Shortcomings were clearly on display last night

[Doomsday]

I think people are overreacting to the fumble.

It isn't just the fumble it is catching the ball on the 4 yard line 2 weeks in a row and some other bone headed plays. It is about the fact that he has not been a good returner either, running in circles instead of up field. I just don't see what he brings to the table, he seems to have lost his job in the punt game, and is no longer on the field as a blocker.

 

[Stash]

While I agree with most of what you wrote, this is true of any team in the NFL. It is next to impossible to build a "complete" team in today's era with the salary cap.

It truly is. And maximizing strengths and minimizing weaknesses is what separates the great teams and coaches from the good ones.

And I feel that if this team and coaches want to be truly great this year, these things need to be corrected. Or at last minimized as much as is possible during the season.

Also, I think you are underestimating the effect of lack of rest (i.e., 3 games in 11 days). I think it made both teams especially sluggish.

And if that's the case, it evens the playing field. But it doesn't excuse the Cowboys' struggles against a team that went through the same thing.

 

[Stash]

Bold is honeslty untrue. I will give you this is a messageboard so discussions are encouraged but these imperfections esp on D are made after every game win or lose it seems so its not like they haven't been addressed before countless times. I guess since we aren't in the offseason that's what we have to do but saying people are blinding themselves is factually incorrect. If this was the first time or two this subject had came up I'd agree with you but this is a running theme no?

I'm not saying that it's the first time it's been brought up, in fact I stated clearly otherwise.

But how many people have you seen in this thread attack the message rather than attempting to refute the points being made?

It's easy to try to dismiss something because you don't like the message. It's quite another to take a clear stand and refute the other position.

 

[Denim Chicken]

It isn't just the fumble it is catching the ball on the 4 yard line 2 weeks in a row and some other bone headed plays. It is about the fact that he has not been a good returner either, running in circles instead of up field. I just don't see what he brings to the table, he seems to have lost his job in the punt game, and is no longer on the field as a blocker.

He's 14th in the league for Punt return yards/attempt, FWIW (better than Harris). I think he's ok for his very limited role.

 

[CATCH17]

What logic am I applying to this team? Just want to make sure you're not getting anything twisted. I'm saying our defense will eventually catch up to us in the playoffs if we don't find a consistent pass rush. You can't depend on your offense to win games every week or it will catch up to you in the playoffs. We had a decent pass rush last night due to all the problems on the Vikings OL. Some are acting like our offense is never going to miss a beat and it did last night but fortunately we were playing against an anemic offense. Scoring only 17 points would have gotten us beat 5 times this season and had 3 other games go into OT. I don't see our offense getting us knocked off in the playoffs if we do get knocked off, it will be our defense.

Our offense had to put over 26 points in two of our last four wins. We still can't stop anyone with games on the line. Our D gave up a drive and a TD in the closing seconds last night that helped turn the final seconds into a real nail biter. In our last two games the defense surrendered TD's in the closing seconds giving our opponents a chance. We're winning games due to our offense being the #1 team in the league at chewing up the clock and putting points on the board. We proved last night we're capable of stopping ourselves with STUPID penalties!

We're having to protect our defense by keeping that unit off the field as much as we can. We lost the time of possession battle last night despite facing the 30th ranked offense. Any good offensive team we face we're going to have to score more than 17 points to win. We've won most of our games this season due to our offense overcoming our defensive issues. What we saw last night offensively with the penalties/mistakes that had us in 3rd in long all night will get us knocked off in the playoffs unless our defense steps up and you can quote me on that.

It's like you only watch the Cowboys.

KJJ the Seahawks fan is saying they will never beat the Cowboys because their OL is awful and they suck on the road.

KJJ the Falcons fan is saying Dallas will run all over us and keep our offense off the field.

I don't think you watch other teams.

NFL defenses stink.. All of them.. Especially this year.

Possessing the football is a form of defense and we are the best at it.

Also, our actual defense gives up under 20 points a game.



