheel that is the position of Head Coach of the Dallas Cowboys has come almost full circle since Jimmy Johnson bid adieu to Dallas for greener pastures. Now, a Jimmy Johnson product, Jason Garrett, assumes the helm of a team that has a much larger void to address than any issue with who starts at Free Safety the next time they strap on their helmets. Jason Garrett has to teach this organization what it feels like to play with confidence and to win with swagger again. Now, you would think this isn't such a daunting task since he watched Jimmy do it, he played and coached under other successful men and is generally regarded as a very bright, driven, pedigreed young man. No problem, right?

Not so fast. Jason Garrett's task is bigger than even he thinks it is. His challenges are very different than the ones he (and we) watched Jimmy overcome to create a dynasty. Some of his challenges may even be unique to him because of some personal experiences that left indelible marks on him (more on that later).

Let's look deeply into what our new Head Coach has to contend with to remake this team in his own image after the jump;

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They say hindsight is 20/20. But they never say anything about foresight. What a bunch of wussies "they" are.

Fear not, fellow Cowboys faithful, because I am back with another post-draft re-do. A tell-all about how I would have played the cards given how the draft ACTUALLY went. You'll notice that all of the players I pick here were available at the slots that I picked them in so there's no goofyness about potential trades that were unlikely. I also didn't include potential signees in Free Agency or undrafted Free agents because the draft needs to be viewed on its own merits.   

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I was at a Dallas bar the night before the NFL draft and who should show up out of the blue, but Jerry Jones himself. Well, we got to drinking the good stuff. Oban single malt scotch, Don Julio margaritas, Ketel One martinis and black and tan's. As the night wore on, Jerry let his guard down. "5B, I just don't know why I keep doin' it to muhself. I know I'm not a good personnel guy, but I just want this team to win so dang bad that I am my own worst enemy!" Then, he started crying. Tears were flowing like a heartbroken teenage girl. Suddenly, he picked his head up off of the mahogany table with a pool of drool around him and looked me right in the eye and said, "Sunnuvagun! I have a GREAT idear!!!" I said, "Jerry, whiskey tango foxtrot are you talkin' about?" He interrupted, "We got all this dang technology stuff and we just aint usin' it right. You remember that Shakespeare movie with that there Steve Martin feller who tried to get that hot blonde mermaid to hook up with him?!?" Obviously, Jerry had confused the movies, Roxanne and Splash, but being a product of pop culture, I quickly decoded his ramblings. "You can be my sahlent pardnur on draft day!!!" he said. "It's foolproof!!!" Jerry laughed like a fat man who'd just finished his third trip to the buffet. He had concocted this plan where I would be in a separate room at the Ranch during the draft with a microphone and he would secretly wear an earphone where I could direct his draft-day efforts via remote control. A modern-day ‘Cyrano De Drafterac' if you will. Despite my misgivings about Jerry being able to make this crazy sceme work, I reluctantly agreed, if only because of my love for the Cowboys and a personal willingness to sacrifice everything for the good of the team. 

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The facts show that Jay Ratliff needs to move to a DE spot. He just has to do it. I don't usually use anyone else's opinion to validate my own, usually because I don't care if someone agrees or disagrees with a given perspective. What I do care about is why a person sits on the side of an issue they sit on. Bob Sturm, whose articles I find somewhat maddening because I think he reads my stuff and then decides to write an article on the topic as though the ideas were both his and novel, recently wrote an article on this idea. The idea was mine. Mine all mine. I took the heat for saying he should move over 3 years ago and now he wants the credit for saying he should make the move? Let...me...at...him!!! Alright, kidding aside, Ratliff has worn down season after season as we watched him become a non-factor in important December games. Watching the best 3-4 defenses play this year, it wasn't hard to see that guys like B(east)J Raji and Vince Wilfork and Haloti Ngata (who also rotates over to DE at times) are different body types than Rat. These aren't guys who expect to beat the centers and guards with just quickness, these are guys who use their strength to stand O-linemen up and walk them back into the QB's and RB's faces, forcing them to move laterally, which makes the throw or run more difficult. For those of you who live for the blockquotes, here's Sturm's take

The Milwaukee Journal is actually featuring this very topic this morning as they ponder the reasons for the Packers' defensive success. Many believe it is all Charles Woodson and Clay Matthews. But the truth is that they are free to fly around the ball because BJ Raji and Ryan Pickett occupy a lot of the opposition's blockers.

As you can see, DE's in the 3-4 are all about Ratliff's size. But, the nose tackles are considerably heavier. In fact, if you add in Vince Wilfork (325) and Haloti Ngata (350) or the recently eliminated 3-4 defenses, you can see that they all have "listed" weights way more than Ratliff could ever approach.

And then he has the audacity to say this?

Ratliff, I have always preferred as a DE in the 3-4. I think he is great at beating guys in pass rush, but in traditional run downs, I think he is adequate, but not quite the ideal size. What he accomplishes because of quickness and will power, I think gets worn down over the course of a season, and then over the course of his career. Wouldn't it makes sense to preserve his special traits by targeting major space eaters in the offseason?

"Always preferred?"..."ALWAYS PREFERRED?!?!?!  Ohhhhhhhhhh, sure you have. Send me the 10 articles you wrote on the topic when Tuna was the coach, buddy. I need some chamomile tea to calm down. Screw that...Oban neat...AND MAKE IT A DOUBLE!!!!

 ...and a Cheerleader

Amazing what good brown liquor and cheerleaders can do for a guy. Unless you're an angry drunk. I hate people who become belligerent when they drink too much. Why can't people at least keep some of their wits about them when they are drunk? Hmmmm...come to think of it, I should be happy they don't. The large majority of my most meaningful one-night relationships were a direct result of the wonder that is tequila. Speaking of which...

I went to this pub in Atlanta called Ormsby's recently (highly recommended). While there, I got to play indoor Bocce (first time I had ever played) and it's basically like shuffleboard where you roll balls about six inches in diameter 25 feet down the field (a patch of carpet bounded by two-by-four's) and get them closest to this little yellow ball called the Pallina. Well, it quickly became apparent that my partner (this redhead who was awfully good at knocking the other guys' balls (look, there's no good way to say it...I tried a few different ways and this was the best of...ugh...ANYWAY!!!) away from the Pallina.  The problem was that I was very focused on trying to get my balls closest to the Pallina (re-reading this now, I see I should have picked a different story altogether) and we did not have a cohesive strategy playing off of the other's strengths. We were down several points, but it was early. So, I told her if she'd focus on covering up my balls (yeah...I got nuthin) when I was able to get them close to the Pallina by leaving her balls (leave it alone...it's a family blog) a foot or two directly in front of mine, I told her that there is no way the other team could knock both balls away from the Pallina and that we'd win and I'd buy her a drink. The tide quickly turned and we spanked those drunken Georgia Bulldog doofs.

Booyah! Cheerleader me!!!

