NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin has become the latest voice to express frustration over the Dallas Cowboys disappointing season, following their embarrassing 47-9 blowout loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
The Cowboys, who many believed would be Super Bowl contenders, are now facing mounting criticism from across the league – including from former stars like Irvin.
During an appearance on the Come and Talk 2 Me podcast, Irvin didn’t hold back, stating that the Cowboys are in a full-blown crisis.
“That thing on the wall that says break glass in case of emergency, crack that sh*t now, right now,” Irvin said. “I’m sounding the alarm for the help that they need on offense.”
Irvin’s concerns go beyond just the offensive struggles. Even with defensive stars like DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons returning from injury, Irvin remains skeptical that the team can turn things around.
“I’m not sounding the alarm thinking that even with DeMarcus Lawrence and Micah Parsons coming back, that’s going to be sufficient enough to stop the holes and the bleeding on that defense,” Irvin said, making it clear that Dallas’s problems run deep on both sides of the ball.
Irvin, one of the greatest players in Cowboys history, has repeatedly urged his old team to make significant moves to strengthen their offense.
He has specifically called for the Cowboys to trade for Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams. However, they were beaten to the punch by the New York Jets and likely were never really in the race.
Irvin’s frustrations echo the sentiments of many Cowboys fans, who have watched their team struggle to establish any offensive rhythm since running back Tony Pollard left for the Tennessee Titans in free agency.
The offense has sputtered all season, unable to find consistency, and Irvin sees no easy fix for the defense either, which has allowed over 40 points twice in six games.
Dallas’s defense ranks among the worst in the NFL, giving up an average of 28 points per game, only ahead of the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars.
In their six games, the Cowboys’ three wins have come against teams with lackluster offenses like the Browns, Giants, and Steelers – hardly a reassuring sign for a team aiming to contend in the NFC East.
(Having said that, the NFC East looks much weaker than originally thought.)
Of course, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is taking a beating for much more than his team’s poor play on the field these days.
Jones embroiled himself in a major controversy yesterday when he verbally attacked a Dallas radio host and threated to have him removed from his job.
“Listen, let me tell you what I’ll do about it, I will let us sit down and look at the decisions we’ve made over the last several years. OK? I’ll look at it,” Jones said during his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. Now if you think I’m interested on a damn phone call with you over the radio and sitting here and throwing all the good out with the dishwater, you’d have got to be smoking something over there this morning.
“I’m not. And I really don’t … And I don’t even want our listeners listening to me talk about. This is not your job. Your job isn’t to let me go over the reasons that I did something and I’m sorry that I did it. That’s not your job … That’s not your job or I’ll get somebody else to ask these questions, men. No, no. I’m not kidding.”
In some ways, the bye week has come at the perfect time for Jones and the Cowboys. However, you could certainly make the argument that the best cure to all of the noise is to get right back on the field and win.
Unfortunately for Dallas, they’ll have to wait two weeks. Making matters worse, their next game is against the reigning NFC champion San Francisco 49ers.
In other words, there’s a very real possibility the Cowboys end up falling to 3-4 on the season which would only ratchet up the heat even further on Jones and the entire franchise.
What are your thoughts on the mess in Dallas?
Do you side with Irvin? … Or do you think his criticism is a tad too harsh???