Ever since Jason Garrett’s introductory press conference, Cowboys fans have been wondering how personnel decisions are being made in Dallas these days.  Jerry alluded to giving Garrett final veto power that day, but Jerry retains the GM title and still blusters like he’s pulling all the strings.  Garrett paints a vague picture of a triumvirate (including Stephen) making decisions together in happy harmony.  We’ll probably never know who really wields how much influence, but an imaginary behind-the-scenes (and into the brains) peek into their strategy meetings this preseason reveals that the Red-Headed Genius is turning from puppet into puppeteer...

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This is football, not poker.  And I don’t even know much about poker, just some fancy terminology I’ve picked up from watching poker on tv out of sheer boredom.  But I’m a big fan of metaphors, and the Eagles started this poker one by declaring themselves "all in" with their offseason frenzy.  The theme continues around the NFC East where the Redskins have essentially folded on the season by letting Beck/Grossman play QB and the Giants are trying to bluff their way into contention on their "but we won that Super Bowl with this team/coach" reputation.  Throw in Jason Garrett’s poker face and Jerry’s reputation as a Wild West Gambler, and we have the makings of an interesting way to examine my hopes for the Cowboys season. 

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The 2011 draft is old news.  By now most of us loyal Cowboys fans have completed the usual post-draft reaction phases: 

Denial - (for 5 minutes after pick #40: “surely they’re about to announce that Jerry actually traded this pick to the Raiders who picked Bruce Carter”)

Anger (for 3 hours after pick #71:  “Another running back?!?!”)

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With the draft just days away now, almost all of the workouts, interviews, and grading are done.  All that remains is the speculating, which happens to be something I do just as well as the next guy.  You may recall my previous fanpost, “Jerry’s Draft Rules” (http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2011/3/7/2035524/jerrys-draft-rules).  The project is to think like Jerry, to translate draft history and Jerry-speak into identifiable trends that will help me to predict the rationale behind what may transpire on draft day.  Maybe Jerry does throw darts to make his picks—but let’s face it, he does at least know what he’s aiming at before he lets go.

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My goal for this year’s draft build-up is to know what the Cowboys are going to do on draft day before they do it.  I have my own opinions about draft needs and player ratings, but I’m more interested in understanding what Jerry’s strategy will be and then watching it unfold.  There are a couple of ways to get there, with the best of course being reliable inside information.  But since I don’t have any connections (and wouldn’t trust them in this smoke-and-mirrors season anyway), the best I can do is to look at drafts from the past to see how Jerry thinks on that all-important day.

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Dear Roy Williams,

You may recall that earlier this season, I wrote to you to officially congratulate you on a job well done over the first five weeks of the season (if not, you can look it up here: http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/10/17/1758404/dont-forget-to-apologize.)  Not only did I notice your excellent play at the #2 WR position, I gave everyone on this blog the opportunity to apologize for an offseason of doubting and tormenting you.  I even gave you the high praise that you were "one of the few guys who has done his job well, consistently, and without making the bonehead play at a crucial time to cost us the game."

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I see 3 possible scenarios for the rest of the season.  As none of them end in the playoffs and Super Bowl glory, I'm a little conflicted as to which one to wish for as the season painfully unfolds.  So help me out--as a diehard Cowboy fan, which would you rather see over the final 10 games?

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to Roy Williams.  In the middle of the wasteland of a 5-game opening stretch, Roy's been one of the few guys who has done his job well, consistently, and without making the bonehead play at a crucial time to cost us the game.  Now there are plenty of things to hate about this season and/or team, but Roy has been a good, if not great, #2 WR.  So if you're one of those guys that spent the entire offseason, training camp, and preseason saying that Roy is the weakest link on the team, or should be cut outright, or that you'd rather have had Crayton in there, or Ogletree, or Hurd, or whoever--this is the place to admit that you were wrong and apologize.

Roy--you have played very well, made some very difficult catches, and taken some good licks while hanging onto the ball.  And of course, continued your trademark blocking and coachability with the usual candor and goodwill.  Keep up the good work.

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Hey, it's an attempt to be funny at this boring time of year...

but for those of you who already have enough humor in your lives and really enjoy the endless Patrick Crayton conversations, why not debate the merits of PC vs Sam Hurd as a #5 WR and special teams guy?  Personally, I'd rather see Hurd make the cut, because he's a much more valuable special teams guy.  With newbies needing to take over for Carpenter, Watkins (I hope), Buehler, and Octavian, the coverage teams could use Hurd's experience.  Plus, Hurd hasn't done much with the time he's had at WR in real games, but it does look like Romo trusts him and he's got more upside than Crayton.

First off, kudos to Jerry and the boys on an excellent season.  Sure the ending was disappointing, but we won the East, beat the snot out of the Eagles--twice, silenced that mess in Washington (good luck, Mr. Shanahan...), and proved we belong in the conversation of the NFL's elite.  Given where we were after September, I'll take it.  Things are looking GOOD for the foreseeable future!

