Exuberant

[jday]

Match that with a couple good seasons without injury...

Not to say that the fear of injury is not there. Its just not as pronounced because so much hinged on Romo before now and Romo was an injury waiting to happen. Remember how optimism was framed before now? It always led with "if Romo can stay healthy..."

 

[CCBoy]

Not to say that the fear of injury is not there. Its just not as pronounced because so much hinged on Romo before now and Romo was an injury waiting to happen. Remember how optimism was framed before now? It always led with "if Romo can stay healthy..."

That's a valid observation...as is the team is pretty young as well.

 

[Longboysfan]

Why can't I start new topics?

BTW - I will miss Wilcox hitting like a truck.

I think you have to have posted a number of times or been on the board for awhile before that feature is un-locked.

 

[IrishAnto]

I agree about being on the cusp of greatness. Just not certain it will be this season. But unless there is a catastrophe on the horizon, I believe this team will post multiple championships in the next 6 years. My feeling is three.

http://cowboyszone.com/threads/yet-another-are-we-being-too-optimistic.377592/

Not only have I read said post, I've also agreed with it, however TwoDeep3 thinks we win three Championships (I’m assuming he/she means SBs) in the next six years and you agree.

Its fine to be optimistic but I fail to see how anyone who has watched this organization for the last 21 years (or the greater part of it) could be so blindly optimistic.

To me that’s eating the cheese and washing it down with kool-aid.

 

[jday]

Not only have I read said post, I've also agreed with it, however TwoDeep3 thinks we win three Championships (I’m assuming he/she means SBs) in the next six years and you agree.

Its fine to be optimistic but I fail to see how anyone who has watched this organization for the last 21 years (or the greater part of it) could be so blindly optimistic.

To me that’s eating the cheese and washing it down with kool-aid.

To be honest, I haven't the slightest idea if the Cowboys will even win one. I just have a very good feeling about the direction of this team. I certainly could be wrong, but like TwoDeep, I think the Cowboys are on the cusp of another dynasty. 3 Championships may be asking for alot, but truth be told, and I think every single one of us will agree on this, I'd certainly settle for one and see where they go from there.

 

[IrishAnto]

To be honest, I haven't the slightest idea if the Cowboys will even win one. I just have a very good feeling about the direction of this team. I certainly could be wrong, but like TwoDeep, I think the Cowboys are on the cusp of another dynasty. 3 Championships may be asking for alot, but truth be told, and I think every single one of us will agree on this, I'd certainly settle for one and see where they go from there.

No doubt even one would be gravy, but start by showing us they can win two playoff games in a row and then go back next year and better it.

That at this juncture would be a tangible sign that we actually could win a Championship let alone multiple Championships.

Don’t get me wrong I do think there are grounds for hope and I can see why you would too, but after they butchered Romo’s chance I’m in a “show me” frame of mind.

 

[Doomsday101]

I was not happy to see Mo, Carr and Wilcox go but on the other hand I was not in favor of seeing them cash in on a big payday when the play did not justify it in my eyes. To me it is a big gamble to pay Mo big money when he has shown he can't stay on the field. It is a gamble to pay Carr even more than he was getting for decent but not spectacular play, it is a gamble seeing Wilcox struggle until last season and even then is was not overly great play just better than it was. Either way going with these young guys or paying more for these vets was a gamble I just think their is more upside with the young pups.

 

[diefree666]

Not to rain on anyone’s parade and while I agree there are grounds for optimism let’s just tap the brakes here.

To understand why I say this lets go back to the end of the 2007 season.

We just went 13-3 and lost our only playoff game (sound familiar?)

We had Romo, Witten, Ware, Ratliff, Owens, Newman and decent OL and many nice complementary players.

Definite grounds for future optimism there.

But how many championships did we win, hell how many playoff games did we win in the following years????

In addition the following year we went 9-7 and missed the playoffs which is a pattern we’ve continued with to this day (good/great regular season followed by disappointing season).




So for all those totting up the number of SBs they expect us to win in the next few years remember 2007.

