13-3 Possibilities

[cowboys1981]

It's important to finish an opponent off especially when you have an ailing QB who needs rest. I mentioned a game from 3 years ago because it was virtually identical to what we saw last week. It's one of the patterns the team has developed and it's cost them games that ended up coming back to haunt them. They had Detroit down by 24 points in 2011 and blew that game in the 2nd half. Later that season in a very critical game at home vs the Giants they blew a 12 point lead with just 8 minutes to play. Both blown games helped cost the Cowboys their season. Last season they blew a 23 point lead to a Green Bay team being led by a journeymen QB.

The 14 point lead they held on JAX wasn't insurmountable which is why Romo stayed in until 7 minutes to play. Garrett said they couldn't take a chance of pulling him because he's seen first hand his team blow bigger leads than that. I used a number of games in my argument and 2 were from this season because the Cowboys still have issues finishing. There was no reason for the Texans game to go to OT the Cowboys had that game in the bag in regulation but they relaxed and it almost cost them.

Issues finishing this season?

The INT vs STL
The INT vs Ten
The INT vs Sea
Bailey vs Hou in OT

These are some examples of strong finishes. 7-3 is an indicator of a team that is finishing better than in season's past.

This isn't the team of the past. This 2014 bunch is going out week in and out playing their butts off. We finally have quality interior players on the Dline and our LB play has been good as well.

The Oline is creating holes and putting a beating on front sevens.

I can assure you Oakland would love to have our unimpressive wins vs the few moral victories they've had this season.

 

[KJJ]

Issues finishing this season?

The INT vs STL
The INT vs Ten
The INT vs Sea
Bailey vs Hou in OT

These are some examples of strong finishes. 7-3 is an indicator of a team that is finishing better than in season's past.

This isn't the team of the past. This 2014 bunch is going out week in and out playing their butts off. We finally have quality interior players on the Dline and our LB play has been good as well.

The Oline is creating holes and putting a beating on front sevens.

I can assure you Oakland would love to have our unimpressive wins vs the few moral victories they've had this season.

Not this season I was pointing to some of the past problems. The only game this season the Cowboys had an issue "finishing" was against the Texans. The Cowboys were up by 10 points with 9:44 left and proceeded to give up a 13 play drive that ate up just over 7 minutes allowing Houston to pull within 7. With only 2:27 left to put the game away the Cowboys next drive netted -6 yards and lasted only 28 seconds. With only a 1:59 left Houston on 4 plays went 45 yards in 1:17 tying the game which resulted in OT.

To the Cowboys credit they won a game that in the past they probably would have lost. Against JAX they never were in jeopardy of losing the game in the 2nd half but they were in a position to put the game so out of reach that Romo could have been pulled much sooner. Garrett obviously didn't trust Weeden after his horrible performance vs AZ so he felt it was better to keep Romo in but I can't understand the Cowboys allowing him to throw the ball with a 24 point lead with under 10 minutes to play.

Had Romo severely aggravated his back and was lost for the remainder of the season on the only sack he took all day with the game in hand Garrett would have been persecuted. I have been impressed by some of the Cowboys comebacks this season vs the Rams and especially against Seattle overcoming 2 turnovers and a blocked punt for a TD. The Cowboys have had a nice season so far but since the Washington loss a few small cracks have started to appear and it's concerning with the crunch games approaching.

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

The Washington game sure. The Cowboys had no business losing that one. The Arizona game revealed little to me outside of a defense that can keep you in games and the suckitude of Wedden. The Jax game means little other than that they quickly dispatched a bad team. You turning it into a crack by making hyperbole filled posts where you falsely posit the score and complaining about Murray's rushing totals is revealing though.

 

[cowboys1981]

Not this season I was pointing to some of the past problems. The only game this season the Cowboys had an issue "finishing" was against the Texans. The Cowboys were up by 10 points with 9:44 left and proceeded to give up a 13 play drive that ate up just over 7 minutes allowing Houston to pull within 7. With only 2:27 left to put the game away the Cowboys next drive netted -6 yards and lasted only 28 seconds. With only a 1:59 left Houston on 4 plays went 45 yards in 1:17 tying the game which resulted in OT.

