Where there is smoke there is fire. There was a lot of smoke this past week around Garrett and the Cowboys. To sum it up, Troy Aikman, the New York Giants, and Jerry Jones have been involved.
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Sunday almost felt like groundhogs day for the Dallas Cowboys. If you compare team stats for that specific game things looked close. But the cerebral Patriots outsmarted the robotic Cowboys. It was a close game but play-calling, clock management, and other decisions doomed the Cowboys. Unfortunately, week in and week out the same story circulates among fans in regards to the man who claps on the sidelines. Cowboys fans are sick of Garrett. The excuses to keep him are running out. But more importantly the man who has all the power is starting to get fed up.
Jerry Jones came out and said that the loss against the Patriots was a significant setback. He also put the blame for the first time that I can remember on the Cowboys coaching. Special teams let him down but it was more than that. The offense looked unprepared and the defense struggled. Yes, Brett Maher missed a field goal but Nick Folk missed two.
Troy Aikman even blasted his former teammate during the broadcast. He challenged decision making across the board. He pointed out bad positioning and then a critical 4th down decision. In all honesty, I love Troy but the 4th down decision was something that would’ve been questionable either way. If they missed it then Garrett would’ve been crucified, and if they made it he would be heralded (possibly).
Even Cowherd went in and trashed the coaching. He actually made some good points. One, this team seemed as if they didn’t know that weather could be a factor. They also didn’t seem to know that in bad weather it might be a good idea to run it. Ball control seemed to be important in this game and it felt that Dallas didn’t know this. Second, Cowherd stated that this team doesn’t have an identity. Yes, you can be known as one type of team and make adjustments game to game, or half to half. Where do identities come from? I say coaches determine a team’s identity.
All these men had valid points. But the potential nail in the coffin could be the report which came out stating Garrett is high on the Giants head coaching list. Ian Rapoport stated that this situation was fluid and would really need to be watched. Earlier in the year rumors were flying around that the Cowboys should be intrigued with Lincoln Riley. Whether these two reports have any merit we don’t know. Personally I feel that this is posturing by both sides. Jason Garrett doesn’t have a new deal yet and Jerry is taking a wait and see approach. Games like this will guarantee the Cowboys will turn the other cheek on the man they invested so much in. Whether this is the end of the Garrett era in Dallas or isn’t, it is clear they have work to do to finish the season.
Sources: ESPN, NY Post, Sports Illustrated, The Herd