Did the Cowboys as a team "die" when Irvin retired?
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Maikeru-sama
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No, age and free agency killed the Dallas Cowboys.
Eventually every mighty entity has to fall, the 1990s Dallas Cowboys were no different.
Eventually every mighty entity has to fall, the 1990s Dallas Cowboys were no different.
IndianaCowboyFan
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Maikeru-sama;2605790 said:
So tell me, when Irvin went down who was the heart and soul of the team?
EPL0c0
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IMO, the salary cap killed the Cowboys. It was easy to spend lots of money and win championships before the cap...since then, at least in Dallas, it's not been easy. Why?
Well, and speaking about the team/organization as a whole, not just in light of the 2008 season:
One problem I see is trying to re-cast the same old mold; trying to find similar shapes to what fit a puzzle that worked before. I'm not one to criticize Jerry, but this is where bringing in new blood to the GM and upper level management could help a lot. You can't do what you did in the 90's w/ a cap in place.
But as I see things, the biggest problem isn't players or coaches or GMs: it's expectation. These are the Dallas Cowboys, "America's Team", big names, big money, 5 trophies and huge expectations EVERY year. I think this team from top to bottom are under more pressure than most teams to produce a winner year in and year out.
It's going to be worse next season with a new stadium and the promotional blitz you know will accompany the building. Couple it with the failed expectations of 2008 and the idea that cutting a couple of players makes a difference and some folks could be setting themselves up for an even crappier end of the season next year.
I hope things come together and they make the run and win it all. But if they don't, we just wait another year. If it never happens, I'm happy to have been around to see when it did. Ok, I'm done with my aimless ramble
Well, and speaking about the team/organization as a whole, not just in light of the 2008 season:
One problem I see is trying to re-cast the same old mold; trying to find similar shapes to what fit a puzzle that worked before. I'm not one to criticize Jerry, but this is where bringing in new blood to the GM and upper level management could help a lot. You can't do what you did in the 90's w/ a cap in place.
But as I see things, the biggest problem isn't players or coaches or GMs: it's expectation. These are the Dallas Cowboys, "America's Team", big names, big money, 5 trophies and huge expectations EVERY year. I think this team from top to bottom are under more pressure than most teams to produce a winner year in and year out.
It's going to be worse next season with a new stadium and the promotional blitz you know will accompany the building. Couple it with the failed expectations of 2008 and the idea that cutting a couple of players makes a difference and some folks could be setting themselves up for an even crappier end of the season next year.
I hope things come together and they make the run and win it all. But if they don't, we just wait another year. If it never happens, I'm happy to have been around to see when it did. Ok, I'm done with my aimless ramble
5Countem5
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EPL0c0;2605798 said:
Wrong, it wasn't easy then either. Even though there wasn't a salary cap, there was very little player movement, those guys were basically held hostage to the teams that drafted them and as an owner, you could have had all the money in the world to spend, but you were never gonna get those players away from their teams.
The draft was much more important. That's where Jerry/Jimmy excelled and they were able to keep those players. The salary cap and free agency came along and stopped that.
IndianaCowboyFan
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EPL0c0;2605798 said:
Sadly I think you are right.
LittleBoyBlue
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5Stars;2605620 said:Irvin was as bad a boy as there ever was in the NFL. But one thing he did...was inspire on the field and in the locker room.
He was no Saint, but he was no Devil...
Winning to him was the most important thing on his mind. All heart!
Oh...and he was a bad dude! He still is...
Yep. You never heard him say, "If we win, we win... if we lose, we lose... I am still gonna be ok"
:bang2:
The Panch;2605631 said:
Bingo! Bango! Bongo!
Absolutely. We muffed the three in a row because of that.
Vtwin
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JJ's attempt to get one more ring by trading the farm for Galloway sealed the deal on the Cowboy's direction for the next 4 or 5 years. If Irvin hadn't gone down the previous year those two first rounders it cost to get Galloway (who then went on IR in his first game as a DC) may have helped prevent the slide back to mediocrity.
Cowboys2008
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Only because he was part of the triplets and the first to go. They were what made us who we where, not one singular player. But after he left the echo still remained through the other 2. But as a whole it was their "heart" combined. Something which, not only ourselves may never see again, but something the league may actually never see again. Making the impact they had on the league just as great as it was for us.
And actually, I hope we all enjoyed it, because I truly don't think we'll ever see something like that again in the league- let alone solely on this team.
