ESPN Dallas' 5 Things That Went Wrong

[Sideshow Bob]

They've unveiled three so far...

espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/category/_/name/2011-5-things-that-went-wrong

No. 5. DeMarco Murray breaks his ankle

Murray transformed the Cowboys’ season in many ways because he brought a balance to Jason Garrett’s playcalling. He was the workhorse, getting at least 20 carries in five games of a seven-game span.

Murray suffered the injury on Dec. 11 against the New York Giants when defensive end Dave Tollefsen landed on Murray while making a tackle.

Without Murray, the Cowboys had to rely on Felix Jones to be the main running back. He did a decent job, but he suffered a hamstring strain at Tampa Bay in which he had his first set of back-to-back 20-carry games.

Many will point to Murray’s franchise-record 239-yard outing against St. Louis as his best game, but it actually might have been his 73-yard game at Washington on 25 tough carries where he proved his mettle.

Jones is just not built to be an every-down back. Murray, whose rehab is on schedule following surgery, is.

The Cowboys missed the rookie greatly down the stretch.

No. 4: Mediocrity from Rob Ryan's defense

Rob Ryan promised greatness from a defense he declared had the most talent in the NFL.

He delivered mediocrity with a unit that needs to be upgraded at several spots next season.

The Dallas defense was average as a whole -- 14th in total defense (343.2 yards per game) and 16th in scoring defense (21.7 points) -- and dreadful when it mattered most. The New York Giants averaged 34 points and 473.5 yards in two wins over the Cowboys that determined the NFC East title.

Ryan often enabled his players by insisting that all the blame should be placed on his wide shoulders. There were some grumbles that his three-thick-playbook scheme was too complicated, causing mass confusion and leading him to simplify game plans in the final few weeks.

Of course, Wade Phillips’ scheme was supposedly too simple and predictable, but it worked pretty well this season for the Houston Texans’ second-ranked defense. At some point, the blame needs to be pinned on the players.

Ryan seemed to realize that in the last couple of weeks, particularly during an angry halftime rant after Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles marched 87 yards in 50 seconds for a touchdown, prompting him to rip the players for poorly executing a good game plan.

Several defensive starters will be gone next season, starting with longtime left cornerback Terence Newman, a two-time Pro Bowler who was terrible down the stretch. Ryan will return, barring the surprising development of a team wanting him to become its head coach after under-delivering so badly in Dallas.

No. 3: Losing five fourth-quarter leads

It's amazing when you think about how this Cowboys season started -- a 27-24 loss to the New York Jets, and how it would set the tone for 2011. When the season was over, the Cowboys suffered eight total losses, but five came when they blew fourth-quarter leads.

Five.

Quarterback Tony Romo cost the team two games with fourth-quarter turnovers vs. the Jets. His interceptions helped the Detroit Lions rally from a 24-point deficit.

Rob Ryan's defense failed to contain Tom Brady and the Patriots, and the loss to the Arizona Cardinals might have been the worst.

Driving for a potential game-winning field goal, coach Jason Garrett mismanaged the game-clock and -- in a roundabout way -- iced his own kicker, Dan Bailey, by calling a timeout in the closing seconds of the play clock. Bailey would miss a 49-yarder, and Arizona went on to win, 19-13, in overtime.

Said outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware about that loss: "You just had a loss, [so] what are you going to do about it? The good teams, they come back from a tough loss like that and you really see the true team spirit and how teams come back from adversity. That really tells you the type of character we have on this team. We’re going to see that this week."

So what happened the following week? Against the New York Giants -- with a chance to put a stranglehold on the NFC East -- the Cowboys took a 34-22 lead with 5:41 left in the fourth quarter and went on to lose, 37-34.

At worse, if Dallas defeated Arizona, the odds of a getting wild-card berth and a division title would've been greater. But the loss all but kept Dallas out of the wild-card chase and put them in a winner-take-all game against the Giants in the regular-season finale.

When the season was over, Ware found out what type of team he's playing on: One that doesn't finish games.

[Sideshow Bob]

No. 2: Jason Garrett’s clock management at Arizona

The Cowboys had a number of difficult losses in 2011 but the hardest to explain will be the 19-13 overtime defeat at Arizona on Dec. 4.

It was like every game the Cowboys play at University of Phoenix Stadium in some respects because of the strangeness, but this one might have been stranger than the 2008 overtime loss in which the Cowboys lost on a blocked punt for a touchdown and the 2010 loss that was triggered by a missed point after attempt.

This one fell on the shoulders of Jason Garrett.

The Cowboys were driving for a game-winning field goal attempt, like they had done a few times earlier in the season against San Francisco, Washington (twice) and Miami.

A 15-yard completion on third down to Dez Bryant put the Cowboys at the Arizona 31 with 24 seconds to play, however, Garrett chose not to use one of his two timeouts to give the offense the chance to move deeper into Cardinals’ territory for a shorter field goal try.

Tony Romo spiked the ball with seven seconds to play to set up a game-winning try by Dan Bailey from 49 yards. Bailey’s first attempt was good, but Garrett called a timeout because he and special teams coach Joe DeCamillis and assistant Chris Boniol felt the play clock was running low.

Bailey’s second attempt was short and to the left, forcing the game into overtime.

The Cowboys would not get the ball again with LaRod Stephens-Howling scoring on a 52-yard screen pass.

Garrett stood by the decision publicly but in private apologized to the team for the error.

[Sideshow Bob]

No. 1: The offensive line struggled

Looking back it was too much to ask of the Dallas Cowboys offensive line. Protect Tony Romo with three players who never started a NFL game and two rookies. Just too much.

The Cowboys offensive line battled through injuries and ineffective play for most of the 2011 season. Left tackle Doug Free moved from the right side to the left in 2011 and was credited with 10 sacks allowed, including six the last four weeks of the season. Free didn't display the strength and athletic ability needed on a consistent basis to contain speedy pass rush ends.

The middle of the Cowboys line had troubles as well. It started when guard Bill Nagy went on injured reserve in October with a fractured ankle, backup Derrick Dockery suffered a knee injury that kept him out for weeks and Montrae Holland returned to the team after getting cut in training camp due to a back and weight issues.

Kyle Kosier, the starting right guard, battled a foot injury the bulk of the season.

If the Cowboys had made the postseason, Holland (biceps) and Kosier (knee) would be lost due to injuries.

Center Phil Costa had some snap issues and didn't play with a lot of power at times. The team does like Kevin Kowalski and might give him a chance to start next season.

Tyron Smith, the right tackle, was the bright spot. But he had some issues at times dealing with athletic defensive ends, but Smith has tremendous upside and could move to left tackle next season.

The Cowboys made several moves after the lockout, cutting veterans Andre Gurode, Marc Colombo and Leonard Davis, for younger players. And while the Cowboys knew it would have growing pains, the offensive line should have performed better.

[matt51180]

Reading each sentence was a reminder of what a kick to the nuts this season was...