3The coaching staff
It’s easy to see why people think that everything is up to scratch with the 30-10 win in the last game. But the coaching really needs some work. Why? Well, they fell behind 10-3, and they also went into the fourth quarter locked in a 10-10 tie. The 20-point outburst was good for them to get the win, but it also showed this match probably never should have been close.
The Cowboys were slow and that happened due to some mistakes made by the coaching staff. During the Giants first drive, Dallas made two fumbles with the second coming on the first defensive third-down play. Running back Wayne Gallman passed past the first down marker but fumbled, and the ball bounced backward. It was recovered by New York about two yards behind the line of scrimmage, but the ref called a first down. Jason Garrett never even flinched, when he probably should have at least talked to the ref about that one and seen if he could have challenged the spot.
Couple times the defense was not ready. The Giants would hurry up on third-down plays, and at one moment Dallas had to use a timeout because of that. In the third-quarter, New York hurried to the line and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli inexplicably tried to sub players out even though the Giants did not. The following drive New York did it again, and this time Marinelli’s crew left Roger Lewis wide open for a first down as they were kind of shocked.
That one badly used timeout never hurt them but if you think thoroughly it could have. What if the game stayed close until the end. That mishap could have cost them big time in a tight contest. Marinelli being over-matched is the norm for Dallas, and fans have to hope that the Cowboys realize this. It was a nice win, however, the coaches have to learn to adjust to the post in moments like this.