The reason I tell that story to you, and believe me it was a struggle, is that I've been thinking a lot about the hiring of Rob Ryan. I am wholly supportive, but I am going to be interested to see how much Ryan lets Garrett (assuming he will, and I am) look over his shoulder and stay involved with the defense. That's not to say a team can't win with the HC being heavily (or totally) focused on one side of the ball. Tony Dungy had little to do with how Tom Moore and Peyton Manning ran the offense and they won a bling. Same for the Saints where Sean Payton didn't get in Gregg (wasn't one ‘g' enough?) Williams' way. It's my theory that the schemes on offense and defense have to be in sync. If your defense is going to revolve around turnovers, then your offense might be best served as having quick strike ability because you're likely to get into some shootouts. If you have a bend-but-don't-break philosophy on defense that gives up yards but not many points, you'd probably want to be able to control the clock on offense and run the ball consistently and effectively so you can get a lead in the 4th quarter and ice it when you need to.

Another thing about Rob Ryan. Ask me if I care about who HIS DAD is and what HIS DAD thinks of the Dallas Cowboys. I mean really, tell me why I should give a rip. Buddy who!??! Puhleeeeeze!!! Let me be clear, I would support the hiring of someone from the Taliban to coordinate the defense if I thought he could help us win a bling.

Tony Romo on the golf course, Tony Romo at the Mavs game, Tony Romo and Candace getting hitched...wow. Maybe Parcells was right about not allowing yourself to become a Celebrity QB in the NFL. How many Super Bowls has Brady won since he started spanking Giselle on the culo and doing cameos on Entourage? It seems like the more you're adored in the public eye off of the football field, the less likely you are to reach the pinnacle on it.

Cheerleader, take my mind off of this stuff!

I'm really torn on this CBA negotiation thing. From a purely humanitarian point of view, I don't like the idea of NFL retirees not having the kind of medical care and coverage to take care of them as they age. It just feels wrong. At the same time, what company can you work for 3-4 years and get medical benefits for life? Heck, even the Government jobs don't do that. Firemen and Policemen don't get those benefits and it seems like one of them dies in the line of duty every day. What about our military men? The care they get is sub-standard and I see it every day and it infuriates me. These are issues without simple solutions.

So, I am at a moral crossroads. I want my NFL, but I want them to get this done right. Philosophically, I am vehemently against labor unions and I think they are part and parcel to the decline in America's GDP. We have morphed into a service economy and unions are the central cause. But unions aside, there is also just some utter BS in the CBA; for instance, teams having to pay 50% of their revenues to salaries? Are you kidding me? What other business could operate under a financial burden where the operating cash flow (OCF) is so watered down by a single contract clause?

Rookie salaries are ridiculous. How does Jake Long get to be the highest paid LT in the NFL before he has ever played a freaking down!?! On the flipside, I don't want 18 games. I don't mind a shorter preseason, but I don't want a longer regular season. Four and a half months is just fine with me, thank you very much. For goodness sakes, 18 games would rival (gulp!) baseball!

Cheerleader, save me!

I keep reading about how if the Steelers win this year's bling, THEY will be America's Team. Bollocks! Why is it that people in the Media just don't get it? This isn't about who is the role model franchise in the NFL (clearly, the Steelers are it), but you just cannot argue that fact that when people mention the Steelers, unless you're a Steeler fan, you get moderate to non-descript reactions.

Now, bring up the Cowboys in any social setting and even the dumb redhead at Ormsby's is going to have an opinion about them, "Ohhhh, I love the QB...I have his jersey, that Tony Romano" or some goofball who's a Tampa Bay Bucs fan and says, "EFF THE COWBOYS, I HATE THEM!".

Well, good. That's exactly what Jerry Jones wants. In fact, it's like angels singing when he hears that because that guy is going to fly to Dallas in the hopes that his Bucs can take down the (effing) Cowboys and make his year. Meanwhile, Jerry will thank him for his $125 SRO ticket and $60 worth of beer and dogs. Think that girl has a Big Ben jersey? Nope. Think that guy will fly to Heinz to see the Bucs play them? Uh uh. No, Dallas is firmly entrenched in the role of America's Team, regardless of what the talking heads say.

As if that wasn't enough, here's one of the biggest reasons Dallas will ALWAYS be America's Team!!!

Lastly, I have to say that I'm pleased another potential DC for Philly bit the dust this past week. Dick Jauron, who is one of the most underrated defensive minds in the NFL and someone I have a ton of respect for, replaced our very own Rob Ryan in Cleveland. Philly's cupboard of DC candidates got more bare as time wore on. We've seen how devastating the loss of Jim Johnson (God rest his soul) has been on the Eagirls. Jauron is one guy who could have helped them regain the defensive prowess that they have missed for a couple of years now. I'm secretly hoping Dave Campo lands there as the DC with Brian Stewart as his key lieutenant. 

 GO COWBOYS!!!

There's a lot of water seeping into the ship that floats the Dallas Cowboys franchise. The lifeboats are being readied so that the passengers can get off safely. I say, damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!!!

The roster was somewhat of a fraud this season and the many and varied leaks proved to be too much for anyone to bail. The Place Kicker was a nice guy who just couldn't place kick. He's a kickoff specialist...whatever that is. The Free Safety was really not a Free Safety, but rather a dime CB. All of the DE's, for all the rhetoric on BTB about the role of the DE in the Wade Phillips defense making them good fits for the job (you know who you are!!), were exposed for being the JAGs that some of us knew they were and now most everyone has jumped on the bandwagon clamoring for an upgrade. Newman, like a caterpillar who turns into a butterfly, became Anthony Henry and had to give WR's a 10-yard cushion even in goal line situations. The right side of the O-line looked slow afoot as their big, aging bodies precluded them from being successful. The new #1 RB was not the game-breaker everyone hoped for and his hip tightness suggested we may again need to find a third head to that monster down the road. Add to that the fact that we know the 2009 draft was an atrocity and we have a long list of problems on our hands.

Here's the good news; First,Jerry hired Jason Garrett as the new Head Coach and is letting Garrett choose his staff. Here's the even better news; Jerry then called and asked me to take the position Dan Reeves was going to fill. I told him I wanted full control over player personnel and wasn't going to punch a clock (but I might punch Campo) and he agreed to my stipulation (except the Campo part). So, you can all rest easy now because I am here to fix this here leaky boat.

First things first, we have to consider the painful truths. This team is not going to significantly change every aspect of the roster that doesn't have a pro-bowler manning it and a young, future HOF'er backing them up. Dallas is going to go into 2011 with some players who we think are average at best and need to be "protected" at times by scheme or by substitution packages. Another fact of life is that you cannot FIXATE on a single player either in the Draft or Free Agency. To do so is to be oblivious to the fact that 31 other teams are trying to do the same things you are and many of them have the same needs; namely, rebuild their trenches and draft the next Peyton Manning, Ed Reed and Jonathan Ogden. You need to have backup plans for your backup plans.

