Perhaps This Team Is Just, Unlucky

Apollo Creed

Apollo Creed

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Anyone ever think that this team is just unlucky?

Walk with me here. I hate using that word in sports because I think everything typically evens out in the long run, great players find a way yada yada. But football is weird, entire games, seasons, playoff runs, super bowls can be swung by one play, often by one inch.

2006: Imagine had Romo not bobbled that snap, a play that gets executed 99% of the time. Dallas beats Seattle, next week they play Chicago, a team they had already beaten earlier in that season. No one ever mentions Romo can't win a playoff game and Dallas has a deep playoff run in them, or possibly a Super Bowl - because earlier in that year they had beaten the previously undefeated and eventual Super Bowl champs Indianapolis.

2007: The Crayton drop. Had Crayton caught that perfectly thrown pass late in the game against the Giants, a play that most receivers make 95% of the time, he's probably still running right now. Dallas wins, goes on to play the Packers, a team they had beaten earlier in the year in the NFCCG.

2008: Injuries totally ruined this season, Romo's pinky, Barber, Newman, etc. I think there was a time when 6-8 of our starters were consistently questionable. Still managed to work our way into a win and you're in playoff game in Philly, healthier team dominated. Dallas is on the outside looking in of a very wide open NFC playoff race where the 9-7 Cardinals eventually end up losing the Steelers.

Fastforward to 2011: Giants @ Dallas, a playoff birth essentially riding on the game, Dallas battles back and forth losing a late lead, but thanks to yet another Romo miracle, Dallas finds itself in a position to kick a FG to force overtime. Kick gets blocked by JPP and the Giants have a great road win that catapults them to yet another Super Bowl run. (Also Newman dropped a walk-in pick 6, Murray broke his ankle, and Miles lost the ball in the lights)

Imagine had those three seasons changed, Romo puts down that snap, Crayton catches that ball, Romo's finger doesn't get broken - the entire history of this team could be so much different.

So I don't really view them as losers, or choke artists, they are just like they've been since Bill Parcells got here - a team on the fringe of being great, that just hasn't been capable of building the confidence and swagger that teams like the Giants have gotten by having success down the stretch.

And the difference between Eli being clutch, Romo being a choker, the Giants being a great team and Dallas being scrubs has come down to one play. Crayton catches that ball, JPP doesn't block that kick in Dallas this year and Giants could very easily have 0 Super Bowls, Coughlin could be fired, Romo may have a ring and the entire perception of this team is totally different. Jerry suddenly isn't an idiot, all our players have 'heart' and are 'leaders', you get the point.

Truly is a game of inches.
 
Great great post!

Anybody who says luck doesn't play a part in a three point league is fooling themselves but you also have to take advantage of it. Nobody does this better than Eli. Look at the NFC Championship game, he threw two balls that were so bad two 49er defenders knocked each other off the ball on sure INT's.

But he came back and made some clutch throws. Same as in the first Super Bowl when he threw that sure pick before hitting Tyree. And finally don't forget the pick six to Newman in the first game with us this year that Newman flat out dropped.

Eli has had great fortune but he seals the deal when he gets it.
 
Maybe all teams are unlucky.

Last years Bears lost their starting QB, a starting WR and had Marion Barber give a game away in the final minutes.
 
Every team needs a little luck and a few breaks to go their way as in a call, bounce, fumble, deflection or etc. The examples you gave are players not making plays and the other team making plays.... Injuries are a part of the game and teams have overcome them to make runs. There are no what-ifs because the majority of games and teams are so close...
 
Apollo Creed;4587794 said:
Anyone ever think that this team is just unlucky?

Walk with me here. I hate using that word in sports because I think everything typically evens out in the long run, great players find a way yada yada. But football is weird, entire games, seasons, playoff runs, super bowls can be swung by one play, often by one inch.

