Dallas FO 3 mistakes in 2015 which hurt Super Bowl chances

[KJJ]

That is true, they should be able to go .500 at least with the bkups,

Several playoff teams last year lost their QB for part of the season and still made the playoffs. Denver lost Manning for 7 games and ended up winning the SB because they went 5-2 with their backup QB due to their defense and having a solid well coached team that didn't depend on Manning carrying them. They lost the SB 3 years ago with Manning having the best season of his career setting several NFL passing records and they won the SB last season with him having the worst season of his career. It takes a solid "team" to win a championship. The Seahawks won a SB with Russell Wilson managing games 3 years ago. Wilson had his best season in 2015 in every statistical category but the Seahawks didn't even reach the SB. The more you depend on your QB the less chance you have of winning a championship. Three of the greatest seasons we've seen by QBs Marino in 84, Brady in 2007 and Manning in 2013 all ended without a championship.

No QB the Cowboys have ever had has had more put on their shoulders than Romo which is why he has so many franchise passing records. We depend on him too much and it's caused some of his big game failures over the years. Rarely in the 10 years Romo's been the QB have we ever seen the defense step up and help us win a critical game. Most of those games have all come down to Romo having to win them and it's resulted in some of the mistakes he's made that's marred his career. The teams that are winning SBs have defenses that force turnovers and get after the QB. You can have the greatest offense in NFL history led by one of the greatest QBs in history and you'll get blown out in a SB if you're having to depend on your QB and can't play defense. Our 90s teams didn't depend on Aikman winning games every week those teams revolved around the running game and playing solid defense.

We were solid offensively and defensively there were no weaknesses that opponents could take advantage of. We could throw the ball, run the ball, rush the passer and cover which is why those teams won 3 SBs in 4 years. Three of the four playoff teams Romo has had the defense ended up folding in the playoffs and it was due to a lack of a pass rush and not being able to make critical stops. Eli was comfortable all day in the pocket in the 07 playoffs and we could never stop the Giants on 3rd down. Although the Cowboys OL fell apart against the the Vikings in 09 Favre ate the defense up with 4 TD passes we couldn't force him into one mistake. In 2014 a one legged Aaron Rodgers shredded us. Nothing has killed the Cowboys during the Romo era like our defense.

 

[jnday]

No. The giant mistake was signing Hardy. It created an environment where one guy was pretty much allowed to do whatever he wanted despite mediocre production. Jerry clearly overruled Garrett on that and it tore down a good bit of what JG had established the previous year.

Garrett was all-in on Hardy and even talked to him for hours before giving his approval . Garrett was just as much to blame as Jerry was.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

2015's Super Bowl Chances:

Move on

Thank you.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Garrett was all-in on Hardy and even talked to him for hours before giving his approval . Garrett was just as much to blame as Jerry was.

That sure goes against his RKG mantra then. Everyone knows this was Jerrys move.

 

[DandyDon52]

Garrett was all-in on Hardy and even talked to him for hours before giving his approval . Garrett was just as much to blame as Jerry was.

many fans wanted hardy too, but then there was waiting for him to be able to play, then his comments,before NE game,
and then the commentators telling us the same thing over and over every game, and unless he made a great play they did not show us much
on what he did.
hardy started playing after tony went down, and after the losing had started, and he tried hard, but the losing kept happening, and by
the giants game it got to him after harris td return, and after that I think he started to give up on trying hard.
I think hardy would have a much bigger impact this year, starting in week one, and the media stuff would have to be lessened,
and the losing could be winning instead, and that makes a difference with all the players.
If they can get him at good price they should try one more year.

 

[DandyDon52]

Several playoff teams last year lost their QB for part of the season and still made the playoffs. Denver lost Manning for 7 games and ended up winning the SB because they went 5-2 with their backup QB due to their defense and having a solid well coached team that didn't depend on Manning carrying them. They lost the SB 3 years ago with Manning having the best season of his career setting several NFL passing records and they won the SB last season with him having the worst season of his career. It takes a solid "team" to win a championship. The Seahawks won a SB with Russell Wilson managing games 3 years ago. Wilson had his best season in 2015 in every statistical category but the Seahawks didn't even reach the SB. The more you depend on your QB the less chance you have of winning a championship. Three of the greatest seasons we've seen by QBs Marino in 84, Brady in 2007 and Manning in 2013 all ended without a championship.

No QB the Cowboys have ever had has had more put on their shoulders than Romo which is why he has so many franchise passing records. We depend on him too much and it's caused some of his big game failures over the years. Rarely in the 10 years Romo's been the QB have we ever seen the defense step up and help us win a critical game. Most of those games have all come down to Romo having to win them and it's resulted in some of the mistakes he's made that's marred his career. The teams that are winning SBs have defenses that force turnovers and get after the QB. You can have the greatest offense in NFL history led by one of the greatest QBs in history and you'll get blown out in a SB if you're having to depend on your QB and can't play defense. Our 90s teams didn't depend on Aikman winning games every week those teams revolved around the running game and playing solid defense.

