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Taylor: Cowboys win, but offense is awful in every way
11:28 PM CDT on Saturday, August 21, 2010
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News | jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Archive | Bio | E-mail
SAN DIEGO – The Cowboys' starters scored their first touchdown of the preseason Saturday night against San Diego.
So what?
Anybody who watched the game knows the offense stunk. Maybe you'd describe it as putrid. Or atrocious.
Then there's my personal favorite: raggedy.
As in: The running game was raggedy, as was the passing game. When Roy Williams wasn't slipping and falling on a route as the ball sailed over his head, then Miles Austin was dropping a pass or Tony Romo was throwing the ball to spots where there weren't any receivers.
Except for one pass – a nifty back-shoulder fade to Austin that resulted in a 9-yard touchdown – there wasn't much good to say about the first-team offense.
For those of you who desire something positive, how about this: The offensive struggles can't be blamed on third-string tackle Robert Brewster, who started because of injuries to Marc Colombo and Alex Barron.
That's about it.
In three possessions, the starters totaled 39 yards, three first downs and one touchdown. They ran just 17 plays, far fewer than the stated goal of 30-35 plays by head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.
If rookie safety Barry Church hadn't somehow allowed San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers to tackle him at the end of an 80-yard fumble return, the first-team offense wouldn't have scored.
"Each play it seemed we had someone doing something wrong," Romo said. "I made a mistake, someone on the O-line made one, a receiver. We all have to pick it up, go back and correct what we did wrong."
The Cowboys appeared overmatched by San Diego's defense, as evidenced by their 2.7-yard average on seven carries and Romo's average of 2.7 yards per pass attempt. The biggest indicator occurred on third-and-1 in the second quarter, when Garrett opted for a sprint-out pass instead of running behind massive Leonard Davis.
What's the point of having a massive offensive line if you can't run it on third-and-1? Especially since Marion Barber had just gained 9 yards on a second-down sweep.
Then again, Garrett might still be scarred from San Diego's goal-line stand last season, when the Chargers stopped Barber on three consecutive carries from the 1 in a 20-17 win over the Cowboys.
This offense has looked out of sync much of the preseason, whether we're talking about the Cowboys' performance inside the 20 during the first two games or their overall ineffectiveness against the Chargers.
A year ago after three preseason games, the Cowboys' first unit had four touchdowns and a field goal in 11 possessions. In seven possessions this preseason, Dallas has one touchdown and two field goals.
Some would argue that Jerry Jones' decision to tour America during training camp has worn out his team. After all, the Cowboys have played in three time zones since Aug. 9, and they have been in San Antonio, Canton (Ohio), Irving, Oxnard and San Diego in the last 15 days.
Whatever the reason, Garrett and Romo had better quickly dissect the problem.
Yes, it hurts to lose Colombo and left guard Kyle Kosier , but neither will miss the season. Every NFL team has injury issues. If it's not the quarterback or a Pro Bowl-caliber player, no one wants to hear any whining about it.
Good teams overcome injuries. This team still has plenty of skilled offensive players. It should be performing better than it is.
We all know the preseason isn't about wins and losses, so it remains too early to panic, though concern is allowed. The preseason is about individual development and growth.
When that happens, if a team is talented enough, the wins and losses will take care of themselves. After all, the game plans, preparation and intensity of the preseason don't come close to matching those of the regular season.
But the Cowboys, a team with Super Bowl aspirations, should be playing much better no matter how the players and coaches spin it after their raggedy performance in San Diego.
• • •
11:28 PM CDT on Saturday, August 21, 2010
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News
Column by JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News | jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Archive | Bio | E-mail
SAN DIEGO – The Cowboys' starters scored their first touchdown of the preseason Saturday night against San Diego.
So what?
Anybody who watched the game knows the offense stunk. Maybe you'd describe it as putrid. Or atrocious.
Then there's my personal favorite: raggedy.
As in: The running game was raggedy, as was the passing game. When Roy Williams wasn't slipping and falling on a route as the ball sailed over his head, then Miles Austin was dropping a pass or Tony Romo was throwing the ball to spots where there weren't any receivers.
Except for one pass – a nifty back-shoulder fade to Austin that resulted in a 9-yard touchdown – there wasn't much good to say about the first-team offense.
For those of you who desire something positive, how about this: The offensive struggles can't be blamed on third-string tackle Robert Brewster, who started because of injuries to Marc Colombo and Alex Barron.
That's about it.
In three possessions, the starters totaled 39 yards, three first downs and one touchdown. They ran just 17 plays, far fewer than the stated goal of 30-35 plays by head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.
If rookie safety Barry Church hadn't somehow allowed San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers to tackle him at the end of an 80-yard fumble return, the first-team offense wouldn't have scored.
"Each play it seemed we had someone doing something wrong," Romo said. "I made a mistake, someone on the O-line made one, a receiver. We all have to pick it up, go back and correct what we did wrong."
The Cowboys appeared overmatched by San Diego's defense, as evidenced by their 2.7-yard average on seven carries and Romo's average of 2.7 yards per pass attempt. The biggest indicator occurred on third-and-1 in the second quarter, when Garrett opted for a sprint-out pass instead of running behind massive Leonard Davis.
What's the point of having a massive offensive line if you can't run it on third-and-1? Especially since Marion Barber had just gained 9 yards on a second-down sweep.
Then again, Garrett might still be scarred from San Diego's goal-line stand last season, when the Chargers stopped Barber on three consecutive carries from the 1 in a 20-17 win over the Cowboys.
This offense has looked out of sync much of the preseason, whether we're talking about the Cowboys' performance inside the 20 during the first two games or their overall ineffectiveness against the Chargers.
A year ago after three preseason games, the Cowboys' first unit had four touchdowns and a field goal in 11 possessions. In seven possessions this preseason, Dallas has one touchdown and two field goals.
Some would argue that Jerry Jones' decision to tour America during training camp has worn out his team. After all, the Cowboys have played in three time zones since Aug. 9, and they have been in San Antonio, Canton (Ohio), Irving, Oxnard and San Diego in the last 15 days.
Whatever the reason, Garrett and Romo had better quickly dissect the problem.
Yes, it hurts to lose Colombo and left guard Kyle Kosier , but neither will miss the season. Every NFL team has injury issues. If it's not the quarterback or a Pro Bowl-caliber player, no one wants to hear any whining about it.
Good teams overcome injuries. This team still has plenty of skilled offensive players. It should be performing better than it is.
We all know the preseason isn't about wins and losses, so it remains too early to panic, though concern is allowed. The preseason is about individual development and growth.
When that happens, if a team is talented enough, the wins and losses will take care of themselves. After all, the game plans, preparation and intensity of the preseason don't come close to matching those of the regular season.
But the Cowboys, a team with Super Bowl aspirations, should be playing much better no matter how the players and coaches spin it after their raggedy performance in San Diego.
• • •