Next, the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL Draft can be like oil and water for us fans. Although we like to concoct these wonderful starry-eyed (see what I did there?) mock drafts that show us drafting the best players available (which, as strange as it sounds, always seem to address our biggest needs) at each and every spot, Jerry and Co. always end up surprising and dismaying us with their non-standard view of who we need and where we need them.

Nonetheless, as I said, I'm ready to take my shot at the roster blueprint for the offseason (which I will modify as the new labor contract, Free Agency and the Draft get closer to being realities). So here goes;

I'm going to start by addressing the O-line through Free Agency.The right side of this line has looked like a jailbreak on most downs, regardless of who was under center. This is an area where Dallas has either failed to address the need or chosen unwisely when they did try. While I like Logan Mankins a lot, I don't see him being the guy that I will pursue first, only because of the price tag and the fact that the Pats are likely to tag him in order to get compensated. I think Dallas may pick an even bigger name on the defensive side of the ball to empty their account on (stay tuned). Instead, it is my belief that Dallas will (aka should) look to a guy like Davin Joseph, who is coming off of a foot injury but was playing the best football of any TB lineman before going to IR, as the answer to the RG spot that will likely be vacated when my Bigg hammer comes down on Bigg Davis. This guy isn't going to come cheap, but he's young enough and good enough to be there with Doug Free for several years as a young nucleus while the O-line is overhauled. If not Joseph, then Harvey Dahl, who is a mean SOB (don't you have to be with a name like HARVEY?), would be a good pickup too. I think the line can also be addressed in the draft during the second round. With the 9thpick in the second round, it's not unlikely to see some of the following; DeMarcus Love, Nate Solder, Joseph Barksdale, Darius Morris and Matt Roberts still around and any of them would make for a solid 2ndrounder on a team as ORT-challenged as Dallas. Unfortunately, Dallas would likely need to pursue a lower-tier veteran RT like a Langston Walker while the rookie learns the ropes. One more thing since I have been less-than-complimentary of Andre Gurode quite often. This draft is full of mid-round center talent any one of which could be the next Jim Otto. Okay, maybe not, but even if there are no Alex Mack's, there's still talent there. In my opinion, as I survey the rest of the NFL's great O-lines, this O-line will never be counted among that group until we find a Center who can be the cerebral nerve center for the front 5. I'll let Lissyyyyyyyyy dig deep on that if he wants to, but I'd look hard there in later rounds.

Next, I will address the D-line.Now I know people want to get right to the business of getting a safety and CB's like Prince Shakalakamakamura or Patrick (stiff-hips) Peterson or whoever, but that is a bad strategy. I don't think our draft position supports it. This is a class that is VERY rich with 3-4 DE prospects and there is a lot of confusion over who might be the best. That will play right into our hands. Given how the draft order is stacked, I don't see any outcome where Da'Quan Bowers (my favorite player in this draft), Nick Fairley AND Adrian Clayborn go in the first 8 picks. The one guy that looks like a lock up there is Fairley. The result? A draft windfall (again, see what I just did there? I know...so cool...like a breeze, right?) for Dallas. Any one of these guys could be an opening day starter and provide some pocket penetration that neither of the two current JAGs have shown. As if that isn't enough, I think THIS is where Dallas goes big in Free Agency (and I do mean BIG). Dallas has two Free Agency options here that make a ton of sense to the team's defensive future. First, I think they have to make a run at Haloti Ngata to play NT and move Ratliff to DE, if only because I think Baltimore will not tag him this season and my incessant harping on Ratliff's late season swoons have now been witnessed by MOST of you and you've come around to my way of thinking. I also think Ngata is in line to make big money and, although he is the one guy who totally deserves it (not like that doofus in Washington), Baltimore doesn't generally go there (see Adalius Thomas, Bart Scott, others). But I could be wrong and Baltimore could tag him or give him a long term deal. If they did, I'd have my backup plan in Aubrayo Franklin, a guy I have pined over for some time now. He's a poor man's Kris Jenkins (when Jenkins is/was healthy) and I think he's the kind of guy who could pair with Josh Brent to form a nice combo at that all-important NT spot for several years. So the new "3" in the 3-4 would be Ratliff, Ngata and Clayborn/Bowers or Rat, Franklin and Clayborn/Bowers. Compare that to this year's trio and I think we're set for several years at D-line.

Finally, Dallas needs to start rebuilding the secondary.While lots of people made derisive comments about Ken Hamlin in 2009, I wonder how many of those same people wouldn't have begged him to come back if they knew how poorly Alan Ball would play at FS this year. Let's face facts; Ball is a dime corner if he is anything. It's likely that Hamlin overcame the ineptitude of Dave Campo and had everyone lined up correctly more of the time than we will ever know. Regardless, we're moving on now. We've seen what mid-round safeties like Derek Cox, Thomas Decoud and others can do for their respective defenses. They aren't Ed Reed, but they help their teams and that, my friends, is about all we should expect here. Whoever those players turn out to be, whether it's someone like Brian Lainhart from Kent State (who I really like) or Quinton Carter from Oklahoma, is probably not an opening day starter. That means Danny McCray, this is YOUR life!!! I don't' see a Free Agent safety out there (yet) that wows me enough to go spend a ton of money on them, so the key is to start looking at CB's that might be ready to pair with Scandrick and Jenkins. BTW, I am assuming T-New is T-Gone (and yes, I still think Marcus Trufant was the better pick in that spot). So, looking at late round CB's like Dejon Gomes of Nebraska or Davon House of New Mexico State makes good sense.

A word on the draft.The 2011 NFL draft is likely to be the most drama-filled iteration of the event in many years if Free Agency does not take place in its usual timeframe because of collective bargaining roadblocks. The other thing about this draft is the presence of so many potential 1stround QB's (Luck, Locker, Mallett, Newton and now Blaine Gabbert). These QB's could end up creating some serious shuffling (aka trading up and around) by teams desperate for their next franchise player at that position. If that does indeed take place and we get an offer that makes sense, we could be in a position to trade down take a mid-to-late round O-lineman like Sherrod, Castonzo or Carimi and then be sitting with multiple second rounders to trade back up into the late portion of round 1 to get a Rahim Moore at safety (c'mon, did you think I was going to write this post without SOME homer-love for my fellow Bruin??? Did I mention he had 10 INT's as a Junior when the Bruins had a pass rush?) or the raw but immensely talented but very raw Allen Bailey at DE, who looks like the second coming of Bruce Smith. That would change our strategy completely and all bets would be off. Now, I normally don't believe in trading down in the post-Jimmy Johnson era because of countless errors by Lacewell, Ireland and Ciskowski, but this may be the year where we have to look at it because of the extenuating circumstances. So there is my disclaimer...but remember...I'm the boss, so I it's not like I needed one.

And that, my fellow Cowboys faithful is my first shot across the bow on how to get this roster headed back in the right direction. Yes, it's a leaky boat and there's much work to do, but it's not impossible. The good news is that I've turned in my resignation and have appointed YOU the new person in charge. I really only stayed in the job long enough to see the cheerleader tryouts up close and personal and could be a shoulder to cry on for the ones who didn't make the cut (it's amazing how much affection they need and I'm just glad I could be there...for so many of them).

