This Pittsburgh game reminds me of the 2005 Seattle game

[TheSport78]

We played "Tuna Ball" today. The game today was eerily similar to the 2005 Seattle game when Barber made his first career start and we basically outplayed the Seahawks the entire game. But then Parcells got conservative in the 2nd half and we sat on a 7 point lead. Then Seattle gets a late TD and Bledsoe throws an INT where Seattle takes advantage and kicks the GW FG with no time remaining. I felt a very similar outcome was coming today when the Dallas offense got very conservative in the 2nd half and "played to lose." Very disappointed with the play-calling in the 2nd half..

 

[Boysboy]

We played "Tuna Ball" today. The game today was eerily similar to the 2005 Seattle game when Barber made his first career start and we basically outplayed the Seahawks the entire game. But then Parcells got conservative in the 2nd half and we sat on a 7 point lead. Then Seattle gets a late TD and Bledsoe throws an INT where Seattle takes advantage and kicks the GW FG with no time remaining. I felt a very similar outcome was coming today when the Dallas offense got very conservative in the 2nd half and "played to lose." Very disappointed with the play-calling in the 2nd half..

Darn! You beat me to this! I was thinking the exact same thing for the last 1/2 hour...if anything, it turned BOTH of our '05 seasons around. The Hawks were nothing more than an above-average team, and they subsequently built on this momentum and went on a run after this game. As for us-we were just up and down and up and down the rest of the year...we really never recovered from it.

To this day, I always wonder how both our's and the Hawks' seasons would have turned out if not for a couple of fluke plays + ultra-conversative play-calling in that game.

 

[dadymat]

so after watching Romo throw 2 picks and a fumble and still getting a 10 point lead you thought we should have been flinging it around more? those coaches were probably scared to death what Romo might do next.....just sayin

i have no problem with the O going conservative today considering the poor day Romo was having but i thought the D should have kept the pressure comin................and no im not blaming the D for the loss

 

[rojan]

I was thinkin the exact same thing not to long ago...I remember that game so well cuz it was my best friends team and I was talkin trash the whole game. This year it happened to be my brother that likes the Steelers.

 

[TheSport78]

Darn! You beat me to this! I was thinking the exact same thing for the last 1/2 hour...if anything, it turned BOTH of our '05 seasons around. The Hawks were nothing more than an above-average team, and they subsequently built on this momentum and went on a run after this game. As for us-we were just up and down and up and down the rest of the year...we really never recovered from it.

To this day, I always wonder how both our's and the Hawks' seasons would have turned out if not for a couple of fluke plays + ultra-conversative play-calling in that game.

Exactly, and I hope it doesn't turn out to be another 9-7 finish like the 05' season. Dallas can either roll over and die or admit that they let the game get away and start this run. At least we control our own destiny but I'm worried that the Week 17 game (@ PHI) is going to be for the 6th seed and the E-girls will be fired up. I hope I'm wrong and they're out of it by then.

 

[rojan]

Exactly, and I hope it doesn't turn out to be another 9-7 finish like the 05' season. Dallas can either roll over and die or admit that they let the game get away and start this run. At least we control our own destiny but I'm worried that the Week 17 game (@ PHI) is going to be for the 6th seed and the E-girls will be fired up. I hope I'm wrong and they're out of it by then.

I think if it goes to week 17 between us and the Eagles for the last playoff spot than they got our number. It's gonna be just as or even colder there and there crowd is gonna be more into it.

Hopefully it don't snow or T.O will be getting snow balled all day.

 

[AdamJT13]

I felt a very similar outcome was coming today when the Dallas offense got very conservative in the 2nd half and "played to lose." Very disappointed with the play-calling in the 2nd half..

The only conservative play call in the second half was running on third-and-5 from our 19 with a 13-3 lead.

We had a touchdown drive on our first possession of the second half. Our next drive inlcuded four pass plays and two runs, and it ended in a field goal because Romo got sacked on third down. Then came the third-and-5 possession. Our next possession was a run, a sack and a pass. The next possession was the interception for the winning touchdown.

Unless you wanted to throw the ball on every down, there really wasn't anything conservative except that one play.

And maybe a run on second down from our 41 when it was 13-6 would have helped. That sack on second down killed that possession and made the 9-yard pass on third down worthless.

 

[TheSport78]

The only conservative play call in the second half was running on third-and-5 from our 19 with a 13-3 lead.

