Scattershooting rapid-fire edition

[Alexander]

Ahh. Gotcha. Yeah, I guess the two terms and meanings are very similar.

And I agree. Why the front office rolled the dice on him staying healthy when lately he hasn't been able to is anyone's guess.

I really wish we would've brought in a more proven vet, even if we had to trade for one.

We crossed our fingers. Winning strategy.

 

[Alexander]

How do you know? Because they were FA or something. How do you know Dallas didn't call Fitz and Fitz thanks but I want a chance to compete for a starting role. QB that think they can start will try to start, if given the opportunity, they will pick the team that best gives them that option. There was no competition here, no one that was available was going to get a chance to do anything other than be number 2 and wear the Star. To hold something against the FO that was never a possibility to begin with is really pushing it.

Shawn Hill.

 

[percyhoward]

Last year's playoff teams (other than Dallas) are 4-3 when starting a backup QB this year. One has to assume that those who didn't think Romo and Dez were basically the whole team are surprised at the 0-5.

 

[Nightman]

All off season people were talking about the precipitous drop off in production by running backs who have a huge number of carries the previous season.

See here, it's real: http://www.footballdocs.com/running_back_carries.html

Murray is doing about as well in Philly as he would anywhere. No one should be pretending that he'd be doing any better in Dallas, it's just not true.

that report is meaningless. it has no bearing on Murray and 15 of the 30 seasons were over 1200yds which anyone would say is an above average season.

 

[Idgit]

Last year's playoff teams (other than Dallas) are 4-3 when starting a backup QB this year. One has to assume that those who didn't think Romo and Dez were basically the whole team are surprised at the 0-5.

Out of curiosity, of those 7 games, how many of the wins came when the team also lost the turnover differential? Setting aside our own loss to SEA.

Or, if you let me know which games, I'll go look it up myself. Though I expect I've got a pretty good guess as to the answer.

 

[whynot]

that report is meaningless. it has no bearing on Murray and 15 of the 30 seasons were over 1200yds which anyone would say is an above average season.

So a report which has actual data, collated from a number of seasons and about a number of backs (even if you ignore the 50% of it which you think is merely "above average"), is "meaningless" and your purely fantastical conjecture that paying Murray would have meant another 2 wins is meaningful?

I see how this works.

 

[Nightman]

So a report which has actual data, collated from a number of seasons and about a number of backs (even if you ignore the 50% of it which you think is merely "above average"), is "meaningless" and your purely fantastical conjecture that paying Murray would have meant another 2 wins is meaningful?

I see how this works.

What does it have to do with Murray? Does he train the same way those guys train? Did he have the same mileage they had? Was he is a perfect situation to succeed?

Just because it happened(and only around 50% of the time) before it doesn't mean it will happen to Murray.

And if you add playoff carries and receptions, that mythical 370 number is even more meaningless. Dozens and dozens of above average seasons have directly followed heavy usage. You can dismiss them if want to look the other way, but not if you want to see the facts.

 

[BAT]

5 game losing streaks aren't fun. Players lose it, coaches and front office lose it and fans go berzerk. That's perfectly fine because the alternative is to be used to it and accept it.

Randle was always a stop-gap here. He has some talent but Dallas knew/knows all too well he has issues. They were going to milk the small investment in him for all it was worth and arguably did an amazing job there.... But he wasn't getting a long-term deal here.

As such, please for the love of baby Jesus, do not justify another murray cry with randle's release. It is so painfully illogical it literally hurts my brain to read such utter rubbish. Dmurray is gone because he wasn't one of the insanely rare backs that are worth big money. Fhilly is painfully aware of that even our fans who are apparently still watching games on VCR's are not. Dmurray is about as good as marion barber.... And who says jerry doesn't learn.

Chip may well pay for that Murray decision with his job. Not that leaving the cesspool and ending up in Austin, Texas or Southern California is going to be any real punishment.

