Huge 3 game stretch through Thanksgiving, “You Are What You Are”

[Carson]

Packers should be an easy win
Vikings should be a tougher win
Giants would be the game we lose. We stink lately on thanksgiving

 

[aikemirv]

GB.....They're toast
Vi queens....cousins can't survive our pressure.
G ants .....Quinn has seen their offense and will destroy.
This is based on Dak moving out of the pocket often and Quinn not bailing out.

That is the way it should play out given our past performances this year.

 

[Diehardblues]

One game at a time. If we had some injuries it could impact our insight into following games .

But looking at second half of season I’d say finishing 12-5 or better should secure the 5th seed and we’d be facing a lesser record 4th seed division champ .

Remaining games we won’t be favored to win .
@Minn, @ Titans and pending where we both stand on Xmas Eve, possibly at home against Phil.

I think 12-5 is very doable with hopes of 13-4. Tough for me to predict we’ll finish 8-1 with 14-3.

 

[blueblood70]

Huge 3 game stretch through Thanksgiving… As Parcells would say— you know what you are by Thanksgiving.

Packers
Vikes
Giants

If this team’s record is 9-2, or 8-3 after Turkey Day… they should be viewed as a legit contender in the NFC.

Following this offseason— and considering the injuries to Dak and Tyron— to even have a SHOT at 9-2 is well above expectation IMO.

Should they get to 9-2, even should they once again win the division, the true benchmark for success will— and should always be— postseason success.

That said— teams that can run the ball and play defense have done very well in the playoffs over the history of the NFL.

These next 3 games will tell us a LOT about the character, ceiling, and quality of this year’s version of the Dallas Cowboys.

Here’s to a great ride fellow fans— may your beers be cold, and the tears of our opponents be sweet

IO agree this 3 game stretch 2 of which are 2 teams with winning records will determine our fate going forward. will this be last year post bye or will they finally go on run.

Thats whay 2-1 is the worst they can come out of this and unfortunately if i had to choose the GB game is the loss as MN and NY will be in the hunt with us and we could use those tie breakers and also not have our Fairweather fans say we can't beat teams with winning records.

so 3-0 would be great but rather lose to GB and then win the next 2..that will show some growth. i mean we have lost to TB who at the time was great and healthy and Eagles that a trend of not beating the better teams when we play them.

I realize the rams and Bengals wins seem like great wins but they were not the 21 versions of themselves. so i want the cowboys to beat the rest of the better teams with winning records going forward.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

They will be legit contenders when they prove they can win in the tournament.

I have seen this many times over the past almost 30 years. As recently as last season they were hailed as "legit contenders".

They are pretenders until they prove they can win when it matters.

Agreed,,, the next few opponents are decent but I'm not seeing any of them as legit benchmarks. Beating all three would at least further the hope that the Cowboys are ready.

 

[diamonddelts]

Meanwhile the Eagles have the easiest schedule in NFL history.

 

[shabazz]

They will be legit contenders when they prove they can win in the tournament.

I have seen this many times over the past almost 30 years. As recently as last season they were hailed as "legit contenders".

They are pretenders until they prove they can win when it matters.

Exactly. Our 12-5 record last year had many crowing about our alleged prowess, only to get promptly bounced out by a wildcard team

One has to look at our strengths and weaknesses and compare those to the front runners in the league. One also has to take into account which teams upgraded their rosters in a meaningful way…..and which ones did little to nothing to improve and match their moves

 

[Vtwin]

You really find out who you are between T-day and the end of the season.

It's like doing pushups. Rip off the first 3/4ths of your set in perfect form, looking like Superman. The last quarter tells you where you're really at.

 

[Diehardblues]

Whether we are “ legit” contenders or just contenders is just talking points . Each season is on its own accord.

Most likely we’d have to do it on the road as a WC . So while we might have a stronger contender than other years we won’t be expected to make a deep run on the road.

 

[Diehardblues]

Meanwhile the Eagles have the easiest schedule in NFL history.

And why it’s going to be be vey difficult to overcome them for division. Barring somewhat of a collapse from Egirls we’d need to basically finish at least 8-1. And 14-3 might not be enough pending tiebreakers.

 

[SlammedZero]

With some of you, yes, we understand we all want post-season success.........but you have to enjoy the ride too. That's why you're here after all, isn't it?

If you guys are in a hurry to fast-forward life to that point, feel free, but I'm over here trying to figure out how to put the brakes on this ride and just enjoy the moments. I'll worry about winning in the post-season when we get to that point.

 

[Hawkeye19]

They will be legit contenders when they prove they can win in the tournament.

I have seen this many times over the past almost 30 years. As recently as last season they were hailed as "legit contenders".

They are pretenders until they prove they can win when it matters.

