DC.COM: Blog: Have Off-Season Moves Lowered Expectations?

[Coakleys Dad]

the playoffs next year who knows. but we're not the worst team in the division......right now we're the 2nd worst team in the division.

wow..i feel better now..

 

[Future]

First, Adam Jones stunk.

Second, no TO did not. No one does.

Yes he did...look at games where they didn't double cover him like SF, he torched them. Say what you want about T.O., there isn't a corner in the league who can stop him man-to-man without a safety over the top.

 

[montgod]

Well... here is my take.

I think the Boys could come out having a better record, but still questionable in actually winning a playoff game.

Here are some points to ponder - some already mentioned:

Positives

- Newman, Kosier, and Felix will be back and hopefully healthy for the whole year. Same goes for minor injuries with Adams, Romo, and Witten.
- Zach was replaced with Brooking who is a better fit albeit not a huge upgrade, but an upgrade.
- Roy Williams gets better from a full camp and experience from last year. He has better hands than TO.
- Not as much pressure for Romo to get TO the ball and go through proper check downs.
- New ST coach and hopefully an improvement. Definitely will be better with our punter back from injury as well as Felix.
- Easier schedule from a bad season.


Negatives

- Lost TO... best WR and scorer. Hopefully RW takes up where he left off on the field being the No. 1 guy.
- Lost Keith Davis who was ST leader. New ST coach brings his own guy, could go either way.
- No real DT on the roster who has performed at a high level. Losing Tank is a push.
- No vet corner to man the other side of Newman. Could be a positive if Jenkins steps up and performs.
- SS is still questionable with who is currently on the roster. If not through FA, maybe filled through the draft. I am not a fan of putting Scandrick there when CB are a premium.

In the end, it's a wait and see. Hopefully, they will gel together like the Giants did win they won and realize they have to be a cohesive unit for success.

 

[khiladi]

Even more impossible is that Jason Garrett helps hide OLINE deficiencies.

No, he doesn't. He makes it worse...

 

[AsthmaField]

Injury situation, although it seemed bad at times was below the NFL average in terms of Starters lost, so that's a push, i.e. expect the same level.

You are so FOS.

Just Romo and Felix not being injured makes last season completely different.

Dallas will have some injuries, but I doubt any will be as important as those two guys.

The schedule is going to be easier. Simply not playing the top 5 defenses in December might make a huge difference. Year in and year out you can see teams that did poorly the year before taking advantage of a 3rd or 4th place schedule and jumping to the playoffs the following season.

Taking T.O., Pacman and Tank out of the equation is going to be a huge plus, IMO. Those guys caused problems in the locker room and T.O. in particular created balance issues on offense simply because everyone knew he had to be cater to in order to be kept quiet (and that didn't even work last season). You watch how the offense responds to that tension leaving the huddle. Talent aside, he hurt the team, I'm convinced.

What happened in Philly at the end of the season wasn't a lack of talent... or bad coaching. No matter what you think of the coaches, there's no way 44-3 can be laid at their feet. It wasn't even a team that was ready and willing to begin the offseason. No, that was a team that imploded. It had real problems, with T.O. being at the root... and that has been taken care of (in large part). A talented team (which Dallas is) just doesn't lose a "win and you're in" game in that manner unless there is something really, really wrong with it.

The front office has taken care of the majority of what was ailing the team, and they should get a lot of credit for it. It took guts and a willingness to say, "I was wrong" by Jerry. It is also a symptom of Steven Jones becoming more and more involved at the very top of the oganization... also a very, very good thing.

Talentwise, I think Dallas will be at least as good as last season:

T.O. is gone, but at his advanced age, he just wasn't what he used to be, and Roy Williams will have all offseason to become acquainted with both Romo and the #1 WR position in Dallas...

Canty was solid, but so is Igor (terrific move money-wise by the way).

Felix should be here all season and Choice is going to be used more all year long. That right there will make the running game much better than it was last year.

The OL will get both Kosier and Holland back healthy and that will be a huge difference. Whichever loses the battle to start will be a light-years better backup than Proctor.

Bennett is a bonafied star TE in the making. Having him integrated fully into the lineup will be a big boost. Throwing more to the TE's is yet another reason I'm glad to see T.O. as a Buffarilla. A two-TE set where both TE's are as good as Witten and Martellus is a very difficult thing to defend. Moreso than an aging T.O., IMO.

Spencer should finally be healthy at SOLB and should be able to team with Ware to give us what we thought we'd get last year.

