Dallas Cowboys' Offensive Depth Chart Too Deep and Too Thin

I would love for somebody, namely head coach Jason Garrett, to explain to me why exactly the Dallas Cowboys need four running backs to tally a paltry 86.9 yards rushing per game. In the NFL, you can bet that 3.4 yards per carry just won’t get it done.

Now imagine what the above numbers would look like without Felix Jones’ breakout second half against Washington two weeks ago. Yuck!

Good news is this: Garrett does not have to explain because I already know the answer. I’ll get to that in a minute.

Another strong question is why exactly the same roster, which already had the best tight end in the game in Jason Witten, needed to spend a second-round pick on Martellus Bennett in the 2008 NFL draft. Four years into this guy’s career and he still doesn’t have the kind of role one would expect from a tight end that ran the 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds at the NFL scouting combine. Bennett would clearly make a better rapper. If you don’t believe me, then look him up on Wikipedia. Bennett is pictured with a mic in hand, not a football.

Up until two months ago, the wide receiver position was also a bowling ball, especially where the salary cap is concerned. Dallas had two guys at $49 million who like to drop plenty of passes in Roy Williams and Miles Austin. The latter was a real bargain since he was undrafted, but the other was a former first-round pick that cost far too much when acquired in 2008 with long-lost Terrell Owens still on the roster at the time.

And let’s not forget Dez Bryant, the enormously talented but painfully immature college reject from Oklahoma State that is a ripe, young 22 years old going on 16. Bryant also shows a high propensity to get hurt like most of the other skill position players listed above, takeaway Witten.

The depth chart in Dallas is too deep here and way too thin there.

How about quarterback? While it’s not uncommon for NFL teams to carry three signal-callers, you would like to go with two on the active roster. Honestly, you’re not going to win any more games with an active third-stringer than you would just pulling a guy up from the practice squad. And yes, Dallas could make roster room if they chose that route.

And let’s shift to special teams just for fun. The Cowboys have certainly found a guy who can nail field goals consistently, but for some reason, they still retain the “services” of an injured David Beuhler, who’s got a cannon for a right leg even if he has little idea where a given kick will go. And just how important is Beuhler’s leg strength now that the kickoff point is the 35 (where it always should have been) as opposed to the 30?

Rookie Dan Bailey showed his value during the Washington win as this talented, yet challenged, offense failed to score so much as one touchdown. Bailey’s six field goals were enough for an ugly win. You think Beuhler hits all six of those?

Hell no, and if Beuhler cannot be counted on to win games with points, then he probably doesn’t need to be on the roster.

Two kickers again?

Really?

The result of this kind of wasteful redundancy, at least in the Cowboys' case, is a suspect offensive line that can’t run block. Hey, those rushing stats I mentioned earlier don’t lie. Only as recently as last April did the Cowboys finally place a heavy emphasis on a blue-chip prospect for the future in rookie right tackle Tyron Smith.

But can we say with confidence yet that Doug Free is the clear answer at left tackle? I would say no way. In fact, there’s already speculation that Smith will end up the left tackle, and as of right now I agree. All other positions on the interior of this unit are either highly questionable or aging and average.

I noticed some buzz on the web following the Detroit collapse about Tony Romo shrugging off Jerry Jones on the sideline in the waning moments of another historic loss. Some felt that Jones was going to have to set Romo straight or show him who’s boss.

I hope that Romo told him to stick it where the sun don’t shine, as they say in Texas.

Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Jim Mora experienced a disaster against San Francisco in 2001 that was eerily similar to what Dallas went through against the Lions. Yet Jerry Jones is why nobody sounded like Mora did following the game.

Whether you like Mora or not, he was exactly right when he said that his defense was not at fault.

Instead, Jones and Garrett-Top are brimming with confidence—at .500, that is.