Dallas Morning News columnist Rick Gosselin chatted with readers Monday about the future of the Cowboys after their season-ending loss to the New York Giants.
Here are some highlights from the chat.
On if DeMarcus Ware is overrated because many of his sacks don’t come in crunch time:
“I will say this -- I had a hard time with Ware's productivity this season. He finished with an NFC runnerup 19 1/2 sacks -- but six of them came in those two blowout losses to the Eagles. Granted, he's the only real threat the Cowboys offer in the pass rush, so offenses will double him and chip him. Still, they doubled Lawrence Taylor, Bruce Smith and Reggie White and all still found a way to get to the quarterback -- and get to him in big games. I'd rather have seen those six sacks come in the two Giants games. Win either time and the Giants are out of the playoff chase. But the Cowboys won neither time and now get to watch New York host a playoff game this weekend.”
On if the Cowboys should trade Tony Romo for draft picks:
“And who plays quarterback for the Cowboys then? Take a look around at today's NFL. If you don't have a quarterback, you don't have a chance. The only reason the Cowboys were competing for a playoff spot on the final weekend was the play of Romo. There's no guarantee that your next quarterback will even be as good as Romo. The Detroit Lions spent 50 years looking for a quarterback to replace Bobby Layne before finally coming upon Matthew Stafford. Imagine ridding yourself of Romo and spending the next 50 years watching players like Quincy Carter, Drew Henson and Chad Hutchinson taking the snaps for the Cowboys. The Cowboys were blessed to have two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in a span of 30 years. There's no guarantee the Cowboys will ever see another one. Romo may be the best quarterback this franchise sees in the next quarter of a century. I wouldn't be in such a hurry to get rid of him.”
On if it makes sense to move Doug Free to right guard and move Tyron Smith to left tackle:
“I think there's a better chance the Cowboys will just flip the two, moving Smith to left tackle and Free to right tackle. There's less speed on the right side so Free will find better matchups. Left tackle also will allow Smith to better showcase his strength and athleticism. You can find guards in every draft. The Cowboys found one in the fourth round in David Arkin last April -- then made him a 16-game inactive. Shame on the Cowboys for wasting a year of his development in what was a rebuilding year. He'll report to camp next August and the Cowboys won't know much more about him when he reported last August.”
On if there will be a major overhaul in the defensive backfield during the off-season:
“Unless the Jones/Garrett brain trust is blind to the missed tackles and the lack of plays, I expect the Cowboys to invest heavily in defensive backs in the 2012 draft. The two teams with the NFC byes, Green Bay and San Francisco, each forced 38 turnovers. The Cowboys forced 25. The Detroit Lions captured an NFC wild card with 10 victories. Detroit returned seven takeaways for touchdowns. The 8-8 Cowboys returned one turnover for a score. Green Bay intercepted 31 passes. The Cowboys intercepted 15. This defense is sorely in need of playmakers...and tacklers. I'd expect the Cowboys to draft at least two corners and one safety.”
On if Cowboys will get rid of Dave Campo and hire a new secondary coach:
“Jones had higher expectations for this team than I did. I picked them last August to go 8-8. He was thinking division titles and playoff berths. If he's true to those beliefs, he'll have to change some coaches out because this team underachieved in his eyes. Campo, Hudson Houck, Rob Ryan, Joe DeCamillis will probably all be scrutinized for their parts in this .500 effort by a team Jones believed had much greater capabilities. I doubt he'll make wholesale changes but I think some will be in order.”
On thoughts about Jason Garrett as head coach:
“I've said repeatedly on these chats that Garrett is still learning how to be a head coach. He had no head-coaching background, yet Jones felt comfortable putting the highest profile franchise of any sport in this country in the hands of a novice. That's hard to justify when you're charging $75 to park for games and fans must buy PSL's for the right to pay $400 and $500 per ticket. If that was money coming out of my pocket, I'd want Vince Lombardi on the sideline. There are going to be mistakes on the sideline during games as Garrett learns his craft. Lord knows we've already seen more than his share of mistakes this past season. I also believe being a head coach is a full time job. If Garrett was hired to be the head coach, then he should be the head coach. If he wants to call plays and focus much of his attention during a game on the offense, then go find an offensive coordinator's job somewhere. Jones put a lot on Garrett's plate and he's struggling with it. The Cowboys got outcoached Sunday night -- and we've seen that quite a few times this season.”
On Emmitt Smith being critical of the Cowboys but also being correct in several of his assessments:
“Smith has three Super Bowl rings on his hand and a high standard for excellence. What he sees in the 2011 Cowboys -- heck, what we all see -- is not what Smith saw in the early 1990s at Valley Ranch. There were games when Smith rushed for four touchdowns. There were months this season when the Cowboys couldn't rush for four touchdowns. The Cowboys only rushed for five TDs all season. That's embarrassing to a franchise with a history at running back that the Cowboys have. Emmitt is telling it like it is. If the current Cowboys don't like it, then do something about it. Try winning -- and try winning a big game or two.”
On if Jason Witten is beginning to decline:
“Witten has been a solid player for a long time. He doesn't run away from people. When he catches a pass he takes a hit. Those hits add up. He turns 30 next year. I think it's safe to assume his best years are behind him. I also think playing a chunk of the season without Miles Austin wore him down some in 2011. Defenses were able to focus more on him and his play dipped. Without Austin, defenses knew Witten was Romo's first option and schemed to smother him in coverage. He didn't catch a touchdown pass in the final six games of the season.”
