It’s a lost season for the Dallas Cowboys, which has to have set in for the team and their fans. After losing to the Philadelphia Eagles and falling to 2-6, there is nothing that can save the Cowboys from the dumpster fire known as 2020.
It was a bad team with Dak Prescott and it’s even worse without him.
There’s also no shortage of blame for the Cowboys being in this predicament. Blame the coronavirus for not being allowed to adjust to a new coaching staff, blame the lack of a preseason to help a team going through growing pains with new schemes and we can even blame the injuries, which have crushed the team’s ability be who they wanted to be.
And it’s fine to blame the players who are actually on the field because they haven’t helped with the turnovers, penalties or overall poor play.
Of course the sexy thing to do is always blame the organization. Jerry and Stephen Jones are easy targets, after all they selected the players and decided who was worthy of paying. As most observers continue to hammer home, not securing Prescott long-term was a misstep and failing to sign re-sign CB Byron Jones remains an egregious error.
Those were two huge mistakes, but the Cowboys did operate differently this offseason. Instead of shopping in the basement for bargains, the franchise actually went out and spent some real money on veteran free agents to help.
DT’s Gerald McCoy and Dontari Poe were good additions, even if Poe wasn’t the same player he once was. The team also brought in veteran saftey Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, CB’s Daryl Worley and Maurice Canady, and DE Aldon Smith to bulk up the defense.
Adding a capable backup QB like Andy Dalton was another strong move from and the Cowboys also signed versatile offensive lineman Cam Erving to pitch in if needed.
Most of the signings were good on paper, but just haven’t worked out.
Poe turned out to be washed up and McCoy, whose signing everyone applauded, got hurt, which has turned out to be a big loss. Clinton-Dix and Worley never worked out and Canady opted out for the season. The addition of Smith has been a major plus.
Injuries knocked out Dalton, but he helped win a game for the team and, until recently, Erving was injured as well.
In a perfect world, the Cowboys never need Dalton, but we’ve seen how 2020 has treated the best laid plans. The emergency use of Dalton was supposed to be for a few games to keep the teams head above water in case Prescott got hurt and was going to miss a few weeks. Dalton wasn’t supposed to be starting for the majority of the season.
The offseason plan was solid, the Cowboys brought in good options to help improve the team. They didn’t just patch up holes with street level players as they usually do, they added good (so we thought) players.
Each offseason Cowboys fans scream about the lack of aggressiveness from the front office. They want the team to be more assertive in acquiring talent to get better. And here was Dallas, making the moves to improve this offseason, they just haven’t worked out.
It would be sad if the Cowboys abandoned their approach from this offseason and went back to bargain bin shopping. This year’s results shouldn’t discourage them from being aggressive in the future.
The hope is the Cowboys will continue to find ways to get better each offseason and maximize their resources. Becoming skittish because one year didn’t work out isn’t the sign of a strong front office. The results from 2020 just means the Cowboys have to choose the players more wisely.
Dallas had a solid plan and it should be applied in the future. It didn’t pay off this season, but that’s no reason to throw the blueprints away.
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