Your biggest reason for optimism

[Starforever]

The fresh crisp smell of new and change.

 

[gtb1943]

The fresh crisp smell of new and change.

problem is a fish rots from the head and guess who are head is?

so its hard to separate the smell of rot from anything good.

 

[conner01]

Just prior to the start of training camp, I wanted to talk about the general feeling of optimism for this upcoming season (or not if you’re feeling pessimistic).

I honestly feel more optimistic about this team than I have in several years.

I think they’re really capable of competing for a Championship this year.
My own biggest reason for being optimistic is mainly the defense.

In Year One under Schottenheimer, the Cowboys offense was playoff caliber. It wasn’t perfect, but it was right there among the best. And all starters are returning, so I feel good about that side of the ball.

But the 2025 defense was an absolute disaster. And there’s nowhere to go but up. And I feel they’ve improved a great deal in personnel.

But I’m most impressed with the coaching staff they’ve been able to put together.

Consider the pedigree of these coaches:

• Christian Parker - he’s coached several of the best defensive backs in the entire league. In 2025, his Eagles secondary ranked 8th in passing defense (189.8 ypg) and 5th in scoring defense (19.1 ppg) and allowed the fewest passing touchdowns in the league.
• Derrick Ansley - In 2025, his Packers pass defense ranked 11th in the NFL, giving up 194.1 yards per game.
• Marcus Dixon - In 2025, the Vikings defensive unit ranked 2nd in passing yards allowed (158.5 ypg). Dixon has had a significant impact on both the defensive linemen as well as the linebackers in his defense.
• Brandon "BT" Jordan - served as a pass rush specialist for the Denver Broncos, where he helped coach a unit that ranked 1st in the NFL in total sacks.

The proven track record of this staff is what gives the most confidence going into this season.

I’m really excited by Jordon. Think he’s gonna work wonders with our pass rushers

 

[kskboys]

It was obvious. Just about everybody believes this.

Signs sure do point that way. This was simply not a Jerry-like draft.

 

[kskboys]

So you have no proof. All you have is a hunch.


Great.....

The players we've acquired this offseason are simply not typical Jerry acquisitions. Are you saying Jerry suddenly grew a football brain? I mean, it's a bigger reach to think Jerry was behind this than to think Jerry let his coaches make decisions.

 

[75boyz]

I'm optimistic because I haven't watched Week 1 yet

LOL!
Freaking love it.

 

[Diehardblues]

I’m optimistic our defense will be much improved . Beyond that have to wait and see.

The pain and disappointment from this era coupled with most dysfunctional ownership should have prepared us to be more cautiously optimistic.

 

[Diehardblues]

I think some fans just need to feel excited or optimistic heading into a season. But we’ve been down this road too many times.

That said, I’m excited about football season , my favorite time of the year regardless what the Cowboys do. Winning does make it more fun. I can still remember.

Too many things can go wrong with this dysfunctional organization to be too optimistic.

 

[Jstopper]

I’m optimistic this team will be better overall. Which is a fairly low bar considering that since the 2023 season, this team is 14-19-1.

The worst defense in team history has nowhere to go but up. I am optimistic about Christian Parker helping turn this dumpster defense of the last two years become better. We have an infusion of talent at several positions and Parker’s new influence has certainly been a shot of good adrenaline.

Having said that, Parker is not likely to go from a defensive assistant to a HOF coordinator in one season. I don’t think it will be immediate. And we still have holes at LB and edge. Lots of question marks.

This team has the talent to make the playoffs and I believe they probably will. The question after that is do they have enough to compete with the big boys in the playoffs? I doubt it. Sorry - just keeping it real.

Are the other playoff teams constructed with perfect rosters? They have no holes either, only the cowboys have holes right?

 

[Bigrandrn]

Very nice job.
I couldn't have summarized things any better myself. I share pretty much all your defensive concerns as well.

BUT... Besides sharing your defensive personnel opinions I ultimately struggle with both offensive tackles making it through a full season as effective passblockers and then Dak's ability to beat 4 straight playoff teams is very challenging for me to see.

