Dallas Cowboys Delayed Reaction – Playoff Round 2

Jan 11, 2015; Green Bay, WI, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback

(9) walks off the field after the 2014 NFC Divisional playoff football game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Before I start on the Delayed Reaction for the Dallas Cowboys in the 2nd round of the playoffs, let me state the Cowboys did not do enough in the second half, but the Dez Bryant catch is one that will irritate me and many fans for years to come. The NFL has to change that rule, and to Dean Blandino who said Dez did not make a move normal to football, you sir need to lose your job, period. This was a tough loss and while I am still quite amped up about this game I will do the delayed reaction the best I can objectively as I have done all year.

Since this was a loss let’s look at the negatives/

1. Pass Rush – One of the weaknesses of this team all season has been the lack of ability to get to the QB. This is something they must address in the offseason to improve this team immensely. There were many times in the game that they needed to get to Rodgers and just couldn’t.

1. Tackle? – I do not know what they were doing, but they were not tackling out there on the field. So many times it looked as though they were just trying to slow a player up and not trying to bring them down. This was an issue off and on all season long and it finally caught up to them.

3. Backup the Line – I know I could have gone in a few directions here, but it is obvious as strong as this offensive line is, if one person goes down there is a steep drop from the starters to the backups. It would be nice to see some guys brought in to compete for backup spots to upgrade the depth. This line was incredible all year, but there is something wrong with Jeremy Parnell and Ronald Leary, when it comes to blitz pickups.

There were some positives.

1. Tony Romo is The Man! – To everyone who thought that Tony would just fold like he always does is wrong. I would say to ever say he isn’t a great QB or a clutch QB is just wrong and no longer needs to be brought up. Enough. It is time however, to find a backup that has some skill and is ready for when we don’t have him as our QB.

2. Dez Bryant is The Man! – Yup, I had to do it twice in a row. Dez is a beast and I am not sure how or when they do it, but the Dallas Cowboys need to sign him. In fact I would have had a contract in my hand to offer as soon as that game was over. He is an amazing player and had Gene Steratore and Dean Blandino not failed in their jobs would have saved this team this game.

3. The Defensive Pieces – There are some really good players on this defense to build around. Jeremy Mincey and Rolando McClain were amazing pickups, Bruce Carter may finally be who we thought he was, Orlando Scandrick is our best CB, and both Barry Church and J.J Wilcox are better than I thought they would be. If they could find a pass rush, maybe upgrade the CBs, and test to see what kind of safeties they can get (even if for depth) this defense could improve in one offseason to a contender.

Well, there it is, the final Delayed Reaction for the season. Next week I start looking at the draft and what the Cowboys need and maybe who they need. It has been fun, let me know what you all think below.