Here are some highlights from the chat.
On if DeMarcus Ware is overrated because many of his sacks don’t come in crunch time:
“I will say this -- I had a hard time with Ware's productivity this season. He finished with an NFC runnerup 19 1/2 sacks -- but six of them came in those two blowout losses to the Eagles. Granted, he's the only real threat the Cowboys offer in the pass rush, so offenses will double him and chip him. Still, they doubled Lawrence Taylor, Bruce Smith and Reggie White and all still found a way to get to the quarterback -- and get to him in big games. I'd rather have seen those six sacks come in the two Giants games. Win either time and the Giants are out of the playoff chase. But the Cowboys won neither time and now get to watch New York host a playoff game this weekend.”
On if the Cowboys should trade Tony Romo for draft picks:
“And who plays quarterback for the Cowboys then? Take a look around at today's NFL. If you don't have a quarterback, you don't have a chance. The only reason the Cowboys were competing for a playoff spot on the final weekend was the play of Romo. There's no guarantee that your next quarterback will even be as good as Romo. The Detroit Lions spent 50 years looking for a quarterback to replace Bobby Layne before finally coming upon Matthew Stafford. Imagine ridding yourself of Romo and spending the next 50 years watching players like Quincy Carter, Drew Henson and Chad Hutchinson taking the snaps for the Cowboys. The Cowboys were blessed to have two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in a span of 30 years. There's no guarantee the Cowboys will ever see another one. Romo may be the best quarterback this franchise sees in the next quarter of a century. I wouldn't be in such a hurry to get rid of him.”
On if it makes sense to move Doug Free to right guard and move Tyron Smith to left tackle:
“I think there's a better chance the Cowboys will just flip the two, moving Smith to left tackle and Free to right tackle. There's less speed on the right side so Free will find better matchups. Left tackle also will allow Smith to better showcase his strength and athleticism. You can find guards in every draft. The Cowboys found one in the fourth round in David Arkin last April -- then made him a 16-game inactive. Shame on the Cowboys for wasting a year of his development in what was a rebuilding year. He'll report to camp next August and the Cowboys won't know much more about him when he reported last August.”
On if there will be a major overhaul in the defensive backfield during the off-season:
“Unless the Jones/Garrett brain trust is blind to the missed tackles and the lack of plays, I expect the Cowboys to invest heavily in defensive backs in the 2012 draft. The two teams with the NFC byes, Green Bay and San Francisco, each forced 38 turnovers. The Cowboys forced 25. The Detroit Lions captured an NFC wild card with 10 victories. Detroit returned seven takeaways for touchdowns. The 8-8 Cowboys returned one turnover for a score. Green Bay intercepted 31 passes. The Cowboys intercepted 15. This defense is sorely in need of playmakers...and tacklers. I'd expect the Cowboys to draft at least two corners and one safety.”
On if Cowboys will get rid of Dave Campo and hire a new secondary coach:
“Jones had higher expectations for this team than I did. I picked them last August to go 8-8. He was thinking division titles and playoff berths. If he's true to those beliefs, he'll have to change some coaches out because this team underachieved in his eyes. Campo, Hudson Houck, Rob Ryan, Joe DeCamillis will probably all be scrutinized for their parts in this .500 effort by a team Jones believed had much greater capabilities. I doubt he'll make wholesale changes but I think some will be in order.”
On thoughts about Jason Garrett as head coach:
“I've said repeatedly on these chats that Garrett is still learning how to be a head coach. He had no head-coaching background, yet Jones felt comfortable putting the highest profile franchise of any sport in this country in the hands of a novice. That's hard to justify when you're charging $75 to park for games and fans must buy PSL's for the right to pay $400 and $500 per ticket. If that was money coming out of my pocket, I'd want Vince Lombardi on the sideline. There are going to be mistakes on the sideline during games as Garrett learns his craft. Lord knows we've already seen more than his share of mistakes this past season. I also believe being a head coach is a full time job. If Garrett was hired to be the head coach, then he should be the head coach. If he wants to call plays and focus much of his attention during a game on the offense, then go find an offensive coordinator's job somewhere. Jones put a lot on Garrett's plate and he's struggling with it. The Cowboys got outcoached Sunday night -- and we've seen that quite a few times this season.”
On Emmitt Smith being critical of the Cowboys but also being correct in several of his assessments:
“Smith has three Super Bowl rings on his hand and a high standard for excellence. What he sees in the 2011 Cowboys -- heck, what we all see -- is not what Smith saw in the early 1990s at Valley Ranch. There were games when Smith rushed for four touchdowns. There were months this season when the Cowboys couldn't rush for four touchdowns. The Cowboys only rushed for five TDs all season. That's embarrassing to a franchise with a history at running back that the Cowboys have. Emmitt is telling it like it is. If the current Cowboys don't like it, then do something about it. Try winning -- and try winning a big game or two.”
On if Jason Witten is beginning to decline:
“Witten has been a solid player for a long time. He doesn't run away from people. When he catches a pass he takes a hit. Those hits add up. He turns 30 next year. I think it's safe to assume his best years are behind him. I also think playing a chunk of the season without Miles Austin wore him down some in 2011. Defenses were able to focus more on him and his play dipped. Without Austin, defenses knew Witten was Romo's first option and schemed to smother him in coverage. He didn't catch a touchdown pass in the final six games of the season.”
