Someone convince me this team is different

Risen Star

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NFL is a year to year league. Who knows what next year will bring. We have some good young players, but one key injury or bad personnel decision and we suck again. It is what it is....

Yep. Their "this is 1991!" rallying cry is just as irrational as their expectations that a rookie QB was the MVP and was going to win the Super Bowl.

We are guaranteed nothing next year. Ask the Panthers.
 

ilykdrama

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As long as the front office continues to not focus on defense and try to get players/headcases/projects "on the cheap".....you could have Rice, Montana and Emmitt playing on offense and it wouldn't matter.

So yeah.....the team isn't different. Just younger. Defense got completely exposed in a big game, like always.
 

sweetness0986

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Regardless of what the negative people say - and learn to ignore them on this site - there are many signs of this team turning a corner.

This is a quarterback league and our rookie stood tall and tied the game after the defense and two errant penalties totally negating drives which appeared to be headed for point.

This team is a few players away.

DE
LB
DB (2)
WR
T

I sat in my car in the parking lot of the place where I worked on the night of The Catch and cried about that loss. A grown man crying over the results of a silly kids game. Keep your chin up. While there are many disgruntled fans here now, they, as well as me, seem to find answers after the fact.

This team is changing, and my opinion is there will be days in the future when the team hoists the Lombardi with the core of this team in place.

Thank you, this is what I needed.
 

JD_KaPow

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I'll try to convince you of the opposite. There's no "different," "special feel," "energy." Every team that has a good regular season and every fan of that team feels that way. There were loads of posts using those words here in 2007, 2009, and 2014. Winning does that to people: they think the excitement and energy and happy clubhouse are the causes of winning rather than the effects.

The only proven way to have success in the playoffs is to reach the playoffs consistently. You're very unlikely to win the SB in any given year: the other teams are good too. And it's rare that you'll build a powerhouse at the exact moment that the other teams are down, although the Patriots seem to luck into one easy playoff game every year. All you can do is build a team that contends every year and hope that the breaks go your way in the postseason. One year, they probably will. Other years, Mason Crosby hits the sorriest-looking 56-yard FG ever to make it through the uprights.

The good news is that this is a team built to contend every year for quite a while now.
 

Cowboy4ever

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How did you feel about the way Dak played

I thought he played like a rookie that was out of his element in the first half, which led to a huge lead by the Packers.. he couldn't go blow for blow with a team that was hot. I also think he played very well down the stretch of the game and gave his team a chance. If not for a slow start, we would have won the game. This team had their fate sealed when a rookie was named the QB. There is a reason that no rookie has ever been to the SB. It may change one day.. but this year. I am excited about the future with Dak at the helm, just think it was a lost opportunity this year.
 

hornitosmonster

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For the most part the offense is set. We can upgrade the defense and the promise land is right there. The Giants upgraded their defense in 1 season. As it stands we are getting one hell of a linebacker in Jaylon Smith
 

TwoDeep3

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For the most part the offense is set. We can upgrade the defense and the promise land is right there. The Giants upgraded their defense in 1 season. As it stands we are getting one hell of a linebacker in Jaylon Smith

Great point about the Giants. Trouble for them was their offense stunk on ice. They had to win 9-7 games and their team completely washed out against Green Bay.

Notice Dallas offense came back, something Eli and his stellar WR's could not do.

Build the defense, Jerry and they will win.
 

ThreeandOut

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I'm almost 29, and I feel exactly like you do.

We were told the same thing in 2007. "Bright future, we'll be back, yadda yadda."

Yet here we are 10 years later without even a Divisional Round win.

That post 2007 team was doomed by Parcells not being able to draft OL, then not drafting well at all in the immediate years after he left. The current brain trust is drafting more consistently. They are still going to need to find more players on defense like they have done for the offense.
 

hornitosmonster

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Yep. Their "this is 1991!" rallying cry is just as irrational as their expectations that a rookie QB was the MVP and was going to win the Super Bowl.

We are guaranteed nothing next year. Ask the Panthers.

We are nothing the like Panthers who were a fluke lead by a flunky in Cam Newton. If anything we resemble the Seahawks when they had a great O line and beast mode. They upgraded their defense and boom, superbowl
 

sweetness0986

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I'll try to convince you of the opposite. There's no "different," "special feel," "energy." Every team that has a good regular season and every fan of that team feels that way. There were loads of posts using those words here in 2007, 2009, and 2014. Winning does that to people: they think the excitement and energy and happy clubhouse are the causes of winning rather than the effects.

