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There are deep intrinsic problems in Arlington, Texas at the moment and Monday’s loss to the Houston Texans should be the final straw.
The Dallas Cowboys aren’t the only team struggling in 2018, but they are the only ones blaming everything else except themselves.
This is not a problem which has been caused by sudden injuries or suspensions, but by poor draft picks, failing to replace retiring players and an inherent nature to stick by a failing head coach.
The Cowboys have one of the best running backs in the league in Ezekiel Elliott, so churning out the yards isn’t the problem. The defence is a bunch of absolute monsters who enjoy nothing more than burying a quarterback in the turf at every moment.
The problems lay in two areas: pass catchers and a head coach/play caller who doesn’t know his ear from his elbow.
Since the offseason, when tight end Jason Witten retired and the Cowboys all-time leading touchdown scorer Dez Bryant was released, the Cowboys have struggled for big targets downfield.
They didn’t replace the years of experience or talent they had very well. Their current crop of wide receivers including Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson, two blokes who weren’t wanted by their respective rubbish sides, the Buffalo Bills and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Yes, starting wide receiver Terrence Williams is injured, but instead of going to the market to look at the bevvy of talent sitting on the sidelines, they persist with the non-talent they have.
But that’s only half the problem.
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Last weekend deep into overtime on 4th-and-1 from the 45-yard line, just outside of the range for field goal kicker Brett Maher, Jason Garrett decides to punt the ball away, giving the Texans the ball back and the eventually the match.
There are coaches all over the league that takes chances of 4th-and-3 early in the first half. This is a game of risk and ceasing opportunity. Garrett likes to sit back and hope it happens his way.
The Cowboys and Garrett use play calls just like the rest of the coaches in the league, but it looks as though he cannot execute them the way they are supposed to be.
After several years in the league as a head coach and offensive coordinator, it looks as though the game has passed him by.
Let’s be honest, the Cowboys haven’t been good since the mid-90s. We need to stop calling them ‘America’s Team’ and start to help them find a new coach.
