What special honor is in 6-10? 7-9? 8-8?
The goal of this game is to put trophies in trophy cases. Nothing else matters. Oh, we see posts where the writer sings praises to honor the idea behind giving it all. But in reality, what has the past seventeen plus years accomplished for this team? What can you point to in that time span and say, now there was something special?
You can do so in 5 distinct seasons throughout the history of this franchise. Years they won it all. You can even perhaps make a case for the years they arrived, but were beaten in the Super Bowl.
The Landry era offered up years upon decades of staying close to the top. Landry's own philosophy was to stay near the top and pop through every few years for the winner take all game.
But what has seventeen, going on eighteen years of frustration, losing for the most part, disappointment, and ultimately the franchise taking a step back from the teams that are respected because they can consistently win done for Dallas and its fans?
Does losing the rest of the games and getting a high draft choice assure a return to this? Of course not.
And even if Jerry Jones retired this afternoon, there is no guarantee, as so many have offered here in speculation, his son Stephen will be different.
So where does this team go to elevate to the stature of one of the best run franchises - footballwise, not stadium building, not owner enriching, not ticket sales - but to return to the days when this team was the standard other teams aspired to be?
It doesn't start with wasting a career of a guy who came from nowhere to be one of the best ever at his position. You see, Romo is heading into the sunset in the next few years. And there will always be the argument of his value and ability because he never closed the deal for a championship.
Now cooler heads will proffer his skill set wasn't enough to overcome the rest of the team being so-so. And they would be right.
But in that nugget lies the real problem here.
Romo is not what detractors think he is. But he will always be labeled so because of the ineptitude of the front office to actually make wise decisions and surround him with quality players.
We saw that last year. A surprising year when Romo was called on to lead, but not be the only guy under the Star to have a skill set that is exceptional.
And what does this franchise do? They ignore what they had and broke up the band. Because of their lust for someone else's running back, and playing money games with their home grown Star wide receiver.
So when we all stand back and look at the real era post Jimmy, and assign the label of architect to that collection of mediocrity, we have to ask why?
And that answer will always come back as EGO.
The point of this is simple. Another 8-8 MIGHT win the east. To do what then? Be ushered out of the play-offs with Cassel as the QB, or a wounded Romo making another valiant attempt at salvaging this season?
Deion talks about business decisions. I am not advocating losing on purpose. And the players would throw a fit and revolt if that were the case. But if this franchise truly wants to return to the top, it will take premium picks and a management change.
But premium picks to be sure. Because even a blind squirrel finds the nut sometimes.
So I suppose in all this rhetoric, I am saying it doesn't really matter, does it? Because even with the top pick in the draft, in a year - and not this year - where the best QB in a decade is coming out, there will still be the duo that leads this franchise who have twenty plus years of hanging with football people, but are truly not football people themselves, making the decisions. They will trade down and take obscure players whose upside - Quincy Carter - was painted in ten inch letters as slim, none and zilch. Because look at how shrewd we are at making deals.
Mediocrity has a new poster team in the NFL and that is our team. Stuck in the mire of Jonesville, becoming a mirror of the Commanders and other teams that see no sunrise of great times.
I have spent 55 years loving this team and following them. I have never been to this point before wherein my regard is lukewarm based on no hope for the future. And before you rail on me for this attitude, keep in mind, for most of you, I was as rabid a fan as anyone here for decades before you were born.
Go ahead Jerry. Have another press conference. Undercut your leadership by offhanded comments that call their skills into question. Go ahead and bring in character questionable guys who blacken the eye of this franchise and return us to the Gomer Jones era.
Go ahead Jerry, and dig in your spurs and take credit for this mess, all the while telling the world you are training Garrett. A guy that was a pretty mediocre OC and now a pretty mediocre head coach. Because this results is wrought by your hands, Mr. Jones.
In the big scheme of things, it is what it is. Stuck in the middle of the road. Not lousy. Not great. Not significant. Just a big bag of Jerry.
It was fate that screwed you, Romo. It dealt you crap and you took it like a man.
