If there were any questions as to who was running the defense, all those questions have been answered by now. Wade Phillips has taken the helm on defense and ever since the change the Cowboys Defense has turned it around. The pressure is there, the execution is there, and the 3rd down stoppages are there. Wade was brought in to fix the failed 3-4 defense Parcells implemented. The 3-4 was heading into oblivion after several seasons of mediocre play, including Phillips’ 3-4 last year and 1st half of this year. The defense has indeed been corrected, and looking stout at the right time of the year – December.
Its been well documented that Dallas D in December has been abysmal and consistenly inconsistent. What the Cowboys are missing now is the offense, and the attention is steadily shifting towards Jason Garrett. Garrett’s name has been in most of the recent headlines that include meetings with key offensive players, and the Owens, Witten, Romo triangle. Clearly, the offense has been stagnant all year long. Last year’s explosiveness has been non-existant most of the year.
Some are already making the offensive playmaking comparisons to that of Sean Payton. One year the offense looks good, the next year the offense runs the same plays and the offense is found out. The Cowboys seem to be at this threshold under Garrett in year two. The Cowboys have been shutdown and slowed down by various defenses; from bad defenses to good defenses. It doesn’t matter, and decent defensive coordinators have been able to study our film and devise a solid gameplan. So, what’s the deal? Garrett is not getting it done this year on offense, and with each defensive dominating game and lackluster offensive display the pressure will mount on Garrett, and don’t throw stats at this, there’s more than stats that make a team. Parcells was not a stats guy, and neither am I. What you see on the field is what we are, and right now, the offense is not looking so good.
To have all the weapons on offense and not rack up some points is mind blowing. Is it Garrett, is he still too green, are the players not responding to his coaching style? Is it this Turner style scheme? The three prominent coaches running this scheme are Norv Turner (San Diego), Cam Cameron (Baltimore), and Jason Garrett (Dallas). Obviously each of these coaches have their own twist on the philosophy. Turner has had a decent offense this year, but their defense is putting them in bad situations. In Baltimore, Cameron doesn’t have big names, but somehow he’s made the most out of the offense which includes a rookie QB. I think the offensive woes come down to Garrett’s inexperience to be innovative or adaptive, something just isn’t jiving on offense this year.
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