A sad statement on the Cowboys

[sonnyboy]

Sorry, not buying it. The game wasn't stolen, it was given freely.

Did you watch the game?

Lets take a moment and perform a complete roll reversal.

Giants outstat us. They have two first half 90 yard TD drives.

We get the long TD catch and run one play after an incorrect third down offsides call continues our drive.

We get 15 critical yards at the end of the half to put us in position to tie the game, on what was at worst a 5 yard infraction.
And believe me those 10 yards were HUGE! They do not score a TD without them.

Then in the second half thier TE drops a TD and they have to settle for a FG.
Late in the third Q, we the get a PI on one of thier lineman while he's legally blocking and then dodge a huge bullett on the same drive with a critical third down Toomer drop when it looked like he had a ways to run.
Worse yet the drop forces the giants to punt from inside thier 25 giving us a great shot at a punt return.
We take advantge returning the ball to the 35. We then drive 35 yards for a TD and the lead. Fortuitus considering we only gain 57 yards the 2nd half and mount no other scoring threats.

Then on the Giants next to last possesion and best chance to take the lead we get an unbelievable break! They INCORRECTLY call Manning for Intentional Grounding putting them in a 3rd and forever and effectively killing thier last best chance. We know that "judgement call" was incorrect because the NFL came out and said it was!

After all those breaks we still cant put the game away. We go 3 and out for the third straight time in Q4 and give the giants one more shot. We have to sweat watching Eli drive the field and come up short with two last shots at a TD from the 22.

Cowboys win 21-17.
Are outgained by over 100 yards.
Give up 154 rushing yards.
Have thier biggest WR threat catch 1 ball for 5 yards.

Now ask yourself an honest question. Whats the story line of this game?

Is it that Romo has come of age? Is it the Cowboys are a team of destiny?

Or is it the Giants were screwed.
The Cowboys were lucky and didnt deserve the win.
The fix was in! This is such a travesty an investigation should be launched.

Believe me thats what the NY and National media's take would have been!
But since its the Cowboys getting screwed as a home favorite, everyone chalks it up to.......its thier own fault, if they had played better it wouldnt have been close!

BULL S***! We were screwed!

And how anyone can see it any othe rway is beyond me.

 

[nalam]

just when I was starting to get over the loss

you done did it

Hey Bob, I like your avatar . The loss can be blamed on only one individual Patrick Crayton.

And Of course I am not over the loss , probably until the Boys reach Superbowl.

 

[coogrfan]

And how anyone can see it any other way is beyond me.

There were two or three questionable penalties. The Cowboys were flagged eleven times.

The officials had nothing to do with the numerous drops by our recievers, or our abysmal kick coverage, or our general inability to tackle worth a damn.

The Cowboys have no one to blame for that loss but themselves. End of story.

 

[superpunk]

The Cowboys have no one to blame for that loss but themselves. End of story.

That's too absolute. The referees share in the blame. The Cowboys could have made things happen on their own end to make the refs irrelevent, but that doesn't mean the refs didn't have anything to do with the outcome.

 

[windward]

If Eli had turned the ball over in any of their playoff games, the Giants probably would have lost.

He's moved from "Suck" to "Not destroying his team's chances" in 4 years. If he takes the next step to "average/decent NFL QB", watch out, 2012 NFL.

But does he have poise?

 

[Direwolf63]

Go back and watch the 2nd half again. It makes me absolutely sick that their offense did nothing that 2nd half besides score a TD on a very short field (around our 40) after our ST's missed tackles. Absolutely nothing.

Our offense, on the other hand moved the ball very well but either shot itself in the foot or got screwed by a bad call here and there to stop things.

Its probably already summarized somewhere but I intend to watch it one more time and chart every play to summarize how understand just how lopsided that half was, and yet we lost.

In the end, we have only ourselves to blame. I think we'll ultimately grow from it but its painful right now.

CoCo, you don't need to rewatch the game to find out why we lost.

This team lacks the grit, character, heart, leadership....whatever you want to call it.....to win when it matters most.

The cycle has been there for a few years: they play well from September until November, then falter when the games matter most in December and January. As the games get bigger, this team plays smaller.

