A good indicator of whether the Cowboys are a playoff team

[PhillySpecial]

Dallas wasn't playing for anything in that game either. I'm sure knowing they were already out of the playoff race put quite a damper on the enthusiasm. It's human nature.

Yeah, but you're not laughing about the 6-0 Cowboys win. Billyd is laughing about the goose egg.

 

[T-RO]

If I hadn't seen it w/ my own eyes....I wouldn't have believed it. but that Seahawks loss last year...told me everything I need to know about this organization. Having everything to play for....this team came out like it was a pre-season game. So lackadaisical...coaches missing in warm ups....players half *** stretching. No organization what so ever...IMO the players had checked out of this staff...and was hoping to get people fired. Yeah...there may have been some churning of this staff...but still the same clowns are running this circus.

So I don't see how any of this changes....It's only gonna get worse. Brutal schedule + incompetency = No playoffs. No playoffs= Gotta find a scapegoat. I don't see how Red survives....

You studied the pre-game warm-ups and stretching?

 

[Tommy]

Mental weakness is the hallmark of this team.

You see it against the Packers time and time again.
You see it against the Seahawks.
You see it against the Falcons.
You see it when Sean Lee goes down.
You see it when Tyron Smith goes down.

When something goes against them, instead of manning up (like the Eagles did last year) they fold like a 30 year old, overly used lawn chair.

That's on everybody. The executive. The coaches. The players. Until this changes, the team goes nowhere.

Oh man this is so true! Remember when their #1 and their #2 quarterbacks went down for the year in the preseason?

 

[GenoT]

The only real indicator of the Cowboys’ playoff worthiness will be their 2018 regular season record.

 

[Direwolf63]

Oh man this is so true! Remember when their #1 and their #2 quarterbacks went down for the year in the preseason?

What I remember mostly is the 1 crappy Wild Card playoff win in the Garrett era spanning what? 8.5 years?

My brain is also tweaked by not being in a Championship game since 1996. Matched only by the Lions and Commanders.

So yes, plenty of memories.

 

[Billyd]

Laugh all you want about the goose egg. I'm sure not crying that Cowboys starters:

Struggled to score 6 pts.
Failed to get EE 120 yds. to get him 1,000 yds. on the season
Couldn't get EE a 4 yd. (3.8) per carry average
Couldn't get EE a TD, rushing or receiving
Prescott had his 2nd lowest completion % 56.7%
Prescott had his 5th lowest passing yds. total - 179
I'll stop there. This vs. Eagles backups
Cowboys beat the Eagles on the scoreboard. But it's not like their win knocked the Eagles out of having homefield advantage for the playoffs.

STILL A W!

 

[Blackrain]

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.

Agreed Bob mental toughness is a big part of it . To me a team has to mentally buy in to there organization and the coaches system along with having respect and confidence in the coach and ownership .
In short the guys on our team can be mentally tough but not mentally gullible enough to believe our coach will out think the other guy at the end of a playoff game or even have them properly prepared for that matter .

I think we have a lot of guys that are mentally tough but are they willing to lay there bodys on the line and risk there careers for an owner that could easily buy the best people to build and run the team but treats it like a hobby and continues for the last 20 odd yrs to do things he has proven unqualified to do .

Are they mentally tough enough to go into battle continually with a coach who has proven conclusively he can not out think the other coach at the end of big games . Part of the team being mentally tough is having confidence in each other and your coach .

Im just glad we have a lot of young guys on the team that have not felt the disappointment of Garrett failing them in crunch time over and over so maybe they will stay mentally tough for a while till they see the ultimate goal of a SB can not be achieved with Jerry as GM and Garrett as the coach .

Us old guys who had the privilege of watching Tom Landry coach know what it looks like when a team has complete confidence in there coach . It makes them mentally tough and willing to walk through the fire . What we have here dose not inspire much mental toughness it forces guys to make business decisions that make them look mentally and physically weak till they go elsewhere

 

[Billyd]

You know what else.Cowboys finished 5-1 in Division play...So The difference was games outside the division and the usual out of conference play on a forth place schedule. REALLY congrats to Philly for winning the SB, I dont think success for the Cowboys has anything to do with Philly..

There are 14 other teams on the schedule..The Cowboys need to play better against the rest of the nfl..I think thats simple enough..

 

[Billyd]

Playing Lee and Lawrence every day in camp isn’t mental toughness. It’s mental stupidity.

THATS pretty funny..I would suggest that other teams are giving vets days off in camp, im.sure Garrett knows his players better than fans of other teams in the Nfl..Getting players through camp healthy and ready to go during the regular season and evaluating others that could help you that year more important..

 

[Billyd]

Agreed Bob mental toughness is a big part of it . To me a team has to mentally buy in to there organization and the coaches system along with having respect and confidence in the coach and ownership .
In short the guys on our team can be mentally tough but not mentally gullible enough to believe our coach will out think the other guy at the end of a playoff game or even have them properly prepared for that matter .

I think we have a lot of guys that are mentally tough but are they willing to lay there bodys on the line and risk there careers for an owner that could easily buy the best people to build and run the team but treats it like a hobby and continues for the last 20 odd yrs to do things he has proven unqualified to do .

Are they mentally tough enough to go into battle continually with a coach who has proven conclusively he can not out think the other coach at the end of big games . Part of the team being mentally tough is having confidence in each other and your coach .

