Excuses are for the pretenders

[Doomsday101]

Only partially true. The Cowboys made the playoffs in ‘91 and even won a WC playoff game with Steve Buerline at QB while Troy Aikman was hurt.

and was totally trounced the following week in Det. The Chicago game the week before was not a pretty sight and Dallas defense played very well in a low scoring contest. I never said Dallas lost every game when one of the triplets was out of the game only that their record was not as good. Last season Dallas lost Zeke a major part of the offense for 6 games losing 3 and winning 3, it is not an excuse but you don't replace a player like Zeke that easily and clearly had an impact.

 

[Bobhaze]

and was totally trounced the following week in Det. The Chicago game the week before was not a pretty sight and Dallas defense played very well in a low scoring contest. I never said Dallas lost every game when one of the triplets was out of the game only that their record was not as good. Last season Dallas lost Zeke a major part of the offense for 6 games losing 3 and winning 3, it is not an excuse but you don't replace a player like Zeke that easily and clearly had an impact.

If Garrett had been coaching in ‘91, would they have won without all the triplets? That’s the piece that currently dogs the Jerry- Garrett era- can they overcome adversity to make a deep playoff run?

 

[Doomsday101]

If Garrett had been coaching in ‘91, would they have won without all the triplets? That’s the piece that currently dogs the Jerry- Garrett era- can they overcome adversity to make a deep playoff run?

Hard to deal in hypotheticals of what could have happened. I will say even though it becomes harder to win when you lose key players you are still expect to go out and win. So I make no excuses but I also understand that the task becomes much harder to win. I thought Morris did a good job taking over for Zeke but clearly he is not Zeke nor does he have the same ability so losing him was a big hurdle to overcome. I would say losing Tyron Smith as equally as hard to overcome. Not an excuse just a reality.

 

[kskboys]

If Garrett had been coaching in ‘91, would they have won without all the triplets? That’s the piece that currently dogs the Jerry- Garrett era- can they overcome adversity to make a deep playoff run?

Good question. Man, most people just don't remember/comprehend how that team just swamped other teams w/ D. It would've been interesting indeed to see what JG could/would do w/ such a team. Too bad we won't build one.

 

[OmerV]

Garrett’s the biggest excuse maker in the organization. Almost never admits his mistakes. As a Princeton Man, he rationalizes his bad decisions. Reporter, “why did you settle for a 51 yard FG(which was missed)when you had 35 seconds to run another play”. Garrett, “well(in his head he’s thinking how dare you ? me), we were satisfied with our position on the field”.

When did they kick a FG on 3rd down or less from 51 yards out? If they ever did I can only think it was done because it was late 4th quarter and they still needed another score, and preserving that 35 seconds was considered important.

In any case, telling the media what his mindset was when he made a decision does not equate to an excuse. It may have been a bad mindset to have, but if he sincerely thought there was a rational reason for the decision at the time, passing that reason along is simply passing it along.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

When did they kick a FG on 3rd down or less from 51 yards out? If they ever did I can only think it was done because it was late 4th quarter and they still needed another score, and preserving that 35 seconds was considered important.

Actually it was second down. Skip to about 3:13.

 

[OmerV]

Actually it was second down. Skip to about 3:13.

At the 3:13 mark of the clip there was 26 seconds left in the game (not 35 as Captain43Crash mentioned), and the Cowboys were snapping the ball for a 1st down play, not kicking a FG.

After the first down play (a short gain), the game clock was down to about 13-14 seconds left, and with less than 10 seconds left the Cowboys were scrambling to get everyone set at the line of scrimmage. At that point the Cowboys felt it better to let a few seconds tick off and call the timeout, knowing they were well within Bailey's range, and not risking a rushed pass attempt with the risk of a penalty or sack taking them out of FG range, or an INT or completion in bounds ending the game.

They possibly could have called the one timeout with 13-14 seconds left and tried a sideline throw to gain a few extra yards, but at most they would have had maybe 8-10 seconds to run another play and stop the clock without the benefit of a timeout, not the 35 seconds Captain43Crash indicated. Even then, a penalty, sack, INT or completion in bounds would have effectively ended the game, so they chose not to risk it.

