The disappointing 2011 National Football League (NFL) Season is finally over for the Dallas Cowboys. There were some high moments and some very low ones. Here are five areas that need fixing on the Cowboys.

The Philadelphia Eagles embarrassed the Dallas Cowboys in Week 8.
commons.wikimedia.org/Billy Bob Bain

Primary Running Back?

Who will be the primary running back for the Dallas Cowboys next season? DeMarco Murray should be the guy. However, Murray suffered a fractured ankle in Week 14 that ended his season. That is cause for concern because the Cowboys are thin at running back. Felix Jones continues to be plagued by injuries. Even when healthy, Jones is not the power back the Cowboys need.

Defense When it Counts

New defensive coordinator Rob Ryan implemented a new scheme that promised aggressiveness. The defense played well at times but failed in the most crucial moments. Poor defense resulted in two late-season losses to the New York Giants. Are the players still learning the new system? Do the Cowboys simply lack enough talent on defense?

Dr. Tony and Mr. Romo

Will the real Tony Romo please stand up? Sometimes you get a gutsy performance like the Week 2 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Other times you get the Romo who literally threw the game away against the Detroit Lions in Week 4. How many more chances does Romo get? He is still not an elite quarterback in the NFL.

Is Garrett the Guy?

Why is owner Jerry Jones convinced that Jason Garrett is the right coach for the Cowboys? Jones criticized Garrett for being too conservative in Week 6 against the New England Patriots. Garrett goofed in Week 13 against the Arizona Cardinals. His clock management effectively iced his own kicker and lost the game. The Cowboys were embarrassed by the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. They failed to clinch the playoffs in Week 17 against the Giants. Garrett is supposed to know these teams. Aside from the Washington Redskins, his division rivals got the best of him this season.

Involved Owner

Jones is one of the most involved owners in the NFL. But his control on the team may be part of the problem. Jones is the owner, president and general manager of the Cowboys. He is not the head coach. Jones needs to step back and let the coach be the coach. He needs to give his coach the power to make all coaching decisions and fully support those decisions. Until that happens, this team will not move forward.

These are five areas that need fixing on the Cowboys. They have a lot of work ahead of them. The offseason starts now.

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Edwin Torres has been a fan of the Dallas Cowboys since the days of Tony Dorsett and Roger Staubach. He enjoyed watching the Dallas teams of the 90s dominate opponents on both sides of the ball. As a longtime fan of the National Football League, Edwin follows many interesting games and stories each week. For more articles, follow him on Twitter @FlipPoker.

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For the NFL schedule maker, this is perfection.

After a season of inconsistency and disappointments, the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants play one game that will make the winner forget the frustrations of the regular season and send the other home for a long rest.

Archrivals facing off for a division title in prime time. Delicious.

The Cowboys (8-7) and Giants (8-7) close the regular season Sunday night at Metlife Stadium, the winner getting a first-round home game against either Atlanta or Detroit. Oh, in case of a tie, which hasn’t happened all season in the NFL, the Giants capture the division and return to the playoffs for the first time since 2008 based on head-to-head play.

“I think everyone knows this is the most important game of the season,” Giants veteran left tackle David Diehl said. “We all know what’s at stake. We know what we are playing for. When we started this season our No. 1 goal was to win the division and here we are. It’s right in front of us.”

The division title has been in front of both teams all season and neither has grabbed hold of it.

The Giants won six of their first eight games then went on a four-game losing streak to fall a game behind the Cowboys in early December. New York, however, rallied from a 12-point deficit on Dec. 11 to beat Dallas 37-34 and regain first place on a tiebreaker.

The momentum lasted a week. New York put in a no-show in losing to Washington on Dec. 18, putting Dallas back in first. Of course, the inconsistency continued last week as the Giants played one of their best games of the season in knocking off and shutting up the local rival Jets 29-14.

Meanwhile, Dallas lost to Philadelphia for the second time this season and quarterback Tony Romo bruised his right hand — his passing hand.

So who shows up this week with everything on the line? Who knows?

