The season that should have been

[CowboyRoy]

.

I never thought he was the problem, for what it's worth. At the same time, I don't excuse bad plays he's made either.

It's not an either/or with me. I guess a lot of people don't understand this. You either have to be for Romo and praise EVERYTHING he does or against Romo and bash EVERYTHING he does. Sigh.

I have always been a big fan of Romo. But there is no doubt that he makes some big blunders when he thinks he has to do it all himself. When QB's are under immense pressure, they are far behind, they take more risks. That is the nature of the position. But Romo, I would say is definitely more prone to bad mistakes under pressure then the average quality QB. His history bears that out. Then again, he does some incredible things making something out of nothing.

But we have also seen what Romo can do when he has a Oline that can block and a quality run game to take away the pressure. He is as good as it gets.

And no, he will never be Tom Brady. I always thought it was hilarious how people wanted to compare him to Tom Brady.

 

[KJJ]

The Cowboys got away from the formula that made them a solid 12-4 team in 2014. It was the consistent, efficient running game that led to Romo having an MVP caliber year and kept the defense from wearing down like we saw this season. We were able to mask some of the defensive issues in 2014 by not exposing the defense as much keeping them fresh. The success of the Panthers this season has a lot to do with their #1 rushing attack which Cam Newton is an extension of with over 600 yards and 10 rushing TDs. The only way the Cowboys are going to get back in the saddle again is to find an elite runner to compliment arguably the best OL in football. The strength of the team is the OL and we need to take better advantage of it with a great back.

We're wasting the OL with average backs when an elite runner would have put up over 1500 yards and 10+ TD's in 2015 that would have taken some pressure off our QBs. I firmly believe the lack of an efficient running game contributed to Romo being injured. He attempted 45 passes in the opener and was on pace for another 40+ attempt game when he was injured in week 2. He only had ONE 40+ passing attempt game in 2014 and had 10 games where he never attempted 30 passes because he was able to lean on the running game. We have to get back to running the football consistently/efficiently with a stud RB or Romo won't last much longer. If he has another injury that costs him most of next year he could be done.

 

[DogFace]

So you do consider yourself a homer? I appreciate your honesty.

As far as the NFL landscape laughing at how pathetic we are, if that doesnt bother you, then you just arent a die hard fan. Watching your team lose nearly every weekend should hurt and hurt real bad. And you shouldnt be excited or laid back about any of it. Again, if you are, then I would submit that you just dont care enough.
I would also surmise that many of us thought the year would be a good one. But some of us had our doubts about Romo staying healthy and about what would happen if Romo went down. Some of us also complained all off season about the way the RB position was handled. If you didnt see any of that coming, no problem. Just dont label other people bad fans because they can see something that others cannot.

Its pretty obvious every year what this team needs to do to fix the problems they have to remain competitive or become a contender. This is not rocket science. They either do it or they dont. When they cut corners, sometimes they can get away with it, sometimes they dont. Last year was a perfect example of how the Cowboys cutting corners at key positions came back to haunt us all at once. Many things about this team got exposed for all to see.

Now some wont see it. Or they will refuse to see it. They will simply say that Romo will return and all will be wonderful again in Cowboy land.

If any team lost thier two best players that would affect their season and they'd have a bad season too. Any. Team.
When did never say once losing didn't hurt really bad. You're correct now. I didn't. I have stupidly punched things that shouldn't be punched from losing on the past.

Of course many of you had your doubts coming in to this year. When have you not? You doubted every big game last year. Do the classics. "I don't think we'll win" then celebrating after we do. Or maybe you'll didn't celebrate. I don't know. There were rarely posts during the win streak or after wins. Never positive posts about our team. That's for sure.
You"ll had your doubts for a variety of reasons. You don't know any different. That's who you are. A bunch of negative people that enjoy whining and complaining. It's who you are. I'm sure you're a pleasure to be around in real life.

Lanel people however you want and once this is America I will too. You're a bunch of brats. No you're not as good as fans that still pull for the team even when they're losing. This is pretty clear by the definition of a fan.

