Out With The Old

The Dallas Cowboys have finally decided that Drew Bledsoe is not going to lead them to the promised land. Bill Parcells announced that Tony Romo will be the starting QB this weekend. The Drew Bledsoe era came to end with a whimper on Monday night as he threw an interception at the goal line. His record has been less than stellar but the Cowboys should have known what they were getting when they acquired him. He has a good arm, but he's a statue in the pocket. He has zero mobility and the Cowboys offensive line is not exactly going to remind anyone of the line during the glory days of the 90's. Parcells knew what he had to work with, but he still decided that Bledsoe was the answer to his QB problems. He was wrong.

Tony Romo doesn't exactly have the pedigree of a great QB, but that doesn't mean that he won't be able to do the job. Right away he gives the Cowboys a more mobile QB, which they need given the current state of their offensive line. He came in on Monday night and threw three interceptions, but also threw a couple of touchdown passes and converted a
2-point attempt. Is he the answer to the Cowboys problems? Probably not, but I don't think that he can do any worse than Bledsoe. It is time for the Cowboys to think about the future and now is as good a time as any to get started on that. Jerry Jones is certainly not a patient man and it's not like him to think about rebuilding, but it's clear that the Cowboys were never going to be any more than a mediocre team with Bledsoe at the helm.

Parcells is in the last year of his contract. That's probably a good thing, because I think it's time for this marriage to be dissolved. Parcells reputation as a football genius has certainly been tarnished somewhat by his lack of success with the Cowboys. It just goes to show you that no matter how good a coach is supposed to be, he can't win without talent (just ask Joe Gibbs in Washington how much his supposed "genius" is helping the Redskins right now). Can the right coach turn a team around? Certainly. He can change the attitude of the players and an organization. But what he cannot do is turn a mediocre team with mediocre talent into a championship team. The same is true in any sport. Is Jim Leyland a genius because of what the Tigers did this year? He's no more a genius now than he was when he sucked as the manager of the Rockies or when he couldn't get the Pirates to the World Series in the early 90's. Talent wins, and that is the bottom line. The Cowboys haven't had enough talent under Parcells to be consistent winners. The problem is that Parcells had built up his reputation as a genius. He brought with him the idea that he could single handedly turn a team around. He was wrong and so was Jerry Jones in believing that the answer was coaching and not talent.

Perhaps Bill can bench himself along with Bledsoe and they can ride off together into the sunset. Parcells hates to admit defeat, but his effect on the Cowboys has been minimal. I'm pretty sure that any other coach could have gotten the same number of wins as he has over the past 3 years. Bledsoe is a competitor and I understand that he feels disappointed over being benched, but if he were to take an honest look at the numbers that he has put up, he would see that a change was long overdue. Parcells drafted Bledsoe #1 when he was the coach of the Patriots, so perhaps it is only fitting that they both exit stage left at the same time. As for Tony Romo, the Cowboys have three consecutive road games, so he's going to learn fairly quickly that life as the QB of "America's Team" is not always going to be a bed of roses. I hope he enjoyed that ovation that he got when he came into Monday nights game after halftime. It may be a while before he's greeted that warmly again.