The false bravado and misplaced optimism

[Blake]

On one side of the coin, you have Romo and Dez essentially 'guaranteeing' a Superbowl run with this "see you in February", and "We still run the east" nonsense, and then on the other, we have fans saying, "eh, we still have time to right this ship, pencil Seattle and Carolina in as a win, etc.." Nonchalant arrogance and shrugs of the shoulders such as these do not address any of the issues with this team, which is why they will continue to lose going forward. Yeah, sure, we're not mathematically eliminated....fine, but anyone who has taken a basic statistics class knows that the math does not bode well for us there either, and that statistics point to trends. If our relative momentum throughout the season was plotted on a trend graph over the span of the season, I imagine at about game 1 and 2 it would be really high, and then after game 4, it would've dropped off a fairly significantly; after game six, its' taken a nosedive into the sewer. If the fans wish to be delusional about our chances then fine, let them be delusional, but there isn't a player on this team that is in a position to reflect this same delusion; shut your damn mouths and play some football, and hope the momentum swings back up in your favor is all these players should be doing, and the captains of the team, Dez and Romo, are not helping to reinforce this mindset into their comrades, while the dumbfounded coach just sits there on the sidelines clapping his hands at everything that occurs on the field. I would just once, love to see Jason light a fire under a player's *** after a goofball play, T-Will? Beasely? anybody?!

The Cowboy's feel more like the Ringlin' Bros. circus and less like a professional football team this year. There's reason to be optimistic with the talent we have on the roster going forward, but I sense that he culture that has been instilled at Valley Ranch is already beginning to slip.

 

[visionary]

On one side of the coin, you have Romo and Dez essentially 'guaranteeing' a Superbowl run with this "see you in February", and "We still run the east" nonsense, and then on the other, we have fans saying, "eh, we still have time to right this ship, pencil Seattle and Carolina in as a win, etc.." Nonchalant arrogance and shrugs of the shoulders such as these do not address any of the issues with this team, which is why they will continue to lose going forward. Yeah, sure, we're not mathematically eliminated....fine, but anyone who has taken a basic statistics class knows that the math does not bode well for us there either, and that statistics point to trends. If our relative momentum throughout the season was plotted on a trend graph over the span of the season, I imagine at about game 1 and 2 it would be really high, and then after game 4, it would've dropped off a fairly significantly; after game six, its' taken a nosedive into the sewer. If the fans wish to be delusional about our chances then fine, let them be delusional, but there isn't a player on this team that is in a position to reflect this same delusion; shut your damn mouths and play some football, and hope the momentum swings back up in your favor is all these players should be doing, and the captains of the team, Dez and Romo, are not helping to reinforce this mindset into their comrades, while the dumbfounded coach just sits there on the sidelines clapping his hands at everything that occurs on the field. I would just once, love to see Jason light a fire under a player's *** after a goofball play, T-Will? Beasely? anybody?!

The Cowboy's feel more like the Ringlin' Bros. circus and less like a professional football team this year. There's reason to be optimistic with the talent we have on the roster going forward, but I sense that he culture that has been instilled at Valley Ranch is already beginning to slip.

Welcome

You are obviously new to CZ

Incoming.....

get ready to duck

 

[superonyx]

Yea heaven forbid your team leaders feel like they will play well enough to help the team compete when they return.
We can't have players or fans being optimistic. I guess you want to put your anger into them or question their leadership ability for not being what you think they should be.

I'm glad Dez and Tony have the confidence in their ability to pull this team back into contention.
I don't see how throwing the teammates under the bus over the losses will help the "team" concept.
You don't know what they are saying in the team meetings. You assume if they are not publicly flogging others that they are blowing sunshine up their butts in private.

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

Nonchalant arrogance and shrugs of the shoulders .

People see what they want to see. As you.

 

[bark]

Cowboys fans are hard bunch to please. For yrs I heard we needed more vocal leaders as opposed to those that kept quiet and played

 

[perrykemp]

The Cowboy's feel more like the Ringlin' Bros. circus and less like a professional football team this year. There's reason to be optimistic with the talent we have on the roster going forward, but I sense that he culture that has been instilled at Valley Ranch is already beginning to slip.

