I think this is the first problem with Dallas. Everyone says they have all this talent. I don't see much talent on this team. Dallas has great marketing and has fooled themselves and everyone else into believing they have great talent.
Ill take a stab at this, but in no way am I defending this craptastic team.
QB - Romo was not even drafted. How much talent can you have if no one in the NFL would even waist a 7th rd pick on you. He couldn't crack the starting line up with Brad Johnson as the QB. He only got to start when Bledsoe got hurt. He was flashy and made some great plays but he also made some boneheaded plays. Everyone forgets the dumb plays he makes and touts all the great plays...bottom line he is inconsistent at best.
Romo was from Eastern Illinois. His two biggest fans were Sean Payton and the Rat, two guys who know QBs. In the last 3 NFL drafts only 4 1-AA or lower QBs have been drafted, one being Rhett Bomar, who was an original 1A starter before getting thwacked by the NCAA, and another being Joe Flacco. Given over 30 QBs were taken, I dont see much stock in the "wasnt drafted argument". Legitimately only 10% were. Romo was a Walter Payton award winner, 3 time OVC award winner, and Payton offered a 3rd rounder for him when he took over New Orleans. There is no question Romo is a talented football player. The problem here is coaching. A good coach, a guy like Sean Payton or Jon Gruden could easily fix the issues this guy has.
RB - They have 3 RBs none of which have ever had 1000 yds rushing in a season. How talented can you be if you have never had 1k rushing in a season? That's only averaging 63yds per game and none of the Dallas backs have ever done that.
This is a true statement, but other than the Panthers how many teams have ever had two 1000 yard rushers? I believe the number is 7. Now that in and of itself dont mean much, but this is a passing league where the emphasis now and for many years has been on having 1 and 1A in the backfield, guys you can split the carries with.
I believe the issue is in the staff. Choice and Jones are a similar kind of back. Marion Barber wasnt worth the extension he got, and the guy isnt a banger. Dallas needs a big back who will impose his will like a Jason Snelling or even a Javon Ringer. In this instance, Im going to say no amount of coaching will make Barber what he isnt. I also still question WHY we dont see more Choice.
WR - Do I really have to talk about Roy Williams. Miles Austin is great when the going is good but you can't count on him when things are not going well. He can not get open against man-to-man coverage. Dez Bryant is by far the best WR Dallas has and is the only one giving great effort for a whole game. If Dallas didn't have so many problems in other areas he would have been a great draft but considering this team has so many other problems drafting a WR was stupid.
Dez Bryant and Hakeem Nicks will be the guys we drool over for years to come. Roy brought his a game this year, but its trailed off. Austin is a good WR. Witten is still a capable TE. I was impressed last night late in the game to see at least Bryant and Bennett were still trying. This is a fine WR corps, but with the lack of a running attack its not going to matter much.
OL - Last year Flozell Adams was a liability in pass protection. To solve that problem Dallas got rid of him and inserted his backup as the starter this year. There was a reason why this guy was the backup last year, as bad as Flozell was this guy is worse. The center by far is the best lineman they have but that does nothing to help pass protect from the edges.
I still feel you can tie the line woes to the lack of a running game. Nobody fears the Dallas running attack, so its very easy to just tee off and try to kill the QB. I would like to see Dallas get a quality OT. I dont think Doug Free is the answer at blindside tackle.
DL - Dallas actually have a pretty descent DL. They hold up well against the run and get a good upfield push on pass plays.
I cant really add anything to this. It is a decent defensive line.
LB - This is the biggest problem with the D. The LBs are horrible. Brooking can not shed blocks and can not cover backs or TE on pass plays. He basically is a hustle guy that makes tackles by running plays down from sideline to sideline. He can not stuff any running play that comes right at him. Demarcus Ware can take advantage of favorable situations but he can not make plays on his own. Too often he disappears during critical parts of the game.
I cant argue with this. Its a well compensated and underpeforming group of LBs. Brooking is a guy I think Dallas needs to hang onto as a reserve and "player coach" Knowledgable guy, but he old.
DB - Jenkins is getting toasted with regularity every week. Newman is doing nothing to help over the top. For some reason they thought getting rid of Roy Williams would make the defensive backfield better. I guess they didn't realize that getting rid of your worst player does not make the other players better.
This is true, and it ties in to the woes of the defense. You can torch these guys throwing the ball and with a subpar LB corps, not much you can do.
Overall this is a team who at minimum should still win 10 games. Coaching, effort, and heart are just not there.
