The much ballyhooed “wide receiver by committee” was, with the exception of the win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, basically DOA. The Cowboys had no offense Youth Chidobe Awuzie Jersey to speak of in games where the defense was putting the team in a position to win. It became clear that Dallas had no real passing game, and opponents just focused on stopping the run and forcing the Cowboys to beat them through the air. We saw to our dismay just how that worked out. Now Amari Cooper has been acquired, at the cost of next year’s first-round draft pick, which is as clear an admission of failure as you can get. Cooper brings hope that the season can still be salvaged, although just how much hope the team should have is clearly questionable given the hole they have dug themselves.But just admitting a problem and addressing it is not enough. Well, it probably should be, but we are talking fans and sports media for the most scrutinized and polarizing team in the NFL. Fixing things during the season is one thing. Somebody has to pay. A guilty party needs to be identified and punishment meted out. That’s just how it’s done in ‘Murica. Indeed, the Cowboys have already made a move to address part of the problem, as offensive line coach Paul Alexander has reportedly been fired. Pass protection and run blocking were both issues for the team. However, that is just part of the story. The anemic passing attack may be helped with some (hopefully) better pass protection and run blocking, but it still has been pretty horrible.So welcome to an investigation of this football crime as we look at the suspects and point fingers of accusation.The receivers themselvesPart of the constant wrangling about what happened to the passing game in Dallas was the question of coaching versus execution. In looking at the latter as a cause, we start with the guys who are supposed to catch the ball. It quickly became apparent that this group just wasn’t getting the job done. Free agent acquisitions Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson have run the gamut from disappointing to really, really disappointing. Rookie Michael Gallup got off to a slow start (although he is beginning to show signs of emergence). So far, only Cole Beasley has shown much in this group, and just as opposing defenses have been able to bottle up Ezekiel Elliott at times, they also have been able to blanket Beasley in games. Forcing Dak Prescott to go to his other options is usually not to Dallas’ benefit.Tight end is a bit better, as Geoff Swaim has been steady but not spectacular. The rest of that group is still not doing much, and the team has not really figured out what they want to do with Rico Gathers. The running backs are still mostly used as safety valves, despite Elliott having been a very effective target in the win over the Detroit Lions.But while the wide receiver group may be a cause of the problems, it really isn’t their fault. They got hired, and have simply turned out to be a bad fit for what the team needs. Cooper’s acquisition just reinforces that.The quarterbackPrescott has certainly taken a lot of hits this season, both figuratively and literally. He has not looked decisive most of the time and has made a lot of questionable (at best) throws. It is also apparent he is just too nervous about his protection, pulling the ball down and leaving the pocket when he has receivers coming open and often is not as pressured as he seems to think. It is hard to criticize him too much for that latter problem given the number of sacks and hits he has had to take. The Cowboys are tied for eighth in terms of most sacks given up - and several teams with worse numbers there have not had their bye week yet. Still, the Cowboys are tied for 22nd in the league in yards per attempt and 29th in yards per game, so Prescott needs to take at least some of the responsibility here.However, he has been trending up a bit, with passer ratings of 95 or better in three of his last four games. And the firing of Alexander, with Marc Colombo promoted to fill that job for now and Colombo’s old O line coach Hudson Houck also brought back to the fold in an advisory capacity, may also help get the line playing better. It also cannot be denied that he has seen too many passes dropped when he is on target. So while he is part of the overall problem, he seems to be working hard to make things better, with some success. And there is evidence that the decision makers don’t see him as the problem, anyway. The trade for Cooper and the shakeup at O line coach looks a lot like they are trying to help Dak, not blame him.That means we turn our attention to the staff.The JonesesThere is no other team in the league where the ownership has as much responsibility and direct authority over the roster. That means Jerry Jones as GM and Stephen Jones as maybe the real day-do-day GM must be scrutinized here. After all, they are the main parties involved in putting the group of receivers together to start the season. Since it has been shown to be so inadequate, that falls a lot on their shoulders. And then there was the release of Dez Bryant. While it is certainly questionable whether he was really the answer to this bunch playing better, the idea that you could discard your WR1 without really replacing him has been shown to be erroneous, at least with the offensive system that Dallas runs. Still, does that make them the real culprits here, or just accomplices who got led down a bad path? Besides, they are hardly going to fire themselves. The sudden move to part ways with Alexander and bring back Houck to help