What must everyone be thinking?

[superonyx]

i would love to but i dont have the option yet since i am new ! LOL

Gotcha.. I guess it's been a while since I was new..
Welcome to the forum. Stick around.

 

[the_showstopper]

NFC East: Dread, sheer dread. If the #@&*# Cowboys just nabbed their starting backfield for the next 10 years in a single draft, the haters will physically convulse. How many quarterbacks have the Commanders had to rifle through since Mark Rypien? How many have the Eagles before and after McNabb? And this running back behind THAT offensive line? Good gosh, if Dallas builds a defense, this is going to be a long decade. You can feel the angst and sense the bitterness. Meredith, Staubach, White, Aikman, Romo, and now 10+ years of another one? Son of a _________! And that's just from Mara, Lurie, and Snyder. The fans will have to drink another decade away.

I can tell you what one fan of the NFCE is thinking. Nothing at all. No dread, no panic.
Fans of the other teams don't care. Nobody is afraid of Prescott or Elliot.. Elliot will have to be dealt with, but it's not the end of the world. You guys still have skeletor running the team and playing gm, and that's the bottom line. Games will still be competitive, we'll lose some and you guys will lose some but nobody is really afraid Dallas will suddenly become a megapower just because you have a #4 draft pick running back and a 4th round qb who had a great preseason.There is no angst or bitterness.
Yes, Elliot is a good back, and yes you guys have a good run blocking line, but your team is largely irrelevant just like my team has been for the past 20 years. You guys think because you have a good o-line and a good rb that all of the sudden all the team's other woes will be covered up by it?
Do you know how many awesome running backs on crappy teams NFL history is littered with? Brown, Dickerson, Sanders, James, Tomlinson, Thomas, Gurley etc etc. There are tons of awesome runners and running games that amounted to absolutely zilch in the long run. Yes there are exceptions here and there, but by and large one outstanding area doesn't mask sub par ones long term. And you guys think Prescott will be better than your existing borderline HOF qb, based off of one preseason vs. 10+ years of solid work that wasn't able to get over the hump? What is the one common denominator in your 20 years of futility and ours? I'll give you one guess. Ours is changing now that we have a real GM adding talent and depth. It's still a work in progress but a vast improvement over the last 20 years.
Just some food for thought.

 

[phildadon86]

It'd be nice if we *cough* used more draft resources there *wheeze*.

I think next season if this offense is what it should be, you will be seeing a lot of defensive picks. Mainly at end and corner with Claiborne being on a 1 year and Carr being done. The interior of our line looks pretty decent "if" thornton and Crawford play to their levels. At LB I think we are ok as we are, obviously with room for improvement, as with any position. However, if that nerve fires and Smith is back to his full capacity. Im VERY excited about our LB corps. We will also need a WR if butler doesn't show out and Williams leaves. Next years draft will be mainly defensive along the line and in the back end IMO. The offense is already contender status. Add to that a top ten defense. We are ready to roll with Romo's last years.

 

[Diehardblues]

I'm terribly excited that it might not be the doom and gloom many have been predicting in the post Romo era.

But I also realize Rookie QB's have their struggles. My biggest concern is still our defense which I felt Romo and our offense was going to need to overcome anyway.

Most Rookie QB's who do have success going to the playoffs usually have top ranked defenses to help carry but they don't usually have a star studded offense around them.

Very intriguing situation we have. One all Cowboy fans should be thrilled with. And if Dak and this team have success it's going to be very controversial to bench him for Romo. Something I believe Jerry will do. And why my hunch is some might be rooting for Dak to do well but not too well while Romo is still here.

 

[CouchCoach]

Hard for me to buy that we had to "settle" for a player we spent a lot of time with and on before the draft. Drafting Prescott wasn't just pulling a name out of a hat.

Was he their first choice? They tried to get 2 QBs ahead of him so that time they spent with him didn't elevate him out of the 4th round. And we do not know if one of the 2 top picks had fallen to 4th that they wouldn't have taken one of them. And it has yet to be proven that he wasn't taken where he should have been.

 

[Diehardblues]

I think next season if this offense is what it should be, you will be seeing a lot of defensive picks. Mainly at end and corner with Claiborne being on a 1 year and Carr being done. The interior of our line looks pretty decent "if" thornton and Crawford play to their levels. At LB I think we are ok as we are, obviously with room for improvement, as with any position. However, if that nerve fires and Smith is back to his full capacity. Im VERY excited about our LB corps. We will also need a WR if butler doesn't show out and Williams leaves. Next years draft will be mainly defensive along the line and in the back end IMO. The offense is already contender status. Add to that a top ten defense. We are ready to roll with Romo's last years.

