Michael Irvin: "Horrific offseason..."

[Alexander]

Realistically you could say we lost the season in training camp. Bryant was not around and did not get into shape. The line shuffled around and didn't practice together. They installed an offense that was not flexible. They had to put McFadden in bubble wrap. This team with Romo might have won nine or ten games, but to act like we had the same kind of mojo that we ended the year with last season is not really the case.

 

[lkelly]

Irvin was a great wide receiver, but there is a reason his post playing job amounts to "if these guys score more points than those guys, these guys will win".

If they would have kept the team together theyd have ten million a year riding the bench and dez and romo would still be hurt...so maybe theyd have 4 wins, maybe less.

They pay Irvin for such expertise as this:

 

[Ashwynn]

and the thin is, while I agree that they need roster grades, I don't want this collection of "decision makers" making that decision, other than Will McClay...kick the clapper upstairs and let him bump Spaulding out of the back chair during games and bring in Sean Payton, and let him do what he needs to do....

I agree as well again. Like I said somewhere I dont even trust them having the #1 pick and not screwing that up. The brain trust of the FO is sketchy. being a Cowboy fan is just down right scary at the moment.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Replacing him with unreliable players was not smart.

There is nothing to show that Murray would have been his same "reliable" self. We see that this year very clearly.

I also find it funny that people's definition of reliable means untested rookie draft pick.

The run game is fine. As evidence by another 100 yard day by Darren. What isn't fine is our qb play. Where again it's funny because people's definition of reliable there is... an untested rookie draft pick.

 

[SultanOfSix]

Jerry went from "NFL Executive Of The Year" to "NFL Laughing Stock Of They Year", at least by the anti-Cowboys element.

 

[ChooChoo73]

Spare me the identity nonsense. The season was lost because you replaced Murray with crap and the QB went down. So you went from having some chance to no chance.

Always have respected your posts but disagree here. What I think identity gives a team is the chance to acquire talent in a unified way where the coach, scouts and gm can hunt for the right people and with consensus. Without an identity, it seems they arbitrarily acquire talent including McFadden who is not crap in my place but instead a misfit.

An identity which maybe I also equate to something consistent would make it easier to make sure your depth can step in and be productive to the standards the team needs.

Anyway, my 2 cents. I have competed in sports almost my whole life but none of that touched the level we are talking about here so my opinion is just that.

 

[lkelly]

What in the last 20 years should have any of you confident that the person running this organization can build a consistent winner? If you're getting physically ill, you need to be more objective. Just because the team pulled out a few extra wins last year to get beyond the terminal 8-8 shouldn't make you think that suddenly there's a new world order. It's an organization that has been floundering for decades. They admitted that they lucked into Romo. Be happy for that but don't substitute false hope for reality.

If you've been a long time fan (I'm talking since the 70s), you've seen a lot of good. Really good. And some of it early under Jerry. Since then, however, it's a franchise that has clung to its marketability yet produced results on par with teams like the Chargers.

Before your health deteriorates, set realistic expectations. Hint: most of the time there will be an 8 in one of the W-L columns.

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

risen who is the most realistic person on here

 

[endersdragon]

If Romo just scores 1 TD more a game than the crap we have had we are 10-4 right now instead of 4-10. If Romo just scores 3 more points per game than the crap we have had we are 8-6. The season went poorly because we didn't have a QB capable of starting most of it. I realistically think that 1 TD more a game estimate is low because there were several games (Pats and Packers come immediately to mind) where the lack of offensive success lead directly to a lack of defensive success. In short, this team, with a decent QB is playoff bound and fighting for the #3 spot if not a first round bye. Should we have gotten a better QB in the offseason, maybe, but we did get a lot of tools for future success this offseason, we just need to make sure we have a backup for Romo if this happens again.

 

[plasticman]

This is exactly what I have been saying since the end of last season when they didn't sign both Murray and Bryant to extensions.

We had it. We had everything we were looking for and all they had to do was make sure and keep these guys together. They were the core, another set of triplets that worked cohesively to form a "pick your poison" offense.

Teams wait decades before getting the kind of productivity we got from Murray, not just last season, but the entire 4 years he was here. He was also their 3rd leading receiver during that time. The majority of the time, these numbers come from a guy that was drafted high in the 1st round.....and they got him in the 3rd, an incredible amount of good fortune. He fit like a glove here and the offensive line was completely compatible to his style.

The Cowboys were on the brink of greatness.......and Jerry screwed it up.

Salary cap?

The reason you keep your salary cap in order is precisely so you can sign the guys that are the most productive for you......I just can't help the total shock of Jerry Jones not re-signing the RB with the most productive season in the history of the team. He broke Emmitt's rushing record. He was a great receive, a good blocker, he was the swagger, a real team leader that led by example and Jerry Jones threw it all away.

