The wounds of last January have been re-opened

[Bobhaze]

When the gun sounded Sunday night after the loss to the ravens, one of the first things I thought was, “This team is now on quit watch”. Meaning they know every coach they are looking at all week in practice is on a one year deal. Are they thinking, “Why should I bust my butt for a bunch of coaches who may already be toast?” Will they quit on this staff and each other?

Don't get me wrong - I think that would be very unprofessional. And I’m hoping there are more guys in that locker room that have enough professional pride to not cash in their chips after only three games. But I can’t say that just isn’t possible.

Losing the way they did last January vs the packers can damage a team deeply and there can be some carryover. When those same problems that embarrassed this team against the pack showed up again vs the saints and the ravens, it may have re-opened some deep wounds and made these guys wonder if this team is even capable of getting back.

A normal NFL GM who would be trying to fix what killed this team last year - the inability to stop the run - and needing to find help for the running game would have done a helluva lot more than this FO did this off-season. Imagine how depressing it is for the players who knew what they needed to get better, knew that if the FO had handled all their contracts better would have had cash to sign some FA upgrades and simply chose not to. Then gaslights everyone that they “like what they have”. That would be depressing.

Who knows, maybe this Cowboys team finds some pride this week and find a way to beat a below average but improved giants team Thursday. It probably helps they aren’t at home. But I won’t be surprised if the giants get ahead early and get the crowd into it if the Cowboys are slow to respond, the temptation for them to think, “why does this matter?” could come rushing in.

 

[OGSixshooter]

When the gun sounded Sunday night after the loss to the ravens, one of the first things I thought was, “This team is now on quit watch”. Meaning they know every coach they are looking at all week in practice is on a one year deal. Are they thinking, “Why should I bust my butt for a bunch of coaches who may already be toast?” Will they quit on this staff and each other?

Don't get me wrong - I think that would be very unprofessional. And I’m hoping there are more guys in that locker room that have enough professional pride to not cash in their chips after only three games. But I can’t say that just isn’t possible.

Losing the way they did last January vs the packers can damage a team deeply and there can be some carryover. When those same problems that embarrassed this team against the pack showed up again vs the saints and the ravens, it may have re-opened some deep wounds and made these guys wonder if this team is even capable of getting back.

A normal NFL GM who would be trying to fix what killed this team last year - the inability to stop the run - and needing to find help for the running game would have done a helluva lot more than this FO did this off-season. Imagine how depressing it is for the players who knew what they needed to get better, knew that if the FO had handled all their contracts better would have had cash to sign some FA upgrades and simply chose not to. Then gaslights everyone that they “like what they have”. That would be depressing.

Who knows, maybe this Cowboys team finds some pride this week and find a way to beat a below average but improved giants team Thursday. It probably helps they aren’t at home. But I won’t be surprised if the giants get ahead early and get the crowd into it if the Cowboys are slow to respond, the temptation for them to think, “why does this matter?” could come rushing in.

Shell-shocked. PTSD. Broken. "They are who we thought they were..."

"Rooted" is the dumbest, most desperate team slogan I can imagine. So thirsty.

 

[MysteryIceGuro]

Im afraid they never closed, Bob.

 

[Cowboys5217]

The players know how a good chunk of the fan base feels about them right now. What gets said on here and Twitter/X does get back to them as it does guys in the media (Scooter MacGruder owes me royalties for using my trademarks of "mid QB" and "this Century").

I think that has added a lot more pressure to this. They aren't responding well. There's also hints that some guys are not happy with how some on the team practice, focus, and prepare mentally.

I think there is also dissatisfaction among some of the players with the management and coaching. Nobody seems to know what their assignment on the defense is on running plays.

It's a mess.

 

[Blackrain]

When the gun sounded Sunday night after the loss to the ravens, one of the first things I thought was, “This team is now on quit watch”. Meaning they know every coach they are looking at all week in practice is on a one year deal. Are they thinking, “Why should I bust my butt for a bunch of coaches who may already be toast?” Will they quit on this staff and each other?

Don't get me wrong - I think that would be very unprofessional. And I’m hoping there are more guys in that locker room that have enough professional pride to not cash in their chips after only three games. But I can’t say that just isn’t possible.

Losing the way they did last January vs the packers can damage a team deeply and there can be some carryover. When those same problems that embarrassed this team against the pack showed up again vs the saints and the ravens, it may have re-opened some deep wounds and made these guys wonder if this team is even capable of getting back.

