Even a day later, Cowboys play calling mystifies

by | Dec 16, 2013 | 2013 season, NFL Random Thoughts

Hmm. Does anyone get the sense some people are on the hot seat in Dallas?

And they should be, but you never really know in Jerry World.

But after Sunday’s dramatic comeback loss to Green Bay, you had Jason Garrett throwing QB Tony Romo and offensive coordinator Bill Callahan under the bus, Romo for audibling to the final fateful pass and Callahan for the play calling throughout the day.

You’ve got Callahan and WR Dez Bryant refusing to speak to the media afterward.

And you’ve got Jones refusing “to be firm” about his declaration that Jason Garrett would return as head coach … though if you read the PFT post it looks like he actually is saying he is firm on that stance … and why not? Because Jones isn’t holding himself accountable for his team’s failings, it makes sense to not hold Garrett to the same standing.

The plain and simple fact of the matter is this. If Garrett wanted a run called, he could go to Callahan and say “I want a run called.” Or he could go to Romo and say “I want a run called. No frickin’ dumbass audibles, Tony.” He is the head coach. The buck stops with him on game day. (Shoot, I did a Google search to confirm whether play calling was one word or two and the second item that came up was a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel headline calling the Cowboys’ play calling “bizarre.”)

But instead, the team has now twice in a row come out of the gates on fire, establishing the run with a healthy dose of DeMarco Murray. And twice the team has then largely abandoned the run, once snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the final minutes and once getting shellacked. And once again, the Cowboys are 7-7, on their way to another .500 season – which is right around where this team has been most seasons since Jones installed himself as general manager.

Here’s the breakdown: (more…)

Cowboys becoming league-wide laughingstock

by | Dec 15, 2013 | 2013 season, NFL Random Thoughts

Despite the presence of DeMarcus Ware, DeMarco Murray, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and a litany of other solid players — and a 26-3 halftime lead – the Dallas Cowboys just dropped to 7-7 by losing at home to Green Bay.

They managed to do so despite 134 yards rushing from Murray, who averaged nearly 8 yards per carry.

For the second week in a row, the Cowboys looked as though they could spend all day gashing an opponent on the ground — yet they stubbornly refused to do so.

This team’s play-calling was widely criticized by Troy Aikman on FOX and throughout the Twittersphere. And rightfully so. Dallas’ decision to rely on the pass throughout the second half left time on the clock and gave Green Bay repeated opportunities to complete the comeback — the Packers outscored Dallas 34-10 in the second half.

And the unwillingness to run in the second quarter stalled several drives that ended in field goals instead of touchdowns, giving Green Bay reason to believe it had a chance to get back in the game.

The Cowboys needed this game to earn a tie in the division with Philadelphia. The Eagles gave Dallas a gift by losing to Minnesota earlier.

If it wasn’t obvious before now, Jerry Jones needs to reevaluate pretty much every level of management on this team. There is too much top-end talent for this team to be unable to put teams away. The defense — under Monte Kiffin, who replaced last year’s ineffective coordinator Rob Ryan — is abysmal. The play-calling is a joke. The obvious answer is Jones. But Jones obviously isn’t going to fire Jones.

If he needs to fill his ego by being the guy in front of the camera, fine. He needs to bring someone in behind the scenes who can give run personnel while placating Jones’ ego. And this coaching staff … this is a joke. This entire group has to go.

Otherwise this bunch is going to continue underachieving at a .500 level for years to come. And guys like Witten, Bryant, Ware and several others deserve better.

ZB Notebook 11-20-13

by | Nov 20, 2013 | 2013 season, NFL Random Thoughts

Well, the best Monday Night Football game in quite awhile ended in controversy.

An officiating call – to pick up a flag on the last play of the game when pass interference or illegal contact or defensive holding or criminal assault almost certainly should have been called – overshadowed the fact that the Patriots/Panthers contest was one of the most entertaining games of the 2013 season.

That officiating keeps ending up in the news is disappointing. But all season long, officials have been ridiculously inconsistent in their approaches to pass interference and, in particular, roughing calls, particularly when related to helmet-to-helmet contact.

I’m all for eliminating the kill shot from existence. I don’t think the game’s founding fathers – or at least the helmet’s founding fathers – ever intended for the head gear to be a weapon. But when helmet-to-head contact is getting called when it’s actually shoulder-to-shoulder – or when the receiver ducks his head into a position where the defender has no chance to avoid the contact, something has to be tweaked.

And the pass interference rules … wow. Are they handing out different rule books to different officiating crews? The ref tandems are not even close to consistent. This brings to the forefront again the need for full-time officials.

Former Vice President of Officials Mike Pereira, who on twitter disagreed with Monday night’s decision to pick up the flag, told Fox Sports 1 in September that the rule book is too thick – well, Pro Football Talk has long made the argument that full-time officials would lessen the issues the part-timers face now.

