The Dallas Cowboys have won only two playoff games in the last 17 years. Despite the fact that Tony Romo threw for nearly 5,000 yards and completed 65.6% of his passes, the Cowboys still managed to narrowly miss the playoffs when they went 8-8 to finish the season. The Cowboys general manager, Jerry Jones, selected a center in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft instead of reloading on defense where the Cowboys struggled to perform last season. All of these blatant missteps have contributed to the Cowboys underwhelming lack of success.
If the Cowboys want to remain America’s team while alleviating the frustrations of committed fans that have watched their beloved team slowly fall from grace, they need to find a way to make the post season. For a franchise that was once predicated on winning championships while being a perennial playoff organization, the Dallas Cowboys have become a lackluster team with low expectations. In order to retain their illustrious legacy the Cowboys must valiantly redeem themselves by making the playoffs without choking at the last critical moment.
Of course, it would be easy to initially blame Tony Romo for the Cowboys frustrating inadequacies. Although Romo can hardly be considered a reliable franchise quarterback, throughout his career he has proven that he can be both precise and driven in certain situations. However, the problem isn’t with Romo’s overall statistics, which at first glance appear to be fairly solid. The issue with Romo is his inexplicable inconsistencies that are the prominent focal point for the Cowboy’s on the field devastations.
From the first game of the season where Romo completed 75.9% of his passes for three touchdowns to his final game against the Washington Redskins in which he completed only 54.1% of his passes for three interceptions, Romo’s overall fluctuation between being a unstoppable gunslinger to a abysmal passer is mind boggling. As a result, even after 11 years of being in the NFL, Romo has yet to find a comfortable quarterback identity where he can emulate the poise and consistent precision of other highly successful franchise quarterbacks such as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
If the Cowboys want any shot at making the post season they’ll need to properly utilize their playbook to cater to Romo’s strengths.
However, while long time veterans such as Romo need to tweak their mistakes to improve on the foundation they created for themselves, the up and coming rookies for the Cowboys will also need to step up if Dallas wants to make a splash this season. Unfortunately, the Cowboys struggled to recruit any reputable talent that can avidly contribute to their immediate success.
Between picking a center in the first round to selecting a receiver when they were already stacked at that position, the Cowboys ultimately failed to find the proper prospects to fill the positions that were lacking substance. Although the Cowboys finally got around to selecting a safety with their fourth overall pick in J.J. Wilcox, the fact that highly touted defensive prospects such as Matt Elam and Kenny Vaccaro went unnoticed by the Cowboys is somewhat disturbing. If the Cowboys miss the playoffs this season, Jerry Jones first order of business should be to relinquish his general manager responsibilities.
While Jerry Jones has been effective in years past of selecting super star studded players, his ill advised selections as of recently have assisted in the Cowboys devastatingly slow demise.
Assuming the Cowboys can find a way to effectively utilize their veterans and young draft picks simultaneously, they’ll still need to find a way to contend with their tough division rivals if they wish to obtain success. Between the rejuvenated Washington Redskins who have once again become relevant thanks to RG III to the revamped Philadelphia Eagles who now have head coach Chip Kelley to reinvigorate their offense, the Cowboys won’t have it easy this season.
It will take a combination of Romo minimizing his careless mistakes while training the defense to become more aware and tenacious in order for the Cowboys to have a shot at making the post season.
In the end, the Cowboys have a long way to go before they can blissfully enjoy being post-season contenders once again. Between their controversial draft picks and Romo’s unexplainable game-to-game inconsistencies, the Cowboys still have immense soul searching to do before they can think about the future.
If the Cowboys can give themselves an honest reality check and realize the errors of their ways, they have the potential to surprise a nation that is on the verge of giving up hope that the Cowboys can ever be the iconic team of the NFL ever again.