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1. Ownership. Like many, I am ready for Jerry Jones to not be the general manager. The owner/GM thing worked for Al Davis before most of the players on the field today were even born, but it is not working now. Yes, owning the team is an incredibly huge responsibility/investment that only a minuscule amount of people on this world can even pretend to understand, but, from the bleachers, it looks like it might be time to step back and release a bit of control of the team to someone not burdened by the weight of ownership.
2. Coaching Staff - Head Coach. I like Jason Garrett and am glad he will still be the head coach. I have heard nothing but good things about how he motivates players and runs the locker room. It is clear that he has the respect of the players and that they play hard for him. Yes, there have been mistakes in clock/game management. No, I do not ignore that. I worry that, if he were to be dismissed, that the ownership would not replace him with a similar caliber coach.
If Garrett left, I would love to see Jon Gruden on the sidelines, or Bill Parcells, or Sean Payton. But, alas, that will not be happening.
Great coaches have won big games with sub-standard teams and great teams have failed to win with sub-standard coaches. I am not ready to cast a judgement on Garrett, but the bottom line is that this team needs to win next year and win big.
3. Coaching Staff - Offensive Coordinator. Um, I think the team needs to do a better job establishing the run. Bill Callahan seems to channel Jason Garrett's game plan through his position as offensive coordinator down to Garrett who then radios the play to the field. It is the run-and-shoot without the run. It is time to establish a formidable running game. The pieces are in place for this. Do this and control the clock and control the game and take the pressure off of Romo and get lots of wins.
4. Coaching Staff - Defensive Coordinator. Monte Kiffin did not do a good job. Things went from bad to worse as players started dropping like flies. I believe it will be likely that Dallas finds another coordinator soon. The one positive that I saw from the cheap seats was that I did not constantly see defensive backs shrugging and looking perplexed after getting super-burned when trying to operate the Rob Ryan defense.
I think that getting rid of Rob Ryan was a mistake and that adjustments should have been made to his defense, not to him having the job.
I will say this, the defense stepped it up last night and, despite being vulnerable to a few long runs up the middle, looked better than they had in a while. I attribute this to some coaching motivation.
5. Offense - QBs. I was a Tony Romo fan. I am a Tony Romo fan. I will be a Tony Romo plan. Yes, he has faults and is not perfect. However, that is a trait he shares with every other human on the planet. He has helped lose some games, but I think that, over the course of his career, he has won many more games than he has lost and he has been on the receiving end of a lot of criticism for losing close games when a lot of other factors led to the letdown.
Is there another quarterback I would rather have on the field that is not named "Roger Staubach" or "Troy Aikman?" Nope. None. Tony Romo has gone from undrafted free agent to a top-tier quarterback all while under the unforgiving microscope of the job of quarterbacking America's Team.
As far as backups go, I was impressed with Kyle Orton last night until the end. Interestingly, the headlines are not beating him up even close to what would have been happening today if Romo had thrown that decisive interception. I guess, because he is a backup, it was almost expected.
6. Offense - RB. Demarco Murray ran as hard last night as I have ever seen him run. Give him the ball more and coach that motivation out of him and Romo's arm might atrophy. A healthy Lance Dunbar will make a great two-headed attack. Dunbar showed flashes of brilliance before his season ended with the injury.
7. Offense - WR. Dez Bryant is an amazing athlete and a project in maturity. Ill take the good with the bad because the bad really is not that bad compared to dark roads taken by other players. Miles Austin was pretty much a non-factor all season. I think Orton's last pass last night was the last we have seen of #19 in a Cowboys uniform. I wish he was less injury prone and more consistent. One of two things will happen. He will go somewhere else and fade away, or he will play with another uniform and find a new hamstring and be a star again.
Terrance Williams is very good and going to get better. I look forward to seeing him more next year.
Duane Harris has developed into a great return man and is the cornerstone of the special teams. I think his biggest contributions have been on kick coverage.
8. Offense - TE. Jason Witten forever! Lets hope Escobar keeps cartwheeling into the end zone too!
9. Offense - Offensive Line. Super solid! The high-water mark of the season. Can we preserve them in time?
10. Defense - Defensive Line. Many are talking about Demarcus Ware's off season. I disagree. True, the numbers are not there, however, he is a factor on almost every play when he is on the field regardless of if he gets a sack or tackle. Not every player can make that claim. I hope he gets rid of his nagging injuries in the offseason.
Jason Hatcher had a breakout year. Nice work!
What else can I say about the squad that had new faces every day? Rough season.
11. Defense - LB. A healthy Sean Lee is the key to a good LB corps. That is obvious. I hope Bruce Carter returns to form. Holloway had a great game last night.
12. Defense - DB. Across the board, everyone needs to play better.
13. Special Teams - K/P. Don't touch a-nothin! It is not broken. Do not fix it. And...most importantly, NEVER say a kicker is "automatic." Had Orton not thrown that pick last night, it could have ended with a missed FG!
So, even though the season ended last night, I like some of the things I saw on the field from the players and the coaching staff.
I am sad that they did not make the playoffs, but I know any type of playoff win would have required a miracle, so part of me is glad that it is time to start looking forward to the next season. So, that is what I will start doing...looking forward to the next round and hoping to not be heartbroken in 8 out of 16 games...again.
-Todd Vorenkamp
@TRVphoto
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