Monday Night Quarterback: Play Calling, Not Tony Romo, Killed the Cowboys

It was a night of miscues that eventually cost the Cowboys a win in their new billion dollar stadium. Quarterback Tony Romo turned the ball over four times, the defensive secondary looked pedestrian, and the team showed a true lack of discipline.

But while no team can win when they turn the ball over three times, it wasn’t Tony Romo’s faulty decision-making that cost the team the victory.

It was head coach Wade Phillips and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett’s questionable play calling that is to blame for the ‘Boys first loss of 2009.

Last night’s game proved that either Garrett or Phillips is taking catnaps during the game or Jerry Jones is calling plays from that luxurious booth of his in the new Dallas Cowboys stadium.

The Cowboys' first possession of the third quarter consisted of a 24-yard scamper by running back Felix Jones. That takes the team to the 44-yard line, close to midfield. Next play is a called run to Jones off the left tackle for only two yards.

But what happens next is key.

Garrett calls a pass play and Romo attempts to hook up with tight end Marcellus Bennett, but the pass falls incomplete.

So now the down is third and the Cowboys have eight yards to go for a first down. Another called pass play from the shotgun, as Romo tosses it to Crayton for only four yards.

Now this may not seem like much, as it was only the start of the third quarter, but it was the scenario that we saw the entire night.

Team gets into a mid- to long-range third down and decides to pass instead of run.

Felix Jones and Marion Barber destroyed the Giants front four, yet Garrett failed to take full advantage of their abilities.

Barber finished the game with over 120 yards rushing, but he only carried the ball 18 times. When a team has a runner that’s averaging over six yards per carry and your back up running back has 96 yards on less than 10 carries, that needs to be exploited.

Now Cowboys fans have no need to panic; there is a silver lining to this loss. The Cowboys turned the ball over four times and still only lost by two points.

The ‘Boys also rushed for over 250 yards and averaged a healthy 8.7 yards per carry, that’s against one of the NFL’s toughest front sevens.

Many mistakes will have to be corrected before next week’s game against the Panthers. Dallas has to cut down on the turnovers, the team must become more disciplined, and they must get rid of silly penalties.

Lastly, the play-calling overall has to improve.

The team must get ready for a tough test as the Cowboys face a desperate Carolina Panthers squad on Monday night in Dallas.

-JH