A good indicator of whether the Cowboys are a playoff team

[Blackspider214]

Players follow the lead of their coaches. We have seen what a difference in coaching can make. Our players can not rely on their coaches to put them in the best position to win. In fact, it is the opposite. They keep finding ways to give us the greatest chance of losing. I know you can say the players are the ones on the field and not the coaches and that is true. But the coaches do have a responsibility. Players get their mental toughness from the coaching staff for the most part.

This staff has shown its true colors when adversity hits. We turn into one of the worst teams in football. Happened all of 2015 and in a critical stretch last year with Zeke and Tyron gone.

 

[Direwolf63]

The problem is I said this before it happened. There's no hindsight here. No picking on the poor coach.

When you go the coward route and shut your team down at the end of the season heading into your bye and your team then isn't ready to play your division game and fall behind big before a rally falls short, congrats you just eliminated your own team.

If you didn't see it coming or you still don't realize what happened that's your problem.

Your head coach has no spine. Hence the day off after one day of camp. He's a sissy. Not a man.

The Eagles shut down week 17 and won the Super Bowl last year.

It's not a spine issue. It's an ability to coach issue. The Eagles guy has it. The Cowboys guy does not.

 

[northerncowboynation]

Mental toughness. The ability to overcome the adversity that WILL HAPPEN every season is what separates the contenders from the pretenders. Overcoming injuries, bad calls and sometimes even bad luck are all part of what makes a team successful in the playoffs. You can have talent at every position but if you collectively as a team can’t be tough mentally, it won’t matter.

Mental toughness is what most champions exhibit in droves. Hate to say it, but last year, that beagles team showed some grit losing all those key starters including their star QB, LT, star defender and several others, and still overcoming all that to beat the defending champs in the SB. Filly is talented sure, but I refuse to believe that they’re infinitely more talented than Dallas. What separates us from them last year was mental toughness and better coaching.

If this talented young Cowboys team can fight through whatever adversity lies ahead, they can be a team to be reckoned with. I like the talent we have. I’m not thrilled with he coaching but that too can be overcome.

The mental toughness checklist- Stick together. Accept no excuses. Hold each other accountable. Fight through every injury. Believe in your teammates. Fight to the end.

If our 2018 Cowboys are going to be what we all want them to be, let’s all hope they are tough as boot leather between the ears. Because it takes a lot more than talent to win a championship.

Agree Bob and this team IS mentally tough or at least the veterans are. Lo0k at how they gathered around Dak and zeke after Romo and Moore went down. It's been awhile since I've seen that toughness and stick togetherness. Same thing last year when Zeke finally was suspended. That yo yo could have completely set them off track but they stuck together as a group, and supported Zeke. It could have had a much bigger impact than it did.

We will miss Witten for that reason, that rally the troops ability and mentality

 

[guag]

Hey,Man! Would you happen to recall what second half of the season game last year where JJ himself deemed it nessesary to
" coach up" Garrett's players?,,, I'm want to think it was the first philly engagement( for obvious reasons, as we'd spackled them boys butt cracks damn near air tight in the first half) but it was probably in that SAN DIEGO game,huh?
* my point is,,,when you got spines from Philly twiting out on the twittersphere, post game ,on how easy it was to win after our boys kinda' just rolled-over& let them steam roll level all over us,,,kinda make one wonder out loud sometimes just what in the HELL goes down in that half time locker room

Ugh I try hard to not remember such moments

 

[BourbonBalz]

The problem is I said this before it happened. There's no hindsight here. No picking on the poor coach.

When you go the coward route and shut your team down at the end of the season heading into your bye and your team then isn't ready to play your division game and fall behind big before a rally falls short, congrats you just eliminated your own team.

If you didn't see it coming or you still don't realize what happened that's your problem.

Your head coach has no spine. Hence the day off after one day of camp. He's a sissy. Not a man.

I should expect nothing less from you. LOL EVERY team in the NFL sits most of their starters in Week 17 if they have everything locked up from a playoff perspective and nothing to play for. EVERY team. The NFL season takes a tremendous toll on players' bodies and the rest is needed. If the players cannot sit for a week and pick up where they left off, it's on the players. I can just imagine what the response would be if we had played our starters against the Eagles in Week 17 in 2016 and a couple of them sustained injuries that kept them from playing against Green Bay.

