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2021-2022 Regular Season:
Cowboys Slapped
With A Red And White Glove And Head To The City Of Brotherly Love As
(Momentum) Push Comes To (COVID) Shove
January 7,
2022 At 11:35 PM CST
By Eric M. Scharf-
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“America’s Team” was riding a(n inconsistent) four-game winning
streak (with their most-recent
THROTTLING of Washington – or “No
Names” just the same – looking every bit the performance peak). The
Dallas Cowboys were somewhat-building the kind pre-playoffs momentum
they had not enjoyed since 2014. That year they had won five in a
row – including
a wild card victory against the Detroit Lions –
before losing to the Green Bay Packers against whom the Cowboys AND
the officials failed to keep it clean.
The Arizona Cardinals came to town seeking to regain their mojo
against a Dallas team sporting their latest NFC East crown. Arizona
had their own morbid mix of COVID casualties and untimely injuries
with a seemingly-weak bid to overcome their own three-game losing
skid. The visiting Cardinals were not the same team that DEMOLISHED
the ‘Boys in 2020. The hosting Cowboys were not the same team,
either, and it was assumed Arizona was going to need a breather (and
it was going to be so, sooo funny).
While the Cowboys’ goals were on the money, their result was not
nearly as sunny. Though their 25-22 loss to Arizona was far removed
from last season’s 38-10 shellacking,
the problem once again came down to how soon, how often, and how
LACKING the Cowboys’ offense was with aggressive attacking.
Short Shots And Hot Spots
“B-But, you, You, YOU Dak-and-Kellen-hating dude! Forget the offense
for a moment! Those NFL officials were incredibly rude and must,
Must, MUST make atonement! And, AND that gawd Damn KICKER! He missed
ANOTHER field goal for which I might have sold my soul!” you
practically scream (as if trapped in an excruciating, waking dream).
Although “The Mighty Quinns” were not blameless, and Greg Zuerlein’s
kicking woes seem so shameless, it was the offense that began
slowly, intermittently sputtered, came alive far too late, and
ultimately resumed the every-other-game “style” of looking aimless.
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YES, Yes, yes, there was a late, non-called Arizona fumble that
should have been reviewed (and could have given the Cowboys’ offense
a life renewed), but head coach Mike McCarthy neither had a timeout
to spare nor was it the officials’ job to care.
Ten penalties for 88 yards – including defensive ends DeMarcus
Lawrence and Randy Gregory delivering two of their patented “Offside
Specials,” as well as many an offensive flag – meant victory was not
quite in the cards (with a fraudulently-vanilla offensive
coordinator and a loyal-to-a-fault, heavily-audibling,
semi-coverage-confused quarterback producing a collective,
hairball-quality gag).
YES, Yes, yes, The Mighty Quinns gave up nearly 130 yards on the
ground, particularly a handful of untimely chunk plays that made
their defensive line look familiarly unsound.
YES, Yes, yes, cornerback Trevon Diggs bit so, sooooo badly on a
double-move by Arizona wide receiver A.J. Green. If Cardinals
quarterback Kyler Murray had led his target a bit farther, it would have resulted
in an undeniable touchdown, nasty and mean.
YES, Yes, yes, rookie cornerback Nashon Wright now TWICE this season
has found himself incredibly out of alignment on a KEY special teams
assignment. First against Denver and now against Arizona. Yes, he is
still “just” a promising rookie and “rookies make mistakes (which
can drive a fan base to guzzle ammonia).” Wright actually looked
like he had studied tape of fellow cornerback Anthony Brown from the
Thanksgiving Day game (where he got within kissing, err, easy
penalty distance on a pass, and “shame, shame, we know your name”).
This time – for Wright – the facemask-to-facemask distance was
during a fake punt instance. He failed to look back and – instead of
a fourth-down punt – the Cardinals kept the ball, because of a
mental runt, and Cowboys Nation suffered a mild heart attack.
YES, Yes, yes, strong safety Donovan Wilson effectively got caught
doing the very same thing, and the result would really sting. The
Mighty Quinns had the Cardinals in a 3rd-and-5. Wilson failed to
look back at Kyler Murray’s incoming pass to
tight end Zack Ertz, and the mind-numbing interference penalty
allowed the Cardinals’ drive to remain painfully alive.