That said, there's a lot of work to be done to get this team ready for the run towards a home-field Super Bowl in 2011.  Here's my to-do list for GM Jerry and his staff:

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Everybody has an opinion on what's wrong with the Cowboys offense.  It's Romo.  It's Garrett.  It's the WRs, or lack thereof.  It's the pass protection.  It's all of the above.  Well, sitting here on my couch 2000 miles from Dallas, it's obvious that I don't have the answer either.  But since everyone else is doing it, here's my two cents, which I hope is a bit more sophisticated (and accurate) than a "Romo sucks!" chant.

1) The offense is more complicated than the players can handle right now.

Evidence:  The delay-of-game penalty in Denver, and the repeated close calls with the playclock.  QB reminding guys of where to line up in formations.  Poor blitz recognition and pickups.  Repeated miscommunications between QBs and receivers. 

The Problem:  Specifically, Romo has too much going on in his head pre-snap, and he's not doing a good enough job of handling all the reading, reminding, and decision-making.  In addition to all of that, he's trying to change his leadership style between snaps and on the sidelines.  Blame it on Garrett's scheme and calls, Gurode's poor protection calls, mistakes at WR, or Romo's intelligence, practice habits, or dating life.  One way or the other, somebody has to give Romo some breathing room to concentrate on playing his position because the "field general" thing is leading to too many mistakes.

Suggested Solutions:

-Simplify the offense.  I'm not suggesting going back to the Quincy "half of the field" Carter offense, just not worrying so much about getting the perfect matchups.  -Quit calling two plays in the huddle.  How many times has Romo gone to the line, scanned the D and killed the first option, only to have the D shift.  And part of the run-pass ratio problem is that Romo audibles out of a lot of running plays (which is why we rarely run on first down, I think). I don't know for sure that Dallas is actually calling two plays most of the time, or whether this is common practice throughout the league, and again, I'm making a diagnosis with no knowledge of what's actually going on in the huddle or on audibles.  But whether Romo is calling his own plays at the line or just switching to Plan B, it's not working.  Audibles can be great at times, but Romo isn't Peyton, and sometimes you've got to just line up and beat the other guys even if they have the right play called against yours.

-Give somebody else the job of calling protection assignments.  I can't comment on Gurode's intelligence, but I'm pretty sure that most teams have the center calling the protection schemes and the QB isn't overly involved.  If the QB is thinking about getting his protection lined up, he's not thinking about where he's going to throw it.  I don't know enough to make an intelligent suggestion of who should be doing this, but it doesn't appear that Gurode's up to the task.

- Throw in a little no-huddle or half-hurried offense from time to time, or at least some rollouts.  Not all the time, but just occasionally so that you get Romo to rely on his instincts instead of his head.  Most of his turnovers these days are mental breakdowns, not from forcing things like his first few years.  Maybe "bad Romo" isn't gone for good, but in chasing him off Garrett has also chased off "good Romo" in the process.

- Patience.  Maybe it's just a matter of getting used to the new wrinkles, making some adjustments to what the defense are throwing at them, and getting out of their own way.  Maybe time and experience will lead to some growth that will pay off in December and January.

2) Garrett is smarter than he needs to be.

Evidence: Back-to-back endzone fade passes against Carolina.  Back-to-back endzone slants to Hurd vs Denver.  Overall tendency to go against conventional wisdom--i.e. passing on first downs, second downs, and third downs.

The problem:  Garrett's either an idiot, too stupid to realize that you don't succeed by doing the above mentioned things, or he's trying to be smarter than everyone else in the room, thinking that those things will work just because the defense expects him to NOT do them.  Now we know that Garrett's not an idiot--he went to Princeton and played QB in the NFL for a long time, and idiots don't do that.  So quite simply, Garrett's too smart for his own good sometimes.  He plays that annoying "I know that you know that I know what you think I'm thinking" game too often, guessing what the other guys aren't expecting and then trying that.  And on top of that, he tries to get the perfect matchup, formation, and play call every time, leading to the above over-complication of the offense.

Suggested Solution:  Garrett needs a Sparano to keep him grounded, someone in his ear to check him when he's overthinking things, someone to remind him to run in the second half.  I don't know that that guy is on the Cowboys staff right now, but this is what happens when you pay the offensive coordinator a ton of money and tell the Head Coach to keep his nose out of the offense.

So in this time of football-deprivation, I've been watching Michael Irvin's 4th-and-Long reality show.  And I've gotta say I've enjoyed the show so far, especially the appearances of the legendary Cowboys of old (although watching Nate "the Turk" Newton is truly painful).  The competition has had its entertaining and compelling moments, even if remain skeptical that Irvin will indeed be able to deliver the "ballplayer" that Jerry is looking for.  The desire and drive that the remaining players have shown throughout the competition has left me thinking:  this is what the NFL Draft Combine should look like.

