Are Cowboys offensive struggles serious?

OXNARD, Calif. – For the fans, it was enough. It didn’t matter that it was just training-camp practice. The offense executed the two-minute drill to perfection, finishing in five plays with Tony Romo’s(notes) red-zone touchdown pass to nfl jerseys Jason Witten(notes). The crowd erupted.
There was another chance to celebrate, minutes later, when Miles Austin(notes) hauled in a deep rainbow for a touchdown. For many fans, it was the first time they saw the 2010 version of the Dallas Cowboys score a touchdown. The team’s offense has caught a lot of bad press after failing to get into the end zone in its first two preseason games.
After their loss to the Oakland Raiders, the Cowboys moved to their second training-camp location in Oxnard. The players expected to benefit from the cooler climate and the grass practice fields, but play didn’t immediately improve. In its second California practice, the offense had one of its worst showings of the preseason. As a result, coordinator Jason Garrett held the unit back for an extra 15 minutes after the final whistle blew in order to walk through plays again.
“We’re gonna repeat plays if they’re not right,” said offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, whose Cowboys face the Chargers in preseason action Saturday night. “In training camp, we’re installing stuff and the defense is installing stuff, sometimes it’s sloppy and it’s messy. You have to fight through that and play better than we did.”
Poor play, particularly in the red zone, has plagued the Cowboys offense this preseason.
Against the Bengals in Canton, Ohio, Dallas started at its own 35-yard line and drove all the way to the 2 before throwing three incomplete passes and being forced to kick a field goal. In the loss to the Raiders, the first-team offense again trotted into the red zone on its initial possession. Then came a sack, a 1-yard completion and another sack. Dallas settled for a field goal. On the second possession, it Bears jersey settled for another field goal.
Additionally against Oakland, the running game was grounded, with Marion Barber(notes) and Felix Jones(notes) combining for 12 yards on five carries, and the passing game producing just four completions while allowing three sacks. So far, the first-team offense is 0-for-4 inside the red zone this preseason – and that was with a healthy offensive line. Right tackle Marc Colombo(notes) underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this week and is expected to be out until the season opener against the Redskins. Left guard Kyle Kosier(notes) sprained his right MCL in Wednesday’s practice and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
Despite these performances, several players took issue with the criticism, particularly about the problems inside the red zone. Running back Tashard Choice(notes) said the preseason “don’t mean nothing.” Well, what about the last time the Cowboys were in a game that meant something? They got shellacked at the hands of the Vikings – and failed to score a touchdown.
Romo was even more unequivocal than Choice.
“Wait until you see our red-zone offense in the regular season, you’ll love it,” the quarterback said. “We’re not showing you anything yet.”
When Garrett was asked if he’s keeping most of the playbook to himself, he shed a little smirk as if he were concealing state secrets. “There are certain things we may or may not do in the preseason,” he said.
Many teams run bland offenses in August so they can bring fresh plays in September, when it counts. But vanilla play-calling doesn’t explain all preseason problems, which is Panthers jersey why they were forced to “stay after school,” as Jerry Jones called it, that day in practice. Jones, Garrett and head coach Wade Phillips were pleased with how the players responded, particularly in the two-minute drill that led to touchdowns to those two Pro Bowl targets.
The players were pleased with their performance as well.
“When you get your tail chewed, how you respond really tells you what kind of character you have as a man and a player,” receiver Patrick Crayton(notes) said. “I think we responded really well.”
They key going forward will be how the offense responds to its poor preseason performances. No one is questioning the talent on the team. Romo has plenty of weapons. At receiver, he has established targets in Austin and Crayton along with Roy Williams, who is eager to improve, and rookie Dez Bryant(notes), who is vying to take Williams’ spot. They’re three-deep at running back with Barber, Jones and Choice. At tight end, Witten caught 100 passes last season and Martellus Bennett(notes) is one of the best backups in the league.
If the offense takes off, Garrett will still have the problem of making sure each of those players is happy with the amount of touches he’ll get. Crayton joked that Garrett should “Treat it like a video game, man, and give everybody the ball,” but that is impossible in practice.
“Everybody understands that,” Garrett said. “Everybody understands that there’s only so many plays in a game and only so many runs and so many passes. They have a good football jerseys feeling for that, and there’s a healthy competition among our guys to work hard and battle for playing time and then the opportunity to get the ball.”
Of course, those questions come later. The Cowboys must first find a way to get fans cheering for plays that happen outside of practice.