Has a better core ever been wasted? (2006-2010)

[CowboysFaninHouston]

The 13 Pro Bowler season was one of the worst things that could have happened. It was coming from the coach straight up to the owner that we were supremely talented and we just need luck and things like better special teams play to break through. I still recall the running commentary every season--"the roster is set". Self evaluation was a huge problem then. Hopefully we have broke out of that mentality that we are set anywhere right now.

I agree. I think parcells said the same thing his first year, that he wished he would have purged the roster sooner and he got a false positive from the team after his first year and he didn't trust his judgement.

we were highly over rated that year and backed our way into 13-3 and NFC 1st seed. and the probowlers were the likes of Barber, Groude, Roy Williams, Nick Folk, Terrence Newman and Greg ellis.

ok, players, but elite of the NFL they weren't

 

[Carolina Cowboy]

Nope. I've never seen this much talent wasted.

And not wasted in the way most people think, but because of organizational structure, or lack thereof.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Look at the Oilers from 87-93. At least one of those teams should have made it to the Super Bowl IMO.

You stole my thunder. I was about to mention the Oilers from that period. Their offensive line rivaled the Cowboys' line during the 1990s.

 

[JohnsKey19]

If your core only got 1 playoff win then they probably wasn't as good as you think and they were no different than any other good player thats come and went through the NFL. They weren't good enough to beat the Giants 3 times in one year and they weren't good enough to make Minnesota come to their field and play. You can't waste what you don't have.

Well put.

Good teams find a way to make a run when it matters most. This team has continuously fallen short. So it's not a "waste of talent", it's simply the talent probably wasn't as good as some thought or what the media reported.

 

[chicago JK]

The undervalueing of the OL and S position was our downfall. Romo was running for his life bc the GM thought he didn't have to pay for an OL after paying ALL that money for the toys (QB/WR/RB/TE). The lack of quality players @ S had undercut all the rush Ware (Rat in his prime) were contributing on the front end. Many teams just chucked it deep with good success. Very Frustrating!

True. I find it shocking we have still haven't replaced Darren Woodson. Most of this time the safety position has been a weakness. Maybe finding another Woodson is hard to do, but I would at least expect to find stability in this position at the least. Outside of a few years of Roy Williams and maybe a season of Hamlin there has been a revolving door of poor alternatives.

I agreed with dallas of moving on from Columbo, Guroude and Davis. I thought they were living off name for at least a year and during most of their career only an average starting caliber line. What I disagreed with was who Dallas replaced these guys with. Every team needs to replace guys every year but Dallas had borderline NFL guys they were counting on to replace these guys. Just poor vision overall by the front office. I think some of us thought Dallas was playing with fire with the D-line this past year. I believe that was another issue of poor vision and not factoring in the worst case scenarios of a group that was older with limited established depth.

 

[BigStar]

True. I find it shocking we have still haven't replaced Darren Woodson. Most of this time the safety position has been a weakness. Maybe finding another Woodson is hard to do, but I would at least expect to find stability in this position at the least. Outside of a few years of Roy Williams and maybe a season of Hamlin there has been a revolving door of poor alternatives.

I agreed with dallas of moving on from Columbo, Guroude and Davis. I thought they were living off name for at least a year and during most of their career only an average starting caliber line. What I disagreed with was who Dallas replaced these guys with. Every team needs to replace guys every year but Dallas had borderline NFL guys they were counting on to replace these guys. Just poor vision overall by the front office. I think some of us thought Dallas was playing with fire with the D-line this past year. I believe that was another issue of poor vision and not factoring in the worst case scenarios of a group that was older with limited established depth.

Great post! The year they cut the albeit "underperforming and overpaid" vets from the OL the team was not snug against the cap. The moves were made as if a plan was set in place for the replacements but one was not. They simply saw the cap number (5 mil+ for Gurode) without considering the importance of the position and even moreso for Romo. It was basically a wasted season due to this inadequate planning and lack of neccesary talent acquisition (almost by choice). Sometimes it seemed the team made moves just to do so.

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

I said it at the time...and I probably say it a couple of times every year. 2007 will always leave me shaking my head. Best team in the NFC..probably 2nd best team in the NFL. 13 - 3. And I believe 2 of the losses were late in the season when TO got hurt and/or we were resting guys for the playoffs. The other loss was earlier in the season to the Pats. Who went on to win every game that year except the last one. We would not have beaten the Pats in the Super Bowl....because we were a team that had plenty of talent, but lacked heart/cohesion/leadership. Plus Wade/Garrett would never outcoach Bill Bellicheck on a stage that big. Teams were actually catching on to us...why anyone would EVER play zone defense agaisnt Patrick Crayton was mind boggling to me. He was a former QB and which made him very smart for a WR. But he was not physically gifted. They started playing man to man against him and doubling TO...and our offense was starting to struggle big time.

