Long Year in the Lone Star
I know it’s obvious, but right now, the Dallas Cowboys stink.
It could be by design. Jerry Jones may want to have a handful of high picks to rebuild the organization.
I could be giving Jones too much credit. It’s hard to tell. Even if that’s the plan, is the Cowboys’ front office competent enough to capitalize on it?
Heaven knows, the Las Vegas Raiders are an academic study for being in the orbit of mediocrity, even when armed with high picks. Remember, it was the Raiders under Jon Gruden who traded a dominant pass rusher (Khalil Mack) and then said the Raiders need to target a pass rusher.
Dallas has done the same. The reason why Micah Parsons’ impact didn’t make more of a difference is that Dallas couldn’t select the right people around him. No different than Maxx Crosby in Las Vegas and Trey Hendrickson in Cincinnati.
Todd Bowles
For as much credit as Baker Mayfield is getting, his success doesn’t happen if it weren’t for Todd Bowles.
Following Bruce Arians isn’t an easy task. Arians had two major things going for him. The first was his success as the head coach of the Buccaneers, and the second was his likability.
Bowles doesn’t have the outward nature that Arians had, but that’s not a negative.
He’s found a way to get the most out of Mayfield by knowing when to let Baker be Baker. He knows that can’t be done for 60 minutes, but when it’s time, Bowles’ trust becomes a superpower.
That’s what coaching looks like.
How Pats are Losing Matters
When the New England Patriots hired Mike Vrabel, the thought was that even if the wins didn’t come immediately, the play would be better and more disciplined.
Patriots fans are still waiting for that the happen.
New England is 5th worst in the league in Penalties Committed and is near the bottom with a -3 Turnover Ratio.
Reasonable minds knew that the Patriots weren’t a playoff team, but after all of the criticism of Jerod Mayo, the team was supposed to look more “professional.”
There’s plenty of time for that to happen, but at this point, it isn’t a given.