Go ahead. Take your stance. "I'm mad" ,"I no like Jerry", "I can't believe these moves"," I'm so so much smarter" "why don't the homers hear me" and whine all the time.?" "They just don't know the game"etc etc..
You have zero impact. If you want to cry about it and everything else. By all means go ahead. It gives me something to make fun of. Thanks

 

[CowboyRoy]

If any team lost thier two best players that would affect their season and they'd have a bad season too. Any. Team.
When did never say once losing didn't hurt really bad. You're correct now. I didn't. I have stupidly punched things that shouldn't be punched from losing on the past.

Of course many of you had your doubts coming in to this year. When have you not? You doubted every big game last year. Do the classics. "I don't think we'll win" then celebrating after we do. Or maybe you'll didn't celebrate. I don't know. There were rarely posts during the win streak or after wins. Never positive posts about our team. That's for sure.
You"ll had your doubts for a variety of reasons. You don't know any different. That's who you are. A bunch of negative people that enjoy whining and complaining. It's who you are. I'm sure you're a pleasure to be around in real life.

Lanel people however you want and once this is America I will too. You're a bunch of brats. No you're not as good as fans that still pull for the team even when they're losing. This is pretty clear by the definition of a fan.

Go ahead. Take your stance. "I'm mad" ,"I no like Jerry", "I can't believe these moves"," I'm so so much smarter" "why don't the homers hear me" and whine all the time.?" "They just don't know the game"etc etc..
You have zero impact. If you want to cry about it and everything else. By all means go ahead. It gives me something to make fun of. Thanks

Very few teams go 1-11 without their best player. Sorry, that just doesn't happen that often. Now does it affect them? Absolutely. But rarely are they as inept as Dallas was. And for every team that does poorly, other teams do well. And the only explanation is that they have better coaching. And certainly in the case of QB's, they have capable backups that have a quality system.

 

[CowboyRoy]

If any team lost thier two best players that would affect their season and they'd have a bad season too. Any. Team.
When did never say once losing didn't hurt really bad. You're correct now. I didn't. I have stupidly punched things that shouldn't be punched from losing on the past.

Of course many of you had your doubts coming in to this year. When have you not? You doubted every big game last year. Do the classics. "I don't think we'll win" then celebrating after we do. Or maybe you'll didn't celebrate. I don't know. There were rarely posts during the win streak or after wins. Never positive posts about our team. That's for sure.
You"ll had your doubts for a variety of reasons. You don't know any different. That's who you are. A bunch of negative people that enjoy whining and complaining. It's who you are. I'm sure you're a pleasure to be around in real life.

Lanel people however you want and once this is America I will too. You're a bunch of brats. No you're not as good as fans that still pull for the team even when they're losing. This is pretty clear by the definition of a fan.

Go ahead. Take your stance. "I'm mad" ,"I no like Jerry", "I can't believe these moves"," I'm so so much smarter" "why don't the homers hear me" and whine all the time.?" "They just don't know the game"etc etc..
You have zero impact. If you want to cry about it and everything else. By all means go ahead. It gives me something to make fun of. Thanks

What are you making fun of exactly? That I dont like losing? That I dont like bad GM's and bad coaching?

Seems like a rather lame thing to make fun of. You going to make fun of people for being successful also? It makes about as much sense as making fun of a fan that hates to lose.

 

[Doomsday101]

The Cowboys got away from the formula that made them a solid 12-4 team in 2014. It was the consistent, efficient running game that led to Romo having an MVP caliber year and kept the defense from wearing down like we saw this season. We were able to mask some of the defensive issues in 2014 by not exposing the defense as much keeping them fresh. The success of the Panthers this season has a lot to do with their #1 rushing attack which Cam Newton is an extension of with over 600 yards and 10 rushing TDs. The only way the Cowboys are going to get back in the saddle again is to find an elite runner to compliment arguably the best OL in football. The strength of the team is the OL and we need to take better advantage of it with a great back.

We're wasting the OL with average backs when an elite runner would have put up over 1500 yards and 10+ TD's in 2015 that would have taken some pressure off our QBs. I firmly believe the lack of an efficient running game contributed to Romo being injured. He attempted 45 passes in the opener and was on pace for another 40+ attempt game when he was injured in week 2. He only had ONE 40+ passing attempt game in 2014 and had 10 games where he never attempted 30 passes because he was able to lean on the running game. We have to get back to running the football consistently/efficiently with a stud RB or Romo won't last much longer. If he has another injury that costs him most of next year he could be done.