Brooking is a bigger upgrade from Zach than I think a lot of people realize. He'll be more than solid on the field and in the locker room.

With Henry gone and Scandrick and Jenkins stepping up to larger roles in the secondary, the corners should be much improved (and healthy!). Those guys are young and chomping at the bit... which is basically the opposite of the plodding Henry.

Roy Williams out and Sensebaugh in. Huge coverage difference there. That's all that really needs to be talked about at S.

Kitna will now be backing up Romo, so we aren't held hostage if Romo goes down. Plus, he's the firey, leader type that we need more of in the locker room.

One of the biggest things: Phillips will be the defensive coordinator all season long. The defense will play like they did at the end of the season, all year. That in itself might be worth a couple more wins.

I see a lot of improvements there (some small some rather large), and that's without even talking about who we might get in the draft. The front office has been drafting well for a while now and for the first time in I don't know how long, I have confidence that they'll find some good players in April. We have a ton of picks and the ability to let the draft come to us. No huge needs with the team, so they can again take the best player if that's who they like and not have to reach. We will probably come out of the draft with a good safety, OL, LB and maybe WR. That's added to an already damn talented team.

Finally, and maybe the biggest thing... the team isn't putting up with any BS. Big fines, more discipline, and most importantly, the players know the Cowboys are getting rid of players that aren't doing what they should be doing. If they'll cut T.O. and Roy Williams... they cut any of them.

The players know that playtime is over. The locker room should be more balanced, with less strife and conflict. The media should be off their case (as much), and the offensive coordinator doesn't have to worry about his playcalling creating a media firestorm is somebody doesn't see enough balls his way.

Put all of that together and frankly, I couldn't be any happier. I love the direction the team is headed in.

Last year was one of those seasons. The ball bounced the wrong way. Injuries to major players were abundant. Distractions from "Hard Knocks" on was a major pain. Wins melted away into losses because of one reason or another.

IOW, all that could go wrong, did go wrong... and this team still - with all that happened - STILL almost went to the playoffs and STILL won 9 games.

I'll take this Dallas team any day. I don't see how it couldn't help but be a better season this year. It is there in the analysis... we should have a good season.

 

[ZeroClub]

Like fweegy and Cowboys22 said, it isn't the offseason moves that lowered expectations. --- It was what happened on the field, during the season.

The last 65 minutes (or so) of game clock last season were as bad as it gets. The team stunk.

 

[Zaxor]

Wrote a bunch of good stuff...you should read it...but clipped for brevity

Now that is what I am talking about

 

[Ren]

You are so FOS.

Just Romo and Felix not being injured makes last season completely different.

Dallas will have some injuries, but I doubt any will be as important as those two guys.

The schedule is going to be easier. Simply not playing the top 5 defenses in December might make a huge difference. Year in and year out you can see teams that did poorly the year before taking advantage of a 3rd or 4th place schedule and jumping to the playoffs the following season.

Taking T.O., Pacman and Tank out of the equation is going to be a huge plus, IMO. Those guys caused problems in the locker room and T.O. in particular created balance issues on offense simply because everyone knew he had to be cater to in order to be kept quiet (and that didn't even work last season). You watch how the offense responds to that tension leaving the huddle. Talent aside, he hurt the team, I'm convinced.

What happened in Philly at the end of the season wasn't a lack of talent... or bad coaching. No matter what you think of the coaches, there's no way 44-3 can be laid at their feet. It wasn't even a team that was ready and willing to begin the offseason. No, that was a team that imploded. It had real problems, with T.O. being at the root... and that has been taken care of (in large part). A talented team (which Dallas is) just doesn't lose a "win and you're in" game in that manner unless there is something really, really wrong with it.

The front office has taken care of the majority of what was ailing the team, and they should get a lot of credit for it. It took guts and a willingness to say, "I was wrong" by Jerry. It is also a symptom of Steven Jones becoming more and more involved at the very top of the oganization... also a very, very good thing.

Talentwise, I think Dallas will be at least as good as last season:

T.O. is gone, but at his advanced age, he just wasn't what he used to be, and Roy Williams will have all offseason to become acquainted with both Romo and the #1 WR position in Dallas...

Canty was solid, but so is Igor (terrific move money-wise by the way).

Felix should be here all season and Choice is going to be used more all year long. That right there will make the running game much better than it was last year.

