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- 2018-2019
Regular Season: Cowboys Caught By Cats With Next Opponent Looming
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This edition of "The Tortured
Cowboys Fan" has also been published by the fine folks at
Sports TalkLine.
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September 12, 2018 At 4:00 AM CST
By Eric M. Scharf-
- Adjustments are a part of life. Those who intermittently ignore
this fact are bound to encounter occasional strife. Those who
regularly defy this daily detail are fated to see their goals
continually derail.
The urban definition of insanity is "doing the exact same thing over
and over again, expecting the result to change.”
Adjustments become even more important when your decisions impact
those around you . . . who may be specifically conditioned (with
rare exception) to seek your guidance on how, what, where, when, and
why to do.
A professional football organization – comprised of 46 active game
day players divided among offense, defense, and special teams –
requires all types of plans, chief among them being the
forward-thinking kind . . . as long as – perhaps – the head coach
and the offensive coordinator do not mind.
“America’s Team” traveled to Bank of America Stadium to play their
first game of the 2018-2019 NFL campaign. Roster deficiencies were
well-documented for both the Dallas Cowboys and their Carolina
combatants . . . yet the name of the game would largely be
self-inflicted mental pain.
Cowboys Nation would suffer cardiac arrest watching what felt like a
mudslinging contest. While “Marinelli’s Men” demonstrated
significant-if-imperfect competitiveness, “Linehan’s Clan” showed
its 2017 coyote ugliness. The Dallas Cowboys would lose to the
Carolina Panthers 16-8 . . . in a way that fans (of practically any
NFL team) absolutely love to hate.
Teams win and lose, some more than others, but – bar none – it is
HOW a team can lose that intensely bothers. If a team truly competes
(from planned solution to play execution) and still gets beat, the
losing team receives less heat. If a physically-equipped team
stutters (in the absence of creative play-call rudders), angry fans
search for their, um, box cutters.
“Even the best-laid plan can end up in the can, but the Cowboys had
all offseason to flexibly formulate the right plan, hire the right
messengers to implement that plan, and acquire the right talent to
execute that plan,” fans would passionately plea.
“The Cowboys had all offseason to blah, blah, blah” is what the
coaches and players might as well have been hearing . . . unless
they were being addressed by GM Jerry in a manner far less
endearing.
Among Jason Garrett's many management mantras is his "right kind of
guys" focus. While that concept has ideally been about avoiding
players so bogus, offensive coordinator Scott Linehan continues to
engage in play-calling hocus pocus.
One might say Linehan embodies the very name of Jane's Addiction's
"Ritual de lo Habitual" album. His career body of work (not just
with Dallas) revolves around a ritual beating of his habitual,
predictable play-calling drum.
If so “many people within NFL circles” insist Jason Garrett and
Scott Linehan really know their stuff . . . then Garrett and Linehan
are clearly obstinate towards making any significant, systemic or
situational play-call adjustments in favor of making the Cowboys’
road any less rough.
Stubbornness to the point of stupidity (even among seemingly
intelligent human beings like Garrett and Linehan) becomes
constricted by the concept of adjust or bust.
Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman – during the game (and to the
shock of only the most myopic of fans) – said "I'm not seeing any
creativity." Instead of conveying any hint of objectivity, Stephen
Jones generally dismissed it as armchair quarterback negativity.
Jones believes the players will come around towards better execution
of called plays. He believes in Dallas’ CCC (Creatively Challenged
Coordinator) and does not see him becoming a Cowboys casualty.
Technicalities or imperfections are to be expected, but using
continuously using technicalities as the excuse should be roundly
rejected. As long as you continue to call plays so robotically,
(still young and impressionable) players will not feel encouraged
enough (and soon enough) to perform autonomously. Carefully
threading the needle (once again) to bypass clear fault may finally
bring one or more coaching opportunities to a grinding halt.
“Fit the system to the players, not the players to the system.” –
Bill “The Big Tuna” Parcells.
“Altering his system to fit his players is one of Bill Parcells’
best attributes.” – Jerry Jones (who only brought Parcells to Dallas
to help him land “Jerry World,” a fact about which he made no
bones).
“Trust the system” is what every coach tells every player, but if
those coaches refuse to adjust their systems to fit their available
athletes, their team rarely have a prayer. The ability to adjust is
a must. Adjustments are not merely a choice but a requirement in
today’s NFL environment.
It Figures
“The Tortured Cowboys Fan” tries hard to avoid being “just another
numbers guy,” but here are some critical figures on the fly.
Dak Prescott – in his last nine games (including the “Cat Scratch
Fever” suffered in Carolina) – went 164-260 pass attempts for 1,676
yards with 6 touchdowns, 9 interceptions, about a 75.0 passer
rating, and a little under 6.5 YPA (Yards Per Attempt). Over that
time frame, Dak has been sacked 28 times, and Dallas’ record is 4-5.
Receiver snaps in Carolina were Cole Beasley with 43, Allen Hurns
with 38, Deonte Thompson with 30, Michael Gallup with 29, Terrance
Williams with 19, and Tavon “I’m Not A Bust” Austin with 9. Outside
of two underwhelming punt returns – due to having no room to burn –
Tavon (who is great in space) had one carry for one yard. After how
he was (under)utilized by the Rams, and after the way Linehan
praised his new “web back,” the kickoff to a fresh approach should
not have been this hard.
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- Dallas point totals in the same games: 7, 9, 6, 38, 30, 20, 12, 6,
and 8. So, going from 6 to 8 must mean the Cowboys are about to
change their fate! Right? Depending upon who you ask, you might be
told to “go, um, fly a kite!”