Gotta love the complete goofballs that blast jerry for this season. Calling them trolls would be insulting trolls. Jerry didn't injure the QB and this team has shown as much risk aversion as any team in the league with it's lay down and play dead all pre-season policy. It plays backs who protect the QB first and foremost and it babies Romo every chance it can. Injuries happen but this team works hard to prevent them to it's stars.

This season is hardly over. The team needs to find a way to win games late without Romo. But since Romo is the leading 4th quarter guy in football the last decade perhaps it is reasonable that they do not yet.

The NFL is not about morality or justice, it is about wins and losses. The team need sot win this week. The how, the who, the why hardly matter at all. It badly needs a win in any way. A 2-0 win via safety would feel like a playoff win right now.

This team needs more players like Greg Hardy not less. Anyone who doesn't understand that is probably not able to make adult decisions.

The problem is relying on an obvious stop gap at such an integral position during a SB contending year. The RBBC was a horrible idea after the running game was so dominant the season before. That solution was not just reckless, it bordered on incompetent.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Do y'all ever read the responses on FB when the Cowboys make a post? It makes me want to kick a baby.

Ugh yes. I instantly regret it.

For anyone who hasn't yet, save yourself the brain damage and just never ever read the comments on Facebook posts by the Cowboys. Ever.

Seriously, don't do it.

 

[percyhoward]

Out of curiosity, of those 7 games, how many of the wins came when the team also lost the turnover differential? Setting aside our own loss to SEA.

Or, if you let me know which games, I'll go look it up myself. Though I expect I've got a pretty good guess as to the answer.

In the four wins this year by 2014 playoff teams when a backup QB started the game, the turnover differentials were +2, -2, +1, +3. In their three losses, +2, -3, -6. You would expect better differentials in the wins, so this is no surprise.

Their four wins came against teams that are a combined 13-14 against the rest of the NFL. 4 of Dallas' 5 losses have come against teams that are a combined 14-14 against the rest of the NFL, plus the loss to the Patriots. This hasn't been a particularly difficult stretch of opponents for the Cowboys, as has been suggested. I realize that wasn't point of your post, but I admit I didn't understand what your point was. Mine was that the 5 losses has to be considered a surprise, except by those who thought the Cowboys were simply Romo, Dez, and a below-average team.

 

[visionary]

Last year's playoff teams (other than Dallas) are 4-3 when starting a backup QB this year. One has to assume that those who didn't think Romo and Dez were basically the whole team are surprised at the 0-5.

That is crazy talk

OP indignantly asks: show me the teams that are winning with back up QBs

He is shown and then says "of course I didn't mean that"

Lol
If we can't win with back up QBs lets just have 1 QB on the team and use the roster spots for players who can actually contribute

 

[visionary]

In the four wins this year by 2014 playoff teams when a backup QB started the game, the turnover differentials were +2, -2, +1, +3. In their three losses, +2, -3, -6. You would expect better differentials in the wins, so this is no surprise.

Their four wins came against teams that are a combined 13-14 against the rest of the NFL. 4 of Dallas' 5 losses have come against teams that are a combined 14-14 against the rest of the NFL, plus the loss to the Patriots. This hasn't been a particularly difficult stretch of opponents for the Cowboys, as has been suggested. I realize that wasn't point of your post, but I admit I didn't understand what your point was. Mine was that the 5 losses has to be considered a surprise, except by those who thought the Cowboys were simply Romo, Dez, and a below-average team.

Knocked it out of the park buddy
@Idgit is squirming right now

 

[visionary]

The problem is relying on an obvious stop gap at such an integral position during a SB contending year. The RBBC was a horrible idea after the running game was so dominant the season before. That solution was not just reckless, it bordered on incompetent.

I believe you mean it broke all barriers of competence and was completely moronic and idiotic. Of course less so than defending it as "well handled"

 

[punchnjudy]

In the four wins this year by 2014 playoff teams when a backup QB started the game, the turnover differentials were +2, -2, +1, +3. In their three losses, +2, -3, -6. You would expect better differentials in the wins, so this is no surprise.

