CFZ There are reasons for hope AND reasons for pessimism

[Bobhaze]

Being a Cowboys fan these days is for many of us a combination of feelings. Hope for the future and what may happen in this year’s playoffs coupled with the pain of the last 27 years where we have seen this team be 4-9 in the playoffs, never even winning a divisional round playoff game.

So as we go into the first back to back playoff season in 15 years on the heels of the first back to back 12 win seasons in 30 years, we can have some hope. But the dark clouds of the past cannot be ignored. Here’s a look at reasons for hope and reasons for pessimism.

REASONS FOR HOPE

• First back to back 12 win seasons in 30 years and first back to back playoff seasons in 15 years. That’s an accomplishment for an organization that has been consistently inconsistent.
• The drafts the last few years under Will McClay have been productive as opposed to 12-15 years ago when drafts where a nightmare. This team is fairly young, with several key players still developing.
• The NFC is wide open this year. Other than Brady, no other NFC QB for any other NFC team has won more than one playoff game.
• The NFL is highly unpredictable. Just when you think you know how this is going to go, strange things happen.

REASONS FOR PESSIMISM

• The guy in charge of all this is an 80 year old stubborn billionaire who cannot admit his mistakes and apparently doesn’t want to win bad enough to do whatever it takes to win. If he did he would have made changes at the top. He’s the one constant the last 27 years.
• This organization won 31 playoff games in its first 36 seasons. We have won 4 playoff games in the last 27. That’s hard to believe.
• The Cowboys have lost 8 straight road playoff games. The last road playoff win was in the 1992 NFC championship game at SF, when Jimmy Johnson stood up and shouted, “How about them Cowboys!” Jimmy was the last HC to win a road playoff game.
• We knew last Jan when we lost to the Niners at home this team needed to improve its run defense. Did the front office address that?

So as we head to Tampa this coming Monday, I have some hope and some pessimism. It’s hard not to when you look at the owner’s box and remember the last 27 seasons of playoff futility. These last 27 years have been painful. And that’s a pain that is not easily blocked out and forgotten.

I hope Cowboys fans can understand both sides of hope and pessimism this January. Both are understandable. Only winning multiple playoff games can erase the pessimism of the past. Let’s go Cowboys!

 

[Ranching]

Always hope! Pessimism doesn't help.

 

[Zekeats]

Pessimistic reason is Fraudo

 

[Creeper]

I good reason for pessimism is the way the Cowboys have played lately. Last Sunday was an abomination on offense. Dak was pitiful. The defense played a bit better but they were playing a bad offense with a rookie QB.

For the first 13 games or so I thought the Cowboys were different. They seemed to show a resilience I have not seem from them in years. But the last for or 5 games they have not been the same team that made big plays when they need one. I am wondering if the team that won some of those 12 games in big fashion will show up on Monday, or will we get something like the team that looked so awful against the Commanders.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

The postseason futility for the past quarter century has completely undone the 3 titles in 4 years. Jerry has almost become a net negative in his time here.

If we don’t start winning in the postseason I predict the team will fall off in popularity fairly soon. The old guys that have been holding on since the 90’s will lose interest.

 

[75boyz]

Yeah,
as I stated in your other Bucs offensive stats post Bob, I need to see the HC and QB truly lead by example bringing their A game to this one.

Seeing is believing for me and for me to have optimism these 2 most important leaders need to prove their worth on the biggest stage once again.

They both failed miserably last year.

 

[Bobhaze]

The postseason futility for the past quarter century has completely undone the 3 titles in 4 years. Jerry has almost become a net negative in his time here.

If we don’t start winning in the postseason I predict the team will fall off in popularity fairly soon. The old guys that have been holding on since the 90’s will lose interest.

CC I totally understand and agree. I have 3 sons all in their mid to late 30s who grew up watching the Cowboys win SBs. Today they all consider the Cowboys a complete joke as do most of their friends. It’s sad. They are all big Dallas Mavericks and Stars fans. They can’t believe I’m still a Cowboys fan.

Yeah,
as I stated in your other Bucs offensive stats post Bob, I need to see the HC and QB truly lead by example bringing their A game to this one.

Seeing is believing for me and for me to have optimism these 2 most important leaders need to prove their worth on the biggest stage once again.

They both failed miserably last year.

The only cure for all this will be winning at minimum TWO playoff games this year.

 

[Cowboy_svt]

CC I totally understand and agree. I have 3 sons all in their mid to late 30s who grew up watching the Cowboys win SBs. Today they all consider the Cowboys a complete joke as do most of their friends. It’s sad. They are all big Dallas Mavericks and Stars fans. They can’t believe I’m still a Cowboys fan.

The only cure for all this will be winning at minimum TWO playoff games this year.

