13-3 2007 Team v. 2009 Team

[MichaelWinicki]

The '07 team had potential written all over it, and then went out and came up small, but of course we didn't know that until the season was over.

The '09 team already has the stink of failure on it from the clusterfudge that finished the last 65 minutes of the regular season.

This team has a huge hole to dig out of.

 

[DFWJC]

The '07 team had potential written all over it, and then went out and came up small, but of course we didn't know that until the season was over.
.

I would not call going 13-3, winning the NFC East, getting a 1st round bye, and then losing a very close playoff game to the Super Bowl Champs "coming up small".

If you wish to say the 2008 version did that, go ahead. But 2007 was a strong year...best in more than a decade.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

If you wish to say the 2008 version did that, go ahead. But 2007 was a strong year...best in more than a decade.

Sadly that's true.

It's like proclaiming that you're the tallest dwarf in the circus.

 

[BourbonBalz]

I know you're trying to think positive and so am I, but trying to convince the world that the WR core is better now than it was then is really silly.

Owens wasn't a pain in the butt in 2007 and was flat out dominant. You're better off giving the 2007 team 2 steps above this years group, but we don't need dominance there to win, especially with the great RB tandom we have.

Maybe we need some reading classes in here. Where did I say our WR corp. is better now than in 2007? If you go back and read it, I said it was either a push (if RW lives up to expectations) or a slight edge to 2007. I said the only difference is RW v. T.O. and no one knows how that will turn out yet. I also said the rest of our receivers are basically the same, but they now have much more experience and should be able to contribute considerably more (Austin, Hurd, and even Crayton).

 

[wileedog]

WR - There's no doubt that the 2007 squad was the best WR corps. .

I agree, and with all of the question marks around Roy and the younger guys its tough to even put them in the same ballpark at this point. You can't rate potential.

That being said, the 2007 team lived and died by the big play, and as such the WR corps was a much more important part of the O. If this year's team really does step back and make the vastly superior RBs the focal point, then it becomes more of a wash in the end though. Especially since we've essentially doubled our TE goodness too.

That said, I agree with others it largely comes down to our OL and the youth movement on D. The OL was a strength in 2007, but abysmal last year. Which was the abberation? That will probably tell the story of 2009.

 

[BourbonBalz]

As several others have pointed out, my biggest concern for this coming season in the O line, especially Adams. Hopefully we can remain healthy on the line all season. If so, I think we will have a very good year. If not, well it could be 08 all over again. Like many others, I believe success starts up front. We need to run the ball more and use more short pass patterns to our RBs, TEs, and WRs. I don't think we'll be as explosive on offense as in 07, butg we should be more efficient.

 

[DFWJC]

Sadly that's true.

It's like proclaiming that you're the tallest dwarf in the circus.

Funny.

But I don't think many would call a NFC division title, a 13-3 record , and losing a close one to the SB Champ as dwarf-like....even tall dwarf-like.

It could even mean second best out of 32 teams.

 

[Clove]

Maybe we need some reading classes in here. Where did I say our WR corp. is better now than in 2007? If you go back and read it, I said it was either a push (if RW lives up to expectations) or a slight edge to 2007. I said the only difference is RW v. T.O. and no one knows how that will turn out yet. I also said the rest of our receivers are basically the same, but they now have much more experience and should be able to contribute considerably more (Austin, Hurd, and even Crayton).

I read what you said and I exaggerated it just like you did, so how did it feel?

In the future, don't try to make yourself feel better by yapping about things that are not accurate just to make your point. Call it like it is, the fact is, we don't know what we will be this year so actually it's pointless to even bring this thread up.

It's like me comparing my son, to my great great great great great great grand son.

 

[links18]

I agree, and with all of the question marks around Roy and the younger guys its tough to even put them in the same ballpark at this point. You can't rate potential.