Anyway, back to the 2007 playoffs. We had already beaten the Giants twice that year. And if you look at the playoff loss to the Giants....if you look at the stat sheet...without looking at the final score...you would have sworn we won the game. People can talk about the drop pass from Crayton...or Crayton stopping on that route...or Fasano dropping the football. But there were far more small things that I think really cost us the game. DeMarcus Ware being incorrectly called offsides extended a drive in which the Giants scored a TD...and remember....this was a game where very few points were scored...so that was huge. Also...the Cowboys chewing up the clock for like 10 minutes and scoring a TD before the end of the first half. Then the defense...getting COMPLETLEY caught with their pants down when they took the field right before halftime. I swear they THOUGHT Eli was going to take a couple of knees or just run a couple of plays and let the half end. After our defense being rested....and NYG offense sitting on the sidelines for most of the 2nd quarter....we let them take the field and march 80+ yards in what seemed like a minute. That is simply NOT championship football. And that is why the so called core and/or leaders of that team simply never have impressed me much. Lastly, Marion Barber was given the starting nod over the bye and Terry Glenn was inserted in the starting lineup after pretty much sitting the entire year. Barber was a beast in the 1st half..but was out of gas by halftime. Julius Jones...who was sulking because he was benched....checked out on the team and his effort and/or enthusiasm to give Barber a blow was half hearted. Again....another reason the leadership of that team was unimpressive to me..and that goes for Wade, Garrett, Romo, Ware, Witten etc..

As for the rest of that era...well Jerry...being Jerry...could not WAIT to capitalize on the 13 - 3 season...and ASSUMED (like he was new to football)...that the season would resume where it left off the year before...and signed the Cowboys up for Hard Knocks. The team became a Hollywood Movie (except for the small fact that football cannot be scripted)....and we have never recovered since. But hey...Jerry got his stadium built....he HAS "produced" 3 Super Bowl trophies...and in his mind...that has bought him time until the day he or the man upstairs decides he is finished.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

People forget that Witten and Carpenter went to Cabo as well.

It was Witten's idea to go to Cabo and he dragged Romo along. It was an absolutely idiotic decision.

 

[Alexander]

It was Witten's idea to go to Cabo and he dragged Romo along. It was an absolutely idiotic decision.

I do not recall it being sold that way. It was the Tony and Jessica love weekend.

 

[Primetime42]

Yes there has been worse. 2010-2014 Dallas Cowboys.

This is a joke, right?

 

[Jstopper]

It was Witten's idea to go to Cabo and he dragged Romo along. It was an absolutely idiotic decision.

Actually i have seen it reported multiple times that T.O is actually the one who bought Romo and Jessica the ticket to Cabo, as a sort of gesture of good will between him and the QB. Can you imagine the turmoil it would have caused if he told TO no he didnt want his trip?

 

[Zordon]

Actually i have seen it reported multiple times that T.O is actually the one who bought Romo and Jessica the ticket to Cabo, as a sort of gesture of good will between him and the QB. Can you imagine the turmoil it would have caused if he told TO no he didnt want his trip?

You're the quarterback of the team. Man up and tell him thanks but no thanks, I'm staying in Dallas and preparing. We'll all go in the offseason.

 

[TheFinisher]

The OP said from 06-2010. We made the playoffs 3 of those 5 season so you're not really addressing the question by taking about the past six years.

And that span of 5 years saw us play under 3 different head coaches.

That should answer the question.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

Actually i have seen it reported multiple times that T.O is actually the one who bought Romo and Jessica the ticket to Cabo, as a sort of gesture of good will between him and the QB. Can you imagine the turmoil it would have caused if he told TO no he didnt want his trip?

I am pretty sure I remember Witten taking the blame for the trip. Romo was getting ripped for the trip and Witten told everyone it was his idea and he thought it would be best to get away and clear their minds.

 

[bsheeern]

I think a better question would be has there even been another core given that many chances and kept together that long when producing next to nothing in return.

Made the playoffs only 1 time in the past 6 years.

We have like 3 players left from 2006.....

 

[Apollo Creed]

When we look back on the 'Romo' era - you're going to notice that he always made his supporting cast that much better.

Made his offensive line better by his pocket presence and his ability to evade pressure. He's made guys like Patrick Crayton, Laurent Robinson and Terrance Williams look great.

His best years were when Sparano still had the 'reigns' on him and we had a balanced attack. Dropping him back 50+ times a game is asking way too much of a quarterback, even one with Romo's talents.

 

[bsheeern]

If Dallas were in that same situation over the past 17 years, I believe people would feel a lot better. We went to three straight NFC Championship games in the Danny White era and we have nothing to show for that either I guess.

I have to disagree. The White years created the biggest monkey on our back we've ever had. Even more so than the "can't win the big one" cowboys of the 60's/70's.

I understand your point but in today's society it's feast or famine. Just look at Andy Reid. You'd think a franchise with Zero Superbowls, that did what they did wouldn't have fired Him in the 60's - 80's. With Today's fan base you're lucky to have more than 1 year.

 

[Alexander]

I have to disagree. The White years created the biggest monkey on our back we've ever had. Even more so than the "can't win the big one" cowboys of the 60's/70's.

To me, that "drought" was nothing compared to losing the championship games to the Packers in the 1960s and even Super Bowl to the Colts. That "Next Year's Champions" title hung around in Dallas for a long time.

People back in the late 1970s/early 1980s just usually chalked it up to Danny White not being as good as Roger Staubach.

 

[TheFinisher]

We have like 3 players left from 2006.....

Romo, WItten and Ware were the core in 2006 and they were still the core in 2013.

 

[Lonestar94]

Yes they were good. But they are like the 08-12 falcons. Were they good ? Of course. Will they be remembered? No way.

Fans once again overrating our talent. Probably just nostalgia. '07 could of been a Super Bowl year, but don't make it look like we were anything special.