It only took the Falcons @ Eagles game to show why all the C

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. Hiss. This was the NFL opener we have been waiting for since February? The slopfest between the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles? This game that featured a flurry of flags , one quarterback who completed 19 passes for only 117 yards, a receiver on the other team with 169 yards all by himself, but his team only got in the end zone once, despite multiple trips to the red zone? The Falcons lost the game by six points, despite having seven plays from inside the Eagles’ 20-yard line at the end, including a penalty that gave them one last shot at the end zone - a target that offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and quarterback Matt Ryan were unable to find all night long. It was just terrible football on the part of both teams.So why is a Dallas Cowboys blog opening with this? Especially since the hated Eagles got away with a win in a game they did not come close to playing well enough to win, which may come back to haunt the Cowboys? Well, because of just what it shows about preseason predictions. Far more writers, bloggers, and fans had the Eagles and Falcons selected to make it to the playoffs than favored the Cowboys. And while we still have to see how Dallas shows up against the Carolina Panthers, there was nothing about that game Thursday night that says either of those teams looks like a lock for the postseason. And you have to feel a bit better about the Cowboys’ chances against both teams this year.Obviously, it’s just one game, and either, or both, the Eagles and Falcons can get things straightened out. For our beloved and treasured fellow NFC East member from Philly, they have the hope that Carson Wentz will soon return to replace Nick Foles, who looked like that run to the Lombardi never happened. But there were a lot of other issues for them, while the Falcons just looked lost. (The officiating , which somehow managed to have another “Did he catch it?” moment despite all the work on the rule, was also monumentally atrocious, but that is a different ball of worms, as they say.) It was a bit serendipitous that the morning after that almost unwatchable game I ran across Bill Bidwell’s article that states a case for all 32 teams to win the Super Bowl. He starts out with something every fan should take to heart.Exactly. There are very few writers out there who pay enough attention to all 32 teams to have even a general idea of what the teams have in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Preseason games tell us just slightly more than squat as teams limit the exposure of their starters. Writers, analysts, and bloggers that cover one team have a much better idea of things - for their team. They still are largely reduced to guesswork and extrapolation about the rest of the league.(Just for reference, Barnwell has the Eagles as the third most likely team to go to the Super Bowl this year, with Atlanta eighth and the Cowboys sixteenth - or just where Philly was a year ago.)And that basically is where we are. The first week, everything is mostly based on what teams did last season (recency bias), combined with what is thought about free agent losses and signings, draft picks, and injuries. But until we play things out, it is still all just a slightly quantified wild you-know-what guess. It will take more than one game for the real picture to emerge, as teams work off that rust.By the way, as far as the terrible play we saw on TNF, count me as a skeptic about placing the blame on the lack of preseason work by the starters. That can affect things, but what we saw looked a lot more like two teams that were just not prepared for the game. I think that was more about coaching than anything. It would seem that NFL coaching staffs would realize that there is a big advantage in week one if you come in better prepared and conditioned than the other team. Both the Falcons and Eagles looked woefully underprepared. Now, we have no idea if the Cowboys look any better. But if they do , then you need to give credit to Jason Garrett and his staff - because you know fingers will be pointed if the team doesn’t look ready.Back to the original topic of this, one of the reasons that the Cowboys could be right in the thick of the playoff race is that there are so many unknowns. The receiving corps in particular, combined with the expected changes to the offensive plan we have heard so much about, are generally assumed to be a failure by those who predict Dallas will not do anything this season. More than one writer or analyst has labeled them the “worst in the NFL”. But here is the silver lining to that. If they manage to not be at the bottom of the league and can just get to the middle of the pack - like around 16th or so - that will outperform expectations. And joined with the likely high-output running game of a motivated Ezekiel Elliott and an emerging defense, that should be good enough to win a bunch of games. All that passing game has to be is credible enough to loosen up the opposing defenses so Zeke is not facing stacked boxes. It can’t be totally impotent, obviously. But it hardly has to be top five or ten to get the job done.Remember, those negative predictions about the passing game are generally based on people who read the names and maybe look up their past stats. If you have been paying attention to the beat writers who cover Dallas full time, you get a very different vibe. These receivers have been working hard, absorbing the lessons of Sanjay Lal, and look a good bit better than the “worst in the league”. It all has to show up on the field, and the first time we get to see that is upon us. We’ll start to find out in Carolina how that passing game works, as well as see if this season really is the Vengeance of Zeke and the Rise of the Hot Boyz. But be assured of one thing: There are teams that outperform and underperform their preseason predictions every season. The odds are that the Cowboys will be in one category or the other. Let’s just hope it is the good one.Cowboys point/counterpoint: Is the biggest problem on offense coaching or execution? Coaching or execution? For the Dallas Cowboys, that has become a raging debate. Is the impotence of the offense due to Scott Linehan’s play calling, in-game strategy, and lack of both adaptability and