When a franchise QB goes out, things often get ugly quick.

I have lots of friends and family that are die hard Packers fans.

In 2013 when Rodgers went out for 8 games with the same injury that Romo has I couldn't believe how quickly those same die-hard Packer fans lost confidence, questioned the talent on the team, thought Mike McCarthy all of a sudden became a bad coach, how all of a sudden Ted Thompson failed to stock the roster with talent, etc etc when the losses start piling up.

They eventually brought Flynn in off the street and won a couple of games but for the first 4-5 games the Packers went from their typical looking like one of the top 3-4 teams in the league to looking absolutely like one of the worst teams in the entire NFL. They couldn't do anything right offensively or defensively and frankly a bunch of guys who look like blue-chippers / pro-bowlers with Rodgers looked ordinary as ordinary can be without Rodgers.

I see the Cowboys in this same boat right now.

Doesn't mean the team is fundamentally flawed, that the coaching staff is particularly bad, etc. It's mainly bad luck. The team is built on Romo's shoulders and when he went down the whole thing went hell into hand-basket very quickly.

Yes I understand the Patriots went 11-5 without Brady. I credit BB who I begrudgingly am starting to consider one of the top 2 coaches in NFL history.

I think the Cowboys current experience is much closer to the 2013 Packers and frankly is more more typical. Now the Cowboys need to Cassell to do what Matt Flynn did and just win a game or two so the team can hold on for dear life until Romo comes back.

Remember, the Packer team squeaked into playoffs at 8-7-1 because their division was so terrible -- the Lions had a colossal late season collapse.

The Cowboys are hoping the exact same scenario will play out.

 

[Floatyworm]

Welp...I did the schedules for all the teams in the NFC East yesterday....and I came up w/ us winning the title w/ a 7-9 record. yup....that's right 7-9. 3 way tie for first w/ the Giants and Eagles. We get in w/ a 5-1 divisional record. And that's including losses vs Seattle and Carolina. yeah...I know it's sickening...but all you need is a ticket to the dance. Giants schedule is gonna get rough...their not gonna pull away.

 

[Bullflop]

On one side of the coin, you have Romo and Dez essentially 'guaranteeing' a Superbowl run with this "see you in February", and "We still run the east" nonsense, and then on the other, we have fans saying, "eh, we still have time to right this ship, pencil Seattle and Carolina in as a win, etc.." Nonchalant arrogance and shrugs of the shoulders such as these do not address any of the issues with this team, which is why they will continue to lose going forward. Yeah, sure, we're not mathematically eliminated....fine, but anyone who has taken a basic statistics class knows that the math does not bode well for us there either, and that statistics point to trends. If our relative momentum throughout the season was plotted on a trend graph over the span of the season, I imagine at about game 1 and 2 it would be really high, and then after game 4, it would've dropped off a fairly significantly; after game six, its' taken a nosedive into the sewer. If the fans wish to be delusional about our chances then fine, let them be delusional, but there isn't a player on this team that is in a position to reflect this same delusion; shut your damn mouths and play some football, and hope the momentum swings back up in your favor is all these players should be doing, and the captains of the team, Dez and Romo, are not helping to reinforce this mindset into their comrades, while the dumbfounded coach just sits there on the sidelines clapping his hands at everything that occurs on the field. I would just once, love to see Jason light a fire under a player's *** after a goofball play, T-Will? Beasely? anybody?!

The Cowboy's feel more like the Ringlin' Bros. circus and less like a professional football team this year. There's reason to be optimistic with the talent we have on the roster going forward, but I sense that he culture that has been instilled at Valley Ranch is already beginning to slip.

Yep, I hear ya -- much of this false bravado that we see here strikes me like whistling past the cemetery.

 

[CowboyGil]

If you want to give up, go ahead. Be my guest. I'm staying on the wagon until the bitter (or glorious) end.

