My prediction for this season

[Joe Realist]

Of course when I say the Eagles will have a better offense, I will be accused of being their fan.

8-8 for Cowboys. Romo battered all year after Flozell goes down for the count.

 

[Bizwah]

Totally agree!

Great post. It's funny how people forget how good we were/are. We had a ton of injuries last year. Distractions...etc. There will be NO SB or bust metality this year with the national media...maybe in Dallas though.

Romo will be better....Felix will be better, and the two rookie corners will be better.

For anyone who thinks different...put in the tape of the Steeler game last year. We dominated that game. Yes, Romo had some bonehead plays...but the play that lost that game to me was Santonio Holmes punt return. The ST's will be better this year...they can't get any worse.

I like our team. Outside of Romo....no celebrities. Workman like. Kind of reminds you of the Pats teams....and IMO that's a real good thing!

The Holmes return was a backbreaker....but I think the play that turned things around for the Steelers was the long pass to Holmes.

We were up 13-3....the Steelers had no life....we had them third and long....Newman had nice coverage....Before that pass, we had the game won.

After that pass, momentum switched....BIG time.

 

[Bizwah]

Of course when I say the Eagles will have a better offense, I will be accused of being their fan.

8-8 for Cowboys. Romo battered all year after Flozell goes down for the count.

The Eagles' offense is very good. We cannot ignore the fact that they've been in the same system forever.

Continuity in the coaching staff cannot be understated. This is what sets them apart from the rest of the NFC. They somehow get more from less than any other team in the East.

But at the skill positions, we outclass them. I don't know that they have many starters on their team that I'd take over our starters?

 

[Joe Realist]

The Eagles' offense is very good. We cannot ignore the fact that they've been in the same system forever.

Continuity in the coaching staff cannot be understated. This is what sets them apart from the rest of the NFC. They somehow get more from less than any other team in the East.

But at the skill positions, we outclass them. I don't know that they have many starters on their team that I'd take over our starters?

Well u kind of said it. They are in the same system. Sometimes that counts as much as talent. What happened when we added Roy last year, nothing. I really dont care about a numer 1 offense. I would rather be number 1 defense and middle of road offense. We could win like that.

 

[tiny tim]

I want ESPN to explode when Dallas does what their darlings could not.

19-0.

I would love to see the Cowboys go 19-0 :starspin

 

[Apollo Creed]

We will win as many games as Roy E Williams had receptions last year. Including the playoffs.

 

[windward]

We will win as many games as Roy E Williams had receptions last year. Including the playoffs.

We're gonna win 36 games?

Cool.

 

[Apollo Creed]

We're gonna win 36 games?

Cool.

I was referring to the 19 he hauled in for us. Didn't know that his season total was that high. 5 years 45 million, 20 mil guaranteed. 1st, 3rd, 6th with a history of injury problems.

 

[Aven8]

The Holmes return was a backbreaker....but I think the play that turned things around for the Steelers was the long pass to Holmes.

We were up 13-3....the Steelers had no life....we had them third and long....Newman had nice coverage....Before that pass, we had the game won.

After that pass, momentum switched....BIG time.

I forgot about that! Newman got burned and then Wade called him out. Can we just say we screwed up with Carpenter instead of getting Holmes????? lol

 

[Apollo Creed]

I forgot about that! Newman got burned and then Wade called him out. Can we just say we screwed up with Carpenter instead of getting Holmes????? lol

It was dumb calling Newman out, the long pass didn't equate to any points. Field position at the most, but for him to call out a guy that rarely does anything wrong seemed out of bounds to me.

 

[khiladi]

The issue of this team is not personnel, as in regards to players. We had a little more talent last year. The onus is the coaching.

 

[khiladi]

I'm glad the Vikings didn't get Cutler, because they would have automatically become the odds-on-favorite to make it to the Super Bowl in the NFC... At least the Bears got him 3 years too late...

 

[TellerMorrow34]

I want ESPN to explode when Dallas does what their darlings could not.

19-0.

Hos I love your outlook.

The Holmes return was a backbreaker....but I think the play that turned things around for the Steelers was the long pass to Holmes.

We were up 13-3....the Steelers had no life....we had them third and long....Newman had nice coverage....Before that pass, we had the game won.

After that pass, momentum switched....BIG time.

The long pass really did seem to heavily change the momentum. I thought we were passing a bit to much at the end when we should have been running though. Choice was doing a fantastic job and our defense was playing great. We put ourselves, and them, in horrible situations by trying to throw a lot more than I would have liked toward the end of the game.

Well u kind of said it. They are in the same system. Sometimes that counts as much as talent. What happened when we added Roy last year, nothing. I really dont care about a numer 1 offense. I would rather be number 1 defense and middle of road offense. We could win like that.

I agree. I'd rather the offense finish 13th in the league, with solid all around play, and have the defense be top 1 or 2 in the league because we'd win a lot more games that way. I agree with you.

 

[Doomsay]

Unaddressed issues for 2009 Season:
Head coach performance in crunch time
Lack of overall OL depth - Aging line
Run Blocking in obvious running situations


++ Better Schedule
++ Better Special Teams - Coverage, Coaching, Punt and Kick distance
+ Full Year of Wade on Defense
++ Better Chemistry going forward
+ Marginal Improvement in 2ndary (could actually be much better)
+ Better OG substitute option
++ Low probability of having 2 RB's on IR
+ Kitna

--- Loss of TO-type threat
-- Fragility of Roy (and perhaps Austin)
- DL line depth
- Lingering locker room rift from end of last season
- Wade most likely in a lame duck status - unless we have 2007 start
-- Improvement in Giants / Eagles

If Roy and Romo can play a full season at near 100% we should go at least 10-6, but I'm not sure that's a given considering the sloppy line play, Romo's recklessness and Roy's demonstrated fragility during his pro career.
Having Romo down for a few games will not be as catastrophic (Kitna), losing Williams for any significant amount of time (high probability) will be devastating.

Going forward, the chemistry should improve, but I do think that things got pretty ugly at the end of last year, so it might take some time. If we do get into the playoffs, the odds are against Wade until proven otherwise.

I'd feel much better if we'd pick up a servicable DT and vet receiver in case Roy goes down.

 

[DallasDomination]

If this happens we will be atleast 11-5:

1. Stay healthy
2. Romo plays smart and stops making Stupid mistakes at crucial times.
3. Much better playcalling( Garret)
4. establish the run always!
5. Roy williams actually plays up to his hype( BIG IF)
6. Jenkins and Scandrick keep improving( can't count on newman to stay healthy all season
7. Anthony Spencer gets his butt in gear and starts showing some improvement and stays on the field.
8. Wade phillips needs to stop being a walk over. Hold guys accountable and get them ready to play.
9. Flozell gets a hearing aid andGurode gets a "Snap the ball For Dumies" Book
10. Have the desire to be great...Do some of these guys even want to win? seems like someplayers just collect a paycheck.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

The Eagles' offense is very good. We cannot ignore the fact that they've been in the same system forever.

Continuity in the coaching staff cannot be understated. This is what sets them apart from the rest of the NFC.

And yet when Jerry said that after the season, he got killed for it...

(Not literally, Bach. Sorry if I got your hopes up.)

 

[jjktkk]

If Matt Ryan continues to progress than Atlanta looks to have a solid balanced offense. They have a good mix of young players and the addition of an all pro vet at TE only makes them better from last year.

I know we subtracted a guy from offense, but did we do anything else to make the offense better?

IMO that 1 subtraction from offense will make the offense better. Now Romo doesn't have to constantly look for "that subtraction guy", which should enable him to just run the offense. Roy Williams should benefit from a full offseason and training camp, and hopefully Austin will break thru and have a great season. If Felix Jones comes back healthy, theres another explosive player for the offense and kickoff returns. I'm excited for the upcoming season.

