FO: Dynasties of Heartbreak

SteveTheCowboy

Well-Known Member
Messages
18,011
Reaction score
12,612
CowboysZone ULTIMATE Fan
Ah HA>>>so THIS is why alleged fans HATE the players that have given us the most.....They had their hearts torn out and can't forgive them for it?

Jackie Smith was one of the lucky ones. Didn't he not play again after that? Meanwhile...Poor Romo, Zeke...dak....they had/have to keep playing to unfaithful ungrateful fans.
 

gimmesix

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
Messages
37,333
Reaction score
34,463
Why did he stop on that pass route?

Read the coverage differently than Romo. He thought they had the deep route covered, so he tried to settle to the outside to give Romo an option. It appears that he thought the safety was going to run over the top of the route. When he recognized the safety was not and he had the corner beat, he tried to get there, but his hesitation caused him to get there too late. It was simply an awful read on his part. He read double, but they actually doubled him to the inside and gave him the outside.

Romo saw what the safety was doing, essentially cutting off the inside, and threw the ball where it needed to go. It was a good read by him, and Crayton did a good job beating the corner, but a bad job reading the coverage.

 
Last edited:

john van brocklin

Captain Comeback
Messages
38,188
Reaction score
42,948
Read the coverage differently than Romo. He thought they had the deep route covered, so he tried to settle to the outside to give Romo an option. It appears that he thought the safety was going to run over the top of the route. When he recognized the safety was not and he had the corner beat, he tried to get there, but his hesitation caused him to get there too late. It was simply an awful read on his part. He read double, but they actually doubled him to the inside and gave him the outside.

Romo saw what the safety was doing, essentially cutting off the inside, and threw the ball where it needed to go. It was a good read by him, and Crayton did a good job beating the corner, but a bad job reading the coverage.


Thanks, I have wondered about that play.
 

gimmesix

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
Messages
37,333
Reaction score
34,463
Thanks, I have wondered about that play.

Actually, No. 25 for the Giants had some inside-outside coverage responsibilities on that play. He had to make sure Owens took his route from the slot to the inside and if he did, then provide the double on Crayton. Crayton may have read McQuarters passing TO off to the other side of the zone and thought that meant he needed to settle to the outside and short, but he just didn't read it well. Owens had McQuarters locked in on his route long enough to give Crayton the opportunity to just have to beat the single coverage. Again, he didn't recognize that until he started to settle to the outside. The way Romo threw the ball, it appears that he recognized it pre-snap.
 

TequilaCowboy

Well-Known Member
Messages
5,193
Reaction score
7,221
#1 Gotta be the 90's Bills. Imagine 4 straight SB appearances and 4 straight losses.... wish i knew a Bills fan who lived through that and get their perspective. It can't get tougher than that i believe.
 

JD_KaPow

jimnabby
Messages
11,035
Reaction score
10,803
Going by their logic it looks like if you win a Super Bowl you’re almost excluded, even if there’s a lot of hurtful playoff losses around it… Bigger losses rank you higher… They don’t count teams that were pieces of crap the whole time…..
Yeah, they have a whole different list for terrible teams, the "Anti-Dynasty" list. The top 10 (with links to the rest) is here:

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/s...asty-rankings-1-10-cleveland-browns-dont-rock

And to round things out, they did a true dynasty list, here:

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2020/dynasty-rankings-part-vi-top-ten

The Cowboys' dynasties ('70s and '90s) both made the top ten.
 

tyke1doe

Well-Known Member
Messages
53,646
Reaction score
32,023
Why did he stop on that pass route?

In Clayton's own words:

He was asked about that route and if it was intended to be a “9 route.”

“No it wasn’t. It was actually a seven route that I kind of adjusted. I didn’t think I was going to be able to get on the corner (Corey Webster) quite as easily, on top of him. A seven route is about a 16-17 yard out route. As I got on top of him, I was able to get his arm down, and I got on top of him and I was like ‘should I break out and let him sit underneath or go ahead and go?’ That slight hesitation cost me that extra yard I probably needed.”
 

tyke1doe

Well-Known Member
Messages
53,646
Reaction score
32,023
Read the coverage differently than Romo. He thought they had the deep route covered, so he tried to settle to the outside to give Romo an option. It appears that he thought the safety was going to run over the top of the route. When he recognized the safety was not and he had the corner beat, he tried to get there, but his hesitation caused him to get there too late. It was simply an awful read on his part. He read double, but they actually doubled him to the inside and gave him the outside.

Romo saw what the safety was doing, essentially cutting off the inside, and threw the ball where it needed to go. It was a good read by him, and Crayton did a good job beating the corner, but a bad job reading the coverage.



