Before we start to pick apart the Dallas Cowboys' 2015 season -- there's a lot to get to -- it's probably smart to first make clear where Jason Garrett stands going into 2016.
"He's safe," Cowboys executive vice president/COO Stephen Jones said over the phone early Tuesday night. "Change isn't always the right answer. We're not big believers in it. Jason, a year ago, everyone thought he hung the moon. That's the terrible thing about this business: You take one year, and change everything. This doesn't faze us, it won't faze us.
"We're totally in with Jason. We're totally in with our staff."
OK, now that the big piece is out of the way, we can get to all the shattered little pieces of a lost season.
Expectations are always high in the Metroplex, but this felt different. Last year, with the Joneses and Garrett and personnel chief Will McClay helming the ship, the Cowboys were one questionable call away from their first conference title game in 19 years, and the foundation looked as sturdy as it has at any time since that 1995 season, when Dallas won its last Lombardi Trophy.
On Sunday, against the NFC East champion Redskins (let that sink in), the Cowboys will try to avoid standing alone with the franchise's worst record since the 1-15 1989 campaign, Jerry Jones' first season of ownership.
"I think you have to look at everybody," Stephen Jones said. "I'm accountable. Jason's accountable. We're 4-11. It's up to us to do something about it. We had injuries, yes, but Jason doesn't want to use that as an excuse. I don't want to use that as excuse."
Still, the cold fact here is that Tony Romo only played in four games, and finished two, before going on injured reserve last week due to his twice-broken collarbone. And to be clear, no one's under any illusion in Dallas that these Cowboys are ready to win big without No. 9 in the lineup.
But to Jones' point, that hardly justifies what happened -- which, after Romo went down, was not much of anything. The tougher thing to swallow is that this really isn't a new problem, either. Dallas is 78-49 with Romo in the lineup since he became the starter and 7-19 without him, and the Cowboys average almost twice as many touchdown passes per game in the former circumstance vs. the latter.
"There's no way we shouldn't have won three or four more games, especially with the division we're in," Jones said. "Teams win games in those situations, and we're taking accountability for that. We should be able to win games without Tony. One question that's fair is if we have a system in place that's not good for other quarterbacks. How come we can't adapt when Tony's not in the game? It's the same group of coaches, the same cast from a top-five offense, but we don't have the same stats."
And while some of it might be about the investment, or lack thereof, in backup quarterbacks (we'll get to that), Jones was quick to point out how Brandon Weeden getting his first win of the season as a starter on Sunday -- as a Houston Texan -- was sobering. And not because they believe going with Matt Cassel over Weeden a couple months ago was the wrong call. They don't. It just begs the question, in Jones' words, "Why does Brandon go down to Houston and do fine? Ours is a system that's 'Romo-friendly,' but is it not 'other-quarterback-friendly'?"
In other words, because Romo is a different kind of quarterback, and a sophisticated one, does that system become hard to adapt to someone new, in the way the Texans adapted theirs to Weeden?
Then there's the question of who will be the backup in 2016. Cassel's contract expires after this season, while Dallas can bring back Kellen Moore on the cheap. Maybe the Cowboys add another 30-something journeyman like Cassel or Weeden. But as we mentioned a few weeks ago in this space, the franchise is also ready to draft one high.
Romo turns 36 in April. That's how old Tom Brady was when the Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo and how old Peyton Manning was when Denver took Brock Osweiler, and it's a year older than Brett Favre was when the Packers picked up Aaron Rodgers. Which is why taking a quarterback in the top 10 is something the Cowboys will consider.
"Yeah, we gotta look at that," Jones said. "Obviously, it's a bigger deal now, with Tony injured. And I'm sure he'd understand it. But if we draft the guy [in the first round], we're drafting him to watch. And that's the hard thing. He could be watching for three years, but that's not all bad. It can be a good thing for them. Tony got to watch for a long time -- it helped him. Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers, players like that -- guys that have stepped in and played great -- got to watch."
Now, all of this isn't to say the handling of the quarterbacks was the only issue this fall.
There was also the makeup of the locker room, which was tense at times, and recalled 2008. That year, the Cowboys were coming off a breakthrough year and, sensing they were close, took splashy risks (Pacman Jones, Roy Williams), paid key vets ... and watched it all implode. They didn't have a quarterback injury like they did this year, but the other similarities aren't lost on the Joneses, particularly with Greg Hardy's deal up at the end of this campaign.
"That's fair," Stephen Jones said. "We'll look at those things, and we've talked about that. You bring in those players and you win, and they don't seem to be an issue. You don't win, and it becomes a focus. It's fair that it's brought up. It's something we'll take a look at."
There are smaller things to sort through, too. The running back situation is one (Darren McFadden has been great, but will turn 29 next August). The future of the secondary is another (Brandon Carr has a big cap number, Orlando Scandrick is returning from an ACL injury and Morris Claiborne is heading into free agency). The hope is Dez Bryant will come back healthier next season, but the team could use another weapon in the passing game, with Jason Witten turning 34 this coming offseason.
Still, the belief in Dallas is that there remains a rock-solid foundation under the rubble. Which makes the carnage of '15 all the more frustrating.
"You gotta be able to win with good players out," Jones said. "We have a lot of work to do. We will not stick our heads in the sand and say this is all a Tony/Dez deal. We gotta see how we're gonna do it." As such, Jones conceded that 2015 "will go down as one of the big, big disappointments for us since we've had the team."
