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[h=1]By Tim Cowlishaw, Staff Columnist[/h]
Only the Cowboys can produce such a strange week when the team doesn't even have a game. This one included a mysterious Jerry Jones, a silent Jason Garrett and what appeared to be a fake bar fight in Las Vegas involving Ezekiel Elliott. Leave it to Cole Beasley to bring some truth to the forefront ... even if he had to backtrack the following day.
It was the free agent Beasley speaking out on Twitter that brought all the Cowboys' problems into focus. It doesn't even matter if he was slightly misguided. Beasley took to his favorite platform to express his unhappiness following a 65-catch season in which his playing with a sprained foot in December surely diminished his targets.
"Honestly the front office pushes who they want to get the ball to,'' Beasley tweeted. "I haven't been a huge priority in that regard. Doesn't mean I'm gone. I'll play anywhere I can make more of an impact. I would love for that to be Dallas or anywhere else that will give me more pops to make an impact.''
After Beasley's thinly veiled shot at the power that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wields, the dutiful son, Stephen, appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and said, "Would hope that's just frustration. We would never dictate where balls go.''
Now, the Joneses will attend a few meetings at The Star, but I honestly don't believe they sit there and say, "Make sure to work Amari into the game plan.'' After you trade a first-round pick, it's sort of a given that Amari Cooper will be given a greater chance to shine than Beasley.
A day later, Beasley said he had been misunderstood and he was referring to "all front offices,'' but one can imagine his agent telling him the best way to drive down his bargaining power in March (when he will be a sought-after free agent) is to come across as a chronic complainer on Twitter. But I wonder if Stephen or Jerry paused to think about the mere fact that Beasley expressed his original thought, which is the important point of all this.
If there's a disgruntled wide receiver in New England, New Orleans or Seattle, you think they're calling out the front offices for installing poor game plans? With the exception of the documented craziness in Cleveland, Dallas is really the only place where players have long understood that head coaches don't serve as the ultimate authority.
And that's what Beasley was saying.
That's what makes this past week's odd coaching mechanics at the Pro Bowl -- no one will announce that Kellen Moore is Scott Linehan's replacement at coordinator, even though he was the one putting in the game plan at NFC practice -- both par for the course and the root of the Cowboys' problems.
As long as the elder Jones is the one answering questions about staff changes (or at least pondering his options publicly) while Garrett remained stone-faced and silent in Orlando for several days, it informs the world that the head coach may have some say in his staff but he's surely not the one putting it together.
Why does any of this matter?
The offensive dysfunction of the 2018 season is a great place to start for an explanation. It really wasn't Beasley's lack of targets this season. He enjoyed his second-highest totals for receptions and yards in seven pro seasons. On a team that features the NFL's leading rusher, was incorporating Cooper and talented rookie Michael Gallup into the mix and saw a sudden burst of late-season production from tight end Blake Jarwin (20 catches in the last four games), 65 catches is a very reasonable number for Beasley.
The issue is production.
Tune in to the Pro Bowl Sunday and you'll see Dak Prescott, Elliott and Cooper. Linemen Tyron Smith and Zack Martin (not participating) were picked as well. So out of 32 offensive players originally selected or added as replacements, five are Cowboys. In a 16-team conference, it sounds like this team has a heck of an offense.
Then why did Dallas rank 22nd in the league in both total yards and scoring?
A team that beat the Saints in the regular season and lost to the Rams by eight two weeks ago wants to feel like it's ready to contend. But the Cowboys finished 165 points behind New Orleans and 188 behind Los Angeles in the regular season.
Those teams have great players, to be sure. But you can examine the units position by position and be hard-pressed to determine that either unit should dominate the Cowboys.
Something is missing in Dallas. Could it be a strong head coach and a clear delineation of power?
It has been pondered before. Chances that the Joneses are looking to change it rank somewhere between slim and none.
Only the Cowboys can produce such a strange week when the team doesn't even have a game. This one included a mysterious Jerry Jones, a silent Jason Garrett and what appeared to be a fake bar fight in Las Vegas involving Ezekiel Elliott. Leave it to Cole Beasley to bring some truth to the forefront ... even if he had to backtrack the following day.
It was the free agent Beasley speaking out on Twitter that brought all the Cowboys' problems into focus. It doesn't even matter if he was slightly misguided. Beasley took to his favorite platform to express his unhappiness following a 65-catch season in which his playing with a sprained foot in December surely diminished his targets.
"Honestly the front office pushes who they want to get the ball to,'' Beasley tweeted. "I haven't been a huge priority in that regard. Doesn't mean I'm gone. I'll play anywhere I can make more of an impact. I would love for that to be Dallas or anywhere else that will give me more pops to make an impact.''
After Beasley's thinly veiled shot at the power that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wields, the dutiful son, Stephen, appeared on The Rich Eisen Show and said, "Would hope that's just frustration. We would never dictate where balls go.''
Now, the Joneses will attend a few meetings at The Star, but I honestly don't believe they sit there and say, "Make sure to work Amari into the game plan.'' After you trade a first-round pick, it's sort of a given that Amari Cooper will be given a greater chance to shine than Beasley.
A day later, Beasley said he had been misunderstood and he was referring to "all front offices,'' but one can imagine his agent telling him the best way to drive down his bargaining power in March (when he will be a sought-after free agent) is to come across as a chronic complainer on Twitter. But I wonder if Stephen or Jerry paused to think about the mere fact that Beasley expressed his original thought, which is the important point of all this.
If there's a disgruntled wide receiver in New England, New Orleans or Seattle, you think they're calling out the front offices for installing poor game plans? With the exception of the documented craziness in Cleveland, Dallas is really the only place where players have long understood that head coaches don't serve as the ultimate authority.
And that's what Beasley was saying.
That's what makes this past week's odd coaching mechanics at the Pro Bowl -- no one will announce that Kellen Moore is Scott Linehan's replacement at coordinator, even though he was the one putting in the game plan at NFC practice -- both par for the course and the root of the Cowboys' problems.
As long as the elder Jones is the one answering questions about staff changes (or at least pondering his options publicly) while Garrett remained stone-faced and silent in Orlando for several days, it informs the world that the head coach may have some say in his staff but he's surely not the one putting it together.
Why does any of this matter?
The offensive dysfunction of the 2018 season is a great place to start for an explanation. It really wasn't Beasley's lack of targets this season. He enjoyed his second-highest totals for receptions and yards in seven pro seasons. On a team that features the NFL's leading rusher, was incorporating Cooper and talented rookie Michael Gallup into the mix and saw a sudden burst of late-season production from tight end Blake Jarwin (20 catches in the last four games), 65 catches is a very reasonable number for Beasley.
The issue is production.
Tune in to the Pro Bowl Sunday and you'll see Dak Prescott, Elliott and Cooper. Linemen Tyron Smith and Zack Martin (not participating) were picked as well. So out of 32 offensive players originally selected or added as replacements, five are Cowboys. In a 16-team conference, it sounds like this team has a heck of an offense.
Then why did Dallas rank 22nd in the league in both total yards and scoring?
A team that beat the Saints in the regular season and lost to the Rams by eight two weeks ago wants to feel like it's ready to contend. But the Cowboys finished 165 points behind New Orleans and 188 behind Los Angeles in the regular season.
Those teams have great players, to be sure. But you can examine the units position by position and be hard-pressed to determine that either unit should dominate the Cowboys.
Something is missing in Dallas. Could it be a strong head coach and a clear delineation of power?
It has been pondered before. Chances that the Joneses are looking to change it rank somewhere between slim and none.
