What's wrong with the Cowboys? Yeah, you keep hearing about how Emmitt Smith
is the problem and he's been slowing down, however; did you realize that in
1994, there were people asking if Emmitt Smith was wearing down and that's
when he scored 21 TDs rushing. Well, it's not Smith, it's far deeper than
that...
1. Jay Novacek. More than any other factor, his loss has had the greatest
impact on the Cowboys. I know that the offensive line and Emmitt Smith take
the biggest hits, especially from John Madden and his parrot, Pat Summerall
but the fact is, Jay Novacek is THE SINGLE BIGGEST reason why the Cowboys
offense is so screwed up. On first, second or third down, Jay was an option
and even when Harper or Irvin weren't at the top of their game, Jay was
always there to give them a crucial reception. More often than not in the
last two years, Irvin has found himself blanketed on third down and they've
had to go to someone else (Last year it was Kevin Williams, this year it's
been Stepford Williams). When Novacek was around, there were 3 viable options
on any down and that Pokes were able to move the ball. Their long drives and 
2 minute offense were among the tops in the league with Jay and now, they're 
non-existent.
Where Jay really excelled was in the red zone because he'd get a TD or he'd
give them a first down and goal within 3 yards of the end zone. More often
then not, the Pokes are now trying to start a "and goal" situation from the
8 to 9 yard line. With a pass catching threat on offense, Emmitt Smith was
the only key on a goal line play and if a team were to key on him, Jay was
there to make the defense pay. Even if they didn't go to him, the defense
was still wary. The red zone is where they really miss him. If Bjornson or
LaFleur were to ever become as reliable as Jay, the Pokes would become a lot
better and they'd start scoring TDs instead of settling for field goals.
2. Ernie Zampese. I'm sorry but this guy is nowhere near as good as Norv
Turner and PLEASE don't mention that he was the one that tutored Norv because
Norv is a lot better than he is. He is too predictable and has become more
so this year than any other year. What's really getting my goat is the fact
that he calls the most bizarre plays in the most bizarre situation. When a
team is struggling like it is and they NEED a drive to bring back their
confidence, they dont' need a long pass on 2nd and 1 to disrupt their flow.
Take what they give you and march down the field and hope that everything
begins to get put back together and THEN you can take chances. Several times
this year, the Pokes have had good drives stalled NOT because they weren't
able to execute but because Zampese would call something that would totally
disrupt the drive.
3. Penalties. It's 1st and goal on the 3 or first and goal on the 6 and Troy
Aikman hands off to Smith and he gets almost to the goal line but a penalty
flag on the sideline indicates that a false start is about to throttle their
chances and Cunningham was going to get another field goal. There have been
times that the Cowboys were just on the verge of scoring only to be hurt by
a penalty and without a guy like Novacek to get them back into position, a
penalty becomes a death sentence to their drives. .
4. Offensive line. A lot has been made about center Clay Shriver but that is
just a way for some people to avoid picking on some of the former All-Stars
on the line. When Donaldson took over for Stepnoski, he had his problems with
making the calls early in his career and now, people seem to forget that and
blame Shriver for more than they should. The problems on the offensive line
lie somewhere else...
Nate Newton's injury COMBINED with a new center has made the middle more
vunerable than it's been in a long time AND Dallas is no longer able to
cover its biggest weakness on its offensive line because they have to divert
their resources to cover the middle. In the past the Moose would cover for
Tuinei by picking up the quick linemen/linebackers that would eat him up.
This left Smith to cover the outside or Smith could cover for the Moose and
the Moose could sneak into the pattern and catch everyone by surprise. The
backs now have to cover the center and backside OR risk a sack when one or
the other goes out into the pattern. This has hurt the passing game because
they lose another option when they keep both backs in. Mark Tuinei needs to
send 1/2 of his salary to John Madden because he owes his Pro Bowl appearance
and subsequent raise to comments made by Madden a couple of years ago. These
comments were totally offbase because John totally ignored how the Moose was
covering up Tuinei's inability to hold off the better than average players.
Madden made comments about Tuinei's play while he was holding off a mediocre
defensive end and since it was a nationally televised game, a lot of people
took it as Gospel. Once Newton gets healthy and Shriver gets situated, the
backs can go back to just covering Tuinei's butt and one of them will be
free to hurt the defense.
5. Miller. Some of these factors were evident last year but the real problem
was Irvin's suspension. Once he got back, Kevin Williams was able to get into 
a groove and the team played much better. Miller hasn't quite gained Aikman's
confidence and the truth be told, Stepford Williams runs much better patterns 
and he really has been the one that Aikman looks for on third down when he 
can't find Irvin. I like Miller but he hasn't come around but when he does, 
the team should be a lot better off.
The Cowboys problems aren't just one person, it's a combination of problems.
--- TrekEd 1.00
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