Funny enough its the opposite on my end, my dad got to enjoy all the previous cowboy success under landry and jimmy and is basically why my brother and i are fans, but he doesnt even bother to watch them anymore, cant really say hes a fan anymore.

As for expectations im kinda floored, i was super confident in '14, and '18. Mad in '16 cause they didnt start romo, and last year i was expecting the defense to be better. This year im not sure and thats weird to say with a 12-5 team.

 

[jazzcat22]

Always better to be optimistic with some criticism if and when needed than to always be pessimistic constantly.

 

[Bobhaze]

Funny enough its the opposite on my end, my dad got to enjoy all the previous cowboy success under landry and jimmy and is basically why my brother and i are fans, but he doesnt even bother to watch them anymore, cant really say hes a fan anymore.

As for expectations im kinda floored, i was super confident in '14, and '18. Mad in '16 cause they didnt start romo, and last year i was expecting the defense to be better. This year im not sure and thats weird to say with a 12-5 team.

How could any Cowboys fan be confident based on the last few games coupled with the last 27 years? The people that say they are totally confident are just spouting hopeful bravado. Which is fine, but those who don’t have that confidence are certainly understandable as well.

 

[Rockport]

Being a Cowboys fan these days is for many of us a combination of feelings. Hope for the future and what may happen in this year’s playoffs coupled with the pain of the last 27 years where we have seen this team be 4-9 in the playoffs, never even winning a divisional round playoff game.

So as we go into the first back to back playoff season in 15 years on the heels of the first back to back 12 win seasons in 30 years, we can have some hope. But the dark clouds of the past cannot be ignored. Here’s a look at reasons for hope and reasons for pessimism.

REASONS FOR HOPE

• First back to back 12 win seasons in 30 years and first back to back playoff seasons in 15 years. That’s an accomplishment for an organization that has been consistently inconsistent.
• The drafts the last few years under Will McClay have been productive as opposed to 12-15 years ago when drafts where a nightmare. This team is fairly young, with several key players still developing.
• The NFC is wide open this year. Other than Brady, no other NFC QB for any other NFC team has won more than one playoff game.
• The NFL is highly unpredictable. Just when you think you know how this is going to go, strange things happen.

REASONS FOR PESSIMISM

• The guy in charge of all this is an 80 year old stubborn billionaire who cannot admit his mistakes and apparently doesn’t want to win bad enough to do whatever it takes to win. If he did he would have made changes at the top. He’s the one constant the last 27 years.
• This organization won 31 playoff games in its first 36 seasons. We have won 4 playoff games in the last 27. That’s hard to believe.
• The Cowboys have lost 8 straight road playoff games. The last road playoff win was in the 1992 NFC championship game at SF, when Jimmy Johnson stood up and shouted, “How about them Cowboys!” Jimmy was the last HC to win a road playoff game.
• We knew last Jan when we lost to the Niners at home this team needed to improve its run defense. Did the front office address that?

So as we head to Tampa this coming Monday, I have some hope and some pessimism. It’s hard not to when you look at the owner’s box and remember the last 27 seasons of playoff futility. These last 27 years have been painful. And that’s a pain that is not easily blocked out and forgotten.

I hope Cowboys fans can understand both sides of hope and pessimism this January. Both are understandable. Only winning multiple playoff games can erase the pessimism of the past. Let’s go Cowboys!

There’s no hope here at CZ. Have you been reading the threads? It’s like Planet of the Hapes and the Hapes have taken over.

 

[Bobhaze]

There’s no hope here at CZ. Have you been reading the threads? It’s like Planet of the Hapes and the Hapes have taken over.

What our fans think doesn’t matter. What the players think matters.

 

[xwalker]

Being a Cowboys fan these days is for many of us a combination of feelings. Hope for the future and what may happen in this year’s playoffs coupled with the pain of the last 27 years where we have seen this team be 4-9 in the playoffs, never even winning a divisional round playoff game.

So as we go into the first back to back playoff season in 15 years on the heels of the first back to back 12 win seasons in 30 years, we can have some hope. But the dark clouds of the past cannot be ignored. Here’s a look at reasons for hope and reasons for pessimism.

REASONS FOR HOPE

• First back to back 12 win seasons in 30 years and first back to back playoff seasons in 15 years. That’s an accomplishment for an organization that has been consistently inconsistent.
• The drafts the last few years under Will McClay have been productive as opposed to 12-15 years ago when drafts where a nightmare. This team is fairly young, with several key players still developing.
• The NFC is wide open this year. Other than Brady, no other NFC QB for any other NFC team has won more than one playoff game.
• The NFL is highly unpredictable. Just when you think you know how this is going to go, strange things happen.