Their four wins came against teams that are a combined 13-14 against the rest of the NFL. 4 of Dallas' 5 losses have come against teams that are a combined 14-14 against the rest of the NFL, plus the loss to the Patriots. This hasn't been a particularly difficult stretch of opponents for the Cowboys, as has been suggested. I realize that wasn't point of your post, but I admit I didn't understand what your point was. Mine was that the 5 losses has to be considered a surprise, except by those who thought the Cowboys were simply Romo, Dez, and a below-average team.

They're not a below average team; they're just not a team that's built to win games 20-17. And when they have won low scoring games like that over the years, most of them have been against lousy QB's, and all their opponents during this stretch have had solid QB's. Except for the NY game, where they turned the ball over left and right, Dallas' style of play has been completely foreign to the way they usually win. It's like they wanted to flip a switch and turn themselves into one of the old Steelers teams. Not going to work.

Not only that, but they've gone long stretches within games without effectively attacking most of their opponent's biggest weakness. NO, ATL, and NY were all near the bottom of the league in team defense last year. (Atlanta's current ranking is good, but I mainly attribute that to their opponents. They've only faced one QB (Eli)). When a team stops playing to its usual strengths, while simultaneously taking pressure off the opponents biggest weakness, bad things are going to happen.

 

[texbumthelife]

5 game losing streaks aren't fun. Players lose it, coaches and front office lose it and fans go berzerk. That's perfectly fine because the alternative is to be used to it and accept it.

Randle was always a stop-gap here. He has some talent but Dallas knew/knows all too well he has issues. They were going to milk the small investment in him for all it was worth and arguably did an amazing job there.... But he wasn't getting a long-term deal here.

As such, please for the love of baby Jesus, do not justify another murray cry with randle's release. It is so painfully illogical it literally hurts my brain to read such utter rubbish. Dmurray is gone because he wasn't one of the insanely rare backs that are worth big money. Fhilly is painfully aware of that even our fans who are apparently still watching games on VCR's are not. Dmurray is about as good as marion barber.... And who says jerry doesn't learn.

Chip may well pay for that Murray decision with his job. Not that leaving the cesspool and ending up in Austin, Texas or Southern California is going to be any real punishment.

Gotta love the complete goofballs that blast jerry for this season. Calling them trolls would be insulting trolls. Jerry didn't injure the QB and this team has shown as much risk aversion as any team in the league with it's lay down and play dead all pre-season policy. It plays backs who protect the QB first and foremost and it babies Romo every chance it can. Injuries happen but this team works hard to prevent them to it's stars.

This season is hardly over. The team needs to find a way to win games late without Romo. But since Romo is the leading 4th quarter guy in football the last decade perhaps it is reasonable that they do not yet.

The NFL is not about morality or justice, it is about wins and losses. The team need sot win this week. The how, the who, the why hardly matter at all. It badly needs a win in any way. A 2-0 win via safety would feel like a playoff win right now.

This team needs more players like Greg Hardy not less. Anyone who doesn't understand that is probably not able to make adult decisions.

Great post, as usual, JT.

The further we get from Sunday, the more tempered my view becomes. I am poised steadily on the fence like a wailing cat. I haven't resigned myself to jump to one side or the other quite yet.

On the one hand, the loss of one of the best quarterbacks in the game, a quarterback this team was literally built for and around, is a huge blow that no team could overcome with steady success. The reads pre-snap and post snap that feed that audible game, which Romo has become so much better at in recent years, are not there. Extending plays with eyes downfield, where Romo really makes his name are gone. Furthermore, the identity of this team on was crushed and fumbled on one play in Philadelphia. You can never replace someone of this value, but there are things you can do to lessen the impact.

The Cowboy's have had a tumultuous time running the ball behind one of the leagues best lines. So much so, that many were questioning if this line really was that good. We have our answer. The carousel of runningbacks was planned as a committe but it has become a circus. A guy whose worst quality is his ability to stay healthy, is being leaned on as a feature back now. The guy who was supposed to be the bell cow, has been put out to pasture.No one could have predicted this mess, but they could have been more prepared.

