-
-
-
2008-2009 Regular Season: Postgame - From
Concrete To Cake
-
- October 19, 2008 At
4:00 PM EST
- By
Eric M. Scharf
Eventually, the Cowboys are going to quit reminding everyone (after
a poor performance) that every team gets up for them. Who cares?
Nobody wants to hear excuses and that is an excuse. What good is
Brad Johnson, or his craftiness, or his veteran experience, if he
cannot get more than a handful of passes completed?
-
- What good is
Jason Witten if he adds another false-start penalty? Who cares how
loud it is in the Edward Jones Dome? All teams who play a Rams home
game have to play in there. Boohoo! Where is the whambulance? What
good is Roy Williams if the Cowboys are not willing to have him run
go routes all day (dragging at least one defender with him and AWAY
from T.O., Witten, and Crayton)?
The defense is clearly going to continue to struggle and
nearly-get-killed in every game until one or two players return, or
other younger players decide to learn on the job a little
faster-and-better, or the defensive scheme is altered to make proper
use of the AVAILABLE talent.
-
- People - there are things (and have
been things) happening in today's game and the past couple, that
other teams with lesser talent and allegedly inferior coaching
ability have found a way to combat, fix, and, ultimately, win. Why
oh why does this team only perform when the conditions are perfect?
Why is it so incredibly alien to this team to be able to perform
under adverse conditions?
-
- All of the "lesser" teams talk about it
all the time? OF COURSE, they must be used to it. That is the
ticket.
So, if you are not used to adversity, if you are not conditioned to
work through adversity (much like the Ravens, in previous years,
would still pull off a win despite of their offensive limitations),
then, like the Cowboys, you will fall apart.
-
- The players we have,
even the players that other teams have, simply cannot be that "flat"
or (1) devoid of determination, (2) devoid of heart, (3) devoid of
knowing which plays are being called, (4) devoid of knowing what
defenses are appropriate for the offense you are facing and being
able to audible into another formation, or (5) devoid of which
players receive which assignments along the defensive line and in
the secondary.
There is something more here, which transcends every team simply
"getting up to play the Cowboys." I have no idea for whom it is the
Cowboys are waiting to ride on his white horse to save the team from
itself. Jimmy Johnson is not coming back (and with a team that
demands respect before performance, they would not fear or listen to
him, either).
-
- Pacman Jones may never come back from his latest
suspension, and he is just a symptom of the greater problem. He has
been playing no better than the rest of his defensive teammates.
What about when Newman returns when healthy? No difference.
-
- You will
see the same quality of play, the same level of effort, and the same
problems. Unbelievable, and, yet, with this team weakening from
concrete-to-cake in just one off-season, anything is believable.
|
