I Believe It Is Realistic To Talk Superbowl In 2006

[sonnyboy]

I think one thing that has been lost in our misery of missing the playoffs is how much this team actually improved.
It's very difficult to seriously talk about a 5-11 team with no obvious answer to the QB situation and a defense that surrendered over 400 points, making a Superbowl run.
In case you guys forgot, that's where we were Jan 3 2005.
LOOK HOW FAR WE'VE COME
JUST THINK OF WHERE WE MAY BE THIS TIME NEXT YEAR!

My assesment of key areas:

QB Very High
I believe in Bledsoe. He did very well for an immobile QB with no running game and very poor pass protection for the majority of the year. Can't believe how critical some of you have been. He far exceeded my expectations and I have no trouble invisioning him as next years Superbowl winning QB.
I also believe in Henson. I still thnk he's our next guy. Pedigree counts for something. This guy was highley recruited out of highschool and was exceptional in his limited college action. I can't believe anyone here has enough evidence to suggest let alone prove he's not the next potential franchise guy for us. People thought C. Simms was a bust and look at what he's doing for Tampa right now. I can easily see the same thing happening for us if Bledsoe gets hurt next year. Lets see what he looks like this coming preseason.

RB Very High

WR/TE High
I think TO will help put this unit and the team over the top.

OL Without Adams, this was the worst Dallas line I've seen in my 26 years following the team. Major resources must be allocated to this area. It kept us out of the playoffs this year! One major FA signing is a must. Two if possible.
At least two draft picks. Perhaps even our 1st round pick.

K Made our oline look good. Great kickers are rarely let go in FA. Not sure how we can solve this problem for certain unless we get alittle lucky.

DL Very High

LB High
Perhaps a midlevel FA signing and certainly a drafted rookie.

DB High
Sign a FA FS and draft a true FS to complement Roy. I feel like a broken record typing that in. Pleeeeeeease for the forth offseason in a row. I'm begging Pleeeeeease Bill Pleeeeease just do this one thing for me!


At the end of the day or the start of next season, I believe we will be a very popular Suberbowl pick.

[TheKey]

We don't even know who our coach is going to be.

[kingwhicker]

We don't even know who our coach is going to be.

Exactly- I think it's a bit premature. However, I would say at this point we have NO shot at winning the Super Bowl next year no matter if BP, JJ, Tom Landry, Joe Gibbs, or Vince Lombardi is here next year. The offensive playmakers are getting OLD- the offense better get rebuilt soon or we are going to be screwed for years to come. QB, both starting WRs, Rivera, Allen are all on the downside/end of their careers and Adams is coming back from a bad knee injury. The running backs are OK, nothing super special, but they'll do. Witten is fine. The other offensive linemen either suck or are achieving a low level of mediocrity. We are going to end up with a strong defense and a junk offense and by the time the offense gets fixed we'll lose half our defense to free agency. BP did this club no favors in the way he "rebuilt" the offense.

[utrunner07]

I
WR/TE High
I think TO will help put this unit and the team over the top.



So did Philli, look where it got them. Just say N.O. to T.O.

[CrazyCowboy]

I think one thing that has been lost in our misery of missing the playoffs is how much this team actually improved.
It's very difficult to seriously talk about a 5-11 team with no obvious answer to the QB situation and a defense that surrendered over 400 points, making a Superbowl run.
In case you guys forgot, that's where we were Jan 3 2005.
LOOK HOW FAR WE'VE COME
JUST THINK OF WHERE WE MAY BE THIS TIME NEXT YEAR!

My assesment of key areas:

QB Very High
I believe in Bledsoe. He did very well for an immobile QB with no running game and very poor pass protection for the majority of the year. Can't believe how critical some of you have been. He far exceeded my expectations and I have no trouble invisioning him as next years Superbowl winning QB.
I also believe in Henson. I still thnk he's our next guy. Pedigree counts for something. This guy was highley recruited out of highschool and was exceptional in his limited college action. I can't believe anyone here has enough evidence to suggest let alone prove he's not the next potential franchise guy for us. People thought C. Simms was a bust and look at what he's doing for Tampa right now. I can easily see the same thing happening for us if Bledsoe gets hurt next year. Lets see what he looks like this coming preseason.

