Career Seasons? The Reason we saw Success in'14?

[Redball Express]

I realize we all have our pet theories about why we went 12-4..

AND about why we will logically take the next steps and not regress.
.
But I'm not so sure.

While I think Martin was a difference-maker..

and the OL is the most improved part of the team..

and Marinelli is the Michelangelo of the NFL defensively..

and Garrett has drastically improved..

and Jerrah is still Jerrah except winning changes perceptions more than facts..

I'm stuck with the belief that career years by Murray, Romo, Bailey and Dez are what made the difference.

Without those 4 guys playing out of their minds..we don'the get it done.

And moreover..is it more likely or less likely..

that this happens again..?

I can't tell or clearly say.

But I do know Murray is gone and so is that 1,800+ yards of offense and TOP it provided.

In a year where Romo overcame 2 back surgeries and still played at a Pro Bowl level..

Can we really expect a 34 yr. old QB to age like fine wine and do we expect him to do it again.?

Is Bailey going to improve on last year or is he going to have to shoulder more given not having Murray to keep extending long drives deep into the redzone?

Is Dez going to be able to repeat last year and break thru with a year where he gets his $14-17 million a year deal and if so..

Can we really afford him after this year at that amount?

Or do we let him walk like we did Murray?

I'm trying to balance realty with expectation here.

Which is always where I get into trouble with this team since the mid-90's.

What do you guys think.?

In your opinions, what is rational and what is fantasy?

And moreso..

if these guys I have mentioned don't have career years again..

who will step up to balance the equation?

Curious minds are pondering.

 

[Hoofbite]

Double-spacing that much is only appropriate when turning in coursework.

 

[sureletsrace]

Text wall crits you for over 9000.
You die.

 

[AzorAhai]

We lost a player that had 1800 yds last year. We're not going to magically finish with 1800 yds less this season than last. 2300 yds rushing last year is what the team had. If the RBBC approach can get 1800 yds rushing total, I'm good with that.

Romo has gotten better every year the last several years. I think its funny Brady, Brees and Peyton didn't hear the death knell at 34, nor was it predicted/expected. Rivers and Roethlisberger don't get crap about how it's all downhill from here. There was talk of the Titans trading the number 2 pick + others for Rivers, a QB who had a worse year than Romo, was beat up and just so happens to be the same age.

Dez has had similar years the last 3 years

Year Rec YDS YPC TD
2014 88 1,320 15.0 16
2013 93 1,233 13.3 13
2012 92 1,382 15.0 12


Bailey wasn't as great last season as people are giving him credit for. He was very good, but last year was not elite.

It sounds like you're being overly pessimistic for no reason to me. The only legitimate area fans could have any concerns about would be the run game. DL should be vastly improved, OL should be improved, Secondary should be improved, LBs should be improved if even reasonably healthy. The reason there's so many RB threads right now is because thats the only real area people can be concerned with. I'm not concerned about it very much at all, so I'm ready to get the season started with what we have and I don't expect any regression from their "career" years.

 

[JoeBoBBY]

I realize we all have our pet theories about why we went 12-4..

AND about why we will logically take the next steps and not regress.
.
But I'm not so sure.

While I think Martin was a difference-maker..

and the OL is the most improved part of the team..

and Marinelli is the Michelangelo of the NFL defensively..

and Garrett has drastically improved..

and Jerrah is still Jerrah except winning changes perceptions more than facts..

I'm stuck with the belief that career years by Murray, Romo, Bailey and Dez are what made the difference.

Without those 4 guys playing out of their minds..we don'the get it done.

And moreover..is it more likely or less likely..

that this happens again..?

I can't tell or clearly say.

But I do know Murray is gone and so is that 1,800+ yards of offense and TOP it provided.

In a year where Romo overcame 2 back surgeries and still played at a Pro Bowl level..

Can we really expect a 34 yr. old QB to age like fine wine and do we expect him to do it again.?

Is Bailey going to improve on last year or is he going to have to shoulder more given not having Murray to keep extending long drives deep into the redzone?

Is Dez going to be able to repeat last year and break thru with a year where he gets his $14-17 million a year deal and if so..

