The wounds of last January have been re-opened

[zrinkill]

Those wounds never closed for some of us.

 

[McKDaddy]

I fully believe a person should give their all in whatever they do much less what they are being paid to do.

Having said that, I can fully understand players looking around and knowing that no matter what they do individually, they are going to fail in this team setting. That makes it very difficult to risk your body in the way NFL success demands.

 

[OGSixshooter]

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.

It's not all "psychological"...it's field study for men who have been around. You don't get this often because you don't have groups of people together like this often...especially after an EPIC FAILURE. Groups and leaders who survive EPIC FAILURES don't normally get to "run it back" because there is a FATAL FLAW IN THE OINTMENT: DOUBT.

Let a receiver "doubt" his QB...and QB "doubt" his WR will run the right route. A RB who "doubts" his line will open up that hole on the counter. Doubt has now crept OPENLY into the Cowboys team psyche....

 

[jujoboys]

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.

A normal GM would have fired the HC and the entire coaching staff after that debacle in the playoffs last year. Of course, the GM would have been fired a long time ago if Dallas was a normal organization. But since we are stuck with Jerry as GM he needed to make that move. Now we have two back to back games that are very similar to the GB playoff loss. The culture and confidence of the players has to be very low at this point. Surely they can't have much faith in the coaching staff to get them out of this funk. People can say we are missing DTs, RBs, etc but there are rosters out there a lot worse off than Dallas that aren't playing and looking this bad at home. Yes we need an upgrade in talent at positions but i think the big issue right now is a lack of confidence and a terrible culture in the organization.

 

[MikeT22]

Not surprising. Some of us said that after management sat on their hands while running it back, if we got off to a slow start the wheels could come off like with Wade in 2010.
We are now at that point. We’re getting loose in turn one.

 

[JW82]

Its 2010 all over again. After that Minny playoff demolition the team quit like they'd just won the lottery. Hence my prediction which is looking accurate of a week 7 firing. But I had zimmer as interim, retract that. Give me Harris as interim. At least we don't know if HE sucks yet.

 

[Bobhaze]

A normal GM would have fired the HC and the entire coaching staff after that debacle in the playoffs last year. Of course, the GM would have been fired a long time ago if Dallas was a normal organization. But since we are stuck with Jerry as GM he needed to make that move. Now we have two back to back games that are very similar to the GB playoff loss. The culture and confidence of the players has to be very low at this point. Surely they can't have much faith in the coaching staff to get them out of this funk. People can say we are missing DTs, RBs, etc but there are rosters out there a lot worse off than Dallas that aren't playing and looking this bad at home. Yes we need an upgrade in talent at positions but i think the big issue right now is a lack of confidence and a terrible culture in the organization.

Good post.

One of the best points you make is how the players must feel about expecting a coaching staff to help them get out of this funk. At some point, if the coaches are preaching the same sermon and (for whatever reason) it isn’t working, having a lame duck coaching staff becomes a collection of “dead men walking”.

Which is why IMO keeping Big Mac and this coaching staff on one year deals is just stupid. This is the fourth time GM Jerry has done this and two of the previous times ended in the team not making the playoffs.

• 2010- Wade Phillips - lasted 8 games and had a 1-7 start. Romo was hurt in game 5 when they were already 1-4. And of course that ushered in a decade of Jason Garrett.
• 2014- in Garrett’s last year of his first contract, the team had a GREAT running game and Romo had the best year of his career. They made the playoffs and won a WC game.
• 2019- The last year of Garrett’s second contract. The team didn’t quit on him but they wasted a good start and finished a Garrett-like 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
• Now 2024- the final year of Big Mac’s contract. No running game, bad defense. How do we think this will go without some kind of miracle turnaround?

 

[john van brocklin]

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.

good post sir

 

[malbis030347]

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.

I see Malik running past Diggs for 2 scores and Jones running one in himself but Aubrey 6 field goals not enough… Giants 21-18

 

[Ranching]

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.

Put some Neosporin on the wound and let's move on...

 

[Ranching]

I hope you don’t get benched

Why not? Too entertaining?

 

[Brax]

Why not? Too entertaining?

Just having a little fun, enjoy the game

 

[ArtClink]

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.

Agree with everything you said, but I will add that I think the players are quitting on Jerry more than our lame duck head coach because after all, all the players are accountable to Jerry, not the hc.

