News: DMN: Moore: If Tony Romo and Dez Bryant had stayed healthy, Cowboys still would have certainly...

[Doomsday101]

No doubt the odds would have been better with Romo and a healthy Dez but I'm not much into the what if game. You can do the what if all day and the end result is no one knows what would have happened. The reality is we went 4-12 and while I still there are some good players on this team who can help compete for a championship I know there are some areas that need to be upgraded and this team needs to figure out how much they want to win and if they are willing to do those things that help you win games.

 

[jazzcat22]

The Defense let the team down on too many games.
Now you can say that if the Offense scored or controlled the game with Romo and Dez in the game. As I think the running game would have been just fine with them in the games.
Though I think DMC should have been the starter over the underwear whisperer, but that's just my opinion.

Any way, the defense had chance to close out games or prevent losses, and still didn't do it.
And I am a firm believer in defenses win championships. Though a friend of mine argues that it is offense, just need to score a lot of points. He thinks defense is basically useless.
Anyway, I go by the old saying....Offense sells, Defense wins....

 

[Doomsday101]

The Defense let the team down on too many games.
Now you can say that if the Offense scored or controlled the game with Romo and Dez in the game. As I think the running game would have been just fine with them in the games.
Though I think DMC should have been the starter over the underwear whisperer, but that's just my opinion.

Any way, the defense had chance to close out games or prevent losses, and still didn't do it.
And I am a firm believer in defenses win championships. Though a friend of mine argues that it is offense, just need to score a lot of points. He thinks defense is basically useless.
Anyway, I go by the old saying....Offense sells, Defense wins....

I agree in crunch time defense failed. 2 OT games and in both cases allowed the opposing team to score TD, could not even hold them to 3 points to give the offense a chance and the drives to win were 2 to 3 plays in both cases. Seemed this team found ways to lose games.

 

[Cowboy4ever]

He wasn't average before the 2014 season. He was highly productive with the opportunities he received. And again, average backs don't lead the league in rushing by 500 yards.



You need to recheck the definition of an "average back". McFadden isn't an average back either. He's a special talent that had great success at the college level. While his NFL career has certainly been up and down, it isn't due to the fact that he lacks special physical traits.

Your personal definition of special running backs must be a short list.

It is. I think the term special or great has a meaning and don't use it for backs like Murray. I don't think any one season makes anyone a "special" or "great back". Most backs are average, which doesn't mean I don't think they are good, but they are not special. Smith, Sayers, Brown, Sweetness, Sanders... those are great backs to name a few. Murray, McFadden, McCoy, etc... good backs.. etc.. There is nothing wrong with being average. And yes, obviously an average back can lead the league in rushing, as Murray did. When backs like Chris Johnson go over 2K does that make him an all time great or a back that had a really special year? I would call Chris Johnson an average back too, good not great.. had a great year once. A. Foster.. good not great,, led the league in rushing one year... not a special back either. MJD, lead the lead in rushing,, again, good not great back.. But back to the point of what I said about having no effect, if we had 29 this year and everything else stayed the same, we would still be 4-12 or even worse with his fumbles. Tony missed 2 games I believe during 29's tenure here, we lost both. And if you look at the numbers, Murray and McFadden are very much alike.

1,127 attempts, 5228 yards 4.6 average VS 1277 Attempts, 5336 Yards 4.2 average,, since 2011 (Murray's first year), one has missed 9 games due to injury and one has missed 10 games due to injury. So if one is special, they both are, if one is average, they both are. IMO.

 

[TheCount]

The only leg this argument has to stand on is how mediocre the NFCE is, it's not an argument about how great Romo and Dez are/were.

 

[Stash]

It is. I think the term special or great has a meaning and don't use it for backs like Murray. I don't think any one season makes anyone a "special" or "great back". Most backs are average, which doesn't mean I don't think they are good, but they are not special. Smith, Sayers, Brown, Sweetness, Sanders... those are great backs to name a few. Murray, McFadden, McCoy, etc... good backs.. etc.. There is nothing wrong with being average. And yes, obviously an average back can lead the league in rushing, as Murray did. When backs like Chris Johnson go over 2K does that make him an all time great or a back that had a really special year? I would call Chris Johnson an average back too, good not great.. had a great year once. A. Foster.. good not great,, led the league in rushing one year... not a special back either. MJD, lead the lead in rushing,, again, good not great back.. But back to the point of what I said about having no effect, if we had 29 this year and everything else stayed the same, we would still be 4-12 or even worse with his fumbles. Tony missed 2 games I believe during 29's tenure here, we lost both. And if you look at the numbers, Murray and McFadden are very much alike.

1,127 attempts, 5228 yards 4.6 average VS 1277 Attempts, 5336 Yards 4.2 average,, since 2011 (Murray's first year), one has missed 9 games due to injury and one has missed 10 games due to injury. So if one is special, they both are, if one is average, they both are. IMO.

A very nice job of explaining your position and stating your case. And while my opinion differs, kudos on a good job of supporting your argument.

 

[slick325]

I agree with Moore regarding Dallas being a playoff team if #9 and #88 were healthy. No one has a clue how good the defense may have been with an offense able to score more points per game thus who knows if they are playing this weekend or not.

To quote JJT from his latest column regarding Romo..." No sane person believes the Cowboys would’ve been among the NFL’s worst teams if he had played a full season."

