These are the situations where we have traditionally fallen apart under Garrett

[Gaede]

It's true. This game could be a letdown. I still feel much better about this team that I had previously. So I'll gladly take that. But that's all I am allowing myself to think about at this point.

 

[Beast_from_East]

I would be worried if it was somebody besides Houston we were playing this weekend.......................seriously, they are not very good.

Commanders and Bills at home and a road game against the Raiders..........that's their wins for the season.

Fitzpartick is also terrible, if we lose to him after beating Drew Brees...................wow, somebody needs to get fired.

 

[AsthmaField]

This team doesn't feel much at all like anything I've felt since Garrett took over. This is different... a lot different, IMO.

The way they're winning, the strength of the team, it all feels different than in previous years. All I can say is that I, personally, see the difference.

Big time.

 

[Joe Realist]

The way fans here, and critics around the league are viewing this team feels very familiar. We've seen and heard this song and dance before. And I'm not going to lie - I'm feeling optimistic. This offensive line is looking stout and the offense is running like a well-oiled machine.

But let's look at history for a second.

2011:
We lost a close one to the Jets to open the season, a game we should have won, and then the classic win over the Niners and a close one over the Commanders. There was a lot of positive energy around here, until Romo and Garrett went out the next week and monumentally choked away the Lions win. They got back on track for that 4-game win streak and there was a sense around here that the team "finally got it", but the wheels fell off when Bailey was famously "iced" by Garrett in the loss to Arizona and we ended the season laying our backs, staring up at the lights.

2012:
Come on, when we opened the season by smacking around the Giants in NY, who around here didn't have us pegged as a SuperBowl favorite? Of course, we came back down to earth after that, but that 3-game win streak late in the season surely had people buzzing that once again, the team had finally figured it all out and found its way. Once again, we couldn't finish and lost the last two to go 8-8.

2013:
We were feeling good after that Broncos shootout. Yeah, it was a tough loss, but damn did the offense look good or what? Then we win the next two, including a dominant win over the much-hyped Chip Kelly-led Eagles. Then, of course, we go into Detroit and lose a game that really had NO business losing, and from there it was back to the usual Jekyll and Hide Cowboys that we're used to.

So now we sit at 3-1, on an emotional high after the Saints win. Traditionally, this is where we fall apart. This is where Garrett or Romo usually take a winnable game and throw it away in mind-boggling fashion.

What do you guys think? Is this team different?

8-8 until proven otherwise.

 

[Frosty]

Romo has gotten better each week, I think that has to be accounted for also.

Romo and the Cowboys typically play good in September.....switch it around.....they play horrible in December......I enjoy the wins but I am not drinking the kool-aid until I see this team WIN in December.....

 

[Idgit]

It does feel different with us having success playing so physically. That said, this is a classic trap game: at home, playing a team that's overachieving, and sandwiched between two measuring stick games. All it takes is a couple turnovers to lose a game we should readily win.

It's too hard to win games in this league right now. Literally anybody can beat anybody if the better team just gets a little bit careless. All it takes is one player, really, to cough up a win in a tight game.

 

[dstovall5]

Not really. I don't think anyone was tooting this team's horn after beating the lowly Titans and barely scraping by the Rams.

Those same lowly titans blew out the Cheifs in arrowhead stadium, and also have a respectable defense. The rams have a respectable defense as well, once again, fans taking credit away from this team. Any win in today's NFL is a good win, they don't come by often and it's a week to week league.

 

[Wezsh0T]

Like many of you, I'm hesitant to fully commit all my emotions to the Cowboys. We've been burned by this before.

However, there is a difference between this team and those others. While we were winning those other years, it seemed like we lucked into those wins or that there was still a lot to be desired. I don't think we had really ever put together a complete game. The identity of those teams was also much different. It seemed like every week, something extraordinary was happening and we were getting "lucky".

For the first time in a LONG time, this team has an identity. The identity is that we'll line up the ball and smash you in the mouth. If you try to stop us, we will surgically tear your secondary apart with all our weapons. This doesn't seem like luck. This seems like a repeatable formula. That's the difference.

 

[Redball Express]

The way fans here, and critics around the league are viewing this team feels very familiar. We've seen and heard this song and dance before. And I'm not going to lie - I'm feeling optimistic. This offensive line is looking stout and the offense is running like a well-oiled machine.