We had a touchdown drive on our first possession of the second half. Our next drive inlcuded four pass plays and two runs, and it ended in a field goal because Romo got sacked on third down. Then came the third-and-5 possession. Our next possession was a run, a sack and a pass. The next possession was the interception for the winning touchdown.

Unless you wanted to throw the ball on every down, there really wasn't anything conservative except that one play.

And maybe a run on second down from our 41 when it was 13-6 would have helped. That sack on second down killed that possession and made the 9-yard pass on third down worthless.

That's why a football game is 4 quarters long. Apparantly the Cowboys didn't get the memo. Is it me or does our defense always let up at the most important and critical times? I said to my girlfriend in the 1st quarter, "This game is going to be won in the 4th quarter," and PIT won the 4th.

 

[Boysboy]

That's why a football game is 4 quarters long. Apparantly the Cowboys didn't get the memo. Is it me or does our defense always let up at the most important and critical times? I said to my girlfriend in the 1st quarter, "This game is going to be won in the 4th quarter," and PIT won the 4th.

Flashback to the 1st Skins game in '05.

Flashback to the Seattle game in '05.

Heck-flashback all the way to wk2 in '03, which was Parcells' 2nd game coaching this team, we ALMOST blew the Giants game...we ended up winning it b/c their kicker was dumb enough to kick it out of bounds with seconds remaining.

Different year-same 'ole movie.

 

[AdamJT13]

Is it me or does our defense always let up at the most important and critical times?

Our defense doesn't always let up at the most important and critical times, so if you truly believe that, it is just you.

Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. But whenever it happens, people like to say it always happens. It's like the people who say Romo always throws interceptions at the most important and critical times. He doesn't always do that, just sometimes.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Our defense doesn't always let up at the most important and critical times, so if you truly believe that, it is just you.

Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don't. But whenever it happens, people like to say it always happens. It's like the people who say Romo always throws interceptions at the most important and critical times. He doesn't always do that, just sometimes.

You mean just like every other player and/or defense in the league?

 

[AdamJT13]

You mean just like every other player and/or defense in the league?

Some more than others. (And ours less than most.)

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Some more than others. (And ours less than most.)

Yes! This is what I want to hear. Let's keep the positivity rolling. Goodness knows, I can't generate it for myself.

 

[RainMan]

This was the first time under Phillips/Garrett that I can recall us getting conservative. And, frankly, I think it was justified.

Our offense wasn't exactly inspiring confidence. We couldn't move the ball, were turning it over and just looked putrid all around against a great defense on a cold, windy day in a road game.

I know it sounds great to say "We should have gone for the throat!!!" And in 9 out of 10 other circumstances, I would agree. But today wasn't that time. Our defense was rolling and it was wiser to trust them than Romo, frankly.

If Romo drops back and throws a pick-six when we were leading by 10 midway in the fourth, we'd be screaming about how we should have been running clock instead of taking ill-advised risks. I think this is an example of you're damned if you do, damned if you don't when you lose.

 

[Boysboy]

This was the first time under Phillips/Garrett that I can recall us getting conservative. And, frankly, I think it was justified.

Our offense wasn't exactly inspiring confidence. We couldn't move the ball, were turning it over and just looked putrid all around against a great defense on a cold, windy day in a road game.

I know it sounds great to say "We should have gone for the throat!!!" And in 9 out of 10 other circumstances, I would agree. But today wasn't that time. Our defense was rolling and it was wiser to trust them than Romo, frankly.

If Romo drops back and throws a pick-six when we were leading by 10 midway in the fourth, we'd be screaming about how we should have been running clock instead of taking ill-advised risks. I think this is an example of you're damned if you do, damned if you don't when you lose.

That's the whole point-the entire team DOESN'T have this "Wins have to be EARNED" mentality.

Remember how we were making fun of the Steelers all week b/c they won almost all of their games by razor-thin margins, some of them against crappy teams? Well-you saw the BIG difference b/w us and the Steelers...the latter HAD that mentality, and we didn't.

Heck-look at the Giants-you can say they got lucky all you want, but they're one gritty team that emphasizes accountability.

 

[windward]

That's the whole point-the entire team DOESN'T have this "Wins have to be EARNED" mentality.

Remember how we were making fun of the Steelers all week b/c they won almost all of their games by razor-thin margins, some of them against crappy teams? Well-you saw the BIG difference b/w us and the Steelers...the latter HAD that mentality, and we didn't.

Heck-look at the Giants-you can say they got lucky all you want, but they're one gritty team that emphasizes accountability.

Nonsense.

Look at The Philly game, the 2nd skins game and the Tampa game.

We EARNED all of those wins.