 

[Plankton]

and was totally trounced the following week in Det. The Chicago game the week before was not a pretty sight and Dallas defense played very well in a low scoring contest. I never said Dallas lost every game when one of the triplets was out of the game only that their record was not as good. Last season Dallas lost Zeke a major part of the offense for 6 games losing 3 and winning 3, it is not an excuse but you don't replace a player like Zeke that easily and clearly had an impact.

This is totally ignoring the fact that, with Aikman injured, Beuerlein finished off the win against the Commanders that ended their shot at an unbeaten regular season, and then proceeded to beat the Steelers, the Saints, the Eagles on the road, and then the Falcons to make the playoffs. It was more than just a win without Aikman - they ran the table in the regular season, and won a road playoff game in cold, muddy conditions. Their 25th rated pass defense got exposed against the Lions the following week.

 

[Doomsday101]

This is totally ignoring the fact that, with Aikman injured, Beuerlein finished off the win against the Commanders that ended their shot at an unbeaten regular season, and then proceeded to beat the Steelers, the Saints, the Eagles on the road, and then the Falcons to make the playoffs. It was more than just a win without Aikman - they ran the table in the regular season, and won a road playoff game in cold, muddy conditions. Their 25th rated pass defense got exposed against the Lions the following week.

When one or more of the ‘90s Cowboys Triplets were not playing, the team lost more games than they won. When all three were in, they won more than 70% of their games.

That’s amazing. Everyone knows just how important those three Hall of Fame players were to the team back then, but I wouldn’t have guessed that if just one of them were missing, that the team would have a less than .500 record. With such a great defense to complement them, it seems like they would be able to pick up some of the slack. We all know about the 0-2 start to the 1993 season when Emmitt Smith was holding out. The Cowboys would go on a tear once Smith returned and would win their second straight Super Bowl.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...d-to-win-aikman-irvin-emmitt-romo-dez-elliott

 

[Plankton]

When one or more of the ‘90s Cowboys Triplets were not playing, the team lost more games than they won. When all three were in, they won more than 70% of their games.

That’s amazing. Everyone knows just how important those three Hall of Fame players were to the team back then, but I wouldn’t have guessed that if just one of them were missing, that the team would have a less than .500 record. With such a great defense to complement them, it seems like they would be able to pick up some of the slack. We all know about the 0-2 start to the 1993 season when Emmitt Smith was holding out. The Cowboys would go on a tear once Smith returned and would win their second straight Super Bowl.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...d-to-win-aikman-irvin-emmitt-romo-dez-elliott

The 1991 team didn't have a good defense - it was below average. 17th in points allowed and 17th in yards allowed. Somehow, that team overcame the loss of Aikman. The past season, the Cowboys crumbled without Elliott and Smith.

 

[Doomsday101]

The 1991 team didn't have a good defense - it was below average. 17th in points allowed and 17th in yards allowed. Somehow, that team overcame the loss of Aikman. The past season, the Cowboys crumbled without Elliott and Smith.

The triplets were around longer than 1991, my initial comment had to do with key players missing, and as great as the 90's team were injury would play a factor in games won or lost. Heck you don't easily replace an Emmitt Smith or Troy Aikman or Irvin. Yes this team without Zeke for 6 games went 3-3 and in 2016 with Dez missed 3 games went 3-0 they won them all.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

At the 3:13 mark of the clip there was 26 seconds left in the game (not 35 as Captain43Crash mentioned), and the Cowboys were snapping the ball for a 1st down play, not kicking a FG.

After the first down play (a short gain), the game clock was down to about 13-14 seconds left, and with less than 10 seconds left the Cowboys were scrambling to get everyone set at the line of scrimmage. At that point the Cowboys felt it better to let a few seconds tick off and call the timeout, knowing they were well within Bailey's range, and not risking a rushed pass attempt with the risk of a penalty or sack taking them out of FG range, or an INT or completion in bounds ending the game.

They possibly could have called the one timeout with 13-14 seconds left and tried a sideline throw to gain a few extra yards, but at most they would have had maybe 8-10 seconds to run another play and stop the clock without the benefit of a timeout, not the 35 seconds Captain43Crash indicated. Even then, a penalty, sack, INT or completion in bounds would have effectively ended the game, so they chose not to risk it.

So you think it's acceptable in today's NFL to have 26 seconds left with a time out and run one play that gains three yards, then kick the FG?

