Where’s the Accountability for the Dallas Cowboys?

So Friday, I read an article that disturbed me a little bit as a Dallas Cowboy fan.  Linebacker DeMarcus Ware came out and said that now that Romo has his contract which he states that quarterback Tony Romo deserved to get but at the end of the day it’s “put up or shut up.”   What disturbed me about that is the fact that once again in a team sport, the woes of the Dallas Cowboys are at the end of the day, quarterback Tony Romo’s fault.   I personally am not picking on Ware as he is a good player and comes to the field on a weekly basis ready to play.  What is mind boggling is the fact that the season hasn’t started yet and already the players are showing once more their lack of accountability.  Even though Ware isn’t the main problem on the defense, it’s still his side of the ball and they haven’t been known the last two seasons as being able to hold a lead.  So when do the players and coaching staff and yes even the general manager take the blame.

Looking to the top at the general manager’s position, we all know our owner loves his general manager and we know nothing will give any fans satisfaction in changing this area.  We also know this is an area that needs to be changed immediately and it’s wasted space to say it needs too when we know it won’t.  However, Jerry Jones needs to start taking blame on the organizations failures.  No other owner or general manager do we see on television as much as we see Jerry Jones.   Rarely, though, in any press conference or television appearance do we hear or see Jerry Jones absorbing the brunt of the blame for his idiotic decisions on restructuring contracts or business deals that have us all scratching our heads.  But as we know in the business world, everything rolls down hill like an avalanche.

Dec 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett protests a call during the game against the New Orleans Saints at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The coaching staff will at times take accountability to the point of saying we are what we are, average, or we as a team need to get better.  Rarely do you hear for instance Jason Garrett say my play calling has got to get better or I need to discipline my players better.  All those promises from the press conference where Garrett accepted the head coaching position of the Cowboys of a more disciplined, less penalized team have gone away as if they have never existed.   Never has a player such as offensive lineman Doug Free been disciplined for his numerous penalties.  The coaches don’t hold the players accountable and they don’t hold themselves accountable either.

Finally the players, the guys who are the ones who execute the plays and perform on the field for more money than most of us make in a lifetime.  Rarely do you hear the players take accountability for their on the field actions or even in the last few years their off-the-field actions.  We as fans wonder why they don’t when it’s easy to see this entire organization is about finger pointing.  It’s easier to blame someone else or even in Dallas’ case at times it’s easier to ignore the true issues.  It’s difficult for the players to be accountable for their actions when their coaches cannot even hold them in check.

It’s easy being the off-season to say, maybe this year it will finally click or maybe this is the year Garrett gets his team disciplined and to execute on the field, however, with Ware’s statement of “put up or shut up” it’s definitely not looking like it’s going to be any different.  So exactly where is the accountability in the Dallas Cowboys organization?  I’ll just be like Jerry Jones and turn a blind eye on the answer.