RB Very High

WR/TE High
I think TO will help put this unit and the team over the top.

OL Without Adams, this was the worst Dallas line I've seen in my 26 years following the team. Major resources must be allocated to this area. It kept us out of the playoffs this year! One major FA signing is a must. Two if possible.
At least two draft picks. Perhaps even our 1st round pick.

K Made our oline look good. Great kickers are rarely let go in FA. Not sure how we can solve this problem for certain unless we get alittle lucky.

DL Very High

LB High
Perhaps a midlevel FA signing and certainly a drafted rookie.

DB High
Sign a FA FS and draft a true FS to complement Roy. I feel like a broken record typing that in. Pleeeeeeease for the forth offseason in a row. I'm begging Pleeeeeease Bill Pleeeeease just do this one thing for me!


At the end of the day or the start of next season, I believe we will be a very popular Suberbowl pick.

Nice post and I like your optimism.......I always believe Super Bowl until we are mathmatecally eliminated.

[demdcowboys#1]

BP will stay!!!!!!

I agree man with the addition of TO our offense will be on fire, and we already have a very talented defense, so we would be set. Add a kicker, a couple top notch O linemen, a FS, a couple young players, a TO, and we are set!!!!!!!
Look at our offense with TO, and imagine what Drew will be able to do behind a very improved OL(im pretty sure It'll get fixed alot this offseason)

QB- Drew Bledsoe
HB- Julius Jones, Marion Barber III
WR- Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Keyshawn Johnson, Patrick Crayton
TE- Jason Witten, Dan Campbell
OL- Larry Allen, Flozell Adams---(my predictions for rest of line)---LeCharles Bentley, Steve Hutchinson, Todd Steusie

That is sick!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DragonCowboy]

Parcells will not take the risk of T.O. Some of you are coming up with alot of good changes. Keep those, and without T.O., we would be an NFC East contender. My position about the Super Bowl is, anyone in the playoffs can make the Super Bowl. Anything is possible, just look at the Bears and the jump they made this year.

[demdcowboys#1]

BP can handle TO, and Irvin said he was interested in Dallas, Jerry said he'd take TO, BP can handle him and i think he comes to Dallas at leaset for 1 year, until we win SB 41:)

[Trip]

Before I can believe we are legit SB contenders, you have to tell me who is on the offensive line. Most important part of the team and it's where we are weakest by far.

Of course, I can be realistic now that it's the offseason. When training camp rolls around, I'll be thinking Super Bowl, too!

[Yeagermeister]

BP can handle TO, and Irvin said he was interested in Dallas, Jerry said he'd take TO, BP can handle him and i think he comes to Dallas at leaset for 1 year, until we win SB 41:)
Can he handle him? possibly....but he has said he is too old for knuckleheads and TO is the definition of the word.

[demdcowboys#1]

You never know with TO though. One day he could be whining, the other he could be good and perfect as could be.
I really would like to see him here though. He has so much talent and with an improved offensive line, there is no telling what Bledsoe could do if he had all those threats to go to(Key, Glenn, Witten, TO)

[DoomsDayD]

I think one thing that has been lost in our misery of missing the playoffs is how much this team actually improved.
It's very difficult to seriously talk about a 5-11 team with no obvious answer to the QB situation and a defense that surrendered over 400 points, making a Superbowl run.
In case you guys forgot, that's where we were Jan 3 2005.
LOOK HOW FAR WE'VE COME
JUST THINK OF WHERE WE MAY BE THIS TIME NEXT YEAR!

My assesment of key areas:

QB Very High
I believe in Bledsoe. He did very well for an immobile QB with no running game and very poor pass protection for the majority of the year. Can't believe how critical some of you have been. He far exceeded my expectations and I have no trouble invisioning him as next years Superbowl winning QB.
I also believe in Henson. I still thnk he's our next guy. Pedigree counts for something. This guy was highley recruited out of highschool and was exceptional in his limited college action. I can't believe anyone here has enough evidence to suggest let alone prove he's not the next potential franchise guy for us. People thought C. Simms was a bust and look at what he's doing for Tampa right now. I can easily see the same thing happening for us if Bledsoe gets hurt next year. Lets see what he looks like this coming preseason.

