Hidden in Plain Sight

[Diehardblues]

If you want to predict our season then you need a crystal ball on Romo's health.

Unless you think this defense can carry us or Dak in his absence.

I'd like to see the over/ under on how many games Romo will miss. Thereinlies our season most likely .

 

[VACowboy]

If the defense doesn't get turnovers like it did in 2014 it doesn't matter if it's more talented. That was one of the main reasons for success in 2014.

Yep, and 11 TO's is laughable, but if the Dallas offense scores and controls games like lots of folks think it will, I think the defense can't help but get a lot more than that.

 

[Diehardblues]

In 2014 our offense and OL had history with Murray who was coming off his first Pro Bowl season . Basically the additional workload was added to protect Romo after his back surgery.

We saw last year even with Romo in the lineup the running game wasn't the same without Murray and the Chemistry established .

Given Zeke is more talented than what we had last year and Morris's should bring some down hill running too but we shouldn't expect this running game to be where the 2014 was . At least not out of the gates anyway,

 

[School]

If the defense doesn't get turnovers like it did in 2014 it doesn't matter if it's more talented. That was one of the main reasons for success in 2014.

That was definitely one of the reasons for the team's success in 2014, but the team's turnover differential was nothing out of the ordinary that year - they were tied for 9th best. In 2015, they were tied for dead last in TO differential.

2015 was much more the aberration.

 

[Diehardblues]

So, let's assume our running game needs a few games to begin to gell and our DL isn't able to provide much pressure initially or stop the run we'll still be looking for Romo to pull games out like he had to at the beginning of last year which will place him in Harms Way again.

The mistake we made this offseason is not making our DL a higher priority in draft and FA. We addressed it mildly but not with enough aggression IMO. And it's also my opinion it could cost us early in the season while we wait on this running game to take shape and our DL to return.

An early hole could be a lot to overcome. Unless your comfortable with an 0-2 or 1-3 start as we should get stronger as the season goes .

 

[Sydla]

I didn't ask you why..I simply pointed out you are wrong.

Wrong?

People are wrong to have questions about this team and how good they are?

LOL.

 

[jday]

I find it equally fascinating that people are surprised that people aren't necessarily fawning over the Cowboys either. The team has some real questions that aren't made up nor can they easily be overlooked.

First of all, we are football fans and football is back. So regardless of what you think of your team, you should be ecstatic. Furthermore, I ask you to overlook nothing. I simply ask you to look at the league around the Cowboys and notice that no one has the perfect roster from top to bottom. However, there are a few team's that have rosters comprised quite like the Cowboys. We have the offensive line, the qb, the wr's, the rb. On all of those points we have very good possibilities. And since very team's can say that, I do think the Cowboys are going to give the majority of teams they play serious problems. It really is that simple.

You mention 2014 as if that's the standard by which we should judge Cowboys teams. However, that 2014 season is the anomaly in the Garrett era. Why people automatically assume that's the real Cowboys and not the 8-8 versions we've seen more often than not in Dallas. 2014 was a season when everything pretty much broke right for the Cowboys. Can you count on that again? Who knows? And maybe the 2014 season is the real Cowboys team we should expect under Garrett. But there are enough questions about this team to wonder if 12-4 might be a too optimistic for this bunch.

No, no, no. I'm not saying 2014 is the standard. I merely pointed out that the Cowboys are now better prepared to reproduce those results as compared to 2015. Once again, it really is that simple.

Here's why I am not shocked that people don't have a big time bullish outlook on the Cowboys:

- Defense is highly questionable. There is a real lack of pass rush quality on this roster, at least on paper (and paper is what people are judging NFL teams by right now).
- The 2014 team was highly opportunistic in the turnover area. Part of turnovers can be somewhat luck. If luck isn't on their side this year and they struggle to turn the other team over AND can't get to the QB, you are going to have some real problems.
- LBs are a real question mark, especially if Lee happens to get hurt again.
- Romo's age and recent injury history has to be a factor in any analysis.
- Garrett is a mid-level NFL coach and I think his reputation league wide is just that - nice guy, average head coach. So if you are counting on your coaching staff to make up for some talent shortcomings, I wouldn't expect it.

Personally, I think this team can/will win this mediocre division with 10-11 wins. I think they'll play on WC weekend and either lose then or the following week as their flaws on defense - inability to get to the QB will haunt them again.

