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Taylor: Don't overvalue Keith Brooking's 'William Wallace movement,' talent is far more important
Posted at 10:07 PM on Wed., Jan. 26, 2011 | Permalink
SportsDayDFW sports Bio | E-mail | News tips
Every week, SportsDay columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor answers Cowboys-related questions from fans as part of his weekly newsletter. Here is a sampling of those quesitons. To view the entire newsletter and subscribe yourself, click here:
Q: With Keith Brooking, Marc Colombo and Marion Barber III likely to be gone before next season, how will the leadership dynamic change? I thought the arrival of Brooking brought an outward, emotional component to the team that was lacking before, which showed when his teammates selected him captain after only one year. Any chance he would bewilling tostay as a backup to Sean Lee, and would that be worthwhile?
Fahad Juneja
TAYLOR: That's a legitimate question, but I don't personally get a big charge out the pregame William Wallace moment. Keith Brooking did it this year, and the Cowboys went 6-10. Good players are far more important. Brooking would be willing to stay as a backup, I think, but the Cowboys would be better served by having a younger, faster, stronger player in that role.
Q: Do we have to keep Tony Romo? Interesting that you sportswriters cite his high completion percentage but after Jason Garrett became head coach the focus was on running - and winning. Go figure.
Barbara Wiskow
TAYLOR: Is your problem with Tony Romo or Jason Garrett? It's not like Romo calls the plays. There have been a lot of complaints about Garrett's run-pass ratio over the past few seasons. Again, I'm not sure what that has to do with Romo. Garrett found a better balance as a head coach because he stopped panicking and abandoning the run just because the Cowboys were down by 10 points.
Q: The titles for coaches these days are totally confusing. Take, for example, the position of wide receiver. First you have an offensive coordinator. Then you have a passing game coach. Then you have a wide receivers coach. And that's not counting the head coach. It appears all these coaches have input not only as to which receiver will play, but when he will play. Who actually coaches the individual receivers on a daily and/or game basis.
Paul Irish, Bastrop, Texas
TAYLOR: Good question. I guess it can get a little confusing. The receivers coach is the one who works with the receivers in practice and puts them through their individual drills. He's also the coach who corrects the mistakes they make in practice and directs their daily meetings. The offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, puts the game plan together and calls the plays. He also directs the daily offensive meetings and goes over the unit's practice performance. The passing game coordinator puts together the passing portion of the game plan because as head coach, Garrett has so many other duties he can use help putting the game plan together.
Q: Suppose it would be a little "knee-jerk" to give up on Jenkins?
Doug Diehl, San Antonio
TAYLOR: You, sir, are correct. We saw Jenkins turn in an outstanding performance in 2009. We saw him stink much of last season. He's a lot closer to the guy who was outstanding than the spare we saw much of last season. The key is for Jenkins regaining his confidence. The litany of pass interference penalties he incurred early last season made him more tentative, which is bad for a bump-and-run cornerback.
Posted at 10:07 PM on Wed., Jan. 26, 2011 | Permalink
SportsDayDFW sports Bio | E-mail | News tips
Every week, SportsDay columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor answers Cowboys-related questions from fans as part of his weekly newsletter. Here is a sampling of those quesitons. To view the entire newsletter and subscribe yourself, click here:
Q: With Keith Brooking, Marc Colombo and Marion Barber III likely to be gone before next season, how will the leadership dynamic change? I thought the arrival of Brooking brought an outward, emotional component to the team that was lacking before, which showed when his teammates selected him captain after only one year. Any chance he would bewilling tostay as a backup to Sean Lee, and would that be worthwhile?
Fahad Juneja
TAYLOR: That's a legitimate question, but I don't personally get a big charge out the pregame William Wallace moment. Keith Brooking did it this year, and the Cowboys went 6-10. Good players are far more important. Brooking would be willing to stay as a backup, I think, but the Cowboys would be better served by having a younger, faster, stronger player in that role.
Q: Do we have to keep Tony Romo? Interesting that you sportswriters cite his high completion percentage but after Jason Garrett became head coach the focus was on running - and winning. Go figure.
Barbara Wiskow
TAYLOR: Is your problem with Tony Romo or Jason Garrett? It's not like Romo calls the plays. There have been a lot of complaints about Garrett's run-pass ratio over the past few seasons. Again, I'm not sure what that has to do with Romo. Garrett found a better balance as a head coach because he stopped panicking and abandoning the run just because the Cowboys were down by 10 points.
Q: The titles for coaches these days are totally confusing. Take, for example, the position of wide receiver. First you have an offensive coordinator. Then you have a passing game coach. Then you have a wide receivers coach. And that's not counting the head coach. It appears all these coaches have input not only as to which receiver will play, but when he will play. Who actually coaches the individual receivers on a daily and/or game basis.
Paul Irish, Bastrop, Texas
TAYLOR: Good question. I guess it can get a little confusing. The receivers coach is the one who works with the receivers in practice and puts them through their individual drills. He's also the coach who corrects the mistakes they make in practice and directs their daily meetings. The offensive coordinator, Jason Garrett, puts the game plan together and calls the plays. He also directs the daily offensive meetings and goes over the unit's practice performance. The passing game coordinator puts together the passing portion of the game plan because as head coach, Garrett has so many other duties he can use help putting the game plan together.
Q: Suppose it would be a little "knee-jerk" to give up on Jenkins?
Doug Diehl, San Antonio
TAYLOR: You, sir, are correct. We saw Jenkins turn in an outstanding performance in 2009. We saw him stink much of last season. He's a lot closer to the guy who was outstanding than the spare we saw much of last season. The key is for Jenkins regaining his confidence. The litany of pass interference penalties he incurred early last season made him more tentative, which is bad for a bump-and-run cornerback.