We were solid offensively and defensively there were no weaknesses that opponents could take advantage of. We could throw the ball, run the ball, rush the passer and cover which is why those teams won 3 SBs in 4 years. Three of the four playoff teams Romo has had the defense ended up folding in the playoffs and it was due to a lack of a pass rush and not being able to make critical stops. Eli was comfortable all day in the pocket in the 07 playoffs and we could never stop the Giants on 3rd down. Although the Cowboys OL fell apart against the the Vikings in 09 Favre ate the defense up with 4 TD passes we couldn't force him into one mistake. In 2014 a one legged Aaron Rodgers shredded us. Nothing has killed the Cowboys during the Romo era like our defense.

yeah John Hadl and dan fouts were great qb's, and sometimes had a great offense, but I dont know if they ever went to a SB or won..... no they didnt,
but Hadl did win a afc champ, in 63 before the SB, but they said he had a good defense at that point.
It helps to have great defense.

 

[Bullflop]

I believe its two things then some.

1st off Playmaking WRs, 2ndly Defensive conversion rate.


I'll leave the rest alone because it has nothing to do with on the field.

They're factors as well but you'll notice that I stipulated most of the problems, not all. The absence of Romo and Dez were devastating last year.

The defense has been lacking for quite a while. Hopefully, our weak defense might be addressed during the upcoming draft as much as possible.

 

[DandyDon52]

They're factors as well but you'll notice that I stipulated most of the problems, not all. The absence of Romo and Dez were devastating last year. The defense has been lacking for quite a while.

True, but we also did not have Murray, and the FO decisions, had a domino effect leading to all 3 not playing in 2015.
Some think I guess that Romo's injury in philly was fated to happen, and was going to happen no matter if murray stayed, or anything else.

Truth is it was a freak play and everything that happened before that led to that moment.
If you change anything in the past, it would change that moment,
So if they kept murray, and I will say now if Murray had just taken the offer and stayed, 2015 would have been a much better year for cowboys.
and had they signed dez early on, he might not get hurt and have a much better year, and if all that had happened, it is possible Dallas
could have contended for a SB appearance.

The only way now for a SB chance, is if they get another top RB and go back to the 2014 formula, with a better defense.

 

[Bullflop]

True, but we also did not have Murray, and the FO decisions, had a domino effect leading to all 3 not playing in 2015.
Some think I guess that Romo's injury in philly was fated to happen, and was going to happen no matter if murray stayed, or anything else.

Truth is it was a freak play and everything that happened before that led to that moment.
If you change anything in the past, it would change that moment,
So if they kept murray, and I will say now if Murray had just taken the offer and stayed, 2015 would have been a much better year for cowboys.
and had they signed dez early on, he might not get hurt and have a much better year, and if all that had happened, it is possible Dallas
could have contended for a SB appearance.

The only way now for a SB chance, is if they get another top RB and go back to the 2014 formula, with a better defense.

The team's failure to retain Murray was a decision that hinged largely upon his insistence upon getting more than he was reasonably worth. The Eagles found that out the hard way. We had the option to draft a RB to replace Murray but elected to take Green in that draft, which turned out to be a glaring error in judgment. This is but one issue I was referring to as one of the failures to address the depth issues that have plagued us.

 

[cowboyblue22]

its the defense until it gets fixed the cowboys are not in the superbowl hunt or talk or should they be.

 

[jnday]

Romo's collarbone being held together with scotch tape for most of the year probably had something to do with it.

I don't even blame the back up QBs either...we were in position to win a lot of the games that we ultimately ended up losing. We had chances to beat the Falcons, Saints, Seahawks, Eagles (second game), Giants (second game), Tampa Bay, and Jets.

Our defense is really what let us down last year. Whether it was CJ Spiller taking the opening play in OT for a TD, Dwayne Harris destroying us on kick returns, Jordan Matthews catching the GW TD in OT, Jameis Winston leading a game-winning drive, etc.

The defense was not good, but the offense was worse . It was not good before Romo got hurt, but they won because of him in a couple of games. The offense suffered from Murray not being there. The running games this year looked good on the stats, by looked bad on the field . It was a low impact rushing game.

 

[DandyDon52]

The defense was not good, but the offense was worse . It was not good before Romo got hurt, but they won because of him in a couple of games. The offense suffered from Murray not being there. The running games this year looked good on the stats, by looked bad on the field . It was a low impact rushing game.

yes people look at the stats and say it was good, but it was avg at best.
Also it caused the coaches to call plays differently, and the plan was to throw more to the backs, but then dunbar got hurt.
They had to figure out what they had in the RB's and how best to use them.
It took them 3 years to figure out they could run more with murray, but the ol was not there till 2013.

They knew how to use murray, and had confidence in him and that was missing last year.

I liked McF last year , and Morris may do good with our OL, so with Romo back they should do ok, but is ok good enough??

 

[mahoneybill]

2015's Super Bowl Chances:

Move on

every time I see that tackle it looks like he intentionally landed all of his weight on his shoulder... The Giants and Eagle in particular seem to try to take our players out of the game.

