The 2026 NFL (and Cowboys) Reset

[zekecowboy]

Ive been broken recording that 2027 is the 1st foreseeable year to " making a run"

And of course that predicated on marked and tangible improvement during this current season.

If the last few weeks of the season still look like this on defense, the next thing I'll be posting is 2028.

2029, not many draft picks in 2027.

 

[MarcusRock]

The pass interference call against Bland in that game was a terrible call. You seem to be deadset on pointing out only when there is a bad call against one of our opponents. I don't know why you feel that is your duty.

'Cause I'm right when I do.

Where there is whine, I'm there to opine.

Show me the Bland play and I'll do that too.

 

[gimmesix]

'Cause I'm right when I do.

Where there is whine, I'm there to opine.

Show me the Bland play and I'll do that too.

I figured you'd know which play since you know the bad calls in Dallas' favor so well.

Here it is:

 

[gimmesix]

'Cause I'm right when I do.

Where there is whine, I'm there to opine.

Show me the Bland play and I'll do that too.

I also thought the fumble call against Ferguson was questionable. It didn't look like he ever had complete control of the ball on the shovel pass before it got knocked out.

Here's what he had to say about it:

“I had a conversation with the refs — I’m not even going to go into that. The shovel, we were a little late on it, and then, me just getting it, caught it funky, and as I’m trying to put it away, I’m turning upfield at the same time, and I’ve got the big biscuit right in front of me, punching at it as I’m literally trying to put it away,” Ferguson said.


“I don’t think I had possession of it. I never tucked it away. I had it vertical, like a loaf of bread at one point, and I’m trying to tuck it away. Just a big guy in a bad spot, and it was not a good picture for me when I was trying to turn up for that one.”

Gene Steratore said during the game that he was surprised that the call stood. “I just don’t think Jake Ferguson has possession of that football firmly enough… I think it’s incomplete, personally.”

 

[MarcusRock]

I figured you'd know which play since you know the bad calls in Dallas' favor so well.

Here it is:

For sure it was a pushoff on Flowers but where they got Bland was he lifted his leg as he fell to trip Flowers and did. Could have called it on both but only called it on Bland.

 

[MarcusRock]

I also thought the fumble call against Ferguson was questionable. It didn't look like he ever had complete control of the ball on the shovel pass before it got knocked out.

Here's what he had to say about it:

“I had a conversation with the refs — I’m not even going to go into that. The shovel, we were a little late on it, and then, me just getting it, caught it funky, and as I’m trying to put it away, I’m turning upfield at the same time, and I’ve got the big biscuit right in front of me, punching at it as I’m literally trying to put it away,” Ferguson said.


“I don’t think I had possession of it. I never tucked it away. I had it vertical, like a loaf of bread at one point, and I’m trying to tuck it away. Just a big guy in a bad spot, and it was not a good picture for me when I was trying to turn up for that one.”

Gene Steratore said during the game that he was surprised that the call stood. “I just don’t think Jake Ferguson has possession of that football firmly enough… I think it’s incomplete, personally.”

From what I remember on this one I didn't think Ferguson had possession.

There. See?

 

[Kwyn]

The biggest thing to overcome IMO is the Jones FO.

Yeah I know that is a broken record and some are tired of hearing it. BUT - the biggest reason that is our biggest problem is Jerry and Stephen are really bad at rebuilds. They don’t know how to construct a roster that wins playoff games.

When you look at the best teams we’ve had since our last SB run in ‘95…Parcells built the team that got the #1 seed in 2007 and underperformed in the divisional round. Then the 2014-18 teams were pretty good. Those 2021-2023 teams were Big Mac’s influence….i guess.

But none of them got us anywhere in the playoffs outside of an occasional wc win.

JJ and SJ can market better than anyone. But roster builders they ain’t. Will McClay is a decent talent scout. That’s not enough. Until they get some real roster building talent, we will probably keep getting what we’ve been getting.

I typed this “that’s what happens when you don’t have football people running the front office

But Jerry and Stephen have both been at this for 37 years.

That’s more experience than anyone currently active in the league. Second is Andy Reid at 35 years.

So, there’s no denying they are “football people”. They’re just bad at it. And that’s why we’ll not win another Super Bowl with them in place.

 

[Kevinicus]

For sure it was a pushoff on Flowers but where they got Bland was he lifted his leg as he fell to trip Flowers and did. Could have called it on both but only called it on Bland.

Ridiculous.

 

[Coogiguy03]

So many things can happen that's the unpredictable ways of the NFL!

 

[Bobhaze]

I typed this “that’s what happens when you don’t have football people running the front office

But Jerry and Stephen have both been at this for 37 years.

