Mickey: Chasing away some mounting fears

[gimmesix]

Don't care for this line of reasoning by Spags:

Their 198-172 record, a 53.5 winning percentage comes in at 11th in the NFL. And look, I know this counts, but that number is somewhat distorted by the disastrous entry into this century, those first three seasons (2000-02) going 5-11, 5-11, 5-11, wandering through salary cap hell while searching for a quarterback. Eliminate that 15-33 from the total record, and the Cowboys have won 57 percent of the rest of those 322 games. That would rank them tied for the seventh-best winning percentage.

If we're going to eliminate our three 5-11 seasons and blame in on "salary cap hell," then shouldn't the same be done for every other team? As this says, their winning percentage is 11th, don't try to embellish it and say it could be seventh. Some other teams had worse years than Dallas' worst that they would love to forget about.

 

[gtb1943]

Don't care for this line of reasoning by Spags:


If we're going to eliminate our three 5-11 seasons and blame in on "salary cap hell," then shouldn't the same be done for every other team? As this says, their winning percentage is 11th, don't try to embellish it and say it could be seventh. Some other teams had worse years than Dallas' worst that they would love to forget about.

Its amusing to listen to the ultimate company man. Though a couple in this thread are pushing for his title.

Same old Cowboys will be the theme song until they prove it wrong.

Those of us that lived through the best years of Landry and the years of Jimmy spit on those so proud of 12 win seasons and puking in the playoffs.

 

[gimmesix]

Frankly at this point, I care more about the smaller questions such as who is going to be kicker and who is going to be Pollard's backup than the bigger one. Maybe I just got used to us following a good season with a bad one, so I don't think about the playoffs until it looks like we're going to make them.

 

[rambo2]

Its amusing to listen to the ultimate company man. Though a couple in this thread are pushing for his title.

Same old Cowboys will be the theme song until they prove it wrong.

Those of us that lived through the best years of Landry and the years of Jimmy spit on those so proud of 12 win seasons and puking in the playoffs.

This years team isn't the same old Cowboys. Unless you are blind.

 

[Diehardblues]

Off season , the draft and training camp is always a time for renewed hope and optimism.

The Cowboys have amassed a team which is relative and interesting capable of contending for our division and the playoffs.

The questions and or negative rhetoric comes into play reviewing previous results and cumulative futility this era in the playoffs which will hang over our franchise until we finally kick the door down.

 

[Mannix]

Finally!
We've reached the month football begins.
Questions will be answered on the field.

You mean where we are told how much quicker Gallup appears....and how awesome Fehoko is looking?

 

[rambo2]

You mean where we are told how much quicker Gallup appears....and how awesome Fehoko is looking?

You can watch and judge for yourself.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Lol, it is amazing that some cry like babies when the team is very good. This is the best teams that they have had in many years and we here a long line of negative crap here

IT really is amazing. All these trolls were cry when we were winning 8 games saying they just want a QB that wins games.

Now we have one and they are crying that we arent winning the championship every year.

Every one of these clowns wants to tear down the team, dump the QB and overhaul everything. Literally going back to pre Romo and pre Dak QB hunts.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Looking forward to seeing what should be an even better defense. Disappointed in their lack of emphasis on bolstering the OL and getting a beefy RB but maybe this west coast tweak they're adding will help Dak,,, something had to change to avoid the annual choke so I'm glad there's at least an effort. Philly isn't even that great, they're just smarter in the front office for investing in their lines and having a pass-light game plan with a QB that doesn't spit the bit.

Choking is when you are the #1 seed and losing to the wild card team. Losing to a better SF team is not choking. Thats just what should happen.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Frankly at this point, I care more about the smaller questions such as who is going to be kicker and who is going to be Pollard's backup than the bigger one. Maybe I just got used to us following a good season with a bad one, so I don't think about the playoffs until it looks like we're going to make them.

For me our ability to make a deep playoff run lies in the hopes that Tyron Smith and Steele can be healthy and as good as they are when healthy. Which appears to be a fools errand.

 

[gimmesix]

For me our ability to make a deep playoff run lies in the hopes that Tyron Smith and Steele can be healthy and as good as they are when healthy. Which appears to be a fools errand.

That is definitely part of it. Who knows who will be healthy at that point? There's definitely a likelihood that Tyron won't ... or maybe like last year, he'll miss early in the season and return late.