Now, you can approve, modify or scrap the entire plan and provide your own. I'm very busy...

Take your best shot. :-)

GO COWBOYS!!! 

If you're a Dallas Cowboys fan, it's likely that you've sought shelter from the 15 years without a Bling by huddling under the umbrella that the 90's dynasty team provides and harkening back to a time when winning was almost a foregone conclusion. These days, the Cowboys seem to find ways to lose rather than the reverse. I think often about that 90's team. I often use the things I learned from that group in my work life. For instance, when Charles Haley talks about how players had to "sacrifice" for the good of the team, somewhere in that comment is a very John Wooden-esque maxim underlying it. It's difficult not to think there wasn't a ton of luck involved in that confluence of things that led to what many called the greatest team ever. Could they have become a dynasty without the help of the Minnesota Vikings front office? When I think about the triplets and Deion and the O-line and Novacek and Ken Norton Jr. and Bill Bates, there are tons of stories behind THE story. But when I think about that team, I always find myself coming back to the same place. I find myself thinking about a dynamic duo of sorts...and it isn't who you might think.

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The Romosexuals. These are people who are married to the idea that HE is the only one who can deliver us to the Promised Land.  They are also wedded to the notion that no one could or should unseat him as the QB of the team, regardless of what the facts might say. The very idea of someone else playing the role he currently owns is unfathomable. It’s insulting. Or…is it?

Lately, as I’ve been watching Jon Kitna playing superfluous games behind the same (seemingly) overmatched offensive line that Romo started the season behind, I’ve wondered why the passing game FEELS so much more productive under his guidance. Not much has changed other than the fact that Tony Romo has been sidelined with a broken collarbone. The same o-linemen are playing o-line. The same receivers are playing receiver. The same running backs are playing running back(okay, Choice has indeed spiced it up). Yet, even the most ardent Tony Romo supporter has to agree that this offense has not suffered a noticeable decline since his injury. In fact, over the last 4 games, allowing for Kitna’s adjustment period, the team is averaging nearly 34 points per game! While there isn’t a ton of statistical data to rely on, the numbers do say there isn’t a marked difference between 38-year old Jon Kitna and Romo from a performance perspective (Yards, completion %, TD-to-INT ratio, etc. all look very similar). The ball does seem to be getting out more of the QB’s hands more quickly and traveling downfield further in the last several games. It does seem to be arriving in the receiver’s hands while he is in stride. The running game seems to be more prevalent now. What is really going on here?

There are a number of possibilities worth examining in trying to understand the reasons we haven’t seen any sort of offensive downturn;

The Shock Factor

How can you discount the notion that the elevation of Jason Garrett to Head Coach has had SOME kind of effect on the entire team, offense included? Clearly, the early returns say that the new dress code, the notebooks in meetings and the attention to detail that are quickly becoming JG’s hallmarks seem to be having some of the desired effects. Maybe the entire team has elevated their level of commitment and focus so that people have a new sense of accountability. Maybe the change from Wade to Paul P.’s defense is creating more turnovers and better field position for Kitna than Romo had? Maybe the coaching change is the principal reason behind the lack of a drop-off in offensive output. If so, when Romo does indeed return, whether it’s this year or next, what should we reasonably expect when he supplants Kitna? Going from high to Super-high performance from the offense? Increase in points from 34 to 40 per game?

The Kitna Excitation

7 TD’s and only 2 Interceptions for Jon since JG took the helm. The one thing maybe we all failed to realize is that maybe Kitna is THAT good and could actually be starting for teams like Arizona, the Raiders and the Panthers. After having reviewed the tape on him (okay, it’s not tape, no one uses tape anymore, I use a DVR and am not technologically challenged, just so you know), I can safely say that he throws a much different pass than Romo does. Kitna’s balls are flatter (that sounds wrong, doesn’t it?) and spend much less time in the air. His out’s and in’s and slants get thrown earlier in the route, largely because of what looks like an ability to see the open man sooner, and it looks like the receivers are able to do more with those passes in terms of RAC. His swing passes also have a low arc and he tends to throw around instead of over. Finally, you have to admit the guy is a tough son-of-a-gun because he is running up the gut like Randall Cunningham and with reckless abandon. Maybe Kitna is just the best #2 in the NFL?

The Felix Effect      

Felix Jones has officially become the #1 RB in Dallas. For the first time in his career, Felix now has more carries in a season than Barber and while his average per carry is down from previously astronomical highs, he’s still getting near to the requisite 4.0 YPC. In addition, he has become more of a weapon in the flat and defenses must account for him, which opens it up for others. One has to wonder if the game-breaking ability that Felix possesses, an ability that Barber clearly lacks, impacts our opponents’ defensive game planning in such a way for Kitna that it opens up things for him in the passing game that Romo never really got the chance to benefit from?

The Rallying Cry

It’s not unheard of to think that the team, and the offensive line in particular, stepped up their play once their main man went down. When I think about Tony Romo, I think about his ability to extend a play when the o-line breaks down and there are some epic highlights of Romo snatching success out of the hands of failure. Could the linemen have realized that Romo’s stand-in lacks the mobility and the ability to make something out of nothing? If so, would that cause them to stay on their blocks just that half second longer? Maybe they paid more attention to their technique because the great “eraser” was no longer under center. It’s possible they knew they had to rally around Jon Kitna…and did.

That Whole ‘Leadership’ Thing

Some people deride this as mysticism. Others say it is what separates the good from the great. From an outside observer’s perspective, it’s pretty easy to see that there are significant differences between Jon Kitna and Tony Romo in terms of how they conduct themselves in the huddle, on the sideline, in front of the press, etc. I was speaking with a friend of mine the other day who mentioned how often he saw David Buehler giving out quotes about the status of the team when Romo was starting. Now, he said, Kitna appears to be the one (and seemingly only) face and voice used by the media as their barometer for the players. I added that Kitna is the one I see going over and talking with the o-linemen and WR’s after a possession ends, good or bad. It’s a different sideline mentality with Kitna in that he doesn’t automatically walk over and sit down next to Wade Wilson and flip through the digital prints of the defensive alignments and coverage schemes they just faced. His first stop is always with his teammates. It’s a different energy level when he’s matching toothy grins with Miles Austin after a big play. It’s a more convivial sideline with him as the leader of the team. I’ve heard it said that football is a game of emotion and if that is true, at least to the naked eye, doesn’t it appear that Jon Kitna has raised Dallas’ considerably?