Good talk.

 

[Cowboy_Shawn]

Several years ago, Jimmy Johnson was pressed on a given Sunday to explain why the Cowboys always seem to underachieve despite having some talent. His answer as I recall was something to the effect that the players did not fear the coaches or any repercussions for failure. He also (as I remember) said the environment was “too country club”. May not be exact, but I think that was generally what he said.

IMO, the biggest culture cancer of the last 22 years of failure boils down to this: Our leaders accept excuses. When the people who lead your organization not only have zero consequences for their own failure, and they also make “sugar daddy” excuses for their players and coaches for any year that has ended without much being accomplished, your organization is infected.

Tony Romo famously once stated that the NFL is a “meritocracy”- your value, playing time and accolades depend on your bottom line performance. Well that “meritocracy” may apply to the rest of the NFL, but it doesn’t apparently apply much in Dallas if you are in the FO or coaching staff.

Pick a year. Any year in the last 22. You can easily find Jerry making local or sports headlines by laying out a beautiful soft bed of excuses as to why his team either did not make the playoffs or exited early in the playoffs. For the sake of brevity, I can’t or won’t list all of the excuses laid out by Jerry to soft pedal his team’s failure, but here’s some of the excuse “greatest hits”- in no particular order:

1. If Zeke hadn’t been suspended those 6 games, 2017 would have been different.
2. If Aaron Rodgers doesn’t make that 3rd and 30 completion we would have won that 2016 playoff game.
3. If Tyron Smith hadn’t been hurt most of 2017, we would have won that Atlanta game.
4. Our defense was great until Sean Lee got hurt. If we have him all season...
5. If Greg Hardy had stayed focused and played like he did in his first game against NE, we would have...
6. If Tony Romo doesn’t hurt his back, break his collarbone, need surgery......etc.
7. It takes a while for a rookie head coach to develop. (Implying it was ok to throw seasons away in the “learning process”)
8. Wade Phillips after the disastrous 2007 loss in first round to giants: “We still had a great season”. (If I was GM, that might have been a firing offense, but this org loves excuses)
9. Jerry- “Zeke’s been through a lot lately”. (Jerry telling coaches they shouldn’t discipline him after he quit on a play in Denver after an interception)
10. Jerry- “I don’t want to give up on the development of Jason Garrett too soon and let another team benefit from it”. (After 3 straight non-winning, non-playoff seasons)

The excuse list of the last two decades could fill a 500 page book. Excuse making is the opposite of accountability. Good leaders own their mistakes and impose consequences for failure, regardless of what coulda, woulda, shoulda been. What makes this team’s culture so problematic is that as long as Jerry and the top brass keep making and accepting excuses, it will continue to dog this team.

I’m sick of the excuses. As fans we should stop repeating some of Jerry’s excuses on these boards. If this team again fails to make the playoffs, or loses early in the playoffs, there should be ZERO excuses. This team has enough talent to make some noise this year.

Injuries happen- every year. Bad calls, and bad luck happen every year. The true contenders always find a way to win anyway and the pretenders always find a good set of excuses.

Fantastic post!

You are absolutely right. Last year's Super Bowl participants are a perfect example. Seemingly every year the Patriots overcome the loss of two or more of their top players and we all know that the Eagles overcame a lot as well.

It starts with the front office. Every year it seems like we get a laundry list of excuses from Jerry explaining how this year will be different thanks to "Player X" being healthy, "Player Y" not being suspended, etc. I'm not a fan of Garrett's coaching ability but I will give him credit for not joining in on the excuse parade. Unfortunately the people trotting out the annual excuses are the ultimate decision makers. So as you kind of pointed out, that leaves it up to us as fans to start demanding more from this organization.

We have a good number of fans who for some reason are perfectly content supporting the Cowboys no matter what. I'm not one of those fans. I can't blindly support a team that refuses to do everything in their power to win a championship. The Cowboys intentionally handicap themselves year after year with their "keep it in the family" front office setup.

So instead of cheering wildly every time Jerry's wrinkled mug is shown on the jumbotron, fans should treat him like fans treat Goodell at the NFL draft. Let him know we're not pleased with his management decisions. Cheering him and treating him like a rock star only serves as a reinforcement to him that he's doing a solid job and the excuse making and lack of accountability will continue.