Colombo also shows that they are truly dedicated to getting things fixed. Given all that, the question now becomes, just who came up with the failed committee approach at WR?The head coachAh, Jason Garrett. The coach that so many betting sites had as the favorite to be the first fired this season (an “honor” that now goes to Cleveland Browns former HC Hue Jackson). His stamp is on this team, reflecting the large input he has on personnel decisions. The buck often stops with the HC in the NFL, but once again http://www.cowboysauthorizedshops.com/authentic-byron-jones-jersey , the Cowboys are a unique situation with the ownership also being the collective GM. Despite the myth, decision-making in Dallas has long been a collaborative effort, and there are times that Garrett does get overruled or outvoted on key things. And as has been reported by Bryan Broaddus, DallasCowboys.com staffer and team insider, that was what happened back when Dez was turned loose. Garrett and Jerry Jones both had to be really sold on that idea, and were the last ones to come around on it. In a possibly related note, you may be aware of the heavy criticism Garrett took for being at a World Series game in Los Angeles on his off day. It has also been noted that Houck moved to California when he retired. Coincidence? Maybe not. It might just reflect that Garrett’s position with the team is stronger than some think, that he was partly behind bringing Houck back, and was given the responsibility to seal the deal.So there must have been another voice who drove the things that led to the offensive malaise. And that is the suspect that stands out as the real villain of this crime.The offensive coordinatorScott Linehan’s fingerprints are all over this one. The Dez Bryant decision, and a lot more. His offensive staff was largely redone, including the replacement of O line coach Frank Pollack by Alexander.At the time of the multiple changes in the offensive assistants, it was easy to argue that Linehan was putting the blame for the failures of 2017 on everyone but his own coaching. Now that the problems have continued into this season, that holds water no better than a sieve. The perception, especially in light of the hiring of his adopted son former backup Kellen Moore as the new QB coach, was that the new offensive staff firings and hirings were pretty much hand picked by Linehan. Now that has all come apart, and there are no more fall guys. The verdict for Linehan should be a clear “guilty”, and he should pay the ultimate price in NFL terms of being fired himself. The only reason that particular ax has not fallen is that there is not clear replacement on the staff (save having Garrett take up the OC duties himself, which was something that was judged to not be a good idea when they were largely taken from him by the Joneses) and changing the OC in midseason is pretty hard to do. Were the Cowboys even deeper in a hole, that might have come about. But the team still has a chance to turn things around over the last nine games, however faint it might be. And as we saw in the Jaguars game, Linehan can still do some good things calling plays. With the addition of Cooper, it is up to him to make things work better. Now he has a lot of motivation to win more games, if for no other reason than to make himself more employable if he is indeed fired.He should be. It will probably not be until after the season ends - unless things continue to go badly. This should be just a temporary reprieve, because he is the greatest cause of the struggles of the offense. Case closed. The Dallas Cowboys made a big splash on Monday afternoon, trading their 2019 first-round selection for two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Amari Cooper. Cooper, who starred for the Alabama Crimson Tide before being taken with the fourth overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft, was a star for Oakland to begin his professional career before slumping last year and into this season. The Cowboys, though, thought highly enough of his talent to warrant spending a premium pick.The price of a first-round pick is not ideal, and it does show just how desperate the front office was about adding a spark to this team. Dallas is undefeated inside AT&T Stadium this season, but things go sour when the Cowboys hit the road — posting an 0-4 record, while scoring an average of only 13.5 points per contest. Obviously, things needed to change — be it coaching staff or personnel.On what appeared to be a quiet bye week, Dallas made a big move for three reasons: one, they must not feel that the crop of wide receivers in the upcoming class is all that strong. The class features some quality options — such as D.K. Metcalf, A.J. Brown, and N’Keal Harry, but there isn’t a bonafide sure-thing at the receiver position. That only became a bigger issue when Metcalf injured his neck on kickoff coverage in a win over Arkansas, cutting his season short. The Cowboys are clearly hesitant about the strength of this class, especially at the top, hence the move to acquire a potential WR1 through trade rather than waiting and taking their chances with an unknown in the spring.Dane Brugler recently released his updated top-32 for the upcoming draft. Only one receiver made the cut (Brown), and you have to go all the way to number 28 to find him.Bucky Brooks makes a good point about why the Cowboys felt the need to go out and get a receiver now rather than waiting for one in the draft — after all, Cooper has made the Pro Bowl two times in his young career.The draft class likely had a huge say in what went down on Monday, but