This big bad juggernaut wolf that plays shutdown defense and scores all kinds of points on offense doesn't exist.

Dallas has what it takes to win it all and saying that their defense isn't good enough is like Stephen A Smith saying they are an accident waiting to happen.. Odds are that if you take all of the other teams in the playoffs to win the Super Bowl over us than you would probably be right.

But Dallas will not lose because of their defense unless it's on the field with the game on the line and the other team still has to go down and score.

We will lose because some team figures out how to shut down our offense and/or turnovers.

 

[NextGenBoys]

There's mistakes in coverage which is one reason we rank so poorly against the pass. We leave receivers open and have allowed opponents to convert too many 3rd and long situations. Even though we were facing the 30th ranked offense, the Vikings had the ball for almost 34 minutes. We have a bend but don't break defense and that approach usually catches up with you in the playoffs.

I won't disagree with that. I'm not a fan of our defense, but I just don't believe we make too many mistakes. We don't give up many big plays, we just let teams dink and dunk on us and rally and tackle.

Our defense is predicated on the other team's QB making a mistake and not driving the ball down the field. If they do that, we have absolutely no ability to stop their passing attack with our lack of a pass rush, and average secondary.

 

[KJJ]

It's like you only watch the Cowboys.

KJJ the Seahawks fan is saying they will never beat the Cowboys because their OL is awful and they suck on the road.

KJJ the Falcons fan is saying Dallas will run all over us and keep our offense off the field.

I don't think you watch other teams.

NFL defenses stink.. All of them.. Especially this year.

Possessing the football is a form of defense and we are the best at it.

Also, our actual defense gives up under 20 points a game.


This big bad juggernaut wolf that plays shutdown defense and scores all kinds of points on offense doesn't exist.

Dallas has what it takes to win it all and saying that their defense isn't good enough is like Stephen A Smith saying they are an accident waiting to happen.. Odds are that if you take all of the other teams in the playoffs to win the Super Bowl over us than you would probably be right.

But Dallas will not lose because of their defense unless it's on the field with the game on the line and the other team still has to go down and score.

We will lose because some team figures out how to shut down our offense and/or turnovers.

I'm an NFL and a Cowboys fan. If you're putting stock into what Seahawks and Falcons fans think of their teams chances against the Cowboys, what does that say about you? Go check the posting histories of those fans you're listening to and see how often they've been right about anything. I watch other teams all the time and everyone has some weaknesses including the Cowboys but to say all defenses "stink" is simply not true. The Raiders are 9-2 and they have defensive issues. Most of the rules favor offenses, the NFL wants scoring so defenses are handcuffed to an extent but any team with a strong pass rush has a good chance against any potent offensive team. We played the top ranked defensive team last night and they held us to our lowest point total of the year but they have an anemic offense that couldn't take full advantage of our defensive issues.

Our defense may be giving up under 20 points a game on "average" but you can't count on that in the playoffs. The Falcons have been in shootouts most of the season because they score a lot of points but give up a lot of points defensively. Our defense doesn't match up well with their offense and they're more than capable of putting up 30+ forcing us to have to outscore them. Not saying we can't beat them but our offense is probably going to have to be clicking on all cylinders to overcome the points they're likely to put on us. As for Seattle, their OL may be awful but so was the Vikings and like the Vikings they have a sold defense. They have a better QB than Minn in Russell Wilson who's a duel threat.

Seattle is a SB tested team having been to the big dance twice the past 4 years. The Cowboys have little playoff experience and they have a rookie QB. I don't care what Seattle fans think, the Seahawks are more than capable of slowing our offense down and putting up some points with Wilson who's having a very solid season. If we lose in the playoffs it will be because of our defense's inability to make critical stops in the 4th quarter. Our defense keeps opponents in games giving them a chance, it's happened the past two games and that will eventually bite us in the playoffs if our D doesn't improve. We're putting too much pressure on Dak and our offense to win games.

 

[SDCowboy]

I think people are overreacting to the fumble.

Agreed. I'm far more worried about his punt/kick returns.

