I’ve been as guilty as anyone in regard to criticizing the FO and keeping my expectations for team success in check primarily due to the shenanigans of Dr. Evil and Mini-Me. But Bill Parcells used to proclaim that there are two sides to a pancake so for once (just for fun) I’m hopping over to the fence to the positive side.
Is it safe to say that we are currently a top 3 team in the NFC? We’ve been conditioned to accept that no difference makers will be signed in free agency, so let’s assume we maintain the status quo. To counter that, we’ve been lucky enough to have Will McClay and his crew present us with pretty solid draft classes.
Now, consider what’s happening to the teams in front of us.
Philly is losing two coordinators, they will have concerns to address in free agency, there’s plenty of tape on this offense now (D-coordinators are quick learners), and they bear the burden of wearing the bullseye of expectation. Still see them as quite formidable but the Cowboys played them well last year and I expect the 2023 battles to be very competitive as well.
San Fran will be entering the offseason with the classic QB conundrum. Purdy had a good stint in his relief role, but I keep circling back the fact that he was Mr. Irrelevant for a reason. I’d wager he doesn’t produce at the same clip moving forward. Then there’s the case of the unknown…Trey Lance. I didn’t trust the faith SF put in him when they moved up to take him 3rd in the draft. He just doesn’t have a body of work that proves he capable of sustained success in the NFL. Big arm and athletic…yes, but has displayed glimpses of having a 10 cent head.
Teams like Detroit the Giants and even that team in D.C. may make a move to challenge, but I wouldn’t classify them as imminent threats to vie for the NFC crown. The reality is, that despite the bungling leaders at the front of this parade, Dallas is in the conference with sub-par QB play and in general stacked with inferior teams across-the-board. This leads to the conclusion that there's nothing logically keeping us from accepting anything short of playing in the NFC title game.
This may be wishful thinking rubbish in a negative Cowboy culture, but I do believe it’s viable rubbish.