Friday, October 16, 2009

Michael Lombardi: Too many problems in Big D (Dallas Blurb)

Diner morning news: Too many problems in Big D

Calvin Watkins of ESPN Dallas reports for the second consecutive week, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked on his own show about (Wade) Phillips' job status.

"Under no circumstances would I make a change," Jones said. "We've got a chance to get a lot of things done and we've got a lot of football left to play and we've got some good people that not only can play it, but coach it."

Jerry never answered the essential question: What’s it going to take for Wade to keep his job beyond this year? Keeping him this season is no big deal since the team is not bad enough to fire him, but clearly -- at least in my mind -- it’s not talented enough to win a Super Bowl. On tape, the Chiefs game proved to me that the Cowboys have to make giant strides on both sides of the ball to compete at the highest level in the NFL. They have too many weaknesses that appear from time to time — in every game. Their lack of safety play, their lack of corners (including Terence Newman), their lack of receivers and their inconsistency at left tackle are all huge concerns that appear to be exploited in every game.

Patrick Crayton has gone down faster than any player I’ve seen in a very long time. He has no juice left in his legs, appears to have lost his quickness and doesn’t show any skills that make him tough to cover. He’s easily covered by any team’s fourth of fifth corner right now.

Maybe things will change after the bye week — but I doubt it. These are flaws that are hard to change during the season and are easily attacked by good opponents.