kramskoi
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Found a curious observation from an objective observer as he tries to give reasoning to the Cowboys perceived issues in December...per Football Outsiders:
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by Key19 :: Thu, 12/10/2009 - 5:41pm
"Well, here's my best shots of reasoning:
1. Cowboys have a big offensive line that to me isn't in the best of shape. They tend to regress the longer the season goes on and they have almost no depth at O-line in case someone actually does go down. Anyone who saw Cory Procter play last December can attest to the lack of depth part.
2. Strength of schedule. Call me crazy, but I don't think most teams would have a winning record in December given their last three seasons:
2007: DET, PHI, CAR, WAS
2008: PIT, NYG, BAL, PHI
2009: NYG, SD, NO, WAS, PHI
I see two, MAYBE four games out of thirteen that you would really go into thinking "I fully expect the Cowboys to win." DET and CAR are two, and depending on your impression of Washington, maybe two more. All of the others have been absolutely brutal games. Last year, all four of those teams made the Divisional Round of the Playoffs. This year, the only team that is out of it right now is Washington. I'm not really sure why people expect that the Cowboys should just beat teams that are in the top 25% of the league.
It is going to be very tough inherently. Give them a schedule of TB, CLE, WAS, and CAR and let's see how they do. If they lose 3 of those 4, then yes, we have a legitimate problem. But there's no shame in just being a pretty good team that isn't as good as great teams.
There's a pretty strong concentration of hard games there in December. If that stretch came in September every year, everyone would say "WHY CAN'T DALLAS WIN IN SEPTEMBER OMG THEY JUST NEVER CAN START FAST" instead of "OMG THEY GET YELLOW THIGHS EVERY DECEMBER BECAUSE THEY CAN'T WIN WHEN IT COUNTS."
That's just how I feel."
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Now the only hole in his reasoning is the fact that Dallas had a few of those games seemingly won, only to fall victim to some horrendously bad play on both sides of the ball...
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by Key19 :: Thu, 12/10/2009 - 5:41pm
"Well, here's my best shots of reasoning:
1. Cowboys have a big offensive line that to me isn't in the best of shape. They tend to regress the longer the season goes on and they have almost no depth at O-line in case someone actually does go down. Anyone who saw Cory Procter play last December can attest to the lack of depth part.
2. Strength of schedule. Call me crazy, but I don't think most teams would have a winning record in December given their last three seasons:
2007: DET, PHI, CAR, WAS
2008: PIT, NYG, BAL, PHI
2009: NYG, SD, NO, WAS, PHI
I see two, MAYBE four games out of thirteen that you would really go into thinking "I fully expect the Cowboys to win." DET and CAR are two, and depending on your impression of Washington, maybe two more. All of the others have been absolutely brutal games. Last year, all four of those teams made the Divisional Round of the Playoffs. This year, the only team that is out of it right now is Washington. I'm not really sure why people expect that the Cowboys should just beat teams that are in the top 25% of the league.
It is going to be very tough inherently. Give them a schedule of TB, CLE, WAS, and CAR and let's see how they do. If they lose 3 of those 4, then yes, we have a legitimate problem. But there's no shame in just being a pretty good team that isn't as good as great teams.
There's a pretty strong concentration of hard games there in December. If that stretch came in September every year, everyone would say "WHY CAN'T DALLAS WIN IN SEPTEMBER OMG THEY JUST NEVER CAN START FAST" instead of "OMG THEY GET YELLOW THIGHS EVERY DECEMBER BECAUSE THEY CAN'T WIN WHEN IT COUNTS."
That's just how I feel."
----------------
Now the only hole in his reasoning is the fact that Dallas had a few of those games seemingly won, only to fall victim to some horrendously bad play on both sides of the ball...