 

[Vanilla2]

Stupid Cowboy fans

 

[Junglist]

I remember the last time Romo said something about going to the Super Bowl. That was 2010. We all know how that season went. Shut up with the Super Bowl talk, buddy.

 

[Blake]

Welcome

You are obviously new to CZ

Incoming.....

get ready to duck

Nope, been kicking it here since 2004, just don't post much.

 

[Idgit]

I'm not a big fan of players talking about Superbowls ever, but there is a difference between saying it with a mic in your face and something you say after a game that happens to be caught by a camera.

Don't agree with the OP, either, that things look as grim as all that yet this early in the season. We'll see what happens, but, statistically, the NFCE is far from decided right now.

I also disagree that the culture is slipping. Given the 4 game skid, I haven't seen any signs whatsoever that the team isn't keeping it together. A fact that must be pretty dang confusing to anybody naive enough to think that all the HC does is stand around and clap.

 

[Blake]

If you want to give up, go ahead. Be my guest. I'm staying on the wagon until the bitter (or glorious) end.

I am not insinuating throwing in the towel, just the opposite, as my recent posts have reflected. It is as you say, till the "bitter and glorious end". My frustration stems from the fact that it seems to me that certain fans, and some of the players do not fully comprehend or appreciate the dire situation that this team is in moving forward into the season, and that situations such as this warrant a shaking up within the ranks and a shift in attitude to create any kind of spark in this team before Romo and Dez get back. Yes, the offense and defense have certainly shown flashes of brilliance that suggest this team can do something truly great if they could eliminate some of these boneheaded mistakes they are making, but I see a team that just does not seem to want it bad enough this year, that does not play disciplined football, and fans who despite what they see, still seem to believe that the road to the Superbowl begins and ends with Dallas. Well, I hope so, but I'm not going to pretend that's a sure thing, when there's nothing the Cowboy's have given us up to this point in terms of wins to make me believe so.

 

[Blake]

I also disagree that the culture is slipping. Given the 4 game skid, I haven't seen any signs whatsoever that the team isn't keeping it together. A fact that must be pretty dang confusing to anybody naive enough to think that all the HC does is stand around and clap.

You are reading into my posts and insinuating that I'm applying his clapping behavior broadly to his whole persona and duties as a head coach. I happen to like Jason Garret, and feel he is a breath of fresh air from what we have had for coaches in the past, and do wish him great success during his tenure here. I would love for him to be our Belichick or Bill Cower in terms of continuity with the team, but what we're witnessing Sunday's on the sidelines is inexplicable at best. My "naive" self however, is beginning to >> comprehend << that this is merely a reflection of his personality and its' not going to change to suite me. By the way, making subtle jabs at one's ignorance about a topic is pretty arrogant when you don't know all there is to know yourself. I'm aware that's your way of trying to make people feel smaller then you, but it only points to your own insecurity.

 

[Idgit]

You are reading into my posts and insinuating that I'm applying his clapping behavior broadly to his whole persona and duties as a head coach. I happen to like Jason Garret, and feel he is a breath of fresh air from what we have had for coaches in the past, and do wish him great success during his tenure here. I would love for him to be our Belichick or Bill Cower in terms of continuity with the team, but what we're witnessing Sunday's on the sidelines is inexplicable at best. My "naive" self however, is beginning to >> comprehend << that this is merely a reflection of his personality and its' not going to change to suite me.

Cool.

By the way, making subtle jabs at one's ignorance about a topic is pretty arrogant when you don't know all there is to know yourself. I'm aware that's your way of trying to make people feel smaller then you, but it only points to your own insecurity.

I didn't specifically say *you* think all he does is sit around and clap. Though you're right that I'd have guessed that was your take from the line "the dumbfounded coach just sits there on the sidelines clapping his hands at everything that occurs on the field." Either way, it's hardly a sentiment that's new to the board.

You're right that I have nothing but derision for people who choose to believe dumb things for dumb reasons. Not that it's dumb to not like the HC or to not like specific things about what the team does when there's good reason to be critical. But if posters are going to say all the guy does is stand around and clap, yeah, I feel pretty comfortable mocking that. And I don't care if what they're really doing is exaggerating out of frustration. It's still a stupid thing to post, in my opinion.