Admittedly, the defense is questionable, but again, they need only limit an offenses scoring, not so much moving the ball. Therein is a very big difference. Their inability to get to the QB may haunt them, but that doesn't change the fact that the regular is going to be a blast to watch...which is not something we can say of last year.

 

[jday]

Wrong?

People are wrong to have questions about this team and how good they are?

LOL.

No, they are simply wrong to doubt how good this team will be. Health willing, this team is going to be really good. But I don't expect anyone to believe me. It will have to happen and when it does, I'll be here waiting with a smug smile of satisfaction. The good news is everyone who has given me grief over my weekly diagnosis and projections will be all too happy to say they were wrong because football is fun to watch again....

 

[jday]

So the team's defensive roster hasn't exactly been an empirical indicator of its success. Even last year, as horrible as the offense was and grabbing historically few turnovers, the Dallas D was still 16th in scoring defense and gave up fewer points than the NFC East champions. Following from the OP, it's not hard at all for me to believe that the offense will be explosive, the defense will be average and this team will be one game away from a February football game sometime in January.

Preach!!!

 

[jday]

I fully expect this team to be better than the 2014 version. I expect this team to be better on both sides of the ball and in ST than in 2014. I expect them to win more games than they did in 2014 and to go further in Playoffs. Winning the division is a given. No other team will even compete for the division IMO. Some of you look at the 8-8 years as being a bad thing. Granted I would have liked better but given the state of the team at that time, the state of the CAP etc. being 8-8 with a bad OL, bad DL and no secondary to speak of, was pretty impressive actually. The last 8-8 year, was a miracle IMO. To have that many injuries and still be competitive, true accomplishment. Once the OL had been revamped, some other pieces added and everyone remained fairly healthy, boom 12-4. I fully expected this team to make some serious noise last year but again, major injuries and horrible QB play, and players making the worst mistake at the worst time in the game cost us several games.

If this team can remain healthy, which is the biggest part of any team winning anything, then this team will go a long ways, this year. The defense will be better than in 2014 by a good margin. My bet is they finish in the top 12.. you heard it here! Now that Scandrick is back and Mo showing signs of being better and an actual FS roaming the back end, that frees of a lot of different types of blitzes, stunts, etc we can run. I can't wait to get this started. It's going to be a fun year!!

I too believe this team is better than the 2014, however, because every team has changed since 2014, I'm not willing to predict success beyond what they were able to do then. But I do believe this team will definitely be in the mix come January.

 

[jday]

If the defense doesn't get turnovers like it did in 2014 it doesn't matter if it's more talented. That was one of the main reasons for success in 2014.

Turnovers were a symptom in 2014. It wasn't because are corners and linebackers were of a sudden good at getting take-aways. It was because they had more opportunities as the opposition attempted to come back in games. That same situation will likely present itself this year, imo.

 

[Idgit]

Record wise the Cowboys are a mediocore team right now. No dispute about that whatsoever. Garrett led Cowboys are a mediocore team. No dispite. You can't argue against math. It's like 12-4 and 4-12 work to neutralize or cancel each other out. If 4-12 was an anomaly and you don't think 12-4 was than that's on you. If you think 12-4 is really the Cowboys and not 4-12 than that's on you. Math says they are somewhere between that....hence mediocre. So untill they come out out this season and tip the scale either way lower than mediocre or higher than mediocore we are still medicore. Expecting more or less is just that expectations but there is no expectations for being a .500 ball club. That's the straight forward cold hard truth.

We are .500 Champs right now untill someome dethrones us from such a position.

I think it was pretty obvious that 2015 was anomalous, and that the reason for the anomaly was the significant missed games to multiple key players, including the suspensions. That can be on me, I guess.

That's not to say we won't have another anomalous season in terms of injuries. It's also not reasonable to expect the same number of significant games missed.

You also don't just look at the won/loss record and gauge the team that way. The makeup of the team has changed significantly during that time. This team will be whatever it's talent level allows it to be. Some of that's inherited from older versions of the Cowboys, but enough of it isn't that it's academic. It's a league where 3-4 play makers from one season to the next make a material difference in how a team finishes. That's the cold, hard truth.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I do like attention..you got me there. Actually, what I like is football discussion, which is what this is really about. And, as you may of noticed, I enjoy writing...I'm pretty good at it, I think.

