Dallas Cowboys ignoring football sense increases frustrations

Dallas Cowboys anger fans by ignoring football common sense

There are many reasons for Dallas Cowboys fans to rightfully be discouraged after losing three of the first four football games. They’d easily have lost all four if Atlanta had any sense of how to fall on a slow moving onside kick.

There is much blame to go around in Dallas. The offense isn’t protecting the ball when games are still being contested. Special teams have made numerous costly, avoidable blunders. And the defense has played slow, undisciplined, and soft.

Watching formerly capable and even highly accomplished players vastly under perform their recent history is extremely frustrating. Yet, what truly turns anger into disgust is losing while the coaching staff ignores football common sense.

CHOOSING FEELINGS OVER FOOTBALL SENSE

Terrence Steele over Brandon Knight

Brandon Knight is the second best healthy tackle on this football team, period. With Zack Martin staying put at guard, every fan and media person knew it was a slam dunk to start Knight over Steele at right tackle if Tyron Smith played.

No sane person believed undrafted rookie Steele could slow pass rush terror Myles Garrett on an island. Apparently, Dallas coaches did until two sacks and a strip turnover happened quickly. Knight came in, play improved, but the damage was done.

Darian Thompson over any other safety

Darian Thompson was a costly nightmare the first three games. Multiple busted assignments and late reactions had led directly to touchdowns. And not one of these three players was a better option than Jeff Heath’s 2019 back-up?

• Ha Ha Clinton-Dix – 1,067 snaps on 2019 Bears (4th ranked defense)
• Brandon Carr – 748 snaps on 2019 Ravens (3rd ranked defense)
• Donovan Wilson – 2019 6th round draft pick

Clinton-Dix was cut during camp. Carr was barely allowed to sniff the field in a porous, injured secondary and is now cut. The safety play has been awful. But neither of those two veterans who played on elite defenses just last year were worth a look on Sundays over Heath’s recent back-up?

Nonsense. Both just suddenly became too awful to play the spot? If true, then Dallas defensive coaches should explain why more than a handful of players who were heavy contributors on other teams just a year ago have ALL seen absurd declines.

Carr may not be a world-beater these days but I guarantee he’d have the experience to diagnose his safety responsibilities and try to make plays. At least there wouldn’t have been flat out coverage busts time and again letting guys run by freely.

And even three games of awful play with Thompson wasn’t enough to earn the younger Wilson the start. It took more immediate failure against Cleveland to finally send Thompson to the bench. Dallas still claims the starter is undecided. Sigh.

There have been numerous head scratching decisions, but these two blatantly obvious examples of ignoring football sense caused significant outcome damage.

Cowboys fans begged for a new head coach that valued ability over favoritism and consequences over coddling. Many fans are livid that this new staff has shown the same judgment cowardice as the past regime, and so far it appears even worse.