 

[dallasdave]

Keep thinking that.

 

[slick325]

It is. I think the term special or great has a meaning and don't use it for backs like Murray. I don't think any one season makes anyone a "special" or "great back". Most backs are average, which doesn't mean I don't think they are good, but they are not special. Smith, Sayers, Brown, Sweetness, Sanders... those are great backs to name a few. Murray, McFadden, McCoy, etc... good backs.. etc.. There is nothing wrong with being average. And yes, obviously an average back can lead the league in rushing, as Murray did. When backs like Chris Johnson go over 2K does that make him an all time great or a back that had a really special year? I would call Chris Johnson an average back too, good not great.. had a great year once. A. Foster.. good not great,, led the league in rushing one year... not a special back either. MJD, lead the lead in rushing,, again, good not great back.. But back to the point of what I said about having no effect, if we had 29 this year and everything else stayed the same, we would still be 4-12 or even worse with his fumbles. Tony missed 2 games I believe during 29's tenure here, we lost both. And if you look at the numbers, Murray and McFadden are very much alike.

1,127 attempts, 5228 yards 4.6 average VS 1277 Attempts, 5336 Yards 4.2 average,, since 2011 (Murray's first year), one has missed 9 games due to injury and one has missed 10 games due to injury. So if one is special, they both are, if one is average, they both are. IMO.

I agree with Stash...this is a very well stated argument.

 

[Rockport]

IF is a big IF.

IF I won the Powerball, I'd be rich.

IF Tony Romo stays healthy. I love it. We're building our season about IF's.

All teams do.

 

[Alexander]

Losing 29 had no effect on this season what so ever.

What is so funny to me is that Murray was factually a huge part of 2014, yet people say he did not matter, then turn around in the same breath and moan about how losing Lance Dunbar made a significant impact. Really?

 

[Cowboy4ever]

What is so funny to me is that Murray was factually a huge part of 2014, yet people say he did not matter, then turn around in the same breath and moan about how losing Lance Dunbar made a significant impact. Really?

I can understand that a little bit. Whether you think McFadden was an adequate replacement or not, he did fairly well in Murray's role when he was handed the keys. Not great but he did ok. There was no replacement for what Dunbar brought to the table. Or at least what little we seen before he was hurt this year.

 

[Alexander]

There was no replacement for what Dunbar brought to the table.

And that is on the team.

If the philosophy was to substitute short passes for the extra runs, they should have done more to compensate with the roster composition.

All in all, the entire RB mix was botched from day one. It started with depending on Randle to be the main back and Randle being relied upon as the pass catcher. McFadden's performance was a blessing, but it also glossed over the fact we had only those three unreliable players competing for spots on the roster. The only other backs were Gus Johnson and Synjyn Days? That is criminal.

 

[DandyDon1722]

The Defense let the team down on too many games.
Now you can say that if the Offense scored or controlled the game with Romo and Dez in the game. As I think the running game would have been just fine with them in the games.
Though I think DMC should have been the starter over the underwear whisperer, but that's just my opinion.

Any way, the defense had chance to close out games or prevent losses, and still didn't do it.
And I am a firm believer in defenses win championships. Though a friend of mine argues that it is offense, just need to score a lot of points. He thinks defense is basically useless.
Anyway, I go by the old saying....Offense sells, Defense wins....

Although I completely agree about the defense Jazz - I also think they would've been much much better playing with a lead which they never really were able to do. Sacks would've gone up and turnovers would've gone up but to your point - would it have been good enough?

Probably not.

Until we ever take the safety position seriously I'm not sure we will ever be good enough on defense.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

Cowboys beat writer David Moore held a chat on Tuesday. Here are some highlights:

Based on how NFC teams have done in playoffs this season, how do you think a Romo/Dez led Cowboys team would have done if it had managed to win the division?

If Romo and Bryant were healthy for the entire season it's my opinion this team would have made the playoffs. It's also my opinion they would no longer be playing. If they somehow got by the Wild Card round, they would have certainly lost this past weekend.

How many more years do you think guys like Romo and Witten have left? And for that matter, Sean Lee with all the concussions he's had

If Romo suffers no more significant injuries, his desire to play another three or four years is realistic. Now, the question is what are the odds that he suffers no more significant injuries? See Witten playing at least two more seasons before he begins to give serious consideration to retirement. Not sure concussions will drive Lee out of the NFL, unless he suffers more this coming season.

If the Raiders moved to San Antonio, how would that affect the Cowboys?

The initial reaction is to say it would cut into one of the more fervent parts of the Cowboys fans base. But it's premature -- and unlikely at this stage -- to project the Raiders will move to San Antonio. At this stage the city is being used more as a bargaining chip than a potential reality.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL CHAT

Continue reading...

Yes, with a healthy Tony Romo (with 2 career playoff wins) I can see it now:

Cowboys 40, Panthers 13
Cowboys 54, Cardinals 8
Cowboys 42, Patriots 12

 

[Vanilla2]

What people often forget is that Murray led the league in first downs last year by a pretty wide margin.

Murray was able to keep our defense on the sideline and our QB from taking too many shots. If Murray were still here, I suspect that the team would have had more confidence in the running game allowing them to do the things mentioned above.

Does Romo survive the season if 29 stays?