 

[Billyd]

Players follow the lead of their coaches. We have seen what a difference in coaching can make. Our players can not rely on their coaches to put them in the best position to win. In fact, it is the opposite. They keep finding ways to give us the greatest chance of losing. I know you can say the players are the ones on the field and not the coaches and that is true. But the coaches do have a responsibility. Players get their mental toughness from the coaching staff for the most part.

This staff has shown its true colors when adversity hits. We turn into one of the worst teams in football. Happened all of 2015 and in a critical stretch last year with Zeke and Tyron gone.

Bro there was an article about the front office featuring JJ and SJs egos, and they touched on some of there dysfunction..For instance you mention 2015. WHICH was in a large part on SJ for not aquiring a backup qb, and to lesser degree not drafting a rb to replace Demarco, alibi DMC had a decent year. HE took responsibility for that in a early 2016 interview. I ALSO BLAME Stephen for The Chaz Greene stupidity due to a reach in the 2015 draft to get him..It smacked of a JJ pick that Stephen reached for JJ ON,..My point is that we need to blame Garrett for things he does, not things that Stephen does playing Gm..

 

[Billyd]

Hold on there bro..As much as the last game in 2017 meant, it is worth just as much in W-L in the Nfl..We had 4-5 starters out the first game, so id say a wash in the second game. HOWEVER the cowboys didnt have a choice. SO thinking that is an advantage to either one. KIND OF IGNORANT!

 

[Irvin88_4life]

This is a very young team.

It needs a great leader at the top to lead them to victory.

Thank goodness we have that.

I agree with you therefore I will start the slow clap

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Dallas lost by 3 points to the top player in the NFL...Rodgers.

Notice a push for defense?

I think we came out sloppy that game and got behind quick. That being said Dak rallied us.....a rookie and almost won the game

 

[Billyd]

YEAH i love these guys who think that Garrett is not a good coach..I guess he didnt do an outstanding job in 2016..The league thought so..I applaud Peterson's job in 2017, I also applaud Swartz who took a very good Defense, and got it to play great in the playoffs..Pederson got the most out of his players last year playing a forth place schedule and made money in the playoffs, no question..However Doing it one year does Not make Pederson a better coach, just better last year..With a different team...

Jason Seems to get the blame for what the front office does, and a asteric for what he does..Just like kicking Romo to the curve, i hope that you guys are around if Garrett gets his head cutoff, and the next wave of bumbling idiots hired by the inbred from Arkansas show up..

Be careful what you ask for, you just might get your way!

 

[Billyd]

I think we came out sloppy that game and got behind quick. That being said Dak rallied us.....a rookie and almost won the game

True Then again if you look at the global of that first half, a noncall on a corner blatently holding Witten coz was beat on the five yard line. THE Butler fiasco where judgment of an official was overturned by a coach, was some of the ugliest playoff officiating well besides you know. DAK was off but i really blamed that on the Cowboys Not going back to Romo @ game 9..(No rookie has ever taken his team to the sb) Hot hands aint sh_t in the playoffs!

 

[glimmerman]

If this owner thinks it’s ok to keep the same GM after the record he has the last 22 years, why would it be crazy to keep the figurehead HC despite losing? You are touching on the biggest problem facing this organization for two decades: There’s no accountability for failure at the top of the organization.

Very true. The owner thinks anyone can run this team. He may have been right when he payed for the team before the salary cap in the 90’s. We were so good that most HC could have pointed this team towards the field and had success. But now with the cap the talent is a lot more even across the NFL and coaches and staff and a good gm makes a world of difference.

JJ has done a fine job allowing SJ more responsibility and letting others help with the draft. But a better HC could have been the difference in 2014 or 2016. He is letting JG learn on the job. How many years is it going to take for him to be good enough coach to not get outcoached in the playoffs. Who’s ideal was it last year in the seahags game to throw from the goal line 3 times? He should have his hands on this stuff. Instead he claps and calls timeouts.

