The Cost of Meaningless Close Wins

[Aviano90]

Missed opportunities last year were failing to get an extended look at Gilbert to determine if he could be a viable back up QB and reducing Zeke’s workload even further to prevent the wear and tear.

 

[JoeKing]

The Cowboys should have lost their games against Atlanta (week 2), the Giants (week 5), and the Vikings (week 11). The Cowboys could of had the 3rd overall pick. They could have received the same haul the Dolphins did for the 3rd pick. In this scenario Surtain or Horn would likely be available at 12. Plus they would have 2 extra 1st round picks + an extra 3rd round pick in the future. They could have also selected a QB at 3 and trade Dak. A ridiculous botched onside kick + signing Andy Dalton cost this franchise for years to come.

In all fairness that's all said with the advantage of hindsight. We didn't know at the time how meaningless the Week 2 and Week 5 wins were at the time. I am pro-tanking but that early in the season is way too early to be implementing that strategy.

 

[jazzcat22]

This is what I argue about with people all the time. Winning games when you know you don't have a chance to win a championship is useless. Many argue that it builds a winning attitude. Well, it doesn't. What happens this year will have little to no effect on next year. Each year is totally different, not like it was back before free agency. Teams have huge turnover every year. Just look at the years when we had success and then the subsequent year - no bearing on each other. Go no further than 2016 and 2017.

so they should have known the should have lost in week 3 or. 4 or 5.


Why be a fan of all you want to do is lose at that point. Give us a freaking break.

 

[jazzcat22]

no such thing.
NEVER.
APOLOGIZE.
FOR.
WINNING.

we really do have some stupid fans out there. I question if they are real fans, I really do.
This may poss a few of them off, and I don’t care.

 

[JustChip]

The Cowboys should have lost their games against Atlanta (week 2), the Giants (week 5), and the Vikings (week 11). The Cowboys could of had the 3rd overall pick. They could have received the same haul the Dolphins did for the 3rd pick. In this scenario Surtain or Horn would likely be available at 12. Plus they would have 2 extra 1st round picks + an extra 3rd round pick in the future. They could have also selected a QB at 3 and trade Dak. A ridiculous botched onside kick + signing Andy Dalton cost this franchise for years to come.

The vast majority of fans and talking heads don’t think the Cowboys will be worth a darn this year, certainly not compete for an NFCC and Super Bowl. So by your logic, the team should purpose before the season to be as non-competitive as they can be in order to go 0-17 and be virtually assured of the first overall pick?

 

[cowboyec]

we really do have some stupid fans out there. I question if they are real fans, I really do.
This may poss a few of them off, and I don’t care.

if i didnt read it...i wouldnt believe it.

 

[plymkr]

I feel if you purposefully lose a game or tank or whatever you want to call it then you lose the players in the locker room.

What I am basing this on is 1996. Going into the last game of the season Dallas had the division wrapped up. So Barry Switzer announced that the last game of the regular season against the Commanders was "our bye week". He stated the goal was to get through the game with no injuries and rest up guys. We lost to the team formally known as the Commanders. We beat the Vikings in the WC round and got smashed by the Panthers in the divisional round. In 97 we were 6-10 and Barry was fired.

I feel any respect and trust the players had in Barry was lost at the end if '96 and it carried over into 97.

 

[Big_D]

we really do have some stupid fans out there. I question if they are real fans, I really do.
This may poss a few of them off, and I don’t care.

We sure do. The same fans who don't mind losing on a regular basis talk about how important it is to win. lol

Missed opportunities last year were failing to get an extended look at Gilbert to determine if he could be a viable back up QB and reducing Zeke’s workload even further to prevent the wear and tear.

This is a microcosm of the issue in a nutshell. You pretty much knew Dalton was gone. At the tail end of last season they had the opportunity to get Gilbert out there to see if he's worth keeping. Get Anae and others on the field. Put some young long term prospects out there with a few weeks left in the season. Help the team long term by getting those players some experience. Like that's a bad thing to think ahead. Cowboys never do it and they never win playoff games either. Still hilarious that people think this is about throwing games.

 

[Mannix]

-------This is what I argue about with people all the time. Winning games when you know you don't have a chance to win a championship is useless. Many argue that it builds a winning attitude. Well, it doesn't. What happens this year will have little to no effect on next year. Each year is totally different, not like it was back before free agency. Teams have huge turnover every year. Just look at the years when we had success and then the subsequent year - no bearing on each other. Go no further than 2016 and 2017.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Post of the month

 

[CT Dal Fan]

So the Cowboys "should" have lost the Falcons game in week two because at that point, going 1-1 meant the season was over and they "should" have been thinking about a top five pick?