 

[KJJ]

I won't disagree with that. I'm not a fan of our defense, but I just don't believe we make too many mistakes. We don't give up many big plays, we just let teams dink and dunk on us and rally and tackle.

Our defense is predicated on the other team's QB making a mistake and not driving the ball down the field. If they do that, we have absolutely no ability to stop their passing attack with our lack of a pass rush, and average secondary.

We have to start forcing some turnovers and to do that we have to improve our pass rush. Affecting the QB causes bad throws and fumbles. Allowing offenses to chip away at us has allowed our last two opponents to stay in the game and that's going to come back on us in the playoffs. Giving up TD drives in the final moments which is keeping opponents alive is like playing with fire. The Cowboys still lack that killer instinct of slamming the door shut with big defensive plays. Coming up with a timely sack or INT to close out a game is the type of defense we need. We can't keep giving opponents a chance with seconds to play or it will catch up with us.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Unfortunately, this is looking like it's the case. He's been wildly disappointing since that extension. No disruption in his game at all.

IMO, he's looked the same. I think they paid him based off potential but in return they got exactly the guy they gave that money o. I didn't understand why they were so quick to give him that contract. But maybe its a situation like the corners. The corners look far better than this year than last year once they added Byron Jones as a safety. Maybe Crawford would look a lot better with better guys around him.

 

[Idgit]

Stand in front of a mirror. But if course you'll continue to deny the obvious, no matter how many times it's clearly pointed out to you.

That's what I thought. All hat, no cattle. My track record for accurate criticism is a lot better than yours, stash, and evidence of me being critical is all over the board. I don't even have to find it for you.

The difference between us is you'll lash out at anything when your in a pique, and I limit my criticisms to areas which are consistently problems over multiple games or seasons.

Do you deny that Free should be replaced? Short term if possible and long term for certain. Or is your case that every player on this team is irreplacable or beyond reproach? It sounds like you want specifics from me, while not taking a solid position yourself.

I do deny that Free should be replaced. He's a perfectly capable starter. Now the offseason is the offseason and I have no problem with him getting replaced. But he's a contributor on the best OL in the league and far from a liability, overall.

And I obviously don't think every player on the team is irreplaceable. I think the opposite. I also recognize a false dichotomy when I see one. Nobody is beyond reproach, but that's not what we were talking about.

We were talking about jettisoning starters from an 11-1 team because the win last night wasn't victorious enough for you. I asked for specifics from you because you said it, then said you didn't say you wanted the starters replaced, making your thread-starting post confusing for those of us who were trying to understand your take.

 

[Proximo]

That's what I thought. All hat, no cattle. My track record for accurate criticism is a lot better than yours, stash, and evidence of me being critical is all over the board. I don't even have to find it for you.

The difference between us is you'll lash out at anything when your in a pique, and I limit my criticisms to areas which are consistently problems over multiple games or seasons.



I do deny that Free should be replaced. He's a perfectly capable starter. Now the offseason is the offseason and I have no problem with him getting replaced. But he's a contributor on the best OL in the league and far from a liability, overall.

And I obviously don't think every player on the team is irreplaceable. I think the opposite. I also recognize a false dichotomy when I see one. Nobody is beyond reproach, but that's not what we were talking about.

We were talking about jettisoning starters from an 11-1 team because the win last night wasn't victorious enough for you. I asked for specifics from you because you said it, then said you didn't say you wanted the starters replaced, making your thread-starting post confusing for those of us who were trying to understand your take.

The Doug Free hate is a reach. The only place he gets "beat like drum" is on this board. He's a perfectly capable starting NFL right tackle. He just happens to have 4 guys to the left of him that have been playing at a pro bowl level, which magnifies his own imperfections.

I'm surprised OP didn't find a way to somehow include some digs on Jeff Heath. Usually when things don't go well he has something to do with it, lol.

 

[Redball Express]

As this magical season and record-setting win streak continues, I can't help but be more and more concerned as this team's weak links continue to be exposed. While I think they have popped up here and there from time to time over the course of this season, they seemed to happen collectively last night.