See the thing is, every NFL team in the league has their own perspective Achilles Hill, if you will. So, the above is not about white-washing those deficiencies...I highlighted them in the very first paragraph. No, this about measuring strength against strength league wide. No one has the potential of the Cowboys offense. No one. Sure, they might check many of the same boxes that the Cowboys do on offense, but they don't check every single one. Sure, much of that hinges on Romo's health as well other key contributors...but I'm not Miss Cleo...I don't base my opinion on things that are beyond prediction. What I do know is every team in the NFL is faced with those same conditions. If their starting QB goes down, so does their Super Bowl chances. That's across the board. So why would I harp on something that could happen to any team? Kind of a waste of time you stop to truly think about it....

I dont think admitting something is a problem is harping.

That being said I like you as a poster. You have no problem sticking your neck out there and making predictions and you take criticism like a man. Unlike some of the few ninnies on here that cant handle it. Well done.

 

[Aven8]

I know what I've seen throughthe first 2 PS games that we look pretty unstoppable on offense no matter who is at QB. Had we not had the the holding calls with Romo's 1st series we might have scored on every possession. They are making it look easy. It's almost like Miami and LA weren't even trying!

On a side note, if I were a Dolphin fan I would be worried. They looked awful!

 

[Sydla]

No, they are simply wrong to doubt how good this team will be. Health willing, this team is going to be really good. But I don't expect anyone to believe me. It will have to happen and when it does, I'll be here waiting with a smug smile of satisfaction. The good news is everyone who has given me grief over my weekly diagnosis and projections will be all too happy to say they were wrong because football is fun to watch again....

That's just semantics. There is really no difference between "doubting how good this team will be" and having questions about this team.

 

[Sydla]

I know what I've seen throughthe first 2 PS games that we look pretty unstoppable on offense no matter who is at QB. Had we not had the the holding calls with Romo's 1st series we might have scored on every possession. They are making it look easy. It's almost like Miami and LA weren't even trying!

On a side note, if I were a Dolphin fan I would be worried. They looked awful!

I am just going to throw this out there. Make of it as you will.

The Eagles offense scored 76 points in their first two preseason games last year and looked pretty much unstoppable and that was with Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley being the QBs in those games. In their third game, Bradford came in and carved up the Packers.

I tend to think that this offense is going to be really good as long as Romo stays healthy. Prescott will eventually have some growing pains, even the best rookies do. But, and maybe it's just years of frustration and disappointment building up, there's still a part of my brain that says I need to see it in a real game before I go all in.

 

[Aven8]

I am just going to throw this out there. Make of it as you will.

The Eagles offense scored 76 points in their first two preseason games last year and looked pretty much unstoppable and that was with Mark Sanchez and Matt Barkley being the QBs in those games. In their third game, Bradford came in and carved up the Packers.

I tend to think that this offense is going to be really good as long as Romo stays healthy. Prescott will eventually have some growing pains, even the best rookies do. But, and maybe it's just years of frustration and disappointment building up, there's still a part of my brain that says I need to see it in a real game before I go all in.

I've thought about that as well, the Eagles last year I mean. But this seems different. We have never moved the ball worth a crap once Romo's series was over in PS. The holes, whether it's Martin and Tfred, or Looney, and the gang have been huge. I guess we will see this Thursday for sure.

I am tempering my enthusiasm here but it's refreshing as hell to see some life after last year!

 

[MileyDancer]

8-8, 8-8, 8-8, 12-4, 4-12 the last 5 years. With that recent record how can anyone sit here with a straight face and ask any of us why we have reservations? Its laughable.

No kidding. And they actually get angry about it.

 

[CowboyRoy]

No kidding. And they actually get angry about it.

Its a big mystery as to why. Like 12-4 was the norm or something.

 

[JBS]

This is the most basic understanding of football..level 1

We can run...we can pass..teams can't stop both..blah blah blah

There are other teams in this league..with coaches and players that are smart enough and good enough to watch film..make adjustments..and put a plan together to beat us...

You talk about making defenses proactive...the only thing we've heard all offseason is how PROACTIVE our defense is..being more aggressive..more press man coverages..more blitzes...etc

We haven't even played a game and we are seeing these changes...while we have the power to hurt other teams w our offense..we also have the defense that will allow other teams to hurt us..

At the end of the day, many teams are talented..how is our coaching staff going to outsmart and out scheme other teams? That's what wins in this league and that's an area where our team is lacking