That being said, the 2007 team lived and died by the big play, and as such the WR corps was a much more important part of the O. If this year's team really does step back and make the vastly superior RBs the focal point, then it becomes more of a wash in the end though. Especially since we've essentially doubled our TE goodness too.

That said, I agree with others it largely comes down to our OL and the youth movement on D. The OL was a strength in 2007, but abysmal last year. Which was the abberation? That will probably tell the story of 2009.

In 2007, we overcame penalties and negative plays time and again and somehow found ways to convert multiple 3rd and 19s: usually by Romo going to TO or Witten. Sadly, you can't do that forever and so went our 2007 and 2008 seasons. In the 2007 playoff game, we changed up the style, tried to grind Barber and while it worked, we were unable to put up enough points to overcome the perpetual sloppiness we displayed throughout the year. The OL will be important, but we also need good, strong coaching to get the sloppiness under control.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Funny.

But I don't think many would call a NFC division title, a 13-3 record , and losing a close one to the SB Champ as dwarf-like....even tall dwarf-like.

It could even mean second best out of 32 teams.

I didn't know Wade Phillips was a member of this forum.

"13-3" "13-3" "13-3"

 

[Tovya]

I almost feel dumb even trying to compare the two seasons, because as a previous guy stated, the strength of schedule is only realized once the season is over. Todays NFL is impossible to predict--and who is a hard opponent on your schedule varies so much year to year.

I will say that we are in the toughest, and probably hardest to predict division in the NFL, and that makes it even harder to predict.

With that being said, here's my 2 cents...

QB: Clear advantage to 2009. Romo is older and wiser, and if the offseason reports are true, he's going to be playing smarter ball this year. Plus the backup situation is significantly better than 2007.

RB: Once again, clear advantage to 2009. Barber is still a beast, Jones and Choice are in their second seasons (and their first season was very impressive anyway). Although I prefer all of them being healthy the whole season, I feel safe with any of them as the #1 really.

WR: Slight advantage to 2007. The talent was superior in 2007, but the ego-factor is gone. Romo can throw to whomever he wants, whenever he wants, and I believe that if the current WR group plays to their potential, then they do have the opportunity to be as good as or better than the 2007 team. The only reason I give '07 the advantage is because we knew what we had then, and we don't right now. Too many questions about this year's squad to say anything about it yet.

TE: Although Witten's 2007 performance was dynamic, his skills haven't diminished a lick, and he now has an up and coming wingman in Bennett that might be one of the sleeper picks at TE this year. I look forward to us running the dual TE set this season just to see how nasty they can really be together.

O line: 2007 by far.... nothing needs to be analyzed here, because I think this goes without saying anything further.

D line: I find this to be equal in both seasons. The loss of Chris Canty will be interesting to watch--as I wonder if it will affect Ware's pass rush in any way. Igor Olshansky's ability to pick up that spot will be interesting to watch this season.

LB: Ellis will be missed, and this unit is both with new faces and a lot of inexperience. Ware is better than he was even in '07, and that says a lot. Therefore, right now it looks like a wash--but only time will tell if this is true.

Secondary: Assuming the unit stays healthy (knock on wood), I have every reason to believe that this unit is much much better than 2007. We have a real coverage safety group, a proven top 5 CB in Newman, and of course our two 2nd year guys who will only get better with another training camp under their belts.

I do however feel that it was a mistake to trade Anthony Henry. We are very shallow at the CB, and he added needed depth.

Anyway, in closing, none of any of this really means anything--the modern NFL is impossible to predict--and the greatest and worst things can befall any team from top to bottom. Every team has a shot every year in all reality.

 

[sonnyboy]

This is the point I make when handicapping this season.

Overall, we are more talented than we were in 2007.

But it's just a starting point.


I'm most excited about our secondary's potential. It could, perhaps should be the best we've had since our last SB.

 

[Silverstar]

This team has won at least 9 games in the last four years. It's really all we can hang our hat on at this point. It all comes down to winning games in January now.