This is how far the Cowboys have fallen, everybody. Our own fan base wants them to lose games so they can pick high alongside illustrious franchises like the Jaguars, Jets, and Bengals every year.

I've seen a 9-7 Giants team win the Super Bowl and at one point Tampa Bay was 7-5 last season. Let's try not to adopt a loser mentality just so we don't have to wait an extra hour on draft night to celebrate or complain about a 1st round selection.

 

[CowboyRoy]

The Cowboys should have lost their games against Atlanta (week 2), the Giants (week 5), and the Vikings (week 11). The Cowboys could of had the 3rd overall pick. They could have received the same haul the Dolphins did for the 3rd pick. In this scenario Surtain or Horn would likely be available at 12. Plus they would have 2 extra 1st round picks + an extra 3rd round pick in the future. They could have also selected a QB at 3 and trade Dak. A ridiculous botched onside kick + signing Andy Dalton cost this franchise for years to come.

You actually think dalton got them a few wins?

 

[CowboyRoy]

It's not that they won. It's that they tried their absolute best to win against teams that couldn't care less.

Yep and you were cheering on your hero dalton to prove you right. Of course it all backfired on you like always.

 

[CowboyRoy]

exactly
fans are insanely ridiculous..we played with backups most of the year and what ask them to play bad or put worse players in, insanity!!thats not sports and thats not what the league expects ..coaches and players play to win games even if it appears they are not..

integrity of the gam holds true, tanking is like throwing a boxing match..

Who asked anyone to play bad or lose on purpose?

it’s not our fault you don’t understand the simple concept of a fan hoping we lose and the value of higher draft position vs a meaningless win.

it’s fans like you with egg on your face now. Are you telling me you wouldn’t trade two wins last year for the 4th pick? If you wouldn’t then you are nothing more than a casual cheerleader. At best.

 

[CowboyRoy]

No such thing as meaningless wins!!! You must be one of those tank fans! Lol!!!

So what do you call the win against cincy with dalton at qb against their 3rd string signal caller? A meaningful win? What exactly did it do for us?

 

[CowboyRoy]

The average NFL career is what, 3 years? Good luck trying to convince those guys to tank. Tanking players will be viewed as losers and nobody will want to touch them in the future. No, players will go out and play hard every game and try to win. That's how they are wired.

Who said anything about convincing anyone to lose on purpose?

 

[CowboyRoy]

So the Cowboys "should" have lost the Falcons game in week two because at that point, going 1-1 meant the season was over and they "should" have been thinking about a top five pick?

This is how far the Cowboys have fallen, everybody. Our own fan base wants them to lose games so they can pick high alongside illustrious franchises like the Jaguars, Jets, and Bengals every year.

I've seen a 9-7 Giants team win the Super Bowl and at one point Tampa Bay was 7-5 last season. Let's try not to adopt a loser mentality just so we don't have to wait an extra hour on draft night to celebrate or complain about a 1st round selection.

What’s more hilarious is you thinking our dalton led mash unit had a shot to win the SB.

A casual cheerleader like you either isn’t devoted enough or doesn’t understand the simple concept of draft capital.

 

[MonsterD]

If anyone wants to see a concrete example of two teams tanking and how relevant they will be in the future just look at the Jaguars and Dolphins. If we see either of those two teams in a Superbowl in the next 2-3 years then the tanking strat worked. Remains to be seen.

 

[JJHLH1]

The Cowboys should try their best to win every game.

The draft is helpful but it’s not the end-all-be-all.

The Patriots were drafting towards the end every season during their 19-year winning streak with Brady and it didn’t hurt them.

Conversely the Jets have been drafting towards the top for a long time and it hasn’t helped them much.

 

[AsthmaField]

So is it that if you lose in week 1 you should tank from week 2 forward? Is that it?

The team should have realized they weren’t winning the division after the first game and thrown the season?

I mean I get saying they should have lost the late season games... but Atlanta in week 2 and the Giants in week 5?

 

[Irvin88_4life]

Folks hate Dak so much they want to tank starting week 1 just to get rid of him instead of cheering for him to be the best QB in the league and winning multiple superbowls. It's insane. I might dislike a player but if he is a Cowboy I'm hoping they play at an all-pro level and win a superbowl every year.