Well, now that I let that must win game sink in I can write about the loss and more importantly where the Cowboys should go from here. The Cowboys absolutely needed to win the game against the Eagles and they failed and along with that the season is all but over. Mathematically, you can come up with miraculous ways of getting the Cowboys into the playoffs, but it’s not going to happen.
At 2-6, last place in the division, and now the 15th seed in the conference it’s time to take reset our expectations for the remainder of the 2015 season. To start, there are more questions surrounding this team more now than ever, and I’m talking about some players and perhaps some assistant coaches, perhaps some scouting changes.
Here’s what we know:
— Can’t win without Tony Romo
The Cowboys have proven they cannot win a single game without Romo. Romo is 35, and will be 36 in April. He’s had two broken clavicle injuries to the same clavicle and in those seasons the Cowboys were out of the playoffs. The executives have failed in the area of finding an heir to the position, and if this is what we can expect moving forward, we’re in for some horrendous seasons without a franchise QB. You can’t win in today’s NFL with a backup QB, it’s a lot to ask really.
— Rolando McClain is done
McClain has been what he’s been at every stop in his career — a headcase. He plays hard when he wants, and he shuts it down mentally and physically when he wants. It’s time to move on from McClain and evaluate what Damien Wilson can give us, probably a good idea to get Hitchens a look there as well. Either way, the Cowboys need to see what they have in their young linebackers and it should start next week.
— The defense is overrated
The hype was just that — hype city. We again find ourselves looking good on paper after free agency and the draft, but once the season starts we fail to live up to anything. “sacks coming” … when? and by whom? Last night David Irving was one of the few players making plays on the defensive line. Where is Tyrone Crawford? He has the same measurables as Aaron Donald, but is not getting to the QB. Greg Hardy is a factor, but this defensive line isn’t forcing turnovers — we have one measly INT on the season, pathetic! We can’t stop the run, and I think a large part of that is the second level guys missing tackles. The 1-tech needs to be addressed with a legitimate player. We keep messing around with the spot with injury prone guys like Terrell McClain, and backups like Nick Hayden. We aren’t any better on defense this year than we were last year, the losses and inability to close games are a direct indicator of that.
— Upgrades at safety needed
J.J. Wilcox and Jeff Heath can’t tackle worth a lick and this puts us in a bind moving beyond this season. We have Byron Jones who probably needs to take over fulltime, but then we need a capable slot/dime corner and an outside corner if that move to safety does in fact become a permanent move for Jones. Claiborne will likely move on after this season, so now that’s a spot that will need to be filled. Do you continue to pay Carr’s bloated contract? We’ve been held hostage there with that bad deal, and I wonder if we are going to have to eat that contract for another year.
— #2 WR is needed
Been saying this since Dez and Romo have been out, but the injuries have really exposed where the Cowboys have missed in the draft. Terrance Williams is not a dynamic enough player to pick up the slack, and he’s still body catching, which is why he keeps dropping passes, the guy isn’t confident in his hands.
— Special teams is garbage
A large part of the blame needs to land on the shoulders of Rich Bisaccia. Yeah yeah, I’ve heard he could possibly be a head coach candidate for a team, but that doesn’t necessarily make him a good fit for our team as our Special Teams coach. We have been mediocre-bad at special teams for awhile now, and this year looks even worse. Outside of last nights big play from Lucky Whitehead, we haven’t done anything in the return game, it’s a wasted play for us. We either mis-judge fielding the ball, or we can’t tackle the opposing return guys. Sorry, but Bisaccia needs to be gone after this season.
How many more games will we win?
The last guys holding onto hope are still hoping for that special “run” on the remaining games, but how realistic is that really? Here are the remaining 8 games:
Week 10: @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers; 12pm (FOX) 11/15 W
Week 11: @ Miami Dolphins; 12pm (CBS) 11/22 W
Week 12: Carolina Panthers; Thanksgiving 3:30pm (FOX) 11/26 L
Week 13: @ Washington Redskins; 7:30pm (MNF)** 12/7 W
Week 14: @ Green Bay Packers; 3:25pm (FOX) 12/13 L
Week 15: New York Jets; 7:25pm (NFLNetwork)** 12/19 W
Week 16: @ Buffalo Bills; 12pm (FOX) 12/27 L
Week 17: Washington Redskins; 12pm (FOX) 1/3 L
I count at least 5 games that will be difficult to win even with Romo back. This schedule was handed to us because we had a 12-4 season last year, and the injuries have derailed us off track. @ Tampa Bay game is up in the air, in theory that should be a win, but with one more week of Cassel, this team will find a way to lose it, it’s been their M.O. for 6 consecutive weeks. @ Miami should be a win with Romo, but then you better be ready to see some rust from Romo, so that game will likely be a close one just based on the game rust, so who knows there. The Panthers game will be tough, and probably a loss. @ Green Bay will be a loss. The Jets game should be a win, but their defense will give us issues, and I’m not sold on on our defense rattling their QB. @Bills will be another tough road game. Closing out the season at home against the Redskins could be a meaningless game with backups playing.
I give the Cowboys a 4-4 record over the final 4 games, with a season record of 6-10. With a draft positioning in the top 12.
Who do you see the Cowboys finishing the final 8 games? What your thoughts on some of these players? Get it off your chest in the comments!
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