10 Things The Dallas Cowboys Must Do To Reach The Promised Land

The Dallas Cowboys are back to their inconsistent ways through the first quarter of the 2012 season. Let’s take a look at 10 things that can help them moving forward now and in the future.

#1) Hire A General Manager

If this were a list of the top five owners in regards to any sport, Jerry Jones is there front and center. What Jones has brought to the city of Dallas, his team and the NFL as a whole has been beyond outstanding.

But he needs to bring another voice in to serve as a go between the players, the coaches and their agents.

This point has been made before and it will be made again.

It is a crucial part of why the Cowboys despite all of their talent consistently performs at a mediocre level.

Jones can take the good cop role while his GM takes the bad cop role and brings a new layer of accountability a franchise that is dying for some.

#2 Jason Garrett Needs To Go

Garrett as a coach and a coordinator has maxed out. He has had a cache of weapons that he can’t do anything with.

Tony Romo’s disasters are not always his fault. Against the Chicago Bears, his target-of-choice Dez Bryant did not have it together.

Bryant ran ugly routes, dropped multiple balls and hung his quarterback out to dry.

Who is responsible for getting him together?

On paper the Cowboys have the talent to be a juggernaut yet they often lack focus form week-to-week.

They start the season by beating the world champs and then go to travel to Seattle to get stomped out by the Seahawks.

Garrett has his hands in the outcome of this team more than most head coaches do and yet he still hasn’t quite figured out how to get it right.

When the Cowboys lose they lose in style and Garrett’s horribly called games have a tendency to be a part of the puzzle.

#3 A Disciplinarian Needs To Take Charge

The Cowboys need a kick in the behind to be all that they can be.

In previous championship runs for whatever reason the talent could flourish and rise to the occasion without the type of coach that has a steel will and an iron jaw.

The first name that comes to mind is Bill Cowher but that probably will not happen.

Jones needs to dig deep and find a guy that has no problem with changing the culture of a team that needs discipline.

#4 Dallas Needs To Play Better On Big Stages

If never fails that the Cowboys lose at home when they are playing in a nationally televised game.

There is something about the emotional makeup of this team that lets them down when it is time to assert their dominance for the world to see.

Their catalog of greatest misses is legendary and the current and future administrations must find a way to make sure that this group’s legacy is not of a team that always folded under close-ups and bright lights.

#5 Dallas Needs To Continue To Upgrade key Areas

Jones got it right when he addressed his porous secondary this off-season. While that group is still learning how to play together they will have nights like they did against Chicago.

It would behoove the Cowboys to move to other side of the ball during their next overhaul and upgrade their offensive line to get the best out of both running back DeMarco Murray and Tony Romo.

It would not be a bad idea if they added another pass-rusher to help out DeMarcus Ware either.

#6 The Media’s Love/Hate Relationship With Tony Romo Needs To Stop

Speaking of Tony, those that cover the Cowboys need to decide whether or not he’s a bad quarterback that plays the occasional good game or a great quarterback that has the occasional bad game.

The players act like the atmosphere within the media does not matter to them but it impacts them in a big way.

If Romo has two solid games in a row, he suddenly gets boosted onto a platinum plated pedestal. The moment he has a bad game, the world is ready to lynch him.

Pick a side and let the guy play either the underdog role or as a veteran that is going to bounce back next week.

If anyone has played with his psyche it’s the world-at-large.

#7 Dallas Needs To Be Stripped Of Their Title As America’s Team

The Cowboys have been complacent. Perhaps if they lost the mystique of being America’s Team that would instill some much needed hunger into that locker room.

Look at where consistently living in underdog status got the New York Giants.

Each year at the start of the season so much time and energy is devoted into the team’s high expectations yet nothing really happens.

A 2-2 record is not a death sentence but a consistent lack of achievement is.

#8 Change The Stadium’s Atmosphere

The Cowboys ‘ new stadium is a beautiful piece of work but more than one person has stated that the vibe that it puts forth is that it functions like the world’s largest nightclub.

It would not hurt the team if the players can run out of the tunnel onto a football field instead of interacting with the patrons of Club Jerry.

#9 Score More Points Than The Other Team

Not to overstate the obvious but the Cowboys should have no problem putting up at least 28 points a game.

If that is not the case then maybe their skill players are overrated and incapable of doing what everyone says that they can do.

#10 Lockout The Outside World

Dallas is one of the most media-friendly teams in the NFL. Perhaps it’s time to limit the media’s access to the team to the bare minimum and let these guys focus on the task at hand.