RB Very High

WR/TE High
I think TO will help put this unit and the team over the top.

OL Without Adams, this was the worst Dallas line I've seen in my 26 years following the team. Major resources must be allocated to this area. It kept us out of the playoffs this year! One major FA signing is a must. Two if possible.
At least two draft picks. Perhaps even our 1st round pick.

K Made our oline look good. Great kickers are rarely let go in FA. Not sure how we can solve this problem for certain unless we get alittle lucky.

DL Very High

LB High
Perhaps a midlevel FA signing and certainly a drafted rookie.

DB High
Sign a FA FS and draft a true FS to complement Roy. I feel like a broken record typing that in. Pleeeeeeease for the forth offseason in a row. I'm begging Pleeeeeease Bill Pleeeeease just do this one thing for me!


At the end of the day or the start of next season, I believe we will be a very popular Suberbowl pick.


I would love to talk superbowl 2006...but you know damn right well the cowboys wont be playing in it!!!!

[sonnyboy]

Thanks for all the replys. It's always nice to get them when you put a little time into a thread.

Nobody had anything to say about this huge jumb we made this year.
I know it's hard to be optimistic after just being eliminated, but it's even harder to deny our progress. 5-11, no QB no DEF to 9-7, borderline probowl QB, young, improving and at times dominating defense.

What are your thoughts on giving Henson some more time before we make a significant investment in our next QB?

[demdcowboys#1]

No Henson!!!

Our QB will be here for 3 more years, maybe 4. He is 33 and i think we get a QB when Drew turns 35. Develop a young talented QB from the draft. Henson is not the answer. We can trade for young talent or draft a young talented QB when Drew is nearing the end of his career(35 or 36 yrs old)

Develop a young QB, not Henson.......he's not the answer

[sonnyboy]

How can we honestly know at this point.
Let me review what we do know:
Highly recruited Highschool prospect. And I do mean highly recruited. Considered one of the best highschool prospects ever.
Sat behind a future hall of famer in Brady for two years.
Was everything Michigan could have hoped for when he did play.
Spent three years away from football. This time certainly deminished his feel for the game.
Traded for by Dallas and was no where close to being able to play at this level first year.
Showed no progress, perhaps even some regression with a change to mechanics.
Did we really think this guy would be ready to play after just one year with the team.
I didn't.
Maybe it's wishfull thinking, but I think he is our next QB and I believe were going to here alot of good things about him off the spring QB camps and see some even better things this preseason.

[Trip]

We have to find out about Henson.

Why have some given up on him?

Those discounting his age must remember he is one year older than Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, JP Losman, etc. He is still a young QB, and has a little more time. If he starts in 2007, he can still go on to have a solid 10 year career.

The throwing motion problem may not be a problem at all. He throws with a 3/4 arm angle, he's not sidearm guy like Rivers, and many QB's throw that way. It was said he was changing to improve his accuracy, but he was accurate in college and his first preseason. If you watch Bledsoe, he drops down to a sidearm occasionally. The problems he was going through may have just been experience level, and any young QB will go through that playing at the NFL level for the first time.

NFL Europe will be a proving ground for him. If he goes over there and shows his accuracy is what it was in the past at Michigan, and he can still make all the throws, then the throwing motion knock is a non-issue. We can chalk his struggles up to experience level. Next step for him after gaining confidence is winning back the #2 job in camp, then a minor injury (would never hope for anyone to get hurt) and your QB of the future may inherit his role just like Tom Brady did.

So no, I'm not ready to give up on Henson at all, especially since we have no idea about him yet.