That’s more experience than anyone currently active in the league. Second is Andy Reid at 35 years.

So, there’s no denying they are “football people”. They’re just bad at it. And that’s why we’ll not win another Super Bowl with them in place.

I would make a terrible financial advisor or accountant. I could do it for 37 years and still be bad at it.

Thats the problem with Jones FO. Those guys have been doing this for nearly four decades. If they haven’t been that good by now, they aren’t going to be. They are great at marketing. They are not at hiring HCs or roster building.

They aren’t the worst. But the worst GMs get fired after 4-5 years if they don’t get acceptable results. The lifetime contracts and nepotism is what’s killing us.

 

[Acceptablename]

Each summer, during training camp and pre-season game time, fans and sports pundits look at the draft, FA signings, previous season performance, and upcoming season schedules then confidently predict how the NFL season will play out. It’s a tradition we all usually participate in.

Then the season starts and reality sets in.

After nearly 25% of the season - surprise!! - we have some surprises. Who had the giants leading the NFCE at 3-1? Who had the raiders at 3-1 after 4 games? Who had Cle at 3-1 and leading the AFC North? Who had the Texans and that (supposed) “great” defense starting 0-4? Who had the “mighty” rams fighting to be 2-2? The e-girls looking bad at 2-2? The list goes on….

I know - It’s way too early to say these surprise teams or trends are a lock. Things will change. But it’s not too early to recognize the NFL is always in a state of flux.

Truth is the NFL resets itself every year. And the Cowboys are also certainly also in a reset. Especially on defense.

The Cowboys defense is full of young players who will take some time to develop and learn the scheme that their 34 year old rookie DC is trying to implement. After 4 games it’s obvious this defense is still (to put it kindly) a long way from being good. But it can get better because the talent level is better than last year. But it may take weeks.

Here are the simple truths about what the Cowboys are so far:

• This is a team with a very good offense that needs to score 30 every week to win.
• This is team with a very young defense trying to find itself.
• Right now, this team is exactly what its record says it is - mediocre.

The NFL is in a reset like it does every year. And the Cowboys are certainly in one too. Our 2-2 record says exactly who we are so far. Good on offense, bad on defense. If the defense can improve as we go, we might be a playoff team. If not, the reset continues into 2027.

Good write up

 

[kskboys]

Ive been broken recording that 2027 is the 1st foreseeable year to " making a run"

And of course that predicated on marked and tangible improvement during this current season.

If the last few weeks of the season still look like this on defense, the next thing I'll be posting is 2028.

Spot on.

This window is closing fast. Dak is 33, which means he will start going downhill soon. We have 27 and maybe 28, and then no matter what dumbo Jerry thinks, it will be time to reset.

I have no idea what Parker is doing, but overall it is not working. Fix it now or move on. Give him time? Yeah yeah yeah, how much are we asking for? Like 3 years? This D is a clusterfudge, fix it.

 

[kskboys]

I would make a terrible financial advisor or accountant. I could do it for 37 years and still be bad at it.

Thats the problem with Jones FO. Those guys have been doing this for nearly four decades. If they haven’t been that good by now, they aren’t going to be. They are great at marketing. They are not at hiring HCs or roster building.

They aren’t the worst. But the worst GMs get fired after 4-5 years if they don’t get acceptable results. The lifetime contracts and nepotism is what’s killing us.

This last draft made sense and was great. Before that, we were still making massive mistakes like Mazi.

 

[Captain-Crash]

I can feel a " I hate Jerry thread being written up soon."

 

[SpaceCowboy99]

While true, Dak hit Pickens at the end of the Baltimore game and we are 3-2. Really changes your perspective.

Say we beat TB and GB (as we should) over the next two games. Then we’d be 4-2. Does that suddenly mean we’ve turned things around and are now a much better team? No. But we’d be 4-2!!! And at the end of the day, that’s what matters. The season isn’t over, and a couple of wins can completely change the way things look. Right now we are in the middle of it and how you finish is more important.

I would say that if the refs didn't blow some Houston calls when they stopped Dallas 27 times at the goal line but finally they scored because of all the chances they were given, Dallas doesn't score there, the game was going to be over. And we are 1-3.

 

[shabazz]

Spot on.

This window is closing fast. Dak is 33, which means he will start going downhill soon. We have 27 and maybe 28, and then no matter what dumbo Jerry thinks, it will be time to reset.

I have no idea what Parker is doing, but overall it is not working. Fix it now or move on. Give him time? Yeah yeah yeah, how much are we asking for? Like 3 years? This D is a clusterfudge, fix it.