The “What If” Conundrum

Sometimes you have to talk about things people don’t want to talk about in order to fully understand things we see happening in front of us. To that end, we have to ask ourselves difficult questions and be courageous enough to discuss them without being dismissive or malicious in our discourse. So I ask you; What if we’ve been lulled to sleep because of such horrendous QB play, between the time that Troy Aikman left the game and Tony Romo arrived on the scene, that we’ve created a heightened perceived value of Romo because of the relativistic context he got placed into with Hutchinson, Testaverde, Bledsoe, Henson, Carter and Leaf (sounds like a Los Angeles law firm)? What if he is significantly better than Chad Hutchinson and Quinthy Carther (see what I did there?) but not good enough to get this team over the hump? What if he’s damned good until it REALLY counts and then finds a way to have a sub-par performance in a key game or moment? What if he replaces Kitna this year and the offensive output gets worse? What if it turns out that he’s…just not as good as many of us want him to be?

In the end, it’s not heresy (despite what some might say) to question Romo’s true value to the team. As someone commented recently on another thread, you have to have “cold eyes” when it comes to how you view the players on your roster (or, I assume, in the draft and free agency). As the season begins to wind down, we have to take stock of our team and, with the draft approaching, the question will undoubtedly come up; “what about the QB spot?”  I, for one am not deterred in looking hard at Mallett and Locker if we are in a position to take either and they are the BPA on the board at that time. Having quality depth at QB gives a team amazing flexibility in terms of personnel. This is a QB-centric league and, by this time next year, we’ll have a 31-year old QB who isn’t a warhorse like Favre or Manning and has missed time due to injury. In a recent thread, OCC pointed out that QB’s generally begin to see their performance taper off at 32 years of age. He’ll be backed up by a 39-year old if nothing else changes. While an argument could easily be made that the QB position is not one of the biggest current needs on the team, an equally valid argument could be made around why the draft is not about the present, but the future. In the future, this team will in fact need a new QB to lead it. So, he thinks to himself, is Romo at QB the only possible way to get to the top of the mountain or is there some other mode of operation that might yield the coveted sixth bling?

GO COWBOYS!!!

Fan optimism is an interesting psychological dynamic. Consider this; every year, some team flops under the pressure of being a favorite. Some team goes out and plays like pansies. All three phases of the game end up in disarray and the team finds ways to lose, via mental lapses and poor execution, rather than finding ways to win. The fan optimism nosedives like airplane with clipped wings. At some point, the tolerance for such horrible performance reaches the pain threshold and the GM decides to fire the head coach. In comes a new guy to take over either on an interim basis.

Immediately, the fans become exuberant.  THIS is the change they needed. THIS will turn the season around and make their team a formidable foe. THIS gives them a shot to win out and, if they do, they still have a shot. THIS is how fans of a 1-7 team show their resilience, their renewed dedication, their unwavering commitment. All we need is a hero to make us believe again...

And why not? The last guy was a nice guy but was also the wrong guy. The new guy preaches accountability, being physical and aggressive, staying focused with a winning attitude. He speaks in his press conferences with authority and knows exactly what he wants from his players and his assistant coaches. He says he will change everything, from the way they practice to the way they watch film to the way they line up at the line of scrimmage to the way they dress. The team’s performance should see an immediate upgrade just based upon the cultural shifts the new guy is preaching. You just wait and see. 

Alas, it generally doesn’t work out that way. The team tends to stay stuck in neutral and nothing much changes until the GM makes another change at year-end or gets canned himself. But what if, this one time, something magical happens? What if the job opening gets filled by the hero the team, the city and America needs? Highly unlikely if you believe the media.

Almost immediately, the pundits go to their tried and true clichés and say, “he’s too green…never been a head coach anywhere” or “his past successes as a coordinator won’t translate to this level.” Like detectives on a case, they will find reasons for people not to believe that the new guy is much different than the old guy. But I get an eerie feeling when I hear those things because I know I’ve heard them before. 

You know, I seem to remember a coordinator (he was a defensive guy) for the New York Giants who took the reigns of an NFL team in 1960. I remember that the media said those same kinds of negative things about him too. They attributed his previous success to the great players he coached, the great head coach he worked under, the great offenses on their team that made his defenses look good, etc., etc. Purely from a historical point of view, he seemed to overcome that skepticism and go on to do okay, didn’t he?

I recall they also said it about a guy who had much success in the mid-80’s at the collegiate level in South Florida. Most people said his success was all due to the fact that he inherited a successful program from a local legend who had built the college team into a powerhouse with its own inertia. He came to the NFL without much of a pedigree and his methods were considered “out of place”. There was no way this guy could succeed the NFL legend he was coming in to replace. No, the pundits were not kind to him either. Yet, he seemed to overcome all of THAT skepticism and do alright, didn’t he?

Is it really all that unfathomable for us to think that maybe, just maybe, the new guy is the answer to what ails the team?

I like to think the NFL is all about underdogs and their success stories. Yes, people love a winner above all else, but they also love seeing a triumph of the human spirit against seemingly insurmountable odds. The most memorable games in NFL History are games the underdog wasn’t supposed to win. The Jets beating the Unitas’ Colts? The Giants derailing the unbeatable Patriots? The list goes on and on. Now, let’s be honest and admit that Jason Garrett is clearly the underdog here. He’s not a big-name guy. He’s certainly not someone who has the resume to be the Head Coach of America’s Team. But he’s always been the underdog. He’d never been considered a particularly gifted athlete, yet he played the game’s most difficult and important position and succeeded in playing at the sport’s elite level. This noodle-armed QB holds the Ivy League record for completion percentage while at Princeton. It’s true he doesn’t have the coaching pedigree of his predecessors, but so what? What has that done for Bill Parcells? How has it helped Mike Holmgren? How about Mike Shanahan? Most people were shocked to hear how fast Garrett was elevated from QB Coach with Nick Saban’s Dolphins to Offensive Coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys. Now, he’s the Head Coach of the most valuable (and visible) sports franchise this side of Manchester, England.

In all honesty, I don’t know if Garrett is the guy that can take Dallas to the top of the mountain (I have my own doubts), but this just in…he’s done pretty well so far. Could he be our hero?

This, my friends, looks like the beginning of another chapter in Jason Garrett’s Cinderella story. Lucky for us, we’re all here to see how it turns out. In fact, we’re all closer to the story than most. When you strip away all of the media hype and tackle this from a purely human interest perspective, Jason Garrett is a guy you can root for. He’s the kind of story that you want to have a happy ending not just because he is YOUR team's head coach, but because he is a guy who, you have to believe, doesn’t take his opportunities lightly. And if that kind of verve and enthusiasm and commitment and focus can lead to the shift in culture that all Dallas fans have been clamoring for since Jimmy Johnson left town, then yes, consider the job opening for hero, filled.

In the Season of Jerry (boy, is it ever), as we watch this new part of the Dallas Cowboys story unfold, remember to keep your optimism high and enjoy every moment.

GO COWBOYS!!!

Before the Season began, I wrote a post that outlined what I thought would be the central theme in the upcoming Dallas Cowboys campaign. In it, I outlined why I thought this year would be the ‘Season of Jerry’.