Maybe it was coincidence? Maybe it was a great defense helping to expose them?

But, whatever the reason, they were more glaring last night than I think they've been all season.

Doug Free - The guy was awful last night, and that's outside of a bogus 'holding' call that negated the biggest running play of the night. He was beaten like a drum repeatedly in pass protection and gave up two sacks at minimum and was responsible for the forced fumble.

It was so obvious that Collinsworth specifically called him 'the weak link' of the Cowboys' line. That's something we all knew, but it said a lot that it was pointed out by a commentator too. It's unfortunate that Chaz Green can't stay healthy to give the team another option, but something needs to be done about Free's issues, for both the long and short term. Adjustments need to be made in blocking and a long term replacement needs to be found.

Jason Pierre-Paul is coming on, and he's repeatedly given Free problems. I worry this could be a huge factor in the upcoming game against the Giants.

Brandon Carr - the guy just isn't very good. Other than being available every week, he doesn't bring much to the table. It's one thing for rookie Anthony Brown to struggle, it's quite another for a veteran who's been around as long as Carr has. Zero playmaking, poor awareness, plays soft, gives too much cushion, mediocre tackler. You name it, if it's bad, he's showing it. Cornerback becomes a bigger need every week.

Lucky Whitehead - time to end this failed experiment. After what looked like signs of development and improvement, it's obvious that it's not happening. He's showing why he was an undrafted free agent. It's one thing to Ben a 'one trick pony', but when you can't even handle that 'one trick', it's time to look elsewhere. Besides the big fumble, he continues to be indecisive and dangerous on punt returns. And if he can't do that, he has little to no value. And his issues are forcing the team to use Beasley out there to fair catch every punt when he's out there.

Gavin Escobar - His status as a draft bust was already secure, but he went to great lengths to eliminate any doubts last night. The guy just provides little to nothing to this team. While he might be able to contribute in the passing game, the team simply doesn't use him in that way. And, right or wrong, he can't handle what they are asking him to do. And the combination of he and Vince Mayle are hurting this team's blocking, not helping it. One of them should go for a capable blocker. I think bringing back Austin Traylor would be a smarter move at this point than wasting more time with these two.

The 'pass rush' - and the obvious lack thereof. The team played against arguably the very worst offensive line they will see all year and the results were still disappointing. The Tyrone Crawford experiment looks worse and worse all the time. What they're paying that player to do so little is just an awful return on investment. And it speaks volumes that he wasn't able to make an impact lining up against a 3rd team right tackle. Overall, I still fear that the obvious weakness from this group will be this team's undoing and ultimately cost them a chance for a championship.

I don't think that any of these points are ground-breaking or haven't been discussed before, but I felt that they were more glaring last night than they have been all season, and this team is fortunately that they didn't cost them the game.

I very much hope that some, if not all, can somehow be improved upon or corrected before it's too late.

I would have to add the pass defense for the last 3 games.

We are hemorrhaging in record numbers.

Pittsburgh came close in the second half to getting back in the game and their WRs burned us.

The Ravens exploited our secondary as well.

The Commanders torched us.

The Vikes nearly cut our ripcords.

We can not survive like this for long.

Teams are not bothering to run..they just pass.

QBs are throwing nearly 50 passes a game and for 400+ yds to try to beat us.

Not many World Titles have been won like that.

 

[Dodger12]

If you want to feel better about stash's ability to read tea leaves, go back to his posts from the start of the season where he's certain we don't have the coaching staff to develop a QB. We're all fallible, with the possible exception of me.

Did we develop Dak before or after Kellen Moore broke his leg?

 

[Stash]

That's what I thought. All hat, no cattle. My track record for accurate criticism is a lot better than yours, stash, and evidence of me being critical is all over the board. I don't even have to find it for you.

The difference between us is you'll lash out at anything when your in a pique, and I limit my criticisms to areas which are consistently problems over multiple games or seasons.

