The Sad State of the Dallas Cowboys
Yes, this meme might be a little played out, but at this point, don’t we need something to laugh at? Yes, I say “we,” not because I’m associated with the Cowboys in any way, but because I feel invested. Most of you know I’m from Texas. I’ve been a Cowboys fan for as long as I can remember. I was there in the (what I thought was the lowest point) 1989 season where the record was a dreadful 1-15. Somehow, this season feels, if not worse, equally as bad.
At least in ‘89, the team was giving effort. They just weren’t that talented, and were outmatched most of the time. There are a ton of talented guys on the current roster, but they seem to be playing far below their potential.
The current hell started with the Dak injury (although I’ll admit that Frederick’s untimely retirement was just as painful). I’ll admit that I wasn’t the biggest Dak Prescott supporter going into this season. I was always a Tony Romo fan, and I still am bitter about how Jerry and Jason took the reigns from him and handed them to Prescott his rookie season. I still believe that Romo gave us our best shot to make a run that season.
However, I will admit that Dak won me over with his improved play at the start of 2020. He was much sharper and more decisive with his reads. He even seemed to be getting us into good plays, something at which Romo excelled. So of course, I felt the gut-punch watching Dak’s foot flop around like a dying fish. But hey, that’s why we signed the #1 back-up QB in the league, the Red Rocket, Andy Dalton. And one cheap shot later, he’s on concussion protocol, and Ben DiNucci is the man. Uh oh. Behind this decimated offensive line, I really feel for the kid. The worst of our O-linemen before they were ravaged, Connor Williams, is now the lone veteran who we’re leaning on for some consistency—a scary thought. The rest of the guys look like they may one day have potential, but they’re still a couple years away from seeing the field—only they’ve been starting and letting the QBs and RBs take beatings they shouldn’t have. I wish DiNucci well, but it feels like he’s in a literal no-win situation, because our defense is historically bad.
I never liked the Mike Nolan hire. I hope he can turn it around, but nothing he’s done so far has given me any confidence. He seems like a guy who was out of work, and now he’s a decade out of the loop. Actually, that’s pretty accurate.
And what about the players on that side of the ball? Do they even WANT to tackle someone? They seem like the least motivated group of millionaires I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen Republicans sit around and mull over healthcare for all. At least we trimmed some of the fat and cut Dontari Poe and Daryl Worley. In Poe’s case, it was about 70 extra pounds of fat, mostly around his midsection that was causing most of the issues. He showed up out of shape, and just was happy to collect his check, never get off blocks, and jog around offensive linemen while (I imagine) belching the triple-meat Whataburger he ate at half-time. Worley was usually beaten so badly by opposing wide receivers that he wasn’t even in the picture on the television broadcast. Good riddance to you both.
But where do we go from here? Can Mike McCarthy right the ship? He’s the one who hired Nolan, so there’s a major red flag. What do the analytics say about hiring your golfing buddies? It doesn’t seem like the team is responding to him, so I think it’ll be an uphill battle at best. Perhaps the return of Sean Lee (I’m sure Scooter Magruder will have a field day with that) can bring some life to a team who’s plugged into Kevorkian’s machine and his finger’s on the trigger.
I’m not saying I want an immediate return to ‘92-’95, but I want to see us competitive in games again. I want to be proud to show my sons the Dallas Cowboys on TV and say, “This is our team. How ‘bout them Cowboys!” And I’d like to see smiles and enthusiasm from them instead of their feigned smiles of pity for their dad who likes the memory of a team more than what he sees on the field each Sunday.
