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2017-2018 Regular Season:
Cowboys Suffer Another Late Game Anxiety Attack
Against The Pack And Giving 49ers A Try Following The Bye
- October 19, 2017 At 10:57 PM CST
By Eric M. Scharf
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- “America’s Team” – for the second straight week – had multiple
opportunities to carefully close out winnable games instead of
indulging in more of the same mental mistakes that have left the
Cowboys’ postseason prospects looking bleak.
The Dallas Cowboys fell 35-31 in eerily familiar ways to the
Green Bay Packers and their “bad man,” who can never be granted any
timely opportunities to deliver game-winning plays.
“But they were facing Aaron Rodgers,” you say?
“But there are still 11 games remaining in the regular season,” you
say?
“But the experts say a 9-7 record could still get an NFC East team
into the playoffs as a wildcard,” you say?
“But star players (like Aaron Rodgers) from other teams (like none
other than the Green Bay Packers) get hurt all the time,” you say?
That is like the daughter of “The Tortured Cowboys Fan” – once again
– explaining how “everyone else also got a ‘C’ on that big test in
social studies class.” Just an ounce of her “adorable” sass, but let us not digress from the Cowboys’ current mental mess.
Achieving ultimate success in any professional team sport may begin
with – but is never about – targeting the lowest common denominator, which (in all but the most rare and magical of moments) only
exposes a team to an earliest possible eliminator.
The Cowboys – like all other teams in the league – have needed to
perform without one or more key players, thus exposing themselves to
less-experienced, less-prepared fill-ins who naturally suffer
untimely mental fatigue. Cowboys Nation knows who those (promising
to puzzling) players are, and the Cowboys – from coaches to
players – (still) need to do much better with in-game situational
adjustments if they hope to give those stand-ins a prayer and a
better opportunity to go far.
“Everyone knows” the 16-game NFL season can quickly go from marathon
to sprint, and the Cowboys still have time to make the mental
adjustments to recapture their ultimate goal glint.
“Everyone knows” that struggling to stifle an opponent’s superstar
quarterback is one thing, but failing – in crucial moments – to
stop (or simply slow) enough of his other 10 teammates is what
should really sting.
Short Shots And Hot Spots
The bad call bandit is seemingly still haunting the Cowboys /
Packers series from the 2014 playoffs to the most recent regular
season game. Dez Bryant got a freebee in the end zone, though
the actual rule dictates the officials throw the helmet-touched
player a bone. Aaron Rodgers also should have been called for (the
practically extinct) intentional grounding late in the game.
Officials must love taking the blame.
Who was spying Aaron Rodgers on his critical late-game 18-yard run?
Seemingly no one. If Sean Lee – prevented from participating due to
a hamstring injury – had been available, perhaps Rodgers would not
have had nearly as much fun. Then, again, Lee was clear-and-present
during last year’s postseason loss, so it might not, in fact, have
mattered if the Cowboys had their defensive boss. Perception can,
indeed, be reality.
Dak Prescott is facing the possibility of long-term entrance into
his own version of the pre-2014 Romo Zone, where painful roster
limitations left the Cowboys’ former star QB feeling like he had to
go it alone. He is seeing what it is like to
potentially-and-simultaneously have to succeed with an imperfect
offensive line, an inconsistent number one receiver, a(n
understandably) distracted star running back, and a perpetually
struggling defense. Tony Romo was always infamously cursed for
(impulsively) trying to do too much, even when roster (and some
play call) conditions practically egged him onto using a
win-it-yourself touch.
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- Following the release of T.O. (Terrell
Owens), Romo only once had a truly unreliable number one receiver, and that was only because Miles Austin’s body – seemingly on a
whim – began to wickedly fail on him. Austin regularly ran crisp routes and
almost always demonstrated Kung Fu grip hands whether running go’s,
in’s, or out’s. Roy Williams (one-time productive number one for the
Detroit Lions) seemingly lost any remaining reliability the moment
the Cowboys acquired him and his bag of receiving tricks (for
first-and-third round picks).
Why is it that when the Packers are forced to play without their top
wide receiver (Jordy Nelson) for part or all of the given game,
“Marinelli’s Men” cannot seem to keep their other, lesser receivers
within a reasonably tidy frame?
Dez caught the 70th touchdown of his career but – in the
continued absence of greater separation in front of Cowboys Nation –
an increasing number of cornerbacks are showing less and less fear.
The demonstrable demise (?) of Dez’s dominance is a dead horse
pleading for no further beating, but that will only stop once
Bryant no longer resembles just another receiver who allows
(unreasonably) cocky cornerbacks in single coverage to prevent him
from eating. Dez is not getting paid superstar money for role player
results. Dez does not get to be the receiver kept feebly in front of
defenders who increasingly sling over-the-hill insults. Fans know he
is trying, but well-chronicled routinely-routed technique
demons he must get better at regularly defying.
