Bought into the hype

[jnday]

I have to wonder how good the Patriots would do if Brady and Gronkowski were out.

In the past, they have remained respectable when injuries have occurred to Brady.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

In the past, they have remained respectable when injuries have occurred to Brady.

Like going 11-5 with Cassel when Brady tore his knee up in the first game of the season.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

I know you didn't . I had my doubts as well, but I did expect more than this. I didn't expect these younger players to take a step back to this extent.

I think a distinction can be made between buying into hype and having reasonably high expectations for this team to continue on from what we saw last year. And those expectations were based on having your QB and #1 WR. My biggest concern was the running game w/o Murray. I never bought the "plug and play" any ole RB mantra that many were espousing. Sure, I thot it was possible, but had my doubts and the whole team chemistry factor was part of that concern.

 

[Floatyworm]

We absolutely did not get outplayed in the first Giants game. We also really outplayed the Eagles. The scores didn't reflect that because we had some issues in the redzone due to no Dez, but we most definitely did NOT get outplayed.

I watched that tape 3 times and started a 4th time....and couldn't finish it becasue I got tired of watching Ronald Leary get his *** handed to him by Hankins. We got lucky to win that because the Giants butchered the play clock. End of Story......

 

[Junglist]

We absolutely did not get outplayed in the first Giants game. We also really outplayed the Eagles. The scores didn't reflect that because we had some issues in the redzone due to no Dez, but we most definitely did NOT get outplayed.

Uh, yes we did get outplayed by the giants. We were behind the entire game, and it took a terrible decision by Eli/Coughlin to give us a chance for that final drive. Otherwise, the giants win that game.

 

[lukin2006]

I definitely think this team was overhyped and peoples deciding player personnel over estimated the talent level on this team. Going into the season we did not have a quality backup, real good depth at WR and I think one of the best used phrase in sports is chemistry and this O-line lacks chemistry without Murray, I wonder if the defence lack chemistry with all the changes there .... because this D has been a big disappointment ... I think we're lucky we're not 1-6, very real possibility we are 2-8 after this next two games, maybe even 2-9 when Romo returns.

 

[ActualCowboysFan]

I definitely think this team was overhyped and peoples deciding player personnel over estimated the talent level on this team. Going into the season we did not have a quality backup, real good depth at WR and I think one of the best used phrase in sports is chemistry and this O-line lacks chemistry without Murray, I wonder if the defence lack chemistry with all the changes there .... because this D has been a big disappointment ... I think we're lucky we're not 1-6, very real possibility we are 2-8 after this next two games, maybe even 2-9 when Romo returns.

Got math?

 

[TonyRomo17]

LMAO, 5-1 with Romo nnot even close

 

[Idgit]

Doesn't really matter what the record might have been if Romo were in the lineup. We're 2-4 now. To me, it's pretty obvious that we've been limited at the QB position and aren't getting the takeaways good teams get to win games. That simple explanation I think is better than resorting to a theory about emotional collapse. But you guys who like to make yourselves feel better believing the team wasn't very good to begin with get to make your case during losing streaks. That's how it works.

When Dez and Tony are back, we'll get to see how overhyped we look, once and for all. We certainly haven't played our best football yet.

 

[hornitosmonster]

It took a few more games for the offensive line to gel (injuries, line-up, Weeden).

 

[gimmesix]

Looking back, Dallas was playing sloppy football even when Romo and Dez was healthy. Of course things went South as the injuries took it's toll and it went from bad to worse. I tend to believe that the team bought into the hype during the offseason just as the fans and media did. There was a touch of arrogance surrounding the fans with the thinking that the Oline was one of the GOAT and things would pick up just where they left off last year. I think Jerry bought into the hype as well considering the that the team went into the season with the attitude that any RB could put up big numbers in this offense. It appeared that the team had a very good draft and that raised expectations even more. Do any of you think think last year's record made this team and front office overconfident? I see signs from the team's play that has gave me that impression. Anyone else see this?

Every season takes time to develop because there are always changes. I think few teams go into a new season thinking they are going to just have the success they had the previous year because they understand that changes can affect that success. They hope to build on that success, but winning just isn't a given.

Now, they couldn't have expected to lose their top two offensive stars and overconfidence had nothing to do with that. I think if those two had stayed healthy no one would be thinking "the team bought into the hype," they would be thinking "this could be the year."

Let's look at the evidence. Without Romo and Bryant, we've lost by six points in overtime to New Orleans, 11 points to Atlanta, 24 points to New England and seven points to New York. I'd say Romo and Bryant bring enough to the offense that we would have won all of those games but New England (and that could have turned with an offense that didn't go three-and-out almost every time).

Would 5-1 or 4-2 be a sign of an overconfident team?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I had high expectations for the season PROVIDED the team had good health for the key parts.

Of course we know the injuries on offense.

But I think loosing Gregory for several games was a huge blow... especially when Mincey couldn't play due to the concussion.