The OL will get both Kosier and Holland back healthy and that will be a huge difference. Whichever loses the battle to start will be a light-years better backup than Proctor.

Bennett is a bonafied star TE in the making. Having him integrated fully into the lineup will be a big boost. Throwing more to the TE's is yet another reason I'm glad to see T.O. as a Buffarilla. A two-TE set where both TE's are as good as Witten and Martellus is a very difficult thing to defend. Moreso than an aging T.O., IMO.

Spencer should finally be healthy at SOLB and should be able to team with Ware to give us what we thought we'd get last year.

Brooking is a bigger upgrade from Zach than I think a lot of people realize. He'll be more than solid on the field and in the locker room.

With Henry gone and Scandrick and Jenkins stepping up to larger roles in the secondary, the corners should be much improved (and healthy!). Those guys are young and chomping at the bit... which is basically the opposite of the plodding Henry.

Roy Williams out and Sensebaugh in. Huge coverage difference there. That's all that really needs to be talked about at S.

Kitna will now be backing up Romo, so we aren't held hostage if Romo goes down. Plus, he's the firey, leader type that we need more of in the locker room.

One of the biggest things: Phillips will be the defensive coordinator all season long. The defense will play like they did at the end of the season, all year. That in itself might be worth a couple more wins.

I see a lot of improvements there (some small some rather large), and that's without even talking about who we might get in the draft. The front office has been drafting well for a while now and for the first time in I don't know how long, I have confidence that they'll find some good players in April. We have a ton of picks and the ability to let the draft come to us. No huge needs with the team, so they can again take the best player if that's who they like and not have to reach. We will probably come out of the draft with a good safety, OL, LB and maybe WR. That's added to an already damn talented team.

Finally, and maybe the biggest thing... the team isn't putting up with any BS. Big fines, more discipline, and most importantly, the players know the Cowboys are getting rid of players that aren't doing what they should be doing. If they'll cut T.O. and Roy Williams... they cut any of them.

The players know that playtime is over. The locker room should be more balanced, with less strife and conflict. The media should be off their case (as much), and the offensive coordinator doesn't have to worry about his playcalling creating a media firestorm is somebody doesn't see enough balls his way.

Put all of that together and frankly, I couldn't be any happier. I love the direction the team is headed in.

Last year was one of those seasons. The ball bounced the wrong way. Injuries to major players were abundant. Distractions from "Hard Knocks" on was a major pain. Wins melted away into losses because of one reason or another.

IOW, all that could go wrong, did go wrong... and this team still - with all that happened - STILL almost went to the playoffs and STILL won 9 games.

I'll take this Dallas team any day. I don't see how it couldn't help but be a better season this year. It is there in the analysis... we should have a good season.

They had 5 good games against such offensive powerhouses as SF, Seattle Washington, Pittsburgh and a Burress less Giants. I'm not convinced that what they did in those 5 games is what they are and not the other 11 games when they where average to down right bad

 

[RoadRunner]

They have a much more favorable schedule this year compared to last year. The team will be at least 11-5.

How many times do the Cowboys have to lay eggs against pathetic Rams and Lions teams to prove that there is no such thing as a favorable schedule for Dallas?

 

[Beast_from_East]

I was flipping around the dial a couple of hours ago and unfortunately I caught 2 minutes of salisbury and scruggs on the fan. They were talking about how the cowboys are the 4th team in the division right now and not even in consideration for the playoffs!

Salisbury I think is intentionally trying to make everyone that listens to that show get all worked up and get a reaction. He basically is ripping romo everytime I listen and now today I heard him say we cant even play with the giants and that the Commanders leaped way ahead of us!

Now why anyone would listen to that garbage show I have no idea.

Salisbury needs to shut the hell up!!!!


Doesnt he need to go pass around pictures of his johnson again, isnt that why ESPN fired his arse????

 

[Beast_from_East]

I am thinking 10 wins, that should be doable.


Usually 10 wins gets you in the playoffs, so I will be very surprised if we dont make the playoffs this year.

What I am convinced of is that if we dont make the playoffs again, Cupcake and Tecmo are out the door and our next HC is Shanny.

 

[CF74]

Have Off-Season Moves Lowered Expectations?
Do you think the Cowboys taken a step back, or just moved on?