“I think these two teams are very comparable team-wise, not only in record but the types of seasons we have had,” said Romo, who plans on playing. “I suspect that talent-wise, we are pretty close so there will be a few plays here or there that will decide this game. We have to be ready to make those plays.”

Coincidentally, both teams have been in similar situations in recent years as far as making the playoffs and came up short.

The Giants have had late-season collapses the past two years. They lost to Carolina and Minnesota in the final two games of the ’09 season to miss the playoffs and they were beaten by Philadelphia and Green Bay in the 14th and 15th games last season — blowing a 21-point fourth-quarter lead against the Eagles — to also go home early.

The Cowboys, who last went to the playoffs in the 2009 season, had another win-and-in game on the road in 2008 against the Eagles and were blown out 44-6.

“I think it’s the same thing,” Cowboys Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus Ware said of the parallel to 2008. “Going into this game, this is an opportunity where you can sort of get a birth, an opportunity where you can catapult yourself sort of where you need to be, showcase what we actually have. We haven’t been the most consistent team this year but if you get this game and get to the playoffs, that’s like rebirth, a rebirth of the team. I think it’d be great to just keep going.”

Giants linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said this is an easy game to get ready to play because the picture is so clear, the teams know each other so well after having played only three weeks ago — and having played each other twice a year for decades.

“There is only one game we have to focus on and only one game we have to win to get to what our next goal is,” Kiwanuka said. “We have one game and one opportunity to continue on our way to accomplishing our goal, which is winning a national title.”

The Giants could get a lift on defense with two-time Pro Bowl defensive end Osi Umenyiora expected to play for the first time since suffering a high ankle sprain late last month. The Cowboys might be a little fresher because they rested several players after the Giants beat the Jets with the outcome of their game against the Eagles having no effect on the showdown nature of Sunday’s game.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin or Cowboys coach Jason Garrett will be under the microscope if their team fails to make the playoffs. Coughlin, who hurt his left leg when run into on the sideline by Giants running back D.J. Ware in the fourth quarter last week, might be in a better position after the win over the Jets, a result that had co-owner John Mara singing his praises.

Garrett has seen his team blow fourth-quarter leads of at least 12 points three times this season and might be in a little more trouble if Jerry Jones’ team misses the playoffs a second straight year.

“It’s do or die,” Dallas linebacker Bradie James said. “We can all sit here. The coaches talk about the Xs and Os and my job is just to go out there and play. It’s just sheer determination. Coach Garrett talks about will. It’s heart, determination. We can get in there and talk about execution and what we plan against this guy. They know us, we know them. It’s really going to be whoever outlasts the other. That’s how you break it down. I like to keep it as simple as possible.”

This will be the first time the NFC East winner has less than 10 wins since the division was created in 1970. The lone exception was the strike-shortened 1982 season when teams played nine games.

For Dallas Cowboys’ fans worried about Tony Romo’s status for the New Year’s Day game against the New York Giants, Miles Austin says not to worry. The receiver, who has been working this week with Romo, said the quarterback is practicing just fine.

Austin went on to say that Romo has been accurate and does not show any signs of the hand bothering him at all. While he said he doesn’t know how Romo feels, he knows that the passes feel normal and are on par with what he is used to from the Cowboys’ signal caller.

Luckily for Romo, there were eight days between the injury and the Giants’ game, so the hand had time to heal. His hand has been wrapped up and protected this week during practice while Romo has been throwing the ball. On Friday, it was heavily taped up in an effort to further decrease the swelling.

Romo has said all week he expects to play in the game. He said his hand has improved day-by-day and the swelling has been going down on a steady basis. In an interesting statement for fans, Romo said that playing with the injured ribs earlier in the season was much harder than playing with the swelling in his hand.

Romo has been playing in pain all season, so it was no surprise to learn he would not miss the game that will determine the NFC East champions. In the first game against the Giants this season, Romo threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns, which makes sense with the Giants having the 27th ranked pass defense in the NFL.