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I've given up on trying to make sense of the Cowboys draft--gotta just trust and follow along obediently at this point.  Good thing I'm religious!  Anyway, with nothing better to do, I'm going to put the "counting your chickens before they hatch" thing to the test.

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This just in from the NFL newswire:

The NFL Officiating Office is looking into several alleged equipment violations by the Philadelphia Eagles following their loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Monday night. Following the game, league officials confiscated several items from the Eagles equipment manager, and the helmets from RB Brian Westbrook and the Eagles defensive line. Sources indicated there is suspicion that oversized faceguards on the helmets may have contributed to the numerous facemask and illegal hands to the face penalties against Dallas and other plays where fouls could have been called.

NFL Head Official Mike Periera would not go into the details of the investigation. "The NFL takes the issue of Performance Enhancing Equipment (PEE) very seriously," he said. "I sincerely hope we don’t have a case of PEE on our hands."

The Cowboys’ offensive and defensive lines both had trouble keeping their hands free from Philadelphia helmets all night long. Dallas defensive tackle Marcus Spears said after the game, "You’d go to grab him (Westbrook) at the waist and end up caught in his facemask. It was [weird], like he was aiming his head at our hands or something."

Other items confiscated included a jersey from QB Donovan McNabb and a GPS transmitter found in the helmet of receiver DeSean Jackson. Cowboys Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware and his linemates had trouble bringing down McNabb all game. "It was like his jersey was made from some super-synthetic stretchable material or something. Slippery, too."

Dallas head coach Wade Phillips said he couldn’t comment on the investigation, but offered this analysis of his defense: "I’m not one to look for excuses, but this team was 13-3 last year, and all of the sudden our defense can’t tackle? That sure would explain a lot."

- Former Eagle turned Cowboy WR Terrell Owens said that he was not aware of any equipment violations while he was with the team, but "now that I’m gone, I wouldn’t be surprised to find PEE in every corner of their locker room."

- in a potentially related development, Cowboys’ team managers noted several items were missing from the Cowboys locker room after the game, including a case of Tony Romo’s stick-um adhesive and the "blitz package" section of defensive coordinator Brian Stewart’s playbook. Also, Roy Williams’ mojo was nowhere to be found. Lawyers from Tatum Bell were not returning calls.

I just saw this info over at nfl.com:

The rest of the 2008 NFL season will be officially played in honor of injured New England QB Tom Brady. A statement released by the commissioner's office notes the significant impact the Patriots' superstar has had on the league for the last decade and dedicates the rest of the regular season and playoffs to the injured QB. Commish Roger Goodell stated, "The season-ending injury to Tom is a significant loss not only to the Patriots but to the entire NFL. His absence will be felt around the league, affecting the competitive balance on the field as well as the media, marketing, and economic arenas. Honoring Tom by playing the season in his name is the right thing to do, the least that we can do to acknowledge the impact that he has upon us all."

The most noticeable measure will come in the form of a uniform patch, similar to the "GU 63" patch on all teams’ jerseys this year. The Brady patch will be a simple "-12" on the left shoulder. Indianapolis Colts president Bill Polian acknowledged that this is an appropriate symbol of honor for a fallen rival. "With the loss of Gene and now Tom, this has been a bleak year for the NFL. Of course we have to move forward, but we can still let them know that we feel their loss."

Reaction from players around the league was mixed. Cowboys linebacker and captain Bradie James said that without Brady on the field, the Cowboys’ path to the Super Bowl won’t mean as much. "A hollow victory," said James. "If you don’t [beat] the best, it’s not as good. So this patch will get me pumped up for next year when Tom’s back and the games mean something again."

Brett Favre wasn’t impressed by the news. "I was retired for almost two months. Where’s my patch?" he said. "If the league makes me wear [the "-12" patch] I’ll demand a trade to the CFL."

But Kansas City’s Bernard Pollard, whose borderline hit ended Brady’s season, likes the idea. "It’s a good tribute," he said. "I’ll wear the badge with pride. I’m just glad the league is still letting me play after taking out the face of the league."

Brady was not available for comment, but his agent released a statement that read simply " ‘All the right things’ – Tom Brady. We know that’s what he would say if he were here."

- Patriots coach Bill Belichick wasn’t thrilled with the attention being given to his injured star. "One man goes down, and the next steps in and does his job. That’s why we have a 53-man roster. If they want to recognize Tom, maybe a patch that said "system" would be more appropriate," Belichick said

- Each franchise will be allowed to honor Brady in their own way, although the NFL is suggesting that all teams designate one home game as "Minus Twelve Day." Fans will be given t-shirts with the number 13 in Patriots red-and-blue, honoring Brady as the true "twelfth man."

- Apparently the NFL debated changing the name of this year’s Super Bowl in Brady’s honor, but corporate licensing agreements would not allow it. Instead, the Super Bowl MVP trophy will be named after Brady, and the Lombardi trophy awarded to this year’s champs will have Brady’s name engraved on it. "As it should be," said Goodell, "he would have won it anyway."