The Cowboys Had Their Opportunities

[plasticman]

Suppose Rodgers hadn't completed that pass in the last seconds of the 2016 divisional playoff game and the Cowboys had won in overtime. Granted, the Cowboys would have had to play a great Falcon team but the game wouldn't have been played in Atlanta, much to Atlanta's favor, it would have played in Dallas. I would have liked our chances.

We can even go back to the 2014 season and see that if the refs had ruled a catch on the Bryant reception and the Cowboys won then they would have hosted the NFC championship game against the Seahawks haven beaten them head to head in Seattle that season.

That was two opportunities in the past four seasons to get to the Super Bowl.

I remember Troy saying once that when. You get the opportunities you have to capitalize because they are always difficult to come by. I think of teams line McNabb's Eagles and a dominance that will never be respected because they didn't do anything about it.

Being the best team with the best players isn't good enough. There has to be the elevation of play in the critical games, teams must demonstrate real separation from other contenders and, yes, health is an overriding issue. Your best players must be on the field.

These types of injuries are typical, they can derail a season, it's just normal. The Cowboys can't erase those two Packer losses any more than they can the ones in 1960's that stalled a dynasty.

This team is now old in some respects. Tyron Smith will never be the same. They can pretend Fredericks suffers no setbacks after his battle with a rare sickness but is that possible. Even Martin is showing signs of wear.

Thats how narrow the window is, 4-5 seasons. This one is not over but I don't see how they can replace injured All Pros.

The distractions of Zeke's holdout, the constant suspensions of D-linemen and the circus that is Jerry's stadium all seem like minor issues until you remember playoff games won by a kick an inch away from a goalpost. That's the difference and I don't think Jerry ever respected that, nor does this year's team.

 

[romonumberone]

I always wonder if the Eagles had not blown a huge lead in Dallas on MNF that year of 2016 if Romo would have gotten his job back.... I think it was right before the Steelers game. The Steelers game Romo could have played but at that point the team was stalling.

I think if we had paired Romo with Zeke we get to the SB.... probably lose to the Pats or whatever.... but would have been nice to get there.

 

[StarBoyz83]

The cowboys really havent fielded many good teams the last 24 years maybe like 3 or 4.

 

[Bobhaze]

Suppose Rodgers hadn't completed that pass in the last seconds of the 2016 divisional playoff game and the Cowboys had won in overtime. Granted, the Cowboys would have had to play a great Falcon team but the game wouldn't have been played in Atlanta, much to Atlanta's favor, it would have played in Dallas. I would have liked our chances.

We can even go back to the 2014 season and see that if the refs had ruled a catch on the Bryant reception and the Cowboys won then they would have hosted the NFC championship game against the Seahawks haven beaten them head to head in Seattle that season.

That was two opportunities in the past four seasons to get to the Super Bowl.

I remember Troy saying once that when. You get the opportunities you have to capitalize because they are always difficult to come by. I think of teams line McNabb's Eagles and a dominance that will never be respected because they didn't do anything about it.

Being the best team with the best players isn't good enough. There has to be the elevation of play in the critical games, teams must demonstrate real separation from other contenders and, yes, health is an overriding issue. Your best players must be on the field.

These types of injuries are typical, they can derail a season, it's just normal. The Cowboys can't erase those two Packer losses any more than they can the ones in 1960's that stalled a dynasty.

This team is now old in some respects. Tyron Smith will never be the same. They can pretend Fredericks suffers no setbacks after his battle with a rare sickness but is that possible. Even Martin is showing signs of wear.

Thats how narrow the window is, 4-5 seasons. This one is not over but I don't see how they can replace injured All Pros.

The distractions of Zeke's holdout, the constant suspensions of D-linemen and the circus that is Jerry's stadium all seem like minor issues until you remember playoff games won by a kick an inch away from a goalpost. That's the difference and I don't think Jerry ever respected that, nor does this year's team.

Excellent post. I especially agree with your point about what Troy Aikman said about opportunities. When you have the opportunity to make a run, you seize it. That’s one reason I never felt sorry for Romo. He had numerous opportunities to have a special run by winning a key game and usually did not measure up. It’s what separates good from great.