CP has a marked improved roster than what Uberpuss had to work with so there's that.

IMO, the FO should be expecting to see real improvement by weeks 6-8. If by the end of the season there hasn't been improvement they will have to either blame it on the roster or CP.

There's no outside GM to blame so they most likely will do what they've done the last 3 seasons..... blame the DC

 

[MarcusRock]

Ridiculous.

Insightful and detailed analysis! Lol. But it did make me go back and look and what I thought was Bland reaching out his right leg to trip from the side view was actually Flowers stepping on his left foot causing Flowers to fall when you watch the reverse view. Now it is interesting that when Bland got up, he immediately put his hands up like he didn't do anything as if he knew it could be interpreted as him tripping Flowers versus complaining about a pushoff. It appears they went with that former coulda. So again, they could have called both ways or just called it incidental contact and left it alone.

 

[shabazz]

This last draft made sense and was great. Before that, we were still making massive mistakes like Mazi.

Yeah but the "Mazi on thePlyo-Stairs" video was their main scouting tool on him.

 

[shabazz]

Insightful and detailed analysis! Lol. But it did make me go back and look and what I thought was Bland reaching out his right leg to trip from the side view was actually Flowers stepping on his left foot causing Flowers to fall when you watch the reverse view. Now it is interesting that when Bland got up, he immediately put his hands up like he didn't do anything as if he knew it could be interpreted as him tripping Flowers versus complaining about a pushoff. It appears they went with that coulda. So again, they could have called both ways or just called it incidental.

Respectively and without deep dive analysis......that call was atrocious

Perhaps the hands up was to the refs saying "wth"

 

[blueblood70]

Each summer, during training camp and pre-season game time, fans and sports pundits look at the draft, FA signings, previous season performance, and upcoming season schedules then confidently predict how the NFL season will play out. It’s a tradition we all usually participate in.

Then the season starts and reality sets in.

After nearly 25% of the season - surprise!! - we have some surprises. Who had the giants leading the NFCE at 3-1? Who had the raiders at 3-1 after 4 games? Who had Cle at 3-1 and leading the AFC North? Who had the Texans and that (supposed) “great” defense starting 0-4? Who had the “mighty” rams fighting to be 2-2? The e-girls looking bad at 2-2? The list goes on….

I know - It’s way too early to say these surprise teams or trends are a lock. Things will change. But it’s not too early to recognize the NFL is always in a state of flux.

Truth is the NFL resets itself every year. And the Cowboys are also certainly also in a reset. Especially on defense.

The Cowboys defense is full of young players who will take some time to develop and learn the scheme that their 34 year old rookie DC is trying to implement. After 4 games it’s obvious this defense is still (to put it kindly) a long way from being good. But it can get better because the talent level is better than last year. But it may take weeks.

Here are the simple truths about what the Cowboys are so far:

• This is a team with a very good offense that needs to score 30 every week to win.
• This is team with a very young defense trying to find itself.
• Right now, this team is exactly what its record says it is - mediocre.

The NFL is in a reset like it does every year. And the Cowboys are certainly in one too. Our 2-2 record says exactly who we are so far. Good on offense, bad on defense. If the defense can improve as we go, we might be a playoff team. If not, the reset continues into 2027.

I’m in the group that believes strength of schedule means nothing, because it’s based on last year’s teams. They’re judging this year’s schedule before the games even start, but once the lights come on, injuries happen, problems arise, and you can’t predict how teams will perform down the stretch.

Take the Buccaneers, nobody expected them to be that bad. As for the Lions, people are saying their Super Bowl window is closed, which I think is ridiculous, but that’s the kind of take you get from ESPN. A lot of strange things happen during a season, which is why I ignore strength of schedule, it’s one of the most unnecessary preseason rankings, yet it’s the one everyone obsesses over. That’s last year’s team, not this year’s.

An honorable mention goes to the Packers, unless I missed it. The Packers game was circled on everyone’s calendar, with many believing Parsons would get his second shot at a revenge game, his first attempt was a failure, against the Cowboys.

Now the narrative is shifting; the Packers are struggling, can’t run the ball, and their defense isn’t performing well.

This keeps the door open for the Cowboys as they try to find their footing on defense. And now, news has broken that Lane Johnson is retiring out of the blue, which further weakens the Eagles.

The Cowboys have an actual chance to catch up and maybe take the division but even if they don't the wild card looks even a little bit easier when they. FOR NOW.

I sure hope this 10-day layoff, first things first beat the Bucs ,and then make some adjustments and changes and hopefully the injured players, none of them of which are long term season enders, come back, and we make it push in the second half.