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- 2019-2020 Regular Season: Cowboys’ Plan Goes Splat Against Pats And Aim To
Deliver Thanksgiving Thrills Against The Visiting Bills
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November 28,
2019 At 6:23 AM CST
By Eric M. Scharf-
- “America’s Team” had just one
job: do not beat yourself and appear the poorly-coached slob. While
the host New England Patriots have not always been the most
physically talented bunch, they have almost always packed a
well-prepared punch. Bill Belichick and his staff carefully study
their foes and often have to do no more than wait for their
adversary to (seriously) stub their mental toes.
The Dallas Cowboys knew the cold and wet forecast. Jason Garrett and
his staff determined they could apply more of their standard
“outlast” and hope – in slinging like David against the Patriots’
Goliath – they were not miscast. Members of “Cowboys Nation” had a
thirst for victory but were prepared for the worst trajectory. New
England may have had the top defense in the league, but with their
offense struggling to sprout, a previously-unthinkable road win was
ripe for smuggling out under such performance fatigue. The Patriots
– as anticipated and in a way that left fans feeling familiarly
constipated – gave the Cowboys just enough room to trigger their own
doom. Dallas lost a very winnable game 13-9 in which their
“routinely preached and practiced” situational awareness (among
other things lacking sturdy springs) could not toe the line.
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- While there were a number of mistakes by "Garrett's Gang," none was
worse than Joe Thomas' (rare) inability to do his special teams
thang. The contest (with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter) had
been weather-beaten, but the score remained even . . . until Joe Thomas
allowed his assignment to break through, block Chris Jones' punt,
and throw the Cowboys' latest "outlast" plan out of order.
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- No matter how routinely rigid "Marinelli's Men" had been in the red
zone, they (like so many faulty fellas' before them) were on the
verge of throwing the Patriots a major bone. Dallas knew better than
to give Tom “Terrific” Brady a short field, yet mere moments later,
a quick touchdown pass Byron "Never Let 'Em See You Look" Jones
would yield.
While the "Hot Boyz" would hold Brady and Co. to just 2 of 3 field
goals the rest of the game, and though "Kellen's Crew" knew what
they needed to do, Dak and Co. simply could not maintain the drives
or produce the points necessary to keep victory within frame.
You Be Trippin’
So much has been made of two tripping penalties so pathetic, with
one called on both Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick. The officiating
crew was wrong on each play, and the NFL formally admitted as much
the following day. The league office (outside of offseason
policy-and-rule changes requiring 24 of 32 team votes to push them
through) gets to “throw their hands in the air and wave ‘em around
like they just don’t care.”
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- While the NFL officials’ union has repeatedly requested the NFL
speak more supportively of their efforts (in light of their
unforgettable, unforgiveable 2018 postseason mistake left Saints
fans queasy in the Big Easy), Roger Goodell’s relative silence is
not necessarily golden if more outrageous officiating it does
embolden.
And yet, “The Tortured Cowboys Fan” would be fraudulent without
reminding Cowboys Nation that – as brutal (to an offense not groovin’)
as those penalties might have proven in Foxboro – they were not
quite as predictably painful as watching the Cowboys (once again)
fail in areas where teams are expected to be reasonably thorough.
Though the myopic among Cowboys Nation always stand ready to take a
homer vacation, you be trippin’ if you think Garrett’s Gang does not
still suffer more from performance stagnation than any officiating
conflagration.
Short Shots And Hot Spots
While the weather undoubtedly played a part in preventing Dallas and
“Air Prescott” from continuing their tear of pass-heavy art,
Garrett’s downshift to the slow-grind “outlast” from year’s past was
a(nother) choice over which Cowboys Nation would not rejoice. There,
of course, came a point where NBA-style “jog it up” pacing needed to
be replaced with a(n often successful) two-minute offense that
should have been racing.
Yes, Marinelli’s Men held the Patriots to a mere 13 points (and only
six if you take away the indirect sin of embattled special teams
coach Keith O’Quinn), but more impactful than limitations on scoring
were the precious minutes Brady and the Patriots were absorbing.
Marinelli’s patented 20-60-20 approach normally has appeal when his
unit is working under a have-the-lead deal. Without that lead, of
course, precious time Brady would bleed.
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- The visible lack of offensive urgency – when backsliding to a less
aggressive version of your system so purposely – continues to cause
“mental” injury (to fans to prognosticators and a certain color
commentator especially).
While there have been other coaches in NFL history like Jimmy
Johnson (though perhaps not as successful within a five-year
window), Troy Aikman will never, ever aim an ounce of his
playing-days, Switzer-shredding venom at friend, former teammate, and
current head coach Jason Garrett, but he privately knows "someone"
should to make cryptically clear that his coaching mortality is
critically understood.
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Discerning fans should always remember that, until otherwise
demonstrated by Bill Belichick himself, “just lining up and
schematically doing what you always do (by relying on raw talent to
literally out-hustle and overcome play-call deficiencies so dopy as
to require zero defensive diagnoses)” will rarely or no longer
succeed . . . YES, even if you could go back in time to
acquire the talent-superior 1992 or 1993 Dallas Cowboys (to really
make your opponents bleed). Jimmy Johnson, Norv Turner (providing
the blueprint for Garrett’s current offensive system), Tony Wise, Dave Wannstedt / Butch Davis, and good old Joe Avezzano (RIP) almost
NEVER played the long game (during their time helping Dallas raise
the Super Bowl chalice). They were always about being aggressive
(unless the situation practically begged otherwise). Anything less
resulted in facing “shame” from each and every one of those guys.
YES, Yes, yes, the unforgiving, unrelenting, sheer force of
will that was John Wick, err, Jimmy Johnson would quite possibly not
fit in with today’s NFL . . . and not nearly because of any form of
short-or-long-term salary cap hell. Today’s players are “different”
and – while they would react positively to proof of success and a
player-centric scheme – they might very well tune out his manic
moments as just “blowing off steam.” Still, the Nick Saban-esque,
college-style engagement (that Garrett has tried and tried and tried
some more to parrot) has yet to result in a deeper playoff run or
Super Bowl-winning dream.
Misery Loves Injury
Defensive tackle Antwaun Woods suffered an MCL sprain (and perhaps a
return of the same injury that – early in the season – caused the
Cowboys’ defensive line significant run-stuffing pain). He is a
no-go against Buffalo.
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Safety Jeff Heath (wearer of the hustle wreath) also aggravated an
existing shoulder injury while further sacrificing his body during a
critical, late-game pass break-up. While he should be a game time
decision, promising rookie Donovan Wilson may, once again, be tapped
to step up.
Linebacker Leighton Vander Esch (the missing partner to the
Predator-Wolf Hunter mesh) will continue to miss time until the
condition of his neck becomes more sublime.
Meanwhile, Amari Cooper, La’el Collins, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin,
and Connor Williams
– among many other longer-term members of the Cowboys’ MASH (Many
Are Still Hurting) unit - continue to manage injury in favor of
supporting the team’s later-season urgency.
Good Quote Or Garbage Bloat?
"To me, special teams
is 100 percent coaching. It's 100 percent coaching. It's strategy.
It's having players ready. Special teams is nothing but coaching.
Special teams is effort. Special teams is savvy. Special teams is
thinking." – GM Jerry Jones (conveying his “disappointment” and
throwing some suggestive stones).
“I know they work. Jason Garrett’s finest quality of all is his work
ethic. He demands that from his coaches. We (still, inconceivably)
have a great chance to right the ship here.” – Cowboys VP Stephen
Jones (taking a more tempered approach to the subject about which a
frustrated GM Jerry made no bones).
“Yeah, we don’t use those stats within the game.” – Jason Garrett
(on the impact of “win probability” statistics on his critical,
game-changing decisions that, like opting to kick a field goal
instead of going for it on late-game 4th-and-7, have caused
self-destructive incisions).
“It’s not about defending yourself. You defend yourself by winning.
That’s how we defend ourselves.” – cornerback Jourdan Lewis (quite
possibly demonstrating the most realistic and mature anti-word-salad
perspective of anyone within an organization trying to avoid
premature offseason vacation).
Will They Or Won’t They?
The Buffalo Bills have brought their herd to town, and they have
every reason to like their chances against America’s Team on
Thanksgiving Day. The Bills have scratched and clawed their way to
an 8-3 mark, while the Dallas Cowboys are 6-5 and intermittently act
like they are playing in the dark.
As will continue to be the case for the rest of the season, all
teams play through pain, and “key players being unavailable due to
injury” is an unacceptable poor performance reason.
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Will “Lump Of” Cole Beasley – the Blonde Bison – go out of his way
to remind Dallas of the home-grown, (almost) always-open, receiving
target they allowed to go somewhere else to play? He – like good
friend Dez Bryant – perhaps still has a gone-but-not-forgotten
reason to be defiant.
Will a temporarily-humbled, opponent-respecting, furiously-focused
Dallas Cowboys team bust a move on the Bills . . . or will Dallas
resemble the same, slow-starting turkeys unable to consistently
deliver game-winning thrills?
We shall see. We always do.
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