The final four teams remaining in the NFL playoffs have one thing in com mon — identifiable strengths. To wit:
Atlanta: A big-play passing game featuring quarterback Matt Ryan and three incredibly dangerous receivers in Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez.
Baltimore: A tough running back-oriented offense with a physical defense.
New England: Tom Brady’s passing and the genius of Bill Belichick
San Francisco: A tough defense mixed with a powerful offensive line and the wild card play of quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
There are always exceptions to the rule (see Baltimore’s big-play passing strikes in the divisional round), but opponents know what to expect when preparing for these teams.
Now think of the Cowboys. What’s the team identity? Schizophrenia doesn't count.
The defense doesn’t generate turnovers and is middling against both the run and pass. The running game just set a franchise record for the fewest yards gained in a season. The offensive line is a wreck.
The current Cowboys roster doesn't have the right mix of talent to win in the NFL.
That leaves Tony Romo passing to breakout player Dez Bryant and the aging Jason Witten as the only identity this Cowboys team has.
That’s not enough to win in the NFL. Dallas needs to quickly decide what they want to do better than most other teams and build a team to achieve it.
The team hired Monte Kiffin to bring his Tampa 2 defense to town. He won a Super Bowl with his version and consistently had a top 10 NFL defense for nearly a decade.
The problem is that Kiffin had the type of players in Tampa Bay who aren’t currently on the Cowboys roster. Namely, he had a possible Hall of Fame defensive tackle in Warren Sapp, defensive ends that could play the run as well as the pass, an athletic freak of a linebacker in Derrick Brooks, and a pair of physical safeties that could separate receivers from the ball.
The Cowboys have athletic linebackers who could thrive in Kiffin’s system, and no one will ever doubt the ability of DeMarcus Ware to make the switch to defensive end, despite being light for an NFL defensive lineman. That leaves gaping holes at defensive tackle and safety for this club to deal with.
Jay Ratliff has too much wear and tear on his 32-year-old body to be expected to thrive at tackle. Remember, by the time Warren Sapp was 32 years old, Tampa Bay had already allowed him to move on to play for the Raiders. The safeties are nowhere near the ball-hawking brutes that played for Tampa Bay.
Maybe Dallas should concentrate on building an offense around Tony Romo. His movement in the pocket and playmaking ability could lead to a powerful passing offense. But to do that, Romo needs lineman to block for him and more than one receiver who can scare defenses.
Whatever route the Cowboys go, they need to get there quickly. The majority of contributors on this team are at least 30 years old. Their days in the NFL are numbered, as is Dallas’ current Super Bowl window.
The Dallas Cowboys lack of identity makes Tony Romo sad.