Yeah, the tackles are a question….but, they were a similar question last year and we still had a top O….so I have faith that even with some minor injury, they can still be a upper echelon O…hopefully lol. Yeah, Dak, I just don’t know what to think….we have seen him perform like a stud and be a top QB in the reg season, but some games he just stinks (happens to all QB occasionally, but he does it in the playoffs too much)…not sure if it’s just an occasional bad game, or it’s psych and he will get a mental block in bigger playoff games.

 

[acr731]

The players we've acquired this offseason are simply not typical Jerry acquisitions. Are you saying Jerry suddenly grew a football brain? I mean, it's a bigger reach to think Jerry was behind this than to think Jerry let his coaches make decisions.

That still doesn't provide proof that Jerry stepped aside. Let's take the Parker hire, for example. Maybe Jerry thought he was pulling something by luring him away from Philly. He wasn't their defensive coordinator. So who knows why that decision was really made.

I'm only arguing that no one knows 100%, including Stallone Bro, that Jerry is letting anyone make decisions. Bro said "just about everybody believes this", which isn't true. Aside from you and Bro almost no one believes it, so where's the proof Jerry is stepping back and allowing that to happen?

After what Dallas fans have endured the past 30 years are you really going to put that much trust so quickly in that guy? You would be a fool to do so.

 

[BlindFaith]

Defense has top 10 potential and should be good enough to be playoff competitive.

So it comes down to the QB, as it does for most teams.

Does Dak have the ability to win a SuperBowl? If he plays his best game, yes.

Can we count on Dak playing his absolute best during a playoff run? Thats the concern. My money would be on no.

But I am optimistic that we should be in the playoff hunt. The defense may start a little slow, but will get better with each game. Watching what they do week to week will be fun.

 

[ArtClink]

The Jones family could sell the team. If that happens, I will have unlimited optimism. Otherwise, the past 30 seasons make optimism very tough.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I think some fans just need to feel excited or optimistic heading into a season. But we’ve been down this road too many times.

That said, I’m excited about football season , my favorite time of the year regardless what the Cowboys do. Winning does make it more fun. I can still remember.

Too many things can go wrong with this dysfunctional organization to be too optimistic.

The good thing is this year we didn’t try to find optimism after a offseason of doing nothing. Those years are tough. Even if we struggle this year I can honestly say they did enough this offseason it just may have not been enough to overcome years of neglect and draft misses….

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Defense has top 10 potential and should be good enough to be playoff competitive.

So it comes down to the QB, as it does for most teams.

Does Dak have the ability to win a SuperBowl? If he plays his best game, yes.

Can we count on Dak playing his absolute best during a playoff run? Thats the concern. My money would be on no.

But I am optimistic that we should be in the playoff hunt. The defense may start a little slow, but will get better with each game. Watching what they do week to week will be fun.

I don’t see top 10 potential but i sure hope so. That would be a pleasant surprise.

 

[John813]

Defense can't be worse than last year, right?

Draft looks good on paper and they actually signed decent players in FA.

 

[kskboys]

That still doesn't provide proof that Jerry stepped aside. Let's take the Parker hire, for example. Maybe Jerry thought he was pulling something by luring him away from Philly. He wasn't their defensive coordinator. So who knows why that decision was really made.

I'm only arguing that no one knows 100%, including Stallone Bro, that Jerry is letting anyone make decisions. Bro said "just about everybody believes this", which isn't true. Aside from you and Bro almost no one believes it, so where's the proof Jerry is stepping back and allowing that to happen?

After what Dallas fans have endured the past 30 years are you really going to put that much trust so quickly in that guy? You would be a fool to do so.

Absolutely. And there's no proof he didn't. So, there we are. However, there are more signs he did than he didn't.

 

[kskboys]

I don’t see top 10 potential but i sure hope so. That would be a pleasant surprise.

3-4 rooks would have to be able to play immediately at a decent level to vault us into top 10.

 

[G2]

Biggest reason for me is it pisses some fans off.

 

[Bobhaze]

Are the other playoff teams constructed with perfect rosters? They have no holes either, only the cowboys have holes right?

You’re right. No team is perfect. Every team has roster holes. It’s just that some are bigger than others.

There are about 6-8 teams that have really good rosters and have a realistic chance to win the SB. IMO Dallas is not one of them.

I think we are a much better team for sure and I think we have a good shot to make the playoffs. Beyond that I have serious doubts. Hope I’m wrong.