YES, Yes, yes, none other than Marvelous Micah Parsons pressured
Murray into tossing up a dangerous end zone lob to his
double-covered tight end on a 3rd-and-5 deep in Dallas territory and
– like all the other near-misses on the day – free safety Jayron
Kearse dropped a sure interception. Solid effort, poor finish, and
no glory (with no need for further investigation).-
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YES, Yes, yes, Murray would successfully scramble (save for one
perfectly-timed play where Donovan Wilson was ready to
more-than-amble) when in need even with all of the Cowboys’
impressive (or merely improved) defensive speed. He would find the
right unencumbered pockets in the Cowboys' deep zone, and his timely
passes would cut down to the bone.
YES, Yes, yes, from the Cowboys' one on a critical 4th-and-goal, The
Mighty Quinns allowed a rub-my-belly hole. Murray would fake
the handoff and bootleg left (with the opportunity to stun by run or
engage in some passing fun). Either cornerback Anthony Brown or
linebacker Leighton Vander Esch committed the ultimate sin in
reacting to Murray possibly running it in. One of them incorrectly
allowed Arizona wide receiver Antuan Wesley to escape from the line,
and it was time for Murray to easily and aerially dine.
YES, Yes, yes, the running game was non-existent with the offensive
line either false-starting, holding, or downright hesitant. While
Cowboys star quarterback Dak Prescott threw for three touchdowns, he
also fumbled thrice (with the ball recovered by his own teammates
twice). Dak was sacked but once due to reasonable pass protection
unlike said run-blocking rejection. Dak – however – has enjoyed the
majority of his pro football success through play-action and –
without a reasonable rushing attack – he does not possess the
(still-rare?) natural, improvisational skills to
more-than-infrequently manufacture the necessary traction. “And,
AND” when Prescott has needed Kellen to provide a reasonably-better,
proactive, play-calling assist to jumpstart some KEY play-action
(but WITHOUT the 2021 AFC West / NFC West allergic reaction), Moore
has been unable to adapt and adjust enough (without his ideal
starting 11 so healthy and tough) to encourage the requisite
satisfaction.
YES, Yes, yes, there were drops but not nearly as many
behind-the-target (not “back shoulder” but actually, noticeably
BEHIND) or lead-the-receiver passing flops.-
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YES, Yes, yes, Prescott's lateral to Cedrick "Truly A QB" Wilson –
which he then posed-up to launch across the field to Tony Pollard
for a 31-yard pickup – was Kellen being clever, but the gimmick was
deployed a bit too late in the game to help solve their offensive
hiccups.
BOTTOM LINE: If you fail to call a reasonably-adaptive game
plan (versus a defense that is aggressive-to-a-man), and your play
execution is like televised pollution, And you make penalty-worthy
mistakes, AND you give a ref a reason, neither you nor the fans can
blame anyone else for your mental malfeasance.
Good Quote Or Bad Bloat?
“I think the most important part of [being] a kicker is consistency,
CONSISTENCY, and it’s not consistently MISSING [extra points and
well-within-range field goals]. That’s it.” – GM Jerry during an
interview with 105.3FM “The Fan” (on the continued quandary that is
Greg “The Leg” Zuerlein, who looks increasingly less-appropriate for
professional football and better-suited for a game of “Kick the Can”).
“I really know that, if given the opportunity, that I can lead the
league in all categories. That’s just how I feel about my skill set
that I’ve been blessed with. Like basketball, shooters who need
volume to help accumulate stats, it’s the same with me. If I want to
catch 100 balls, I’ve got to have those targets, and that’s not
really in my control. You know what I mean? I just play my part. And
I think it will come. We have some plays in this week that I’m a big
part of. Hopefully, I can take advantage of the opportunity that’s
been given to me.” – Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper on why his
numbers (63 catches, 786 yards, and eight touchdowns) have been
unusually low this year (while – once again and not-so-indirectly –
pleading to both offensive coordinator Kellen Moore AND quarterback
Dak Prescott to more-aggressively take their collective,
throw-ME-open shot).
“That IS meaningful for me, and it’s still KIND OF a standard that
you look at when you go into the season.” – Cowboys running back
Ezekiel Elliott (somewhat sheepishly, indirectly acknowledging that
while he IS a “mere” 85 rushing yards away from meeting the 16-game
NFL 1,000-yard standard, the league-wide higher-prioritization of
passing, Kellen Moore’s inflexible play-calling, deficient offensive
line performance, Zeke’s still-balky knee, AND a 17th game have
created more questions than his results alone could have reasonably
answered).
