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http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/co...affes-raise-questions-about-jason-garrett.ece
GLENDALE, Ariz. — For at least one week, Jason Garrett critics — the floor is yours.
In his 20 games as head coach, it’s conceivable that Garrett has had worse days. But without question the end of regulation in a 19-13 overtime loss to Arizona brought about his worst sequence, which is saying something for a coach who has struggled before with time management issues.
The timeout Garrett called that “iced his own kicker,” if you will, actually wasn’t as bad as the timeout he failed to call after the previous play when precious seconds were running off the clock in a tie game.
And, sadly for Cowboys fans, there was nothing and I mean nothing that Garrett said afterwards that brought any feelings of assurance, any sense of, “Oh, OK, that sort of makes sense now.”
Everything came unraveled after Dez Bryant caught Tony Romo’s final pass of the day at the Arizona 31-yard line. There were 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Bryant was tackled. The Cowboys had two timeouts left. There was absolutely no reason to even think about saving one at that point.
Instead, while Romo hurried the team to the line to spike the ball, Garrett watched. And he let the clock run down to seven seconds.
You can put that on Romo if you like, but he’s mostly doing what he’s told in those moments. It’s the head coach’s job to take charge there.
“We very well could have taken a timeout there,” Garrett said. “We felt we were in field goal range. You see so many situations where you have negative plays in those situations.”
In other words, Garrett had more confidence in rookie Dan Bailey hitting a 49-yard field goal than in Romo and his offense executing a play that wouldn’t lose yardage.
Incredible.
And so it was with just seven seconds left that Bailey and the field-goal unit lined up to attempt the winning kick.
Bailey said the team practices getting onto the field quickly all the time. He said he expects to have to kick it twice in case a timeout is used to ice the kicker.
Bailey made the kick as the referee signaled that a timeout had been called. This time it came from the kicker’s own sideline.
“We felt like the play clock was running down. We were down to about six and we weren’t set,” Garrett said. “We felt like we wanted to have a clean operation.”
So Bailey lined up again. The ball fell short of the crossbar and was slightly off to the left. The game was going to overtime where a 52-yard pass from Kevin Kolb to LaRod Stephens-Howling would end the Cowboys’ four-game winning streak.
“No excuses,” said Bailey, who added that having to try the kick twice should have had no impact.
"I don’t put a lot of stock into [icing kickers]; I don’t think it’s a big advantage for anybody.”
I don’t either, for what it’s worth. So to call out Garrett for “icing is own kicker” is to criticize him for something that has marginal value if any when done under normal circumstances.
Basically, what Garrett did in that case looks dumber than it actually is.
But that’s not the story with his failure to use timeouts wisely before the field goal attempt.
The lack of confidence Garrett expressed in the offense he directs is what’s alarming. Against a Cardinals defense that isn’t exactly the Ravens, Garrett said he was too worried that his team would be pushed out of field goal range if it took another snap from the Arizona 31.
If that’s a subtle way of showing a lack of confidence in Romo (I don’t think it is), it’s preposterous.
If it’s a way of making excuses for a failure of clock management at a critical time, it’s not going to win Garrett any support.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seemed to be a most reluctant buyer of what Garrett was selling after the game.
“I’m not saying I agree or disagree. I was told [not calling the timeout] was to let time run off the clock,” Jones said. “I would have felt better if we had pulled this one out and gained another ‘can do’ when it comes to handling these situations.”
Instead, the only thing the Cowboys can do in this stadium is find a way to help the Cardinals steal a victory in the final seconds.
On this occasion, way too much of the help came from the Cowboys sideline.
THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY
The Cowboys have lost four games this season in which they held a fourth quarter lead.
Sept. 11 at NY Jets
L, 27-24
4th quarter lead: 14
Lost game on ... Nick Folk 50-yard field goal with 0:22 remaining
Oct. 2 vs. Detroit
L, 34-30
4th quarter lead: 13
Lost game on ... Calvin Johnson 2-yard TD catch with 1:39 remaining
Oct. 16 at New England
L, 20-16
4th quarter lead: 3
Lost game on ... Aaron Hernandez 8-yard TD catch with 0:22 remaining
Dec. 4 at Arizona
L, 19-13, OT
4th quarter lead: 7
Lost game on ... LaRod Stephens-Howling 52-yard TD catch in overtime.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — For at least one week, Jason Garrett critics — the floor is yours.
