01/14/13: D-FW sports chat with columnist Rick Gosselin

Rick Gosselin joins us at 11 a.m., but ask your questions now and he will have them when he arrives. Thanks for your readership!

by SportsDayDFW 1/14/2013 3:46:18 PM
Welcome back to the chat room. What an entertaining weekend of football last weekend. The Cowboys may have been even more entertaining as Jerry goes about trying to regain some credibility for his franchise. Let's get started...

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:00:21 PM
What is it about Jason Garrett's play calling that gives people heartburn?

by Jim 1/14/2013 5:00:36 PM
The lack of success in the red zone. The NFL is now all about offense. You need to score touchdowns to win games. Detroit and Tampa Bay scored more offensive touchdowns than the Cowboys last season.

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:03:16 PM
Rick, on a scale from 1-10 how would you rank the hiring of Mr. Kiffin? Where would the greatest need on the defense be currently with his schemes?

by Alan 1/14/2013 5:03:40 PM
I'd rate it a 6. Monte has been away from the NFL for four years. Much has changed. In his absence the league has gone pass crazy. 5,000-yard passers have become commonplace. He's going to have to get up to speed with the changes in the game and make the necessary adjustments in his scheme. Time and age are working against him in the long term.

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:08:33 PM
Do you think Troy Aikman would agree to be the next QB coach?

by Kimberli C. in Bells,TX 1/14/2013 5:08:46 PM
The money and lifestyle are too good in the TV world for the Troy Aikmans, Phil Simms, Dan Marinos and Boomer Esiasons to take pay cuts and become assistant coaches.

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:09:35 PM
Should Garrett hire an Offensive Coordinator? If so, who?

by BoysFan1969 1/14/2013 5:09:46 PM
Yes. He was hired to be a head coach, and that's a full-time job. So is being the offensive play-caller. There is way too much on his plate. He should be one or the other. If he wants to call the plays, hire a head coach. If he wants to be the head coach, hire a play-caller. Clock management has been one of his greatest shortcomings as a coach. Time to focus all his time and energy on becoming the best head coach he can be. Norv Turner and Tony Sparano have both worked with Garrett in the past. But Jones passed on Butch Davis and Dave Wannstedt to hire Monte Kiffin. Maybe Jerry is trying to cut ties with the past. Turning over the play-calling to Bill Callahan would be the best option in that case.

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:12:41 PM
We got too many glass players on this team ; Murray,Miles,Ratliff we need some power in this draft like Eddie Lacy,DT Will Sutton,Sheldon Richardson....

by Mr mane 1/14/2013 5:13:05 PM
The reason Sean Lee and Bruce Carter were second-round steals and DeMarco Murray a third round steal is because all three players had injury flags coming out of college. Their stock dropped because of a lack of durability. So we shouldn't be surprised that injuries have taken them off the NFL field. Maybe JJ should stop swinging for the fences on draft day and accept more doubles -- durable players you can count on for 16 games.

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:15:06 PM
After watching Matty ice & Flacco make clutch plays it let me know that we are in trouble for long time!

by Mr mane 1/14/2013 5:15:12 PM
It's not just Ryan and Flacco. Over in the NFC it's RG III, Cam Newton, Colin Kaepernick, Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, Russell Wilson, Josh Freeman -- all young quarterbacks with big upsides. The clock is ticking on Tony Romo at 33 this season to win a championship and win it soon.

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:17:14 PM
Mr. Gosselin, can you tell me how the Cowboys scouting dept. is regarded throughout the NFL?

by Steven Curtis 1/14/2013 5:17:24 PM
You're judged on your drafts. This franchise has had more misses than hits. Right now this looks to be an average personnel department, not one of the difference makers. What's puzzling is that the Cowboys can find the undrafted gems with the best of them -- Romo, Miles Austin, Barry Church, Dan Bailey...yet struggle to find difference makers in the fourth-, fifth- and sixth rounds. The other issue is that the coaching staff is reluctant to play young players. It's been that way for the past decade. So maybe there's a disconnect between those drafting the players an those coaching them. They both don't seem to be on the same page. It should be draft a young player, develop him and then play him. Too often it's draft a young player, deacativate him and then cut him. David Arkin appears to be headed down that road with this current team.

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:22:08 PM
Does snapping the ball with one second on the play clock negatively affect this offense? It seems that we give the defense way too much time to adjust on every play. Is this on Garrett or Romo?

by Dave Hoekstra 1/14/2013 5:22:28 PM
The one thing I'd do is simplify. Less shifting and quicker snaps. That would cut down on all the false start penalties. The longer you make an offensive linement squat in his stance, the better chance he'll flinch. I am so tired of all the false start penalties by this team.

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:23:44 PM
Is this the year we sign or draft a real safety?

by MB@Denton 1/14/2013 5:23:50 PM
The impact safeties don't hit free agency. You have to find them in the draft. This team does not have a Donnie Shell, John Lynch or a Bob Sanders on the roster. Those are impact, Pro Bowl safeties that made this defensive scheme work in the past. If the Cowboys don't come up with an impact safety, this defense is going to struggle. Tony Dungy told me the 3 most critical positions in this defensive scheme are a 3-technique defensive tackle, a weakside linebacker and a safety -- someone versatile enough to become a strong safety on one down and a free safety the next.

by Rick Gosselin 1/14/2013 5:26:28 PM