14 Ways to Spice Up the Dallas Cowboys' Season

If you put a Super Bowl bet on the Dallas Cowboys you may want to cancel it or get some ulcer medicine. The Cowboys fell to 2-3 after their heartbreaking loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday. Tony Romo had over 300 yards passing but head coach Jason Garrett had a pretty short leash on him.

The play-calling was conservative which mirrors the Cowboys' season thus far. The team has two wins to three losses but really should stand at five wins and zero losses. The defense looked good but Tom Brady drove the field on them to win the ballgame. While Tony Romo has thrown key interceptions in two of the Cowboys' losses, we can’t really pin the Pats loss on him.

But—interceptions aren’t a way to spice up a team’s season, eh? In order for Dallas to get their train back on the tracks, there are 15 distinct things the team should do in order to turn things around. Could be on the offensive side of the ball or it could be turning the HD jumbotron into a hub for showing games off of NFL Sunday Ticket. Either way, Dallas has to do something to satisfy those bets.

Here are 15 things the Cowboys should do to spice up their sagging season.

14. Wear Pink Uniforms Against the Rams

Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But it just may bring more attention to the Cowboys. October is breast cancer awareness month and every team is wearing some type of pink, either in their uniforms or on the team’s field and stadium. Dallas should take it a step further with pink jerseys, a pink star and maybe some pink pants.

Well, maybe the pink pants would be too much but you get the picture. It may throw the opposing team off long enough to eek out a win but it's something that will support a great cause and give Jerry the additional eyeballs he always seeks.

13. Run…The…Football

I’ll continue to say it until Jason Garrett commits to actually doing it. Running the ball isn’t sexy and it won’t sell tickets but it may win football games. Dallas had a great drive in the second quarter that featured 11 plays, covered 93 yards and resulted in a touchdown. It was a thing of beauty because it ate clock and Dallas scored a touchdown.

Dallas has three pretty good running backs—well, for the time being they do—in their backfield. It's time to showcase them and show teams that Dallas isn’t a one-trick pass pony.

12. Find Dez Bryant in the Second Half

Dez Bryant comes out strong in the first half of football games and then disappears in the second half. It's something that should be featured on Unsolved Mysteries because it's just strange.

Against the Lions, Dallas was backed up to their own goal line with the Lions in shotgun formation with a run/pass option play. The original call was for Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford to hand the ball to running back Jahvid Best. But Stafford noticed that receiver Calvin Johnson was singled up against Terence Newman and decided to audible for the pass and threw a fade to Johnson in the end zone.

Touchdown.

Dallas had the same opportunity against the Pats as Dez Bryant was singled up near the Pats goal line but Jason Garrett called a shovel pass and Tony Romo decided not to audible out. The result was a field goal.

Find…Dez…Bryant

11. $30 Tickets for Giants Game

Dallas has three more prime-time games this season with one falling against the Giants on Sunday Night Football in December. Dallas’ playoff future may hinge on beating the Giants and Jerry should do all that he can to oversell his shiny stadium in Dallas.

Jones should sell $30 tickets for everyone to pack the house with more than 100,000 people. Now I understand that this won’t happen, as Jerry has a business to run on top of trying to put together a winning football team, but there are a few factors that may drive this decision.

The first being the economy. The unemployment rate nationally is 9.1 percent and with so many people needing assistance or just something to bring a smile to their faces, and this just may do the trick.

10. Guarantee a Super Bowl Victory

Rob Ryan needs to flex like his twin brother Rex does up in New York. I understand that Robby isn’t the head coach and he’s not trying to overshadow Jason Garrett.

But maybe this team is in need of some positive reinforcement. Sexy Rexy has guaranteed a Super Bowl victory for the Jets for the past two seasons and the Jets have made it to the AFC Championship game twice. That bravado energizes the Jets and maybe it’s needed to energize the ‘Boys.

9. Hire Michael Irvin as Team Consultant

Irvin may end up doing more harm than good but the door is closing on this Cowboys team and fast. The core of this team has been together for a while now and it's now or never for this team to make it to a Super Bowl. They have more doubters than believers at this point and maybe the voice of a former Super Bowl champ will serve them well.

Irvin was a hard worker and a team leader and his presence on the sideline or maybe in practice would rub off on some Cowboys players.

Then again, maybe too many fans, myself included, are judging this Cowboys team against the team of the '90s when they went on that three-Super Bowl run. Those days are over and if we continue to look in the past, we can’t truly move forward.

