A private meeting at which wide receivers Terrell Owens, Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton aired grievances to assistant head coach Jason Garrett became public. Opponents, such as Baltimore's Ed Reed, said the offense was simplistic. Moments after the season-ending loss to Philadelphia, Tony Romo seemed to agree.

The Cowboys' major offensive numbers were down across the board from 2007. The luster seemed to have worn off Garrett's reputation as an offensive genius.

But executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team still has faith in Garrett, the NFL's highest-paid assistant head coach.

"No one wants excuses," Jones said, "but we played some top defenses. And if you look at the overall performance of the offense, especially look at the injuries we had, we were still very productive."

Romo missed three games with a fractured pinkie. Running back Marion Barber suffered a toe injury late in the year and was not the same. Tight end Jason Witten had shoulder, knee and ankle injuries. Williams had a troublesome foot. Guard Kyle Kosier missed all but three games. Felix Jones missed 10 games with hamstring and toe injuries.

While Garrett took the heat, he still interviewed for head coaching jobs for St. Louis, Denver and Detroit.

"I've had some great conversations with people recently who are at the pinnacle of their careers in Football and otherwise, and they all tell you the same thing - don't believe it when it's good and don't believe it when it's bad," Garrett said. "You have some things that you believe in as a person, as an organization, as a coach, as whatever you are, and you act on those things and you try to limit the distractions and you go forward."

As Garrett moves into his third season as a play-caller, he won't have Owens for the first time. For all of the real or perceived distractions caused by Owens, he produced 25 touchdowns with Garrett.

Owens' shadow will be cast over the Cowboys this season the way it was over San Francisco and Philadelphia when he left those organizations, and it will only grow if the Cowboys do not produce at or near the same level without him.

This off-season has been about implementing Williams' strengths into Garrett's system after he caught just 19 passes in 10 games after his trade from Detroit. It is also about working running backs Barber, Jones and Tashard Choice into some kind of rotation.

This off-season, players have noticed a more demanding Garrett in the meeting room and on the field. At the two organized team activities open to the media, Garrett has preached tempo and perfection. If a play isn't executed perfectly, Garrett has the players run it again.

Garrett's foundation is the preparation, either the coaches' or the players', that leads to proper execution.

"I think there's always pressure," he said. "Anytime you're a player or a coach in the National Football League there's pressure to do well. I came to grips with that probably 17, 18 years ago. It's just the nature of the beast. That's why most of us are doing what we're doing."

WATCH VIDEO of receiver Roy Williams and running back Felix Jones discussing the Cowboys' offensive outlook.

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Offensive downturn

The Cowboys' offensive production under Jason Garrett tailed off in all facets from 2007, his first season as coordinator, to 2008:

322/291

2007/2008

First downs

5,851/5,512

2007/2008

Total yards

1,746/1,723

2007/2008

Rushing yards

14/12

2007/2008

Rushing TDs

4,105/3,789

2007/2008

Passing yards

36/29

2007/2008

Passing TDs

28.4/22.6

2007/2008

Points per game