Misery Loves Viruses And Injury
Wide receiver Michael Gallup – who was so, sooo looking forward to
an offseason big, new contract dollop – was lost for the rest of the
season (following a second quarter 21-yard back shoulder fade from
Prescott for a touchdown), and a torn ACL is the devastating reason.
As was the case earlier in the year, fourth receiver Cedrick Wilson,
fifth receiver Malik Turner, and (if he manages to return from his
groin injury) now-former (?) fourth AND fifth receiver Noah Brown
will have ample opportunity to ensure any mistakenly-disrespectful
defenders competitively drown.
Tight end Blake Jarwin – he of the hip that took him on a long
injury trip – finally appears ready to return from short-term
injured reserve. Fans of the Cowboys’ success within “12 personnel”
hope Jarwin is, indeed, in enough game day shape to help Dallas’
struggling offense bend the postseason curve.
Pivoting from offensive hope to avoidable defensive dope, stellar
rookie hybrid defender Micah Parsons – now formally known as “The
Lion” – has momentarily (?) left both fans and bettors cryin’. He –
besides offensive tackle Tyron Smith and cornerback Anthony Brown –
is the latest and newest Cowboys player to test positive for
COVID-19. Argue until you are blue in the face. Deny, defy and
repeatedly as “why, Why, WHY?” should players have to endure this
standard in order to remain in (CRITICAL game day) place.
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As "The Tortured Cowboys Fan" has
advertised,
broadcast,
conveyed, and
displayed, time and time again, if players (even those who have been
twice vaccinated AND once boosted) cannot keep their masks on around
ALL but their routinely-negative-testing teammates, they will And
have AND will continue to find themselves absent for one or more
CRUCIALLY important dates. If a player’s loved ones want kisses and
hugs, he may very well have to view them as Xenomorph bugs.
Vaccinated humans can still become CARRIERS of COVID-19, if they
CHOOSE and REFUSE to exhaustively, impossibly mask up in order to
keep their availability nice and clean. Players are increasingly
familiar with two simple phrases: “Your best ability is your
AVAILABILITY” and “Not For Long (NFL)” if you cannot remain
antiviral strong.
Rookie offensive tackle Josh Ball – who has yet to make his debut –
has bounced into COVID protocol, too.
Dallas has also ruled out cornerback Trevon Diggs (with what
everyone should hope is also not COVID-like illness), backup running
back Tony Pollard (who DOES deserve as much pain-management time as
possible for his foot so that his playoff performance does not go
kaput), and safety Jayron Kearse (with a hamstring he must
carefully nurse) for week 18. Risking ANY of them would provoke a
poor playoff scene.
Will They Or Won’t They?
The final game of the Dallas Cowboys’ 2021-2022 regular season has
arrived and – unlike in a number of painful seasons within AT LEAST
the last decade – America’s Team has already, safely qualified for
the postseason no matter how exceptionally or poorly week 18 is
played.
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Dallas heads to Philadelphia to face another age-old division rival.
The (latest) spike in COVID-19 cases and existing-to-increasing
injuries between the two teams has turned their contest into one of
risk-limiting survival. While the Cowboys have (unfortunately but
understandably) decided to lean heavily into their roster reserves,
the Eagles are perhaps a bit more focused on ensuring their playoff
seeding does not sustain avoidable (?) swerves.
Though MOMENTUM push has come to COVID shove, will the Cowboys
complete their NFC East sweep by brooming Philly in their very own
City of Brotherly Love, or will the Eagles – always, Always, ALWAYS
DVD (Defiant Versus Dallas) – pick up the victory with plenty of
their usual
(week
three) malice?
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“And, AND” if Dallas DOES win (by overcoming an expected performance
hamstring from a startling surplus of second string), will
inconceivable (?) losses by the Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals,
and Tampa Bay Buccaneers place the Cowboys right back in the 3S
(Second Seed Saddle) again?
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“And, AND, AAAAAAAND” if Dallas loses, will they suffer the same
postseason fate as some past Cowboys teams who pursued “resting
starter” abuses? As fans, prognosticators, and downright haters have
undoubtedly come to recognize, the well-documented sins of the past
linger in the present unless and until the current team proves
sufficiently resilient.
Will the “excused absence” of a larger number of Dallas’ best
players cause Kellen Moore and Dak Prescott to simply say
their prayers, or will the Cowboys’ OC and QB decide to demonstrate
that they do, indeed, have further, more-functional layers?
We shall see. We always do.
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