Can we really afford him after this year at that amount?

Or do we let him walk like we did Murray?

I'm trying to balance realty with expectation here.

Which is always where I get into trouble with this team since the mid-90's.

What do you guys think.?

In your opinions, what is rational and what is fantasy?

And moreso..

if these guys I have mentioned don't have career years again..

who will step up to balance the equation?

Curious minds are pondering.

double spacing aside.

I have the same concerns. But a few breaks here or there, for every team, makes a difference in 12-4 and 8-8. And even though I want AP. I really like what the FO is doing. I like the culture its breeding. No one player is above the team. Dez? franchise tag, Murray? see you later. Next man up, forget the last play, what are we doing now, kind of attitude. I like it a lot. We may not win 12 13 games or blow teams out. But we are going to be a tough team to beat.

I do think there is a chance we slip up. Bad luck at the wrong time, and we could slip back easily. We havent proven anything yet. But I do like the direction.

 

[Staubacher]

We'll be better.

 

[Doomsday101]

I realize we all have our pet theories about why we went 12-4..

AND about why we will logically take the next steps and not regress.
.
But I'm not so sure.

While I think Martin was a difference-maker..

and the OL is the most improved part of the team..

and Marinelli is the Michelangelo of the NFL defensively..

and Garrett has drastically improved..

and Jerrah is still Jerrah except winning changes perceptions more than facts..

I'm stuck with the belief that career years by Murray, Romo, Bailey and Dez are what made the difference.

Without those 4 guys playing out of their minds..we don'the get it done.

And moreover..is it more likely or less likely..

that this happens again..?

I can't tell or clearly say.

But I do know Murray is gone and so is that 1,800+ yards of offense and TOP it provided.

In a year where Romo overcame 2 back surgeries and still played at a Pro Bowl level..

Can we really expect a 34 yr. old QB to age like fine wine and do we expect him to do it again.?

Is Bailey going to improve on last year or is he going to have to shoulder more given not having Murray to keep extending long drives deep into the redzone?

Is Dez going to be able to repeat last year and break thru with a year where he gets his $14-17 million a year deal and if so..

Can we really afford him after this year at that amount?

Or do we let him walk like we did Murray?

I'm trying to balance realty with expectation here.

Which is always where I get into trouble with this team since the mid-90's.

What do you guys think.?

In your opinions, what is rational and what is fantasy?

And moreso..

if these guys I have mentioned don't have career years again..

who will step up to balance the equation?

Curious minds are pondering.

No reason at all to think Romo will not continue to produce same with Dez and Beasley. Running game is a concern and hopefully by the end of camp we are able to find the solution at RB.
I expect much more out of the defense this season, Dallas finished last season with 28 sacks I expect that total to be much higher.

 

[Rockport]

I realize we all have our pet theories about why we went 12-4..

AND about why we will logically take the next steps and not regress.
.
But I'm not so sure.

While I think Martin was a difference-maker..

and the OL is the most improved part of the team..

and Marinelli is the Michelangelo of the NFL defensively..

and Garrett has drastically improved..

and Jerrah is still Jerrah except winning changes perceptions more than facts..

I'm stuck with the belief that career years by Murray, Romo, Bailey and Dez are what made the difference.

Without those 4 guys playing out of their minds..we don'the get it done.

And moreover..is it more likely or less likely..

that this happens again..?

I can't tell or clearly say.

But I do know Murray is gone and so is that 1,800+ yards of offense and TOP it provided.

In a year where Romo overcame 2 back surgeries and still played at a Pro Bowl level..

Can we really expect a 34 yr. old QB to age like fine wine and do we expect him to do it again.?

Is Bailey going to improve on last year or is he going to have to shoulder more given not having Murray to keep extending long drives deep into the redzone?

Is Dez going to be able to repeat last year and break thru with a year where he gets his $14-17 million a year deal and if so..

Can we really afford him after this year at that amount?

Or do we let him walk like we did Murray?

I'm trying to balance realty with expectation here.

Which is always where I get into trouble with this team since the mid-90's.

What do you guys think.?

In your opinions, what is rational and what is fantasy?

