What’s
Wrong with the Dallas Cowboys II
First and foremost, a
team must play all three quarters and not one. Lamb and Cooper being out hurts
the passing game, but when you have the 15million dollar man and his 35 million
dollar handler and one helluva second stringer, special team stud Pollard, you
would perhaps concentrate on the running game. One would think.
I go back to days when
Jones and Johnson took over the team and had nothing of consequence to work
with. Well, that’s not exactly true. They had jay Novacek and exploited him to
the max. Memory serves me right, he set a single season record on receptions.
While the offense wasn’t flashy by any means it was moving for there was no
running game or deep threat on the roster. That would change with the
acquisitions of Irvin and Smith, but it was the short outs to Jay that laid the
ground work for what would become one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL.
The difference between
now and then is the whining and complaining. There were a host of bad calls in
yesterdays game on both teams. Pass interference and holding have taken on the
most ridiculous proportions since I started watching the game back in 1967, I’m
sick of it. The only PI call I agree with was when Brown didn’t turn around to
pick of the ball and ran into the receiver. Other than that, the others were
bogus at best. And holding. Good Lord. Unless the offensive lineman doesn’t bull
dog the defender to the ground, let them play! I’m tired of the game being PC
correct and not letting these so called, “warriors, gladiators, heroes,” mix it
up like they used to. Football used to
be a full contact sport. Thanks to replay and ESPN and their crap, it’s
becoming noting more than an over priced ballet.
Back to the Cowboys, they
have Schultz, modern day Novacek, Witten to keep the linebackers, corners
honest. Gallup is back to keep the safeties busy. Wilson is at best is a decoy,
for you can’t count on him to catch anything but a cold. So, that leaves you
with the running game. The boys gained a total of 61 yards. That’s it. 61 yards
and they supposedly have one of the premier running backs in the league?
Obviously not. Talk about being overpaid
and a bust, that’s Elliot. While his back-up, Pollard gained eleven yards more
than his contemporary for a total of 36. Yet, he lit it up on kick returns with
129 yards. Now, that’s impressive. Head to head Pollard and Elliot have rushed
for the exact same number of yards, yet Elliot is making six times more a year.
Yeah, that was good contract extension Jerry. Overall. Elliot is leading
Pollard in total yards by 189 yards. Again, not very impressive. Actually, that’s
pretty pathetic especially when you look back at the league’s greatest runners:
Sanders, Smith, Dorsett, Riggins, Owens, Sayers and Brown. These men were paid
to run, whether they had a good front line or not and they didn’t disappoint.
That is all this current Cowboys team ins doing, disappoint on an epic scale!
If they would have played
all four quarters instead of the last one, they would have been victorious over
the Raiders. Thanks to the stalwart effort of Parsons, like Heyward with the
Steelers Monday night, he kept the team in the hunt and never let up. That
attitude and gamesmanship needs to start infecting the offense and rapidly. He is
showing not only a great handle of the game, but he is also trying to lead and
take control of the defense. Who is doing it on the offense? No one.
With six games left, five
against division rivals, it is time for someone to take control and start
holding players accountable. While they should handle the Saints with relative
ease, the Giants, Redskins and Eagles would like nothing more than to knock off
their arch rival and watch them tumble in the standings.
So, the Cowboys have a
choice, get with the program and start playing to their potential or they are
going to watch their division lead evaporate and they, like the Rangers, will
be watching the playoffs from their couches.