 

[jnday]

many fans wanted hardy too, but then there was waiting for him to be able to play, then his comments,before NE game,
and then the commentators telling us the same thing over and over every game, and unless he made a great play they did not show us much
on what he did.
hardy started playing after tony went down, and after the losing had started, and he tried hard, but the losing kept happening, and by
the giants game it got to him after harris td return, and after that I think he started to give up on trying hard.
I think hardy would have a much bigger impact this year, starting in week one, and the media stuff would have to be lessened,
and the losing could be winning instead, and that makes a difference with all the players.
If they can get him at good price they should try one more year.

I wanted Hardy here and they should have resigned him already. He was rusty last year and having him with the team this offseason would have made a difference.

 

[jnday]

yes people look at the stats and say it was good, but it was avg at best.
Also it caused the coaches to call plays differently, and the plan was to throw more to the backs, but then dunbar got hurt.
They had to figure out what they had in the RB's and how best to use them.
It took them 3 years to figure out they could run more with murray, but the ol was not there till 2013.

They knew how to use murray, and had confidence in him and that was missing last year.

I liked McF last year , and Morris may do good with our OL, so with Romo back they should do ok, but is ok good enough??

Simple question, simple answer, no, okay is not enough .

 

[conner01]

We did make 3 huge mistakes last year and they were all Jerry's fault.
1- letting Romo get hurt
2- letting Dez get hurt
3- letting Scandrick get hurt
I blame Jerry for all 3 because, well isn't everything his fault?

 

[DandyDon52]

I wanted Hardy here and they should have resigned him already. He was rusty last year and having him with the team this offseason would have made a difference.

Well the thing the jones and the fans are not looking at, is in the first game he played he played hard, and all will say he looked
good.
But after that effort, we lost what 6-30 lol that makes a person not want to try so hard.
Then after that they lose game after game, never a win till very late in season, no romo, and really nothing to play for.
I think many players let up and just played, they didnt play hard.
So Hardy was on a team that just loses every week, and with no romo they were not going to playoffs.

So if they brought him back, an we win games, like start 3-1 or better , you would see a different hardy, just like some of the other
players.
Plus they have thornton now, so that makes a big difference having a good inside man.

 

[DandyDon52]

We did make 3 huge mistakes last year and they were all Jerry's fault.
1- letting Romo get hurt
2- letting Dez get hurt
3- letting Scandrick get hurt
I blame Jerry for all 3 because, well isn't everything his fault?

Well jerry was around when all 3 got hurt !!
But no I dont blame him for scandrick , just Romo and Dez.

And another thing about romos injury, it is the guy coming in unblocked that hurts tony, and we cant seem to stop that, and teams do that
to us quite frequently, but yet we cant do that same thing to other teams!

 

[Yakuza Rich]

1.Tried to franchise a unstable guy like Dez, which led to a late signing and a out of shape Dez,
and not ready for prime time Dez, which led to the injury.

A broken foot isn't caused by being out of shape.

There's nothing unstable about Dez. He missed 1 game in his last 4 seasons and was a consistent performer.

2. Didnt sign Murray or Draft a RB, went cheap on the position

Murray wanted big $$$$ and performed so poorly for the Eagles that they traded him after 1 single season. Randle was a mistake, but didn't cost us the 2015 season and once DMC was the starter the only better performing RB's in the league were Peterson and Rawls. And this was with Cassel and Moore as the QB and no Dez.

3. Cut didnt sign most of the guys on defense who got 1/2 of turnovers in 2014

Bruce Carter was a SAM backer that was cut after 1 season with the Bucs (and got paid big money). Given our CB situation, Sterling Moore was missed, but not an impact player. Meanwhile we had injuries or missed significant time to Hardy, Gregory, T. McClain, Ro. McClain and Scandrick.

The turnovers that Dallas got was largely a result of a high scoring offense that could run the ball effectively as well. But, a big part of that scoring ability was due to the passing game. And without Romo and Dez we couldn't pass the ball and yet could still run the ball well. So the defense was no longer in the position where they had the lead and the opposing team didn't have the ball for too long and were forced to throw the ball against us.



The mistakes I see the organization made was they had their eggs in the Weeden basket if Romo got hurt and Weeden was severely limited. They then signed Cassel who was actually worse and it became clear that the offensive coaching was lacking. I think they have tried to buy into this 'next man up' attitude, but have forgotten that there is a coaching element to it where you can coach up the substitutes and have enough of a gameplan to put these players in advantageous situations and use them to their strengths.

I think the organization failed to see the issue with Scandrick getting injured. That took away our ability to play zone and now we had man corners with Church who can't play man and Wilcox who can't play zone. We never had a 'what-if' scenario in place if the lynchpin, Scandrick, got injured.

We had Ro. McClain penciled in as the starter who was out for 4-games and came back out of shape and disinterested. This killed our short perimeter defense as McClain couldn't get out to the perimeter and made us susceptible to pitch plays and screen passes.






YR