jday
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The IQ in the room seems to drop considerably in the wake of Cowboys losses. As such, I feel the first order of business is to address what Sunday was not. It was not a loss to a bad team; the Rams may very well be the team to beat in the NFCW. Nor was it a mollywhop at the hands of a good team; a difference of 5 points in the final score. If even one turnover or turnover opportunity missed had gone the other way, the game could have very easily ended differently and in the Cowboys favor.
There was the Switzer fumble. There was the interception of Dak off of a deflected pass. There was the fumble recovery that never was because Crawford didn’t see or saw too late that the football was right in front of him for a moment before dived on by a Rams player. And there was the ball that just bounced off the top of Anthony Brown’s fingertips to float harmlessly to the ground. Again, any of those plays actually work in the Cowboys favor and a different outcome would have been very possible (perhaps even likely); particularly if more than one had bounced the Cowboys way.
But, alas, it did not and now logic, understanding, and good ole’ fashion common sense is in short supply among Cowboys nation. And understanding of the above logic is not the only thing being missed by the many; the Lecherous Legion of told you so’ers and agenga-pushers would now have us believe that the real Dak has in fact finally stood up and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a bottom of the fourth round pick for a very good reason. Four weeks in; four very good defenses in a row (though, the Rams defense was likely the least of challenges compared to the Giants, Broncos, and Cardinals). Not even Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers is likely to emerge from that same stretch of games looking like their normal selves.
What am I missing here?
Sure, he threw a pass short of the sticks on fourth down to end the game; that decision clearly deserves questioning. Beyond that lapse in judgement, though, you would be hard pressed to find more ample proof that Dak is not in fact a franchise level quarterback, especially if you keep a firm grip on context.
The Cowboys faithful are also forgetting the Cowboys were without the services of two corners Carroll and Awuzie (though Carroll, I’m sure, was hardly missed), their starting Left Guard Chaz Green, their Defensive leader and Left Linebacker Sean Lee and, of course, lest we forget, the recently returned from suspension Defensive End David Irving. The Rams won fair and square; I offer no excuses to wash away the Cowboy loss. But we are collectively kidding ourselves if we say the above did not have an impact on the final outcome of the game. Especially a game against a good team where the final result was a difference of 5 points.
I will agree that poor coaching had a hand in that loss. To put it simply and keep this short, in the first half the Cowboys played to win; in the second half, the Cowboys played to not lose. And as many a long-time football watcher knows, playing to not lose will get you beat more often than not…especially against a hungry-to-prove-their-doubters-wrong team like the Rams. We as a fanbase have to hope the Cowboys can get back that edge fueled by doubters from a year ago. At .500 on the year, the ground is now fertile for doubt. I suspect we will start to see a return of that lost intensity against the Packers in the upcoming contest. The fear I harbor at this moment is with each win will we see a return of arrogance or will they maintain their hunger to prove the football watching nation wrong…as of right now, that’s really hard to say which is why my prognosticating days are done for now…
Thoughts?
There was the Switzer fumble. There was the interception of Dak off of a deflected pass. There was the fumble recovery that never was because Crawford didn’t see or saw too late that the football was right in front of him for a moment before dived on by a Rams player. And there was the ball that just bounced off the top of Anthony Brown’s fingertips to float harmlessly to the ground. Again, any of those plays actually work in the Cowboys favor and a different outcome would have been very possible (perhaps even likely); particularly if more than one had bounced the Cowboys way.
But, alas, it did not and now logic, understanding, and good ole’ fashion common sense is in short supply among Cowboys nation. And understanding of the above logic is not the only thing being missed by the many; the Lecherous Legion of told you so’ers and agenga-pushers would now have us believe that the real Dak has in fact finally stood up and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a bottom of the fourth round pick for a very good reason. Four weeks in; four very good defenses in a row (though, the Rams defense was likely the least of challenges compared to the Giants, Broncos, and Cardinals). Not even Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers is likely to emerge from that same stretch of games looking like their normal selves.
What am I missing here?
Sure, he threw a pass short of the sticks on fourth down to end the game; that decision clearly deserves questioning. Beyond that lapse in judgement, though, you would be hard pressed to find more ample proof that Dak is not in fact a franchise level quarterback, especially if you keep a firm grip on context.
The Cowboys faithful are also forgetting the Cowboys were without the services of two corners Carroll and Awuzie (though Carroll, I’m sure, was hardly missed), their starting Left Guard Chaz Green, their Defensive leader and Left Linebacker Sean Lee and, of course, lest we forget, the recently returned from suspension Defensive End David Irving. The Rams won fair and square; I offer no excuses to wash away the Cowboy loss. But we are collectively kidding ourselves if we say the above did not have an impact on the final outcome of the game. Especially a game against a good team where the final result was a difference of 5 points.
I will agree that poor coaching had a hand in that loss. To put it simply and keep this short, in the first half the Cowboys played to win; in the second half, the Cowboys played to not lose. And as many a long-time football watcher knows, playing to not lose will get you beat more often than not…especially against a hungry-to-prove-their-doubters-wrong team like the Rams. We as a fanbase have to hope the Cowboys can get back that edge fueled by doubters from a year ago. At .500 on the year, the ground is now fertile for doubt. I suspect we will start to see a return of that lost intensity against the Packers in the upcoming contest. The fear I harbor at this moment is with each win will we see a return of arrogance or will they maintain their hunger to prove the football watching nation wrong…as of right now, that’s really hard to say which is why my prognosticating days are done for now…
Thoughts?