Also let’s not forget the people in charge in 2007 are still in charge.

Let’s see if they’ve learned anything.

As it turned out way too many of those players had their career YEAR in 2007. Outside of Romo and Deware it was pretty much downhill from there on in. It is really eerie when you look at the numbers of the Rat and Hamlin and Ellis and so on- 2007 was truly an outlier for almost all of them.

 

[JoeKing]

I never said I dismissed your perspective; I'm just not "burdened" by it. As far as I'm concerned, there is no right or wrong perspective, only one that is more depressing than the other.

Same song, different verse.

 

[IrishAnto]

As it turned out way too many of those players had their career YEAR in 2007. Outside of Romo and Deware it was pretty much downhill from there on in. It is really eerie when you look at the numbers of the Rat and Hamlin and Ellis and so on- 2007 was truly an outlier for almost all of them.

And what's to say the same is not true of the 2017 team?

The bottom line is they should have done a lot better with the talent on that team and they didn't.

And I'll say it again, it's the same folks running the show today that ran it in 2007, 2008 ....

 

[jday]

No doubt even one would be gravy, but start by showing us they can win two playoff games in a row and then go back next year and better it.

That at this juncture would be a tangible sign that we actually could win a Championship let alone multiple Championships.

Don’t get me wrong I do think there are grounds for hope and I can see why you would too, but after they butchered Romo’s chance I’m in a “show me” frame of mind.

Fair enough. But so there is no further confusion, my enthusiasm is more about the level of entertainment we are about to receive than expectation of championships. If nothing else, the next 5 years figure to be very entertaining.

 

[jday]

I was not happy to see Mo, Carr and Wilcox go but on the other hand I was not in favor of seeing them cash in on a big payday when the play did not justify it in my eyes. To me it is a big gamble to pay Mo big money when he has shown he can't stay on the field. It is a gamble to pay Carr even more than he was getting for decent but not spectacular play, it is a gamble seeing Wilcox struggle until last season and even then is was not overly great play just better than it was. Either way going with these young guys or paying more for these vets was a gamble I just think their is more upside with the young pups.

That is the key word: upside. If you get the right kinda guys, with the right attitude, the right approach, the right commitment, the right work ethic, and the right skill-set's, while it may not yield immediate returns while they gain much needed experience, eventually it has the potential to turn into something great. Truth be told, it may not even happen this season...but I do feel pretty confident that this defense will be really good at some point in the next 2-3 years...possibly sooner.

 

[JoeKing]

Fair enough. But so there is no further confusion, my enthusiasm is more about the level of entertainment we are about to receive than expectation of championships. If nothing else, the next 5 years figure to be very entertaining.

Now you sound like Jerry Jones promoting his three ring circus.

 

[IrishAnto]

Fair enough. But so there is no further confusion, my enthusiasm is more about the level of entertainment we are about to receive than expectation of championships. If nothing else, the next 5 years figure to be very entertaining.

With J Jones in charge things are always entertaining, fingers crossed for all the right reasons.

 

[jday]

And what's to say the same is not true of the 2017 team?

The bottom line is they should have done a lot better with the talent on that team and they didn't.

And I'll say it again, it's the same folks running the show today that ran it in 2007, 2008 ....

There is certainly something to that...especially the bit about same guy's running the show.

Because I still wonder what would happen if they had played the season ending game last year like it was any other game, as opposed to resting starters. Would they still have came out flat against the Packers in the playoffs? I mean, for all we know, them playing asleep in the first half had more to do with the week off...but at the end of the day, we will never know.

As for the talent comment, if there is anything we can say that is different from this team to the 2007 team, is it is much, much younger. If I recall correctly, 2008 was one of those years where the Cowboys got hammered by injury. Not certain on that, but I do remember several years in a row where the team collectively couldn't stay healthy and several hundred threads about firing the Strength and Conditioning coach ensued.

 

[jday]

Now you sound like Jerry Jones promoting his three ring circus.