Dropped passes
Idiotic penalties
Bonehead playcalling
Terrible kick coverages

This team started coasting in the second half of the Packers game. And while this was going on, instead of players or coaches standing up and doing something about it, they stayed silent. We all heard the press conferences:

"Well, Roy Williams is 12-1" or

"This defense is 13-2"

They buried their heads in the sand, thinking they could crank it up in the playoffs. They couldn't. So when they faced a battle hardened Giants team who raised their level of play, the Cowboys didn't or couldn't respond.

This game wasn't about yards gained or lost. The stats don't tell you what happened.

The players and coaches choked when it mattered most. When the game was on the line, it was the Cowboys that made the mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.

They were unfocused and sloppy when it mattered most. That, IMO, is a lack of leadership on and off the field.

Bill Belichek would never have stood by and allowed what happened to this team starting from the Packers game. Neither would Brady, Vrabel, Seymore or Harrison.

We have the talent to match anybody in the league. What we lack is the character and leadership required to win in the playoffs. We need to find it, or we will end up with the same results next year.

 

[TheHerd]

That's why it's unfortunate that Bruce Read hasn't been replaced.

If this guy is on the sidelines week 1 2008, I'll be pissed.

 

[sonnyboy]

CoCo, you don't need to rewatch the game to find out why we lost.

This team lacks the grit, character, heart, leadership....whatever you want to call it.....to win when it matters most.

The cycle has been there for a few years: they play well from September until November, then falter when the games matter most in December and January. As the games get bigger, this team plays smaller.

Dropped passes
Idiotic penalties
Bonehead playcalling
Terrible kick coverages

This team started coasting in the second half of the Packers game. And while this was going on, instead of players or coaches standing up and doing something about it, they stayed silent. We all heard the press conferences:

"Well, Roy Williams is 12-1" or

"This defense is 13-2"

They buried their heads in the sand, thinking they could crank it up in the playoffs. They couldn't. So when they faced a battle hardened Giants team who raised their level of play, the Cowboys didn't or couldn't respond.

This game wasn't about yards gained or lost. The stats don't tell you what happened.

The players and coaches choked when it mattered most. When the game was on the line, it was the Cowboys that made the mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.

They were unfocused and sloppy when it mattered most. That, IMO, is a lack of leadership on and off the field.

Bill Belichek would never have stood by and allowed what happened to this team starting from the Packers game. Neither would Brady, Vrabel, Seymore or Harrison.

We have the talent to match anybody in the league. What we lack is the character and leadership required to win in the playoffs. We need to find it, or we will end up with the same results next year.

Very good post. But just because we didnt play close to our best doesnt mean we deserved to lose.

The fact remains that we had four bad calls against us and each one had a significant impact on the final score. Not one, not three, FOUR!

That will cost you a win in this league most weeks.

I know we had seven other legit penalties and other mistakes. But that doesnt make it fair or just that we have FOUR game changing bad calls go against us.

Perhaps I could handle it better if the Giants had just one bad call cost them in that game.

 

[Jimz31]

I still think the saddest statement is the # of wins in the playoffs in the past 11 years.

I'm raising my kids right...they are all Cowboys fans.....and the only one that has been alive is my oldest....and she's almost 13....born in 1995 which was a good year for the Cowboys.

The other two weren't even born when they last won a playoff game....10 and 7 years old....it's sad.

 

[Direwolf63]

Very good post. But just because we didnt play close to our best doesnt mean we deserved to lose.

The fact remains that we had four bad calls against us and each one had a significant impact on the final score. Not one, not three, FOUR!

That will cost you a win in this league most weeks.

I know we had seven other legit penalties and other mistakes. But that doesnt make it fair or just that we have FOUR game changing bad calls go against us.

Perhaps I could handle it better if the Giants had just one bad call cost them in that game.

I agree that the refs were a factor. But this team is good enough to overcome that. We SHOULD have overcome it.

Besides, whining about the refs make us sound like Commander fans. We are all better than that.

 

[CoCo]

CoCo, you don't need to rewatch the game to find out why we lost.

This team lacks the grit, character, heart, leadership....whatever you want to call it.....to win when it matters most.

The cycle has been there for a few years: they play well from September until November, then falter when the games matter most in December and January. As the games get bigger, this team plays smaller.

Dropped passes
Idiotic penalties
Bonehead playcalling
Terrible kick coverages

This team started coasting in the second half of the Packers game. And while this was going on, instead of players or coaches standing up and doing something about it, they stayed silent. We all heard the press conferences:

"Well, Roy Williams is 12-1" or

"This defense is 13-2"

They buried their heads in the sand, thinking they could crank it up in the playoffs. They couldn't. So when they faced a battle hardened Giants team who raised their level of play, the Cowboys didn't or couldn't respond.

This game wasn't about yards gained or lost. The stats don't tell you what happened.

The players and coaches choked when it mattered most. When the game was on the line, it was the Cowboys that made the mistakes that ultimately cost them the game.

They were unfocused and sloppy when it mattered most. That, IMO, is a lack of leadership on and off the field.

Bill Belichek would never have stood by and allowed what happened to this team starting from the Packers game. Neither would Brady, Vrabel, Seymore or Harrison.

We have the talent to match anybody in the league. What we lack is the character and leadership required to win in the playoffs. We need to find it, or we will end up with the same results next year.

The stones you've thrown above are justifiable. I think most in the Cowboy org would take that lambasting and say... "You're right."

And then I think they are going to set out to prove that it will not happen in 2008. Not everyone in the org will have that chance. Most will.

I think we need to have, and will have, another workmanlike offseason, from FO to players and that the result in 2008 will be a conclusion that leaves most reasonable fans feeling like this team is absolutely on the right track and not in need of serious makeover.

Lambast the character and discipline if you will but I think the organization as a whole will see to it that 2008 ends on much higher note and that it will largely be the same group of players, coaches and FO that come through in 2008.

Just my opinion.

and BTW it is great to read you once again!

 

[Direwolf63]

The stones you've thrown above are justifiable. I think most in the Cowboy org would take that lambasting and say... "You're right."

And then I think they are going to set out to prove that it will not happen in 2008. Not everyone in the org will have that chance. Most will.

I think we need to have, and will have, another workmanlike offseason, from FO to players and that the result in 2008 will be a conclusion that leaves most reasonable fans feeling like this team is absolutely on the right track and not in need of serious makeover.

Lambast the character and discipline if you will but I think the organization as a whole will see to it that 2008 ends on much higher note and that it will largely be the same group of players, coaches and FO that come through in 2008.

Just my opinion.

and BTW it is great to read you once again!

Yeah, I'm a frequent lurker but infrequent poster.

I'm not advocating a serious makeover. I would not be in favor of moving up to get McFadden, for example. A workmanlike offseason suits me fine. A bit of tweaking from the talent standpoint is all we need.

But somebody needs to step up in that locker room. We have too many followers and not enough leaders, especially on defense. Our best players on defense are the quiet, lead on the field type, which is fine. I would like to see a attitude, in-your-face type guy who holds others accountable. A Ray Lewis type, who has a presence in the locker room. Someone who lift up others around him.

Romo has it up to a point. But his laid back, have fun style is a great asset, but also a bit of a liability. Romo is a leader, but we need more than just him.

Barber plays with an attitude, but he's very quiet off the field. TO, of all people, has become a leader.

But we need more guys to demand excellence when the team is faltering. Wade Phillips, simply isn't that guy. We need more than passing out notes demanding players to stop taking dumb penalties. I bet Bill Bellichek laughed when he heard that story.

You have a very positive outlook for next year. It is a reasonable position to take.

I am taking more of a wait and see approach. I'm waiting for games in Pittsburgh and in Green Bay next year to see if this team has gained the sort of grit it requires to win in hostile arenas. And in the playoffs.

 

[CoCo]

I am taking more of a wait and see approach. I'm waiting for games in Pittsburgh and in Green Bay next year to see if this team has gained the sort of grit it requires to win in hostile arenas. And in the playoffs.

This team has already passed that test IMO. I'll point specifically to beating the Giants in NY the last two years in very important games including last years scramble late, the long pass to Witten, and the winning FG from Gramatica.

Not many venues tougher than NY, a bitter division rival, meaningful games both, and the Giants were a playoff team both years.

Plus I think Romo and company demonstrate this grit on offense repeatedly when they convert 3rd and longs that we Cowboy fans had long become accustomed to conceding were not possible.

We're all bitterly disappointed by this playoff loss in part because we'd already seen enough from this team to believe we were the NFC SB favorite. Then the improbably happened and we're questioning the character of the club.

I understand late season collapse's have become the norm in Dallas but honestly I believe the prior season collapses had more to do with us simply not yet being good enough, too many flaws. This years team still has room to grow and I think it will if we can shore up the few holes without creating many new ones.

I think often times we over dramatize the difference between winners and losers and call it amongst other things character flaws or championship character. Yet sometimes the difference between champions or not are simply a Scott Norwood kick that sails just wide to the right, or an inexplicable fumble by Romo on a chip shot field goal. Praise is lavished upon the Giants because of their resulting SB triumph when in reality it was out of their control. And the Bills become one of history's scorned as if Norwood's miss is simply a reflection of what's lacking in the rest of organization. Overblown IMO.

People questioned whether Romo could ever come back from that fumbled snap debacle, much like the character of our leaders, or the coaches is being questioned now because of the Giants playoff loss. I think its quite clear the former was an overreaction and I feel similarly confident that next season will show the latter to be equally overblown.

 

[Vintage]

We had numerous opportunities.

And we came up small. Every. Time.

You don't win playoff games doing that.

The Giants beat us. We need to look forward (myself included). All we can do is learn from the loss. And hopefully rectify it next time around.

 

[windward]

This team has already passed that test IMO. I'll point specifically to beating the Giants in NY the last two years in very important games including last years scramble late, the long pass to Witten, and the winning FG from Gramatica.

Not many venues tougher than NY, a bitter division rival, meaningful games both, and the Giants were a playoff team both years.

Plus I think Romo and company demonstrate this grit on offense repeatedly when they convert 3rd and longs that we Cowboy fans had long become accustomed to conceding were not possible.

We're all bitterly disappointed by this playoff loss in part because we'd already seen enough from this team to believe we were the NFC SB favorite. Then the improbably happened and we're questioning the character of the club.

I understand late season collapse's have become the norm in Dallas but honestly I believe the prior season collapses had more to do with us simply not yet being good enough, too many flaws. This years team still has room to grow and I think it will if we can shore up the few holes without creating many new ones.

I think often times we over dramatize the difference between winners and losers and call it amongst other things character flaws or championship character. Yet sometimes the difference between champions or not are simply a Scott Norwood kick that sails just wide to the right, or an inexplicable fumble by Romo on a chip shot field goal. Praise is lavished upon the Giants because of their resulting SB triumph when in reality it was out of their control. And the Bills become one of history's scorned as if Norwood's miss is simply a reflection of what's lacking in the rest of organization. Overblown IMO.

People questioned whether Romo could ever come back from that fumbled snap debacle, much like the character of our leaders, or the coaches is being questioned now because of the Giants playoff loss. I think its quite clear the former was an overreaction and I feel similarly confident that next season will show the latter to be equally overblown.

Coco, I'd have to say that I really enjoy your posts. They are insightful, and often give a fresh view on whatever's going on within the Cowboys. It's a welcome departure from the usual, conventional analyses.

So kudos, and look forward to more insightful posts.

 

[CowboyJeff]

I was just looking at the NFL stats and realized that of all the teams in the playoffs, the Cowboys had the best total defensive numbers and the best rushing offense. Of course, I realize that this is only one game but still, we rushed for 154 yards, we gave up only 230 yards total, against the team that is representing the NFC in the Super Bowl, and we lost.

The Giants averaged 327 total yards against GB and Tampa. Against us, we held them to 230 total yards of offense. The Giants defense gave up an average of 48.5 rushing yards per game against Tampa and GB. We put up 154 yards on them.

They are in Arizona and we are sitting home. It's a hard thing to accept.

you're making my stomach queasy all over again......:ralph:

 

[Rack]

I was just looking at the NFL stats and realized that of all the teams in the playoffs, the Cowboys had the best total defensive numbers and the best rushing offense. Of course, I realize that this is only one game but still, we rushed for 154 yards, we gave up only 230 yards total, against the team that is representing the NFC in the Super Bowl, and we lost.

The Giants averaged 327 total yards against GB and Tampa. Against us, we held them to 230 total yards of offense. The Giants defense gave up an average of 48.5 rushing yards per game against Tampa and GB. We put up 154 yards on them.

They are in Arizona and we are sitting home. It's a hard thing to accept.

The giants didn't beat the cowboys in the playoffs. The cowboys beat the cowboys in the playoffs (with a tinsy bit of aid from the refs).

 

[CoCo]

One last thought here.

It makes me sick when Ray Lewis is held up as the kind of missing leader this team needs.

I hate his stupid strut that he does before every game and I hate what he stands for as a result of his alleged involvement in that murder. Maybe I'm being unfair, but to me the guy is a thug, and I don't want his type on our team.

Just felt the need to say that.

 

[Fletch]

I was just looking at the NFL stats and realized that of all the teams in the playoffs, the Cowboys had the best total defensive numbers and the best rushing offense. Of course, I realize that this is only one game but still, we rushed for 154 yards, we gave up only 230 yards total, against the team that is representing the NFC in the Super Bowl, and we lost.

The Giants averaged 327 total yards against GB and Tampa. Against us, we held them to 230 total yards of offense. The Giants defense gave up an average of 48.5 rushing yards per game against Tampa and GB. We put up 154 yards on them.

They are in Arizona and we are sitting home. It's a hard thing to accept.

We had mental breakdown after mental breakdown. They didn't. While we shot our selves in the foot time after time, penalty after penalty, they just ended up making one more play than us.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

This team has already passed that test IMO. I'll point specifically to beating the Giants in NY the last two years in very important games including last years scramble late, the long pass to Witten, and the winning FG from Gramatica.

Yes. This team is much better.
We laid a stinker in playoff game this year... but this team has vastly improved over the last 3 years.

Plus I think Romo and company demonstrate this grit on offense repeatedly when they convert 3rd and longs that we Cowboy fans had long become accustomed to conceding were not possible.

Agreed. But we need to do more. How many times can you go to the 3rd and long well.

We're all bitterly disappointed by this playoff loss in part because we'd already seen enough from this team to believe we were the NFC SB favorite. Then the improbably happened and we're questioning the character of the club.

We were one play from advancing. I would like to add that even though we have lost the last 2 playoff games with Romo... we are not losing by big margins(1 & 4pts respectively). We can and will overcome.

I understand late season collapse's have become the norm in Dallas but honestly I believe the prior season collapses had more to do with us simply not yet being good enough, too many flaws. This years team still has room to grow and I think it will if we can shore up the few holes without creating many new ones.

We collapsed because we didnt have much to play for in the end. It was different from years past.

I think often times we over dramatize the difference between winners and losers and call it amongst other things character flaws or championship character. Yet sometimes the difference between champions or not are simply a Scott Norwood kick that sails just wide to the right, or an inexplicable fumble by Romo on a chip shot field goal. Praise is lavished upon the Giants because of their resulting SB triumph when in reality it was out of their control. And the Bills become one of history's scorned as if Norwood's miss is simply a reflection of what's lacking in the rest of organization. Overblown IMO.

Same thing happened to us with Crayton on 2nd to last play of game. Giants did nothing... we blew it. They got the win.

People questioned whether Romo could ever come back from that fumbled snap debacle, much like the character of our leaders, or the coaches is being questioned now because of the Giants playoff loss. I think its quite clear the former was an overreaction and I feel similarly confident that next season will show the latter to be equally overblown.

He overcame and then added a new adversity by dating a tabloid-generator.... she has gotta go or atleast keep it on the downlow.... nothing is more important than leading and winning with the Dallas Cowboys