Disaster in Dallas, What Has Gone Wrong for America’s Team
Six weeks into the NFL Season and the Cowboys find themselves at .500, with only themselves to blame. But what has gone wrong for Dallas, it’s time to put the spotlight on ‘America’s Team’ once again.
Photo Credit: Gareth Patterson, myRGV.com
Expectations weren’t as high as they typically are for America’s team but this season has been nothing but a catastrophe. Nothing showcased Dallas’s shortcomings than last weekend, when the Lions walked into AT&T Stadium and crushed the Cowboys 47-9. The game got so out of hand that Detriot starting running hook and ladders with their offensive lineman just to twist the knife further. Typically Dallas thrives at home but this season they’ve lost all three games at home, and have been outscored by their opponents 119 to 53. The most ironic part of this game was that it was none other than Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones’ 82nd birthday.
Photo Credit: Athlon Sports
Dallas’s downfall didn’t start last week or even at the beginning of the season. It started last spring during the offseason. While the rest of the league were making blockbuster trades and sigining superstars, Dallas stayed quiet during free agency, infamously only extending their long snapper after day one of NFL free agency. The Cowboys let the likes of Tony Pollard, Tyron Smith, and Tyler Biadasz out the door, without finding adequate replacements for them. Dallas was unwilling to pay the likes of Derrick Henry 8 million a year, and instead let him go to Baltimore. Henry took it personally and proceeded to run for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Jerry Jones statement of his team being “All In” seemed to be more fiction rather than fact.
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Speaking of Jerry Jones the attitude towards the 82 year old has turned sour to say the least. This past week tensions exploded on Dallas’s show “RJ and Shan” when the host asked Jones why Dallas was so timid regarding free agency. Jones responded by saying he “doesn’t have time for looking back on decisions” and that he would “get somebody else to ask these questions going forward”. The NFL community took the chance to grill Jones, as it’s pathetic for him to try and avoid criticism by threatening someone’s livelihood. Even worse in an interview with the Athletic, Jones doubled down and said he is being wrongly “grilled by the tribunal”. It’s hard to agree with Jones, as last time anyone checked the it’s not the fans fault that the team did barely anything this offseason.
Photo Credit: Sports Business Journal
With Dallas on their bye week, the Cowboys have a much needed break from the spotlight. With the next slate of games looking difficult, Jones and the Cowboys will need to win and win now before this situation becomes even more volatile.