Ten games later, I am sure that this is not how Jerry Jones envisioned the 2010 Season. The notion of being the first team to play the role of Super Bowl host is all but a pipe dream now. The Dallas Cowboys are no longer in the conversation when it comes to postseason hopefuls in the NFL for this year. In fact, this may be the earliest, at least since the Dave Campo era, that the Mock Draft posts have shown up on BTB. That sends a cold shiver down the spine of any Cowboys devotee.

As someone who has read many of the big name business books on management, leadership and how to be successful against a backdrop of corporate ladder-climbing and capitalism at its best and worst, I think I know how this stuff works. And yet, I am constantly in awe of the way Jerry Jones masterfully waives his magic wand at the NFL, the sports publications and web sites, the cable TV networks and, most importantly, the casual, everyday fan. That’s right boys and girls, not only are Dallas Cowboys fans hinging on every word about the Cowboys, but so are fans of the Raiders, the Patriots, the Jets and the Chargers. Fans of every NFL team from every part of the country will grab the remote and raise the volume on the TV when they see Jerry on there talking about his 3-7 franchise.

For a team that has no business being the lead story on ESPN Sportscenter and NFL Network Total Access, there they are…again!

How does he do it?!? Quite simply, he has a visceral understanding of human nature in a way most of us can only imagine.

Consider the firing of Wade Phillips at midseason. Jerry had never made a coaching change at midseason before (although there are times he really should have). He could have hired or promoted ANYONE to take the job of Head Coach. So this time it’s Jason Garrett putting his best foot forward in an 8-game interview for the permanent job. But it’s not about Jason. This is not about anyone other than the big boss. Just like Freddy Krueger, he won’t let you sleep without thinking about him and his football franchise. The Cowboys may be dead as far as a playoff run is concerned, but Jerry Krueger is in the heads of anyone and everyone who watches and cares about football. People go on living their lives outside of Elm Street, but Jerry always finds a way to make himself notable.

Jerry, like Michelangelo, conjures up the most dramatic and cinematically appealing backdrop on which to depict Dallas’ successes and failures. Regardless of how important OR impotent they are to the playoff picture in any given year, the Cowboys are omnipresent and remain relevant (if not paramount) to any NFL conversation.

It’s in the way his injured starting QB is always sporting the latest Cowboys outerwear on the sideline. It’s in Garrett’s mock turtleneck. I want me one of those for when I go snowboarding. It’s in the way he maintains relationships with guys like Gruden, Cowher and others to stoke the fires of who might be the head coach if it turns out that it isn’t Jason Garrett. It’s in the signing and subsequent cutting of T.O. Tank and Pac. It’s in the way he can hire pole dancers for his palatial sports venue and juxtapose that kind of artistic endeavor with more traditional fine modern art.

Who else do you know that can pull that off? Nobody. He’s it.   

For all of his rumbling, bumbling and stumbling when it comes to building a winning football organization and a sound infrastructure, Jerry is still the best when it comes to how to manipulate public opinion. He leads the league in controlling perception among his team’s fans and non-fans alike. As a result, he is the dominant voice in any caucus of NFL owners and every other owner wants to be Jerry. He is the NFL’s premier marketer. He is the Master. 

In what has truly been the Season of Jerry…

GO COWBOYS!!!

Admit it. You’ve thought about it. Every so often, you look at the Dallas Cowboys and think to yourself, "If I were running this team, things would be different. I would draft better, get a better coach and coordinators and lure the right Free Agents to play for us. Yeah, we would be awesome!!! In the face of what looks to be one of the most epic collapses in NFL history for a pre-season Super Bowl favorite, the time seems right to dream a little dream.

But this is not an easy fix. The team is doing exactly what it has always done under Jerry (save for the Jimmy years) and practiced and prepared and played like anointed royalty. They drank their own bath water. They believed their own pre-season press clippings. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. They forgot history. They repeated it. They underperformed. That doesn’t suggest that a single roster upgrade or a replacement of a coach or coordinator can turn this thing around. In fact, one would say this team has some sort of viral disease that is keeping it from gaining the mental toughness to handle adversity and pull together to raise their intensity and focus.

I, for one, am not going to sit on my hands anymore. I’m taking my shot.

This past week, I bellied up to the bar with Jerrah and we shared a bunch of single malts (He’s a Glenmorangie guy). We talked football for hours. We were having a really good time commiserating about the cowboys' woes and then, maybe in a weak moment, he pulled a Tony Stark on me and said the craziest thing; "5blings, I’m tarred. So, I want you to run it.  You be the GM. You run the whole danged thang!"

Well, I was feeling all woozy (not really) and was left speechless. He waived his finger at one of his assistants and about fifteen minutes and 3 Irish Car Bombs (nasty drinks…loved them) later, I was signing papers that made me THE singular arbiter of all decisions Cowboys. Well, you’ll be glad to know I’ve wasted no time and put together a recovery plan. 

Here’s how I’ve decided to remake this Cowboys franchise.

Continue reading this post »

Yes, I know, I’ve heard it on TV. It’s grim. I get where most people are coming from. There was a lot not to like about our game against Tennessee. But I am not ready to go to THAT PLACE which many people have gone to so quickly. I’m not prepared to write off 2010 as the Farewell Tour for this iteration of the Dallas Cowboys. I’m not going to give in to the pundits and naysayers who say we are dead while there is still a mathematical chance that this team can emerge as one of the truly great success stories in Cowboys history.

Yes, we’re 1-3. That’s bad. We’ve lost three games during a spate of games that were thought to have comprised the soft part of our schedule. We’ve found ways to lose that vary from game to game in such a way that it is hard even for the most avid fan to conduct a root cause analysis that would allow them to point the finger at any one place. I bet you’re wondering when (or if) I am ever going to get to the good part.

Well, here it is;

Mediocrity. The first place team(s) in our division only have one less loss than we do. Yeah, one. Nobody is 5-0 and running away with this thing. Let me say it again. The best team in our division (whoever you think that is) has ONE less loss than we do after only 25% of our games have been played. The simple math says a big revenge factor win against Minnehaha next week coupled with some losses by our division foes (is picking the Colts over the Skins or the Falcons over the Eagles that big a stretch? I don’t think so) and we are right back in this thing.

Windshield, not rear view mirror. Suddenly, GB, New Orleans and Indy don’t look nearly as frightening as they did before the season started. Maybe the soft part of the schedule isn’t what we thought it would be? I saw nothing from New Orleans yesterday that makes me think we can’t throttle them. Philly’s defense is ripe for any team that can throw the football against a blitz. Indy struggled against KC, who is clearly all about their return game and not much else.

An apple a day…and all that. Four games in and this team is extremely healthy. If losing John Phillips is the worst thing that happens to Dallas in 2010, I’ll take it. Just ask GB or Minnesota or New Orleans or Chicago about team health. Who is going to take the pressure off of Aaron Rodgers by running the ball as the season wears on? We can only hope they stick with who they have.      

