OK, it is finally over. Thank goodness!
The fourth and final preseason game of the 2011 is over.
In reality, for the Dallas Cowboys, it told you nothing.
No regular starter except for rookie Tyron Smith played.
Miami's field was such a God-awful mess. The Cowboys were wise they didn't risk the health of anyone who could be considered a starter.
Last night's game didn't give me pause. However, the whole preseason and training camp as a whole did.
I know, I know, as Randy Galloway of 103.3 ESPN so elegantly states every week of the preseason, "it isn't real football."
However, you have at least be able to say as a whole, you feel good going into Week No. 1 of the NFL season.
One has to wonder if Jason Garrett can stand up in front of the media and say he feels good going into week No. 1. If he does, I will have to bring out my laughing machine.
What we have seen so far in this young season, we can almost expect a repeat performance of last season—in 2011.
I wrote about the secondary and the coaching in my last article. And last night just proved the backups aren't all that great either. And that is going up against other backups/scrubs of the Miami Dolphins.
The backup QB position is going to be an interesting situation. Stephen McGee threw an interception in the end zone that was so ill advised, I wonder if he can take over if Tony Romo gets injured.
This was on the first drive, so no excuses of being tired, and he has played a lot in the preseason, so being rusty isn't a good enough excuse either. And let me stress this again—this was against the Miami Dolphins scrub players. These guys won't even be on the team in the next few days.
The fact is, I would have said McGee and Kitna were the same guy, so have the younger guy back up Romo.
Seeing that performance last night tells me that I need to change that opinion and quick. The Cowboys should be scanning the free agent market.
The way McGee played showed me he really isn't ready to hang your hat on to backup Romo.
It wasn't really a real possibility in the first place. However, in looking toward the future of this team and seeing how Romo is always under the gun in Dallas, I was wondering if the kid could step it up and take the reins of this team if he had to. The Cowboys better hope he doesn't have to.
Watch Out—Positive Alert:
What was nice to see was DeMarco Murray finally able to get some reps on the field. On the first drive last night, he was playing like he didn't have the backup role to Felix Jones solidified as his.
More Cowboys players need to play that way.
Case in point would be Kevin Ogletree.
His performance again against the scrubs in Miami last night has to have the Cowboys coaching staff scratching their heads wondering, "Who is this guy?" Add on top of that an arrest today, he may have worn out his welcome in Dallas.
That being said—as much as Garrett has seemed to have changed the attitude of this Cowboys team, it's still suspect. There are still battles of “The right of entitlement attitudes” of some players on this team.
Then there are some veterans on this team who seem like they could be a liability.
Fact is I love Keith Brooking. But in reality, he is getting older. Last season, I saw enough to Brooking to see the speed of the younger players in the NFL are passing right past him. He is just not keeping up. One would have to ask if is he capable of keeping up.
So grabbing a younger Sean Lee could be the answer, but he better straighten up quick, as well. We really don't know the health situation of Brooking come Week No. 1. And, so far, Lee hasn't really impressed anyone with his "steller" play.
Offensively—the Cowboys seem to have improved. The offensive line is still suspect. However, WRs have to get in the routes faster to help the offensive line stay off Romo.
Romo needed to make faster decisions and make better decisions. So far in the preseason he looks like he has been working on that aspect of his game, and it is getting better. Although two of those interceptions in this short preseason were real bad.
The RBs seem to be getting to the holes. Felix Jones needs to get production in the running game for anything in the passing game to work in 2011.
But there still is a question regarding the offensive line. Are we really seeing the defensive lines the Cowboys will compete against in the regular season?
Will there be a different intensity from the defensive lines the Cowboys will see against Week 1 to Week No. 17? You would think yes, so the line would have to step up and improve as the season goes on. Then there is a need for key players to get healthy.
Many questions are still brewing into camp because the Cowboys move ahead with making the cuts to get down to the league mandate of 53.
With the secondary is a mess, and I don't see too much improvement going to go into the new season with any optimism.
Going into this season and looking at last season the Cowboys gave up an average 27.2 points a game. And, to be honest, they don't look any better in 2011—at least so far in this preseason.
Can the offense improve on the average 24.6 points they scored last season to win games giving up so many points by the defense?
They better because a defense giving up that many points Romo, Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Jason Witten and Jones all are going to have to be Pro Bowlers. I just don't see more than two.
This season the offense, if they are capable, is going to have to bail the defense out, unlike in years past.
Normally it is stated, “You will only go as far as your quarterback.”
This season it will be, “You will only go as far as your defense takes you.”
By the looks of things, as far as the defense is concerned, that isn't very far.
There is absolutely nothing that shows improvement on the defensive side of the ball so far in this young season that can make any Cowboys fan feel like their team is a contender in 2011.
Then there is the biggest question of all.
It goes toward the most incompetent GM in the NFL next to Rod Graves of the Arizona Cardinals—Jerry Jones.
How could a team that was so bad on the defensive side of the ball in 2010 just ignore that performance on the field (as well as the preseason and with injuries piling up), then basically stand pat with the same guys in 2011?
Jason Garrett will get a crash course in answering these types of questions after game number one for Jones, as he will fall on the hand grenade for him.
In Week No. 1, it could get real ugly in the Meadowlands on Sept. 11 against the Jets.
Colin Curtis Kevin Russo Curtis Granderson Nick Johnson Javier Lopez Alex Hinshaw
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