Flat out disappointments?

-Weeden. He was worse than what I expected.
-The lack of turnovers on defense. As much as the loss of Romo/Bryant have hurt, if the defense had gotten more turnovers the team would not be on a 4 game losing streak even with injury woes on offense.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

They played all of 2 quarters with Dez and all of 6 quarters with Romo. Not exactly a great sample size to determine 'sloppy play' especially when the rest of the league looks sloppy in the first 3 games.

Then we had the following players either go out or miss significant time with injury or suspension:

Dunbar
Leary
T. McClain
R. McClain
Gregory
Hardy
Scandrick
Lee

Penalties have been up league wide in the NFL as well.

I don't think attitude, energy and effort have been an issue.

I think we've struggled a bit with the RBBC concept and started the wrong guy in Randle and had McFadden in the wrong spot as the #2 RB.

I think we got caught in a pickle with the salary cap and the DB's as Claiborne had not worked out and Carr and Church are greatly overpaid. Scandrick going down didn't help matters and between the RBBC and the DB issues....it didn't help make up for the injuries by running the ball well and creating turnovers.






YR

 

[Sarge]

In the past, they have remained respectable when injuries have occurred to Brady.

They were VERY AVERAGE without Gronkowski last year to the point many thought Brady was washed up

 

[VACowboy]

But is it reasonable to expect them to win a game or two along the way? That's the $64,000 question.

If they happen to go 0-7 without Romo, which BTW I don't think will happen, I absolutely think it would be fair to assess the rest of the roster and conclude that the talent level of the overall team wasn't quite as high as most of us thought coming into the season.

I agree with what you say, but I think it takes some time for players to refocus when the game plan is suddenly something massively different than what they've been studying and practicing since mid-February. I'm sure it must have happened somewhere over the years, but I can't recall a team losing a franchise QB, a franchise WR and arguably its third best offensive skill player, all within two games. The Dallas offense is very simplistic. It is built around running the ball, throwing it to Dez and Jason and taking advantage of the mismatches that happen when you try to stack the box and get creative trying to cover those two guys. When you lose Romo and Dez, you lose three-quarters of your offense. Once Atlanta revealed the Cowboys' post-Dezmo offensive strategy, everyone loaded up to stop the run and take away the short passing game. Simple. And Weeden had no ability to do anything about it. He became completely lost when Dunbar got hurt. I don't think it's any coincidence that the OL suddenly looked dominant again after a change at QB and some new wrinkles were added to the playbook. Add Collins starting for a less than 100% Ronald Leary and Martin finally fully healthy, and I think you have as much of a perfect storm as the series of circumstances that caused the team's offensive decline. Too many mistakes Sunday in NJ, but the offense was very encouraging.

Now, having said all that, I must also say that I am disappointed in guys like Williams and Beasley and thoroughly frustrated with the coaching staff's seemingly flat refusal to make play adjustments or adapt in any significant way. I'm a long-time critic of the Garrett offense anyway, but the complete lack of...anything being done in the absence of Romo and Dez to help get some receivers open or help the running game get moving blows my mind. It's one thing to put your great players on the field and say "Go kick some ***." But when your great players are laid up on the bench, it's time to do something a little different. Sunday was a decent start.

If talent has been overrated on this team, I definitely think it's on the defensive side of the ball. I think a case could be made that Williams is no #2 and the offseason hype over Beasley was way overblown. I think it's hard to judge those players without a great QB throwing to them and zero creativity in the playbook, though. I have been leery of Rolando McClain since his late season swoon last year. I've never been a Carr guy and liked Moore a lot more than Patmon. Always loved Crawford, but through seven games, he's not playing to the level I thought he would, and certainly not to the level of his new contract. Lee looks different since the concussion. Could be that Marinelli isn't the magician we thought he was. ???

1. No excuse for not doing something in the offseason about backup QB.
2. The complete inability of Garrett and the staff to adapt blows my mind.
3. These players play hard, but they have to stop making mistakes.
4. Three takeaways through seven games.
5. The Dallas special teams (minus Bailey) is a case in point: there are THREE phases to football.
6. THREE TAKEAWAYS THROUGH SEVEN GAMES!
7. I have hope for the offense. The pieces are coming together.
8. Defense and teams, not so much.
9. Harris is a better KR than either Dunbar or Lucky, a better PR than Beasley and a better WR than Street.

 

[Sarge]

true indeed....

but they would be better coached.

True.