With respect to the Monday night game, VP of Officiating Dean Blandino can say what he wants about this being a judgment call. It’s pretty straightforward to me. There was contact that prevented Rob Gronkowski from having any kind of a chance to make a play on Tom Brady’s last-second pass. A slow-mo video at Pats Pulpit makes it look to me like there were at least three steps taken by the interceptor after LB Luke Kuechly initiated contact with Gronk before the ball was caught.

Now, one play does not make the game. The Patriots should have played better, as Bill Belichick and Tom Brady acknowledged in the postgame interviews. And sure, Gronk being able to catch the ball may be a long shot. But the rules say he should have had that shot. And he didn’t. So it should have been a flag. Nobody is going to change my mind on that.

So … great game, otherwise (more…)

Report: NFL rebuffs Marshall’s efforts at raising awareness on mental illness

by | Oct 16, 2013 | NFL Random Thoughts

This work is not mine. Zoneblitz stakes no claim to it. All the credit goes to Da Bears Blog where, earlier this week, Jeff Hughes wrote a highly compelling piece on mental illness, the league’s failure over the years to deal with head injuries among its own and how the NFL reacted when Brandon Marshall wore green shoes to raise awareness.

Marshall suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder, which manifests itself in a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, affects, and self-image, as well as marked impulsivity. Marshall announced his illness at his introductory press conference with the Bears and he has worked to raise awareness ever since.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell imposed a $5,250 fine on Marshall for wearing the green shoes.

Here’s an excerpt from Hughes’ Monday post, in which he takes the league to task for punishing one of its players for attempting to raise awareness of mental health issues when the NFL is bending over backward to do the same for breast cancer in a semi-shameless effort to get more women interested in the game:

This not a semantic argument. The NFL is stating very clearly by assessing Brandon Marshall a $5,250 penalty that he has conducted himself poorly on the playing field or committed an act detrimental to the integrity of the NFL. By wearing a pair of green cleats to raise awareness for a collection of illnesses that NEED awareness, that are DESPERATE for awareness, Marshall has done wrong. That is the statement being made by Roger Goodell.

I can’t do the post justice here. I just want to call attention to it. There is mental illness in my extended family. The post hit home. Hughes and Da Bears Blog did an excellent job bringing this to their readers and I want more people to read it. So if you have a few minutes and feel like doing so, click here.

ZB Notebook 10-15-13

by | Oct 15, 2013 | 2013 season, NFL Random Thoughts

Is Leslie Frazier feeling desperate? Frazier and the Vikings coaching staff have to be feeling the heat after an embarrassing 35-10 loss to Carolina dropped this 2012 playoff team’s record to 1-4.

ESPN 1500 notes in its writeup on the Vikings/Panthers game that Frazier uncharacteristically placed some of the blame for Sunday’s loss on the players rather than taking it all upon himself as he often does.

While it’s true that the players were pathetic in Sunday’s loss, Frazier’s defense of his coordinators – particularly offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave – rings hollow to me. The lack of creativity just oozed from the screens as I consistently watched the Vikings repeatedly run Peterson on first down, maybe run him again on second down or maybe run a short pass. Then on third down, it’d be another pass, generally short of the first-down marker.

All this going on while other teams were going deep, mixing up sequences, passing on first down … this team is foundering right now and the offensive play calling, whether based on a blasé coordinator or lack of confidence in the players, is a major reason.

The defense isn’t helping at all either. The Vikings made a major blunder in the offseason in letting Antoine Winfield go. Xavier Rhodes has shown flashes of being a solid cover cornerback, but Josh Robinson is a liability in the slot. I don’t generally pretend to be an expert on personnel moves, but Robinson needs to grab some bench. He was scorched on one of the long touchdowns during the 35-10 loss to Carolina and if he hasn’t found his way to the bench in favor of lesser-known-but-better-performing Marcus Sherels, then there is no accountability left in how this team is being handled. (more…)

ZB Notebook 10-8-13

by | Oct 8, 2013 | 2013 season, NFL Random Thoughts

When it rains it pours this season in Atlanta.

The day after a brutal performance on Monday night against the Jets, word has begun leaking that star wide receiver Julio Jones may be out for the season with a foot injury.

Jones appeared hobbled briefly late in the contest last night but returned to put on a heroic performance that almost brought the Falcons a win. Apparently the injury was worse than it originally looked.

Add that to the list, which also includes several offensive linemen, running back Steven Jackson and wide receiver Roddy White. Heading into the season, the Falcons looked to me to be the easy favorite for a repeat as AFC South champs. That has been quickly eclipsed by their 1-4 record and the fast start of the New Orleans Saints.

And it would likely get progressively worse if Jones does, in fact, miss significant time. Pretty soon Tony Gonzalez could be the only relatively healthy offensive weapon Matt Ryan has left. I wonder if he is rethinking his comeback?

Coaching hot seats? (more…)