The Negative Nancy Thread

[ShortRound]

Kicker worries me lol

 

[gimmesix]

I'm on record as being super-optimistic about the 2023 Dallas Cowboys season. While I still believe the Eagles are the better overall team on paper, I also believe that this may very well be the year the Cowboys break the playoff curse and cash in at next year's Super Bowl. Back to back 12 win seasons and aggressively addressing holes has impressed me a great deal!

But I want a balanced view beyond being a typical homer. I want to know what could be the most likely reason that the Cowboys fall short. And please don't say "The Joneses" - that's being lazy.

To the skeptics out there, please give us your best arguments for why the Cowboys will not break the playoff curse or whatever doom scenario you have in mind. Curious minds want to know!

I know that you consider the Joneses to be a lazy answer, but their poor use of free agency has been hurting us for years and could bite us again. I think we've been close a few years to having a team that could win it all, but trying to fill positions cheaply meant we had some weak links.

Imagine if we had signed someone like Javon Hargrave. Sure, we wouldn't have drafted Mazi, but we could have used that pick on another position and addressed NT/DT with a [proven monster in the middle. It just seems to me we come up short at a few positions each year because of their FA philosophy (last year, one of them was receiver because they let Cooper go and tried to replace him with a cheap FA and third-round draft choice). They bounce from one bad philosophy to another that handcuffs the team.

 

[TheCritic]

I know that you consider the Joneses to be a lazy answer, but their poor use of free agency has been hurting us for years and could bite us again. I think we've been close a few years to having a team that could win it all, but trying to fill positions cheaply meant we had some weak links.

Imagine if we had signed someone like Javon Hargrave. Sure, we wouldn't have drafted Mazi, but we could have used that pick on another position and addressed NT/DT with a [proven monster in the middle. It just seems to me we come up short at a few positions each year because of their FA philosophy (last year, one of them was receiver because they let Cooper go and tried to replace him with a cheap FA and third-round draft choice). They bounce from one bad philosophy to another that handcuffs the team.

What do you mean by "could bite us again"? The Cowboys acquisition of Gilmore and Cooks is nothing to sneeze at. As far as the Cowboys neglecting FA in other years, I suppose you can make the argument that there have been recent SB winners that made FA gambles that paid off. The Bucs and the Rams made it work and won a SB but are now paying the price for putting themselves in cap hell and mortgaging their futures.

But you have to ask yourself just how many other teams have tried to do the same thing and end up destroying their future. Does anybody remember the 2000 Washington Commodes loading up with FAs and ended up destroyed their cap for years?

The FA philosophy you espouse can work but the price a team will pay if they miss is steeper than a team missing on draft picks.

 

[Techsass]

What do you mean by "could bite us again"? The Cowboys acquisition of Gilmore and Cooks is nothing to sneeze at. As far as the Cowboys neglecting FA in other years, I suppose you can make the argument that there have been recent SB winners that made FA gambles that paid off. The Bucs and the Rams made it work and won a SB but are now paying the price for putting themselves in cap hell and mortgaging their futures.

But you have to ask yourself just how many other teams have tried to do the same thing and end up destroying their future. Does anybody remember the 2000 Washington Commodes loading up with FAs and ended up destroyed their cap for years?

The FA philosophy you espouse can work but the price a team will pay if they miss is steeper than a team missing on draft picks.

The way that we've stayed out of the 1st couple of weeks of FA has bothered me for a long time. I'm not talking about trading major draft picks or spending top dollar on the absolute best players available, but just getting reasonable starters or dependable depth that could start a game or 2 for us. This year got me hyped with Cooks & Gilmore and I hope we start being a little more active in FA.

 

[TheCritic]

The way that we've stayed out of the 1st couple of weeks of FA has bothered me for a long time. I'm not talking about trading major draft picks or spending top dollar on the absolute best players available, but just getting reasonable starters or dependable depth that could start a game or 2 for us. This year got me hyped with Cooks & Gilmore and I hope we start being a little more active in FA.

I agree that acquiring Gilmore and Cooks were great moves - and they were also great bargains that aren't going to wreck the cap if things don't work out.

Overall I'm more skeptical when it comes to FA, especially going all in on the first week in March. Top FAs are overpriced and these players often have baggage (difficult to manage, medical issues, etc.). Yes I agree that sometimes it is worth grabbing one if it plugs an immediate need and allows a team to go into the draft cleaner. But beyond that, I prefer what Dallas does in talent acquisition for the most part.

 

[plasticman]

An early injury to Pollard would instantly throw the season in the trashcan.

Tyron Smith going down in the 1st quarter of the season should be predictable. Depending on a meaningful contribution from him is foolhardy. Expecting him to be ready for game #1 is a reach.