 

[CowboyRoy]

That is definitely part of it. Who knows who will be healthy at that point? There's definitely a likelihood that Tyron won't ... or maybe like last year, he'll miss early in the season and return late.

Exactly. With Tyron not being healthy, then what? WE all know the Oline starts fading without him. And our backups we will be relying on his Chuma and Walenzko? Ouch!! And we may have to goto both of them. Peterson was better than both of those guys.

 

[xwalker]

Talking Philly, Imo.. the only thing that makes Philly an above average team is Hurts. No, he’s not some prolific passer..yet, Hurts is very good at play action. He’s a treat to run and hard to bring down. That, coupled with a top tier OL & running game makes his job simplistic.

This leaves defenses guessing near every down. Philly’s offense was consistent enough to leave Hurts manageable down and distances, which he exploited many times for first downs. Give them credit, it’s a recipe that frustrated defenses and kept opposing offenses on the bench.

That said, it’s only a matter of time til the clock will run out. Hurts will be injured. I’m not wishing that upon him, but it’s a statistical fact.

Getting a push up the middle and stopping the run regardless of who’s running is paramount. Thats how you stop Philthy.

Dallas has emphasized the DL this off-season, so I tend to believe they recognize this. Our offense, on the other hand, is to be determined. I’m not a Dak hater, yet his Stardom has diminished in my eyes. He’ll have a top 3 defense and a new voice in his ear for the first time in his career. And despite what some think, he’ll have enough offensive play makers to get the job done. This year, more than ever, will prove whether he can propel this team to the finish line. Hoping for the best.

Was it Hurts or the offensive scheme they designed for him?

Didn't they lose their OC...

 

[xwalker]

Exactly. With Tyron not being healthy, then what? WE all know the Oline starts fading without him. And our backups we will be relying on his Chuma and Walenzko? Ouch!! And we may have to goto both of them. Peterson was better than both of those guys.

They didn't lose the playoff game because of the OL.

They lost because CeeDee and Pollard were the only legit NFL offensive skill position players and Pollard was out after 6 carries.

Noah Brown was the #2 WR and washed up Zeke was the RB. The early nineties Cowboys OL wouldn't overcome that issue.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Talking Philly, Imo.. the only thing that makes Philly an above average team is Hurts. No, he’s not some prolific passer..yet, Hurts is very good at play action. He’s a treat to run and hard to bring down. That, coupled with a top tier OL & running game makes his job simplistic.

This leaves defenses guessing near every down. Philly’s offense was consistent enough to leave Hurts manageable down and distances, which he exploited many times for first downs. Give them credit, it’s a recipe that frustrated defenses and kept opposing offenses on the bench.

That said, it’s only a matter of time til the clock will run out. Hurts will be injured. I’m not wishing that upon him, but it’s a statistical fact.

Getting a push up the middle and stopping the run regardless of who’s running is paramount. Thats how you stop Philthy.

Dallas has emphasized the DL this off-season, so I tend to believe they recognize this. Our offense, on the other hand, is to be determined. I’m not a Dak hater, yet his Stardom has diminished in my eyes. He’ll have a top 3 defense and a new voice in his ear for the first time in his career. And despite what some think, he’ll have enough offensive play makers to get the job done. This year, more than ever, will prove whether he can propel this team to the finish line. Hoping for the best.

Hurts will be introduced this year to his maker!

 

[gimmesix]

Exactly. With Tyron not being healthy, then what? WE all know the Oline starts fading without him. And our backups we will be relying on his Chuma and Walenzko? Ouch!! And we may have to goto both of them. Peterson was better than both of those guys.

I'm just saying we don't know, which is why I don't try playing the what-if games. I do believe in preparing, having contingencies, and I do question some of those right now, but we haven't even started camp. Let's see how those options play out. Waletzko might be perfectly fine as Tyron's backup or we might move Tyler back to left tackle and end up with someone like Bass started. I'm just eager to see at this point what exactly we've got instead of worrying about what we might have for the playoffs that we might not even make if something happens and we lose our QB or Micah.

If we find that some position is inadequate before the season, we can possibly address it, so what we've got now as backups might not be what we'll have then.

 

[CowboyRoy]

They didn't lose the playoff game because of the OL.

