Dallas Cowboys: No separation, no protection, no QB, all according to plan

Things worked out exactly as planned for the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night. After spending most of the offseason dumping players, cutting costs, and refusing to spend, the front office got the results they were looking for: offensive ineptitude and an injury to their most important player.

The Cowboys opened the season without three of their top-four WRs from a season before. The only noteworthy WR additions to the roster were a couple rookies and James Washington, a minimum wage veteran. Only two active receivers on the team ever caught an NFL pass. Let that sink in.

On the line, things were even worse. The Dallas Cowboys cut loose former right tackle La’el Collins and doubled down on their problematic undrafted free agent, Terence Steele. Their center was below average and their LG was even worse.

At left tackle, they put all their eggs in Tyron Smith’s basket only to witness the inevitable happen – a significant injury in the preseason. To cover the loss, they were forced to push out a rookie to play one of the most important positions on the team.

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t devote any financial resources to address WR and the OL this offseason and are now facing the consequences

In their embarrassing Week 1 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dallas Cowboys got exactly what they were asking for.

The Dallas Cowboys front office, Stephen Jones and Jerry Jones specifically, were unhappy with the results of last season. But instead of following the model laid out by the Super Bowl winning Rams and going “all-in,” they opted to punish the team and reward their bank accounts by cutting costs and clearing the deck for 2023.

They spoke of pie, Dak Prescott’s salary, and tough decisions to justify their inaction but those were just excuses to justify their behavior. It was sold to the fanbase as a way to keep favorite players around. They mentioned players like CeeDee Lamb, Trevon Diggs, and Micah Parsons and tried to convince the gullible masses that in order to keep those players in a Cowboys uniform tomorrow, they needed to save money today.

It should be no wonder the offensive line struggled to protect Dak Prescott. It should be of no surprise the WR corps, which had zero experience or pedigree, couldn’t create separation. It should be no wonder the passing game imploded and the signal caller was injured. It was the environment they created.

All offseason we’ve discussed the inaction from the Cowboys front office and what it meant for the 2022 season. Teams don’t win in an environment such as this. Teams don’t do this to their QBs nor do they slam a their own window closed when the window is clearly open in the NFC. The absurdity of the front office cannot be overstated.

Did the players they cut this offseason need to go? Perhaps, but the point isn’t that they were cut loose – it’s that they weren’t replaced. And the excuse was they needed to save money for Micah Parsons who’s going to be a free agent in…2026?

The Dallas Cowboys front office created a dangerous environment for Dak Prescott and now we’re supposed to act surprised he’s hurt? We’re supposed to be disappointed when the obvious happened to the passing game last night?

If you get blackout drunk and then get behind the wheel, do you have a right to be surprised when you get in an accident? I don’t think so.

All of the actions from this front office led to what we witnessed last night. We hoped for the best but none of us should be surprised with what we got.

The collapse of the passing game was foretold all offseason. The cause and effect laws of nature made it so. There’s no pass protection, no receiver separation and now, no quarterback. That was all a direct result of this this front office’s actions.