 

[jjktkk]

You don't ship off your best offensive weapon and bring in defensive help like over-the-hill Brookings and keep the dispassionate Clown Wade Phillips and not fully address the safeties and hope to be as good as last year.

Still, with Felix running all over the place, 10-6, and that is because of our schedule.

No. I cannot do it. 9-7.
Wade's magnetic field of mediocrity is too strong to resist. Must say . . . 9-7.

Diagree. By shipping off the "overhyped" offensive weapon, now Romo and Garrett do not have constantly force feed the ball to "ole butterfingers". Roy Williams will have a full off season and training camp under his belt, which should greatly benefit the offense. Felix Jones was having a great rookie year until injuries forced him to the sidelines. IMO the offense really went south once Jones got injured. So having Jones back should definitely give the offense and specials teams(kickoff returns) a big boost.
the Brooking signing was just a one, or 2 year stop-gap solution, until the Cowboys find a better alternative(Carpenter?, free agency,draft?). He might be past his prime, but hes a bigger Zach Thomas, IMO. As far as the Cowboys not fully addressing the safety position, anyone in particular you have in mind? They signed Gerald Sensabaugh, who is a solid, if not spectacular player, that can play the run and is better in coverage than the departed Roy Williams. They also drafted a safety(Michael Hamlin) and one of the cb's they drafted(DeAnglo Smith), they are reportedly going to convert to safety. Plus they still have Patrick Watkins and Courtney Brown. I expect the Boys will be better off without the me,me,me Owens. I see em at 11-5 next year and and a at least one play off win.

 

[ctrous25]

11-5.

I have read alot lately, and other than a few smart aleck comments, have not added much. I just finished reading the thread by DaBoys4Life in which he predicted a 5-11 season. Before the draft, I started a thread asking where any one thought a rookie would step in an be an upgrade. No one offered a convincing argument for any position with the picks we had.

There were a lot of good comments made in the 5-11 thread, but the one that I agreed with most was:



I don't see a better offense in the NFC. Romo, Barber, F. Jones, Witten and hopefully R. Williams are all playmakers. The offensive line is good, when healthy. Other than TO and J. Jones, this is the same offense that set records and went 13-3. Add F. Jones as an upgrade and Williams as a slight downgrade from the TO of 2007, and I say we are as good this year. Improved running game will help the passing game.

Defensively, if Newman stay healthy our secondary is improved. Three solid CB's and hopefully Hamlin gets back into form. Sensabaugh is an upgrade over what the other R. Williams turned out to be, and I see a solid front 3. LB will tell how good this Defense will be. Is Spencer for real? Can Carpenter demonstrate the skills that got him selected in the first round? Will Brooking step it up and play as well as Thomas, or even Justin Rogers or Oliver Hoyte ( I believe he and Burnett platooned at WILB in 07). Spencer and Brooking are the only unknowns in this mix and I am not concerned about them.

Special teams will be greatly improved. That would have been a great help last year.

As far as people saying that last year was because of this, or because of that, bottom line is injuries exposed the team's lack of depth. Hopefully we either filled those holes or no one gets hurt. If they stay healthy, this is the best team in the NFC east, and by default, the NFC.

I like the move of getting rid of the head cases and adding some youngsters with athletic ability. We have a couple years before they have to step up and I think this draft was to build on talented kids and solidify special teams.

5-11? Not this team.

great post There is alot of "IF'S" in your post but you make alot of good points in there, 11-5 is a def possibility for this team this upcoming season, maybe philly and zona will have better offenses then us but thats it IMO, and our D will be better than last year and that is a D that ranked #8 in the league

 

[Bleu Star]

My homer shades are off this year. Prove it to me. 8-8 is what I see. Anything more will be icing on the cake.