The Dallas Cowboys are in the middle of a much-needed bye week. They stand with a 3-3 record, but if you take the pulse of the fanbase, you’d assume they started the season 0-6.
We have to take our blue-tinted glasses off for a second and realize that the Cowboys are not a good football team right now. They rank in the bottom third of the league in several categories.
Today, we will be focusing on the offensive side of the ball, so let me take this opportunity to hit you with some stats that are, well…offensive. Pun intended.
- Points per game, 21.0 (19th)
- Rush yards per game, 77.2 (32nd)
- Turnovers, 11 (T-31st)
Those are just the stats. If you watched any of the Cowboys’ five games after the victory in Cleveland to start the season, you can just see that the offense is out of sync.
Explosive plays are few and far between. The longest rush is just 13 yards. They’ve lost their three home games by a combined score of 119-53. QB Dak Prescott has been on his back more often during games than I anticipated.
The list of deficiencies on the offensive side of the ball is a mile long, and it feels odd. We are so used to the Cowboys being ranked among the league’s best year in and year out, but this season they are struggling with essentially the same personnel.
I suppose we have to remember that football is a complementary sport, and the defense has been horrible. But that’s a story for tomorrow. Today, let’s focus on one offensive unit that must improve for the Cowboys to have any chance to save their season.
Offensive Line
I know, I know. The offensive line has five players, but I couldn’t single out any one of them. Each player attempting to open run lanes for RB Rico Dowdle or trying to keep Prescott’s jersey clean has had their share of struggles so far.
Even the immortal Zack Martin has shown that he is, in fact, human. So human that last week’s game versus Detroit was arguably the worst game of his career. Martin gave up countless pressures, and the player across from him (DT Alim McNeill) played so well that the Lions gave him a contract extension a couple of days later.
RT Terence Steele hasn’t exactly been a game breaker either. If I close my eyes and picture what he has done this season, flashes of pass rushers speeding by him and hitting Dak Prescott is what comes to mind first.
Perhaps Steele is following the same path as last season, where he didn’t start playing to his abilities until further into the season. We can hope.
C Cooper Beebe has actually played pretty well, but he has shown to be susceptible to stunts and twists. He has been late to react at times, and has been responsible for Prescott taking some hits to the chin.
Rookie LT Tyler Guyton hasn’t exactly been plug and play, but he has been serviceable, and has shown improvement week to week. He is currently dealing with an injury, but should be back in his spot just in time to face the San Francisco 49ers.
LG Tyler Smith has been the best of the bunch, but he can’t do it all alone. Each player has played well at times this season, individually. The Cowboys need the offensive line to mesh in a bad way or risk seeing their season go down the drain.
I don’t wish ill will towards anyone, especially when it comes to their livelihood, but this bye week was a perfect opportunity to make a change, and I expected OL Coach Mike Solari to be relieved of his duties.
The run game is stale, and each player on the offensive line has fallen short of expectations. At 3-3, there is still hope for this team, but the offensive line needs to play better.