You beat me to it. :)
 

john van brocklin

Captain Comeback
Messages
38,188
Reaction score
42,948
In Clayton's own words:

He was asked about that route and if it was intended to be a “9 route.”

“No it wasn’t. It was actually a seven route that I kind of adjusted. I didn’t think I was going to be able to get on the corner (Corey Webster) quite as easily, on top of him. A seven route is about a 16-17 yard out route. As I got on top of him, I was able to get his arm down, and I got on top of him and I was like ‘should I break out and let him sit underneath or go ahead and go?’ That slight hesitation cost me that extra yard I probably needed.”
Thanks
The knowledge posters share here is outstanding
 

JD_KaPow

jimnabby
Messages
11,035
Reaction score
10,803
Going by their logic it looks like if you win a Super Bowl you’re almost excluded, even if there’s a lot of hurtful playoff losses around it… Bigger losses rank you higher… They don’t count teams that were pieces of crap the whole time…..

So Last 5, my guesses:

90’s Bills
70’s Vikings
10’s Packers
70’s and 80’s Rams
80’s Broncos
Very good, you got four out of five. The 2019-2021 Packers snuck on the last at #36 (and active, so they could rise), but two losing seasons in a row ('17-18) keeps them from having a continuous run.

Instead, it's the McNabb Eagles filling out the top 5.
 

JD_KaPow

jimnabby
Messages
11,035
Reaction score
10,803
And the top 5:

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/ramblings/2022/minnesota-vikings-champions-heartbreak

It boggles my mind that the Bills are only at #4. I can see the Vikings being ahead; 4 SB losses and a much longer period of sustained quality. But the Rams only made it to one SB: it's those gaudy W-L records that push them up (and again, a long period of time). Same for the Eagles.

The author feels the same way:

Wait, fourth? The Buffalo Bills, losers of four straight Super Bowls, finish fourth in terms of heartbreak? Second you could sell me on, as the argument between Buffalo and Minnesota as 0-4 Super Bowlers was one of the inspirations for this list, but fourth? Behind a couple of one-time Super Bowl losers? Man, that's indefensible. Where's the idiot who made this list? He's got to come out and explain this one in public.

… wait, shoot, I'm the idiot who made this list. That's really inconvenient. I was planning on heading to Buffalo for Christmas this year. They won't let me in the city now, They'll stop me at the airport and put me through the table of shame. Fourth place. Good gracious. Well, let me see if I can explain things and try to not become a pariah in the Queen City.

These Bills are the team with the most painful season in NFL history, after adjusting for championship penalties....Norwood couldn't live up to the moment, his kick sailing wide right as time expired. That's 200 heartbreak points for the one-point Super Bowl loss, plus 62.5 points for the 13-3 regular season record, plus 46.0 points for the 23.0% DVOA, for a grand total of 308.5 points. Every season that has earned more points than that gets soothed by championships in their immediate vicinity, but not the 1990 Bills. The most painful season of all time title goes to them.

It's DVOA that ends up dragging the Bills down. DVOA just doesn't love the 1990s Bills....The period of offensive dominance was 1988 to 1992 as the K-Gun ran out of bullets from 1993 onwards. They never paired a top-10 offense with a top-10 defense. Essentially, DVOA sees the 1990s Bills as a good, sometimes very good team that happened to play in the conference that didn't have the Cowboys and 49ers in it. There's a reason those NFC Championship Games were called the "real Super Bowl" by Sports Illustrated. The Bills' 209.8 DVOA points rank 15th among the 44 qualified heartbreak dynasties. That's less than the 2000s Chargers or the active Cowboys or Saints runs. It's too much for the Bills teams to overcome, and so they settle down into a very, very close fourth place, essentially tied with our next team for third.
 

VaqueroTD

Well-Known Member
Messages
7,960
Reaction score
16,306
Very good, you got four out of five. The 2019-2021 Packers snuck on the last at #36 (and active, so they could rise), but two losing seasons in a row ('17-18) keeps them from having a continuous run.

Instead, it's the McNabb Eagles filling out the top 5.

Man, I can’t believe I forgot those wonderful choking Eagles. Probably because my memories of them are pounding the crap out of us
 

VaqueroTD

Well-Known Member
Messages
7,960
Reaction score
16,306
And the top 5:

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/ramblings/2022/minnesota-vikings-champions-heartbreak

It boggles my mind that the Bills are only at #4. I can see the Vikings being ahead; 4 SB losses and a much longer period of sustained quality. But the Rams only made it to one SB: it's those gaudy W-L records that push them up (and again, a long period of time). Same for the Eagles.