Veteran center Travis Frederick – with his infamous and powerful
forearm lockdown trap – should never, ever allow himself to be
flagged for any holding penalty crap.
Jourdan Lewis – even in getting burned for the Packers’ winning
touchdown – has proven no mere rookie. He performed admirably on the
play before and clearly has the secondary skills Cowboys Nation
(have desperately missed for years and) absolutely adore. Who knows?
Lewis could end up acquiring the DROTY (Defensive Rookie Of The
Year) cookie.
Terrance Williams cannot spend most of a game making almost nary a
play . . . to then participating in the loudest tip-for-pick-6 on
the day. His uncommonly lazy mitts – and disinterested (or shocked)
pursuit – was underwhelming towards preventing the Packers'
Damarious Randall from enjoying his touchdown loot.
It seems the more “everyone” insists Tyron Smith is not playing hurt, the louder the bulging disc in his back doth painfully blurt.
Smith has been a real soldier playing through that years-old injury.
The combined Cowboys’ staff of strength-and-conditioning / medical
has done an admirable job “managing” (and medicating) a problem that
could easily become more damaging. Nonetheless and make no mistake, any insistence that Tyron will not ultimately – sooner than
later – require surgery to alleviate his condition is simply alarm
avoidance and fake. Next time Smith gets beaten by a lesser skill, perhaps Cowboys Nation will calmly remember their favorite left
tackle is trying to perform while bending an increasingly stubborn
body restriction to his will.
It cannot be said enough that the Cowboys coaching staff –
primarily Jason Garrett and Scott Linehan – seem perpetually
unprepared for situational football stuff. Red Ball preaches that
they practice such scenarios all the time, but the results continue
to suggest responsible adults have been doing not enough. Yes, Rod
Marinelli gets a partial pass, because inconsistent player
availability has routinely diminished unit capability.
Defensive tackle Stephen Paea – a journeyman rotational player with
a nagging knee injury with veteran knowledge of Marinelli’s scheme –
announced his retirement during the bye week from Dallas’ team. The
Tortured Cowboys Fan had theorized his sudden exit might have had
something to do with a certain protest situation, but his battered
body part clearly required a permanent vacation.
While promising project and second-year tight end Rico Gathers is
due back from the preseason concussion that landed him on short-term
injured reserve, he has merely returned to sideline strength and
conditioning activities on a
coach-mandated slow, safe
curve.
Not Your Father’s Tampa 2
As The Tortured Cowboys Fan never shy's away from a
factual reason to tastefully and technically deride, is it
possible (GASP) that Dr. Marinelli's prescription for triangulation
is becoming a recipe for talent strangulation? Is it possible – like
close coaching colleagues Monte Kiffin and Lovie Smith – Rod is
determined that what worked so well in Tampa Bay has not become a
successfully-diagnosed and bygone myth?
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- Is Marinelli still (publicly
and privately) convinced – from years of proven blood, sweat, and
tears – that such a previously successful scheme (to a lesser degree
in Chicago) is, in fact, not limited by the need for specific mental
and physical talent seemingly procured from a draft day dream? Even
with an offseason of demonstrative defensive drafting, the selected
talent is promising but not yet ideal, regularly slipping on a(n expected) rookie learning curve banana peel. Fans may find out –
with current challenges and by year's end – the Tampa 2 is
officially too far around the bend.
The defensive challenge is twofold for a scheme some in NFL circles
may consider too inflexible (to withstand an increasingly
pro-offense NFL) and which fair weather fans view as simply too old.
There is stomach-churning irony in the determined discipline players
must display through gap-minding and zone-patrolling themes of
Marinelli’s scheme.
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- Rod could have the very best-and-healthiest
players from the 2003 Super Bowl Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense but –
without the discipline to mind their front four gaps or swarm to the
football before their zone coverage destructively snaps – fans would
rightfully continue to take offense. Marinelli does not even
remotely have the same depth and quality of defensive players from
that squad, and it is no wonder that less capable talents
attempting to fulfill the same responsibilities look so
feast-or-famine flawed.
The red-shirted Jaylon Smith having to suddenly role play (as
play-calling middle linebacker Anthony Hitchens) was a daunting task, but also going without Sean Lee has almost always been an
impossible ask. The Tortured Cowboys Fan has been somewhat impressed
that Marinelli has not yet reached for a hard liquor flask, but
Rod is as tough as they come, having enjoyed and endured (nearly)
equal parts well-heeled success and undermanned excess to ever allow
himself to be prematurely dumped into a career-ending cask.
Does the lack of appropriate personnel always mean the Tampa 2 is a
brutal sell? “In Rod We Trust” has always been celebrated for
getting more from his players than would any amount of game day
prayers. The benefit of a reasonably deep defensive line rotation –
stitched together in previous years with many a street free agent in
need of tremendous technique detergent – has also helped somewhat
subdue unfulfilled performance expectation.
