Jerry Jones is to blame for the current mess in Dallas

The disaster fans witnessed on Sunday night didn’t happen in just one day. Although head coach Mike McCarthy struggled for answers in his postgame news conference, the reality is that Sunday’s loss was a direct result of the team’s incompetence and his inaction during the offseason.

In January, the Cowboys walked off the court with a painful loss to San Francisco, but with a competitive team that was a play or two away from victory. That team lacked discipline, but had the talent to win the division, compete in the playoffs and maybe even win the Super Bowl. What happened next was a series of mistakes that resulted in putting the team in dire straits after just one week into the regular season.

During the offseason, Dallas lost several high-impact players to replace, and the saddest part is that the majority of their losses were self-inflicted injuries.

Dallas decided to cut several starters this year to meet the salary cap but without a good plan to replace them. La’El Collins was flawed but he’s a good offensive tackle and he’s only 29 years old. They also sent Amari Cooper to Cleveland for a late-round pick. Cooper is a consistent wide receiver and one of the best route runners in the league.

Dallas can’t blame injuries on the current state of the offensive line. Terrance Steele, the player drafted to replace Collins, clearly doesn’t have the talent to be an NFL starter, but the Cowboys counted on him to handle Dak Prescott’s blindside. The other tackle is Tyron Smith, an offensive lineman who is late in his career and can’t stay healthy. Counting on him to play well and stay healthy shows a lack of foresight on the part of the team. They didn’t sign anyone else — so today, the offensive line that was once known as the Great Wall of Dallas is lackluster and lackluster.

The wide receiver situation is even worse. The Cowboys replaced Cooper with James Washington, a player who failed to make his mark in Pittsburgh. Washington was injured during training camp and they don’t know when he’ll be able to return.

In the draft, Dallas selected Jalen Tolbert. Tolbert was inactive Sunday, unable to beat undrafted free agent Dennis Houston. Cedrick Wilson, who also wasn’t re-signed during the offseason, would have been a pretty viable second receiver.

The problems continue on the defensive end. Randy Gregory, second on the team in sacks in 2021, left for Denver. Demontae Kazee and Keanu Neal, who made a huge impact in 2021, also did not return to the team. The only addition to the defense this offseason was Anthony Barr. I understand if you don’t know him; on Sunday, Barr had a tackle and nothing else.

The Cowboys only managed to get 3 points in the first game of the year. His quarterback Dak Prescott, who was very inaccurate with his passes during the game, hurt his hand and will need surgery. Next week Dallas will face the Cincinnati Bengals, last year’s AFC champions. The outlook is more than bleak.

It’s already obvious that Mike McCarthy won’t survive the year as head coach, and he’ll likely be blamed when he’s fired in January. But McCarthy isn’t to blame for the mess Dallas has gotten into this season. That blame falls on the shoulders of just one man – team owner Jerry Jones.