What can we take from the NFC Championship game?

[Future]

this is just not true

also, seattle already had one of the best DLs last year but do you know what they did in the off season? signed avril and bennet, 2 players who would be starters on most teams

they understand the importance of the position and they understand that injuries are a part of the game and they plan accordingly

BTW, avril and bennet combined cost then less than spencer cost us

once again, our plan is a hope and a prayer

If injuries and age have anything to do with each other, explain Lee, Bass, and Crawford.

Again, I'm not saying Jerry did as good a job building a Dline as Seattle. That's not my point. The point is, when we are talking about depth and great drafting, as AIkman was, it doesn't matter when your top 6 guys all go down.

 

[Western]

For once, I'm more pessimistic than you. We are in for another series of unsuccessful rebuilds lasting 15+ years because what I got from last night's games is that very good teams aren't perfect but they're put together professionally within a system under a strong head coach and good GM. I think Aikman at one point pointed out that both GMs had done a great job of identifying and acquiring talent. It was mentioned multiple times how simple and un-deceptive the Seattle D is. It's in a sense predictable but it is still great because the talent is there.

Our 'GM' is not good at acquiring talent. For every player he hits on (Ware, Smith, Frederick, Ratliff, Romo), there are four or five he misses. His draft day wheeling and dealing, which doesn't have a strong track record in the end, sets him apart from most GMs. And every six or seven years he mis-analyzes his team's capacity and needs, and trades multiple high draft picks for a WR. At the same time, he doesn't seem to choose coaches well and is limited on the coaches he can lure for reasons that have been stated on this forum 10,000 times.

What I took away from last night's game (which was awesome) was that we are categorically different, in a bad way.

Excellent analysis.
Both John Schneider and John Elway know how to select quality coaches, draft/sign promising players, & manage the salary cap.

 

[visionary]

If injuries and age have anything to do with each other, explain Lee, Bass, and Crawford.

Again, I'm not saying Jerry did as good a job building a Dline as Seattle. That's not my point. The point is, when we are talking about depth and great drafting, as AIkman was, it doesn't matter when your top 6 guys all go down.

of course young guys can get injured too, it is just that older players are more likely to get injured

and if your starters get injured, would you rather have bass and whoever or avril and bennet?

again, when you count on older previously injured players at a key position where injuries occur, then that is not just bad luck, it is bad planning..... you sign/draft young players who are healthier and have backups that are proven... that is better planning

teams like seattle and SF plan a certain way because they value the position, we dont

anyway, both of us know where we are coming from so i will bow out of this debate since neither will convince the other

 

[Future]

of course young guys can get injured too, it is just that older players are more likely to get injured

and if your starters get injured, would you rather have bass and whoever or avril and bennet?

again, when you count on older previously injured players at a key position where injuries occur, then that is not just bad luck, it is bad planning..... you sign/draft young players who are healthier and have backups that are proven... that is better planning

teams like seattle and SF plan a certain way because they value the position, we dont

anyway, both of us know where we are coming from so i will bow out of this debate since neither will convince the other

I would like to see one piece of valuable evidence that shows older guys are more likely to get injured. One. Hell, the Cowboys had more young guys than old get hurt this year. Same for the Pats. Injury prone is injury prone.

You keep arguing a point I'm not making. I know SF and Seattle have better Dline depth. But when you lose your top 6 or 7 guys, it doesn't matter how much depth you had.

 

[DoomsDayD]

Defense wins... Give Romo a top 10 defense that be relied upon when it matters and watch how far Dallas can go.

Unfortunately by the time this happens ROMO will be gone...and no I don't mean traded I mean in a rocking chair. The way things are going I just don't see it I am sorry.

 

[JohnnyHopkins]

I didn't take away anything that I didn't already know. Our Front Office is unmatched in marketing prowess and ego, yet woefully in over their heads in talent acquisition and direction.

 

[Direwolf63]

Good D-line discussion. But one thing we are missing.

Seattle (and SF) have QB's on their rookie contracts that cost almost nothing. That allows them to get quality depth at other positions, especially D-line.

Once Wilson gets his $130M contract and guys like Sherman and Wagner start making $10-$15M each, their depth at other positions will evaporate quickly.

The key to both teams are that they get huge production from players on their rookie contracts, especially at the QB position. We get production at QB, but it costs $10-$15M a year in cap costs. It costs Seattle and SF less than $1M. Massive difference.

Most of the Cowboy players on rookie contract either can't play or are hurt. That's why we can't compete with Seattle or SF. And we never will as long as Jerry keeps getting guys who are just backing up aging vets.

 

[Blackspider214]

Wut?? Wilson is not getting that type of contract.

 

[SportsGuru80]

Adding more quality depth to the defensive line will do wonders for the Cowboys defense.

 

[BoysFan4ever]

Elway has done a great job.

But he has a great owner & a head coach who is not learning on the job.

