I'm struggling to get interested in this year's version of the Cowboys

[cowboy_ron]

Cowboy football just isn't the same as when I was young. It just isn't so I understand your frustration. Sorry to see you go. Some of us just can't cut the ties.

I can't even count the # of "I'm leaving" threads Jumbo has made over the years.

 

[The Natural]

The Garrett era ended the mystique of this franchise.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

This team has had a lot of changes in the past few years. Players, and this last year many assistant coaches. We get the same lip service from the FO and the top 3 coaches. None of it that came to fruition though. Just hope it does, and not turn into more rotten fruit.

The team is still trying to find it's identity, as well as fans. We as fans seen some of our favorite players go, and trying to get into the new players.
Yes there is Dak, Zeke, Lee, Dlaw coming into his own for what we hoped he was going to be 3 years ago.
All new secondary, OL in flux, injuries, suspension, still suspensions.

Players and fans trying to find that identity as a team. Will they progress and go on a winning streak, get the fans truly excited again, or be up and down, only to hear it all again next off season.

I understand this, as I just can't get excited each game like I used to. Because I don't have the confidence in them to win each week. Not yet.
But I am not going to sit here and think they will lose either. As I know they can put together a very good game to win.
And this still comes down to coaching and game plans. And then the players must execute that game plan.

So I go into tonights game, thinking we should be able to win this game. The Texans are 1-3, and are finding their own way to get it together. As we are. So that is why, and being an away game, I can see us losing this game as well. Teams still finding their identity.

The fact that a lot of us are sweating over tonight's game says a lot about the state of the Cowboys. How I miss the days when we would get ready to play and I had no doubt we would win. Houston is not a very good team but I can see us losing. And then the harder part of our schedule can begin.

 

[Techsass]

I can't even count the # of "I'm leaving" threads Jumbo has made over the years.

Really? I only remember 1 on the other site & he didn't come back. I hope you're right because I usually enjoy his posts.

 

[Jumbo075]

I can't even count the # of "I'm leaving" threads Jumbo has made over the years.

Well, in many recent seasons, the offseason is more interesting than the season. That's what brings me back. But I haven't watched a single regular season game this year. Not one. And I won't watch tonight. When the draft is more exciting than the games, what does that say about the NFL? Whatever it says, it says something about me. I've lost interest. It's time to admit it, and move on.

Even though I was a starting point guard on a state championship basketball team in high school, the NBA managed to lose me as a fan after the 2005-2006 season. It's been years since I watched a game, and I can't even name many of the players. It's taken/taking longer for the NFL to lose me.

If you haven't noticed, my comments since the offseason ended are very, very few. So, I'll just say this about losing your enthusiasm as a fan: "It's a process..."

 

[Alexander]

It does tend to become uninteresting if neither side of the ball can show signs of top production. The defense is getting better but they are not there yet. The offense really is all Elliott.

 

[zrinkill]

Jan 9, 2018

 

[Supercowboy1986]

It was.

I still do not think we have the personnel to run the Ohio state offense but a win is a win. I won’t complain about beating OU under any circumstance.

I’m no scout but lil Jordan Humphrey looks like an intriguing prospect.

OU still sucks!

The UT/OU game was an entertaining one to watch yesterday.

 

[TheHerd]

I'll watch the Boys until I die, but I agree. My interest level is meh, and I cannot watch other NFL games.

I'll grab a highlight here or there of other teams, but even those often remind me why I've turned to other entertainment sources. This board is my main contact point with the team and the league.

 

[kskboys]

winning WILL solve the lack of excitement. This season was always going to be a work in progress with all the changeover at WR etc. Anyone who thought otherwise is delusional. We are on track for 8-8...or 10-6 at best,and a wild card berth. Not horrible when you look at the changes on the team.

Yup.

Many of us agreed in the preseason that this looked like part of the rebuilding process.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

It does tend to become uninteresting if neither side of the ball can show signs of top production. The defense is getting better but they are not there yet. The offense really is all Elliott.

A few weeks ago when we were playing the Giants I actually was starting to fall asleep and we were winning. lol

 

[GenoT]

My preseason 2018 prediction was 10-6, with a slow start but getting it together as the season goes on and finishing strong. So far, so good and I’ll stick with it until the math doesn’t work.

I learned a long time ago, during Coach Landry’s declining seasons, to focus on one game at a time. And while I don’t always believe 100% that the Cowboys WILL win certain games, I always believe they CAN win (as in, any given Sunday).

My advice is, try enjoying each game for what it is; an opportunity for the Cowboys to get a win and/or, at the very least, a chance to watch NFL football with a rooting interest and a subject to discuss and debate with other fans on the Zone over the next week.

Go Cowboys!

 

[Rayman70]

Yup.

Many of us agreed in the preseason that this looked like part of the rebuilding process.