To the Cowboys credit they won a game that in the past they probably would have lost. Against JAX they never were in jeopardy of losing the game in the 2nd half but they were in a position to put the game so out of reach that Romo could have been pulled much sooner. Garrett obviously didn't trust Weeden after his horrible performance vs AZ so he felt it was better to keep Romo in but I can't understand the Cowboys allowing him to throw the ball with a 24 point lead with under 10 minutes to play.

Had Romo severely aggravated his back and was lost for the remainder of the season on the only sack he took all day with the game in hand Garrett would have been persecuted. I have been impressed by some of the Cowboys comebacks this season vs the Rams and especially against Seattle overcoming 2 turnovers and a blocked punt for a TD. The Cowboys have had a nice season so far but since the Washington loss a few small cracks have started to appear and it's concerning with the crunch games approaching.

Small cracks?

Against Arizona we hung in there at 14-10 without Romo, Leary and Free. We went up against a top ten defense with a back up.

Against Jax we controlled the LOS on both sides. You can look back at the one sack in hindsight and say what you want. Romo could've hurt his back on a non sack play like he did vs Washington last yr on any play.

 

[HappyOnions]

With 6 games left, I'm willing to bet we win half of them to get us to 10-6.

I think we'll beat NYG, beat Philly on Thanksgiving, beat Chicago, lose to Philly in the rematch, lose to the Colts (on some absurd Andrew Luck last minute shenanigans) and then beat Washington in week 17.

Will it be enough to make the playoffs? I sure hope so...

On the flip side,

I see Philly losing to GB this week, Dallas on Thanksgiving, and Seattle putting them at 11-5 and winning the division.

I hope I'm wrong, but it's just the way I feel things going down.

 

[KJJ]

Small cracks?

Against Arizona we hung in there at 14-10 without Romo, Leary and Free. We went up against a top ten defense with a back up.

Against Jax we controlled the LOS on both sides. You can look back at the one sack in hindsight and say what you want. Romo could've hurt his back on a non sack play like he did vs Washington last yr on any play.

Did you watch the Washington game? Vey similar to what we saw in previous seasons with the Cowboys defense making a journeymen QB look elite. Think about it for a second Colt McCoy was kicked to the curb by Cleveland in favor Brandon Weeden. Everyone in the NFL world would have been looking back at that sack vs JAX criticizing Garrett had Romo been lost for the remainder of the season. Had Weeden played respectably vs AZ the Cowboys might have been able to sit Romo last week but they couldn't take the chance knowing now what they have in Weeden.

 

[Beast_from_East]

Obviously nobody around here has a crystal ball or else they would have won the lottery by now.............LOL..............but in all seriousness, I think anything less that 3-3 would be very disappointing. When you start the season 6-1, if you end up at 9-7 or worse, that's a choke job.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that is reality. At 9-7, that means that after starting 6-1, the team then went 3-6 down the stretch losing double the number of games they won................that's called choking

 

[KJJ]

The Washington game sure. The Cowboys had no business losing that one. The Arizona game revealed little to me outside of a defense that can keep you in games and the suckitude of Wedden. The Jax game means little other than that they quickly dispatched a bad team. You turning it into a crack by making hyperbole filled posts where you falsely posit the score and complaining about Murray's rushing totals is revealing though.

Both the Washington and AZ game exposed the Cowboys defense against the blitz. As for the JAX game the Cowboys didn't dispatch of them quickly enough exposing Romo to an unnecessary sack with less than 10 minutes to go in the game when there was no need to risk throwing the ball from the Cowboys own 11 yard line.

It only figures JAX would be pinning their ears back coming after him in that situation. No one is complaining about Murray's rushing totals he's having an MVP year I'm just pointing out that in the last 2 games his totals have come down some. It was surprising that he only got 100 yards against a defense that ranked 26th against the run.

 

[cowboys1981]

Did you watch the Washington game? Vey similar to what we saw in previous seasons with the Cowboys defense making a journeymen QB look elite. Think about it for a second Colt McCoy was kicked to the curb by Cleveland in favor Brandon Weeden. Everyone in the NFL world would have been looking back at that sack vs JAX criticizing Garrett had Romo been lost for the remainder of the season. Had Weeden played respectably vs AZ the Cowboys might have been able to sit Romo last week but they couldn't take the chance knowing now what they have in Weeden.

How about we look at what we made Wilson and Brees look like? Last time we faced both of those QB'S we got it handed to us. It wasn't the case this time around. Did you see those games?

