The Best Playoff Choke Theory Yet

[kskboys]

ksk, that is not a choke but just flaws in the team that hinder the team.

to me choke, is when you have the ability to win and few flaws, but then choke and play poorly, or coach poorly just due to being nervous.

these would hinder play in all games played wouldnt they?
1. Poor DT play- been a problem for long time thats on jones boys

2. Poor run play designs.- been a problem thru last 2 coaches, except linehan's 1st year and they had good line and murray.
They got rid of murray, and it fell apart.

I don't see that the team choked. Some players did, yes. The D never got a chance to choke, as they simply ran it up our gut and we didn't have the personnel to stop it. That's not choking. Parsons was simply chipped outside while the ball carrier ran thru that hole. Where was the talent around him to make them pay? I's not there.

We absolutely need a coach who can run the ball. There's so much more to running the ball than just giving the ball to the RB. I watch a lot of games, and quite simply don't see other team's RB consistently being met in the backfield, often by multiple defenders.

 

[kskboys]

In recent playoff exits vs SF and GB, our players didn’t choke; they were simply dominated. It’s not complicated.
Your defense is not physical and can only rush the QB. Teams that ran the ball dominated us in the regular season too. Dan Quinn didn’t have the personnel or scheme to stop the run. That causes the defense to use the secondary to help and opens them to big pass plays. On offense, we couldn’t run the ball, at all. Against SF and GB, we couldn’t even run vs 6 man boxes. Detroit is probably the only team with both a top running game and a decent defense that we beat all year.

This has been going on for years. While fans have begged for better DL and LBs to stop the run and begged for a RB the past few years, along with a more physical OL, the team has run out and glamorized the pass rush and the passing game. Then along come the playoffs, and everyone is surprised when a physical team that runs and stops the run defeats us. Nothing has changed going back to Romo’s years.

You have to go back to 2007 and the famous CABO trip prior to the playoff game to find an actual choke job. The Cowboys had an excellent OL (Flozel Adams, Kyle Kozier, Andre Gurode, Leonard Davis and Marc Colombo), along with TO and Whiten, but the RB was Julius Jones. Romo completed less than half his passes vs the Giants. On defense, we had studs like Canty, Spears, Ratliff, Ware, Greg Ellis, Bradie James, Terrance Newman and Roy Williams. We were the number 1 seed and lost. It was a choke job because that team had few weaknesses, but we did run into a late blooming Giants team who went on to win the SB as the low wild card team.

Compare that team to this one.

Marion Barber III was the RB in that game.

 

[Hadenough]

I would say it's a combination of things.
Great teams come out of the gate slow and start ramping up at the end of the season. The Cowboys look completely worn out.
Great teams usually have a little something extra they show in the playoffs, they don't throw all their cards on the table during the regular season. The Cowboys do that against the Giants and Commanders.
Great teams have a great leader at QB, front office and coaches.
The Cowboys have two of those three. Dak is the problem and if they don't get rid of him they will lose a generational player in Parsons.

 

[Ranching]

Of course he prepared them. That’s a coach’s job. You don’t just send out a team unprepared. The point is good coaches know which buttons to push and how to instill confidence in their team, whether that is talking up their own team or diminishing the other.

That was my point....I understand the psychological aspect of coaching.....but the OP was about focusing on one player.