Bears Blow Out Cowboys in Dallas
By Javi Perez at October 2, 2012 | 12:53 pm | Print
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Tony Romo is the face of the offense. That’s understood. He’s the quarterback so he bears much of the responsibility for the offensive ineptitude that the Dallas Cowboys showed in their 34-18 loss to the Chicago Bears last night. But those that are blaming Tony Romo for the loss last night are viewing that game in an extremely narrow way. They’re seeing what they want to see.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve been a staunch Romo defender (some would say “apologist”) for the past couple of years, but I do think he played poorly last night and he needs to work on it. Still, look at everything else that happened in that game. Dez Bryant couldn’t catch passes that were hitting him in the hands, between the numbers. One of Romo’s interceptions came when Kevin Ogletree had a pass hit his hands and was knocked high into the air. The Cowboys also couldn’t run. DeMarco Murray and Felix Jones combined for 12 carries (only one for Jones) and 38 yards.
Jason Garrett has apparently quickly forgotten that the reason their offense was so good last year is because Murray was carrying games and breaking big plays. Murray was a revelation last year that eased the burden off the passing game because the Cowboys aren’t the New Orleans Saints. Their offense can’t function by solely relying on the pass. Heck, that’s not even working for the Saints this year.
Although the Saints don’t have much of a defense. In all honesty, if you look close, the Cowboys defense had a pretty good game against the Bears. They could’ve generated a better pass rush and, at times, Chicago receivers were abusing their defenders. Still, the Cowboys defense allowed just one touchdown in the first three quarters. And Chicago’s 4th quarter touchdown was set up by, you guessed it, a Tony Romo interception.
If a defense plays that well at home, they should win. But that wasn’t their fate on this dreadful Monday night.
The Cowboys have issues. Their offensive line needs to improve, especially in their run blocking, Jason Garrett needs to show a commitment to the running game, the wide receivers need to start catching the ball when it hits them between the numbers and they get their hands on the ball, and Tony Romo needs to improve as well.
That’s a tall order, especially for a team that’s playing four of their next five games on the road. Their next four games are against Baltimore, Carolina, the Giants and Atlanta so that improvement needs to come quick. Otherwise a salvageable 2-2 record where Dallas is just one game behind the division lead will slip away into a lost season.
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