Lanschaften » The Cowboys laid their second egg of the season

Cowboys players http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/jeff-heath-jersey , and fans, have no one to blame but the Cowboys players a mistake-filled loss to the Seahawks, 24-13. The team drops to 1-2 on the season and some soul-searching is in progress. Who is to blame?We can debate the effectiveness of Jason Garrett, or Scott Linehan, or offensive line coach Paul Alexander, or the roster-building skills of Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones and Will McClay. We can go round and round about strategies, play-calls, motivation, teaching techniques, dead money or free agent acquisitions. It’s all in play for debate and it’s all very legitimate.What’s not debatable is these Cowboys players are simply failing. I made the case after the Carolina Panthers game, and it was not well-received by some. Scott Lienhan was the problem child for many, but after watching this game against Seattle, it’s pretty obvious that the coaches are not solely to blame for this mess. No one is absolving them of some blame, the team should be playing better and they have to accept the fact they are not, and accept their own complicity in that. If things continue this way, many of them will be fired after the season, Jason Garrett included, and that’s as it should be. It’s easier to change the coaching staff than it is to re-do the roster.But seriously. The coaches didn’t have a pass come out of their hands and into the hands (and leg) of Earl Thomas. It wasn’t the coaches who dropped a potential third-down conversion like Ezekiel Elliott. Or fumbled the ball like Elliott. It wasn’t the coaches that got a stupid penalty like Randy Gregory that gifted the Seahawks three points. It wasn’t the coaches who got caught cheating up in a disguised Cover 2 like Kavon Frazier that provided a wide-open touchdown. It wasn’t the Cowboys coaches who couldn’t block a Seattle pass rush that had been pretty anemic before this game. The coaches didn’t let the Seahawks convert a third and 12 on a running play, when everyone knew they were going to run, to ice the game. The list goes on and on.As for Dak Prescott, yes, he had a lot of pressure in his face in the game, and it was hard for him to get comfortable, but the time for excuses are over. Each week it’s something else. It’s the offensive line, it’s the play-calls, it’s the receivers... it’s always something. In this league the quarterback has to lead, and he has to overcome the times when things aren’t going well. Dak Prescott looked as good as could be in his first 24 games or so in this league. Since then, he’s been average at his best, a liability at his worst. If the Cowboys are going to win, he has to elevate his game, and there can be no qualifiers or caveats. He simply has to play better, period. There is no way to sugarcoat it. The team is tied to him for now, but the doubt is real. If he can’t play better than he has the last 10 or so games Womens Byron Jones Jersey , the Cowboys will have to start the arduous process of finding a quarterback of the future.Dak’s problems are real, but so are the problems of the offensive line. Tyron Smith isn’t the Tyron Smith of two years ago. La’el Collins is still hit and miss. Connor Williams is learning, but it’s on the hon and sometimes that can be painful. As a whole, this offensive line is nothing like it was a few years ago. It’s a serious issue, and we might not be able to coach our way out of it. It may take some personnel changes down the line.It’s not wisejump ship on the season just yet. There is time to right the ship and get it moving in a positive direction. It certainly can be done. The coaches need to help. They need to re-think certain things, like why didn’t Dak Prescott use his legs in this game? Where were the read-options from last week? But the Cowboys success can’t rely solely on Prescottrunning the ball sometimes in a game. The coaches are certainly in the mix of blame, but we have to face facts. The players on the field are failing, and failing badly in two of the three games this season. The offensive line and Dak Prescott are a couple of the bigger problems, but now the defense is joining the problem parade. They just got manhandled by a sub-par and injured Seattle offensive line. They simply didn’t win the matchups. Coaches can only do so much.Jason Garrett: No dramatic personnel changes to shake up the offense After the loss to the Seahawks, the NFL schedule rolls on. The Cowboys have a Sunday date with the Lions, and since it’s Wednesday, Jason Garrett met with the media before the first practice of the week. (All answers from Garrett are paraphrased and not actual quotes).With the struggling offense, will there be any personnel changes?No dramatic changes. We just got to get back and get locked in, we need to move the ball, be efficient and productive. There were some good things in that game to build on, but we have to be more productive. We’ll look at the coaching staff, the execution of the players, what we’re asking them to do.When does it become the point you look at personnel changes?We are always evaluating that. Evaluating how we’re using the personnel, are we maximizing their strengths, minimize the weaknesses, it’s an on-going process.How do you get more downfield throws to get more explosive plays?You just do it. So much is predicated on what you want to do and what the defense gives you. We present opportunities vertically, we need to take advantage of them when they are available, if not then you take the intermediate or underneath option to move chains. Trust is critical for all parts of team, all 11 men must do the job. Hopefully over time you build that trust, demonstrate accountability, all over the football team.Have you seen many plays where Dak has a clean pocket and and open guy but just missed it?Sure, there have been examples where he didn’t see a guy, or something happens in protection. You evaluate it play by play, I haven’t seen an overarching problem, it’s something goes wrong here on this play, something else on that play. Hopefully we canexecute better.With Sean Lee out for a bit, talk about Jaylon Smith.He’s done a nice job, he’s improved dramatically. First hurdle was getting healthy, he played last year but wasn’t 100%. He’s gotten better physically, he learns from experience http://www.dallascowboysteamonline.com/tyrone-crawford-jersey , he goes about it right way. He was healthy and had a good offseason. He’s played a lot of snaps and is certainly more capable now. Smart guy that goes about it the right way.Some teams throw 40-50 times a game. Is it possible to run the ball that much in a game?Balance is a goal, but running the ball helps linemen, QB’s get more favorable looks, and it helps the defense. Running the ball is a big part of what we do, but you have to balance other way, too. We have to make plays in the passing game.What’s the latest update on Travis Frederick?I think he is doing better, but the best person to ask would be him. He is around the team every day, he hasn’t practiced or done a walk-through. He looks better. He would need to pass some strength threshold in the weight room first (before coming back), best to ask him. He is moving around better, he’s contributing.Will Maliek Collins practice today?If he does it would be limited, I would expect him to work on the side.Deonte Thompson has added spark on kick returns.He’s done a nice job on kick returns. He’s a vet guy, he has a good feel for it, has speed and vision. Isn’t afraid to run it up in there.Would you like to get Tavon Austin more involved offensively?Sure, he’s been a big part of what we’ve done. We anticipated being able to move him around and put in different spots,Will Jeff Heath practice today?Yes.Can you feel confident with Sean Lee missing, given the previous stats about the defense when he is out?Jaylon is much further along in his experience. We feel good about Vander Esch’s development. We like the LB corps. Damien Wilson is a better player than before, and Joe Thomas. But mainly we feel good about Jaylon and Leighton. Sean is a big-time player, he’ll be engaged. He’s a great football player good physically, instincts are rare, and he is a great leader, emotional leader. He make calls and communicates. He’s a vet, and is great about teaching Jaylon and Leighton, he helps themWill Brice Butler play this week?Haven’t made any determination, he had a good week, hopefully he has another this week.Surgery for Datone Jones’ hamstring?I understand he will need surgery but that’s not for sure, whatever the case he won’t be back anytime soon that’s why we put him on IR.With LVE missing time in camp, are you surprised at his play this early?A big part of his eval was his smarts, instincts, we saw that at the outset, even before he missed time. He remained engaged when he was out, he’s wants to know the calls, run the plays mentally, when out he stayed engaged.