Really do not agree for one simple reason, teams were not afraid of the Cowboys passing game. Minus Romo and Dez why would any defense back away from stopping the running attack of the Cowboys? Heck if I was an opposing DC I went into the Cowboys game daring the Cowboys QB to beat me but sure as heck was not going to let the run game beat me. Dallas did run the ball not as much? sure not as much because you can you can't continue to run in 2nd/3rd and long. With Romo and Dez it allowed balance of run and pass which was harder to defend but when Weeden, Cassle and Moore are behind center my goal all of a sudden becomes you have to beat me but your running game we will clamp down on.

 

[CowboyRoy]

If any team lost thier two best players that would affect their season and they'd have a bad season too. Any. Team.
When did never say once losing didn't hurt really bad. You're correct now. I didn't. I have stupidly punched things that shouldn't be punched from losing on the past.

Of course many of you had your doubts coming in to this year. When have you not? You doubted every big game last year. Do the classics. "I don't think we'll win" then celebrating after we do. Or maybe you'll didn't celebrate. I don't know. There were rarely posts during the win streak or after wins. Never positive posts about our team. That's for sure.
You"ll had your doubts for a variety of reasons. You don't know any different. That's who you are. A bunch of negative people that enjoy whining and complaining. It's who you are. I'm sure you're a pleasure to be around in real life.

Lanel people however you want and once this is America I will too. You're a bunch of brats. No you're not as good as fans that still pull for the team even when they're losing. This is pretty clear by the definition of a fan.

Go ahead. Take your stance. "I'm mad" ,"I no like Jerry", "I can't believe these moves"," I'm so so much smarter" "why don't the homers hear me" and whine all the time.?" "They just don't know the game"etc etc..
You have zero impact. If you want to cry about it and everything else. By all means go ahead. It gives me something to make fun of. Thanks

LOL..........and obviously you raving about how great everything is has zero impact as we now have the 4th pick in the draft.

But honestly, who looks more silly at this point?

A. Me whining about the team being bad
B. You acting happy go lucky and everything is fine in Cowboy land?

Its B hands down.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Really do not agree for one simple reason, teams were not afraid of the Cowboys passing game. Minus Romo and Dez why would any defense back away from stopping the running attack of the Cowboys? Heck if I was an opposing DC I went into the Cowboys game daring the Cowboys QB to beat me but sure as heck was not going to let the run game beat me. Dallas did run the ball not as much? sure not as much because you can you can't continue to run in 2nd/3rd and long. With Romo and Dez it allowed balance of run and pass which was harder to defend but when Weeden, Cassle and Moore are behind center my goal all of a sudden becomes you have to beat me but your running game we will clamp down on.

Yep, all they had to do was stop the run and they knew it. Weeden scared no one. Even when Dez was in there he scared no one. Neither did Cassell. And Im sure they all knew that Garrett would call his boring, play not to lose game plans every week. They simply had to limit the damage and score a TD or two and the game was over.

 

[DogFace]

Very few teams go 1-11 without their best player. Sorry, that just doesn't happen that often. Now does it affect them? Absolutely. But rarely are they as inept as Dallas was. And for every team that does poorly, other teams do well. And the only explanation is that they have better coaching. And certainly in the case of QB's, they have capable backups that have a quality system.

If we would've won more you would've cried incessantly about Joe we're a 500 team and can't get the draft picks you want. The staff was exposed. We still have a very good team and we will do well. The betting lines reflect reasonable people's opinions. Not spoiled crybabies' positions.

 

[DogFace]

LOL..........and obviously you raving about how great everything is has zero impact as we now have the 4th pick in the draft.

But honestly, who looks more silly at this point?

A. Me whining about the team being bad
B. You acting happy go lucky and everything is fine in Cowboy land?

Its B hands down.

Yes. Who indeed.

 

[DogFace]

What are you making fun of exactly? That I dont like losing? That I dont like bad GM's and bad coaching?

Seems like a rather lame thing to make fun of. You going to make fun of people for being successful also? It makes about as much sense as making fun of a fan that hates to lose.

Your whiney overly negative attitude that's as predictable as comical.
What was your attitude during the win streak of 2014? Attitude before the Seattle game? Playoff game 1? 2?

