Dallas Cowboys: Offseason Panic Mode 2021 Edition

The Dallas Cowboys had a forgettable season in 2020. The NFC East did them plenty of favors by making it seem like the division was in reach, but without real competition, no one walked away a winner. With each team settling for less than a .500 win %, the NFC East was one of the ugliest divisions of the NFL season leaving the Dallas Cowboys with plenty of reason to be in panic mode.

The Dak Prescott Of It All

Dallas wasn’t up for paying Dak Prescott on a long term deal last season. Well, they were just not the one he wanted. Now the Cowboys have to get a deal done this offseason or move on. We saw just how different the Cowboys looked without him under center. Can they afford to lose a big-time playmaker despite a weak division?

Tough Division

The NFC East usually comes down to the final 2-3 games of the season. Even though the Eagles fired their head coach for the Carson Wentz debacle, Philly is sitting pretty by the time that issue resolves itself. If Wentz is on the move it will take multiple picks to get him, including a first. They’ll get two picks, if they believe hurts is their guy they’ll have a chance to bring him in weapons.

More NFL: Seahawks Trading Wilson Huge Mistake

The Washington Football Team showed they might have their next QB on the roster when Taylor Heinicke showed up in the post season despite the loss. Then there’s the Giants who weren’t great on paper but seemed like they played below their talent level. Dallas can’t go into rebuild mode and let the division race slip to whoever wants to step up first.

Ezekiel Elliot Fails To Wow

To give a playmaker like Elliot a contract extension, making him the highest-paid RB in the NFL, you’d expect him to be the workhorse to lead the team should their QB go down. Their QB did, but Elliot did not. While he did average a respectable 4.0 yards per carry, you’d expect the highest-paid guy at his position to rush for over 1,000 yards. Demarco Murray doubled that without being the highest-paid guy on the field. Even then Dallas let him walk.

Elliot was supposed to be the next great Dallas Cowboys running back, unfortunately, without a playmaker at quarterback, teams stacked the box and made him one dimensional.

Jerry Jones Is Still Out of Touch

Jones as a GM just isn’t cutting it. He’s out here trying to open his checkbook to bring superstars to the Cowboys and he often does. However, more often than not, he’s bringing in guys that just are flat out past their prime, or don’t fit the game plan the coach has in place. Jerry Jones trying to echo the George Steinbrenner lead New York Yankees is setting his team back each and every year.

The largest piece of evidence was this year when he compared Mike McCarthy’s first year as Cowboys head coach to that of Jimmy Johnson’s. Yes, Johnson was able to turn it around and become very successful and McCarthy might be able to do the same. Too bad Jones just doesn’t get it. One is a former Super Bowl coach who’s been in the league over ten years, the other was fresh out of college and never coached a game at the professional level. Jimmy Johnson deserved some slack, Mike McCarthy doesn’t.

If Jerry Jones keeps making excuses for his coaches and fumbling the free-agent process, the Dallas Cowboys will forever be stuck in neutral, and that’s the real reason to panic.