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Cowboys Mailbag
What is wrong with Marc Colombo? Is he injured or are his skills rapidly declining?
(Editor's Note: Each day we will take the 2 best questions for our staff writers to answer from the Mailbag.)
CHARLES CASTORINA - HURLEY, MS: What is wrong with Marc Colombo? Is he injured or are his skills rapidly declining? He is getting beaten on a regular basis.
Nick: It's probably a combination of both things you mentioned. I'm sure with any older lineman with injury issues, it' inevitable his skills will diminish. I still think Colombo is a good player when healthy, but he can't seem to get back to 100 percent, and he may never at this point in his career. And this team has shown a history of letting guys go and blaming it on their inability to stay healthy, when in reality, it's more than that.
Josh: I don't think he's been totally healthy all year, which has definitely contributed to some diminished returns. If you go back to the first half of '09, before he fractured his leg, he was playing as well as any linemen the team had. The Cowboys have to ask themselves if he's ever going to get back to that level, though.
Rob: The Cowboys' staff wouldn't clear him to play if he was physically unable, but you have to wonder if the knee injuries have taken a toll on his lateral quickness and power. Because when he's been right, he's been one of the team's most consistent linemen. Before the leg injury last November, I thought he'd been the most consistent.
RON GAYDA - STAMFORD, CT: Mike Jenkins has been awful this year. The worst part is he has been running away from tackles. Why is he still on the squad? CUT HIM NOW!
Nick: Running away from tackles? He had a bad moment in Green Bay. And two years ago in New York. Let's not make it seem like this is a regular thing. He's still on the squad because he's a good, young player who had an outstanding season in 2009 and for some reason it hasn't turned out for him this year. Maybe his confidence is shaken. Maybe teams are targeting him a lot more. But you can't cut him. Do that and watch how many teams scoop him up. I'm guessing 31, with another team really kicking themselves for doing it.
Josh: Too many fans have this mentality. You can't cut everybody when they play poorly. If that was the case the Cowboys wouldn't be able to field a team next year. The quickest way to turn things around is for guys like Jenkins and Anthony Spencer to play better, not to try and replace them. You can't take everything so personal. Besides, it's wrong to say he's been running away from tackles. I'll give you the one in Green Bay, but he wasn't the only guy who quit in that game. There have been a couple times when he has turned with a runner to get an angle on him, but I don't see him as playing scared.
Rob: They're not going to do that, and shouldn't, and everyone knows it. Jenkins has actually played better overall these last few games, but a couple of poor decisions have hurt his team. Still think all those pass interference penalties early in the year affected his aggressiveness and maybe his confidence. He's a player the Cowboys will count on to regain last year's consistency.
DOMAUNIQUE STEPHENS - OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: Out of the five Pro Bowl players announced for the Cowboys on Tuesday, who deserves to go?
Rob: Ware, Witten and McBriar for sure. Ratliff's numbers are down, but he has still been solid and he needs more help around him when teams scheme the way they do. Didn't expect any offensive linemen given the unit's overall problems at times this year. But coaches and players voted in Andre Gurode, not the fans. They must see something, and he has been the focal point on the line.
Nick: Considering all five are starting, I guess they all deserve it. I wouldn't think I'm more knowledgeable of the situation than the coaches and players. But I must say I was surprised that Ratliff and Gurode made it.
Josh: They all do, I suppose, since it was the players and coaches voting them into the game, and not the fans. If it was my ballot, though, I would've probably left off Gurode and Ratliff. Both seem to be doing their job, but the problems with the guys around them have caused them trouble.
MARTIN SHOOK - AUSTIN, TX: A lot of talk lately about how no Super Bowl-winning coach has repeated with a second team. Why do you think that's the case?
Rob: In a lot of cases, you see those coaches go somewhere else to either revive a dormant franchise, or the talent pool just isn't the same as their previous stop. Jimmy Johnson didn't have the same depth and ability in Miami as he did in Dallas. Bill Parcells won a lot of games with a lot of teams, but it took a while just to get those other ones back to respectability first.
Nick: Because a Super Bowl is tough enough to win on its own. Throw in the added expectations for a team with a proven head coach and you then get a target on your chest.
Josh: Well, any given year, for any given team, the odds of winning a Super Bowl are 1-in-32. And then how many Super Bowl-winning coaches have even gone on to other teams? That narrows the odds of it happening considerably. Some coaches are great wherever they go, but that's rare. I think we only see it in, like, Bill Parcells or Dick Vermeil, who have each gone very far with three different franchises. For almost everybody else, it's about the situation and the players.