The only proven way to have success in the playoffs is to reach the playoffs consistently. You're very unlikely to win the SB in any given year: the other teams are good too. And it's rare that you'll build a powerhouse at the exact moment that the other teams are down, although the Patriots seem to luck into one easy playoff game every year. All you can do is build a team that contends every year and hope that the breaks go your way in the postseason. One year, they probably will. Other years, Mason Crosby hits the sorriest-looking 56-yard FG ever to make it through the uprights.

The good news is that this is a team built to contend every year for quite a while now.

Yeah, I guess that's what I'm wishing for. A team that contends every year. Right now I feel like I have to hold onto every playoff appearance because it may be the last for a while.
 

DallasEast

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Yep. Their "this is 1991!" rallying cry is just as irrational as their expectations that a rookie QB was the MVP and was going to win the Super Bowl.

We are guaranteed nothing next year. Ask the Panthers.
Irrational is a bit harsh. Passion may ignore past trends like a rookie quarterback has never won a Super Bowl (which I have mentioned before as well) but being swept up in the moment shouldn't be looked at as a negative when the team has a realistic shot at advancing in the playoffs. In the end, the team lost by a field goal at the end of the game. IF some of Prescott's teammates had done THEIR jobs better during the game, the game itself would have ended differently.

However, no argument about guarantees. The Panthers provides excellent support to that point as well.
 

Kolemmitt

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Thank you, this is what I needed.

I will give you three reasons. Dak, Stephen Jones, and Will McClay. While some on here are comparing us to the Panthers, I don't see it. Dak is not Cam, he won't regress. Look at the championship games: Patriots, Steelers, Packers, while other teams rise and fall every year, those teams are always in the mix. What do they have in common? A clutch franchise QB, they are smart in FA, and they draft well. I think we have every reason to believe we have found our franchise QB for the next 10 to 15 years. I think Stephen understands being smart in FA more than his father does and I hope the Hardy debacle will the final nail in Jerry's crazy FA moves that have haunted us in the past. Lastly, since McClay has been running the scouting department we have drafted as well as anyone.
 

KJJ

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The offense had a special feel to it with Dak, Zeke and our OL but the defense had the same troubling feel to it, that if we make the playoffs it will get us beat. Our offense that was leading the league in chewing up the clock helped mask some of our defensive issues, similar to what our offense was able to do in 2014. We bent but didn't break in the regular season but end up breaking in the playoffs against a great QB.

If you keep bending you'll end up breaking against an elite passer in the playoffs. Our defense remains a big problem and until we fix it we have little chance against the elite QBs in the playoffs. We can beat a Matt Stafford but we can't beat Eli and Rodgers when it's all on the line in the playoffs. Since 06 our defense has lost to 3 QBs (Eli, Favre and Rodgers) who have HOF credentials.
 

Clove

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Mistakes - The mistakes we made in the first half basically cost us the game. The mistakes were due to us being off so long. IMO, and from now on, we play every starter for every possession of every game unless there is a blow out. We never rest guys. We play just like New England plays, all the time, all out.

We attack attack attack at every opportunity. The time that Marinelli attacked, we stalled Rodgers. Once we stopped attacking, Rodgers dominated. You can't allow an 8 second QB to just sit back there and throw the ball. Aaron Rodgers makes his living on scrambling around, DON'T ALLOW IT. Come after the guy and let the chips fall where they may.

I do think we have a Super Bowl winning formula but this year was marred by all the controversy with QBs. Next year, there will be none of that. Everyone knows their roles. Get out there, and pound teams to death. Don't let up, LEAVE NO DOUBT. If you lose, you lose, but you pound people into submission. Roll up your sleaves Mr Stephen and Jerry Jones, because this year is all about defense. I'd like to see 4 brand new starters on defense and 3 on the front line. That's how I'm rolling this offseason. I'm going after every top notch DE or DT on the free agent market. I have to, there's no other way because I don't want a mirage on defense anymore, I want guys who are complete studs and just gets it done.
 
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Gaede

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We need some playmakers on d. Who knows how we'll get them or when

If we weren't embarrased last night, Ryan and Jones would've slaughtered us. We were not equipped for the big show
 

TheHerd

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Look at the championship games: Patriots, Steelers, Packers, while other teams rise and fall every year, those teams are always in the mix. What do they have in common?

Coaching staffs which tailor their game plans to take advantage of weaknesses and give their team the best opportunity to win against elite opponents.
 
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