That rotation, of course, has needed more depth-defying
self-motivation, with rookie defensive end Vidauntae “Taco”
Charlton playing more like a taco salad charlatan and Charles “Tough
Luck” Tapper once again on an injured reserve vacation. Taco
Charlton could be a late bloomer like the Seattle Seahawks’ Michael
Bennett and his certainly familiar brother, Green Bay’s Martellus
Bennett, or he could be like former New York Jets workout
warrior and draft day distorter, Vernon Gholston, who simply could
not hack it. Nonetheless, (most) fans understand that Taco is but an
a la carte dish from an entire platter of defensive menu items that
matter.
At the end of the day – however and since Rod’s arrival in 2014 –
“everyone” has been waiting on a proven defensive system to display
consistent, reliable proof of premium play. Perhaps – before the
most important person in the Cowboys’ organization ultimately loses
his patience – Marinelli’s Men will stop suffering untimely
injuries, show more naturally aspirated discipline in their
assignments, and begin showcasing a sustainably successful defensive
fragrance.
Rod may not be running your father’s Tampa 2 – with ideal,
playbook-primed talent through and through, but his
carefully-crafted practices and largely meat-and-potatoes play calls
have progressively shifted responsibility for the magic execution
mix (that will produce the desired fix) to veteran players on the
field who know where to go and (can remind their rookie teammates)
what to do.
A Week Without Zeke
The Cowboys have – thus far – been spared the pleasure of a week
without Zeke, while the NFL and Zeke’s attorneys (in partnership
with the NFLPA) continue their legal spar, in determining –
among other things – if Zeke can go from TRO (Temporary Restraining
Order) to at least a PI (Permanent Injunction), allowing Elliott the
rest of the season uninterrupted to fulfill his game day function.
Though well-documented proof exists of the NFL’s mishandled
judgement process (as the end-effector of the CBA’s personal conduct
policy) and having purposely ignored or suppressed the definitive
recommendation of its own Director of Investigations, it would
take a serious change in past precedent weather for the courts to
vacate Zeke’s suspension altogether.
The Cowboys have also been spared the teaching and learning moment
of the healthy, situational “All Hands On Deck” challenge of
preventing themselves from being weak without Zeke.
Jason Garrett and the Dallas Cowboys will never fully appreciate and
be truly prepared for situational football – contrary to his regular
claim that has proven repeatedly lame – until they are forced to
utilize more of their roster to avoid a performance and standings
fall.
The Tortured Cowboys Fan regaled the “Twitterverse” with the same
thought, encouraging followers to believe “Garrett’s Gang” can
more than survive the potential absence of a given (and very
talented) player if they utilize their full roster rather than leave
more experienced, quite capable, fresh-legged solutions to rot.
Alfred “A-Train” Morris (utilized just a little but ready for a
bigger battle) and Darren “Run DMC” McFadden (inactive all season
long but ready to hit the edge fast and strong). These fellas’ may
be older, but they still confidently navigate the creases and
make receptions on the perimeter in ways that should only help the
Cowboys (and ‘some’ sky-is-falling fans) feel bolder.
“What about more accurate passing from Dak” you say? The Tortured
Cowboys Fan has previously explored this
righteous-yet-oversimplified desire following more than one 2017
game day. As repeatedly stated, Dak – just Tony Romo before him
– deserves regularly reliable offensive line protection, receivers
who can consistently separate, and play-calls which encourage more
rollouts to help prevent any increase in pass attempts from becoming
ill-fated.
“What about more hurry up offense from Dak” you say? If Marinelli’s
Men were a deeper, sturdier, more complete unit, Dak and the rest of
the Linehan Clan would be hurrying up – like Jim Kelly and the
Buffalo Bills’ K-Gun or Boomer Esiason and the Bengals’ Attack – on
almost every play.
Reality dictates – if the Cowboys must eventually endure a week or
more without Zeke – that Dak deserves and can receive more from ALL
52 of his fellow roster riders and ALL 45 of his active game day
partners for America’s Team to successfully avoid looking weak.
Will They Or Won’t They?
America’s Team emerges from their bye seemingly determined to start
proving last season was no one hit wonder and certainly no lie.
The Dallas Cowboys enter Levi’s Stadium to face one of their few
non-divisional age-old foes.
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- The San Francisco 49ers are far removed from their days as
postseason titans, and they are enduring a cornucopia of performance
lows, but they continue to bring enough game day effort to keep
any opponent-respecting team like the Cowboys on every single one of
their battle-hardened toes.
Will Marinelli’s Men allow the 49ers’ rookie QB C.J. Beathard – with
veterans Carlos Hyde and Pierre Garcon – to develop any kind of
rhythm, or will they go out of their way to stop ‘em?
Will the Cowboys (unforgivably) allow this game to become a trap, or will a greater range of their roster successfully display the
play execution necessary for their two-game losing streak to snap?
Will the Cowboys exit their bye mentally reborn or – through
more gray matter cuts – will they become further torn?
We shall see. We always do.
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