[TwoDeep3]

Originally Posted by Yakuza Rich

Here’s a look at the last 10 Super Bowl winners and what they did in the prior season (in parenthesis)

2011 NY Giants (10-6 missed playoffs)
2010 Green Bay (wildcard team)
2009 New Orleans (8-8 missed playoffs)
2008 Pittsburgh (division winner)
2007 NY Giants (8-8 missed playoffs)
2006 Indianapolis (division winner)
2005 Pittsburgh (division winner)
2004 New England (Super Bowl Champ)
2003 New England (9-7 missed playoffs)
2002 Tampa Bay (wildcard team)

As you can see, 4 of the last 10 winners won their division the prior year. And 2 came from the SpyGate Patriots (w/Brady). One came from Peyton Manning. And the other 2 came from the Steelers and Roethlisberger.

The other 6 teams were either wildcard teams or went .500+ and missed the playoffs the prior season.

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[View Full Quote]There is no reason why this team can’t be ultimately successful in 2013 if they play their cards right (insert your "Jerry is incompetent" remarks) and get a little bit of luck on our side.

YR

The bolded part is the important part.

Parity is a lovely word which has no meaning in this case. Sorry, but for far too long Dallas fans have made excuses why the team is still just middle of the road. Listing teams prior to their Super Bowl seasons is a feel good approach that bears no fruit since nothing is ever the same about teams in this league.

Outside of the 2002 Tampa Bay Bucs, what do the others have in common?

Top flight quarterbacks.

Now that can be argued several ways. On the one hand you can argue about every one of those guys. Or argue that stats say Romo should be on that list. But how many of them have the reputation - deserved or not - that he chokes in the clutch?

Not one on the list below.

So go through the list from earliest to latest.

Brady
Brady
Rapesmysister
Manning P.
Manning E.
Rapesmysister
Brees
Rodgers
Manning E.

So all the 8-8 and hoopla you list ignores that these are the top quarterbacks in the league year-in and year-out.

And your excuse making for Romo is the same as it always is from fans here. He throws a pick and the fans begin the reconstruction of why it was picked and in every scenario it comes up to be someone else that was at fault.

The Jets game opening day last year had Romo fumble at a crucial time and throw the same pick he threw in Pittsburgh a few years before - roll right and ignore the cornerback.

This board went ballistic trying to rewrite history by saying it was the blocked punt that lost the game.

It was not then, and Ogletree is not why Romo threw the pick last might.

We can discuss the failure of Dallas because of the defense. In some regard that has legs since the defense does cave at times. But this is a game of team, and it takes two pretty solid units to win.

So it comes back to talent acquisition, coaching, and the players. No earth shattering information there.

GM is a constant and its lack of building the right team is evident to anyone.

Coaching is another area that is a concern. Regardless of your inside source and the wonderful things said about Garrett, he still did not make a simple adjustment to the blitz all night.

If they are coming from the back side, then put people in motion and move the two tight end set to the left side of the line.

Haslet made an adjustment and tried to overwhelm Romo from his blind side. Garrett did NOTHING to counter that move.

So all the hosanna and halleluiah about Garrett ignore he is a step late in his thinking.

But with all the talk about how talented this team is, let's ask the question, is it really?

Austin seems to get hurt at the wrong times. Regardless of the injury and how it occurred there is a portion of the season that Austin is on the sidelines. This is SUPPOSED to be the deep threat. The team doesn't have the speed he has anywhere else that can be counted on.

Dez is a possession receiver that has the ability to break them for TDs, but the passes usually are intermediate and he out muscles the defender. But last night he had no help on the other side and this team did not have the one guy who could challenge Hall and force a double team.

The Offense Line was built on spare parts because the GM did not do his diligence over the last four years and quietly draft solid linemen. He lives under the philosophy that finding wounded players who should have been drafted higher is the ticket. Taking players that were not more than mediocre from other teams cast-offs because a change of locale can sometimes make them better is continually not working.

No block - no win. It is simple as that.

Murray has one more year and then he will be considered an injury waiting to happen. His ability to move the chains makes the team better. But if he has Austinitis and cannot stay on the field, he could be Walter Payton and it wouldn't matter.

Felix is now a wasted pick. He brings nothing to the table.

The Tight Ends are special. Hannah will be special if we have a coach that can exploit their abilities.

Tony Romo is a guy that is asked to do too much because people see gaudy stats and seem to forget when the lights are the brightest, he tries too hard and makes poor decisions. Make him a bus driver and he will bring home the trophy.

Ask him to be John Elway in the Cleveland game, forcing him to make the winning drive, and you get a pick on a screen that should never have been thrown.

So this is your problem.

GM - big problem - incompetent, arrogant, doesn't learn from his mistakes
coaching - fairly big problem - slow on the up tick, and doesn't learn from his mistakes
players - fairly big problem, not as much talent as people think

And in all that, it comes back to the GM that meddles because he has to be involved as the final arbiter of every decision. And that wrecks the chain of command.

So all the what ifs about the other teams has nothing to do with this dysfunctional team. From top to bottom the Dallas Cowboys are an average team, have been for fourteen years for the most part, and will continue to be so as long as the organization is run as it is.