Accurate kickers are a dime a dozen so it's no wonder that the Cowboys will probably wait until the day before the season opens to address the issue.

Only the Cowboys would replace a washed up power back with someone ineligible to participate in most Six Flag rides.

The Cowboys traded draft picks just in time for a pair of players to experience the season that tells them it's all over.

McCarthy is going to call the plays? He's the freakin' HC. If he didn't like the plays Moore was calling then why didn't he do something about it? He won't have anyone to throw under the bus this season.

Well, that's as negative as I can possibly be. I feel the need to take a shower.

 

[shabazz]

That SAS (LOL), Shabazz! was it you that we were laughing at him, when Mike and Molly was leaving the studio and SAS told Molly to get out the way, and it was going off the air and he was yelling “how bout them Cowboys”. After the loss to the niners 2 years ago.

Yeah, I knew it was SAS…..I just didn’t want to put his name in print, LOL

but unfortunately, the man ain’t lying

 

[blueblood70]

ok since you asked for it.. here it goes from a pessimistic pov.. just remember, you did ask for it:

The cowboys will beat themselves with penalties, turnovers, and poor special teams play. In the critical moments of the game, the cowboys will find ways to lose / come up just short (ex: turnovers, clock management issues, missed field goals and XP's). This applies to every team, not just the cowboys, especially ones without a very good Head Coach.

The cowboys will struggle to stop the run in 2023-24. Just like they have the past couple years in the playoffs. Mazi Smith is supposed to fix all our problems? I sure hope that turns out to be true. The defense will be dependent on forcing turnovers.

Dak can't move anymore, which really limits his effectiveness. He had less than 100 yards rushing last year and only 1 rushing TD. His worst performance on the ground, ever. His rookie year he had 6 rushing touchdowns and the next year he got 6 more. He needs to be a threat running the ball when needed. He struggles to get into a rhythm and make timing throws. He needs to improvise and make plays off schedule. His lack of mobility will not allow him to do it as well as he once did. I haven't brought up his propensity to throw interceptions... Just be honest, If aaron rodgers was the QB for this team, even at his age, we would be talking superbowl and most like the betting favorite to win it. The problem is our average QB.

not a chance

AR hasn't done much the last few years and the Denver broncos said that exact thing about bringing over RW..that worked out great.. GB moving on from AR was a clue hes not doing it by himself and neither can dak.

there is no way that Aaron Rodgers is going to win that game against the 49ers with no run game ,poor play by the offensive line, only one target making any plays in CD lamb, and guys around them making mistakes like Gallup creating that first interception by not running the correct route by giving up on the play and letting the defender just go make the play and then you had the two gaffs mental mistakes made by Dalton Schultz on that next to last drive of the game that cost us first downs only having 16 run plays called in the game.

meaning there was no support, meaning he would have been asked to do it by himself... so let's stop the nonsense Aaron Rodgers would not have beat the 49ers in 2021 when his offensive line had 11 penalties and blew up every possibility we had of putting up points add up the three forgotten about penalties on the defense that were actually pretty big and we could go back to 2018 against the Rams, Aaron Rodgers is not winning that game when his defense is giving up 276 yards on the ground playing keep away owning time of possession and then again the offensive line wasn't there..

there's one really common theme here to the last three playoff losses and it's not Prescott, it's the offensive line not being physical enough, it's the offensive coordinator not having the right game plan and adjustments in the game and not bringing a physical run game, you need a complimentary style football against defenses like that if you're 1 dimensional and you're easy to defend, this is what happens.

so let's try again acting like Aaron Rodgers is some savior they blame Mike McCarthy for not winning more Super Bowls with Aaron Rodgers he hasn't won a Super Bowl since and I know he's been MVP and got to a couple NFC championship games but when it counted in crunch time all those mistakes you're talking about were made by his defense by himself and by the coaching staff they literally blew those games the same way the Cowboys blew our games he did not overcome it did he rhetorical question that'd be a big fat no

 

[nightrain]

The Cowboys will earn everything they achieve.

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

Here are a few things you might be concerned about:

Offensive Line:
Tyron Smith is over 30 and has been injury prone for years
Terrence Steele is coming off an ACL, may not be ready for the start of the season, and may not be functioning as well the entire year.
Tyler Biadasz is pretty much an average center, Pro Bowl notwithstanding.
Zack Martin has been great, but he's now over 30, and an injury to him along with other issues on the OL could be devastating to the entire offense.

Wide Receivers:
Michael Gallup did not play well last season and while there is hope he will bounce back this season, that isn't at all certain.
Brandin Cooks has a history of concussions. Another serious one could very well end his career.
Other than CeeDee Lamb, this team doesn't have another receiver they can count on, only receivers they hope will develop.