I wouldn't count on all defensive picks next year. T Will is in his contract year. We might pass on extending him and be looking for another WR early in draft or possibly even another TE. And that doesn't include our normal 2nd rd risk. And what if Dak disappoints we'll be looking for another QB.

 

[Diehardblues]

Was he their first choice? They tried to get 2 QBs ahead of him so that time they spent with him didn't elevate him out of the 4th round. And we do not know if one of the 2 top picks had fallen to 4th that they wouldn't have taken one of them. And it has yet to be proven that he wasn't taken where he should have been.

Yep.

They almost pulled off Lynch in the first round . Now that would have been an intended heir apparent.

Yea, I truly believe if Wentz was there we would have taken him.

But I'm not sure Jerry didn't think he had more time with Romo before needing to draft his heir apparent and was this year focused more on replacing Murray.

 

[bayeslife]

It'd be nice if we *cough* used more draft resources there *wheeze*.

If Dak miraculously pans out this offense doesn't need to be touched except for maybe another WR. We could literally just go and buy a defense

 

[plasticman]

I'm thinking that the Cowboys have great potential for their future with Dak, Zeke and that offensive line..........again, for their future.

But today? With two rookies in the backfield? With that defensive line?

Realistically, as if it's possible for us to conceive, the Cowboys should struggle through at least the first half of the season, I'm hoping no worse than 3-5. After that, I'm hoping the return of the DE's and the rookie's learning curve will have them peaking around Thanksgiving.

Tony Romo? It's over, period. They may try to roll him out one more time and they would be doing him an injustice. He played poorly last season when he did play, regardless of the Giant game miracle.

It's time to move forward but that implies some level of growing pains.

 

[noshame]

I'm going to hold out hope that this defense will be a little better rested and have a few points behind it allowing it to be a bit more aggressive

That may be all we need if rod doesn't adjust he has to go and we don't need to wait for an entire season

As far as Romo goes honestly defenses are going to be really gunning for the guy they will take that extra step and suffer a flag just to knock him flat and land on top of him. It's sad but it's football.

I must say it was a good read erod. (Noshame falls to floor)

 

[Cowboyz88]

Hope Dak is the real deal, but IMO, it's way way way too early to declare him heir apparent to anybody.

Let's get through a real game first.

 

[Direwolf63]

Good post overall, Erod.

But I just don't think the NFC East rivals are as terrified of the Cowboys as you believe. The Commander poster above proves the point.

Nobody believes we are the next Patriots just because Dak showed some promise in preseason action.

 

[jday]

These are interesting times indeed. What a mystery awaits on Sunday. Nobody really knows what to expect. Positive and negative vibes flow simultaneously as hope springs, yet disappointment threatens at the same time. Vegas has it as a pick-em. Nobody knows diddly.

It ain't just us wondering what all this means. Everybody. Coaches, players, opponents, media....the football world wonders what this Sunday's peak into Cowboys future will look like.

What must they be thinking?

NFC East: Dread, sheer dread. If the #@&*# Cowboys just nabbed their starting backfield for the next 10 years in a single draft, the haters will physically convulse. How many quarterbacks have the Commanders had to rifle through since Mark Rypien? How many have the Eagles before and after McNabb? And this running back behind THAT offensive line? Good gosh, if Dallas builds a defense, this is going to be a long decade. You can feel the angst and sense the bitterness. Meredith, Staubach, White, Aikman, Romo, and now 10+ years of another one? Son of a _________! And that's just from Mara, Lurie, and Snyder. The fans will have to drink another decade away.

Tony Romo: I'd certainly give more than a penny for his thoughts. My guess is, he now knows he's got to let it rip when he gets back, assuming Prescott is adequate or better these next few games. That's both comforting and threatening to a QB who desperately wants to win before he's gone, but also is accustomed to knowing nothing sits behind him if he falls. I'll bet we see an aggressive and spirited Romo upon his return. His window is now smaller not just because of father time and injuries, it's smaller because of what looms in waiting. Prescott isn't fully ready, but it also won't be all that long. Two years tops. Just like us, Romo must be anxious to find out how he holds up, and if his magic still exists because a reasonable performance by Prescott, and a QB controversy looms next offseason. This time, it won't just be non-thinking whims of casual know-nothings. The debate will be real, and it'll be spectacular.