[Trip]

How can we honestly know at this point.
Let me review what we do know:
Highly recruited Highschool prospect. And I do mean highly recruited. Considered one of the best highschool prospects ever.
Sat behind a future hall of famer in Brady for two years.
Was everything Michigan could have hoped for when he did play.
Spent three years away from football. This time certainly deminished his feel for the game.
Traded for by Dallas and was no where close to being able to play at this level first year.
Showed no progress, perhaps even some regression with a change to mechanics.
Did we really think this guy would be ready to play after just one year with the team.
I didn't.
Maybe it's wishfull thinking, but I think he is our next QB and I believe were going to here alot of good things about him off the spring QB camps and see some even better things this preseason.

Actually Brady sat behind Henson.

[sonnyboy]

That's my main point. We don't know. It drives me crazy when people say they do know. It's impossible to KNOW. I just can't get a handle on the Anti-Henson sentiment.
Are these people who hate Michigan. For the record I'm a PennState fan.

Carson Palmer was highly recruited Aikman was highly recruited. Both of these guys were thought to have a future in the NFL thoughout most of their college carrers.
Henson was headed along that path until the Yankees waved 13 mil in front of his face.

The way I see it is that most dynasties, exceptional teams over 6-8-10 years, are built around a franchise QB. They are hard to get. Henson stays with Michigan, who knows what happens. Maybe he's T. Couch and out of football by now. Maybe he's already played in a Superbowl. I do know we wouldn't have got him for a 3rd rd pick.

Bledsoe was a franchise QB. At this point maybe a couple nothces below. He does give us the time to evaluate Henson.

[sonnyboy]

Henson sat behind Brady. I'm fairly certain that Brady was at Michigan for two years before Henson came.

[Trip]

I think it has more to do with Parcells evaluation of him that has fans discouraged.

But I've heard Parcells say that you don't know about a QB until he's in a game situation.

Bottom line: BP has no intentions of developing a QB to win 2-3 years down the road.

He wants to win quick, and get out.

Bledsoe/Testaverde give him the best option of doing that.

Edit - you're right. Brady was gone in 2000 when Henson started. I was thinking he was still there.

[Maikeru-sama]

Well...

Parcells will have the same QB in place 2 years straight, which would be a first for him while in Dallas.

Again, posts like these assume we are working in a Vaccum.

Philly will be back...

Giants are only going to get better....

Gregg Williams just signed a 3 year extension...so that defense of the Skins is only going to get better and Gibbs looks like he still has it...

After missing the playoffs 2 years running and getting totally destroyed in the last one, I aint thinking Super Bowl, hell at this point I would really only want to talk about a Wild Card Berth LMAO!!!!

- Mike G.

[Trip]

Here's an NFL Draft profile of Henson.

Notice what it says about his delivery and passing mechanics.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/henson_drew

[REDVOLUTION]

We have to find out about Henson.

Why have some given up on him?

Those discounting his age must remember he is one year older than Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, JP Losman, etc. He is still a young QB, and has a little more time. If he starts in 2007, he can still go on to have a solid 10 year career.

The throwing motion problem may not be a problem at all. He throws with a 3/4 arm angle, he's not sidearm guy like Rivers, and many QB's throw that way. It was said he was changing to improve his accuracy, but he was accurate in college and his first preseason. If you watch Bledsoe, he drops down to a sidearm occasionally. The problems he was going through may have just been experience level, and any young QB will go through that playing at the NFL level for the first time.

NFL Europe will be a proving ground for him. If he goes over there and shows his accuracy is what it was in the past at Michigan, and he can still make all the throws, then the throwing motion knock is a non-issue. We can chalk his struggles up to experience level. Next step for him after gaining confidence is winning back the #2 job in camp, then a minor injury (would never hope for anyone to get hurt) and your QB of the future may inherit his role just like Tom Brady did.

So no, I'm not ready to give up on Henson at all, especially since we have no idea about him yet.

Eventually we have to hit on one of these baseball players... LMAO
Quincy, Hutchinson, Henson-ding,ding,ding!

[Maikeru-sama]

Here's an NFL Draft profile of Henson.

Notice what it says about his delivery and passing mechanics.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/henson_drew

Not trying to be harsh here, but this bio and stats were relevant about 5 years ago.

