The Landry Hat
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Dallas Cowboys: When good isn’t good enough

By Robert H. Carroll

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There are moments when good unfortunately isn’t good enough. This time, I’m not referring to the five close losses our Dallas Cowboys have suffered this season. It might be premature, but I’m thinking of the overall career of linebacker Sean Lee. A career that allowed glimpses of greatness, but never completely delivered due to injuries.

A healthy Lee is a statistical leader and game changer when on the field. He is often among the team leaders in tackles and interceptions. Lee is simply a play maker and one of the best linebackers in the game. While Lee will be mentioned with other memorable Cowboys and fan favorites like: Dexter Coakley, Dat Nguyen, Ken Norton Jr., Lee Roy Jordan, Randy White and Chuck Howley but how does one properly appreciate Sean Lee’s accomplishments?

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If this were his last year, I doubt Lee’s overall body of work would be deemed Hall of Fame worthy. The same debate could be held about Lee entering the Ring of Honor at AT&T Stadium. From 1992 to 2004, safety Darren Woodson played his entire career with the Cowboys. Woodson, the franchise leader in tackles, was added to the Ring of Honor 10 years after a storied career.

I hope history proves to be kind to Lee, a trophy plaque and jersey in the stadium or hallway at Valley Ranch seems appropriate, but yet, not enough. Hopefully, Lee returns to win a Super Bowl ring as a member of our coaching staff. He’s been a class act on and off the field, so much so that after two concussions in one season, Cowboy Nation should be concerned with Lee’s quality of life after football. As much as we love seeing him in action, he’d be respected if and when he makes the difficult decision to hang up his cleats.

This leaves us to only imagine how elite our linebacker corps could be with a healthy Sean Lee, smart and versatile Anthony Hitchens and the powerful DeVonte Holloman in the middle. Instead, we will have a linebacker by committee approach and hopefully the Rolando McClain that we saw last year will return.

Other thoughts: Everyone should know that I’ve been waving the Kellen Moore flag since the moment he was signed to the practice squad. I’m baffled why the Cowboys seek to get younger at every position except backup quarterback. Head coach Jason Garrett often mentions a fear of developing players for other teams. The Detroit Lions have developed Moore for us, plus he’s healthy and ready to play. I hope he wins the backup role next season, if he isn’t picked up.

On the other hand, Brandon Weeden and Matt Cassel have maxed out. There’s no potential remaining and no further upside. Cassel could possibly be Kyle Orton 2.0 in the off-season. The fact that Weeden is still on the roster is baffling. Any front office executive that wants to see Weeden take another snap as a Cowboy needs his head examined. Hopefully he’s cut or released when Tony Romo joins the active roster. It will be the second best move by the front office this season – the first was signing Kellen Moore. You knew I was going to say that!

My heart goes out to Joseph Randle because I hate to see youth and talent wasted over young love – or the lack thereof. An argument with the 22 year old mother of his son led to Randle’s arrest for unlawful possession of marijuana which Randle never tested positive for. I would like to believe that being financially secure with a 4 year, $2.34 million dollar contract would eliminate most arguments and buy some happiness. If Randle is lucky, he invested a chunk of his income before buying a boat and a truck to pull it, along with a yeti 110 iced down with some silver bullets.

I haven’t been sold on the awesomeness of Byron Jones. My eyes haven’t seen him deliver the wood to a receiver from the safety position. He’s not making interceptions from the cornerback or safety position either. Jones is fifth on the team in tackles with 31. Brandon Carr is third with 36. I was taught if a cornerback has a high number of tackles, they usually allowed a high number of completions. Many people blast J.J. Wilcox for a bad angle, but I see Jones laying on the ground watching his assignment run into the end zone. I believe the phrase is “Don’t lay down on the job”.

I won’t put the Cowboys’ Super Bowl party on ice until they are mathematically eliminated. I’ve lived through a 1 – 15 season, I can take it. However, I only want one bad season — this one. I know the Cowboys are going to play hard and be competitive until the end. At this point, I could live with sweeping the Washington Redskins and finishing with one of the top five 2016 NFL draft picks.

I’m being selfish because sweeping Washington would eliminate 92% of the emails I receive from trash talking fans in DC. A nightmare for me is trying to improve this team with a series of mid-round draft picks. Not counting compensatory picks, the Cowboys only have four picks remaining  in the 2016 draft because of previous trades.

Next: Why no one should give up on the Dallas Cowboys yet

Finally, a big media deal was made of DeMarco Murray getting to face the Dallas Cowboys. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have five former Cowboys on the defensive side of the ball: cornerbacks Sterling Moore and Mike Jenkins, linebackers Bruce Carter and Orie Lemon and defensive tackle Henry Melton. It’s going to be a fight and Vegas has the Cowboys as 1 point favorites. My advice: Let your fingernails grow out, so you can bite them off.

#GoCowboys

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