Bobhaze
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The ultimate judge of any pro football team in a season is what that team does in the playoffs. Playoff wins reinforce the good things about your team. Playoff losses provide the opportunity to dissect what your team lacks. The best GMs take that loss, look at what the opponent was successful at exploiting, what their team could and could not do, and find ways to address that in the off-season.
What is so frustrating about this arrogant, unaccountable 82 year old GM in Dallas is his inability (or refusal) to dissect his team critically after a playoff loss and find serious ways to improve in the off-season. How many times have we heard JJ or his entitled son say that all they needed was some luck or the ball to bounce our way? What a crock.
LOOK AT THE RECENT PLAYOFF LOSSES AND WHAT THEY SHOWED ABOUT US
And what does this GM learn from all this? We just need to get lucky?
What is so frustrating about this arrogant, unaccountable 82 year old GM in Dallas is his inability (or refusal) to dissect his team critically after a playoff loss and find serious ways to improve in the off-season. How many times have we heard JJ or his entitled son say that all they needed was some luck or the ball to bounce our way? What a crock.
LOOK AT THE RECENT PLAYOFF LOSSES AND WHAT THEY SHOWED ABOUT US
- 2018- Lost to the LA Rams 30-22 in the divisional round and the biggest lesson was clear- the Cowboys gave up 273 yards rushing. They got trucked and were physically dominated. Dak actually played well, throwing a TD and no picks. but the defense was overwhelmed. We got sacked once, did not sack them at all.
- 2021- Lost to the SF 49ers 23-16 in the divisional round and there were two huge problems: 1. (Surprise!) The inability to stop the run, giving up 170 yards on the ground and 2. Set a record with the number of penalties - 14 penalties for 89 yards! This included 7 pre-snap penalties. Again they got physically dominated. Dak was just ok, throwing a TD but had one pick. Dak was sacked 5 times, we got zero sacks against a statue QB Jimmy Garropolo.
- 2022- Lost again to the niners in the divisional round 19-12. A game where Dak was bad, throwing 2 picks, and the niners once again out-physicaled us. Their defense smothered us, holding us to 76 yards rushing and we had 7 costly penalties.
- 2023- Lost 48-32 at home in the wild card round. A complete embarrassment from the opening kickoff. Dak was terrible again, throwing two costly picks in the first half including a pick 6, we got physically manhandled by the 7th seed packers. Dak was sacked 4 times and we never sacked Jordan Love once. They rushed for nearly 150 yards and completely dominated us physically.
- This team gets physically whipped by playoff teams. It’s obvious. The playoffs show which teams are physical and the Cowboys are always getting whipped in the physical battle. Every single time.
- This team cannot stop the run. It’s so obvious, there’s no need to discuss.
- In the last 4 playoff losses, the Cowboys have 2 sacks against the opponents QB…2. And the Cowboys QB has been sacked 12 times.
- If Dak Prescott is going to have success in the playoffs, he needs a running game. In the two wins Dak has in the playoffs, here are the rushing totals:
- WC win 24-22 vs Sea in 2018- Cowboys rushed for 164 yards. Dak had 2 TDs, no picks.
- WC win 31-14 vs Tampa in 2022- Cowboys rushed for 137 yards. Dak had 4 TDs, no picks.
- In all the playoff losses Dak has been the QB, the team cannot run the ball. When he has no running game, it all falls to Dak.
- Penalties - An ongoing problem under Big Mac that never seems to get addressed.
And what does this GM learn from all this? We just need to get lucky?