A normal NFL GM who would be trying to fix what killed this team last year - the inability to stop the run - and needing to find help for the running game would have done a helluva lot more than this FO did this off-season. Imagine how depressing it is for the players who knew what they needed to get better, knew that if the FO had handled all their contracts better would have had cash to sign some FA upgrades and simply chose not to. Then gaslights everyone that they “like what they have”. That would be depressing.

Who knows, maybe this Cowboys team finds some pride this week and find a way to beat a below average but improved giants team Thursday. It probably helps they aren’t at home. But I won’t be surprised if the giants get ahead early and get the crowd into it if the Cowboys are slow to respond, the temptation for them to think, “why does this matter?” could come rushing in.

I think there's a better than average chance that we can beat the Giants but that will just be putting a Band-Aid over a huge wound that needs stitches.

And the problem is there is no one with the leadership qualities and talent combined to stitch this mess back together

 

[Streifenkarl]

When the gun sounded Sunday night after the loss to the ravens, one of the first things I thought was, “This team is now on quit watch”. Meaning they know every coach they are looking at all week in practice is on a one year deal. Are they thinking, “Why should I bust my butt for a bunch of coaches who may already be toast?” Will they quit on this staff and each other?

Don't get me wrong - I think that would be very unprofessional. And I’m hoping there are more guys in that locker room that have enough professional pride to not cash in their chips after only three games. But I can’t say that just isn’t possible.

Losing the way they did last January vs the packers can damage a team deeply and there can be some carryover. When those same problems that embarrassed this team against the pack showed up again vs the saints and the ravens, it may have re-opened some deep wounds and made these guys wonder if this team is even capable of getting back.

A normal NFL GM who would be trying to fix what killed this team last year - the inability to stop the run - and needing to find help for the running game would have done a helluva lot more than this FO did this off-season. Imagine how depressing it is for the players who knew what they needed to get better, knew that if the FO had handled all their contracts better would have had cash to sign some FA upgrades and simply chose not to. Then gaslights everyone that they “like what they have”. That would be depressing.

Who knows, maybe this Cowboys team finds some pride this week and find a way to beat a below average but improved giants team Thursday. It probably helps they aren’t at home. But I won’t be surprised if the giants get ahead early and get the crowd into it if the Cowboys are slow to respond, the temptation for them to think, “why does this matter?” could come rushing in.

I usually like reading your posts but this contains too much psychological speculation. Heck I doubt even a pro psychiatrist would speculate that much.

Let's say they win against the Giants (anything else would be the embarrassment of the century) they are 2-2. An average but not catastrophic start into the season.

I think we should wait how October plays out. The games against Detroit and the 49ers will once again show the true character of this team. Not saying that it will go well, but imo the fate of the season will be decided there. They won't recover from a 2-5 stand, but a win against the Niners would boost their morale like nothing else.

Again not saying we can beat the Niners in our current state. But we don't have to, Giants next.

 

[ShortRound]

They better figure it out right quick; right after the Giants we face some tough teams. This could get bad if we don’t turn things around.

Steelers
Lions
49’ers
Falcons
Eagles
Texans
Commanders

 

[Blackrain]

I usually like reading your posts but this contains too much psychological speculation. Heck I doubt even a pro psychiatrist would speculate that much.

Let's say they win against the Giants (anything else would be the embarrassment of the century) they are 2-2. An average but not catastrophic start into the season.

I think we should wait how October plays out. The games against Detroit and the 49ers will once again show the true character of this team. Not saying that it will go well, but imo the fate of the season will be decided there. They won't recover from a 2-5 stand, but a win against the Niners would boost their morale like nothing else.

Again not saying we can beat the Niners in our current state. But we don't have to, Giants next.

Not sure what would make you think we could beat the 49ers we couldn't do it when we were a stronger team let alone now.

An influx of talent would have boosted everyone's morale assigning of Derek Henry or saquon Barkley would have made the team believe we were really all in a long with equality free agent defensive tackle.

As it is the players know Jerry's not serious about winning this year so they're going to protect themselves and their careers

 

[GMO415]

When the gun sounded Sunday night after the loss to the ravens, one of the first things I thought was, “This team is now on quit watch”. Meaning they know every coach they are looking at all week in practice is on a one year deal. Are they thinking, “Why should I bust my butt for a bunch of coaches who may already be toast?” Will they quit on this staff and each other?

Don't get me wrong - I think that would be very unprofessional. And I’m hoping there are more guys in that locker room that have enough professional pride to not cash in their chips after only three games. But I can’t say that just isn’t possible.