YUP...IN FACT me and you...vets on the board had this convo more than once. I'm not surprised in the least. To be 2-2 is not bad .especially when you look at the 2 teams we beat. The Lions were actually coming in here feeling great about themselves after handily defeating the Pats. From that standpoint, I am fairly impressed how we won that game...the way we did. Shows real chemistry and progress being made. Even if we lose today...as long as we see more good than bad, its progress,and Im ok with that. Like I tell other posters on here...be patient, its a marathon.

 

[Rayman70]

My preseason 2018 prediction was 10-6, with a slow start but getting it together as the season goes on and finishing strong. So far, so good and I’ll stick with it until the math doesn’t work.

I learned a long time ago, during Coach Landry’s declining seasons, to focus on one game at a time. And while I don’t always believe 100% that the Cowboys WILL win certain games, I always believe they CAN win (as in, any given Sunday).

My advice is, try enjoying each game for what it is; an opportunity for the Cowboys to get a win and/or, at the very least, a chance to watch NFL football with a rooting interest and a subject to discuss and debate with other fans on the Zone over the next week.

Go Cowboys!

ditto

 

[kskboys]

YUP...IN FACT me and you...vets on the board had this convo more than once. I'm not surprised in the least. To be 2-2 is not bad .especially when you look at the 2 teams we beat. The Lions were actually coming in here feeling great about themselves after handily defeating the Pats. From that standpoint, I am fairly impressed how we won that game...the way we did. Shows real chemistry and progress being made. Even if we lose today...as long as we see more good than bad, its progress,and Im ok with that. Like I tell other posters on here...be patient, its a marathon.

I'm mostly just looking for progress. Since a young QB needing snaps didn't get them in the preseason as he should have, I expected the first couple of games to be nothing more than preseason games. They were worse than I expected, yes, but they were what I expected.

 

[Rayman70]

I'm mostly just looking for progress. Since a young QB needing snaps didn't get them in the preseason as he should have, I expected the first couple of games to be nothing more than preseason games. They were worse than I expected, yes, but they were what I expected.

That's why I hate preseason. We need the games, but no more than 3. It really affected how we got out the gate...rusty. I also expected the slow start. Young starters MUST get the reps in games.

 

[Flamma]

...to get interested in this year's version of the Cowboys. The offense is boring beyond belief. I wrote several times during the offseason that the passing game was suspect, but I held back judgment, hoping against hope that I would be proven wrong. I gave this staff the benefit of the doubt that they had a plan that would work.

But now, I find the prospect of watching the Cowboys incredibly tedious. There are a couple of interesting stories - Byron Jones emerging as a shutdown corner, the linebacking corps getting younger and better. But Sean Lee being injured is an old story by now. And the lack of talent at safety since the NFL changed the rules to castrate Roy Williams after 5 straight Pro Bowl seasons is also an old story. Yes, Elliott is the best RB in the NFL, but without a corresponding NFL caliber QB and receiver group, I feel like I'm back in the early 2000's.

I find myself much more interested in the emerging teams in Chicago and Cleveland than watching the team I've followed my entire life. I'm intrigued by the emergence of Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. But the NFL as a whole is a lot more difficult to enjoy, with flags flying, quarterbacks unreasonably protected, and the defenses hamstrung by unreasonable rules to "protect" the players.

I get more joy from watching the highlights after the fact than actually watching the games live. The politicization of the league makes the bile rise in my throat. What was the NFL and what was the Cowboys no longer remains. Only a soon to be dead carcass remains. It's time to find another outlet for my energy and time. What was once a joy now feels more like an obligation. And I'm tired of it.

I was going to start publishing my weekly Statistical Power Rankings again this past week (I typically start posting after the 4th week of the season, when there is enough data to actually get something reasonably accurate). But I just cannot muster up the motivation to take the time to enter the data into my program.

For those who remain, I hope you find joy in watching the Cowboys, and the NFL. Beyond a few moments here and there, the NFL has lost me. Sad.

(And yes, I know you don't care. But I needed to write this epilogue for myself. It's my final lamentation.)

Look, dude, relax. A lot of us feel this way. This is a low point. Plod through it, you never know what will happen. Expect the worst and you'll only be surprised by the best if it happens. As critical as I am of this team and this league I always hold on to hope things might change for the better.

 

[Rayman70]

That loss in Seattle where Zeke lost his mental focus on 2 key plays was a blessing for us. It woke him up. He was much better in that regard against the Lions. His awareness was great...he was sharp. We are a young team learning how to play with focus and close out games. We did that last week. We can build on that. Zeke became a true leader last week.

 

[Sarge]

It’ll never be the same. The game is ruined, but it beats goin to work.

 

[romothesavior]

I'm with you.

I still watch, but is more out of a perverse sense of obligation than love.