 

[tyke1doe]

The Cowboys got away from the formula that made them a solid 12-4 team in 2014. It was the consistent, efficient running game that led to Romo having an MVP caliber year and kept the defense from wearing down like we saw this season. We were able to mask some of the defensive issues in 2014 by not exposing the defense as much keeping them fresh. The success of the Panthers this season has a lot to do with their #1 rushing attack which Cam Newton is an extension of with over 600 yards and 10 rushing TDs. The only way the Cowboys are going to get back in the saddle again is to find an elite runner to compliment arguably the best OL in football. The strength of the team is the OL and we need to take better advantage of it with a great back.

We're wasting the OL with average backs when an elite runner would have put up over 1500 yards and 10+ TD's in 2015 that would have taken some pressure off our QBs. I firmly believe the lack of an efficient running game contributed to Romo being injured. He attempted 45 passes in the opener and was on pace for another 40+ attempt game when he was injured in week 2. He only had ONE 40+ passing attempt game in 2014 and had 10 games where he never attempted 30 passes because he was able to lean on the running game. We have to get back to running the football consistently/efficiently with a stud RB or Romo won't last much longer. If he has another injury that costs him most of next year he could be done.

I agree. And I know this much: If the Cowboys draft Ezekiel Elliott in the draft, he's going to be either the first or second back I pick him my fantasy draft - maybe as high as the second pick.
I think he sets a rookie rushing record if he's with the Cowboys in 2016 - barring injury, of course.

 

[tyke1doe]

These "you're not a true fan" arguments never get old.

 

[KJJ]

If any team lost thier two best players that would affect their season and they'd have a bad season too. Any. Team.

Of course it would affect any teams season but not to the extent of falling from 12-4 to 4-12. Although the Cowboys lost Romo and Dez they still had them for parts of the season. Romo played 2 full games and part of 2 other games. One of the worse games the Cowboys played this season vs Carolina Romo started and his poor play greatly contributed to us being blowout. As for Dez he still started 9 games this season and despite him being healthy during most of the opener he didn't play all that well. Several teams lost their starting QB this season and still made the playoffs. AJ McCarron played in 7 games for Cinn starting 3 of them and they still made the playoffs.

Roethlisberger missed time this season with the Steelers using 2 backups and they still made the playoffs. Houston had a worse QB situation than the Cowboys playing with 3 scrubs and were led to 2 important wins by Brandon Weeden who didn't win a single game in Dallas but was able to help the Texans make the playoffs. Look at Denver Brock Osweiler started 7 games for an injured Peyton Manning and the Broncos are in the SB. Manning not only missed a good portion of the season he had a rotten season with only 9 TD's, 17 INTs and a passer rating of 67.9.

Most of his stats were worse than the stats of the QBs we used this season but it didn't stop the Broncos from having a solid year and the opportunity to win a championship. All this teams I mentioned had other injuries besides losing their QBs for part of the season and it didn't result in a 4-12 season. Cam lost his #1 receiver prior to the season and he still had an MVP year and the Panthers are in the SB with a 17-1 record. I got some bad news for you and many others the Cowboys issues were a lot deeper this season than the injuries to Romo and Dez.

 

[KJJ]

Really do not agree for one simple reason, teams were not afraid of the Cowboys passing game. Minus Romo and Dez why would any defense back away from stopping the running attack of the Cowboys? Heck if I was an opposing DC I went into the Cowboys game daring the Cowboys QB to beat me but sure as heck was not going to let the run game beat me. Dallas did run the ball not as much? sure not as much because you can you can't continue to run in 2nd/3rd and long. With Romo and Dez it allowed balance of run and pass which was harder to defend but when Weeden, Cassle and Moore are behind center my goal all of a sudden becomes you have to beat me but your running game we will clamp down on.

No one was afraid of our running game either by us replacing the leagues leading rusher in 2014 with Darren McFadden who had the lowest yards per carry of any back in the league not named Trent Richardson the previous 3 seasons. The Cowboys entered the 2015 season thinking any back could produce behind their OL and this put the pressure right back on Romo's shoulders. He was back to being pass happy the first 2 weeks and we lost him.

Things went downhill from there because we were unprepared at backup thinking Weeden who stunk it up in his only start in 2014 was the answer and we were wrong. We have an offensive system that allows only Romo to have success and Brandon Weeden proved that by going over to Houston and helping them to a couple of important wins that helped them make the playoffs.