 

[LocimusPrime]

No sir. We would be undefeated if every single injured player wasnt injured. With Romo and Dez our offense would be about the same as last years. With Scandrick, our defense is significantly better when factoring in Hardy and the new Dlinemen and the return of a healthy Sean Lee. However, our ST would still be sorry lol

 

[LocimusPrime]

The

I agree with what you say, but I think it takes some time for players to refocus when the game plan is suddenly something massively different than what they've been studying and practicing since mid-February. I'm sure it must have happened somewhere over the years, but I can't recall a team losing a franchise QB, a franchise WR and arguably its third best offensive skill player, all within two games. The Dallas offense is very simplistic. It is built around running the ball, throwing it to Dez and Jason and taking advantage of the mismatches that happen when you try to stack the box and get creative trying to cover those two guys. When you lose Romo and Dez, you lose three-quarters of your offense. Once Atlanta revealed the Cowboys' post-Dezmo offensive strategy, everyone loaded up to stop the run and take away the short passing game. Simple. And Weeden had no ability to do anything about it. He became completely lost when Dunbar got hurt. I don't think it's any coincidence that the OL suddenly looked dominant again after a change at QB and some new wrinkles were added to the playbook. Add Collins starting for a less than 100% Ronald Leary and Martin finally fully healthy, and I think you have as much of a perfect storm as the series of circumstances that caused the team's offensive decline. Too many mistakes Sunday in NJ, but the offense was very encouraging.

Now, having said all that, I must also say that I am disappointed in guys like Williams and Beasley and thoroughly frustrated with the coaching staff's seemingly flat refusal to make play adjustments or adapt in any significant way. I'm a long-time critic of the Garrett offense anyway, but the complete lack of...anything being done in the absence of Romo and Dez to help get some receivers open or help the running game get moving blows my mind. It's one thing to put your great players on the field and say "Go kick some ***." But when your great players are laid up on the bench, it's time to do something a little different. Sunday was a decent start.

If talent has been overrated on this team, I definitely think it's on the defensive side of the ball. I think a case could be made that Williams is no #2 and the offseason hype over Beasley was way overblown. I think it's hard to judge those players without a great QB throwing to them and zero creativity in the playbook, though. I have been leery of Rolando McClain since his late season swoon last year. I've never been a Carr guy and liked Moore a lot more than Patmon. Always loved Crawford, but through seven games, he's not playing to the level I thought he would, and certainly not to the level of his new contract. Lee looks different since the concussion. Could be that Marinelli isn't the magician we thought he was. ???

1. No excuse for not doing something in the offseason about backup QB.
2. The complete inability of Garrett and the staff to adapt blows my mind.
3. These players play hard, but they have to stop making mistakes.
4. Three takeaways through seven games.
5. The Dallas special teams (minus Bailey) is a case in point: there are THREE phases to football.
6. THREE TAKEAWAYS THROUGH SEVEN GAMES!
7. I have hope for the offense. The pieces are coming together.
8. Defense and teams, not so much.
9. Harris is a better KR than either Dunbar or Lucky, a better PR than Beasley and a better WR than Street.

The defense is good. They did a great job against the PAtriots until the O let them down and they held the giants to 14pts

 

[xwalker]

Looking back, Dallas was playing sloppy football even when Romo and Dez was healthy. Of course things went South as the injuries took it's toll and it went from bad to worse. I tend to believe that the team bought into the hype during the offseason just as the fans and media did. There was a touch of arrogance surrounding the fans with the thinking that the Oline was one of the GOAT and things would pick up just where they left off last year. I think Jerry bought into the hype as well considering the that the team went into the season with the attitude that any RB could put up big numbers in this offense. It appeared that the team had a very good draft and that raised expectations even more. Do any of you think think last year's record made this team and front office overconfident? I see signs from the team's play that has gave me that impression. Anyone else see this?

No!

Darren McFadden just rushed for 152 yards now that the OLine is blocking like it did last season. The blocking he got in the Giants game is what Murray got in all games last year. Actually, Murray had better blocking in some games last year. It appears that indeed a low cost RB can be very successful running behind the OLine when it blocks like it did last season. Injuries to Leary and Martin limited the OL earlier this season and the new OL coach tried to go with too much outside zone but got back to the man/zone mix that worked last season.

The Cowboys have been in all but 1 game this season (Patriots). That's 3 games they had a good chance to win with a backup QB and without Dez.

In the Pats game the defense gave Brady a good challenge in the 1st half and might have continued if the offense had a higher time of possession.

Based on studying each game this season, the Cowboys would highly likely be 5-1 with Romo and Dez and more likely than not they would be 5-1 with just 1 of them playing all the games. It is even possible that they could have won the Pats game with Romo and Dez considering the defense was doing a good job against Brady but too many 3-and-outs by the offensive made it impossible to hold the Pats offense in check indefinitely.

The Cowboys management has been brilliant other than the backup QB issue; although, I don't know if there were really a lot of better options back in March when they would have to have signed a free agent QB. If a QB is great in the classroom in the off-season and has a good arm and then practices well it's hard to know what you've got until the actual preseason come about and by then it's too late to really look for another one.

 

[MRV52]

We were sloppy even last year, can't play 16 perfect games. With Romo and Dez in the lineup this team is a threat to anyone. I hope we can salvage the season because if this team can get healthy and make the playoffs look out.