Cowboys Suffer First Loss - Not As Bad As It Seems

By now, we have all listened to hours of media shows talking about how the Patriots destroyed by three touchdowns, and how they are most likely going undefeated at this point.

First, the Colts would surely like to have a say in whether they are even the best team in the AFC, and all this talk is doing nothing but getting Peyton Manning more prepared for the matchup coming in less than a month.

Now, to put the loss in a little perspective.

The Patriots very potent offense did a great job taking advantage of a depleted Cowboys secondary. Two weeks ago, the Cowboys were looking to get to the bye week with a healthy Anthony Henry, and only bringing in Terence Newman in certain nickel packages, allowing him to heal the foot injury. Instead, Dallas goes into this game without Anthony Henry, and that causes Terence Newman to take a pain killing shot and actually start this game (at far less than 100%).

Dallas was able to get pressure on Brady and force some bad throws, and with a healthy secondary, could have forced some turnovers. Instead, it was just a matter of time until the defense was wore down.

The biggest mistake by Dallas:
Before this game, I said that one of the biggest keys was for Dallas to commit to a feature running back and establish a running game. Dallas showed that they could run the ball in this game, yet they still chose to run the ball a total of 14 times, with the carries split between Julius Jones and Marion Barber.

Dallas came out in the 3rd quarter running the ball with Julius Jones very effectively, and capped off a very nice drive with a touchdown to take the lead. after outscoring the Patriots 17-7 in the 2nd quarter. A great opportunity to continue momentum with the running game was once again brought to a halt when Dallas once again switches running backs for their next drive, going back to Barber, and going 3 and out. Dallas could do nothing on offense after that point, and the lack of a consistent running game allowed the Patriots to control the ball for 38 minutes. You can't win games regularly when you cannot control the clock.

Success from this point forward:
First, gotta get the defense healthy. This defense is too thin to win going forward without their two starting cornerbacks. Luckily, a bye week is very near. Getting Bradie James back to 100% so he can contribute on special teams consistently is important as well.

Second, and just as important, this running game must be fixed. I have been on record all season saying Julius Jones should be the feature back, and should be used as one. I still think that. At this point though, just commit to one or the other. Switching running backs constantly like this keeps the offense out of a rhythm, and makes it very difficult to keep the ball in the hands of the offense. This must be fixed in order to have success in the post-season.
Why? This team has two running backs with different running styles. Offensive lines are going to play better when they have consistency in the backfield. It is fine to have a 2nd running back getting carries (change of pace), but you need a primary back who is a normal part of your starting offense.

And something to remember about this game. It is non-divisional, non-conference, and October.