 

[Melonfeud]

Ugh I try hard to not remember such moments

I can COPY ,,,on that

 

[Billyd]

Did you even read my last post..SJ was in large part responsible for 2015..Let me dig further..who let Dez stall the negotiation in 2014, in effect stalling the Demarco contract, alienating demarco? Stephen single handedly killed 2015 with his bumbling negotiation with Dez, Allowing Demarco to walk, then failing to get a real nfl vet qb to back up Tony for the 2015 SEASON..Yes You truly have the pulse of the Cowboys..

 

[Billyd]

I hate to say this but our fans in some cases really no less about the Cowboys than other teams do..I should have fished longer this morning..

 

[JMech]

You're right and this can't be emphasized enough. Luckily, one of Garrett's strengths seems to be his ability to get players to play hard for him.

I feel like we have a talented enough roster, just a matter of better handling of game day situations and play calling (especially halftime/late game adjustments) and I think we can go far.

Garrett has a strength????

You're kidding, right?

 

[CouchCoach]

I should expect nothing less from you. LOL EVERY team in the NFL sits most of their starters in Week 17 if they have everything locked up from a playoff perspective and nothing to play for. EVERY team. The NFL season takes a tremendous toll on players' bodies and the rest is needed. If the players cannot sit for a week and pick up where they left off, it's on the players. I can just imagine what the response would be if we had played our starters against the Eagles in Week 17 in 2016 and a couple of them sustained injuries that kept them from playing against Green Bay.

That is dependent on how and who they are playing. The other side of that is shouldn't the owners discount the tickets and issue refunds for the product that doesn't matter in week 17? But I guess since they charge full price for those pathetic pretend games, they can get full price for that pos played in PHL to end the season.

The integrity of the game should come first and foremost but sheep will be sheared and garbage will be sold as professional football.

How many teams need to learn the penalty for coasting. DEN did that and JAX kicked them out, the same happened to the Cowboys in 07 and 16 and in both of those games the team came out flat and was not at the top of their game to end the season.. What's the greater risk? Losing a player or two or getting kicked out of the 1st playoff game at home?

I like Parcells response when asked about resting players. "They're football player, they play football". Wonder how Booger felt giving those players full game checks to sit on the bench and then stink up the first playoff game?

That said, I lay all the blame on coaching in both of those playoff losses, neither Phillips nor Garrett had their teams ready to play. Before the one in 2016, Laufenburg made the observation that the Packers were all business and the Cowboys seemed too loose and comfortable and how did the teams come out?

The goal for the Cowboys seems to be the playoffs, not win in the playoffs. Big difference in how a team is handled.

 

[PhillySpecial]

The Eagles shut down week 17 and won the Super Bowl last year.

It's not a spine issue. It's an ability to coach issue. The Eagles guy has it. The Cowboys guy does not.

If I remember correctly (if you tell me I'm wrong, I sure won't argue) the Cowboys gave the players off during the by week between the end of the season and the divisional round of the playoffs in 2016. Pederson sat starters in week 17 last year, but they practiced during the bye week between the end of the season and the divisional round of the playoffs.

Not saying either way is right or wrong. Whichever way works for each individual team is the right way.

 

[PhillySpecial]

Hold on there bro..As much as the last game in 2017 meant, it is worth just as much in W-L in the Nfl..We had 4-5 starters out the first game, so id say a wash in the second game. HOWEVER the cowboys didnt have a choice. SO thinking that is an advantage to either one. KIND OF IGNORANT!

Eagles didn't have:
Jason Peters - starting LT
Jordan Hicks - starting MLB
Darren Sproles - PR/RB/Spark Plug
Chris Maragos - STs captain and back up S
Not only did the Eagles not have their starting kicker, they lost their kicker early in the game. Had a 3rd string LB kicking off and had to convert 4th downs.

 

[Billyd]

Cowboys didnt have elliot, Lee, Smith yada..Its a wash bro and means exactly the same..Nothing...And once again the Cowboys didnt have a choice..Still As Great as Philly was last year..Nice goose egg last game. LOLOL