And the Dallas Cowboys Blame Award Goes To?

photo: Bleacher Report.com

Who is to blame for the Dallas Cowboys Continuous Meltdowns?

Ladies and gentleman, let’s take a look at the top 5 contestants for the Cowboys last minute loss at home vs. the Packers shall we….

1.    Quarterback - Tony Romo

The man was 29 of 48 for 358 yards passing with 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Romo was off all day long under throwing Dez Bryant on two deep passes. He also underthrew Dez on his last TD pass in the fourth quarter, but Dez bailed him out with a great catch. Romo played good enough throughout the game, but threw the interceptions at the most crucial points of the game. 

His first pick was a pass that should have been placed out in front of Miles Austin, but it was grossly behind him. If Romo leads Miles, it is a huge play and huge momentum for the Cowboys. Instead, it’s an interception and the momentum swings. The second pick was miscommunication between WR, Cole Beasley and Romo. Romo assumed Beasely would keep his route to the sidelines, but Beasely saw the coverage and sat down.

Either way, its unbelievable, but believable!

2.    Defensive Coordintator - Monte Kiffin

Well, what else can one say….Monte has given up the most yards for a defense in Cowboys history. After a great first half, Monte’s defense was bound to leak in the second half and leak it did. Actually, the flood gates may have been left open. Another backup QB has torched the Dallas Cowboys defense for the second straight week. Kiffin and DeMarcus Ware could not find a way to get to Matt Flynn. Flynn has already played on three teams this year being the Oakland Raiders, the Buffalo Bills and the current Green Bay Packers, but he looked like a pro bowler vs. the Cowboys.

Kiffin held the Packers to 3 points in the first half before surrendering 34 second half points. Ware stated he would return to his pro bowl form, according to NFL.com, but it was hard to see where he made a significant impact.

3.    Offensive Coordinator - Bill Callahan

The mixture of plays in the first half was very good. The Packers defense was kept off balance with the enormous amount of runs mixed in with the passes. If Romo could have executed better, there would have been more touchdowns than field goals in the first half. Then came the second half.

Everyone in Cowboy land and sports reporters will question the second half play calling. The Cowboys were still leading by 12 points with 6 minutes to go in the 4^th quarter, but Callahan only totaled 3 runs to 14 passes. For the entire game, Callahan’s play calling sheet was 18 runs and 48 passes. DeMarco Murray ran for 134 yards in 18 carries averaging 7.4 yards per carry. Dez Bryant had 11 catches for 153 yards, but for some reason was ignored when it mattered most. Two guys who were killing the Packers didn’t get the opportunity necessary.

4.    Head Coach - Jason Garrett

As the head coach, Garrett has total autonomy over the football team. At any point and time, Garrett could do or say whatever he needs to make a difference. The first half, Garrett heard all of the calls from Callahan and relayed them to Romo. Garrett lead his team to a 26-3 halftime lead. 

The second half came and I assume Garrett did not check with Callahan in the locker room, because everything changed. While the Packers came out moving the ball down field, the Cowboys were slow to react to everything the Packers did. The Packers would score and the Cowboys would go three and out.  For some reason Garrett has a tough time with second half adjustments. This was not different.

5.    Owner/General Manager - Jerry Jones

He is the owner, the General Manager, the Cowboys Marketing King and everything else. Jerry Jones is a marketing genius. A few weeks ago the Cowboys played the NY Giants at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey. This was same day the Peyton Manning and the Broncos met Tom Brady and the Pats in Foxboro. It was the late afternoon game on FOX network. Accordingto Sports Media Watch.com,the ratings from the Cowboys game had more viewers the Manning vs. Brady.

I say all of this because even with the Cowboys leading 26-3 at halftime something was not quite right. Viewers have not seen the Cowboys completely handle a decent team in years. What made this any different? Nothing, because Green Bay came back and more viewers probably checked in once again to see the Cowboys lose in dramatic fashion.

Either way, Jerry is the one who is making the biggest bang off these wins and losses. No matter what fans and the media says.

Conclusion

The biggest loser in this contest is going to be Jason Garrett. At any point in time Garrett could have changed the play calling that Callahan was sending down from the press box. During the press conference, Garrett stated it was a run call and Romo switched the play based on the coverage.

I still say Garrett is to blame because they place Romo in these situations knowing what is going to happen. Eveyone that hates the Cowboys or Romo knows he will throw an interception late in the game, yet the Cowboys continue to call passing plays or Romo changes the plays to passing plays and he is still the QB.

One thing is for sure….Jerry will still be the owner. No matter what, Jerry will still be the owner, but will Garrett still be the head coach?

Jerry signed Romo to a lucrative long-term agreement so Romo can throw as many interceptions as he wants and nothing will happen to him. It will be up to Garrett to make the changes during the next two weeks at Washington and at home against Philly to make the playoffs.

All will be forgotten if Garrett wins the next two games and at least wins the Wild Card playoff game to be hosted in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium. If no playoffs, Garrett can pack his bags. I believe Jerry will pull the plug on Garrett.