You want talent? We’ve got talent. We’ve seen some surprises by players on this roster. Is there a more pleasant surprise than Roy Williams? This looks like the makings of a 3-headed monster at the WR spot (let the name submissions begin here) to go with Bash, Flash and Tash. Doug Free has been everything you could have asked for as the Hotel’s replacement. Barber looks quicker than he has in years and Felix ran with more power than he has in…well, ever. As if that wasn’t enough, even Telly B has contributed this year. On defense, Ware is still Ware and Spencer is showing some positive signs. Newman is having one of his best starts ever and then there's my favorite newcomer, Gronk.

The Final Four. The last four games are made up of 2 games versus Philly, a payback game with the Skins and one with the Cards. That’s three divisional games that could define the season for us. The encouraging part about that is that Romo and the cowboys no longer have the December monkey on their back after last year and if they can build some momentum between now and then, they can bury the hopes of those two teams and, by extension, potentially elevate themselves into contention.

The Jerry Factor. I hate him as a GM. Always have, always will. But remember, this is the Season of Jerry and he is not about to let this important year go into some death spiral because his coaches can’t get their acts together and prepare their team better than they have. Jerry is like Rambo. He is worthless during peacetime. He has no idea how to spend his days. But where Jerry is at his best is during periods of crisis. Dallas’ coaching staff and players need Jerry’s leadership more now than at any point in his reign here. He will step in, rescue the POW’s, take out a bunch of bad guys and save the day, and his season.

You’ve never known me to be the guy who views things through rose-colored glasses. Well, I’m not about to start. You can paint the piece of cow dung that is our first quarter of the season green and call it an emerald, but everyone knows it is still cow dung. Still, there is so much football left ahead of us and it would be a shame for anyone on this blog to give up hope so soon. I wrote a post about remembering what connects us and now, in times of trouble, is the time when we show our true character, not when everything goes our way. We’re not fair-weather. We’re not Band-Wagoner’s. We know that a season is not won or lost in the intitial 4 games. The Cowboys need our support. So, I bought myself a new hoodie today at the online store as my show of defiance to the pundits and in support of my team. If I must stand alone against this torrent of discontent, then so be it. I think they underestimate our truly emotional connection to our team and the potential for greatness that still remains for the Dallas Cowboys of 2010. So I ask you to join me. Revel in what could be one of our greatest seasons ever.  

GO COWBOYS!!!    

He looked at his wife as she was sewing up a slight tear in her daughter’s t-shirt and said, “You look worried”.

“Shouldn’t I be?!? He’s not moving nearly as much as he was two weeks ago!!” she replied in a half-exasperated, half-frightened tone.

“Everything is going to be alright. The doctor says it can happen anytime. The baby will come when he’s ready.”  He tried desperately to comfort her.

The child was due a week prior. Back in those days, there were far fewer ways to know what was going on with unborn children and tardiness was never a good sign when it came to the impending birth of a child. Without Ultrasound or MRI or 3D imaging, expectant couples often feared the worst.

“Okay, that’s it!”  Her husband shouted.

“What?” she inquired.

“We’re getting out of here. Four days we’ve been sitting here just waiting and doing nothing. We’re going out.”  Clearly, he had had enough.

The man went into the living room of his Richardson, Texas home and picked up the telephone. He dialed (rotary) one of his good friends and began speaking in an animated voice. His wife couldn’t quite make out what the conversation was about, but he returned several minutes later with a well-packed travel bag in one hand and his car keys in the other.

“Let’s go”, he said.

“Where? Where are we going? I can’t go out looking like this.” She said sheepishly.

“Trust me, where we are going, no one is going to notice.”

As they approached the stadium, his wife looked over at him, half grinning and half astonished, “Oh my gosh. Are you serious?” she asked. 

“What? It’s a big game and it gets us out of the house. Bill and Donna will be there.” He replied, hoping he wouldn’t feel the hard left cross of an overdue pregnant woman. She seemed to acquiesce to the idea, mostly because she too had been cooped up for days on end with no idea what to expect, or when. She wasn’t a football fan by any stretch, but getting out and seeing some friends was a welcomed change of pace.

After parking the car and a short walk, they were in their seats at the stadium to watch Dallas play a football game. As the game progressed, the fan noise increased until the sound was like the games played today at the Swamp in Florida or when Ohio State plays at Michigan. The stadium trembled beneath the fans’ thunderous applause. Suddenly, the woman began to feel her baby moving, but not like before. Now the baby was doing his best impression of an Olympic gymnast. As Dallas iced the game in the final quarter after trailing for most of the contest, she asked her husband to take her home. He looked at her face and knew not to question it.

That night, she could not sleep. The baby was more active than at any point in the nine-plus previous months. As morning came and the sun began to peek through the bedroom window, she touched his shoulder and said, “It’s time”.

Hours later, I was born.

My mother remembered what my dad said as he saw the doctor hand me to my mother, “He’s going to be the biggest Dallas fan ever”

So, you see, I couldn’t be a fan of any other team for the most obvious of reasons. I grew up watching Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Robert Newhouse, Doug Cosbie, Randy White and others. I have plenty of stories about how the Cowboys were, at times, a steadying force in my life. I wept when Jackie Smith couldn’t make the grab against Pittsburgh in one Super Bowl. I couldn’t contain my joy when Golden Richards made his over-the-shoulder catch in another. Maybe I assigned too much (emotionally) to them, but it is what it is. They are my team, above all else, no matter what.

Even though BTB’ers may disagree, at times, on things relating to the Cowboys, it is important to step back once in a while and remember what connects us. In a room together, we’d all agree that we want me to HAVE to change my name to 6Blings, then 7Blings, etc. etc. sooner rather than later. It’s that connective link that transcends the differences in how our team gets to the top of the mountain. What’s important is that it is OUR team. Many of us have traveled a unique path to get to this place that we call Cowboys fandom. During this Bye week, I thought now would be as good a time as any to share mine. Care to share yours?

GO COWBOYS!!!

You may not have wanted to believe what was staring you right in the face before, but now you have no choice. Yeah, this might feel a bit like an 'I Told You So', but so what? In some cases, I DID tell you so and got called out for being negative, a contrarian and all sorts of things. How many of you said you would be panicked if we got out 0-2? How many people pooh pooh'd the poor offensive production in pre-season and drank all the Dalrymple Kool Aid that was being served up?

So first, let's just come to grips with a few things;

We have a dysfunctional coaching staff. Yes, I said it. I won't take it back. It's likely to be THE story of 2010 if things don't get better quickly. Jerry is in a pickle with this one. He's got three choices. Fire Wade, fire Garrett or fire the whole damned lot of them. 

We're not mentally tough. This team has faltered every single time the pundits even mentioned our names as Super Bowl candidates going back to the year Quinthy Carther led Dallas to the playoffs. Every year after a good one, Dallas has disappointed. 

Our offensive line is, at best, average. In terms of upgrading the personnel there, the group has been overlooked for far too long and those chickens have come home to roost. No 1st rounders in over a decade spent on linemen. Outside of Bigg, no major Free Agent acquisitions to bolster the line. No, this is the recurring nightmare for every Cowboys fan, and tony Romo, plain and simple. 

