Michael Irvin thinks he knows exactly why the Cowboys lost to the Packers in the playoffs

[Daillest88]

Garrett was here for 2007. He did the same thing in 2016. He's not learning from anything. He doesn't have the stones to do it any other way. He will blink in the future. That's why he should be fired yesterday.

You should have seen it coming. When you actually try to rationalize the intelligence of playing Lance Dunbar on 3rd downs while Ezekiel Elliott is on your bench you know you have a weak leader at head coach. Someone who does that also gives the team a vacation before the playoffs. Safety over preparation. The Football Gods don't reward cowards. Ask Bill Belichick. He farts in Jason Garrett's direction.

Who does love our defense? A homer? It's bad. So no, I'm not liking that side of the ball or the archaic coordinator and his motivational t-shirts. I actually want a defense that performs on the field. Color me unreasonable.

The Lance Dunbar crap on 3rd down is a serious issue. Pisses me off when they take Ezekiel out on the most important down of the game.

 

[RS12]

Atlanta would have beaten the high holy hell out of Dallas.

Yep, no doubt in my mind.

 

[fredp22]

I don't think the bye had anything to do with it. That's an excuse. The Cowboys still had two weeks of rest regardless had they left the starters in or not.

What cost the Cowboys the Packers game?

1. Defense. In the playoff, talent-less defensive teams get exposed. The Packers exposed our defense.
2. Coaching. The better coaches/coaching tends to surface during the playoffs. We got outcoached - both in our inability to devise or stick with a scheme to attack Aaron Rodgers to our going away from what got us the No. 1 seed.
I don't think Garrett gave us any advantages in that game - neither he nor his offensive and defensive coaches.

with what we have I think Marinelli did a good job and dont think our defense cost us that game. But I couldnt agree more about the coaching. With the talent on our team there no excuse for our performance. To come out as flat and unorganized as we did in a playoff game is inexcusable.

 

[fredp22]

The Lance Dunbar crap on 3rd down is a serious issue. Pisses me off when they take Ezekiel out on the most important down of the game.

Zekes was to young but wouldnt be surprised if he doesnt speak up next year if it continues.

 

[tyke1doe]

with what we have I think Marinelli did a good job and dont think our defense cost us that game. But I couldnt agree more about the coaching. With the talent on our team there no excuse for our performance. To come out as flat and unorganized as we did in a playoff game is inexcusable.

I think the defense did cost us the game, along with the offensive play calling.
The times we got pressure on Rodgers was when we brought the safety and corner to blitz. We backed off on that near the end of the game, giving Rodgers time to pick us apart. Whose call is it to blitz?

That's what I'm talking about when I say our coaches don't give us an advantage outside of the normal talent on the team, at least not in the playoffs.

 

[School]

There really isn't evidence to show whether resting players or not is the right thing to do. That being said I do think it's probably beneficial for a young team to not take its foot off the pedal.

But for counterargument's sake, the Patriots played to win their final game in 2009 after clinching a playoff birth the week before only to lose Wes Welker to an ACL injury and then get blown out by the Ravens the very next week (including being outscored 24-0 in the first quarter).

 

[thechosen1n2]

"The Cowboys would be here if they went into that last game against Philadelphia playing real football," Irvin said during an interview on The Dan Patrick Show before the Super Bowl. "They would not have broken their mentality that they had going. I believe that that was the reason."

This is a subject Irvin has been vocal about already. After the Cowboys lost to Philadelphia in Week 17, Irvin went on record saying that Dallas should have left Tony Romo in the game to try to win it.

But for Irvin it feels like the Cowboys got consecutive bye weeks by not taking the Eagles game seriously. And the Hall-of-Fame receiver thinks a bye week in the playoffs can be damaging enough.

"I'm starting to change my thoughts on this bye week anyway especially with the schedule these players have now because they can't even practice," Irvin said. "It's like Club Med anyway. So now you have 2-3 weeks of Club Med. It's hard to step out on the field and be ready for a football game. The four teams that had byes, three of them played poorly. Only one really played okay and that was Atlanta."

http://sportsday.***BANNED-URL***/d...s-knows-exactly-cowboys-lost-packers-playoffs

Didnt bother the patriots.

 

[Risen Star]

Didnt bother the patriots.

The Patriots didn't do what the Cowboys did. That's the point.

 

[Risen Star]

There really isn't evidence to show whether resting players or not is the right thing to do. That being said I do think it's probably beneficial for a young team to not take its foot off the pedal.

