By: Jordan Griffitt
Through week 5 in the NFL season, there are some teams that have very little direction.
Temas like the Dallas Cowboys and the Atlanta Falcons. Two teams that have had the spotlight on them the past few years for the wrong reasons.
After losing yet another game to the Panthers fall to 0-5, the Atlanta Falcons finally put Head Coach Dan Quinn and Falcons fans out of their misery. In the wake of the firing of Dan Quinn, this team still has too many questions to bet on to recover this season. Raheem Morris is the interim Head Coach until the Falcons can limp their way to a high draft pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
The biggest issue with the Falcons under Dan Quinn was clearly the defense and offensive line. These were the flaws for several years as they seemingly went unattended to until they invested in the offensive line in the 2019 draft. What makes things worse with Quinn was that defense was his forte coming over from Seattle and when your wheelhouse is taken away, what do you have? The answer for Atlanta, was nothing.
That was then, now the Falcons have a mess to work with for the foreseeable future. There are few players on this team who are salvageable for the future. That consists of DT Grady Jarrett, MLB Deion Jones and the young offensive lineman such as T Kaleb McGary. That leaves out QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones. Ryan has looked poor so far this season but he still has gas in the tank in my eyes; same with Julio Jones. That’s why they should unload them. By the time the Falcons are ready to compete, Ryan and Jones will be far removed from being production monsters. This offseason will be full of Falcons getting hired elsewhere in the NFL
and rightfully so. It’s time for the Falcons to hit the reset button and this is no better year to do that then the prize of Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence sitting at the top of everyone’s board.
Dan Quinn kept this team’s head above water just enough to lose a lot of talent and motivation, the teams best bet is to 2021 with a brand new roster.
Another perplexing team just became even more so with the horrific injury to QB Dak Prescott.
After having successful surgery on his compound ankle fracture, he will be sidelined for 4-6 months. With the win over the New York Giants, the Cowboys now sit in first place in the NFC East which is worth as much as stock in Blockbuster in 2020. In steps seasoned veteran QB Andy Dalton, most likely the best backup QB in the NFL.
This can create a problem in the coming weeks for both Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott. The famous contract dispute between Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott will not let up until it’s done. Andy Dalton might have something to say about that. If Dany dalton can get this mediocre team to the playoffs with the same record and with the same guys Dak has had in the past, then why would Jerry pay Dak? This team is a massive disappointment every year even with Prescott so if Dalton can produce similar results, I don’t see why financially Jerry would commit long term to Prescott. There also needs to be some future predictions in this decision. If Dak can barely get the Cowboys to the playoffs with a plethora of offensive talent, then I don’t think he can do that without those guys after he gets paid big. This team’s disappointment is not solely Prescott’s fault but at the end of the day, the QB gets the brunt of the force.
If Dalton can’t come through for Dallas then Jerry Jones has an issue on his hands. He now has to pay Prescott and will most likely still have a bad team. Jones will be paying top dollar for a QB that will put up numbers in losing efforts. Not only will he have to pay Prescott but
there is now uncertainty in his ability with the new injury. Although I don’t think that will be much of a problem, it doesn’t exactly reek of leverage to me.
The defense has been among the worst in the league and the secondary has more holes than 2-year-old sponge. Outside of the QB position, this team has a few contracts that the Cowboys have to take a long hard look at during the offseason. Those players are: MLB Jaylon Smith, DE DeMarcus Lawrence and LT Tyron Smith. Smith and Lawrence showed up in week 5 and certainly have enough talent to live up to their contracts, but they haven’t done so consistently enough. LT Tyron Smith is a IR frequent and I expect him to seriously consider retirement after this season. Those three players alone consume next to $44 million per year until 2024, that’s a problem. The simple problem is that the Cowboys aren’t winning with talent on offense and they have many high priced contracts on both sides of the ball.
Though these teams seem to be in different situations, I think the verdict is the same for both teams. Reset the roster in the offseason.