2006: Imagine had Romo not bobbled that snap, a play that gets executed 99% of the time. Dallas beats Seattle, next week they play Chicago, a team they had already beaten earlier in that season. No one ever mentions Romo can't win a playoff game and Dallas has a deep playoff run in them, or possibly a Super Bowl - because earlier in that year they had beaten the previously undefeated and eventual Super Bowl champs Indianapolis.

2007: The Crayton drop. Had Crayton caught that perfectly thrown pass late in the game against the Giants, a play that most receivers make 95% of the time, he's probably still running right now. Dallas wins, goes on to play the Packers, a team they had beaten earlier in the year in the NFCCG.

2008: Injuries totally ruined this season, Romo's pinky, Barber, Newman, etc. I think there was a time when 6-8 of our starters were consistently questionable. Still managed to work our way into a win and you're in playoff game in Philly, healthier team dominated. Dallas is on the outside looking in of a very wide open NFC playoff race where the 9-7 Cardinals eventually end up losing the Steelers.

Fastforward to 2011: Giants @ Dallas, a playoff birth essentially riding on the game, Dallas battles back and forth losing a late lead, but thanks to yet another Romo miracle, Dallas finds itself in a position to kick a FG to force overtime. Kick gets blocked by JPP and the Giants have a great road win that catapults them to yet another Super Bowl run. (Also Newman dropped a walk-in pick 6, Murray broke his ankle, and Miles lost the ball in the lights)

Imagine had those three seasons changed, Romo puts down that snap, Crayton catches that ball, Romo's finger doesn't get broken - the entire history of this team could be so much different.

So I don't really view them as losers, or choke artists, they are just like they've been since Bill Parcells got here - a team on the fringe of being great, that just hasn't been capable of building the confidence and swagger that teams like the Giants have gotten by having success down the stretch.

And the difference between Eli being clutch, Romo being a choker, the Giants being a great team and Dallas being scrubs has come down to one play. Crayton catches that ball, JPP doesn't block that kick in Dallas this year and Giants could very easily have 0 Super Bowls, Coughlin could be fired, Romo may have a ring and the entire perception of this team is totally different. Jerry suddenly isn't an idiot, all our players have 'heart' and are 'leaders', you get the point.

Truly is a game of inches.
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How is a team with five SB trophies unlucky? Or are you just referring to the "Romo years"? One can always go back and look at a play here or a play there; if so and so was available or wasn't available as a draft choice.

What if Staubach decided he loved a Navy career more than pro football?

What if Minnesota said no the the Walker trade?

What if Landry was fired based upon his record after 5 years?

Bad luck is in the eye of the beholder. Mostly, its just an excuse for losing.
 
I just look at teams like New York and really wonder if we are that far away considering they barely beat us by field goals all the time and rely on us to make critical mistakes to let them go on through the playoffs both years they won the Super Bowl. Just sayin, if they are so good, why did they need Patrick Crayton to drop a pass in 07 to win that game? Or last year when they needed Newman to drop a pick 6, Miles to miss a wide open walk-in TD in the lights and a last second blocked kick to beat our 'scrubs'?

If they are two time Super Bowl champions then I really don't think this team is that far away. Every team in football has holes, some even have gaping Costa sized holes. But last year we had roughly 5 positions that were weak links, this year I can only say 2, and unfortunately they are both on the interior line. However, this team is a lot more competitive than we've been led to believe by ESPN and the local media spin. It's just everything in Dallas gets blown into a huge Hollywood frenzy. Look at teams like Atlanta, San Diego, Tennessee, etc who have all been consistently mediocre and have shared the same fate as us - aren't treated in the same lights, their QBs aren't badgered and questioned at every turn. But we have similar records and playoff success as them over the past 5 years. I never hear anything about them collapsing each year, or their QBs not being clutch.

It's just Dallas and the lights are brighter, which should make it even more apparent that talent wins football games. Culture, philosophy, speeches, etc all nonsense. We won in the 90s because we were a more talented team than our opponents across the board. And this season, 2012, Dallas has the most talented team that it's had since 2007. They've limited holes, cut back on bad contracts, drafted well, signed young players to solid deals, and put themselves in a position to win for the next few years.