But for counterargument's sake, the Patriots played to win their final game in 2009 after clinching a playoff birth the week before only to lose Wes Welker to an ACL injury and then get blown out by the Ravens the very next week (including being outscored 24-0 in the first quarter).

Other than the fact that all 8 Cowboys teams that went to the Super Bowl won their season finale.

Are we really trying to cherry pick the Patriots? Injuries can happen. Get a dog. They play to the end and they win championships for it.

 

[Boyzmamacita]

The truth is, this team had an inflated record to begin with. The team stayed remarkably healthy, and they caught a bunch of teams that were unhealthy or weren't the teams they were expected to be. Dallas was very fortunate to win both Commanders games, the Vikings game, the Steelers game, and the first Eagles game. Dallas could have very easily gone 0-6 in the division.

Atlanta would have beaten the high holy hell out of Dallas. Green Bay did us a favor.

You are what your record says you are unless you're the Dallas Cowboys and the record is good.

 

[Verdict]

The sad part is if the Cowboys get back into that position the fans will still be calling for safe spaces and how smart that approach is. They didn't learn from 2007. They won't learn from 2016.

And if Jason Garrett is the head coach you can take it to the bank he will go coward in crunch time. He's got no backbone. He's a fake tough guy. Like Mike Zimmer.

You might be right, but the Raiders might beg to differ with you. If Zeke or Dak blow out a knee in a meaningless game you would probably look at it differently. We all would. The Raiders might have been in the Super Bowl had they not lost Carr.

 

[Verdict]

The Lance Dunbar crap on 3rd down is a serious issue. Pisses me off when they take Ezekiel out on the most important down of the game.

I agree with that completely. Dunbar brings nothing to the party. He needs to go.

 

[Risen Star]

You might be right, but the Raiders might beg to differ with you. If Zeke or Dak blow out a knee in a meaningless game you would probably look at it differently. We all would. The Raiders might have been in the Super Bowl had they not lost Carr.

And Bill Belichick may disagree with you.

 

[Verdict]

And Bill Belichick may disagree with you.

Once Carr was out they were done. I really don't think the hoodie would say they were a better team without Carr.

 

[fredp22]

I think the defense did cost us the game, along with the offensive play calling.
The times we got pressure on Rodgers was when we brought the safety and corner to blitz. We backed off on that near the end of the game, giving Rodgers time to pick us apart. Whose call is it to blitz?

That's what I'm talking about when I say our coaches don't give us an advantage outside of the normal talent on the team, at least not in the playoffs.

I agree our defense needs major work, any pass rush is non-existent, and think this offseason we will try to address that side of the ball. However I still think with smoke and mirrors Marinelli could have snuck by Green Bay (forget Atlanta). But Garretts prep of the team for the playoff game was worst I've ever seen. Its like they came out expecting to win on swagger and no real game plan. They looked completely unorganized, confused, and lost. With Green Bays top receiver out and secondary problems at least half the coaches in NFL would have won that game. Garrett with a number of pro bowl players couldnt. I put this loss on him.

 

[TheDude]

Other than the fact that all 8 Cowboys teams that went to the Super Bowl won their season finale.

Are we really trying to cherry pick the Patriots? Injuries can happen. Get a dog. They play to the end and they win championships for it.

There is a fundamental coddling or undue risk management that is grating. It seems like many decisions are always based on scared if someone goes down.

Romo getting 1 series as to "not risk an injury in case there is an injury to the new starter" is a bit over the top for any coach trying to be cautious

 

[TheBigEasy]

They LOST. Anything and everything can be attributed as to the reason why. From 'resting' the core group against the iggles to Zeke wearing a different pair of socks.

They flat out got beat.

On to the draft my friends!

 

[links18]

The Philly game could have had a small role in the loss, but the reason we lost was because our defense was horrendous.

And we made bizarre coaching decisions with the game on the line.

 

[CATCH17]

I don't buy it 1 single bit.

 

[School]

Other than the fact that all 8 Cowboys teams that went to the Super Bowl won their season finale.

Are we really trying to cherry pick the Patriots? Injuries can happen. Get a dog. They play to the end and they win championships for it.

You brought up the Patriots as an example, so that's why I mentioned them.

Better send a reminder to Belichik that they play to the end. They rested many of their starters week 17, including Gronk and Brady, lost to the Bills at home, and still managed to win the Super Bowl in 2015.

For a non-Pats example, how about the 13-0 New Orleans team that lost their first game to the Cowboys? They also lost week 17 when they rested Drew Brees and other starters. Didn't seem to stop them from winning the Super Bowl.