I said as much in the OP. Postseason success or failure will ultimately be the benchmark of how this team will be judged.

“Contender” is not the same as “NFC Champ” or “Super Bowl Champ”. If they make it to 9-2 and punch their ticket to the postseason, AND they all play to their potential— this team could beat anyone in the NFL. Hence “contender”.

I agree that this team has been guilty of front-running and failing to show up when it matters far too often. We will see how it shakes out— and these next 3 games will reveal quite a bit about the character and direction of the team

 

[Doomsday101]

And why it’s going to be be vey difficult to overcome them for division. Barring somewhat of a collapse from Egirls we’d need to basically finish at least 8-1. And 14-3 might not be enough pending tiebreakers.

who would have thought that Eagles NY and Dallas would all be sitting there with winning records and all with a very real shot of making post season. Heck even Washinton is at 4 and 5 are in better situation than many of the teams in the NFC.

 

[blueblood70]

Agreed,,, the next few opponents are decent but I'm not seeing any of them as legit benchmarks. Beating all three would at least further the hope that the Cowboys are ready.

umm NY and MN are playoff teams and are form sure benchmarks. you need to beat teams WITH winning records especially NFC teams that can own tiebreakers and home field choices for playoff seedings.

 

[Streifenkarl]

Meanwhile the Eagles have the easiest schedule in NFL history.

Well it's not like we have been putting that HFA to good use anyway lately, so being the 5th seed won't hurt us outside of Jerry's pockets.

 

[charron]

You are not a contender untill you make it past the wildcard round of the playoffs

 

[RonnieT24]

Packers should be an easy win
Vikings should be a tougher win
Giants would be the game we lose. We stink lately on thanksgiving

I think the reason we stink lately on Thanksgiving is scheduling. Ever since the league started demanding that we play the late game on the road the Sunday before Thanksgiving this team has come out with horrible energy (or lack thereof) on Thanksgiving. The reasons should be obvious.. If we play the late road game on Sunday that game ends around 7 Central time.. Add in 2 hours to get from the stadium to the charter and it's 9 pm Central. This year that game is in Minneapolis.. a 3 hour flight home.. so get into Dallas around midnight.. gather your stuff and head home.. maybe you get to bed by 2 am? So Monday is pretty much a lost cause preparation wise. Sure you get together as a team for a couple of hours Monday afternoon but practice? Not a chance. Then you got a light practice on Tuesday followed by a walk through on Wednesday.

The good news is that at least this year it's a familiar opponent. That should help with prep.. but will do nothing about the energy level of the team.

 

[Carson]

I think the reason we stink lately on Thanksgiving is scheduling. Ever since the league started demanding that we play the late game on the road the Sunday before Thanksgiving this team has come out with horrible energy (or lack thereof) on Thanksgiving. The reasons should be obvious.. If we play the late road game on Sunday that game ends around 7 Central time.. Add in 2 hours to get from the stadium to the charter and it's 9 pm Central. This year that game is in Minneapolis.. a 3 hour flight home.. so get into Dallas around midnight.. gather your stuff and head home.. maybe you get to bed by 2 am? So Monday is pretty much a lost cause preparation wise. Sure you get together as a team for a couple of hours Monday afternoon but practice? Not a chance. Then you got a light practice on Tuesday followed by a walk through on Wednesday.

The good news is that at least this year it's a familiar opponent. That should help with prep.. but will do nothing about the energy level of the team.

Agreed. Giants get a nice Noon kickoff at home against Detroit

 

[Vtwin]

umm NY and MN are playoff teams and are form sure benchmarks. you need to beat teams WITH winning records especially NFC teams that can own tiebreakers and home field choices for playoff seedings.

The Giants are going to be another example of why the first half of the season doesn't tell you much. I'll bet you a 12 pack they don't finish near as strong as they started.

Haven't seen Minny enough to have an opinion on them.

 

[RonnieT24]

Agreed. Giants get a nice Noon kickoff at home against Detroit

Yep their game finishes at 4 pm local time.. They get home in time to have dinner AND watch the Cowboys game on TV AND sleep in their own beds Sunday night, Monday night and Tuesday night.. Fly to Dallas after practice on Wednesday, have a nice team meal at some swanky joint and go to bed. The don't lose a day or prep time like the Cowboys do. I remember when Tex Schramm only agreed to play on Thanksgiving if the Cowboys could be at home the game prior. I don't know when Jerry gave that up but our advantage on on Thanksgiving has not be the same since because of it. I really think Jerry needs to put his foot down and demand that not only they restore the home game the Sunday before but get rid of that damn Thursday-Thursday crap the week after Thanksgiving which forces us to play 3 games in like 11 days. . Fortunately they spared us that nonsense this year.. but my gut tells me it will be back.