 

[KJJ]

Obviously nobody around here has a crystal ball or else they would have won the lottery by now.............LOL..............but in all seriousness, I think anything less that 3-3 would be very disappointing. When you start the season 6-1, if you end up at 9-7 or worse, that's a choke job.

Sorry if that sounds harsh, but that is reality. At 9-7, that means that after starting 6-1, the team then went 3-6 down the stretch losing double the number of games they won................that's called choking

After starting 6-1 and being considered by just about everyone as the best team in the NFL after the first 7 weeks anything less than the playoffs may have the 2014 season go down as the most disappointing in franchise history. I can't think of any Cowboys team that started a season 6-1 failing to make the playoffs. This was a team atop all the power rankings after 7 weeks and the surprise team of the NFL season. This season would be beyond disappointing if gosh forbid the Cowboys end up going 8-8 again. As for a crystal ball my wife had one that I dropped it ended up costing me a fortune.

 

[KJJ]

How about we look at what we made Wilson and Brees look like? Last time we faced both of those QB'S we got it handed to us. It wasn't the case this time around. Did you see those games?

Those were great games for the Cowboys where they showed up ready to play. They had respect for those teams and those QB's due to past experience against them but to be a great team and reach the pinnacle you have to be prepared for the mediocre teams and the lesser QB's. It's the teams that have nothing to lose and the QB's that are just looking for an opportunity to resurrect their careers that could end up derailing your season.

It makes no sense to play the way they did vs Brees and Wilson and end up being carved up by Colt McCoy. You don't see many if any teams that win the SB play great against the elite QB's and suck against the journeymen QB's. The Cowboys are one of those teams that can really make you scratch your head. If they don't show up ready to play after the bye they're going to end up ruining what has been a really nice season so far.

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

Both the Washington and AZ game exposed the Cowboys defense against the blitz. As for the JAX game the Cowboys didn't dispatch of them quickly enough exposing Romo to an unnecessary sack with less than 10 minutes to go in the game when there was no need to risk throwing the ball from the Cowboys own 11 yard line.

It only figures JAX would be pinning their ears back coming after him in that situation. No one is complaining about Murray's rushing totals he's having an MVP year I'm just pointing out that in the last 2 games his totals have come down some. It was surprising that he only got 100 yards against a defense that ranked 26th against the run.

You're either trolling or not paying attention. You just completely contradicted yourself in consecutive sentences after making a completely inane point to whine about a game the Cowboys dominated.

 

[Beast_from_East]

After starting 6-1 and being considered by just about everyone as the best team in the NFL after the first 7 weeks anything less than the playoffs may have the 2014 season go down as the most disappointing in franchise history. I can't think of any Cowboys team that started a season 6-1 failing to make the playoffs. This was a team atop all the power rankings after 7 weeks and the surprise team of the NFL season. This season would be beyond disappointing if gosh forbid the Cowboys end up going 8-8 again. As for a crystal ball my wife had one that I dropped it ended up costing me a fortune.

I believe the team has started 6-1 or better five previous times......................every time we made the playoffs................this season would be the first time in franchise history that after starting 6-1 the team failed to make the playoffs.


That would be a hard pill to swallow.

 

[KJJ]

I believe the team has started 6-1 or better five previous times......................every time we made the playoffs................this season would be the first time in franchise history that after starting 6-1 the team failed to make the playoffs.


That would be a hard pill to swallow.

That would be a hard pill to swallow if that happened I would probably attempt to swallow it with a large bottle of Jack.

 

[KJJ]

You're either trolling or not paying attention. You just completely contradicted yourself in consecutive sentences after making a completely inane point to whine about a game the Cowboys dominated.

Don't accuse me of trolling when you just arrived on this board in Sept and only have 62 posts. There's no contradictions you're just trying to stir things up. Just a warning keep the discussion civil or you will be off my discussion list and any reply to my posts will be a waste of your time. We've covered this enough it's time to move on.

 

[DoomsDayD]

Didn't we go 5-1 in the division last year?

I just think we are jumping the gun and brushing aside games that we shouldn't. Getting too cocky comes to mind with looking ahead to any game,penciling them in as wins considering the health of our QB in my eyes is foolish and downright dangerous. And yes we went 5-1 in the division and if my memory serves me right we were sitting home when the playoffs started.

