In the previous installment on this subject, I explored 7 reasons why the 2020 Dallas Cowboys would improve upon last season. This time, I will play devil’s advocate and explore 6 reasons why the 2020 Dallas Cowboys will NOT improve.
Reason #1: Wrong Coaching Hire
You would be hard pressed to find a Dallas Cowboys fans who would argue that Jason Garrett still deserves to be the head coach. After a decade without a championship it was clear that it was time for a change. However, it is yet to be determined if Mike McCarthy is the right man to have been chosen to replace him. McCarthy has an impressive overall resume as a head coach with 125 wins, a .618 winning %, and a Super Bowl championship to boot but there is cause for concern. McCarthy has had a hall of fame starting quarterback his entire tenure in Green Bay with either Brett Favre or Aaron Rodgers. Despite that advantage, he only did manage to win 1 Super Bowl title. It is also concerning that following 2 consecutive losing seasons in Green Bay, his replacement Matt LaFleur led the team to a 13-3 record. There will be a lot of pressure on McCarthy to prove he can win without Aaron Rodgers this year since Rodgers has proven he can win without McCarthy.
Reason #2: Turbulent Offseason
A major obstacle presented to Mike McCarthy and his largely brand new coaching staff is the impact of the global pandemic on offseason activities. The inability to participate in regular offseason training is a huge disadvantage for a new staff compared to one that has been in place for several years. That is most apparent at the QB position where Dak Prescott will have a new head coach for the first time in his career. It will be challenging to become familiar with new terminology and concepts while also building a rapport with the new man in charge. Speaking of Dak Prescott, a major distraction continues to loom large so long as he remains without a long term contract extension. These negotiations have dragged on for well over a year and the possibility of playing on the franchise tag could result in bad blood between the QB and the organization an impact performance on the field. It is also possible, that without the security of a long term deal, Dak might subconsciously make business decisions during the regular season for fear of incurring injury and jeopardizing his long term financial future.
Reason #3: Offseason Losses May be More Impactful Than Expected
The Dallas Cowboys have added some key players in free agency and the draft such as Gerald McCoy, Dontari Poe, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, CeeDee Lamb, and Andy Dalton. They have addressed some holes on their roster and added depth in key areas. That said, they did also incur some significant losses at key positions. The three expected to have the most detrimental impact are Travis Frederick (C), Byron Jones (CB), and Robert Quinn (DE). Frederick was a hall of fame caliber center and a leader on offense. The Cowboys will sorely miss his ability on the field but also his ability to read defenses and quarterback the offensive line. Byron Jones proved to be a true number one shut down corner and yet the Cowboys chose to let him walk in free agency. They did not adequately replace him with a player of similar quality but instead chose to replace him by committee. That was a risky move and could prove to be a big mistake if the cornerback play fails to deliver quality results in 2020. Robert Quinn was the Dallas Cowboys best pure pass rusher in 2019 and they are rolling the dice by attempting to replace him with a couple of suspended players who haven’t seen action in years, a banged up veteran, and a bunch of unproven youngsters. The Cowboys are hoping that strength in numbers will replicate the impact Quinn had last season but it is difficult to replace a guy with the kind of freak natural ability that he possesses.
Reason #4: Daunting Schedule
At first glance, the Dallas Cowboys schedule does not appear to be overly challenging yet is always difficult to predict which teams will actually be good before the season begins. Their current schedule includes a few teams expected to be very challenging opponents in 2020 including the Seahawks, Steelers, Vikings, Ravens, and 49ers. There are also a couple of teams that could have bounce back seasons such as the Falcons and Rams. The rest of the teams on the schedule have the potential to improve dramatically based on overall talent, coaching changes, and offseason acquisitions such as the Giants, Skins, Eagles, Cardinals, Browns, and Bengals. If the 2020 schedule proves to be far more difficult than originally expected, that could be the difference between making the playoffs or missing out for a second consecutive year.
Reason #5: Loss of Continuity and Consistency
Most of us fans agree that moving on from Jason Garrett and Rod Marinelli was long overdue. It should be noted though that for all his faults, Jason Garrett did have a winning record (85-67) with the Dallas Cowboys over 10 seasons so he is far from a complete failure. Let’s at the very least acknowledge that Jason Garrett did do a few things right. His teams were always competitive and never seemed to dial it in no matter how bleak the outcome of the season was. There is something to be said about that in terms of Garrett’s ability to motivate and earn the support and respect of the team. When a coaching staff has been in place for a few years there is a sense of continuity and a hierarchy of leadership that becomes established. The 2020 Dallas Cowboys will not have that and as pointed out earlier, the lack of a regular offseason schedule due to the global pandemic will make it more difficult for the new regime to establish any continuity of their own. Furthermore, there is an almost entirely new coaching staff that will attempt to establish a new coaching style and scheme, specifically in on defense, and the learning curve could be quite steep. Perhaps given the circumstances, the 2020 Dallas Cowboys would have been better off with one last year of Garrett and co.
Reason #6: The Injury Bug
This final reason is a bit of a cop out, but in reality it is something that could unexpectedly impact the outcome of any season for any team. While some teams are better equipped and more adept at dealing with injuries there is a limit for all teams and some players are simply irreplaceable. For example: Pre-Andy Dalton, the Dallas Cowboys did not have a viable option at back up quarterback. Relatively speaking, the Dallas Cowboys have had pretty good luck in terms of injuries over the past few seasons when you compare them with teams within the division such as the Eagles. Unfortunately, the Cowboys were not very well suited to deal with injures unlike their most bitter rivals who actually won a championship despite several key injuries (most notably at quarterback). Perhaps the 2020 Dallas Cowboys will not be as lucky in terms of injuries and that could ultimately be the reason the team does not improve this year.
In my previous article detailing the 7 reason why the 2020 Dallas Cowboys will improve from last season, I pointed out that there are several reasons to be optimistic. Yet, as pointed out here in great detail, there remains several reasons to be concerned. Dallas Cowboy fans tend to be divided on a great many subjects. I for one tend to favor the hopeful outlook on this particular subject. Which side of the argument do you fall on?
*Photo by Kieth Allison-KA Sports Photos https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode
All data and statistics obtained and verified from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/