People who watched the games could see those
poor-protection-effected numbers would make it hard for anyone to
survive, (even though backup center Joe Looney seemed refreshingly
ready and willing on many a drive). Poor play calls (that appear to
ignore the strengths of available athletes), however, tend to
provoke poor decisions, which beget missed assignments, which beget
awful accuracy that collectively crush a team’s chances to establish
some bedrock and begin to thrive. And that is just in reference to
the Cowboys’ offense, which (like a poorly potty-trained pet)
repeatedly left an odoriferous field position mess for the defense.
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- Marinelli's Men – with a small handful of exceptions - did their
collective job . . . in keeping the nimble Newton from completely
running wild and preventing mighty mite McCaffrey from totally
gouging them on the ground and ripping them with his racetrack YAC
(Yards After Catch).
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- While Sean Lee missed an uncommon number of tackles, Jeff Heath also
missed on a potential second quarter interception. It might not have
been game-turning but – on such a humid, cramp-creating day to play
– it would have resulted in a "get the defense off the field"
exemption.
Just when the Cowboys thought they would finally have a balance
between the offense and defense for the first time in years, it
figures they would have to switch gears.
The Name Game
Jean-Jacques Taylor (formerly of ESPN Dallas and currently of NBC
Sports in DFW) asked Cowboys fans on twitter to describe the first
game of the season in four words. Only one acronym came to mind. It
seems appropriate for a season that – based (yes, hysterically) upon
game one – may prove quite a grind.
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Short Shots And Hot Spots
The Cowboys’ new kicker Brett Maher? With but one failed attempt, he
further lowered fan expectation. And with every successive crooked
creation, wagers will grow on how soon he may be sent on (permanent)
vacation.
According to Jason La Canfora (former NFL Network analyst and
current host of "B-More Opinionated") took at twitter bat to the
Cowboys Nation beehive back in late August when he suggested
defensive end Randy Gregory (forevermore on the suspension bubble)
might have steered back in the direction of the same old trouble.
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- ESPN's Adam Schefter conveyed the same message on the eve of game
one. The shower rods were (and remain) out en masse, and (more than
a handful of) some fans think Gregory may be done.
If anyone paid attention to how well Earl “Practice This” Thomas
performed in Seattle’s first game, they know the Seahawks will
confidently remind Jerry that anything less than a first-round pick
in next year’s draft is absolutely lame. Yes, yes, a thousand times
yes to the fact the Seahawks will change their tune as soon as they
reach the “love ‘em or lose ‘em” NFL trading deadline . . . and
accept less.
While the Cowboys signed veteran offensive guard Xavier Su'a-Filo,
the former 41-game starter for the Texans has skills that have
simply been slow to grow. After departing the Titans in preseason,
he appeared to have nowhere else to go. He replaces Kadeem "Here
Today, Gone Tomorrow" Edwards at guard (a position for which
finding depth continues to be hard).
Will They Or Won’t They?
If "if's and but's were candies and nuts," Cowboys Nation would be
cavity-riddled or toothless . . . yet waiting around for coaching
tigers to change their stripes is equally ruthless. Bill Parcells
was-and-is fond of saying "You are what your record says you are."
The Cowboys are lucky they have at least 15 more opportunities this
season to prove (if only to themselves) that game one was just a
result of rust - not an impending bust - and that Dallas can,
indeed, go far.
The G-Men cometh to AT&T Stadium this Sunday evening . . .
pride-driven and determined to leave the host Cowboys and their fans
grieving. The Cowboys need to get past their Carolina catastrophe
and find a way to take charge against visitors so large.
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- It may only be the second game of another survivor season, but a
loss by either team to the other is viewed by fans as nothing less
than treason. More than not wanting to head into week three with an
0-2 mark, however, is the serious need to avoid seeing offensive
output continue to go dark.
Both teams enter Jerry’s Thunderdome with improved defenses,
offensive lines in various stages of disrepair, and quarterback
quandaries.
Will game two devolve into a mediocrity matchup that makes the
collective fan base throw up?
Will the New York Giants’ offensive line be allowed to muster enough
untimely skill to help Saquon Barkley deliver a bitter rushing
attack pill? Will Eli Manning be allowed enough space to find Odell
“Billion Dollar” Beckham, Jr. stave off imminent retirement
planning?
Will Marinelli’s Men tighten up their handful of game one leaks to
ensure no one on New York’s offense peaks? Will Randy Gregory have
recovered enough from his concussion to be a participant or will the
NFL office lay down the mother of all admonishments?
Will Tyron Smith slow his roll with the holding penalties, or will
they continue to be a highlight of opposing team amenities? Will he
and the rest of the embattled offensive line help Dak avoid another
sack and allow Zeke to lay some track . . . or will his
medically-managed back engage in an early-season attack? Will
second-round pick Connor Williams recover enough from a poor game
one result, or will Dallas be forced to see if newly-signed
Su’a-Filo can be the veteran adult?
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- Will Dak give himself a chance to better succeed in the event of
another potential play call bleed? Will Prescott proactively engage
in rollouts, pocket escapability, and the occasional higher-speed
run when he senses his pass protection is all but done? Will it
simply be too much for him to add some passing touch?
Will the Cowboys’ work-in-progress receivers finally include Zeke
for a more dynamic group of retrievers?
Will the Cowboys avert an 0-2 start or will they make deficient
performances into an art?
We shall see. We always do.
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