The author feels the same way:

Wait, fourth? The Buffalo Bills, losers of four straight Super Bowls, finish fourth in terms of heartbreak? Second you could sell me on, as the argument between Buffalo and Minnesota as 0-4 Super Bowlers was one of the inspirations for this list, but fourth? Behind a couple of one-time Super Bowl losers? Man, that's indefensible. Where's the idiot who made this list? He's got to come out and explain this one in public.

… wait, shoot, I'm the idiot who made this list. That's really inconvenient. I was planning on heading to Buffalo for Christmas this year. They won't let me in the city now, They'll stop me at the airport and put me through the table of shame. Fourth place. Good gracious. Well, let me see if I can explain things and try to not become a pariah in the Queen City.

These Bills are the team with the most painful season in NFL history, after adjusting for championship penalties....Norwood couldn't live up to the moment, his kick sailing wide right as time expired. That's 200 heartbreak points for the one-point Super Bowl loss, plus 62.5 points for the 13-3 regular season record, plus 46.0 points for the 23.0% DVOA, for a grand total of 308.5 points. Every season that has earned more points than that gets soothed by championships in their immediate vicinity, but not the 1990 Bills. The most painful season of all time title goes to them.

It's DVOA that ends up dragging the Bills down. DVOA just doesn't love the 1990s Bills....The period of offensive dominance was 1988 to 1992 as the K-Gun ran out of bullets from 1993 onwards. They never paired a top-10 offense with a top-10 defense. Essentially, DVOA sees the 1990s Bills as a good, sometimes very good team that happened to play in the conference that didn't have the Cowboys and 49ers in it. There's a reason those NFC Championship Games were called the "real Super Bowl" by Sports Illustrated. The Bills' 209.8 DVOA points rank 15th among the 44 qualified heartbreak dynasties. That's less than the 2000s Chargers or the active Cowboys or Saints runs. It's too much for the Bills teams to overcome, and so they settle down into a very, very close fourth place, essentially tied with our next team for third.

Agreed, that’s got to be tough as a fan. I saw the 30 for 30 documentary on Norwood and just that Super Bowl alone was a tough pill to swallow, I can only imagine what it’s like losing four and remember they had those great AFC championship comeback games with the backup QB. What a tease.
 

gimmesix

Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life
Messages
37,333
Reaction score
34,463
You beat me to it. :)

The information you posted about what Crayton had to say was probably even better. There's a lot that goes into which route the receiver ends up taking. His thought process clearly was that he wasn't going to beat the corner deep and he probably also caught out of the corner of his eye that the safety was drifting that way after coming off Owens. Romo saw that he got on top of the corner easily and had him beat and knew that the safety wasn't in position to take the deep route, so he unleashed it expecting Crayton to have adjusted his route. Instead, Crayton had that "slight hesitation" and there went our shot at victory.

I don't blame Crayton for the loss, but he certainly was a contributing factor with three negative plays.
 

tyke1doe

Well-Known Member
Messages
53,646
Reaction score
32,023
The information you posted about what Crayton had to say was probably even better. There's a lot that goes into which route the receiver ends up taking. His thought process clearly was that he wasn't going to beat the corner deep and he probably also caught out of the corner of his eye that the safety was drifting that way after coming off Owens. Romo saw that he got on top of the corner easily and had him beat and knew that the safety wasn't in position to take the deep route, so he unleashed it expecting Crayton to have adjusted his route. Instead, Crayton had that "slight hesitation" and there went our shot at victory.

I don't blame Crayton for the loss, but he certainly was a contributing factor with three negative plays.

There were a lot of things that contributed to that loss.

I remember how the Cowboys switched up their running game and featured Marion Barber III early rather than later. I think that threw the Boys offensive line off rhythm.
Barber was our closer. He battered defense when they were tired.
To this day, I believe that subtle change in strategy cost us the game. But we'll never know.
Be that as it may, even had we gone to the Super Bowl, I don't think we would have beaten the Patriots.
But that too we'll never know.
 

BermyStar

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,555
Reaction score
2,180
I'll give you heartbreak :

My favorite NFL Team - Dallas Cowboys
My favorite NBA Team - New York Knicks
My favorite EPL Team - Chelsea FC

Jerry may be the least drama of all my managers.
 

Diehardblues

Well-Known Member
Messages
55,142
Reaction score
36,328
The 60’s was the Cowboys greatest heartbreak era.

We had several other heartbreaks like SB losses and of course 81 championship loss but we had other success in era.

The 60’s losing to Packers practically in last play in both when we could have been to first 2 Super Bowls and then being upset in last two playoffs to end the 60’s no doubt worst stretch in our glorious 20 consecutive winning seasons stretch.
 
Top