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COLUMN By JEAN-JACQUES TAYLOR / The Dallas Morning News
jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
ARLINGTON – Mike Shanahan, Washington's petulant coach, set the Redskins up for failure by waiting until Friday to announce Rex Grossman was replacing Donovan McNabb at quarterback.
Bad teams engulfed by turmoil rarely play well, especially when their quarterback doesn't practice with the starters until two days before the game.
In trying to humiliate McNabb, Shanahan set up the Cowboys for an easy win. But these Cowboys made too many mistakes to accept the early Christmas gift.
Imagine that.
The Cowboys needed a 39-yard field goal by David Buehler with 50 seconds left Sunday to beat Washington, 33-30, in part because this remains a dumb team.
Now, it plays harder than it ever did under Wade Phillips. And it consistently fights through adversity, a new trait developed under interim coach Jason Garrett.
But the Cowboys commit a lot of dumb mistakes.
Until Garrett or whoever the head coach is next season raises this team's football IQ, then it's going to continue struggling.
The Cowboys scored the first 13 points of the game, led 27-7 in the third quarter and 30-16 in the fourth quarter. They didn't commit a turnover and didn't punt until the fourth quarter.
They should have been laughing and planning shopping excursions in the fourth quarter. Instead, they were trying valiantly to avoid an embarrassing collapse.
They had only themselves to blame.
With the Cowboys leading 3-0 in the first quarter, Kyle Kosier , probably the team's most consistent offensive lineman, committed a false start on third-and-goal from the Washington 1. The drive ended when the Redskins stopped Tashard Choice on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
Terence Newman let Washington back into the game in the second quarter with a silly personal foul after Brandon Williams had dropped Santana Moss for an 8-yard loss on second-and-7 from the Dallas 22. With Moss on the ground, Newman speared him.
Instead of facing third-and-15, the Redskins received an automatic first down. Two plays later, Ryan Torain scored on a 19-yard screen pass.
Another dumb penalty occurred in the fourth quarter, when Anthony Spencer was called for a personal foul for hitting Grossman near his facemask on third-and-goal from the Dallas 11. We all know there's considerable ambiguity these days about what's considered a personal foul, especially when it comes to tackling quarterbacks, so you can't take a chance in that situation.
The officials are calling touch fouls, so to speak, so you have to expect the slightest extra push, shove or nudge to result in a penalty. It's not fair and it makes no sense, but those are the rules.
"The officials are trying to do the right thing," Garrett said. "They're trying to make sure there is no unnecessary roughness that can put a player in jeopardy. There's always a fine line, and I think they're trying to do their best to handle those situations.
"They're not against the Dallas Cowboys, trust me. They're trying to make the right calls each and every game, and sometimes, they don't go your way."
Instead of Washington getting a field goal that would have cut the Cowboys' lead to 30-19, Grossman finished the drive with a touchdown pass and two-point conversion that made it 30-22 with 13:44 left.
You know how the story ends. The Cowboys eventually won.
Afterward Jerry Jones was thrilled.
"Criticize us where you want to criticize us," he said, "but we came down there and did it at the end. I'm glad the fans got to enjoy it and be a part of it."
The players were equally pleased.
"There's no need to apologize for any wins this season," DeMarcus Ware said.
Hey, there's no reason to play Scrooge.
This has been a wretched season, and if a win against Washington puts a smile on the faces of the fans who have cheered for this underachieving group all season, then so be it. All of us recognize the standard has changed for these Cowboys.
Like other bad teams – Detroit, Arizona, Buffalo and Carolina come to mind – we should probably pat them on the back whenever they win whatever the circumstances.
jjtaylor@dallasnews.com
ARLINGTON – Mike Shanahan, Washington's petulant coach, set the Redskins up for failure by waiting until Friday to announce Rex Grossman was replacing Donovan McNabb at quarterback.
Bad teams engulfed by turmoil rarely play well, especially when their quarterback doesn't practice with the starters until two days before the game.
In trying to humiliate McNabb, Shanahan set up the Cowboys for an easy win. But these Cowboys made too many mistakes to accept the early Christmas gift.
Imagine that.
The Cowboys needed a 39-yard field goal by David Buehler with 50 seconds left Sunday to beat Washington, 33-30, in part because this remains a dumb team.
Now, it plays harder than it ever did under Wade Phillips. And it consistently fights through adversity, a new trait developed under interim coach Jason Garrett.
But the Cowboys commit a lot of dumb mistakes.
Until Garrett or whoever the head coach is next season raises this team's football IQ, then it's going to continue struggling.
The Cowboys scored the first 13 points of the game, led 27-7 in the third quarter and 30-16 in the fourth quarter. They didn't commit a turnover and didn't punt until the fourth quarter.
They should have been laughing and planning shopping excursions in the fourth quarter. Instead, they were trying valiantly to avoid an embarrassing collapse.
They had only themselves to blame.
With the Cowboys leading 3-0 in the first quarter, Kyle Kosier , probably the team's most consistent offensive lineman, committed a false start on third-and-goal from the Washington 1. The drive ended when the Redskins stopped Tashard Choice on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
Terence Newman let Washington back into the game in the second quarter with a silly personal foul after Brandon Williams had dropped Santana Moss for an 8-yard loss on second-and-7 from the Dallas 22. With Moss on the ground, Newman speared him.
Instead of facing third-and-15, the Redskins received an automatic first down. Two plays later, Ryan Torain scored on a 19-yard screen pass.
Another dumb penalty occurred in the fourth quarter, when Anthony Spencer was called for a personal foul for hitting Grossman near his facemask on third-and-goal from the Dallas 11. We all know there's considerable ambiguity these days about what's considered a personal foul, especially when it comes to tackling quarterbacks, so you can't take a chance in that situation.
The officials are calling touch fouls, so to speak, so you have to expect the slightest extra push, shove or nudge to result in a penalty. It's not fair and it makes no sense, but those are the rules.
"The officials are trying to do the right thing," Garrett said. "They're trying to make sure there is no unnecessary roughness that can put a player in jeopardy. There's always a fine line, and I think they're trying to do their best to handle those situations.
"They're not against the Dallas Cowboys, trust me. They're trying to make the right calls each and every game, and sometimes, they don't go your way."
Instead of Washington getting a field goal that would have cut the Cowboys' lead to 30-19, Grossman finished the drive with a touchdown pass and two-point conversion that made it 30-22 with 13:44 left.
You know how the story ends. The Cowboys eventually won.
Afterward Jerry Jones was thrilled.
"Criticize us where you want to criticize us," he said, "but we came down there and did it at the end. I'm glad the fans got to enjoy it and be a part of it."
The players were equally pleased.
"There's no need to apologize for any wins this season," DeMarcus Ware said.
Hey, there's no reason to play Scrooge.
This has been a wretched season, and if a win against Washington puts a smile on the faces of the fans who have cheered for this underachieving group all season, then so be it. All of us recognize the standard has changed for these Cowboys.
Like other bad teams – Detroit, Arizona, Buffalo and Carolina come to mind – we should probably pat them on the back whenever they win whatever the circumstances.