I still say that Irvin may do well in that capacity. It’s at least worth a shot.

8. Ban Jerry Jones from the Sidelines

Isn’t this something that fans and pundits have shouted for years? Against the Lions, Jones was on the sideline trying to “fire” up the troops when he grabbed Romo and Tony shrugged him off.

It's time for Jerry to give up the ghost on his nonexistent coaching career.

He’s the team’s owner and it was obvious from Romo’s reaction that he had no desire to hear from Jerry at that moment. Stay in the owner’s suite, Jerry, and leave the sidelines to the players and coaches.

7. Turn the Jumbotron into a Game Station

Sounds outrageous but fun though, right? Check it out. One side of that extra-large HD compensation tube is used for showing replays, advertisements and other things while the other side is used for playing PlayStation, Wii and Xbox 360.

Players will have to pay per game but with an additional revenue stream and more people possibly buying tickets just to play video games on that enormous thing of a TV, it would most definitely add spice to the season.

6. Find an Offensive Identity

Another one that doesn’t sound sexy, but I can guarantee that if people knew where the Cowboys stood it would add spice. Dallas likes to pass the ball—we know this. But what’s the team identity? Are they going to blitz coming off the bus, cause turnovers and go for the throat when the offense takes the field?

Will they run the ball to eat clock, play for field goals and rely on strong defense? Which direction will this team go? Nobody seems to know.

Dallas needs to establish some type of uniqueness that’s hat-hanging-worthy and go for the gusto. Otherwise, this season is just wheel spinning.

5. Stop Playing Not To Lose

Jerry Jones said after the Patriots game that the game plan going in was conservative. Basically, Dallas played not to lose the game against the Pats and it cost them.

It also seemed that Dallas prepared as if they were going up to Foxboro to play the Patriots of old and not the team with one of the league's worst defenses. Romo is ready and able to carve up a defense and I really thought that Garrett would let him have some room to burn the Pats up.

He didn't and due to that conservatism, Dallas adds one to the loss column.

If Garrett doesn't trust Romo anymore, then it may be time to switch to another quarterback but until that time arrives, the Cowboys have to play to win football games.

4. Trade for Eddie Royal

This trade may not be needed if Laurent Robinson continues to play well but it's worth a look. The Broncos are actively shopping wide receiver Eddie Royal and Dallas was on the lookout for a veteran slot guy.

Royal may fit that bill as Kevin Ogletree continues to run wrong routes and drop big passes. Royal could sign for the remainder of the season and possibly next and if he doesn't work out, then Dallas can easily cut bait with him.

After Miles Austin and Dez Bryant the Cowboys are light at the wide receiver position and with this team's recent injury history, adding depth isn't a bad thing.

3. Let Tony Romo Be Tony Romo

I was the first to call for Garrett to better manage Romo and it's obvious that he did just that against the Patriots with his play-calling. But trust in the relationship between a head coach and quarterback is key and if Garrett feels that he can't trust his quarterback, then the relationship is doomed to fail.

If Dallas has reached the conclusion that Romo isn't their guy and they want to move on without him, then that's fine. But until they can make a move in the offseason, it's better to let Tony be Tony because hamstringing him in the offensive game plan works to the detriment of the team.

Romo is a gunslinger and Garrett will have to let him sling them if he wants a successful football team.

2. Use Felix Jones the Right Way

I feel like Felix Jones is the mistress you go to when you're needing an ego boost. Dallas uses Jones when they want to prove that he's still a running back with the Cowboys. He's too talented to have fewer than 20 touches per game and so far, that's about what he's averaging.

Jones had nine rushes against the Niners and then 16 against the Lions. He's used in the passing game out in the flats and sometimes on screens but otherwise, he just doesn't seem to be used properly. Jones has a problem with injuries and if he proves that he can't stay healthy, then DeMarco Murray may become the lead back in Dallas.

The 'Boys didn't trade Jones away, so they need to start using him properly. Give him the ball.

1. Jerry Jones Steps Down as GM

It's time for this to happen. No, it's past time for this to happen. Jones reminds me of Al Davis because he needs to have complete control. The difference between the two is that Davis was an actual coach and Jones is just an overbearing owner.

Dallas needs to hire an actual general manager to worry about personnel instead of Jones deciding who the team should go after or draft. Dallas will be better for in the long run and maybe, just maybe, the Cowboys would be in better shape on the offensive line if this were to happen sooner.