It's so sad, so frustrating, it's tragic. Even if the Cowboys do build a great team it doesn't matter, Jerry Jones will destroy I with his terrible lack of talent, lack of expertise, lack of credible knowledge of NFL player personnel.

I said long before the beginning of this season that if Murray is not signed, he will go down as the most disrespected player in Cowboy history and it would be the greatest blunder in the long list of poor decisions by this unqualified GM.

 

[odog422]

This is exactly what I have been saying since the end of last season when they didn't sign both Murray and Bryant to extensions.

We had it. We had everything we were looking for and all they had to do was make sure and keep these guys together. They were the core, another set of triplets that worked cohesively to form a "pick your poison" offense.

Teams wait decades before getting the kind of productivity we got from Murray, not just last season, but the entire 4 years he was here. He was also their 3rd leading receiver during that time. The majority of the time, these numbers come from a guy that was drafted high in the 1st round.....and they got him in the 3rd, an incredible amount of good fortune. He fit like a glove here and the offensive line was completely compatible to his style.

The Cowboys were on the brink of greatness.......and Jerry screwed it up.

Salary cap?

The reason you keep your salary cap in order is precisely so you can sign the guys that are the most productive for you......I just can't help the total shock of Jerry Jones not re-signing the RB with the most productive season in the history of the team. He broke Emmitt's rushing record. He was a great receive, a good blocker, he was the swagger, a real team leader that led by example and Jerry Jones threw it all away.

It's so sad, so frustrating, it's tragic. Even if the Cowboys do build a great team it doesn't matter, Jerry Jones will destroy I with his terrible lack of talent, lack of expertise, lack of credible knowledge of NFL player personnel.

I said long before the beginning of this season that if Murray is not signed, he will go down as the most disrespected player in Cowboy history and it would be the greatest blunder in the long list of poor decisions by this unqualified GM.

You get it. Exactly. Almost every response in this thread dealt with "after." "After" Jerry made the decision "any back" could run behind this line. Yes, Murray had a year for the ages, but he was always productive and last season, as you and many who described this team put it, we had another set of triplets, a young very good line, and most of all, a formula and chemistry for success. We had an identity. I knew what my Boys were going to do, Romo looked all world as we had the perfect balance and harmony. Expect the same year from Murray again? Of course not. Pay him 8 mill a year? Of course not. But this could've been done (i.e., kept together) and last season could have been a building block. Not the anomaly.

The decision maker simply can't recognize this. He has no true appreciation or understanding of the nuances of the game - the way a real coach can make players run through walls for him, or the way an offensive line and running back can feed off each other and create not just on-the-field success, but an attitude and belief in what they are doing that permeates the entire team. Our offense was physical and while our defense was not all-world by any means, we out-hit the generally recognized most "physical" team in their house.

No, the decision maker thinks everything can be bought, and that if he doesn't have it now, he can spend and acquire it and replicate all the success he sees other places because they have "this." That's how you absolutely believe "any of 500 coaches" can win with this team. Sadly, lesson unlearned as 20 years later the same type belief controls the thinking -"any back can have success behind this line." It's not just about numbers. It always has been and always will be about winning. Something that used to be synonymous with my Dallas Cowboys. Something the Cowboys had gotten back to, and, unfortunately, not so incredibly, was simply flushed away.

 

[SultanOfSix]

Back in the nineties it was "anyone can coach this team."

This year it was "anyone can run behind this offensive line."

Well, this "anyone" pattern exists because the current GM thinks "anyone" can GM this organization.

And thus, he resides at its helm.

 

[Fredd]

..and "anyone" just got us a double-digit loss season and an exit from playoff contention

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Realistically you could say we lost the season in training camp. Bryant was not around and did not get into shape. The line shuffled around and didn't practice together. They installed an offense that was not flexible. They had to put McFadden in bubble wrap. This team with Romo might have won nine or ten games, but to act like we had the same kind of mojo that we ended the year with last season is not really the case.

"Realistically" we spent much of the season 1 or 2 games out of first.

Romo Starting at QB or not... "Realistically"... You have to win a few games without him.

"Realistically" we got done good production out of running back spot.


"Realistically" we didn't use players to their strengths.

Beasley (all indo is run underneath and gain chunks of yards)
Escobar (all I do is catch balls for touchdowns)
Butler (I'll show you something if you let me(
Turbin (same as above)

On and on....

 

[WPBCowboysFan]

..and "anyone" just got us a double-digit loss season and an exit from playoff contention

And "anyone" can see that that has been the norm for much of the past 20 years

 

[silver]

Another wasted year. Our GM tried to get cute again and got burned. Will he ever learn? Not at his age.

 

[JoeBoBBY]

chemistry is important. Trust is important.

They fixed what wasnt broke.

 

[dfense]

I think Romo missed Murray's blitz pickup more than his running.