Cowboys Lose

I rarely write about the American version of football, but I need a little catharsis after the Cowboy's loss today. Football is arguably a sport where coaches have more to do with the outcome than any other. In real "football," the coach manages players, runs training, makes decisions on line-ups, subs and formations that hopefully match up well with their opponents and create the intangible milieu that works for the club. But personnel matters a lot, as can be seen by who tends to win leagues, cups and European competitions. In basketball (at least at the pro level), coaches manage players and can be important at the end of games, but the players performance has a lot to do with success. In baseball, there are a ton of mini decisions that are made by managers from where to position players in the field, who to start, when to call in a reliever, pitches, steals, etc. But the game again comes down to performance. With American football, every play involves at least one and often several coaching decisions. Time management and personnel decisions are key. Coaches can create an environment that seems to cultivate discipline or take a lax approach that shows up on the field. They often call offensive plays and defensive formations. They manage time outs and make key decisions on field goals, going for it on fourth down and the like. And with this in mind I want to look at the coaches of my two teams.

The first is the Jets and Rex Ryan. Ryan came in with his big personality and crazy predictions of success and did just that. Two tough AFC Title game losses stood between the Jets and their first Super Bowl since 1969. But over the last year plus, his style is starting to wear thin and his personnel decisions baffling. Why did he not go out and buy a couple playmaking wide receivers? How did he let the defense become so mediocre? And why get the polarizing Tim Tebow when you have a quarterback who is clearly more sensitive than most. Today the Jets won big, but they will clearly struggle to make the playoffs. 3-3 is not a bad start, but injuries, player attitudes and a real lack of offensive fire power does not bode well for the team's future; at least this year. There was also, of course, the bizarre decision to let the camera's into training camp last year -- which seemed to quash the momentum two years of success had garnered. 

On the other side is the Cowboys, who have lost two games in a row that they probably should have won. Almost two weeks ago, on Monday night, they were driving for a touchdown to tie up the game when an interception turned things around. Romo threw five in that game, but at least three were based on errors by receivers. This week, they ran all over the Baltimore Ravens on the road and had numerous chances go wanting. But without the 12 penalties and terrible time management at the end, they still probably would have won. Instead they allowed 14 seconds to run off the clock as they decided whether to call their last time out. Even a spiked ball would have given them another play to pick up five or ten yards and have a much more manageable field goal attempt. Jason Garrett has been the coach since 2010, and has only managed a 15-12 record with one of the most potent offensive teams in the NFL. He has done nothing in the playoffs and often makes terrible decisions at key points in games that hurt the team. He certainly can't be on the field catching the ball, a huge problem for the Cowboys all year, including the enigmatic Dez Bryant who has dropped 6 balls in the last two games -- with the last costing Dallas the tie. But even after that heartbreak, the Cowboys recovered the ensuing onside kick and were set up for a field goal, before the time snafu. 

What is wrong with the coaching? One thing appears to be play calling in the red zone. The Cowboys too often settle for 3 instead of 7 or have a costly turnover, which is obviously often the fault of Romo but also relates to penalties and play calling. They also have had a number of problems on special teams, which played a huge role in the loss today. That often comes down to coaching. Time management is another key role the coach plays, and the Cowboys have been victims of some ridiculous late game waste of time in the last three years. We can also see some questionable defensive calls. A 3rd and 13 in the 2nd quarter with the Raven pinned back in their own end was arguably played too conservatively with only three rushers, giving Flaco the time to complete a pass for the first down on the way to a score. Finally, is the number of penalties. Today penalties kept pushing the Cowboys back and arguably cost them at least 4 points (probably more). Looking at the score, that was the difference and the problems on the line all season have to fall back on the coaching staff, particularly allowing Romo to micromanage the game in a way that seems to backfire a little too often. 15-12 for this team is not good enough and it might be time for Jones to start looking for another coach who can get the best of the players and team.