Post 6K

I'm not 100% convinced we're out of the woods just yet but it's obvious we are trying to move on. There still seems to be some murmuring and complaining lingering around the camp with the most vocal malcontent gone (In body,) we just have to exercise the final demons in the minds of those that remain. This move has given back the coaches (And Romo) some authority, some respect, and some dignity that was becoming a mockery. Cleaning house was long over due but picking up the shattered pieces is a process that takes time. With all the talent that remains we can still win 10 games if not more with what is supposed to be a lighter schedule ahead. My biggest question mark remains in Garrett's play calling and adjustments.

The greatest positive is that X-mas comes early this year with 11 picks to play with; with possibilities of moving up and taking some quality over quantity in the draft. Rumors of shopping Greg and Crayton would only be a ++ if they ever come to fruition.

Kitna/Brad=Upgrade yet I would have preferred somebody younger. I hope we draft a QB to groom this year in the mid to later rounds. Trading Henry saved us some money and it gives our younger CB's their shot we all know they can handle. We need to either bring in a Vet for insurance or draft another player, maybe both.

Igor/Canty=Push yet we saved some money.

Zach/Brooking=Push
We all got to see a tremendous improvement in Brady having a solid Vet to push him. Hopefully Keith finishes what Thomas sparked and we get to see more production from James. I'm also hoping we draft an ILB to rotate into the mix.

Sensabaugh/RW=??? It's been said that this guy can make plays but he's had some boneheaded issues with the law, hopefully we didn't just sign another ******. Releasing RW saved us some money and it clearly shows we are moving on, even more so than dumping TO imo.

ST's/Coach This is a dimension that has been lacking for a long time and I'm going to remain optimistic with the new coach we just added. I'm also hoping we get a return man that can also contribute as a WR, somebody like S. Holmes. If we handle this it can mean winning 1-3 more games per year alone, if not more. It will definitley improve field position.

C/G-adding quality depth in this position will greatly improve the O-line, Proctor needs to go. Eric Wood can play either position and drafts scouts say he plays with tenacity, that's the type of player we need.

LT-hopefully this is the year we find the guy to groom behind Flo for the future.

NT-we need to add a player that can rotate with Rat and share the load.

The owner and the coaches are moving on, we just need the players that remain to follow suit. Looking back will only delay the process and I'm of the firm opinion building a $$Billion stadium was a huge catlyst in Jerry cleaning house, mainly because of the pressure that comes with it. Losing to Philly the way we did was just the final straw. If we hit on the majority of our picks and possibly bring in one or two more vets we should be able to contend this year. Leaning on the strength of a running game will increase those odds.


Continuity-1 a: uninterrupted connection.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

If these guys have a winning season I'll be pleased.

They killed off my SB aspirations a long time ago.

 

[ZeroClub]

Yeah, I'm down on them too.

I like most of the individual players, but as a team they are mediocre. They don't know how to win and I don't see evidence that they are about to figure it out.

 

[Mash]

We lost a old cancer WR and a punk of a DB in Pacamn

Canty and Igor are a wash....and Brookings is a better LB in this system then Thomas.

We traded a old slowed DB for a legit backup QB.

Felix,Choice and Bennett have a good full year now to get stronger and know the playbook better....likewise with our rookie DB's.....they will all be better.

So how is it that expectations should be lowered? We should expect more....we should expect SB......nothing less......Romo has had another year of experience.....hopefully he will be our leader.

No more excuses........we have invested lots of money in the OL...we have 3solid RB's....and a WR we traded 3 picks for and paid a boatload of money to....we have a all-pro TE and a QB that is in the top 5 in the league.......on defense we have the best player in the league in Ware....a solid group of players around him...with the likes of Ratliff and James leading the way.....

How can we lower our expectations? With all this supposed talent?

The Time is now......the window opportunity is here....git r done

 

[Kangaroo]

Keeping Wade Phillips lowered mine on the player front I have no qualms

I like the solid vet players in FA over the Big Priced over hyped big names; they rarely pan out. Yet the teams that tend to bring in solid Vets that produce solid results to fill in around the Stars already on your team always seem to work better.

 

[Doomsay]

You are so FOS.

Just Romo and Felix not being injured makes last season completely different.

Dallas will have some injuries, but I doubt any will be as important as those two guys..

OK angry boy, I think that you meant "FOF", as in facts, not FOS, as in...

We lost an average number of starters to injury last year, I believed that we ranked 17th in the NFL. We also were top five in terms of having the most starters start every game of the season. It's a reasonable proposition therefore to expect an average number of injuries to occur in subsequent seasons. Kind of a facts-based approach, you know.