Losing the way they did last January vs the packers can damage a team deeply and there can be some carryover. When those same problems that embarrassed this team against the pack showed up again vs the saints and the ravens, it may have re-opened some deep wounds and made these guys wonder if this team is even capable of getting back.

A normal NFL GM who would be trying to fix what killed this team last year - the inability to stop the run - and needing to find help for the running game would have done a helluva lot more than this FO did this off-season. Imagine how depressing it is for the players who knew what they needed to get better, knew that if the FO had handled all their contracts better would have had cash to sign some FA upgrades and simply chose not to. Then gaslights everyone that they “like what they have”. That would be depressing.

Who knows, maybe this Cowboys team finds some pride this week and find a way to beat a below average but improved giants team Thursday. It probably helps they aren’t at home. But I won’t be surprised if the giants get ahead early and get the crowd into it if the Cowboys are slow to respond, the temptation for them to think, “why does this matter?” could come rushing in.

BULLET!
This team will go through the rollercoaster of wins and losses, winning only those games against worse teams like NY. By all means, DAL is a average to bad team, but can do enough to snatch a victory from a worse team.

 

[Coogiguy03]

When the gun sounded Sunday night after the loss to the ravens, one of the first things I thought was, “This team is now on quit watch”. Meaning they know every coach they are looking at all week in practice is on a one year deal. Are they thinking, “Why should I bust my butt for a bunch of coaches who may already be toast?” Will they quit on this staff and each other?

Don't get me wrong - I think that would be very unprofessional. And I’m hoping there are more guys in that locker room that have enough professional pride to not cash in their chips after only three games. But I can’t say that just isn’t possible.

Losing the way they did last January vs the packers can damage a team deeply and there can be some carryover. When those same problems that embarrassed this team against the pack showed up again vs the saints and the ravens, it may have re-opened some deep wounds and made these guys wonder if this team is even capable of getting back.

A normal NFL GM who would be trying to fix what killed this team last year - the inability to stop the run - and needing to find help for the running game would have done a helluva lot more than this FO did this off-season. Imagine how depressing it is for the players who knew what they needed to get better, knew that if the FO had handled all their contracts better would have had cash to sign some FA upgrades and simply chose not to. Then gaslights everyone that they “like what they have”. That would be depressing.

Who knows, maybe this Cowboys team finds some pride this week and find a way to beat a below average but improved giants team Thursday. It probably helps they aren’t at home. But I won’t be surprised if the giants get ahead early and get the crowd into it if the Cowboys are slow to respond, the temptation for them to think, “why does this matter?” could come rushing in.

Slow start means us using our most talented offensive weapon a lot in Aubrey!!!

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

If Cowboy fans, opposing front offices/coaches all know what our weaknesses are ..trust me....the players know. And for the players that have been here since we lost at home to the 49ers and Jimmy G 3 years ago....they know why we lost and they know that is the exact same way we've lost in the postseason for the last 3 years. Not only is that the exact same way we've lost in the postseason...it's how we lose to the better teams in the regular season over the last 3 years.

I actually believe there are people in the building who know. But they don't make the decision on how the cap will be managed, Stephen does. A certain percentage of the cap is PRE-DETERMINED to be spent on the RB position.... signing Derrick Henry would have eaten up that percentage and gave them no fall back if he got injured. So, they felt they could stitch together 4 guys (Zeke, Dowdle, Vaugh and Cook) and match what Henry could provide

As far as interior DL are concerned....Dallas is nothing if not optimistic. They spent a 1st round pick on Mazi...in THEIR mind a 1st round pick should be the anchor in an effective DT rotation as long as he produced like a 1st round DT is supposed to. Dallas does not like to get burned when they expend resources and they don't like to admit when they missed, so they will hold out hope until the last minute. Heck, they don't like to get burned in negotiations, so they hold on until the last minute just to see if they can get CD or Dak to take 1M...heck 500k less than they are asking for...just so they can feel a moral victory at the negotiation table....but I digress. If Mazi was Aaron Donald, they would have a point. Mazi is not even Malik Collins!!!!!!!

I said it YEARS ago, if any of you think Stephen will be better than his dad, let me tell you....it will get worse. He runs this STRICTLY like a business. Not touch, no nuance, no feel, no exceptions. Heck, he lost it on his dad when his dad signed Deion Sanders. Stephen is the one who is thinking about how do we sign Tyler Smith, Micah Parsons, Daron Bland,,,,,in the future. Does he not realize that although those guys are great players and will deserve whatever their market value is, signing them does not fix the MAIN issues with the team...because we have these issues and these guys are currently on the team! He should already be thinking about how to parlay one of the 3 into draft picks and/or trades and use the picks and/or cap savings to fix our main issues. But instead, they will wait until the last minute, fight with their agents behind the scenes, then come out at the last minute and complain to the fans about how greedy the players are and eventually sign them for their market value. The way they construct a roster is so old and outdated because that is ALL THEY KNOW and they refuse to do it someone else's way.