 

[cowboys1981]

Those were great games for the Cowboys where they showed up ready to play. They had respect for those teams and those QB's due to past experience against them but to be a great team and reach the pinnacle you have to be prepared for the mediocre teams and the lesser QB's. It's the teams that have nothing to lose and the QB's that are just looking for an opportunity to resurrect their careers that could end up derailing your season.

It makes no sense to play the way they did vs Brees and Wilson and end up being carved up by Colt McCoy. You don't see many if any teams that win the SB play great against the elite QB's and suck against the journeymen QB's. The Cowboys are one of those teams that can really make you scratch your head. If they don't show up ready to play after the bye they're going to end up ruining what has been a really nice season so far.

So out of 10 games you're just going to look at one game and use that as a reason to worry. How did our boys fare off against Bortles? Were they not more aggressive against him than they were againg McCoy? Wouldn't that be an indicator that they went with an aggressive game plan vs the one they did vs Washington?

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

After starting 6-1 and being considered by just about everyone as the best team in the NFL after the first 7 weeks anything less than the playoffs may have the 2014 season go down as the most disappointing in franchise history. I can't think of any Cowboys team that started a season 6-1 failing to make the playoffs. This was a team atop all the power rankings after 7 weeks and the surprise team of the NFL season. This season would be beyond disappointing if gosh forbid the Cowboys end up going 8-8 again. As for a crystal ball my wife had one that I dropped it ended up costing me a fortune.

It would have to go real bad for me to forget 2007. I'm still not over it.

 

[KJJ]

So out of 10 games you're just going to look at one game and use that as a reason to worry. How did our boys fare off against Bortles? Were they not more aggressive against him than they were againg McCoy? Wouldn't that be an indicator that they went with an aggressive game plan vs the one they did vs Washington?

Things changed some after the Washington loss. Heading into that game the Cowboys were riding a 6 game winning streak and were considered the best team in football. Since losing that game they've come down some and several teams including one in their own division look better. Since winning 6 straight games the Cowboys are 1-2 and the defense is starting to give up a few more plays. Washington exposed the Cowboys with the blitz. If this season ends up going sour the Washington game might be the one we all look back on because the Cowboys were playing at a championship level heading into that game.

When you look back on the 07 season the game I look back on that changed what had been such a great season for the Cowboys was a game they won vs Green Bay. The Cowboys and Packers were both 10-1 and the Cowboys came out ready to play and looked as if they would blow the Packers out. When Favre got injured and Aaron Rodgers came in everything changed. The Cowboys relaxed allowing Rodgers to get the Packers back in the game. Although the Cowboys escaped with a win they didn't look good after Rodgers took over. They had an opportunity to finish the Packers off but allowed them to stay in the game.

The Cowboys were never the same team after that game. They struggled the following week vs a bad Detroit team just barely squeaking out a win on a last ditch drive and looked awful the next week against Philly losing at home. They ended up limping into the playoffs and were one and done. The Cowboys may have peaked too soon this season and Dec is when they've had a trend of tailing off. If they don't play better than they have the past 3 games they're going to have a difficult time winning 11 games. As for Bortles and McCoy one is a rookie and the other is a 5 year veteran who's played with 3 teams. The Cowboys were just as aggressive against Bortles as they were against McCoy at least in the first half but he's a rookie on a real bad team. McCoy had 21 starts in his career heading into the Cowboys game. He was a pretty highly touted QB coming out of college who flamed out in Cleveland.

Sometimes when you give a QB like that another opportunity to possibly resurrect their career they step up and McCoy did. The Cowboys had issues with his mobility and couldn't get him on the ground when they had sack opportunities. The Cowboys weren't focused heading into the game and McCoy shredded them. The Cowboys have not completely gotten over that loss and if they don't get back to the level of play we saw prior to the Washington game they won't get very far this season. This is the time of year when the contenders start playing their best football and the pretenders start to fall we just have to hope that the Cowboys best football in 2014 hasn't already come and gone.

 

[KJJ]

It would have to go real bad for me to forget 2007. I'm still not over it.

That 2007 season still stings but if the 2014 team that started off 6-1 atop all the power rankings and upended Seattle IN Seattle fails to make the playoffs it would certainly rival the disappointment of the 2007 season at least for me.