I'm beginning to believe there is an agenda behind your trolling here...have I offended you somewhere else? Because until this thread, I don't recall ever debating with you before, but there certainly seems to be a degree of dislike behind your contributions here and for the life me I haven't the slightest idea what I said or did to hurt your feelings.

 

[jday]

With J Jones in charge things are always entertaining, fingers crossed for all the right reasons.

I was referring to the on-the-field product. When Jerry speaks, I normally change the channel.

 

[IrishAnto]

There is certainly something to that...especially the bit about same guy's running the show.

Because I still wonder what would happen if they had played the season ending game last year like it was any other game, as opposed to resting starters. Would they still have came out flat against the Packers in the playoffs? I mean, for all we know, them playing asleep in the first half had more to do with the week off...but at the end of the day, we will never know.

As for the talent comment, if there is anything we can say that is different from this team to the 2007 team, is it is much, much younger. If I recall correctly, 2008 was one of those years where the Cowboys got hammered by injury. Not certain on that, but I do remember several years in a row where the team collectively couldn't stay healthy and several hundred threads about firing the Strength and Conditioning coach ensued.

In many areas it was older, yet we had a young Romo, Witten, Ware, Ratliff, Spears, Newman and Owens in their prime etc.

Equally with youth comes inexperience and if any of the few remaining vets go down (especially in the secondary) with injury then thing could get mighty interesting (and not necessarily in a good way).

In addition being young isn’t proof against injury, just look at Jaylon Smith.

 

[jday]

In many areas it was older, yet we had a young Romo, Witten, Ware, Ratliff, Spears, Newman and Owens in their prime etc.

Equally with youth comes inexperience and if any of the few remaining vets go down (especially in the secondary) with injury then thing could get mighty interesting (and not necessarily in a good way).

In addition being young isn’t proof against injury, just look at Jaylon Smith.

"In there prime" may be a bit of an overstatement. But that wasn't the issue going into 2008. The offensive line had gotten old and it all fell apart from there. The defense hasn't been considered really good since the Tuna was Head Coach back around 2004 or 2005. And even then, it was over-achieving more than it was talented.

For me, this year hinges on Lee and Smith. If Lee can stay healthy and Smith can return to his Notre Dame playing days form, then this defense as a collective could be really good. Lee and Smith's play will inspire the younguns to work like they do, study like they do, and play with their all like they do. That is, of course, assuming the offense can return to something resembling their 2016 form. I've addressed in other threads my concerns about replacing Free and Leary, but if they have viable replacements, and the aforementioned happens regarding Lee and Smith, then the sky truly is the limit for what this team can collectively accomplish.

 

[IrishAnto]

"In there prime" may be a bit of an overstatement. But that wasn't the issue going into 2008. The offensive line had gotten old and it all fell apart from there. The defense hasn't been considered really good since the Tuna was Head Coach back around 2004 or 2005. And even then, it was over-achieving more than it was talented.

For me, this year hinges on Lee and Smith. If Lee can stay healthy and Smith can return to his Notre Dame playing days form, then this defense as a collective could be really good. Lee and Smith's play will inspire the younguns to work like they do, study like they do, and play with their all like they do. That is, of course, assuming the offense can return to something resembling their 2016 form. I've addressed in other threads my concerns about replacing Free and Leary, but if they have viable replacements, and the aforementioned happens regarding Lee and Smith, then the sky truly is the limit for what this team can collectively accomplish.

We could debate about being “In their Prime” for some however in 2007 Romo, Witten, Ware, Ratliff and Newman IMO were in their prime.

Equally regarding injuries you’re hoping Lee (last year his only fully healthy one) and Smith (still not fully healthy) are going to be the driving force behind our resurgence.

However my main concern about the future is the window we have with Dak.

At the moment he’s as “cheap as chips” salary wise which allows us more freedom to build a team around him.

However if he keeps his current trajectory as a player then I think we only have two more years before we have to pay him (I don’t see them letting him get to his 4th year before the “re-up”).

If we don’t play our cards correctly in the next two years then that advantage is gone.

Now that doesn’t mean we still can’t win it all but it will be more difficult. Just look at Seattle since Wilson got paid.