We have neither of those.

 

[TNCowboy]

Wasn't much to learn. It was exactly the kind of game everyone thought it would be. Both teams just have much better players than Dallas because, as someone said above, they can draft good players after round 1. It speaks volumes to how good both rosters are that they got this far with generally mediocre QB play, and that really there's no debate that these were the 2 best NFC teams.

 

[Direwolf63]

Wut?? Wilson is not getting that type of contract.

Oh yes he will. Not this year, but when his deal is up. He will get that and maybe more.

One can argue whether he deserves it or not. But he's becoming a huge favorite in Seattle. He will get serious money when his time comes.

 

[TNCowboy]

Elway has done a great job.

But he has a great owner & a head coach who is not learning on the job.

We have neither of those.

This x1000.

Denver lost their starting LT and their best pass rusher for most of the season. Plus a lot of other players. Yet year after year we've seen the Cowboys with all of their key players on the field as the season ends and it's still not nearly good enough.

 

[CrownCowboy]

Yea, because Kaep's 153 yards passing three straight turnovers to end the game really made SF look elite.

All we learned yesterday is that there are only two top-tier teams in the entire NFL. They are both going to the Super Bowl. I don't think anybody else is even close to them.

Whatever, dude.

If you have any illusions that we can compete with any of the four teams (yes all four teams) that played yesterday then I guess we all know why Jerry's pockets keep getting lined full.

I could care less how many yards Kaep threw for. His team had the ball in the redzone to win the game and go to the Super Bowl with under 30 seconds left at Seattle. If we were playing at Seattle and there were under 30 seconds to go, the game would have been over for almost probably two quarters and the starters for the Seahawks would have probably already went home to leave their 4th stringers to finish us off.

Give me a break!

 

[Future]

Whatever, dude.

If you have any illusions that we can compete with any of the four teams (yes all four teams) that played yesterday then I guess we all know why Jerry's pockets keep getting lined full.

I could care less how many yards Kaep threw for. His team had the ball in the redzone to win the game and go to the Super Bowl with under 30 seconds left at Seattle. If we were playing at Seattle and there were under 30 seconds to go, the game would have been over for almost probably two quarters and the starters for the Seahawks would have probably already went home to leave their 4th stringers to finish us off.

Give me a break!

Well, dude, at what point did I say Dallas was as good as them?

Not to mention the fact that we lost to Denver on a last-second field goal is about as competitive as it gets...

 

[Direwolf63]

Well, dude, at what point did I say Dallas was as good as them?

Not to mention the fact that we lost to Denver on a last-second field goal is about as competitive as it gets...

True. We played the Broncos very tough. Very close game. We could have won it. Doesn't mean we are anywhere close to them.

Denver beats us 95 times out of 100. That game was almost one of those 5 outliers. They are light years better than us, as are New England, SF and Seattle.

This is what Jerry Jones fails to understand. Just because we played the Broncos and Chiefs close, he thinks that means we are close to them. Nothing could be further than the truth.

 

[CrownCowboy]

Well, dude, at what point did I say Dallas was as good as them?

Not to mention the fact that we lost to Denver on a last-second field goal is about as competitive as it gets...

You insinuated that there are really only two teams that every team in the league, including the Cowboys, are nowhere close to being as good as. That's terrible.

Not only are you wrong but you are ridiculously wrong. Considering our defense, our dysfunctional front office and inept coaching staff, i'd say that there are probably 10 to 12 teams the Cowboys are not as good as and it might be even more.

 

[mahoneybill]

Penetrating D Line, and swarming LB's make secondary play easier. That said having studs who can cover and come down with Int's makes the O's job that much easier.

Russell Wilson threw a great 4th down pass for the TD, but other wise was doing his best Romo escape most of the game, and put on his shoulders alone I don't think he would have pulled this game out.

 

[Future]

You insinuated that there are really only two teams that every team in the league, including the Cowboys, are nowhere close to being as good as. That's terrible.

Not only are you wrong but you are ridiculously wrong. Considering our defense, our dysfunctional front office and inept coaching staff, i'd say that there are probably 10 to 12 teams the Cowboys are not as good as and it might be even more.

I never said the Cowboys were on par as the third best team in the league. Quit putting words in my mouth.

Having said that, the whole league sucks this year. There really are only two elite teams. After that there's decent teams, average teams, bad teams, and terrible teams. There is no elite-very good-good, etc.

 

[CrownCowboy]

I never said the Cowboys were on par as the third best team in the league. Quit putting words in my mouth.

Having said that, the whole league sucks this year. There really are only two elite teams. After that there's decent teams, average teams, bad teams, and terrible teams. There is no elite-very good-good, etc.

I'm not putting words in your mouth. I just read your post and inferred what most people would that read it.

Thanks for clearing it up though. I think we agree that the Cowboys are a bad team, regardless of who might be elite.