And moreso..

if these guys I have mentioned don't have career years again..

who will step up to balance the equation?

Curious minds are pondering.

The reason the Cowboys went 12-4 last year is quite simple. An outstanding offensive line that consistently won the trenches and thus a commitment to the running game.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I came into last season thinking it was the perfect litmus test for Garrett, who at that time I was not happy with.

When I looked at the roster, even without Sean Lee, I saw a massive amount of talent on offense with not much talent on defense, but it wasn't like they didn't have any talent.

My feeling was that a 'good' coach would be able to make this offense productive enough and run the ball enough to hide the defense and go 10-6. An average coach would go 8-8 and a poor coach would probably go 6-10. We needed to go 10-6 because that would tell us that we have a good coach and he is good enough to win a Super Bowl with.

To my surprise, we went 12-4. I never thought that was even worth discussing, but we went 12-4 and I think it tells us we have a great coach.

The big thing is that the change in playcalling and some of the things we did philosophically changed enough to get us to play to our strengths and avoid the weaknesses we have.

We took a highly efficient performer that didn't get a lot of carries or touches in Murray and we gave him a ton of carries and touches and he still performed at an efficient rate. That sure beats trying to give those touches to either Witten or one of the WR's in a short, dink-n-dunk pass. Especially since one of Romo's strengths is the play-action and outside of the first couple of games...Romo's play action worked quite well because teams were focusing on the run.

By doing this, we employed less is more with Romo. He simply throws the ball more effectively in passes 25-35 than in passes 35+. Whatever the reason may be is up for conjecture, but it is just the way it is. And there's nothing wrong with that. We want the QB to win and you play to the QB's strengths in order to help the team win, which it did in 2014.

We also got rid of using Witten on pivot routes and replaced that with Beasley which is a big difference. Witten isn't going to take a 3-yard pass and turn it into an 8-yard gain. However, where he's extremely effective is sitting down beyond the 1st down marker and running intermediate pass patterns. That completely changes the passing game as you're going to have to throw those dunk passes from time to time and now we had a receiver that was just far better at it. And we could use Witten to get first downs, catch intermediate pass patterns and pull the safety off Dez or T-Will.

That was one of things that annoyed me in previous seasons...we would have to do a lot of things right just to get a 5-yard gain with a pass play. How often did we see Romo out of the shotgun, the opposing defense had everything covered and then Romo having to fit in a pass to Witten for 5-yards? Too may things could easily go wrong and the reward was only 5-yards.

In essence, these 'career seasons' were likely there before or close to it. Sure, the O-Line plays a huge factor, but we didn't do ourselves favors by neglecting the run, throwing the ball way too often and using Witten incorrectly too often.




YR

 

[LandryFan]

I'm stuck with the belief that career years by Murray, Romo, Bailey and Dez are what made the difference.

Without those 4 guys playing out of their minds..we don'the get it done.

And moreover..is it more likely or less likely..

that this happens again..?

Romo may be getting a little older, but he's also getting a little wiser as he goes and I think that wisdom will more than offset any physical decline due to age. There's also the little matter of him having a full offseason without having to recover from surgery...he can participate in everything he wants to this offseason. You also didn't mention the defensive improvements the team has made. Granted, nothing is guaranteed, but if the defensive changes come anywhere close to panning out as projected, the offense won't have to be what they were last year, though I think they will be anyways. Just based on what I think are realistic expectations, I think they'll be better. JMO.

 

[Redball Express]

Double-spacing that much is only appropriate when turning in coursework.

I do it so you guys can easily quote where I've lost my mind with our team...

Haha..

Obviously I'm a

Glass Half Full

kind of guy.

 

[Redball Express]

We lost a player that had 1800 yds last year. We're not going to magically finish with 1800 yds less this season than last. 2300 yds rushing last year is what the team had. If the RBBC approach can get 1800 yds rushing total, I'm good with that.

Romo has gotten better every year the last several years. I think its funny Brady, Brees and Peyton didn't hear the death knell at 34, nor was it predicted/expected. Rivers and Roethlisberger don't get crap about how it's all downhill from here. There was talk of the Titans trading the number 2 pick + others for Rivers, a QB who had a worse year than Romo, was beat up and just so happens to be the same age.