it likely was not the lone factor. For instance, the Cowboys are aware that the NFC East is still up for grabs: Washington beat the Cowboys this past Sunday, but Dallas was a penalty away from more-than-likely heading to overtime. The Philadelphia Eagles aren’t exactly off to a strong start, either — blowing big fourth quarter leads to the Titans and the Panthers while also sitting with a 3-4 record. Oh, and the Giants are ... well Zack Martin Jersey , not good. By making a move now, Dallas has the opportunity to make things interesting within the division. This seems like a year where an 8-8 or 9-7 record will clinch the wildcard spot. With questions surrounding Washington and Philly, Dallas will have a chance to be in the thick of things — if they can figure out the offensive side of the ball.We heard the term “Dak-friendly” all offseason long as the Cowboys attempted to revamp the wide receivers room by parting ways with Dez Bryant and bringing in both Allen Hurns and Deonte Thompson in free agency and then Michael Gallup in this past year’s draft; unfortunately, it hasn’t gone as planned, as overhauling the receivers position has not been as smooth as when Dallas revamped the defensive backs. Now, the Cowboys have given Dak Prescott a potential number one, go-to wide receiver that can make life hard for defenses. Cooper isn’t a perfect receiver by any means — he is not a burner and he has had his struggles with drops — but his route-running and ability to get open are very attractive aspects of his game. Sanjay Lal was brought in to improve the route-running on this team, making Cooper an ideal fit. We already know Cole Beasley is as good as any with his routes, and Gallup has showed some promise in that regard as well.The third reason why the Dallas Cowboys made the decision to acquire the two-time Pro Bowl receiver is because of their desire to give their quarterback every possible chance to succeed. Dak Prescott has had his fair share of very high highs and very low lows. Nobody understands him better than those within the organization. Whatever your feelings are on Prescott, he is the unquestioned starting quarterback on this team and is well-respected within his own locker room. While he did have some critical mistakes in the loss to Washington, he was also one of the biggest reasons why Dallas had the opportunity to send the game to overtime in the first place. There is a lot to like with Dak — he is a leader, he has the charisma, he can make plays with his legs, and he seems to play his best in big moments. On the flip side, Prescott has also had his fair share of struggles with accuracy and anticipating plays developing. Some of that is who he is, while some of that can be fixed with more experience and more trust with the players around him. While the quarterback deserves to take a lot of blame when the team loses — especially when the offense struggles — there are other concerns on the offensive side of the ball, such as play-calling, the offensive line without Travis Frederick, and a receivers group that was ranked near the bottom of every list entering the season.Cole Beasley has had some strong moments this season, but it appears as if the others in the room are hot-and-cold: good one week, bad the next. What Cooper brings is a receiving target that has proven himself on the highest level: catching 225 passes for 3,183 yards, and 19 touchdowns in 52 career games while playing in a division that has featured the likes of Aqib Talib, Chris Harris, Marcus Peters, Eric Berry, Casey Hayward, and Jason Verrett in the secondary.While Cooper hasn’t been as consistent over the past season-and-half as he was in years one and two, the circumstances surrounding him haven’t exactly been great, either. Derek Carr has not looked the same since suffering some ugly injuries over a 10-month span — such as a broken fibula that ended his season prior to the 2016-17 playoffs, a broken pinky finger on his throwing hand, and three broken bones in his back. Oakland also failed to capitalize on the playoff trip in Carr’s return from injury, posting a mediocre 6-10 record in 2017 before firing Jack Del Rio. Then, Oakland brought in Jon Gruden in hopes of turning things around and bringing excitement back to a passionate fan base. So far, Gruden hasn’t exactly been successful, as the Raiders sit at 1-5 and dead last in the AFC West through six games. Oh, and there was that Khalil Mack situation, too. The Raiders decided to part ways with a special talent in a move that the fan base appeared to be strongly against. Needless to say, there seems to be mess surrounding the Raiders organization right now. Perhaps a change of scenery will be good for Cooper.The Dallas Cowboys want to give Dak resources to succeed. Ezekiel Elliott is in his backfield. The defensive side of the ball has improved dramatically since hiring former Seahawks defensive coordinator Kris Richard. One way or another, the trade for Amari Cooper is going to tell Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones, and Jason Garrett if Dak is the long-term answer behind center. Either the struggles will continue throughout the remainder of the year and into next season, or Prescott will find the confidence that he played with for the first 25 games of his career and get back on track with a new toy to throw the ball to. On one hand, they will discover they were right about Dak; on the other, they will realize they need to go in a different direction — possibly as soon as the what-looks-to-be-loaded 2020 quarterback draft class.Either way, a decision on Prescott will be made.