Jason Garrett/Scott Linehan: Time to take the gloves off with Romo. When he's ready to come back, call the game to win alone, not to protect him. Let the chips fall where they may. If he's the same Romo as they hope and expect, then awesome! But if not, this time there's not a paneled station wagon collecting dust on the other side of the garage in waiting. This time, there's a DeLorean with a flux capacitor ready to take us to the future, record be damned this year.

McClay and the Joneses: What a lucky coup this would be. After failing to pull off trades to grab Paxton Lynch or Connor Cook, they "settled" for a QB they would no doubt rather have now than those two. If this is real, it's like a Romo miracle all over again, and boy does that set up immediate possibilities next offseason. Imagine a key defensive free agent signing, the addition of a healthy Jaylon Smith, and four consecutive defensive picks to start the draft. With an offense solidly in place with young studleys, a defense could be crafted and stacked in short order with 6-7 players.

The National Media: Yep, this stock of ninnies are as scared as the divisional opponents. Mind you, these are mostly a collection of paste-eating dorks who grew up in the northeast despising the pretty Cowboys. They play "expert" and fake objectivity, but they're all just Stephen A. Smith in disguise. If you look close enough, you can see their Patriots and Giants underwear sticking out of the top of their pants. They have nightmares of Romo leading this team to a championship already, and now they've got another QB to take the baton and run through another football generation? I'm telling you, they're scheming as we speak in case Dak can really play. They're petrified. They lavish the times when Dallas is bad, and this does not bode well.

Me: I don't know what to think or what I want. The perfect scenario is a healthy Romo by Week 5 and an encouraging run by Prescott. Then a season for Dak to watch and learn and work on his craft. Winning this season will require experience in those late-game scenarios against the likes of Pittsburgh and Green Bay. That's when the elite QBs earn their stripes. Romo is the guy for that right now, not Dak, and imagine how good that would be for Dak to witness first hand as Romo's understudy. What a boost to his development that would be. That's what I most hope for, a strong finish for Romo and an accelerated learning curve for Prescott. Perfection.

There will be two utterly fascinating games to watch this season: this Sunday, and the first game Romo plays. And what an amazingly interesting and captivating season this will be, win or lose, good or bad, healthy Romo or not.

I'm giddy.

Rarely do I read some thing so good I wish I had wrote it. This is one of those times sir. Very well done.

 

[Diehardblues]

Good post overall, Erod.

But I just don't think the NFC East rivals are as terrified of the Cowboys as you believe. The Commander poster above proves the point.

Nobody believes we are the next Patriots just because Dak showed some promise in preseason action.

Good point.

We really do get too full of ourselves like we could build a defense fast enough anyway. How many years has it taken us to surround Romo with a star studded offense ?

Not fast enough for him to stay upright long enough to take advantage of it.

Most of the great teams contending for championships have great defenses and or a healthy elite QB. We certainly don't have one of those and not sure of the other yet.

 

[fishspill]

I won't be nearly as interested in this year if Romo ever gets the start over Dak. It'll mean Dak isn't performing that well or, worse still, he is performing well and the organization is too thick-skulled to let him take over the team. If Romo does come back in that situation I'll be interested to see if he pushes it more with his line calls trying to show how much more refined he is than Dak, and then see if he pulls it off or ends up making this thing flounder by taking the ball out of Zeke's hands.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

Dakota Prescott is the only thinking.

 

[CATCH17]

Don't call the game to protect Romo? They never have.

20 yard routes down field with him running around waiting for someone to get open.

A lot of his injuries are their fault from him being constantly forced to extend plays because the routes don't get people open.

 

[Doomsay]

Hope Dak is the real deal, but IMO, it's way way way too early to declare him heir apparent to anybody.

Let's get through a real game first.

More like first series! I think that it's inevitable that he gets picked Sunday, it will be interesting to see how he responds.

 

[Cowboyz88]

Good point.

We really do get too full of ourselves like we could build a defense fast enough anyway. How many years has it taken us to surround Romo with a star studded offense ?

Not fast enough for him to stay upright long enough to take advantage of it.

Most of the great teams contending for championships have great defenses and or a healthy elite QB. We certainly don't have one of those and not sure of the other yet.

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but many seasons ago on this very board, I expressed some fears about this team wasting the great years of Romo, Ware and Witten and by the time we did have a good/great team, it would be too late for those guys.

IMO, we're only great on offense and still have a way to go on defense, but Romo and Witten may not be here to reap the benefits.

The FO took way too long to get it done.

Hopefully, Dak is the real deal and they'll be able to surround him with a great team.

 

[CCBoy]

Fun read, Erod...and some don't realize entertaining isn't always set in stone.

Some good insight was included as well...perspectives.