As much as we all hate to admit it, Jerry has finally started to right a lot of the wrongs over the past few years. And I've learned that in the salary cap era, football games and championships are won in the front office, not between the white lines.
 
M'Kevon;4587840 said:
How is a team with five SB trophies unlucky? Or are you just referring to the "Romo years"? One can always go back and look at a play here or a play there; if so and so was available or wasn't available as a draft choice.

What if Staubach decided he loved a Navy career more than pro football?

What if Minnesota said no the the Walker trade?

What if Landry was fired based upon his record after 5 years?

Bad luck is in the eye of the beholder. Mostly, its just an excuse for losing.
Click to expand...

Meant specifically the Romo years. I didn't really consider this team competitive again until that night the Tuna pulled Bledsoe.
 
Risen Star;4587824 said:
Bad teams have bad luck.
Click to expand...

I think teams make their own luck. Luck comes from the actions on the field, good or bad.
 
i think that we have been fundamentaly flawed team that paid the price due to very poor management after Parcells left. TO, Pacman, Tank, bad drafts, spotty drafting before the last few years, RW trades and contract, MB3, Hamlin, and due to all of this flawed players at multiple positions.

We have been poor at CB, ILB, OG, OT, RB, S and DE at varying degrees over that time. We have all seen opposing teams exploit that. The only luck one way or another that I have seen is that the FO does not hand out bad contracts, overrely on players over 32, reach on draft day, make stupid trades, etc much under Garrett, Ciscowski, and whoever of the Jones is calling the shots.
 
At times, sure we are. Most players will tell you that a Championship combined luck, hard work, and opportunity. They never deny they got some lucky breaks. That is football.

Luck is not a pejorative. Bad luck is not an excuse. Both are just facts of life. All teams get lucky and have luck work against them. All teams...
 
Apollo Creed;4587851 said:
I just look at teams like New York and really wonder if we are that far away considering they barely beat us by field goals all the time and rely on us to make critical mistakes to let them go on through the playoffs both years they won the Super Bowl. Just sayin, if they are so good, why did they need Patrick Crayton to drop a pass in 07 to win that game? Or last year when they needed Newman to drop a pick 6, Miles to miss a wide open walk-in TD in the lights and a last second blocked kick to beat our 'scrubs'?

If they are two time Super Bowl champions then I really don't think this team is that far away. Every team in football has holes, some even have gaping Costa sized holes. But last year we had roughly 5 positions that were weak links, this year I can only say 2, and unfortunately they are both on the interior line. However, this team is a lot more competitive than we've been led to believe by ESPN and the local media spin. It's just everything in Dallas gets blown into a huge Hollywood frenzy. Look at teams like Atlanta, San Diego, Tennessee, etc who have all been consistently mediocre and have shared the same fate as us - aren't treated in the same lights, their QBs aren't badgered and questioned at every turn. But we have similar records and playoff success as them over the past 5 years. I never hear anything about them collapsing each year, or their QBs not being clutch.

It's just Dallas and the lights are brighter, which should make it even more apparent that talent wins football games. Culture, philosophy, speeches, etc all nonsense. We won in the 90s because we were a more talented team than our opponents across the board. And this season, 2012, Dallas has the most talented team that it's had since 2007. They've limited holes, cut back on bad contracts, drafted well, signed young players to solid deals, and put themselves in a position to win for the next few years.

As much as we all hate to admit it, Jerry has finally started to right a lot of the wrongs over the past few years. And I've learned that in the salary cap era, football games and championships are won in the front office, not between the white lines.
Click to expand...
Thing is by beating us they didn't just get handed the SB trophy - they had to win 4 more games - all on the road against some very good teams - they did that TWICE and how did we do against good teams last year?
I think that might be 1-7 - while yes they have been lucky at times - there were a hellava lotta plays in between.
 
The Cowboys were 0-4 against the top two teams in the NFC East. Three of the four games were, for all intents and purposes, over by halftime.

That's not bad luck. It's lack of talent.
 
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