Do you really think McClay and other seasoned front office people don't know what has been and still is wrong with this team? They are not given the autonomy to fix it. Period!

 

[Blackrain]

If Cowboy fans, opposing front offices/coaches all know what our weaknesses are ..trust me....the players know. And for the players that have been here since we lost at home to the 49ers and Jimmy G 3 years ago....they know why we lost and they know that is the exact same way we've lost in the postseason for the last 3 years. Not only is that the exact same way we've lost in the postseason...it's how we lose to the better teams in the regular season over the last 3 years.

I actually believe there are people in the building who know. But they don't make the decision on how the cap will be managed, Stephen does. A certain percentage of the cap is PRE-DETERMINED to be spent on the RB position.... signing Derrick Henry would have eaten up that percentage and gave them no fall back if he got injured. So, they felt they could stitch together 4 guys (Zeke, Dowdle, Vaugh and Cook) and match what Henry could provide

As far as interior DL are concerned....Dallas is nothing if not optimistic. They spent a 1st round pick on Mazi...in THEIR mind a 1st round pick should be the anchor in an effective DT rotation as long as he produced like a 1st round DT is supposed to. Dallas does not like to get burned when they expend resources and they don't like to admit when they missed, so they will hold out hope until the last minute. Heck, they don't like to get burned in negotiations, so they hold on until the last minute just to see if they can get CD or Dak to take 1M...heck 500k less than they are asking for...just so they can feel a moral victory at the negotiation table....but I digress. If Mazi was Aaron Donald, they would have a point. Mazi is not even Malik Collins!!!!!!!

I said it YEARS ago, if any of you think Stephen will be better than his dad, let me tell you....it will get worse. He runs this STRICTLY like a business. Not touch, no nuance, no feel, no exceptions. Heck, he lost it on his dad when his dad signed Deion Sanders. Stephen is the one who is thinking about how do we sign Tyler Smith, Micah Parsons, Daron Bland,,,,,in the future. Does he not realize that although those guys are great players and will deserve whatever their market value is, signing them does not fix the MAIN issues with the team...because we have these issues and these guys are currently on the team! He should already be thinking about how to parlay one of the 3 into draft picks and/or trades and use the picks and/or cap savings to fix our main issues. But instead, they will wait until the last minute, fight with their agents behind the scenes, then come out at the last minute and complain to the fans about how greedy the players are and eventually sign them for their market value. The way they construct a roster is so old and outdated because that is ALL THEY KNOW and they refuse to do it someone else's way.

Do you really think McClay and other seasoned front office people don't know what has been and still is wrong with this team? They are not given the autonomy to fix it. Period!

Have to agree all these players that have been here see the same pattern Jerry keeps Us three players and a coach away from being really competitive.

We are not as bad as the Jason Garrett days where we would go eight and eight and just miss the playoffs.

Now we are good enough or we're good enough to beat the bad teams on a pretty consistent basis and get to the playoffs before we get bounced.

Problem is we no longer have a schedule that gives us a lot of bad teams so now we will have to pay the price of not signing what we need in the off season or participating in free agency.

We will pay the price of strictly using the draft to try and fill all the holes as this is an impossibility and now leaves us an even weaker team to face even stronger competition with players that already know we are undermanned and it's futile.

So they will worry about their own survival make business decisions protect their careers and we will have a very substandard product on the field as a result.

Thanks Jerry

 

[DuncanIso]

Big Mike is Wade.

 

[G2]

It's week 4
And, they just might not be a very good team.

 

[NDGAEDE]

Big Mike is Wade.

He's gonna need to turn things around here asap, because this is very similar to Wade's last season.

Blowout after blowout until the players simply quit.

It looked like that against the Ravens for the first 3 quarters. I think the OP is spot on.

 

[Diehardblues]

When the gun sounded Sunday night after the loss to the ravens, one of the first things I thought was, “This team is now on quit watch”. Meaning they know every coach they are looking at all week in practice is on a one year deal. Are they thinking, “Why should I bust my butt for a bunch of coaches who may already be toast?” Will they quit on this staff and each other?