We don't have a freakin' kicker! I know I've said this before and taken a ton of heat for it, but...child please!!! I like David Buehler, but I saw the guy kick in college and no one ever thought of him as the next Jason Elam (for that matter, no one saw him as the next Nick Folk). I think it's long past time to go get Kris Brown in here! Stop trying to convince yourselves that EVERYTHING that comes out of Valley Ranch is right, true or even logical.

We're not physical. Oh sure, we have some players who are feisty. but this team doesn't posses any sort of edge on offense or defense. If Demarcus Ware is the face of our defense, then our defense may scare people because of its athletic ability, but not it's nasty intensity. On offense, if Marc(o) Colombo is the face of that group, then we're probably more bark than bite.

Finally, I have to ask the question. Is Tony Romo all that he's cracked up to be? When this team needs a laser shot to an open WR, it tends to be off target. When it needs a guy on the sideline who can shake off the last play, focus on what needs to be done to fix the problem, and then come out and blast the other team into submission, he hasn't shown he can be the guy. In 2006, it was a wet ball. In 2007, we blamed the O-line. In 2008, it was T.O.'s fault. In 2009, it was late season injuries. so who, other than Tony, gets the blame this year? Garrett? The RB's? At some point, and I credit Iron Fist for asking the question before I had been able to think it through, is Romo a choker?

Okay, so to quote Apollo 13, let's "work the problem".

On the topic of the coaching staff, Jerry needs to sit Wade down and ask him what he wants to do. Clearly, Wade isn't running the team the way most Head Coaches run theirs. He certainly isn't running it the way he would want to. If Wade says clip JG, then clip JG. If he says clip RW, then clip RW. If he says he's done with Campo, so be it. The main thing is that Jerry is going to puree Wade in a blender if the Season of Jerry continues down this path. He needs to give him the authority to turn it around.

Mental toughness comes from being torn down and coming back from it. Obviously, the training camp and off season workouts did not engender that. It is plainly evident that practices are not being conducted in a way that attempts to simulate game conditions and clearly aren't done in a way that prepares the players such that mental errors can be reduced.

Physicality is a mindset. I would look to the line coaches, both on offense and defense to instill a kind of weekly practice regimen that focused on violent, intense execution. They have to be accountable to set the tone for the team here. We've just been pushed around by a team that isn't nearly as good as we made them look.

Finally, I think this is Romo's last hurrah. No, I don't think he is going anywhere this year or anytime soon, but it's likely he'll have a new coordinator next year, a new playbook and a new terminology. If so, given his age and horizon, will he ever be as comfortable and knowledgeable about the system as he is right now after three-plus years running it? I think Romo took a major step forward last year. But if he cannot continue his ascent in terms of how he elevates the play of the offense, he too will become the focus of a kind of negative scrutiny that pales in comparison to his on and off-field miscues of the past. In order to do that, he has to become a more accurate passer in terms of his 1st half throws. He has to stop sulking on the sidelines after a bad play. He has to be more vocal and animated in his leadership of the team on the field. He has to remember that everyone is ALWAYS watching.

I don't think the season is done. Far from it. I think if Jerry does even SOME of the right things, we could do something historic. The problem is that it doesn't get any easier from here. It's time to circle the wagons.

GO COWBOYS!!!

It is purely conjecture.

There is nothing factual behind this.

It’s just my take.

Okay, now that the disclaimers are all out there, I can tell you that I’m pretty good at this. Evaluating organizational hierarchies, flushing out inefficiencies and identifying performance roadblocks is what I do. The process isn’t one that’s entirely cerebral, but more often one of intestinal fortitude. You have to have the guts to ask the tough questions, see the things that are ugly and standing in your critical path to success and then, doing whatever you have to do to get it fixed.

Now, we all know how it went down. It was one of those faux pas highly characteristic of what people like to call the “old Jerry”. He hired Jason Garrett to “an as yet undetermined position” to get him off of the market when he became available due to Miami’s coaching change. The media had a field day with this, noting that GM Jerry was back to his old tricks, hiring assistants before getting the Head coach in place. Now, of course, people (aka the ones Rich Dalrymple coached) said Wade “okayed the hire” or “blessed it” when he was in the interview process. Maybe so, but would you badmouth a guy your potential boss (who could give you your final shot at leading a team) loved and had such history with? Wade may be soft, but he’s not so dumb as to commit political job suicide before he gets the job. You guys who believe everything that comes out of VR (you know…like how when they say the preseason is meaningless and the offensive woes we saw were all due to the vanilla play calling???) go ahead. I’m not going to call you a doofus, but your parents should get a rebate from your home State on that High School diploma they paid for with their hard-earned tax dollars.

Then last night, I saw it again. Wade on one side of the frame, sometimes with Joe DeCamilis in his ear from time to time, watching the offense continue to sputter because of Jason’s unwillingness, or inability, to establish some sort of rhythm and identity. Jason off in some corner looking at photos (presumably not of Cowboys Cheerleaders).

I heard Collinsworth say something to the effect that Wade’s defense was doing everything it could to win this game but his offense was in a slump “well, really it’s Jason Garrett’s offense”. Really? Did Chris really say that? Is that what we have become? The functional and philosophical lines of distinction are now so completely apart that the offense of the Cowboys is no longer Wade’s? Can I even use the word “team” in this context anymore without inviting a claim of falsehood?  

How many times did Wade actually go over and talk to Garrett during the game? Remember, this is the guy who WORKS FOR Wade. This is the guy who’s running a unit no better than Brian Stewart ran the Dallas defense over a year ago. Come on, it’s been 2 years now. I saw Wade shake his head when they threw those smoke routes and WR screens incessantly…as though they were under strict orders from Obama to get the ball out there to Dez so he could showcase his skills. I saw Joe D talking to Wade when they stopped running the ball, while sprinkling in play action, in favor of trickery.

I saw Organizational dysfunction and discord.

So I’ll go ahead and call a Wade a Wade here and say that there is something brewing between Jason and Wade. I think there is either no communication or tortured communication between them and it’s gotten to the point where the offensive and defensive game plans don’t have a nexus point. They never blend in terms of strategy and tactics. I think Dallas is a house divided when it comes to this coaching staff and I have to credit Wade (okay, jeer all you want…I can give Winnie kudos when they are due) for standing up there and saying, “it’s my fault” when asked why Choice doesn’t just sit down at the end of the half. There’s a ton of coaches who wouldn’t do that, and we all know it wasn’t Wade’s fault. Respect.

But, my impression of this situation is that, if I were asked to come in and flush out the issues that are keeping Dallas from living up to their hype, there is a ‘Great Wall of Jerry’ that sits smack dab in between these two men and it protects Jason from the kind of oversight and (in this case) accountability for doing a better job or finding a different one. The only problem for diehard fans is that there’s no Brian Stewart to fire this time.  

Unless something changes, this Season of Jerry will not end well.  

GO COWBOYS!