Im not intersted in evaluating Henson or Romo anymore.

I would like to keep Drew Bledsoe, sign a Vet in the offseason and draft a Rookie via the road most taken...

- Mike G.

[Trip]

Not trying to be harsh here, but this bio and stats were relevant about 5 years ago.

Im not intersted in evaluating Henson or Romo anymore.

I would like to keep Drew Bledsoe, sign a Vet in the offseason and draft a Rookie via the road most taken...

- Mike G.

No sweat. I posted his profile because I thought it was relevant, since I said something about his throwing motion, and the profile lauded him for it.

But you're entitled to your opinion of course like we all are. I won't give up on a guy that I haven't seen, who plays for a coach that hasn't given him an opportunity.

I may be wrong, he may not deserve that opportunity.

But you may too, his coach may just have a stubborn win now mentality.

Time will tell.

[dmq]

I would be optimistic if we had finisjed strong. We played much better in the first half. We had some bad injuries, but we seem like a team with no fire, just alot of gas....

[Rockytop6]

There is a differance in being optimistic, pessimistic and realistic.

If you are on a ship and it is sinking and you cry "man the lifeboats" some people would call you pessimistic when you are being realistic.

I don't see a sinking ship. I see a team that made some good progress this year but did not reach the level of expectations that a lot of people hoped and expected to see. However, the expectations were not realistic. Whenever some of us would point out that the SB was unrealistic this year we were instantly labeled as being "not true fans".

There were people coming out of TC even talking about going 16-0. Then when we were 5-3 after the first half of the season, these same people were talking about running the table the rest of the way. Then when we played the Giants for the division lead, some guaranteed a win and winning the division. When we lost then they guaranteed we would destroy Washington and eliminate them from the playoffs. A few kept cautioning people about Washington and again the cautious people were vilified as being "not true fans".

After the debacle in Washington, there were those who guaranteed that we would beat Carolina and the Rams and go far in the playoffs, in fact still win the SB. Those who said there was no guarantee that we will beat the Rams, were again castigated as being bandwagon fans.

We were destroyed by a bad team at home to end the season on a sour note and while we have drafted some top notch young players that should be the foundation of our future the Rams game revealed we still have a lot of work to do.

Now, two days after the debacle, there are those who are proclaiming we will win the SB next year. IS THERE NO END TO THE MADNESS?

Why can't we see our team for what it is? We have moved up from the bottom 5 in the League to the 13th team in the league. If we can stay healthy, and address successfully, RT, FS, K plus depth at 3 or 4 other places, stay injury free, and enjoy some of the good luck we have this year, we should make the playoffs. We have the potential of making some noise in the playoff as well.

BUT, if we have critical injuries; if we have some of our draftees or FA signings that turn out to be busts, AND if we don't bring in some disruptive FAs that could tear our team apart, then we could move up another notch and might even content for the SB but there are a lot of IFs, ANDs, and BUTs before we will know. I am not a cheerleader. I am an optimist tempered with realism.

[SkinsandTerps]

Personally, I think if TO becomes a Cowboy, Parcells will retire on principle alone.

[wxcpo]

Can he handle him? possibly....but he has said he is too old for knuckleheads and TO is the definition of the word.

Parcells isn't too old to handle knuckleheads, he's too old to handle players that aren't "yes" men. That's why he brings in all his old players, because they have proven to him that they are his type of players, they are yes men. Has anyone heard anything negative about Bryant since Parcells gave him away to Cleveland? He put up over 1000 yards playing for a crappy Cleveland team with Dilfer and rookie Frye throwing him passes.

[DragonSoul]

Nice to dream guys. Keep a dreaming. A coach who never fulfilled a contract as a coach. Rbs who have yet to play a full season or step up. A one trick pony in Glenn who likes to urinate in public places. A possession wr in Key who thinks he is better then he is.

Its funny how things change.

[Sarge]

We have ostensibly the worst OL in football and we didn't make the playoffs this year.

Superbowl in 2006 ? ? ?

Precisely the reason why so many get so upset when things don't go as "planned."