Don't get me wrong - I think that would be very unprofessional. And I’m hoping there are more guys in that locker room that have enough professional pride to not cash in their chips after only three games. But I can’t say that just isn’t possible.

Losing the way they did last January vs the packers can damage a team deeply and there can be some carryover. When those same problems that embarrassed this team against the pack showed up again vs the saints and the ravens, it may have re-opened some deep wounds and made these guys wonder if this team is even capable of getting back.

A normal NFL GM who would be trying to fix what killed this team last year - the inability to stop the run - and needing to find help for the running game would have done a helluva lot more than this FO did this off-season. Imagine how depressing it is for the players who knew what they needed to get better, knew that if the FO had handled all their contracts better would have had cash to sign some FA upgrades and simply chose not to. Then gaslights everyone that they “like what they have”. That would be depressing.

Who knows, maybe this Cowboys team finds some pride this week and find a way to beat a below average but improved giants team Thursday. It probably helps they aren’t at home. But I won’t be surprised if the giants get ahead early and get the crowd into it if the Cowboys are slow to respond, the temptation for them to think, “why does this matter?” could come rushing in.

If we lose tomorrow night all bets are off. This could collapse quickly with brutal upcoming schedule.

In the NFL though there are often teams with greater sense of urgency’s. And the Ravens at 0-2 were facing 0-3 which basically means season is over as only 1 team has made playoffs since 2000 after starting 0-3. Ravens with best record in NFL last year and MVP losing to Chiefs in AFC Championship game are took good for 0-3.

And I’d like to think that similar sense of urgency is on this Cowboys team. We’ll see if they are good enough to see that thru. NY is improved but Browns aren’t looking like playoff team from last year.

Even if Cowboys rebound this week our upcoming schedule could still leave us easily at 3-3 or possibly 2-4 at the bye as we’ll probably be underdogs at Pittsburgh and at home against Detroit. But IMO that’s much more manageable than 1-3 losing to a lesser team. I hate to say this is a must win game as so much can still happen but I’m not sure we recover if we do fall to 1-3 which could very easily turn to 1-5 and worse with SF following.

 

[Brax]

When the gun sounded Sunday night after the loss to the ravens, one of the first things I thought was, “This team is now on quit watch”. Meaning they know every coach they are looking at all week in practice is on a one year deal. Are they thinking, “Why should I bust my butt for a bunch of coaches who may already be toast?” Will they quit on this staff and each other?

Don't get me wrong - I think that would be very unprofessional. And I’m hoping there are more guys in that locker room that have enough professional pride to not cash in their chips after only three games. But I can’t say that just isn’t possible.

Losing the way they did last January vs the packers can damage a team deeply and there can be some carryover. When those same problems that embarrassed this team against the pack showed up again vs the saints and the ravens, it may have re-opened some deep wounds and made these guys wonder if this team is even capable of getting back.

A normal NFL GM who would be trying to fix what killed this team last year - the inability to stop the run - and needing to find help for the running game would have done a helluva lot more than this FO did this off-season. Imagine how depressing it is for the players who knew what they needed to get better, knew that if the FO had handled all their contracts better would have had cash to sign some FA upgrades and simply chose not to. Then gaslights everyone that they “like what they have”. That would be depressing.

Who knows, maybe this Cowboys team finds some pride this week and find a way to beat a below average but improved giants team Thursday. It probably helps they aren’t at home. But I won’t be surprised if the giants get ahead early and get the crowd into it if the Cowboys are slow to respond, the temptation for them to think, “why does this matter?” could come rushing in.

Way too early to bury them, Giants is a get well game it always is. After the beating of a weak division team they will all be talking about its fixed. If they lose it may be a long season, this game will tell us a lot about what they are

 

[big dog cowboy]

Big Mike is Wade.

Starting to feel that way.

Dead man walking.

Should have been fired after GB.

 

[aikemirv]

Im afraid they never closed, Bob.

Exactly. Anybody who really thought anything had changed had no grip on the reality of the situation the Cowboys are in!

 

[John813]

Defensively, I'm haven't and probably won't watch the All 22 but noticed from snippets on X that seem to indicate hero ball. Not being gap responsible in either getting pushed out of the gap or just attacking the wrong gap from the start.
Hell, Parsons made a quote about supermans on the defense.

Not sure how that can be fixed. Especially when it's vets like Wilson or Joseph getting out of position off the bat. I assume they could just go to Thomas at safety but the DT spot is a mess as is. Carlos Watkins won't save the day either.

If the team goes on a slide, will players still tune into what the coaches preach? Especially when some are lame ducks?