Tight Ends:
Dalton Schultz has been one of the most productive TEs in the NFL over the last couple of seasons.
There is hope that Ferguson, Hendershot, & Schoonmaker will develop, but most TEs don't deliver at the level Schultz has.

LB:
It's a bad idea to depend on linebackers with a history of serious neck injuries.
Both Vander Esch and Clark have a history of serious neck issues. Either or both could very easily relapse this year.
There isn't another LB on the roster with a history of NFL production.

PK:
Does anyone think they have an NFL quality PK on the team? Other thank Vizcaino's mother, that is?

I am a Cowboys fan, but these are potential issues, if you want a truly balanced view, to go along with the hopes and dreams.

If you had added questions at PROVEN #1 RB and unproven backups...you'd been PERFECT!

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

I've read through half this thread and feel like I'm reading "Bleeding Green Nation" "State of the Cowboys" thread. Seriously.

The only thing I haven't seen in this thread is their (Philthy posters) small brained "F%&K Dallas" posts.

I'm with the group that says I'm just a fan(of our beloved Cowboys), always a fan, and can't worry about what might happen. Wasted energy.

GO COWBOYS

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

For the record, it should be noted that there really haven't been fans predicting a losing season or McCarthy getting fired. Surely there have to be a couple of doom and bloomers out there. Please post.

You have this thread bookmarked, don't you?

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

I've read through half this thread and feel like I'm reading "Bleeding Green Nation" "State of the Cowboys" thread. Seriously.

The only thing I haven't seen in this thread is their (Philthy posters) small brained "F%&K Dallas" posts.

I'm with the group that says I'm just a fan(of our beloved Cowboys), always a fan, and can't worry about what might happen. Wasted energy.

GO COWBOYS

Same here. It's an interesting exercise, I suppose. But I'm just a "casual" football fan, I just don't know enough, don't really care I guess.

Just show me the money.

 

[LysleE]

I have been and always will be a Cowboys fan; but I have learned to temper expectations. The inconsistency of this team is so frustrating. I don’t know if it is the players, coaches or front office that are complicit in this 27 year period of mediocrity.
With that being said, the think there are some issues that could affect Dallas’ season:

Poor run defense last year; think they gave up 4th most rushing yards

Overall OL health and depth…have a couple of linemen coming off injury with untested depth

Our starting RB coming back from surgery; I think Pollard is more effective as part of a RB tandem, so who will complement him

We have Lamb and Cooks as WRs…and a bunch of others who haven’t done much in the NFL to-date

Another year of TE by committee as well…all coming off rookie years, except for our 2nd round pick who is a rookie

Concerns about secondary. We have Diggs, Gilmore and Bland. We all know injuries happen. Are Wright and Joseph even capable of playing quality back-up minutes. I don’t get all of the hate for Lewis in the slot.

Kicker is an issue. Save for one game last year I thought our kicker was good…he has a strong leg and made some big kicks for us.

I’m hoping MM can deploy an offense that takes the pressure off of Dak. I think there needs to be a balanced attack…excited to see what Vaughn can do.

Hoping to see more quick-hitting routes with lots of YAC…assuming Dak can deliver the ball on target.

Like to see passing attack for TE and have them stretch middle of the field; like what I saw last season.

I think the offense needs to make the defense cover the entire field and take the defenses out of stacked boxes.

Most of all the Cowboys need to play disciplined football. I think Dallas was one of the most penalized teams last year…and of course protect the football.

Excited to see the young talent, but not going to anoint anybody as a “player” or compare them to Cowboy legends at this juncture…let’s let the guys play first before making those distinctions.

 

[Captain-Crash]

I just hope the guys can carry dak without breaking their backs.

 

[Longboysfan]

The biggest concern is health, but that's true for every team.

Schematically, the only thing I really worry about is that they're still going to try to run the ball way too much.

But looking at the roster and what may be practice squad players.
They have a lot of niche players.
If someone is dinged someone one or two could fill in.

 

[Whirlwin]

This point in this time of year. Is all the negative nancy’s are out. they’re angry they like to complain. I’ll wait for the season when we’re winning and they disappear.

 

[gtb1943]

This point in this time of year. Is all the negative nancy’s are out. they’re angry they like to complain. I’ll wait for the season when we’re winning and they disappear.

Winning what? Think about THAT.

 

[gtb1943]

The Cowboys player acquisition process is overly conservative. They do take risks in the draft; unfortunately more fails there then successes.

But in FA the boys simply do not really participate. Bottom line. They sign their own to over priced deals and call that a success.

Well that success has not led to rings has it?

 

[gtb1943]

Kicker worries me lol

With so many games decided by less than a TD, the kicker is more important now then ever before.