They lost because CeeDee and Pollard were the only legit NFL offensive skill position players and Pollard was out after 6 carries.

Noah Brown was the #2 WR and washed up Zeke was the RB. The early nineties Cowboys OL wouldn't overcome that issue.

Oline was definitely a part of it. Scant holes for backs and pressure on Dak. Zeke was doomed no matter what. He just sucks.

 

[gtb1943]

This years team isn't the same old Cowboys. Unless you are blind.

You are clearly in need of a lesson in logic. The season has not started so they have in no way shown they are not the same old cowboys.

 

[CouchCoach]

I agree with him, the fear of disappointment is heavy with the fanbase and this forum.

That "won't get fooled again" keeps playing in some fans' minds and in all fairness to all Cowboys fans, this is the only franchise where the fans feel they're being sold something by the owner. None of the other GMs or owners do this and it is strictly ego gratification but the bounce back on that is some feel if the go into the season believing they look like fools for believing when it all comes undone.

To you I ask one question, "why are you a fan"? Is it to be negative going into the season, not have any belief or faith when this NFL has proven to you over and over again, it is a new season, every season?

Is your fear of disappointment robbing you of the magic of it all? Did you anticipate every Christmas would be awful when you were a kid? Because anticipation is the magic of Christmas for a kid.

Being a fan in the off season presents an interesting opportunity, you can choose to be happy or not. You can accentuate the positives and be a happier fan or dwell on the negatives, most of which have not happened yet, and not be as happy as you could be. Injuries could be a problem but they are not yet.

So what if you are wrong, who in the hell cares? No one is going to shame you, more like commiserate with you.

I am an old man now and spent most of my life as a confirmed pessimist, I was either right or pleasantly surprised but I won either way, but did I really? It was later in life I discovered the real value of optimism lies in the journey not the destination and the that journey usually takes a lot longer. I didn't realize the power to be happier was right there in front of me in my choices on how I looked at everything. I had more control than I realized.

My friends, life is difficult and trying to get worse all the time and there are forces at work that we must push back against but in this situation it is merely a choice on which side of the negative/positive. And if you choose the negative and you are wrong, look at the wasted opportunity to be happier. Take it from me, a former pessimist, I spend a lot of time looking back on those wasted opportunities because they were nothing more than choices........poor choices.

 

[blueblood70]

https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/spagnola-chasing-away-some-mounting-fears

Mickey's latest. Pretty much says what many on here been saying. The lack of playoff success for almost the past 3 decades. Good regular season, make the playoffs...then fail...

Also discusses the gap between Dallas and Philly. Making it what it is, not as big as many want to make it out to be. Or that was my take on it.

I've never been worried about the Eagles or our division for that matter literally the Cowboys with Prescott of late but Romo did it too we pretty much handle our own business inside our division.

it's the playoffs and who we're seeing like the 49ers for example is our Achilles heel there's a gap there. I don't think there's any gap between the Eagles and the Cowboys other than whoever stays the healthiest makes the least amount of mistakes are gonna break that tie because I feel like they're pretty much equal..

But the gap between the Cowboys and 49ers is there and you just can't make the mistakes you need to bring your a game to beat them.. It's like this you look at the Eagles game the second one and even with the pick six to start the game Prescott lit them up the rest of the game I mean literally put the most points up against that defense and they just didn't look that intimidating I know there are factors in the game but I'm just saying the Eagles are not really better than the Cowboys they just got luckier last year on who they played when they played them and their health and all that stuff factored in I mean you look at the playoff game the 49ers without Brock Purdy or their second string quarterback that's luck being able to play the giants in a hurt 49er team that was the gap there is no gap.. We played the healthy 49ers they played the unhealthy 49ers, they got lucky like that all last year.

So I'm not reading his article but just my opinion because we already had that is there much of a gap in my opinion no gap with the Eagles it's just comes down to who's healthier and who plays the best but we need to overcome the 49ers just stop making the mistakes that can cost you A1 score game or make a few more plays like we saw Trayvon diggs had an opportunity to do it twice and didn't that's how you beat the teams better slightly better than you, you have to make all the plays when the opportunities present themselves.

they gave us chances. Heck in 2021 I mean we had 14 penalties we gave them so many extra opportunities and yet it still almost came down to the last drive I mean I can imagine if we only had five penalties what that would have meant I think we win that game.