innovation? Or is it due to the failure of nearly every single player on the offense, with Dak Prescott just not looking like an NFL quarterback, Ezekiel Elliott cramming a season’s worth of bad mistakes into one game, the offensive line letting defenders have a free run , and the receiving corps looking like they are indeed the worst in the league?If we are trying to be rational about this, it is obviously something that involves a bit of both. But rationality be, um, danged! Michael Strawn and I are going to go all black and white on you as we try to pin down where the biggest share of blame lies.Tom: Look, concerning the offense, the only reason we are not weeping openly is that this has become a comedy of errors. Dak seems to have about five good throws in him a game. The offensive line is having real issues with Travis Frederick out and things like Tyron Smith just getting embarrassed out there. (Joe Looney has actually performed well, but him starting over Frederick is kind of like feeling pretty good about trading in your Dodge Demon for a nice Charger without the big engine. You still have a decent ride, maybe one that is still a bit fun to drive, but you left a lot of power behind.) Outside of Cole Beasley, there seems to be no chemistry or consistency anywhere in either the wide receiver or tight end groups. And I have no idea what happened to Zeke. He blew a great day running the ball with terrible blunders.How can the coaches, especially Linehan, plan anything offensively with any confidence it will work? The players have to prove they can do something right other than a handful of isolated drives. And you have to be suspicious of the reads Prescott is making. If he keeps checking down from the play Linehan wants to another two-yard throw to a stock-still Elliott with defenders closing, no play calling is going to work.Michael: Here’s what I can’t get over: the Cowboys were completely unprepared Sunday. They were sloppy and undisciplined in every phase of the game. Pre-snap penalties, missed assignments, players stepping out of bounds, blown coverages, stupid penalties; these are all the signs of a poorly coached team. What’s most demoralizing to me is historically Garrett’s teams have played smart, fairly disciplined football. What is different now? What has the coaching staff been doing the entire off-season that three weeks into 2018 players don’t know where to line up , can’t stay in bounds and can’t avoid dumb penalties?I’m not focusing on scheme or play-calling (we’ll get to that), I’m talking about the culture of preparation and discipline. Because based upon what we all witnessed Sunday (and through the entire season thus far) whatever the coaching staff is doing Monday through Saturday isn’t preparing this team for Sunday.Tom: Here’s the problem I have with that. We don’t know what the coaches tried to prepare them for. They may have focused on how to handle Frank Clark all week - only to see players just run by him as he was headed in the opposite direction towards Dak. I’m fairly sure Sanjay Lal has continued to emphasize hanging onto the ball, but Michael Gallup and Zeke certainly didn’t. And I will guarantee that they are trying to get Prescott’s mechanics and processing speed better. It just isn’t taking.I also think there is now a problem with overcompensation setting in (kind like why someone buys a Demon in the first place). Some of these players look like they are trying too hard, like Tavon Austin did on the one reception where he gave up ground trying to make something happen. This roster had the look of some desperate guys, especially after Elliott’s touchdown-that-wasn’t. Throwing down that “poorly coached” card may not have any basis in what the staff is doing, which is probably much the same as it has been for the past several years.Michael: I get that players play and coaches coach and it was the player’s making mistake after mistake after mistake Sunday. But I have long believed that when enough people from a large group simultaneously fail to meet expectations there is a leadership problem. Watch the tape, Elliott had another play where he was unaware of the boundary as an outlet receiver. That makes me think it wasn’t an isolated, one-time thing but something that’s become a pattern for him. How is this not corrected on Wednesday or Thursday? You can’t tackle at practice in today’s NFL but you can run routes until Elliott should be able to do it blindfolded.Kavon Frazier is a young player who has a handful of starts at safety. He’s playing against a proven veteran quarterback. What’s he doing trying to fool Wilson? He literally lined up so far out of position he gave away a touchdown. Surely he didn’t do this on his own, right? Either way, it’s a coaching problem. Either the coaches encouraged such actions, or Frazier is unilaterally doing such things seemingly without any repercussions. I didn’t get it Sunday and nothing I’ve seen or read since makes me feel any different.Tom: Or is it players who just get confused and forget what they are supposed to do? This is a young roster, and that reliability takes some time to develop. The coaches may be trying to get more out of the players than they are able to deliver at this stage. And that might be even with the best attempts to keep things simple for them. That might be something we don’t realize on offense. They are putting predictable plays on the field because that is about all some of these players are able to manage right now. Until those players get better, we may just be stuck. And the coaches may pay despite their best efforts.Michael: I hope you’re right and this is just a hiccup and these young players won’t make such mistakes moving forward. We know for certain that when it comes to offensive schemes this staff isn’t going to innovate. Their idea of a route combination is having four receivers run verticals where the secondary waits on them to arrive. Without any creativity on offense there’s no room for errors like we saw against the Seahawks. And I’d argue the coaching staff largely made their bed here. Garrett, Linehan and Marinelli have been around for years and no doubt have a significant say in how this team was constructed. If they brought in players who not only aren’t all that talented but also can’t be disciplined, well, they deserve to go.

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