 

[cowboyed]

A normal GM would have fired the HC and the entire coaching staff after that debacle in the playoffs last year. Of course, the GM would have been fired a long time ago if Dallas was a normal organization. But since we are stuck with Jerry as GM he needed to make that move. Now we have two back to back games that are very similar to the GB playoff loss. The culture and confidence of the players has to be very low at this point. Surely they can't have much faith in the coaching staff to get them out of this funk. People can say we are missing DTs, RBs, etc but there are rosters out there a lot worse off than Dallas that aren't playing and looking this bad at home. Yes we need an upgrade in talent at positions but i think the big issue right now is a lack of confidence and a terrible culture in the organization.

As much as I am lukewarm about McCarthy I can't hang last years post season debacle on him. That was Dan Quinn abandoning the defense and leaving for HC greener pastures. Players on defense and offense all knew Quinn was leaving and so a good number on that defense became ambivalent giving their all in the game and even focus. Those players were quite unprepared. I blame the NFL for allowing coaches on teams going into the post season to interview and close deals with other teams. I think it is not only disruptive but hypocritical when it comes to team loyalty or so called coach professionalism, when important games are on the line. It's not the end of the world to wait until the team you are leaving is out of the playoff run.

 

[pitt33]

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

The Giants look like the only possible win.

With the current state of affairs in Big D how could one not objectively agree?

 

[MS17]

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!

Your last assertion, about McClay and "other seasoned front office people", reminded me of a few ideas. It's a dire thought, but I wonder from time to time what would happen to the franchise if Jerry and Stephen were to be hit by a truck. (* I do not want that to happen). I'd take a wild guess that Charlotte Jones, Chief Brand Officer and Co-owner, would promptly take over as Executive.
The question then would be, would she make the team more competitive, better, successful, and, win more. Would she hire "better football people" to run things, and most critically, maintain a strict hands-off policy? Or, are the Cowboys under some kind of Jones family curse?

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Your last assertion, about McClay and "other seasoned front office people", reminded me of a few ideas. It's a dire thought, but I wonder from time to time what would happen to the franchise if Jerry and Stephen were to be hit by a truck. (* I do not want that to happen). I'd take a wild guess that Charlotte Jones, Chief Brand Officer and Co-owner, would promptly take over as Executive.
The question then would be, would she make the team more competitive, better, successful, and, win more. Would she hire "better football people" to run things, and most critically, maintain a strict hands-off policy? Or, are the Cowboys under some kind of Jones family curse?

She absolutely would. Jimmy made it look so easy that Jerry thought he could do it. Jerry thought there were 500 coaches that could win in Dallas. This is not speculation...he said this out of his mouth. Even worse? He meant it. Just pay attention to the last 25+ years.

She does not need to hire drinking buddies. She does not need to look at players like her son's or friends. She understands that she does not KNOW football.

It does not take long to turn a program around if you have the right people. Detroit was on the list with Dallas and Washington as the 3 NFC teams that had not played in the NFC title game in the last 25+ years. They hire Campbell...and a few years later Washington and Dallas are the only NFC teams on that list. Did Detroit have a lot of lean years? Of course! But they did not give the people responsible for those lean years (Matt Millen) 25+ years to get it right. And with Washington getting out from under Dan Snyder and the promise their rookie QB is showing....they appear as if they will get off that list BEFORE Dallas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MS17]

She absolutely would. Jimmy made it look so easy that Jerry thought he could do it. Jerry thought there were 500 coaches that could win in Dallas. This is not speculation...he said this out of his mouth. Even worse? He meant it. Just pay attention to the last 25+ years.

She does not need to hire drinking buddies. She does not need to look at players like her son's or friends. She understands that she does not KNOW football.

It does not take long to turn a program around if you have the right people. Detroit was on the list with Dallas and Washington as the 3 NFC teams that had not played in the NFC title game in the last 25+ years. They hire Campbell...and a few years later Washington and Dallas are the only NFC teams on that list. Did Detroit have a lot of lean years? Of course! But they did not give the people responsible for those lean years (Matt Millen) 25+ years to get it right. And with Washington getting out from under Dan Snyder and the promise their rookie QB is showing....they appear as if they will get off that list BEFORE Dallas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I recall correctly, in 1960, the brand new Cowboys had the prototype of a behind the scenes, hands-off owner who was a near genius at finding and hiring top football people (Landry, Schramm, Brandt)....and simply let them do their jobs. That owner was Clint Murchison, Jr. On his best day Jerry Jones couldn't hold his jock strap.

 

[ICP]

I was already numb, no wounds hurt anymore

 

[Rockport]

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.

This place is proof that wound has never healed.