THE OFFENSE
Despite the loss of Tony Romo, the Cowboys offense was still pretty good. There were a lot of times where the play calling would make you scratch your head and one yard gains from Marion Barber became more frequent than Seinfeld reruns. Still, whether it be Romo or the resurgent Jon Kitna, the Cowboys were able to move the ball better than average for most of the year. A lot of this has to do with the skill of both Romo and Kitna and the receiving weapons the Cowboys have. Still, no one can be thrilled with this offensive machine that constantly had either broken parts, or squeaky cogs, throughout the entire season.
The problems start with the offensive line. Down right abysmal. This group was more than an achilles heel for this offense throughout the entire year. They were slow and weak the entire year. Aside from LT Doug Free, the unit seemed old, tired and lackadaisical. Colombo was repeatedly speed rushed into submission from the right side, Leonard Davis could barley get out of his stance before he was beat and Andre Gurode is so retarded he just snaps the ball whenever he's tired of squatting down. The smartest player on the line, Kyle Kosier, is constantly hampered with injuries. (His replacement Phil Costa is about as assertive as a mall security guard).The Cowboys have a collection of relics (plus the less talented Gronkowski) protecting their quarterbacks which is why Tony Romo finished the season on IR and why there was not so much of a pore for the running backs to run through.
The running game for the Cowboys was also rancid. Marion Barber is done. Finito! Get em out! His body once hit defenders like a massive bowling ball. Now he's rolling down the lane and knocking over no pins. In every single short yardage situation, supposedly his specialty, he hit the defenders like a pilates ball. Felix Jones did get more touches this season but he proved that, although gifted with great agility and speed, he truly needs to have the field opened up for him to cause any sort of measurable damage. Tashard Choice was banished to the bench for almost the entire season after his miscarriage in week one right before the half. I think he deserved a shot at more carries and he did get a few more at the end of the season. He proved that he was a talented back worthy of carries but he too, is nothing special.
The receiving corps and quarterbacks were the best part of this team in 2010... Tony Romo did not start the season as sharp but I still believe he is a good quarterback. His mobility often concealed the masquerade of an offensive line that the Cowboys shuffled onto the field every sunday. His balls were more inaccurate than usual to start the season but I think that he will take some cues from Jon Kitna's assertive leadership and come back extremely strong next season.
The receivers were inconsistent but showed us that they can be deadly next season. Dez Bryant looked like T.O. in his prime for much of the season until his ankle injury. Although he often doesn't know the routes to run, he was almost uncoverable. Roy Williams had his bad moments at terrible times (game-changing fumbles) but he also caught a lot of important passes this year and showed that he can contribute. He will be a good third receiever should the Cowboys choose to retain him. Miles Austin looked fantastic early on but seemed to disappear as the season stretched on. He did catch a good amount of touchdowns but his stats toward the end of the season were unimpressive. He dropped a lot of balls and it seemed that the big contract he recieved over the off-season has tainted his focus. I still think he has a few things to prove. Jason Witten started off slow and I thought that his skills were in decline. He was not the big play threat as much this season but a lot of that has to do with the QB. He still led the league in TE receptions and eclipsed the 1,000 yd mark again. He is well on his way to Canton.
Now that Garrett is officially the coach we can finally turn the page on this disgrace of a season and look ahead. More analysis of what the Cowboys need to do ahead.
No comments:
Post a Comment