A Promising Look for Next Season?

A Look at the Good/Bad of the Cowboys' '09 season

Sometimes being a fan can be great....other times; not so much. After the Cowboys meltdown in the Metrodome this past Sunday it would be hard not to wince from the proverbial "bad taste in your mouth." After all, fans expect the best from "their" team. That word, fan(atic), is just a click down from the word radical; which is just a click down from the word "extremist". So the rash actions and comments of some after the latest debacle must be waded through to finally reach a rational view of what can be taken from what was and wasn't.

The Good.

Dallas managed to win the NFC East for the second time in three seasons under Wade Phillips (more on him in a minute). This after being projected by most in the preseason to only manage maybe 9 wins and a third place finish. They won a playoff game for the first time in 13 seasons. They survived the 'dismissal' of T-nO. All these things seemingly have been the result of some very shrewd management and planning on more than one level....who to give the credit too is debatable. More on that briefly too.

The Bad.

Place Kicker....enough said. Depth...the Cowboys are going to have to do something about depth at the offensive line and, possibly, the wide receiver positions. Defensively, the Cowboys struggled a few times during the season, but for the most part, the struggles the defense suffered through during the season were a result of poor field position and/or the lack of production by the offense. Another thing the defense failed to do that would help the overall performance of the team, was score (seems almost silly to say it). So the question is...where do they go from here? I'm not sure you could ask more from a unit that what the Cowboy defense managed in 2009 and the hope is for it to possibly be just a little more steady next season.

2010

Based on the promise of their just finished season, Dallas would seemingly be a great choice to repeat as division champs and a possible Super Bowl contender next season. That said, there will certainly be areas of high priority in the offseason for them to show their fans that they are indeed, serious about making improvement. One of the biggest will be place kicker. You have to wonder what happened to Nick Folk. Suisham's performance wasn't much better. The Cowboys used a choice to take David Buehler in last year's draft and he led the league in touchbacks. Could he also handle the pk duties? Would that remove him from the other special teams that he was a vital part of?

Roy Williams. I have a special place in my heart for guys that play high school football in this state and then go to their chosen Texas university to play their college ball. For them to eventually end up with a roster spot on America's team...well, let's just say that's the pinnacle. But Roy, come on. There are too many times to mention where it appeared you were running the wrong route; not to mention all the dropped balls. I can remember, on at least two occasions, this led to interceptions. My advice to Jerry is; cut him loose and remember that prima dona wideouts typically cost you more than just a paycheck.

Offensive line. It was a great thing to see Doug Free come in during the year and fill in (quite well) for the injured Marc Colombo at right tackle. But the current starting offensive line is entering their declining years statistically speaking. Gurode, Colombo and Kosier will be entering their ninth seasons next year. Davis his 10th and Adams will be a 13 year pro next season. Adams's injury effectively shut down the offense in more ways than one Sunday. On that note....I'm still not sold on Assistant Head Coach/offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

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Before the injury to Flo, the Cowboys offense had effectively moved the ball on consecutive drives. Granted they managed only three points thanks largely to another Suisham missed FG. After the injury....yikes. Which makes me wonder. On various plays the offense used, in effect, three positions to block Vikings defensive end Jared Allen (who ironically, was born in Dallas). Once Garrett committed to using Witten and whatever back was in to do this, the offense became unproductive to say the least. No more Witten in the middle of the field, no more screens or draws to the backs??? Now I'm not an NFL coach, but I wonder if during all the time of prep and film study, the thought of what we'll do if one/any of our starting lineman go down with an injury other than who will go in for him, went into the game plan? Surely some.

When Flozell went out of the game the Cowboys were sunk...and I don't believe that it had to be that way. Which leads me back to Garrett. I don't know how much authority Wade Phillips really has when it comes to offense...not being an NFL insider and all. After all, Garrett is Jerry's handpicked coach-in-waiting and so that creates some issues all on it's own.

Wade. The man is a defensive master. The Cowboy defense played stellar for much of the year despite the periods of drought that the offense went through (see Garrett). I met Phillips once when he was speaking at the Angelo Football Clinic...there's not a more down to earth NFL coach in the league. He offered to fill me with football knowledge over dinner at Zentner's one night even though I was just a peon high school coach in my third year. I digress. He deserves to remain as the Cowboys coach beyond 2010. I'm thinking that maybe the anointed Garrett's job is the one that should be in jeopardy.

Aside from the one glaring special teams problem the Cowboys had all in all, they played really well. That said, by the playoffs other teams had effectively dissected the strengths of what coordinator Joe DeCamillis's return units were trying to accomplish. How else could you explain the seemingly desperate attempt at a throwback on the kickoff return during the first half last week? I'm left to wonder why it wouldn't be acceptable to see Tashard Choice back on kick off returns? Overall, special teams were a big plus for the Cowboys this season and I think they are firm at every spot outside of Suisham.

As a whole, the 2009 season for Dallas was one of promise and some satisfaction. Unfortunately, 2009 is over now and work is underway for the promise of what 2010 could bring. Expectations will be high. Free agency and the draft are just around the corner and fans will no doubt be clamoring to hear the good news that Jerry will be bringing to fill their star-clad ears. I'm good with all the other big names....Romo, Barber, Witten, Jones, Ware, Austin, Spencer, Brooking, James....and so on. I say add two big time offensive lineman, one of those squirmy, lightning fast receiver types, another bruising linebacker, and a gem in the rough defensive back and let's right this article the second week of February 2011!

By: Lee Lewis
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer