A Dallas Cowboys football blog

Era of mediocrity continues for Dallas in 2012

1 Comment

The Cowboys came into the 2012 draft looking to shore up their defense. They had the 14th pick overall and the one defensive back they really wanted wouldn’t fall that far.

LSU’s Morris Claiborne was highly touted, despite a wrist injury he’d have surgery on during the offseason.

So Dallas traded their first and second round picks and moved up to the sixth overall pick. They selected Claiborne with that pick.

He was a good cornerback, when he could remain healthy enough to play. And that ultimately was the problem.

Era of mediocrity continues for Dallas in 2012
Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne (24) on the sidelines in the final seconds of the team’s loss. The Chicago Bears defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 34-18, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Monday, October 1, 2012. (Ron Jenkins/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

In the five years he was on the roster, the Cowboys played in 80 regular season games. Claiborne played in just 47 of them, starting in 43.

He would have four interceptions and 151 tackles over five seasons in Dallas before moving on to the Jets and Chiefs. He was out of the NFL after the 2019 season.

Missed Opportunities

Some of the players Dallas passed on in favor of Claiborne?

Safety/Linebacker Mark Barron (nine interceptions, 710 tackles); Linebacker Luke Kuechly; and defensive lineman Fletcher Cox.

Oh, there was one other defensive back Dallas could have taken 6th in 2012. Stephon Gilmore.

Yes, the same Gilmore who has 29 career interceptions and was just signed by Dallas as a free agent this season.

Have we mentioned Jerry Jones is not the best drafter and/or trader in NFL history yet?

Road Warriors

For the fifth-straight year the Cowboys would open the season on the road. For the second year in a row they would play at New York to begin the season.

After losing their last two season-opening games, the Cowboys looked to start 2012 in better shape.

It was mission accomplished as Dallas avenged their season-ending loss to the Giants a year before. Romo threw three touchdowns to lead the Cowboys to a 24-17 win over New York.

Dismal First Half

Dallas struggled over the first half of the schedule. After the Giants’ win, they dropped a 27-7 decision to the Seahawks.

They rebounded to beat Tampa Bay 16-10, only to drop two straight to the Bears (34-18) and the Ravens (31-29).

Era of mediocrity continues for Dallas in 2012 1
Wide receiver Torrey Smith #82 of the Baltimore Ravens catches a touchdown pass in front of cornerback Morris Claiborne #24 of the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on October 14, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

A win over Carolina (19-14) was followed by two more losses. The Giants handed Dallas a 29-24 loss at home.

The Cowboys stumbled to 3-5 on the season with a 19-13 loss at Atlanta. The fan base started calling for Garrett’s head at this point.

Second-Half Surge

Dallas turned things around with a 38-23 win at Philadelphia. After trailing 13-3 going into the final quarter, Dallas rallied for a 23-20 overtime win over the Browns.

The Cowboys fell behind 28-3 at home against the Redskins on Thanksgiving. A furious rally in the second half fell short in a critical 38-31 loss.

Dallas reeled off three straight wins over the Eagles (38-33), Bengals (20-19), and in overtime over the Steelers (27-24).

But the Cowboys could not win a third overtime game, falling 34-31 at home to the Saints. They would have to beat the Redskins on the road for the division title.

Another Season-Ending Misfire

The Cowboys would jump out to an early 7-0 lead on a Romo to Jason Witten 9-yard pass midway through the first quarter.

Era of mediocrity continues for Dallas in 2012 2
LANDOVER MD, DECEMBER 30: Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) , right, holds the ball in the arms of Washington running back Alfred Morris (46), center, and watches Dallas outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware (94), left, to decide to keep the ball or hand off. In this case Griffin handed the ball off because Ware shutdown Griffin’s lane during the Washington Redskins defeat of the Dallas Cowboys 28 – 18 for first place of the NFC East division and a playoff spot at FedEx in Landover MD, December 30, 2012 .(Photo by John McDonnell/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

But Alfred Morris would rush for 200 yards and three touchdowns, powering the Redskins to a 28-18 victory.

Washington won the division. The Cowboys went home with another 8-8 finish and another year out of the playoffs.

Richard Paolinelli

Staff Writer

Richard Paolinelli is a sports journalist and author. In addition to his work at InsideTheStar.com, he has a Substack -- Dispatches From A SciFi Scribe – where he discusses numerous topics, including sports in general. He started his newspaper career in 1991 with the Gallup (NM) Independent before going to the Modesto (CA) Bee, Gustine (CA) Press-Standard, and Turlock (CA) Journal -- where he won the 2001 Best Sports Story, in the annual California Newspaper Publishers Association’s Better Newspapers Contest. He then moved to the Merced (CA) Sun-Star, Tracy (CA) Press, Patch and finished his career in 2011 with the San Francisco (CA) Examiner. He has written two Non-Fiction sports books, 11 novels, and has over 30 published short stories.

Follow this author:

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments