Am I alone? I believe this team will go to the SB if we stay healthy

[DandyDon52]

You could be right on all of that... and you're certainly correct that we've been losing the games that Romo has missed.

It is just a pet peeve of mine when it is assumed that Romo is going to be injured all season (not saying you said that). So many fans (particularly Washington, Philly and NY fans) act like it is a foregone conclusion that Tony is going to be hurt most of this season. His back is better than it has been in a long time and last year was a collar bone... not exactly something that is a recurring injury (unless you rush back like Tony did last season). That is without mentioning that he had a Mumford procedure so the collar bone won't be an issue going forward.

If they want to argue that Tony is in his mid 30's and so is a little more brittle than he was 10 years ago... then I can at least understand that argument, although they'd have to say the same thing for Brady, Brees, Eli, Rivers, etc.

Football fans are notorious for looking at recent events and thinking that's how things are going to be going forward. Just because Tony missed last year and is in his mid 30's, they think he's going to stay injured. Nevermind that it was a collar bone and he had the procedure to make sure it doesn't happen.

Like I said... just a pet peeve of mine really.

Yeah me too, tony isnt fragile, he could easily play all season.
IN fact I expect him to play every game.
The only thing is dallas coaches cant stop the delayed coming free gap rushers.
When tony has guys coming full speed, unblocked, and he cant spin out of it, there is a good
chance he gets hurt again.
That is the main problem, the guys coming free thru gaps, so teams see a weakness in our
formations and scheme, and dallas coaches are still scratching their heads thinking " wow howd they do that" lol

 

[ChooChoo73]

I can't see Super Bowl with this team but hope I'm wrong. I question our ability to win the division. I don't think our offense is going to match what it looks like on paper primarily because of our coaching staff. I believe if healthy they will be very good but not enough to make up for a horse-manure defense. All the "offense make defense better... Zeke" chatter will meet a cold reality of us not getting stops when needed IMO. We will be watching Mo interfere, Carr trailing receivers and McClain suspended before long.

 

[BigStar]

Parity and refs will decide if we make it

 

[lwehlers]

Other than health I have few concerns about the offense.

IMO it's a SB-quality offense.

Defense is another story...

3 areas of major concern:

1. Somehow they need to get at minimum 40 sacks out of this defense.

2. They need to be better than average in the yards-given-up-per-attempt category.

3. They need to be within the top--20 in turnovers created.

Hit those marks with this offense and you have a solid SB contender.

If the defense falls flat you're probably looking at a 9-7 squad that doesn't get beyond its first playoff game.

that is the number one reason why I do not view the cowboys as a superbowl contender. we have no pass rush. I do not see how this defense will generate 40 sacks. also the turnovers with the way the corners play the ball in space I do not see how they are going to get interceptions. marinell does not create turnovers in his scheme. the offense will score points if romo and dez healthy. no doubt about that. 10-6 or 8-8. I hope this is going to be a fun season because last year was the worst football year I have seen in the last ten years.

 

[Section446]

You're alone.

 

[lwehlers]

Romo has missed 14 games the past three seasons and the Cowboys record is 1-13 without him. We used four different backups QBs and could only come up with one win.

that is on coaching and the jones family for not knowing how to win when the starters are hurt. that is why I am scared to see what happens when romo is done because it a great coach like parcells to make up for how awful the jones family is at running a team the last time when aikman retired. unless a blue chip quarterback falls in our lap this team will be stuck for years of losing.

 

[DFWJC]

He played in every game in 2011.

He played in every game in 2012.

He played in all but one game in 2013.

He played in all but one game in 2014.

He missed all but four games last year.

It isn't unreasonable to think that he will play the vast majority of this year.

This tells me the expectation should be Romo playing between 14-15 games.

That could cost Dallas home field (if you assume we lose when he's out) which eventually has them playing at maybe GB, Sea, or Az later...and keeps them from making a deeper run.

In the end, it's the defense that concerns me. Ramp up the turnovers and pressure though, and it could get interesting.

 

[Frozen700]

Evey year we are supposed to go to the Superbowl .

 

[percyhoward]

I believe we could recreate the winning formula the 2009 saints did.

That formula would still have to include an elite performance from our pass defense. The 2009 Saints ranked 3rd in DPR.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Our sack totals in 2016 could be one of the lowest in franchise history

I remember reading the same thing 2 years ago.

 

[Galian Beast]

The Panthers went 7-8 in 2014 and were in the super bowl in 2015 nearly going undefeated.

I believe that with Ezekiel Elliott this team can really do some things. I think this team can be hard to stop with a balanced offense. We do need to get better on defense though and that will determine how far we go. We also need some more speed on offense.

 

[big dog cowboy]

Evey year we are supposed to go to the Superbowl .

At least that is back in the off season discussion again. We had some lean years where that wasn't close to any kind of reality.

 

[zekecowboy]

The odds of our defense being really good this year is just not very likely. Too many unproven players with not enough experience.

 

[TheFinisher]

He played in every game in 2011.

He played in every game in 2012.

He played in all but one game in 2013.

He played in all but one game in 2014.

He missed all but four games last year.

It isn't unreasonable to think that he will play the vast majority of this year.

He's missed 24 out of his last 96 possible starts. Started 75% of possible games.

Eli Manning has missed 0 out of his last 96 starts. 100% attendance.

Brady 100% attendance

Rivers 100% attendance

Like it or not, Romo has a significant injury history compared to the other vet QBs around the league.

 

[DandyDon52]

it is silly to be thinking SB right now.
Main thing is get in the playoffs !
Get as high a seed rank as possible.
Win games.

Talk about SB once your at least in the playoffs.
With this team and coaches, just winning in the div round would be something
new, that gets them to the conf champ game.

 

[DandyDon52]

He's missed 24 out of his last 96 possible starts. Started 75% of possible games.

Eli Manning has missed 0 out of his last 96 starts. 100% attendance.

Brady 100% attendance

Rivers 100% attendance

Like it or not, Romo has a significant injury history compared to the other vet QBs around the league.

you left out all the others lol, like brees, rothburger,ravens qb, rodgers, and many more.

 

[DFWJC]

you left out all the others lol, like brees, rothburger,ravens qb, rodgers, and many more.

Conveniently.

It is weird that in 2010 and 2015 Romo had collarbone breaks. That's very unusual.

The wear and tear type injuries are usually what you worry about with age. if that's the case, he has only missed 2-3 games.

Unless someone expects another collarbone break--which given his past, I guess could miraculously happen--they would be expecting something new to happen if they think he'll miss more than 1 game.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Evey year we are supposed to go to the Superbowl .

I actually like the years we are supposed to be bad. Those years we overachieve. lol

 

[Jack Burton]

It's such a year to year league now, that it's hard to really predict much of anything. I think if everyone stays healthy, the Boys should win the NFC east and get a playoff spot. If some guys surprise, they could go on a deep run. People talk about Romo getting old and brittle, but that doesn't worry me too much. If Romo was in his early 20's, he'd still have had broken the collarbone last year. A collarbone isn't big and strong enough to hit the ground like that, with that much force and weight landing on top of it. What concerns me the most about Romo is his back. Back injuries are tricky, unpredictable things.

I remember how much that cheap shot he took in game one from the Giants last year hurt him. His back was feeling fine, and then it was back to being not fine, just like that. It's stuff like that, more than broken collarbones, that could take him and our season down. I know the plan is for the running game, along with our talented offensive line, to keep the pressure off of Romo and protect him. But Romo's game has always been about holding the ball as long as possible in order to make a play. That's just his nature, for both good and bad. It causes him to take some nasty hits. He'll definitely take some in the upcoming season. How his back holds up, will determine how far we go more than any other factor.

 

[KJJ]

That's nice. .....keep assuming you know my thoughts

If I'm wrong then how about sharing your thoughts on why you think the defense is better than it was in 2014? We're only in OTA's and you've already come to that conclusion. You made a bold statement and refuse to explain your reasoning behind it because it's all based on what I said wishful thinking and your FANDOM. If I'm wrong then here's your chance to prove me wrong.

We're not going to know where the team or the defense is until training camp and preseason starts. It won't be until the dress rehearsal game when we play our starters for a half that we'll get a good feel for how good or bad the defense is going to be in 2016. It takes some games to gage where you are not a few OTA practices.