What is wrong with Marc Colombo? Is he injured or are his skills rapidly declining?
(Editor's Note: Each day we will take the 2 best questions for our staff writers to answer from the Mailbag.)
CHARLES CASTORINA - HURLEY, MS: What is wrong with Marc Colombo? Is he injured or are his skills rapidly declining? He is getting beaten on a regular basis.
Nick: It's probably a combination of both things you mentioned. I'm sure with any older lineman with injury issues, it' inevitable his skills will diminish. I still think Colombo is a good player when healthy, but he can't seem to get back to 100 percent, and he may never at this point in his career. And this team has shown a history of letting guys go and blaming it on their inability to stay healthy, when in reality, it's more than that.
Josh: I don't think he's been totally healthy all year, which has definitely contributed to some diminished returns. If you go back to the first half of '09, before he fractured his leg, he was playing as well as any linemen the team had. The Cowboys have to ask themselves if he's ever going to get back to that level, though.
Rob: The Cowboys' staff wouldn't clear him to play if he was physically unable, but you have to wonder if the knee injuries have taken a toll on his lateral quickness and power. Because when he's been right, he's been one of the team's most consistent linemen. Before the leg injury last November, I thought he'd been the most consistent.
RON GAYDA - STAMFORD, CT: Mike Jenkins has been awful this year. The worst part is he has been running away from tackles. Why is he still on the squad? CUT HIM NOW!
Nick: Running away from tackles? He had a bad moment in Green Bay. And two years ago in New York. Let's not make it seem like this is a regular thing. He's still on the squad because he's a good, young player who had an outstanding season in 2009 and for some reason it hasn't turned out for him this year. Maybe his confidence is shaken. Maybe teams are targeting him a lot more. But you can't cut him. Do that and watch how many teams scoop him up. I'm guessing 31, with another team really kicking themselves for doing it.
Josh: Too many fans have this mentality. You can't cut everybody when they play poorly. If that was the case the Cowboys wouldn't be able to field a team next year. The quickest way to turn things around is for guys like Jenkins and Anthony Spencer to play better, not to try and replace them. You can't take everything so personal. Besides, it's wrong to say he's been running away from tackles. I'll give you the one in Green Bay, but he wasn't the only guy who quit in that game. There have been a couple times when he has turned with a runner to get an angle on him, but I don't see him as playing scared.
Rob: They're not going to do that, and shouldn't, and everyone knows it. Jenkins has actually played better overall these last few games, but a couple of poor decisions have hurt his team. Still think all those pass interference penalties early in the year affected his aggressiveness and maybe his confidence. He's a player the Cowboys will count on to regain last year's consistency.
DOMAUNIQUE STEPHENS - OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: Out of the five Pro Bowl players announced for the Cowboys on Tuesday, who deserves to go?
Rob: Ware, Witten and McBriar for sure. Ratliff's numbers are down, but he has still been solid and he needs more help around him when teams scheme the way they do. Didn't expect any offensive linemen given the unit's overall problems at times this year. But coaches and players voted in Andre Gurode, not the fans. They must see something, and he has been the focal point on the line.
Nick: Considering all five are starting, I guess they all deserve it. I wouldn't think I'm more knowledgeable of the situation than the coaches and players. But I must say I was surprised that Ratliff and Gurode made it.
Josh: They all do, I suppose, since it was the players and coaches voting them into the game, and not the fans. If it was my ballot, though, I would've probably left off Gurode and Ratliff. Both seem to be doing their job, but the problems with the guys around them have caused them trouble.
MARTIN SHOOK - AUSTIN, TX: A lot of talk lately about how no Super Bowl-winning coach has repeated with a second team. Why do you think that's the case?
Rob: In a lot of cases, you see those coaches go somewhere else to either revive a dormant franchise, or the talent pool just isn't the same as their previous stop. Jimmy Johnson didn't have the same depth and ability in Miami as he did in Dallas. Bill Parcells won a lot of games with a lot of teams, but it took a while just to get those other ones back to respectability first.
Nick: Because a Super Bowl is tough enough to win on its own. Throw in the added expectations for a team with a proven head coach and you then get a target on your chest.
Josh: Well, any given year, for any given team, the odds of winning a Super Bowl are 1-in-32. And then how many Super Bowl-winning coaches have even gone on to other teams? That narrows the odds of it happening considerably. Some coaches are great wherever they go, but that's rare. I think we only see it in, like, Bill Parcells or Dick Vermeil, who have each gone very far with three different franchises. For almost everybody else, it's about the situation and the players.