Singular Cowboy player-wise though, I'd give that nod to Emmitt or Woodson. With great potential for Witten, Ware and Newman to carry on the torch.
The problem came with Parcells, whom with his uncanny ability wiped the grid clean of virtually any type of leader the Cowboys had grown accustomed to having over the years. His style was no name, no star,...unless it uttered his name afterwards. So quickly it was out with anything we were used to and in with his no names and aging star retreads. Players like Irvin, Smith or Aikman, were the exact opposite of anything Parcells would have wanted. For he didn't like any player that didn't need to be coached, and then in turn lead by example. His example was the only example that was supposed to be. And anybody who ever challenged that quickly found his thumb up on the highway trying to catch a ride somewhere else. Even Emmitt Smith, the NFL's All Time Leading Rusher, didn't as much as get an interview or a sit-down with the new coach. No, cause that "type" of player was the LAST type of thing a Bill Parcells wants to distract the attention away from himself, the end all be all of every place he goes.
And actually, I hope we all enjoyed it, because I truly don't think we'll ever see something like that again in the league- let alone solely on this team.
Singular Cowboy player-wise though, I'd give that nod to Emmitt or Woodson. With great potential for Witten, Ware and Newman to carry on the torch.
The problem came with Parcells, whom with his uncanny ability wiped the grid clean of virtually any type of leader the Cowboys had grown accustomed to having over the years. His style was no name, no star,...unless it uttered his name afterwards. So quickly it was out with anything we were used to and in with his no names and aging star retreads. Players like Irvin, Smith or Aikman, were the exact opposite of anything Parcells would have wanted. For he didn't like any player that didn't need to be coached, and then in turn lead by example. His example was the only example that was supposed to be. And anybody who ever challenged that quickly found his thumb up on the highway trying to catch a ride somewhere else. Even Emmitt Smith, the NFL's All Time Leading Rusher, didn't as much as get an interview or a sit-down with the new coach. No, cause that "type" of player was the LAST type of thing a Bill Parcells wants to distract the attention away from himself, the end all be all of every place he goes.
IndianaCowboyFan
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lane;2605897 said:
I forgot all about him. He was a breath of fresh air for quite a while and a great team player.
Zimmy Lives
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IndianaCowboyFan;2605604 said:
I guess so.
Playmaker was Lancelot to the Cowboys' Camelot. This team lost it's way and has yet to find the secret of the Holy Grail. Who of the current Cowboys will be Purcival and help King Arthur (Jerrah) find what was once good?:laugh1:
Clove
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That team also had HOFrs all over it.5Stars;2605620 said:Irvin was as bad a boy as there ever was in the NFL. But one thing he did...was inspire on the field and in the locker room.
He was no Saint, but he was no Devil...
Winning to him was the most important thing on his mind. All heart!
Oh...and he was a bad dude! He still is...
CoCo
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Even Mike, great as he was, was human in every sense of the word. We can debate whether a healthy Irvin could have helped bring us another SB but regardless, that team, that Cowboy era, was on its last legs on very many fronts.
Success isn't final, failure isn't fatal. Our 90's success was for a time. Enjoy what we had because it was truly special. But be satisifed that era was as great as it was and don't bemoan what might have been. What was becomes unappreciated with that mind set.
That era & that team is certainly dead in 2008 except for the memories. But that doesn't mean a new era cannot dawn. And it needn't look exactly the same.
I have plenty of hope for a new era in Dallas in spite of the last decades frustrations. We have significant challenges in 2009 but we also have significant resources. I believe we can find a way to get off the deck and be better in 2009 than 2008. Good enough for the playoffs and perhaps beyond. Lots of offseason work yet to do.
Success isn't final, failure isn't fatal. Our 90's success was for a time. Enjoy what we had because it was truly special. But be satisifed that era was as great as it was and don't bemoan what might have been. What was becomes unappreciated with that mind set.
That era & that team is certainly dead in 2008 except for the memories. But that doesn't mean a new era cannot dawn. And it needn't look exactly the same.
I have plenty of hope for a new era in Dallas in spite of the last decades frustrations. We have significant challenges in 2009 but we also have significant resources. I believe we can find a way to get off the deck and be better in 2009 than 2008. Good enough for the playoffs and perhaps beyond. Lots of offseason work yet to do.
NextGenBoys
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He's my favorite Cowboy of all time, playing my favorite position.
He was the heart and soul of that team.
He was the heart and soul of that team.