But let's look at history for a second.

2011:
We lost a close one to the Jets to open the season, a game we should have won, and then the classic win over the Niners and a close one over the Commanders. There was a lot of positive energy around here, until Romo and Garrett went out the next week and monumentally choked away the Lions win. They got back on track for that 4-game win streak and there was a sense around here that the team "finally got it", but the wheels fell off when Bailey was famously "iced" by Garrett in the loss to Arizona and we ended the season laying our backs, staring up at the lights.

2012:
Come on, when we opened the season by smacking around the Giants in NY, who around here didn't have us pegged as a SuperBowl favorite? Of course, we came back down to earth after that, but that 3-game win streak late in the season surely had people buzzing that once again, the team had finally figured it all out and found its way. Once again, we couldn't finish and lost the last two to go 8-8.

2013:
We were feeling good after that Broncos shootout. Yeah, it was a tough loss, but damn did the offense look good or what? Then we win the next two, including a dominant win over the much-hyped Chip Kelly-led Eagles. Then, of course, we go into Detroit and lose a game that really had NO business losing, and from there it was back to the usual Jekyll and Hide Cowboys that we're used to.

So now we sit at 3-1, on an emotional high after the Saints win. Traditionally, this is where we fall apart. This is where Garrett or Romo usually take a winnable game and throw it away in mind-boggling fashion.

What do you guys think? Is this team different?

The history of the team is..

we crack under pressure and ALWAYS find a way to lose the games that count.

It was pointed out somewhere that we still have not beaten a team with a winning record.

So it continues..

 

[30yrheel]

The way fans here, and critics around the league are viewing this team feels very familiar. We've seen and heard this song and dance before. And I'm not going to lie - I'm feeling optimistic. This offensive line is looking stout and the offense is running like a well-oiled machine.

But let's look at history for a second.

2011:
We lost a close one to the Jets to open the season, a game we should have won, and then the classic win over the Niners and a close one over the Commanders. There was a lot of positive energy around here, until Romo and Garrett went out the next week and monumentally choked away the Lions win. They got back on track for that 4-game win streak and there was a sense around here that the team "finally got it", but the wheels fell off when Bailey was famously "iced" by Garrett in the loss to Arizona and we ended the season laying our backs, staring up at the lights.

2012:
Come on, when we opened the season by smacking around the Giants in NY, who around here didn't have us pegged as a SuperBowl favorite? Of course, we came back down to earth after that, but that 3-game win streak late in the season surely had people buzzing that once again, the team had finally figured it all out and found its way. Once again, we couldn't finish and lost the last two to go 8-8.

2013:
We were feeling good after that Broncos shootout. Yeah, it was a tough loss, but damn did the offense look good or what? Then we win the next two, including a dominant win over the much-hyped Chip Kelly-led Eagles. Then, of course, we go into Detroit and lose a game that really had NO business losing, and from there it was back to the usual Jekyll and Hide Cowboys that we're used to.

So now we sit at 3-1, on an emotional high after the Saints win. Traditionally, this is where we fall apart. This is where Garrett or Romo usually take a winnable game and throw it away in mind-boggling fashion.

What do you guys think? Is this team different?

Prove us wrong. Otherwise, same old story.

 

[Crown Royal]

Regarding last year's Detroit game. You mention we had no business losing it. I think you should watch it once again - we really had little business even being in the game. Sure they turned the ball over a lot, but that was really the only positive for the Cowboys. They were getting killed. The turnovers is the only thing that kept them in the game in the first place.

Credit the defense for causing them, but Detroit was stomping a mud hole into the cowboys and finally got the kill shot.

EDIT: As to the entire post - the only thing that is clearly different is the offense. Our ability to pound it on the ground is a far more sustainable way to win games than what you saw in Denver last year, which was the old sling-it approach. I am still not convinced that our run game was truly the plan and not a reaction to Romo's injuries, but either way the coaching staff has moved the team in that direction and it's being effective.

 

[JD_KaPow]

They don't know how to handle success.

we crack under pressure and ALWAYS find a way to lose the games that count.