However, Dallas’ defense collapsed in the final two minutes and the Giants came back to win. With the defense prone to slip-ups, especially late in games, Dallas needs Romo at full strength. Thankfully, that is what Austin says his quarterback currently is.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: dallascowboys.com

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Dallas Cowboys’ tight end Jason Witten missed the Pro Bowl in 2011, his first time to miss the big game in eight years. Witten played in the Pro Bowl from 2004-2010, but in 2011, it is Tony Gonzalez and Jimmy Graham getting the call instead.

Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys
Wikimedia Commons

While Dallas fans might complain about his omission, the fact is that Witten, once the best tight end in the NFL, is now realistically not even the third best in the NFC.

Jimmy Graham has given the New Orleans Saints something they have not had, a tight end who can contribute major stats for the team’s offense. Heading into the final week of the season, Graham has 91 receptions for 1,213 yards and ten touchdowns. Graham is also only 25 and looks to be the next generation’s Jason Witten.

Tony Gonzalez is at the other end of the spectrum, 35 years old but enjoying his best season since he played for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008. Heading into the final game of 2011, Gonzalez has 79 receptions for 867 yards and seven touchdowns. The Pro-Bowl loves rewarding legendary comeback players.

Unless Jason Witten has his best game of the 2011 season, he will miss out on 1,000 yards for the first time since 2008. He has 72 receptions for 873 yards and five touchdowns. There is a chance he will have his lowest yardage totals and receptions since 2006.

In the first two games of the season, it looked like Witten was going to have another great season. He had 13 receptions for 113 yards in those first two games. He has not gained 100 yards in a game since. Since pulling down eight receptions in Week 4, he has not caught more than five balls in a game. Over the past three weeks, heading into the season finale, Witten has two games with under 25 receiving yards.

This is not the same Jason Witten that Dallas Cowboys’ fans are used to. He is still a solid player but is a step below what he once was. In 2011, he definitely wasn’t a Pro Bowl tight end.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: Yahoo! Sports

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The 2011 NFL Pro Bowl teams were released and there were only two Dallas Cowboys’ players in the lineups. Despite being one win away from making the playoffs, only two defensive stars were deemed worthy of the Pro Bowl. That is not my main problem with the NFC choices in 2011.

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys
Wikimedia Commons

I already said awhile back that I thought Tony Romo should not make the lineup. There are three quarterbacks in the NFC who deserve this spot over Romo. The problem is that only two of those players made the Pro Bowl. Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees deserve the honors more than any other quarterback in the NFC.

However, there is no way Eli Manning should be in the Pro Bowl over someone like the Detroit Lions’ Matthew Stafford. The Detroit Lions are back in the playoffs for the first time in over a decade and it is all because of Stafford. The Giants are one loss away from sitting at home during the playoffs, and Manning gets in. What is wrong with this picture?

On the season, Stafford has 4,518 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Detroit is 10-5. Manning has 4,587 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. The Giants are 8-7. Look at those numbers and tell me that Manning is better than Stafford. Romo has 3,895 yards, 29 touchdowns and nine interceptions with an 8-7 record. Touchdowns and turnovers are more important than yards, so I say Romo deserves the spot over Manning.

But, as a Dallas fan, I will say that Matthew Stafford deserves the spot over both of them.

Other than that, I don’t have many problems with the choices. Matt Forte won’t play, so I assume they replace him with Marshawn Lynch. Michael Turner might get the call but Lynch deserves it.

There is also talk that Jason Witten was snubbed but I don’t see it. Jimmy Graham is heads and shoulder above everyone else and Witten is struggling to get his stats this season.

As a Dallas fan, I have little interest in the Pro Bowl this year because of the absence of any offensive Cowboys’ stars, but honestly, no one I see really deserves it. That is, unless you believe Eli Manning deserves his spot and then I will argue Romo all day long.

Author Shawn S. Lealos has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma (2000) and has been a Dallas Cowboys’ fan since he was a child. His favorite players range from Roger Staubach and Tony Dorsett to the Triplets of the 90s and he enjoys talking about all Cowboys’ related news, good or bad

Source: Yahoo! Sports

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