The defense which was supposed to earn its keep with a stamped of a pass rush, has been essentially bankrupt. They've shown life with the release of the Krakken, but they show the same lack of ability to close they always have. They don't force 3 and outs. They don't close halves. They don't finish games. Call it wearing down due to the offense. Call it under performance. Hell, call it a fluke--it is what it is. Worst of all, they haven't been able to rob the other team in order to keep their own coffers full.

It's been a perfect storm of injuries, ineptitude and ill timing. It's been alarming. It's been reminiscent...

This season isn't a Titanic, taken down by one massive iceberg. Its been bludgeoned by watermelon sized hail stone. The hull is porous and the gallows are filling with dark water. All the while, the Captain has stood at the helm and he has stayed the course. He has sent out an OSS and been answered by a weathered and unprepared Cassell. He has searched the waters for cast-off tug boats and seen the lines, frayed and frail, snap. Still he stays the course. A decision has to be made. The maps have to be pulled and laid out. The course must be opened and revised. The Captain has to be the one to save the sinking vessel by maneuvering it through these murky waters. The problem is, the Captain is too busy applauding the effort of the men in the engine room bailing one bucket of water, as two more pour in.

 

[Idgit]

In the four wins this year by 2014 playoff teams when a backup QB started the game, the turnover differentials were +2, -2, +1, +3. In their three losses, +2, -3, -6. You would expect better differentials in the wins, so this is no surprise.

Their four wins came against teams that are a combined 13-14 against the rest of the NFL. 4 of Dallas' 5 losses have come against teams that are a combined 14-14 against the rest of the NFL, plus the loss to the Patriots. This hasn't been a particularly difficult stretch of opponents for the Cowboys, as has been suggested. I realize that wasn't point of your post, but I admit I didn't understand what your point was. Mine was that the 5 losses has to be considered a surprise, except by those who thought the Cowboys were simply Romo, Dez, and a below-average team.

I didn't have a point as much as a legitimate question. But the issue for Dallas has not just been the absence of Romo and Dez, but also the lack of takeaways while the passing game has been compromised. It stands to reason that teams that are winning with backup QBs are doing it with some help in the turnover differential department. Which appears to have been the case.

 

[Idgit]

Knocked it out of the park buddy
@Idgit is squirming right now

If you're gonna flash me the bat signal, it's best if you have some vague idea of the gist of the thread you're trying to follow. Or at least an idea of what people typically mean by "squirming."

 

[percyhoward]

I didn't have a point as much as a legitimate question. But the issue for Dallas has not just been the absence of Romo and Dez, but also the lack of takeaways while the passing game has been compromised. It stands to reason that teams that are winning with backup QBs are doing it with some help in the turnover differential department. Which appears to have been the case.

I think it's a legitimate question to ask why the other teams who made the playoffs last year have been able to win games against .500 competition, and Dallas has not. Maybe we could also ask it another way -- why have they gotten help in the turnover differential department while Dallas has not -- but those teams' wins haven't always depended on winning the turnover battle anyway.

 

[ShiningStar]

Last year's playoff teams (other than Dallas) are 4-3 when starting a backup QB this year. One has to assume that those who didn't think Romo and Dez were basically the whole team are surprised at the 0-5.

beats the team stragety of thinking Romo wouldnt get hurt.

 

[CyberB0b]

Tyrod Taylor has played a few games, losing his job of course even this year.
But in the common opponents he has played and Dallas has played he has produced a QBR of 30.
If you want Taylor here it is to develop long term not win now.

Fitzpatrick is on his 4th team in 4 years. It is crazy that no one but you seens to think he is the answer.
He has lost his job every season including this one.

The Steelers actually went 2-3 without Big Ben at starter usign 2 different back up QBs.
They also rushed back Big Ben at about 70% health.

By your logic, Romo lost his job to Weeden. Taylor and Fitz are hurt, and will be starting when healthy. Try doing a 3 second Google search next time before embarrassing yourself.