In his 20 games as head coach, it’s conceivable that Garrett has had worse days. But without question the end of regulation in a 19-13 overtime loss to Arizona brought about his worst sequence, which is saying something for a coach who has struggled before with time management issues.
The timeout Garrett called that “iced his own kicker,” if you will, actually wasn’t as bad as the timeout he failed to call after the previous play when precious seconds were running off the clock in a tie game.
And, sadly for Cowboys fans, there was nothing and I mean nothing that Garrett said afterwards that brought any feelings of assurance, any sense of, “Oh, OK, that sort of makes sense now.”
Everything came unraveled after Dez Bryant caught Tony Romo’s final pass of the day at the Arizona 31-yard line. There were 25 seconds left in the fourth quarter when Bryant was tackled. The Cowboys had two timeouts left. There was absolutely no reason to even think about saving one at that point.
Instead, while Romo hurried the team to the line to spike the ball, Garrett watched. And he let the clock run down to seven seconds.
You can put that on Romo if you like, but he’s mostly doing what he’s told in those moments. It’s the head coach’s job to take charge there.
“We very well could have taken a timeout there,” Garrett said. “We felt we were in field goal range. You see so many situations where you have negative plays in those situations.”
In other words, Garrett had more confidence in rookie Dan Bailey hitting a 49-yard field goal than in Romo and his offense executing a play that wouldn’t lose yardage.
Incredible.
And so it was with just seven seconds left that Bailey and the field-goal unit lined up to attempt the winning kick.
Bailey said the team practices getting onto the field quickly all the time. He said he expects to have to kick it twice in case a timeout is used to ice the kicker.
Bailey made the kick as the referee signaled that a timeout had been called. This time it came from the kicker’s own sideline.
“We felt like the play clock was running down. We were down to about six and we weren’t set,” Garrett said. “We felt like we wanted to have a clean operation.”
So Bailey lined up again. The ball fell short of the crossbar and was slightly off to the left. The game was going to overtime where a 52-yard pass from Kevin Kolb to LaRod Stephens-Howling would end the Cowboys’ four-game winning streak.
“No excuses,” said Bailey, who added that having to try the kick twice should have had no impact.
"I don’t put a lot of stock into [icing kickers]; I don’t think it’s a big advantage for anybody.”
I don’t either, for what it’s worth. So to call out Garrett for “icing is own kicker” is to criticize him for something that has marginal value if any when done under normal circumstances.
Basically, what Garrett did in that case looks dumber than it actually is.
But that’s not the story with his failure to use timeouts wisely before the field goal attempt.
The lack of confidence Garrett expressed in the offense he directs is what’s alarming. Against a Cardinals defense that isn’t exactly the Ravens, Garrett said he was too worried that his team would be pushed out of field goal range if it took another snap from the Arizona 31.
If that’s a subtle way of showing a lack of confidence in Romo (I don’t think it is), it’s preposterous.
If it’s a way of making excuses for a failure of clock management at a critical time, it’s not going to win Garrett any support.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seemed to be a most reluctant buyer of what Garrett was selling after the game.
“I’m not saying I agree or disagree. I was told [not calling the timeout] was to let time run off the clock,” Jones said. “I would have felt better if we had pulled this one out and gained another ‘can do’ when it comes to handling these situations.”
Instead, the only thing the Cowboys can do in this stadium is find a way to help the Cardinals steal a victory in the final seconds.
On this occasion, way too much of the help came from the Cowboys sideline.
THE ONES THAT GOT AWAY
The Cowboys have lost four games this season in which they held a fourth quarter lead.
Sept. 11 at NY Jets
L, 27-24
4th quarter lead: 14
Lost game on ... Nick Folk 50-yard field goal with 0:22 remaining
Oct. 2 vs. Detroit
L, 34-30
4th quarter lead: 13
Lost game on ... Calvin Johnson 2-yard TD catch with 1:39 remaining
Oct. 16 at New England
L, 20-16
4th quarter lead: 3
Lost game on ... Aaron Hernandez 8-yard TD catch with 0:22 remaining
Dec. 4 at Arizona
L, 19-13, OT
4th quarter lead: 7
Lost game on ... LaRod Stephens-Howling 52-yard TD catch in overtime.
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