Dez has had similar years the last 3 years

Year Rec YDS YPC TD
2014 88 1,320 15.0 16
2013 93 1,233 13.3 13
2012 92 1,382 15.0 12


Bailey wasn't as great last season as people are giving him credit for. He was very good, but last year was not elite.

It sounds like you're being overly pessimistic for no reason to me. The only legitimate area fans could have any concerns about would be the run game. DL should be vastly improved, OL should be improved, Secondary should be improved, LBs should be improved if even reasonably healthy. The reason there's so many RB threads right now is because thats the only real area people can be concerned with. I'm not concerned about it very much at all, so I'm ready to get the season started with what we have and I don't expect any regression from their "career" years.

I'm with you brother.

I get excited like everybody else but I remember 2007 where we finally broke thru and

everybody picked us to be the next champions.

Of course it faded quickly with TO dividing the coaches and players..

and Romo began to acquire horrible turnover problems at crucial times to lose games.

I'm just reluctant to buy into all the 'cheese' as Parcells used to call it.

So as far as Romo is concerned..

yes he was improved but still..

nothing more than a hand full of 1st and 2nd round playoff exits.

So we will see.

This year is Romo's last real chance to get to legendary level.

If after this year we haven't gotten it done..

I think they go find his replacement so the core they are building doesn't get wasted..

while we wait until the Heavens open and we watch for God to take his place in Jerrah's box.

Ain't going to happen.

 

[Corso]

This thread is visually strange.

 

[DFWJC]

Murray was really the only one of those four that had a season way better than in the past.

The entire defense as a whole was better...but were still not very good. There's huge upside there.

The entire Oline as a unit was way better too. Smith in his 2nd full year at LT and Freddy in his 2nd in the middle were boosted by Martin as well.They're young, and I wouldn't expect them to regress.

Dez was Dez....nothing out of the ordinary for him.

Romo was more efficient than his already efficient self. But he's gotten better and that line makes life easier for him.

Bailey was not better last year.

 

[jday]

For me, the Cowboys upcoming season and the results we can expect boil down to just a few areas of concern:

1. Can the Cowboys stay healthy where it counts?
2. Can the RBBC approach replace Demarco's production?

Outside of those two questions, though, the Cowboys look to be in the best shape they have been in youth and talent-wise since the mid-90's.

 

[StarBoyz83]

Everybody had great years but it wasnt just that. They came together as a team they were a lot more disciplined. The 8-8 teams were 10-12 win teams. They constantly made penalities at the wrong time and they lacked leadership. They consistently beat themselves to a point where even people that didnt watch the nfl knew it as coming. Thats why the cowboys are still known as underachieving choke artists. I was a hater but the success of last season has a lot to do with garret. but don't get me3 wrong the defense step and and draft philosophy especially this year was my main man rod. My boss who played in the cfl played for him here in utah. That man is the ish!!

Fight!!! dallas will win the sb this or next year or hopefully both.

fight!!!

 

[CyberB0b]

I think 2007 was more of an example of players playing above their ability. That, combined with one of the softest schedules in the history of the league made that team seem better than it was. This team is different. It is younger in the lines, with more depth and less flash.

 

[burmafrd]

Romo and Dez have had similiar seasons before so any concern there is stupid.

Murray is gone so who cares?

Bailey is actually the only one I have any concern with- he seemed to slump late last year and I hope its not a trend

 

[burmafrd]

I think 2007 was more of an example of players playing above their ability. That, combined with one of the softest schedules in the history of the league made that team seem better than it was. This team is different. It is younger in the lines, with more depth and less flash.

part of the D and the O line had career years in 2007 and that was a huge reason we had that good a record. Those players with the exception of Ware and Newman were never as good again.

 

[CyberB0b]

part of the D and the O line had career years in 2007 and that was a huge reason we had that good a record. Those players with the exception of Ware and Newman were never as good again.

Yeah, that's what I was saying. I mean Anthony Henry having 6 picks is LOL. That, and like I said, we had one of the softest schedules in league history.