Im just glad we have a lot of young guys on the team that have not felt the disappointment of Garrett failing them in crunch time over and over so maybe they will stay mentally tough for a while till they see the ultimate goal of a SB can not be achieved with Jerry as GM and Garrett as the coach .

Us old guys who had the privilege of watching Tom Landry coach know what it looks like when a team has complete confidence in there coach . It makes them mentally tough and willing to walk through the fire . What we have here dose not inspire much mental toughness it forces guys to make business decisions that make them look mentally and physically weak till they go elsewhere

You would think that fans of the Cowboys and Tom Landry would realize the roster differences, the flat differences between the game then and now, and would not even try to argue ignorant points like that..Yes I started following the Cowboys in 1970...,I hate JJ but Garrett is not the Overall problem..Lest you forget the black hole between Parcells and Jimmy..

 

[Billyd]

Dallas wasn't playing for anything in that game either. I'm sure knowing they were already out of the playoff race put quite a damper on the enthusiasm. It's human nature.

Oooooo no Taking the W was cake for a lack luster season...I said it then coz better Draft position if took the L...However one never underestimates giving a team in the East a black eye...For no apparent reason..lolol

 

[buybuydandavis]

Your franchise QB can't make that throw to Zeke and you can't excuse it. Sorry but I am not paying a guy 20. Mill a yr for that in big games.

QBs have bad throws. It happens. Dak was actually miraculously protective of the ball as a rookie over an entire season. That's much more relevant than one bad throw.

 

[Billyd]

Cant make a throw to zeke. SHOULD i post Zekes receiving numbers?

 

[PhillySpecial]

You know what else.Cowboys finished 5-1 in Division play...So The difference was games outside the division and the usual out of conference play on a forth place schedule. REALLY congrats to Philly for winning the SB, I dont think success for the Cowboys has anything to do with Philly..

There are 14 other teams on the schedule..The Cowboys need to play better against the rest of the nfl..I think thats simple enough..

Cowboys vs. Packers w/Rodgers - Eagles vs. Bears -advantage Eagles
Cowboys vs. Falcons - Eagles vs. Panthers - push

Since the re-alignment of the league in 2000, there's no such thing as a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place schedule.
Based on the previous year's results, all 32 teams play 4 games vs. 1st place teams, 4 games vs. 2nd place teams, 4 games vs.3rd place teams, and 4 games vs. 4th place teams.

 

[Billyd]

Yeah, but you're not laughing about the 6-0 Cowboys win. Billyd is laughing about the goose egg.

ITS pretty funny Really. I CAUGHT hell for the lower draft positioning but i will always take a W over a Nfc east team, and lording a goose egg over them always lovely. Stings like a b tch right?

 

[Billyd]

Cowboys vs. Packers w/Rodgers - Eagles vs. Bears -advantage Eagles
Cowboys vs. Falcons - Eagles vs. Panthers - push

Since the re-alignment of the league in 2000, there's no such thing as a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place schedule.
Based on the previous year's results, all 32 teams play 4 games vs. 1st place teams, 4 games vs. 2nd place teams, 4 games vs.3rd place teams, and 4 games vs. 4th place teams.

Why are you responding to the point if it means nothing. SOS is SOS The eagles had a less competitive schedule than the Cowboys did last year. PERIOD. However you play the teams on your schedule, so no choice..Right?

 

[Johnny23]

QBs have bad throws. It happens. Dak was actually miraculously protective of the ball as a rookie over an entire season. That's much more relevant than one bad throw.

Actually he just got away with several bad throws.

 

[buybuydandavis]

Actually he just got away with several bad throws.

And I'm much more concerned about the mass of bad throws than that one horrible INT past Zeke.

 

[Hawkeye19]

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.

Sorry Risen. Nice try.

I like most of your posts. But-- I think at times you can push your anti-Dak and anti-Garrett agenda too far-- and this is one of those times. Plenty of other coaches have shut their teams down in week 17 and won in the postseason. Most recently last year with Philly. Deny facts all you want to try and strengthen your position-- but you're still wrong on this one. It's ok...being wrong can happen to any of us-- even you.

Go ahead and criticize Garrett for a thousand other things-- I'm fine with that-- I'm hardly a Garrett apologist. But laying the 2016 playoff loss solely at Garrett's feet for resting the team in week 17 just doesn't add up.

 

[Billyd]

if You really Disect how badly the Play of Green was you come to a conclusion of how important the Backside guard is in the Zone blocking scheme the Cowboys employ. THE three games Green played were so poor from the penetration allowed by tackles, Zeke was getting Hammered before he even got to the line of scrimmage. THAT ON top of two yard or more penetration in the passing game really hampered the overall game early in the season...It didnt get ugly until later but the Denver game really highlighted the issue and Linehan laid there like a cheap pro..Lol

My Issue is the lack of Resolution to adjust in a timely manner to fix it, and further open the door later in the season...From a management position they forced a jag into the starting oline rotation coz had no strategy to replace Leary and that problem went back to 2015....Point is This was avoidable in 2017..I guess hindsight. BUT this is the issue with things outside the coaches control and a reach for The loser Green at three in 2015...

So you cant pinpoint it to Dak, Dez,Witten,The other receivers or Elliot getting bent over by Goober..Its all of the above!