One of earliest and best lessons in following football came decades ago, in my brief time as a news photographer. I was assigned to record a game featuring Edinburg High in South Texas and tasked with interviewing the Bobcats head coach, Richard Flores, at the half.
Flores was the dean of South Texas coaches, known for his creative offenses. On this day, his team was trailing at the half to a vastly inferior opponent. I asked him if he planned any major adjustments and anticipated some juicy strategic dish. His simple answer surprised me.
“No” he said, “we don’t need to change anything. We just need to do what we do better.” They did, rallying for a late win.
Flores’ understatement brings to mind the hand wringing and brain twisting from the Cowboys faithful this past month. The offense has struggled to move and to score. And fans have reached for their pat explanations:
- It’s the quarterback, who’s lost his touch
- It’s his receivers, who have suffered COVID, a concussion and the dropsies
- It’s the offensive coordinator, who’s lost his magic touch
- It’s the offensive line, shuffled to an extreme extent, and which misses Tyron Smith
- It’s the running backs, who are dinged and in Ezekiel Elliott’s case, possibly declining.
In reality, it’s been all of these factors. Each hit the Cowboys after the New England win in October and while no single factor is wholly responsible for the decline, they all combined to drop point production by over a touchdown per game.