 

[Doomsday101]

They weren't afraid of their running game either replacing the leagues leading rusher in 2014 with Darren McFadden who had the lowest yards per carry of any back in the league not named Trent Richardson the previous 3 seasons. The Cowboys entered the 2015 season feeling any back could produce behind their OL and this put the pressure right back on Romo's shoulders. He was back to being pass happy the first 2 weeks and we lost him.

Things went downhill from their because we were unprepared at backup thinking Weeden who stunk it up in his only start in 2014 was the answer at backup and we were wrong. We have an offensive system that allows only Romo to have success and Brandon Weeden proved that by going over to Houston and helping them to a couple of important wins that helped them make the playoffs.

No they relied on defense Houston was not winning because of great offense, they created turnover they put the ball back into the offense hands, same with Cinn. You put the ball back into the hands of the offense and set them up in position their effectiveness is going to be greater. Dallas was negative 22 in turnovers as opposed to teams like Houston and Cinn. I think it is easy to say it was all offense when fact is defense did little to help an offense stripped of their 2 main weapons.

 

[Bleu Star]

end rant/

I thought this was why we had a Rant Zone. My bad.

20 years strong... reminiscing...

 

[KJJ]

No they relied on defense Houston was not winning because of great offense, they created turnover they put the ball back into the offense hands, same with Cinn. You put the ball back into the hands of the offense and set them up in position their effectiveness is going to be greater. Dallas was negative 22 in turnovers as opposed to teams like Houston and Cinn. I think it is easy to say it was all offense when fact is defense did little to help an offense stripped of their 2 main weapons.

They relied on defense but they were challenged at QB and it's hard to make the playoffs with a bad QB situation. Regardless of your defense your offense still has to put up some points. Houston's QB situation caught up with them in the playoffs and bit them hard.

 

[rpntex]

So now you are bringing 3rd/4th string Lance Dunbar in the conversation? We had an easy schedule, an easy division, and we blew it. There is no excuse for losing as many games as we did. Period.

Since when does a coach get a free pass for losing the QB for a year? I have already posted numerous examples of playoff teams with similar injuries who managed to win some games.

Dunbar was not 3rd/4th string. Dunbar played a unique position in this offense, and he was the only one capable. Before he was injured, he w the most dynamic offensive weapon on the team. When he went down, he was the Cowboys leading receiver, not only in receptions (23 in 3 games), but in receiving yardage (215) and YPC (10.2).

His loss was a lot more impactful than any of you would admit.

 

[rpntex]

Of course it would affect any teams season but not to the extent of falling from 12-4 to 4-12. Although the Cowboys lost Romo and Dez they still had them for parts of the season. Romo played 2 full games and part of 2 other games. One of the worse games the Cowboys played this season vs Carolina Romo started and his poor play greatly contributed to us being blowout. As for Dez he still started 9 games this season and despite him being healthy during most of the opener he didn't play all that well. Several teams lost their starting QB this season and still made the playoffs. AJ McCarron played in 7 games for Cinn starting 3 of them and they still made the playoffs.

Roethlisberger missed time this season with the Steelers using 2 backups and they still made the playoffs. Houston had a worse QB situation than the Cowboys playing with 3 scrubs and were led to 2 important wins by Brandon Weeden who didn't win a single game in Dallas but was able to help the Texans make the playoffs. Look at Denver Brock Osweiler started 7 games for an injured Peyton Manning and the Broncos are in the SB. Manning not only missed a good portion of the season he had a rotten season with only 9 TD's, 17 INTs and a passer rating of 67.9.

Most of his stats were worse than the stats of the QBs we used this season but it didn't stop the Broncos from having a solid year and the opportunity to win a championship. All this teams I mentioned had other injuries besides losing their QBs for part of the season and it didn't result in a 4-12 season. Cam lost his #1 receiver prior to the season and he still had an MVP year and the Panthers are in the SB with a 17-1 record. I got some bad news for you and many others the Cowboys issues were a lot deeper this season than the injuries to Romo and Dez.

Dez was healthy for basically one half of the opener. After that he was never close to 100% once he returned. You can point to AJ McCarron, Landry Jones, Brock Osweiler, and Brandon Weeden (Houston version) all you want, but you also must acknowledge that AJ Green, Antonio Brown, DeMaryus Thomas, and Deandre Hopkins were still on the field. Comparing those situations to Dallas' is ludicrous. Dallas didn't have that luxury when Romo went down, and unfortunately, Dez was never the same.