The last few years, the Cowboys have done exactly what .500 teams do. They've won a couple games or stayed surprisingly close in games that they weren't supposed to win. They've lost a couple games or been taken to the wire in games they should have won. Mostly, they've beaten poor teams and lost to good teams. They haven't put together streaks because, well, they were a .500 team.

After every good win or 2- or 3-game streak, people here always start talking about how "this time is different" and "they're building momentum". And after every bad stretch, "they choked" or "they have no heart". When the truth is that they were simply a .500 team, doing what .500 teams do. And it's got way more to do with talent level and matchups than with character or desire or intestinal fortitude or momentum (it has approximately nothing to do with those things).

I'm a fan too. I think they're better this year and can point to all sorts of reasons why. But there's a good chance I'm completely wrong, and they're middle-of-the-pack after all. Can't wait to find out.

 

[rcaldw]

I hope so. There is less Garrett now that Linehan is here and less Garrett can never be a bad thing.

lol, you know what makes me laugh about these posts. This is the secret sauce for getting your likes count up. Post anything that disses Garrett and the same guys hit the like button every time. I haven't counted, but I'm guessing 7 or 8 every time. And the more we win, the more desperate they become for traction, so the likes become even more guaranteed.

 

[btcutter]

The way fans here, and critics around the league are viewing this team feels very familiar. We've seen and heard this song and dance before. And I'm not going to lie - I'm feeling optimistic. This offensive line is looking stout and the offense is running like a well-oiled machine.

But let's look at history for a second.

2011:
We lost a close one to the Jets to open the season, a game we should have won, and then the classic win over the Niners and a close one over the Commanders. There was a lot of positive energy around here, until Romo and Garrett went out the next week and monumentally choked away the Lions win. They got back on track for that 4-game win streak and there was a sense around here that the team "finally got it", but the wheels fell off when Bailey was famously "iced" by Garrett in the loss to Arizona and we ended the season laying our backs, staring up at the lights.

2012:
Come on, when we opened the season by smacking around the Giants in NY, who around here didn't have us pegged as a SuperBowl favorite? Of course, we came back down to earth after that, but that 3-game win streak late in the season surely had people buzzing that once again, the team had finally figured it all out and found its way. Once again, we couldn't finish and lost the last two to go 8-8.

2013:
We were feeling good after that Broncos shootout. Yeah, it was a tough loss, but damn did the offense look good or what? Then we win the next two, including a dominant win over the much-hyped Chip Kelly-led Eagles. Then, of course, we go into Detroit and lose a game that really had NO business losing, and from there it was back to the usual Jekyll and Hide Cowboys that we're used to.

So now we sit at 3-1, on an emotional high after the Saints win. Traditionally, this is where we fall apart. This is where Garrett or Romo usually take a winnable game and throw it away in mind-boggling fashion.

What do you guys think? Is this team different?

So far it has been different because:

1. No way we came back against Rams after being down by 21.
2. We don't hold the lead against the Saints even if we were up by 24.

If Garrett's sticks to the run then this team will be different. I am not saying we will win the East or get into the Playoffs but the mentality of a hardnose running team makes this a much tougher team.

 

[bayeslife]

OP has a pretty good point.

Something to note though is that this is probably the best offensive line and running game in 20 years. Will it be the factor that finally swings everything back into our favor?

 

[TheFinisher]

Those teams didn't have a dominant OL or a defense that, although light on star talent, swarms to the ball and plays physical. Those two differences are huge and will give you a chance every week.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

Not really. I don't think anyone was tooting this team's horn after beating the lowly Titans and barely scraping by the Rams.

The narrative being we beat who we should. Lose to anyone good. 8-8

 

[joseephuss]

The narrative being we beat who we should. Lose to anyone good. 8-8

So wouldn't that apply to the Texans game? By most accounts Dallas should beat the Texans because Houston isn't considered a good team.

 

[Alexander]

I think so. Feels different to me.

Want it to be real bad. Still going to wait to see it though. I guess that qualifies as "bad fan". So be it.

I just see a lot of chest puffing. That is usually when we fall flat. Not sure if this team is used to winning yet.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

So wouldn't that apply to the Texans game? By most accounts Dallas should beat the Texans because Houston isn't considered a good team.

We are favored by 5.