I have to admit, I’ve been trying to write this post now for the last four days.
It’s hard to write anything when you keep biting your keyboard in half. It’s also somewhat expensive too.
The outrage over Sunday’s surrender to the beatable Green Bay Packers had barely begun to fade when the Dak Defenders arrived.
This entire week they’ve blamed Dak Prescott’s eight-year run of playoff failure on everything and everyone under the Sun.
With the exception of who the blame belongs to – Dakota Prescott and his 2-5 record.
The last two playoff games he’s played in have seen him throw two interceptions in the first half. They were converted into 20 total points for the opponents.
The 49ers got two field goals of their picks in the 2022 Divisional round loss.
The second interception came on a second and two from the 49ers 18. It turned a 6-6 tie – and a possible 9-6 or 13-6 lead – into a 9-6 halftime deficit.
A game, by the way, Dallas lost 19-12.
Last week, his first pick came with Dallas down 7-0. It was just three plays and 43 game seconds after the defense had gotten off the field with a Green Bay punt.
It also gave the Packers the ball at point-blank range at Dallas’ 19.
You can’t put your defense in that kind of a hole and expect them to bail you out every time.
His second pick was a 64-yard Pick Six that pretty much ended the game with 1:50 to go and Dallas down 27-7.
He threw for over 300 yards in the second half, yes. But who cares?
By the time he decided to throw to the guys in the white shirts it was already game over.
And here is where it gets frustrating.
“It Isn’t His Fault”
That’s all I’ve heard this week. Whenever you bring up Prescott’s record in the postseason.
“It’s not his fault!”
It’s always “the receivers didn’t run the right route. They didn’t try hard enough to catch the ball. The defense should go out and stop the other team from scoring.”
What? The defense is supposed to jump out on the field and make a tackle on a Pick Six?
Maybe the interceptions don’t happen if passes aren’t forced? If receivers aren’t stared down?
Or maybe – like last year’s loss to the 49ers – lets throw the ball to the wide open receiver downfield instead?
When do we hold Prescott accountable for his poor decision making in the big games?
And there is the key word – and it applies to the whole organization and not just the quarterback: Accountability.
Where’s The Accountability?
When the Cowboys announced that Mike McCarthy was coming back to coach the team next year there was this little excerpt from Jerry Jones’ statement:
“There is accountability for our results. I am accountable for our results.”
Really? Since when, Jerry?
No one has been held accountable for nearly 30 years of futility anywhere in this organization.
Has one single coach been fired since Sunday?
No. Unless Dan Quinn takes a head coaching job elsewhere, the entire staff will be retained.
Why? How does anyone in the front office or the coaching staff get to be told they keep their job after Sunday?
The same goes for the players.
Your quarterback hasn’t gotten you past the Divisional round in eight years? Let’s make him the highest paid player in the NFL!
Yeah, that’s some accountability.
Everyone walking into the building on Monday should have been filled with dread that they would find a pink slip waiting for them on their desk/locker.
And no one was.
How is there any accountability in the building if heads aren’t rolling?
The Sunday Surrender should have led to a Monday Morning Massacre at The Star. It didn’t and that’s inexcusable.
When your 80-year-old former coach shows more fire and passion last Sunday than your entire organization did that’s shameful.
This Is The Way
In 1992, the Cowboys had wrapped up the division and the No. 2 seed and a bye. They played the Bears at home in the regular season finale.
Up 27-0 in the fourth quarter, running back Curvin Richards fumbled the ball away twice.
The next morning, Richards was on the unemployment line.
Message sent. Message received. Super Bowl won a few weeks later.
Accountability.
Here we are, 31 years later. The team is unprepared to play in a playoff game and gets smoked.
No coaches or front office personnel are fired.
No players have been cut.
Nothing but more empty promises of “we’ll do better next year.”
No accountability for one of the most disgusting displays of apathy ever seen on any football field in the history of the game.
Just like it has been in Dallas since Jerry fired the one man who demanded accountability – and actually delivered it – a long three decades ago.
hey they gave the tackle steel 70 mil for edge rushers to blow by him. They moved tyrone back to left which though is great will ruin his health faster and biadizz is highly thought of as a good center (mostly by the team) though he regularly gets pushed into dak or thrown on the ground or even just left standing with hands on hips as they blow by him too. Nuff said
I say fire Mccarthy and get what you can for Dak. I am extremely tired of loosing year after year. ACOUTABILLITY.
12-5 is losing in your world? Bet you must be a big winner in everything you do. Are you in the top 5 % of people in your profession? If not go in an quit because you are no good enough in your own view. You want accountability, then you do not deserve your job unless you are almost perfect. Above average (which this team is consistently) is not good enough.
Wrong. If you can do better, buy a team.
Loan me $500 million and its a deal.
Excellent article, Richard. I can’t agree more.
Keep paying massively insane dollars for these results gets you more of THESE RESULTS!!!
IMO this team is propped up by being in a BAD division giving them 5-6 wins almost every year and then WHAM, they get exposed in the PS by legit contenders. Their 12-win seasons are somewhat of a mirage especially considering now the 17 game “season” that started three years ago and this inferior competition.
Been commenting here for years, get some REAL competition in there for DP. He needs to have a fire lit under his rear, and while they did pick up Trey Lance, who may come on, they need MORE at that position. DP has proved he can’t handle the bright lights. He has been given WAY MORE than enough time, money, and fan devotion already.
And you, like him are wrong.
It won’t stop until we the fans stop buying merchandise
I mean, it could come to that if these early playoff exits continue.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Thank you Richard!! Finally somebody writes about what needs to be addressed. Accountability!!!!
And you as well are wrong. I will tell you what I said to everyone. Unless you are rated in the top 5% of your profession, You need to quit. You obviously according to your own standard are not good enough.
I keep wondering about people when they write this nonsense about accountability and job performance. Just think if your company, supervisors, superior or whomever it may be, felt the need to clean house or fire you and replace you when you were performing at a level equal to the top 5 % or your profession. Should you be held accountable for only being what is considered quite good? Or maybe you had a bad day, so you should be fired over it. Lets say perhaps you called in sick 3 days in a row but were still in the top of your field. Guess you need to be shown the door. You people are not only ridiculous, but unrealistic. The Bills made it within one game of the AFC championship and people saying replace the coaching staff. How ignorant and short sided. MM is 12-5. Dak, for his flaws is easily a top 10 QB. Jerry Jones is making, not only the right choice, but the only logical choice.
And this is why the Dallas Cowboys have not made it back to even an NFC title game, much less a Super Bowl. Jerry Jones thanks you for your complacency.
And yes, John, if my job came with expectations that I had not met in eight years I would be shocked if I weren’t fired and replaced by someone who could come in and get the job done to the required expectation.
Don’t worry people like him love mediocrity and make excuses for it…. This is why people constantly hand Jerruh their money making him even richer all the while he keeps bringing in empty promise after empty promise. He like the late Al Davis will never see another big win in his lifetime. Why? Because this is built to make $$$ not win championships…..as long as they are running in the middle of the pack and are relevant this is exactly what you’re going to get…….it’s the new Cowboys way.
Wow! I’m a fan for more than 50 years of this team and “accountability“ on this team left the building when Jimmy Johnson was forced out thanks to Jerry Jones. Sorry, cowboy fans, but nothing will change as long as the current ownership and leadership of this team doesn’t change! That was clearly evident with the return of Mike McCarthy, and not a single coach fired up to this point. As long as Jerry sees the Dallas Cowboys as the most valuable franchise in the NFL, nothing will change.