Cowboy Collapse

  Never have I been so sorry about being correct.. As this blog will attest, back in August I predicted the Dallas Cowboys to finish the 2012 season no better than 8-8.. Friends and family alike thought I was off base in my prediction, but the team still has too many holes in both the offensive and defensive lines to be considered a serious playoff contender. Injuries are part of the game in football as everyone knows, but Dallas had timely injuries at key positions this season. One of the biggest came to linebacker Sean Lee. The third year player out of Penn State was just becoming the key to the defensive unit when he was lost for the remainder of the season midway through the schedule. Playing right beside Lee was linebacker Bruce Carter who also was lost for the last half of the year.  Defensive tackle Jay Ratliff also missed most of the season and the week to week injury report looked like a MASH unit in a war zone. Just some of the players to spend lengthy time on the mend were: defensive end Anthony Spencer, wide receiver Miles Austin, cornerback Orlando Scandrick, and center Phil Costa. A special note should be made of linebacker DeMarcos Ware. The All-Pro Ware should not have played, BUT consistently showed up for battle despite shoulder and elbow injuries that will require multiple surgeries during the off-season. Last year the Cowboys made major moves to improve at cornerback with the addition of Brandon Carr via free agency and Morris Claiborne through the college draft, but the safety spots looked to be open door as player after player tried to fill the position without a positive result.
  When you play quarterback for the most visible team in the National Football League, you either get too much credit, or too much blame. This now falls on the shoulders of Tony Romo. He became a free agent acquisition for Dallas while Bill Parcells was the coach. He was the best of a threesome made up of Quincy Carter and Vinnie Testaverde, and assumed the starting position only because the other two failed to do the job. Romo has now been with the team for eleven (11) years and has one (1) playoff win to his credit. Agreed, all the blame should not fall on the shoulders of Romo, but again, he is the QB on America's Team.
   The Senior Bowl has just been played, and that is where most of the NFL coaches have been to scout possible players for the college draft coming up this Spring. Dallas needs offensive lineman in the worst way. While an abundance of the last season's blame falls to Romo, it is hard to run plays when you are running for your life at the same time. Romo needs time to allow receivers to run their patterns BEFORE throwing the pass. Better talent on the offensive line will also open up the running game and allow Dallas to show off the abilities of DeMarcus Murray, a truly gifted runner, when he has an opening to run through.
  Finally we get around to the Coach. Jason Garrett will begin his third full season as Head Coach of the Cowboys. Owner Jerry Jones has allowed some of last season's blame to be placed on assistant coaches, and they have been shown the door out of Valley Ranch. Garrett has been calling the offensive plays for the Cowboys up to this point, but that has now been handed to offensive line coach Bill Callahan, who has never been a play caller. The 2013 season will be an interesting one for Cowboy fans. It will be crucial for Garrett's team to begin winning right off the bat. Jerry Jones has a history of being on a short fuse and if his team loses two or three early games to put them out of contention, look for heads to roll on the team.

  I'll give my 2013 prediction as we get a little closer to the season opener.