As for individual players, who knows? Romo has shown no signs that he will change his risky pocket style despite all of our hopes that our OC morphs into rushing guru. As for Felix, he hurt himself twice ..without contact, so who knows about his future? We lost only one starting lineman on either side of the ball all season. Repeatable? Who knows, it's kind of pointless to speculate on individuals.

I pointed out in another sentence that we have a better backup QB and hopefully OG but that's not really the same as the estimate of injury incidence.

Taking T.O., Pacman and Tank out of the equation is going to be a huge plus, IMO. Those guys caused problems in the locker room..

TO was certainly an issue, but other than Tank mouthing off that final game (that he knew would be his last) I really haven't heard too much about the other two being disruptive. The question is, who will mend the rift between the pro and anti TO guys? It probably will work itself out, but I don't think that there will be instant chemistry if the record number of player media fingerpointings this offseason or general "out of locker room" talk is any evidence.

What happened in Philly at the end of the season wasn't a lack of talent... or bad coaching. No matter what you think of the coaches, there's no way 44-3 can be laid at their feet. It wasn't even a team that was ready and willing to begin the offseason. No, that was a team that imploded. It had real problems, with T.O. being at the root... and that has been taken care of (in large part). A talented team (which Dallas is) just doesn't lose a "win and you're in" game in that manner unless there is something really, really wrong with it.

TO didn't cause the defense to crumble or our ball carriers to fumble or our OC to not have a game plan. This soft coaching staff has been consistantly unprepared for big games and the team as a whole lacked effort. Getting rid of TO won't change all of that.

The front office has taken care of the majority of what was ailing the team, and they should get a lot of credit for it. It took guts and a willingness to say, "I was wrong" by Jerry.

I missed the "I was wrong" statement. Jerry was forced into it, he shouldn't get credit for it. Jerry couldn't do the right thing by getting rid of his spineless yes man coach after a pathetic collapse and couldn't even stand to have a real football guy on staff (Reeves) to help him sort out the circus. I'm glad that TO is gone, but to strand us with $9 mm in cap money from a player that has has a long history of blowing up doesn't say much for Jerry's GMing abilities - especially since that new contract is less than a year old. Pathetic.

 

[FCBarca]

Of course it has...TO's loss alone will dramatically change the complexion of things...They'll clearly have to be more balanced but even when TO was out, Romo had trouble moving the ball...And if those cover 2s were locking up TO and half the field, what do you think RW will see now that TO is gone?...He'll see the same thing leaving the 'other WR' with something to do to get open etc...And recent history has shown that shutdown half the field for the Cowboys pass offense and you've shutdown their passing game.

It might not end up that way but not sure how you can not look at it, for now, as a step back

 

[wileedog]

It might not end up that way but not sure how you can not look at it, for now, as a step back

I look at it as a step forward because now the offense can play to Romo's strength - spreading the ball around.

As with most seasons it will come down to health, but with how can anyone not be looking forward to the 2nd seasons of Felix, Choice and Bennett? These guys are going to add new dimensions and balance to an offense that spent most of the time last year running straight up the field.

And I think Romo is going to love Roy once he has been properly schemed into the offense and gets acclimated. We haven't had a WR who can fight for the ball in traffic and make catches like him in a long time. Probably since Irvin. I hope Tony is practicing his corner fade every day, they are going to make a living on it in the red zone.

I think the defensive moves are probably a push, although I do think Sensenbaugh will be a big upgrade to Killah. We haven't had a safety who could cover in forever, and this kid was making plays last year for Jax. And I think the kids will step up at the corners. Hamlin needs to pull out some 2007 videos though and watch them 24/7.

The biggest question mark and largest reservation I have is Garrett. Despite the loss of TO he still has the weapons to create a top offense in this league. But can he do it? Can he create a more consistent ground game to take the pressure of Romo? Can he utilize the weapons he has instead of focusing on chucking the ball 30 yards? If he can't make adjustments this year we're probably looking at 9-7 again and we need to clean (coaching) house.

2nd biggest is offensive line. If they are as bad as last year, for whatever reason, than it doesn't matter what Garrett comes up with.

Lastly, can a team win a playoff game without a HC? We'll find out, cause Wade was having enough trouble as the HC without being the official DC too. It almost feels like were just going in without one and hoping.

Still plenty to worry about for next year, but I will say I feel better about them now than I did a month ago.

 

[TheCount]

I'm going to stick to 9 - 7 for now.