The world according to you. No matter how many times or how many people tell you differently. Ignorance truly is bliss.

I do deny that Free should be replaced. He's a perfectly capable starter.

Now the offseason is the offseason and I have no problem with him getting replaced. But he's a contributor on the best OL in the league and far from a liability, overall.

He was a liability last night, and he has been before. And he will be again. He's far and away the line's weakest link and brings down the overall quality of the group. And let's revisit this discussion after the Giants game too.

And I obviously don't think every player on the team is irreplaceable. I think the opposite. I also recognize a false dichotomy when I see one. Nobody is beyond reproach, but that's not what we were talking about.

We were talking about jettisoning starters from an 11-1 team because the win last night wasn't victorious enough for you. I asked for specifics from you because you said it, then said you didn't say you wanted the starters replaced, making your thread-starting post confusing for those of us who were trying to understand your take.

If that's your misinterpretation of the post, that's on you, and it's your problem. You can attempt - and fail - to undermine a post that offends your fragile sensibilities by making false claims if it makes you feel better about it, but expect to be called on it when you do.

 

[drawandstrike]

How many 'bad' games this year has this team had and lost?

We didn't play that bad vs. the Giants in a game we got nipped by 1.

We played bad last night, our 3rd game in 11 days, and got the win.

People who expect this team to have plenty of 'bad' games going forward need something to base that on.

What exactly they are basing it on escapes me, but whatever.

 

[Idgit]

Did we develop Dak before or after Kellen Moore broke his leg?

Probably before and after the break, right? The guy wasn't even able to take snaps from center prior to the draft, remember.

 

[Stash]

I would have to add the pass defense for the last 3 games.

We are hemorrhaging in record numbers.

Pittsburgh came close in the second half to getting back in the game and their WRs burned us.

The Ravens exploited our secondary as well.

The Commanders torched us.

The Vikes nearly cut our ripcords.

We can not survive like this for long.

Teams are not bothering to run..they just pass.

QBs are throwing nearly 50 passes a game and for 400+ yds to try to beat us.

Not many World Titles have been won like that.

The book on how to beat our undermanned defense is well established I think. But fortunately, we've managed to survive to this point.

But the combination of no pass rush and less than full strength secondary leaves us really vulnerable and I'm worried it will eventually catch up to us and cost us dearly. In a one and done situation.

 

[Dodger12]

Probably before and after the break, right? The guy wasn't even able to take snaps from center prior to the draft, remember.

The guy who broke Moore's leg gets the real credit for developing Dak. But I will give Wilson credit for advocating for the kid (by all accounts).

 

[Idgit]

The world according to you. No matter how many times or how many people tell you differently. Ignorance truly is bliss.

He was a liability last night, and he has been before. And he will be again. He's far and away the line's weakest link and brings down the overall quality of the group. And let's revisit this discussion after the Giants game too.

If that's your misinterpretation of the post, that's on you, and it's your problem. You can attempt - and fail - to undermine a post that offends your fragile sensibilities by making false claims if it makes you feel better about it, but expect to be called on it when you do.

Sure, we can revisit Doug Free again after the Giants game. I never said he wasn't a liability at times and I never said he couldn't be replaced. That was you putting words in my mouth. He is obviously the weak link in the current OL--which we're also in agreement happens to be the best OL in the league by a fairly wide margin. Where we disagree is in that I don't think he needs to be replaced in the short term, and I don't think every player on the roster who starts can reasonably be expected to be as good as the very best players we've got. Contract issues aside, I'd upgrade a half-dozen positions on defense before I'd worry about replacing Doug Free. Because that's where I typically reserve my criticism: for the talent on defense.

As for my post history, while I could very easily walk through my recent posts for multiple examples of me criticizing the team for a variety of different reasons, I think it's better if I don't. If you really think I'm never critical, then you're simply not reading my posts. The fact that visionary or CowboyRoy or you, stash, can't see it really doesn't bother me a whit. When I start to go off on crazy unsupportable rants for very little reason, that's when I'll worry.