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Aikman calls Cowboys’ play calling “mind-boggling” and “bizarre”
Michael David Smith
updated 8:38 am. EST Dec. 20, 2013
Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman couldn’t believe what he was seeing as Dallas turned away from its running game in the second half of Sunday’s loss to Green Bay.
Aikman said on KTCK-AM that the Cowboys’ running game was working well in the first half as Dallas built up a 23-3 lead, so he figured the Cowboys would keep running the ball in the second half to protect that lead. Instead, the Cowboys passed more than they ran in the second half and blew their lead.
“They were about to run Green Bay right out of the stadium,” Aikman said, via the Dallas Morning News. “The philosophy has always been you throw the ball early in games to build the lead, you run the ball late to win games. And I believe in that. That’s the way we did it in the ’90s. I think, by and large, that’s the way Jason Garrett would prefer to do it. But if there was ever a time that DeMarco Murray should have had 25 carries in a game, that was it. You’ve got a 23-point lead. And as it turns out, Eddie Lacy ran the ball almost twice as much as DeMarco Murray in the second half of that ballgame, which is pretty mind-boggling. It was as bizarre a loss as I’ve ever witnessed.”
Asked if he thinks the faith of owner and General Manager Jerry Jones is shaken, Aikman said he thinks the whole team is shaken.
“I would think not only with Jerry Jones, but the entire locker room,” Aikman said. “You can’t lose games the way this team has lost games and then lose them here in December and feel great about your football team. I can’t imagine defensively they go out and take the field at any time and feel real good about their ability to slow anybody down. And then that permeates throughout the team and it certainly affects what your game plan might be on the offensive side.”
The good news for the Cowboys is they’re still in a position where if they win their last two games, they win the NFC East. You can bet that if they build up any 20-point halftime leads on the next two Sundays, the Cowboys won’t forget their running game.
Michael David Smith
updated 8:38 am. EST Dec. 20, 2013
Former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman couldn’t believe what he was seeing as Dallas turned away from its running game in the second half of Sunday’s loss to Green Bay.
Aikman said on KTCK-AM that the Cowboys’ running game was working well in the first half as Dallas built up a 23-3 lead, so he figured the Cowboys would keep running the ball in the second half to protect that lead. Instead, the Cowboys passed more than they ran in the second half and blew their lead.
“They were about to run Green Bay right out of the stadium,” Aikman said, via the Dallas Morning News. “The philosophy has always been you throw the ball early in games to build the lead, you run the ball late to win games. And I believe in that. That’s the way we did it in the ’90s. I think, by and large, that’s the way Jason Garrett would prefer to do it. But if there was ever a time that DeMarco Murray should have had 25 carries in a game, that was it. You’ve got a 23-point lead. And as it turns out, Eddie Lacy ran the ball almost twice as much as DeMarco Murray in the second half of that ballgame, which is pretty mind-boggling. It was as bizarre a loss as I’ve ever witnessed.”
Asked if he thinks the faith of owner and General Manager Jerry Jones is shaken, Aikman said he thinks the whole team is shaken.
“I would think not only with Jerry Jones, but the entire locker room,” Aikman said. “You can’t lose games the way this team has lost games and then lose them here in December and feel great about your football team. I can’t imagine defensively they go out and take the field at any time and feel real good about their ability to slow anybody down. And then that permeates throughout the team and it certainly affects what your game plan might be on the offensive side.”
The good news for the Cowboys is they’re still in a position where if they win their last two games, they win the NFC East. You can bet that if they build up any 20-point halftime leads on the next two Sundays, the Cowboys won’t forget their running game.