REASONS FOR PESSIMISM

• The guy in charge of all this is an 80 year old stubborn billionaire who cannot admit his mistakes and apparently doesn’t want to win bad enough to do whatever it takes to win. If he did he would have made changes at the top. He’s the one constant the last 27 years.
• This organization won 31 playoff games in its first 36 seasons. We have won 4 playoff games in the last 27. That’s hard to believe.
• The Cowboys have lost 8 straight road playoff games. The last road playoff win was in the 1992 NFC championship game at SF, when Jimmy Johnson stood up and shouted, “How about them Cowboys!” Jimmy was the last HC to win a road playoff game.
• We knew last Jan when we lost to the Niners at home this team needed to improve its run defense. Did the front office address that?

So as we head to Tampa this coming Monday, I have some hope and some pessimism. It’s hard not to when you look at the owner’s box and remember the last 27 seasons of playoff futility. These last 27 years have been painful. And that’s a pain that is not easily blocked out and forgotten.

I hope Cowboys fans can understand both sides of hope and pessimism this January. Both are understandable. Only winning multiple playoff games can erase the pessimism of the past. Let’s go Cowboys!

Micah borrowed TO's hyperbaric chamber and will be so refreshed he'll break the all time playoff sacks total by a player in just one game...

 

[Praxit]

..I tend to look for the signs or indications.

12-5 back to back years. We're looking up
Dallas hasnt had back to back losses this year. Good sign.
We're getting players back from stubborn injuries. Good sign
Team Penalties are down. Looking up

The rest is basically luck. How the dice will fall.
Chess ♟️ incentives.

 

[Jumbo075]

Pessimism, however much it may seem justified, is never productive. Hope can lead to success. Always, always choose hope over pessimism. Always.

 

[Jumbo075]

NOTE: You can simultaneously check out, and remain hopeful for the team. I have only watched two Cowboys games in the past 6 seasons, i.e. mostly checked out. But I still watch the highlight videos of games, read up on the team, and keep up with the NFL in a general sort of way. I'm not nearly as involved emotionally with the team. If they lose, it doesn't really bother me. This past Sunday, instead of watching the game, I was giving a high school senior a tour of the college campus in hopes of recruiting him to engineering school. I checked the score around 8pm on Sunday night, and found out the Cowboys lost badly. I never even bothered to watch the highlight reel.

I won't watch the upcoming playoff games, but I do hope the Cowboys win. I'll cheer for them after-the-fact if they win, and shrug if they lose. I have to admit that I'll likely watch the Super Bowl if they make it that far. But until such a time arrives, I'm not emotionally invested. My residual interest is mostly due to habit and curiosity. I still enjoy watching the old games, but the new rules protecting the players make the game almost unwatchable anyway - even if the Cowboys were in Championship game every year. Defenses cannot play freely, and the beauty of the running game, as perfected by RB's like Sweetness, Dorsett, Dickerson, Marcus Allen, Herschel Walker, Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Curtis Martin, Shawn Alexander, Marshall Faulk and LaDanian Tomlinson is no longer prevalent. The Spread formation/Run and Shoot style of today's game, and the over-penalized nature of how the games are officiated is off-putting.

Football is supposed to be a gladiator sport. They've tamed it, and it doesn't have the same panache it used to have. There is no way in the old NFL a QB could play into his mid-40's. The game has become soft, and I understand why it doesn't have the same appeal to younger generations that it had to the men of my generation. That isn't pessimism - it is just an acknowledgement that the game has changed in ways that make it less appealing. Factor in the almost 3 decades of Cowboys futility, and it is a wonder that more fans haven't completely checked out.

 

[Whirlwin]

There’s no hope here at CZ. Have you been reading the threads? It’s like Planet of the Hapes and the Hapes have taken over.

They’re negative about what shoes to wear in the morning. It’s crazy this age group.

 

[Whirlwin]

It was a college study, everybody in the stadium was supposed to be as positive as they could. The team that they were rooting for won. There’s something about the positive energy. It just flows. What negativity will suck the life from you. If you let it.

 

[cowboyec]

what gives me hope about this team this season...
sept...2-1
oct...4-1
nov...2-1
dec...4-1
jan...0-1
if the pattern holds...we just had our 1 and only L this month.
they've responded after each loss with a 2 or 4 game winning streak all year.
i can't wait to see their response monday night.
i like this team alot.
scratch that.
i LOVE this team.
i think they respond and go on a post-season run.
monday night can't get here fast enough.
GO☆COWBOYS!

 

[Rockport]

They’re negative about what shoes to wear in the morning. It’s crazy this age group.

They don’t get out enough anymore. They stay cooped up playing video games. I’m going to Thailand in March for 2 weeks. People need to get out and live. Experience other cultures. Broaden their knowledge of the world.