And I don't mock it because I'm insecure. I mock it because I'd much rather have a conversation about an actual criticism, and I believe if we create an atmosphere where lizard-brain arguments are tolerated, we'll end up with a board full of lizard-brained arguments. Some of my favorite CZ posters here are frequently negative guys. They just happen to like to deal in specifics and know how to carry on a good conversation.

And, while you haven't posted a ton here yet, it seems from your response here that you actually fall into that category. If you want to have an actual conversation about the likelihood the team could pull out of its slump and make the playoffs, or about what you're specifically seeing that makes you think there's a circus atmosphere in Dallas right now, I'd be happy to have the conversation.

 

[Blake]

You're right that I have nothing but derision for people who choose to believe dumb things for dumb reasons.

See, you just exposed your own negativity here. I'm actually more optimistic about this team and its' future then what you have perhaps construed because of your own admitted disdain for me. I think what is evident here though, is that we have a clash of perspectives with regards to how we each view the team and I'm alright with that. I study this team and terms of my own real world experiences as a Marine, and I see a team and a unit of guys that lack morale, is making costly mistakes, and is slowly beginning to unravel at the seams as far as this year is concerned. If you don't share that same perspective, I will take the high road and not treat you as a 'nitwit' who just doesn't comprehend what I'm comprehending. This team needs some kind of spark between now and Sunday to get them ignited, so as to produce a win, and perhaps boost the morale going into more games. That's just all there is to it. I don't know what that spark is supposed to be or should look like, but this team needs it NOW. See, my optimism lies on the team needing to realize the urgency of the situation they're in, so that'll they'll somehow find a way to pull together in the trenches come Sunday, and eek out a win.

 

[Idgit]

See, you just exposed your own negativity here. I'm actually more optimistic about this team and its' future then what you have perhaps construed because of your own admitted disdain for me. I think what is evident here though, is that we have a clash of perspectives with regards to how we each view the team and I'm alright with that. I study this team and terms of my own real world experiences as a Marine, and I see a team and a unit of guys that lack morale, is making costly mistakes, and is slowly beginning to unravel at the seams as far as this year is concerned. If you don't share that same perspective, I will take the high road and not treat you as a 'nitwit' who just doesn't comprehend what I'm comprehending. This team needs some kind of spark between now and Sunday to get them ignited, so as to produce a win, and perhaps boost the morale going into more games. That's just all there is to it. I don't know what that spark is supposed to be or should look like, but this team needs it NOW. See, my optimism lies on the team needing to realize the urgency of the situation they're in, so that'll they'll somehow find a way to pull together in the trenches come Sunday, and eek out a win.

Blake, I never said you were in the group who believed 'dumb things for dumb reasons.' In fact, I tried to say that, from your second post, you very likely didn't fit in that group, despsite what I'd read into your OP. You strike me as somebody who simply wants to state his point of view, and not as somebody who's venting to blow off emotional steam. Either way, it doesn't matter. We all believe dumb things sometimes. Whether it's for good reasons or bad ones. My issues are going to be with bad arguments, and not with negative ones.

If you really are familiar with my posting history, I wouldn't consider anybody a nitwit for thinking the team was falling apart at the seams. I might consider them to be making a stupid argument to that effect, but that would depend entirely on their argument. I don't agree with you that the team is falling apart at the seams. I think they're hanging together surprisingly well. My evidence for that would be mostly from the player interviews, where nobody's criticizing other position groups, and nobody's resorting to oblique references to other players needing to stand up and be accountable. Take the stories coming out of PHI, for example, where impact players on the defense are overheard saying 'somebody needs to catch the ******' ball!' Compare it to Dez, saying the NFCE still runs through Dallas just this week.

I think this is a team that just needs better QB play. Fewer turnovers. More takeaways. Get those, and avoid giving them, and we'll see plenty of spark. We were seeing it against the Giants, until the three picks and the ST disasters.

 

[DallasEast]

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