Film room: 3 things we learned from Cowboys-Cardinals, including how disappointing Dallas' top free agent signings have been

If the Dak Prescott injury wasn’t enough to get you to recalibrate your expectations for the 2020 Dallas Cowboys (2-4), then their blowout loss to the Arizona Cardinals (4-2) Monday night definitely should.

Everything that seemingly could go wrong against the Cardinals did. The injuries continued to pile up, as Zack Martin was the latest star player to go down with an injury (concussion). The offense continued to shoot itself in the foot with protection busts, fumbles, drops and interceptions. The defense started well but couldn’t make consistent stops. John Fassel’s special teams continue to be below-average contributors. And the referees apparently don’t know that DBs can’t collide with WRs downfield.

The Cowboys just aren’t a good football team, and the only reason I haven’t gotten a head-start on 2021 NFL Draft work is that the NFC East may be the worst division in the history of football, as Dallas is still — somehow — leading the division.

Without further ado, let’s dive into a few things gleaned from Dallas' disappointing blowout loss to Arizona.

Dak’s price just went up

The biggest winner for the Cowboys Monday night was probably Dak Prescott, who didn’t even play.

For those who weren’t Prescott believers before, Monday night was yet another illustration of just how important Prescott is to the team’s winning chances any given week. Coming into the game, the Cowboys offense had too many self-inflicted wounds but was also one of the most explosive units in the league. Without Prescott, the offense continued to shoot itself in the foot but lacked the firepower to dig itself out of the early hole.

Dalton, who finished 34 of 54 for 266 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, wasn’t the main issue with Dallas' offense Monday evening, as the blocking and Ezekiel Elliott’s fumbles were probably bigger problems, but he didn’t offer any solutions either. Dalton struggles anytime there’s any semblance of pressure, which is a recipe for disaster given that Connor Williams was the only starter left on the offensive line from last year for most of Monday night.

Prescott’s ability to make plays outside of the structure of the offense was sorely missed, as Dalton appeared to almost be in a panic anytime he broke the pocket. When the protection can continually hold up in their given matchups, then it’s on the QB to make things happen outside the pocket or structure of the offense. Prescott proved repeatedly to be capable in that department, Dalton — not so much.

Moreover, the Cowboys severely missed Prescott’s command at the line of scrimmage. Yes, the Cowboys still had some issues with pressure while Prescott was healthy, but he continually did a masterful job of limiting free rushers by getting the offense into the right protections when opposing team’s blitzed. Dalton was fooled on multiple occasions against some of Arizona’s exotic pressures Monday night and failed to get the ball out quick enough when Arizona brought more blitzers than Dallas had blockers.

The Cowboys failing to come to terms with Prescott on a contract extension continues to be one of the bigger gaffes in recent franchise history. And if you think Prescott’s asking price is going to go down because of his ankle injury, then you’re woefully misinformed. His price will continue to increase as Dallas' offense continues to sputter in his absence.

Prescott is the type of QB who doesn’t need perfect conditions to succeed while Dalton is the opposite, and the fact that Dallas' offensive line continues to get ravaged by injuries makes the conditions tough enough that’s it’s hard to envision Dalton stringing together winning football against anyone outside the dreadful NFC East.

Prescott is not someone who can be easily replaced, which is why it’s paramount that the Cowboys acquiesce to Prescott’s demands to lock him up long term this offseason.

FA additions have been a huge disappointment

Let’s take a quick look at how Dallas' main offseason additions fared against the Cardinals:

Andy Dalton: As stated previously, Dalton struggled mightily against Arizona, as he averaged an abysmal 4.9 yards per attempt. Consistent pressure made him antsy in the pocket and too reliant on his check downs. His lack of trust in the protection made him timid in testing Arizona deep. While the first interception wasn’t his fault, the second one certainly was, and there were a couple of should-be interceptions, too.

Blake Bell: He did about what you expect from a No. 2 tight end who was used mostly as a blocker.

Dontari Poe: Continues to be a huge disappointment for the Cowboys defensive line. He gets displaced too easily against stretch plays, doesn’t get off blocks and has zero range to make any plays whatsoever. Poe’s struggles are a big reason why Dallas' run defense has had issues this season.

Aldon Smith: He’s usually the bright spot among a disappointing free-agent class, but even he didn’t play well against the Cardinals. On Kenyan Drake’s second-quarter TD run, Smith got vertically displaced into the endzone, providing a runway for the Arizona RB.

Everson Griffen: Appeared to have a little more juice as a pass-rusher early but was unable to get anything going. The Cowboys attempted to contain Murray with their rush, which limited the repertoire of their defensive ends, but the Cowboys signed Griffen to be an impact edge defender — something he’s yet to be in his Cowboys career against the run or pass.

Daryl Worley: Worley was beaten badly by Christian Kirk on his 80-yard touchdown reception. The Cowboys were in Cover 3, and Worley had a deep-third zone responsibility, but he bit hard by settling his feet against Kirk’s vertical set, enabling Kirk to create a ton separation downfield.

Also, how bad did HaHa Clinton-Dix look during training camp if he couldn’t earn a roster spot amid Dallas' dreadful safety play this season? Given his career prior to 2020, it’s hard to imagine that Clinton-Dix wouldn’t be better than Darian Thompson, Donovan Wilson and Steven Parker.

The lack of positive and impactful contributions from the 2020 free-agent class is just one of a seemingly unending laundry list of issues for the Cowboys franchise at the moment, and it really hurt the Cowboys Monday night. Even apart from the injuries, it’s tough to be successful when the recent free-agent class mostly disappoints — despite his issues Monday night, Aldon Smith has been the lone bright spot among the free-agent additions. The Cowboys need their 2020 free-agent class to play better or things may start to get even worse for the franchise moving forward.

Success hard to come by with Terence Steele and Brandon Knight at tackle

It’s obvious that Andy Dalton is only as good as the weapons around him and the protection in front of him. Well, the Cowboys have all the weapons but none of the protection, meaning Dalton is likely to continue to struggle with the current iteration of Dallas' offensive line.

Zack Martin was the latest star offensive lineman to go down for the Cowboys, leaving the Cowboys with an offensive line consisting of Connor Williams and four players who were expected to be backups when training camp began. We don’t know yet as to the severity of Martin’s concussion, but even in his absence, the biggest issue for the Cowboys offensive line was the tackles’ struggles on the edge.

Teams have figured out that Brandon Knight’s major weakness is power moves, as Arizona continually attacked him with power to condense the pocket and generate pressure on Dalton Monday night. He wasn’t much better in the run game, as he struggled to create movement and just got flat out beat on multiple occasions. Knight also appears less comfortable on the left side than he did in his one start on the right, as Knight is slower to cut off inside moves on the left side.

Terence Steele continues to perform as you would expect from an undrafted tackle — not well. Steele’s pass sets and hand techniques are inconsistent in pass protection, and he struggles mightily to make single blocks in the run game.

While Steele and Knight’s play is certainly an issue, the Cowboys are pretty much devoid of any solutions. Greg Senat certainly isn’t the answer, neither is practice squad OTs Jordan Mills, Williams Sweet and Eric Smith. Maybe Cameron Erving can be an ever-so-slight upgrade once he eventually returns, but he’s been dreadful when forced into the lineup in his previous stops.

In my opinion, the best move would be to move Zack Martin to left tackle (his college position) if/when he returns from his concussion, Knight to his more comfortable right tackle, and Connor McGovern to right guard until Joe Looney returns in the next couple weeks, as Martin would be more valuable going against the more potent edge rushers rather than wasting half his snaps against big defensive tackles who can’t rush much in the first place.

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