The good news is, it'll be over Sunday. Even better: When that final whistle blows, Dallas can get on with making sure it doesn't happen again.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ebook-cowboys-future-chip-kellys-undoing-more
"He's safe," Cowboys executive vice president/COO Stephen Jones said over the phone early Tuesday night. "Change isn't always the right answer. We're not big believers in it. Jason, a year ago, everyone thought he hung the moon. That's the terrible thing about this business: You take one year, and change everything. This doesn't faze us, it won't faze us.
"We're totally in with Jason. We're totally in with our staff."
OK, now that the big piece is out of the way, we can get to all the shattered little pieces of a lost season.
Expectations are always high in the Metroplex, but this felt different. Last year, with the Joneses and Garrett and personnel chief Will McClay helming the ship, the Cowboys were one questionable call away from their first conference title game in 19 years, and the foundation looked as sturdy as it has at any time since that 1995 season, when Dallas won its last Lombardi Trophy.
On Sunday, against the NFC East champion Redskins (let that sink in), the Cowboys will try to avoid standing alone with the franchise's worst record since the 1-15 1989 campaign, Jerry Jones' first season of ownership.
"I think you have to look at everybody," Stephen Jones said. "I'm accountable. Jason's accountable. We're 4-11. It's up to us to do something about it. We had injuries, yes, but Jason doesn't want to use that as an excuse. I don't want to use that as excuse."
Still, the cold fact here is that Tony Romo only played in four games, and finished two, before going on injured reserve last week due to his twice-broken collarbone. And to be clear, no one's under any illusion in Dallas that these Cowboys are ready to win big without No. 9 in the lineup.
But to Jones' point, that hardly justifies what happened -- which, after Romo went down, was not much of anything. The tougher thing to swallow is that this really isn't a new problem, either. Dallas is 78-49 with Romo in the lineup since he became the starter and 7-19 without him, and the Cowboys average almost twice as many touchdown passes per game in the former circumstance vs. the latter.
"There's no way we shouldn't have won three or four more games, especially with the division we're in," Jones said. "Teams win games in those situations, and we're taking accountability for that. We should be able to win games without Tony. One question that's fair is if we have a system in place that's not good for other quarterbacks. How come we can't adapt when Tony's not in the game? It's the same group of coaches, the same cast from a top-five offense, but we don't have the same stats."
And while some of it might be about the investment, or lack thereof, in backup quarterbacks (we'll get to that), Jones was quick to point out how Brandon Weeden getting his first win of the season as a starter on Sunday -- as a Houston Texan -- was sobering. And not because they believe going with Matt Cassel over Weeden a couple months ago was the wrong call. They don't. It just begs the question, in Jones' words, "Why does Brandon go down to Houston and do fine? Ours is a system that's 'Romo-friendly,' but is it not 'other-quarterback-friendly'?"
In other words, because Romo is a different kind of quarterback, and a sophisticated one, does that system become hard to adapt to someone new, in the way the Texans adapted theirs to Weeden?
Then there's the question of who will be the backup in 2016. Cassel's contract expires after this season, while Dallas can bring back Kellen Moore on the cheap. Maybe the Cowboys add another 30-something journeyman like Cassel or Weeden. But as we mentioned a few weeks ago in this space, the franchise is also ready to draft one high.
Romo turns 36 in April. That's how old Tom Brady was when the Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo and how old Peyton Manning was when Denver took Brock Osweiler, and it's a year older than Brett Favre was when the Packers picked up Aaron Rodgers. Which is why taking a quarterback in the top 10 is something the Cowboys will consider.
"Yeah, we gotta look at that," Jones said. "Obviously, it's a bigger deal now, with Tony injured. And I'm sure he'd understand it. But if we draft the guy [in the first round], we're drafting him to watch. And that's the hard thing. He could be watching for three years, but that's not all bad. It can be a good thing for them. Tony got to watch for a long time -- it helped him. Steve Young, Aaron Rodgers, players like that -- guys that have stepped in and played great -- got to watch."
Now, all of this isn't to say the handling of the quarterbacks was the only issue this fall.
There was also the makeup of the locker room, which was tense at times, and recalled 2008. That year, the Cowboys were coming off a breakthrough year and, sensing they were close, took splashy risks (Pacman Jones, Roy Williams), paid key vets ... and watched it all implode. They didn't have a quarterback injury like they did this year, but the other similarities aren't lost on the Joneses, particularly with Greg Hardy's deal up at the end of this campaign.
"That's fair," Stephen Jones said. "We'll look at those things, and we've talked about that. You bring in those players and you win, and they don't seem to be an issue. You don't win, and it becomes a focus. It's fair that it's brought up. It's something we'll take a look at."
There are smaller things to sort through, too. The running back situation is one (Darren McFadden has been great, but will turn 29 next August). The future of the secondary is another (Brandon Carr has a big cap number, Orlando Scandrick is returning from an ACL injury and Morris Claiborne is heading into free agency). The hope is Dez Bryant will come back healthier next season, but the team could use another weapon in the passing game, with Jason Witten turning 34 this coming offseason.
Still, the belief in Dallas is that there remains a rock-solid foundation under the rubble. Which makes the carnage of '15 all the more frustrating.
"You gotta be able to win with good players out," Jones said. "We have a lot of work to do. We will not stick our heads in the sand and say this is all a Tony/Dez deal. We gotta see how we're gonna do it." As such, Jones conceded that 2015 "will go down as one of the big, big disappointments for us since we've had the team."
The good news is, it'll be over Sunday. Even better: When that final whistle blows, Dallas can get on with making sure it doesn't happen again.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ebook-cowboys-future-chip-kellys-undoing-more
