What? Why?

[WV Cowboy]

One of the players said this in the post game interviews, I forget who. And then these quotes.

"I'm just crushed," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said after the game. "There was a time there in the fourth quarter - we were in total control - and I thought we were going to win the game. So, it's really disappointing. I'm just sick about it."

Nick Eatman: And if you were like me, you thought when the Cowboys stuffed the Steelers and held them out of the end zone, preserving a 13-3 lead with 12:20 to play, that it was all but over.

But the momentum was completely with the Cowboys. They had the ball, a 10-point lead, not to mention a swagger.

Guys like Terrell Owens, and Choice and Roy Williams were dancing to the beat of the in-stadium music that was being played in a timeout. Some of the players were jabbering back and forth with the stands in the end zone. The Cowboys were rolling, and needed a few more first downs and nothing major to go wrong, and they're flying home tonight, back to Dallas with a 9-4 record and four-game winning streak.

This is a problem. You can never never think a game is over until it is over.

Especially with 12:00 minutes left ???

The players thought it, the owner, evidently the coaches, even the writers. Babe and Brad mentioned it.

What have we done lately to make people think this way?

This sickens me.

This is one reason we lost, we let up thinking it was already decided.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

Thats not why we lost.

Not yesterday anyways.


We wanted to score more.
We needed to score more.

But we didnt.


That the teams "execution" fault.

 

[WV Cowboy]

Thats not why we lost.

Not yesterday anyways.


We wanted to score more.
We needed to score more.

But we didnt.


That the teams "execution" fault.

I felt we went conservative on offense and defense and started playing "not to lose", "run the clock", when we were up ten and had stopped them on 4th and goal.

It seems some were thinking we had already done enough to win, ... let's run the clock down, get out of the cold and go home.

 

[diekrazy]

I felt we went conservative on offense and defense and started playing "not to lose", "run the clock", when we were up ten and had stopped them on 4th and goal.

It seems some were thinking we had already done enough to win, ... let's run the clock down, get out of the cold and go home.

That's exactly what lost us the game! The stupid prevent defense does nothing but prevent you from winning. It reminds me of the dumb B.P. play not to lose mentality in the 4th quarter. Why can't this team understand that we need to go for the jugular and finish a team off when we have them on the ropes.

 

[WV Cowboy]

That's exactly what lost us the game! The stupid prevent defense does nothing but prevent you from winning. It reminds me of the dumb B.P. play not to lose mentality in the 4th quarter. Why can't this team understand that we need to go for the jugular and finish a team off when we have them on the ropes.

Coaches fear having to answer the post game question, "why were you passing, and stopping the clock with each incompletion when that helped the other team?"

Or, "why did you throw that pic when running out the clock would have won the game?"

But you can go into that mode too early, and we did.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

I felt we went conservative on offense and defense and started playing "not to lose", "run the clock", when we were up ten and had stopped them on 4th and goal.

It seems some were thinking we had already done enough to win, ... let's run the clock down, get out of the cold and go home.

I agree... its just that passing wasnt working well and Romo was off all day.

 

[Boysboy]

I felt we went conservative on offense and defense and started playing "not to lose", "run the clock", when we were up ten and had stopped them on 4th and goal.

It seems some were thinking we had already done enough to win, ... let's run the clock down, get out of the cold and go home.

You mean alot like the Giants did in our playoff game last year, when Coughlin made conservative playcalls, INSTEAD of rolling out Eli when Boss was getting separation successfully in the open field to get a game-ending 1st down?

No-it had nothing to do with "playing not to lose". The players didn't perservere for 60 minutes, they didn't execute...don't blame the coaches on this.

 

[WV Cowboy]

I agree... its just that passing wasnt working well and Romo was off all day.

I wonder if shorter passes would have worked. They seemed to be giving us those with the 10+ yd cushion they were giving our receivers.

Snap the ball, throw to the WR at the line, get 3-4 yds. Maybe more.

 

[lcharles]

Did I read that right? Did Jerry say he was sick?


ray: :crossed:

 

[WV Cowboy]

...don't blame the coaches on this.

I do, it seemed with a 10 pt lead all we were set on was running clock and punting.

We even slowed down our pressure on BR in fear of giving up a deep pass.

I would rather fail going "balls out" than playing not to lose.

 

[RainMan]

I think this goes back to why this team struggles to win in playoff-like settings. I don't think we truly now how to finish a game like this.

It looked like we did when we got the goal-line stand. But for as big of a play as that was, we all knew more work needed to be done. The Steelers, too, realized it wasn't over. But the Cowboys played like they were trying to milk two minutes off the clock with a big big lead, and it came back to bite them.

It reminds me of the Giants game last year. There was a sense throughout 3/4 of the game that it was fairly easily within grasp. We were playing better, had a lead most of the way and, boom, we're down.

Now, I don't necessarily know how much I read into the players dancing on the sideline. TO explained afterward that they knew it wasn't over but they were just celebrating a big play. I actually buy that. They had a right to get excited.

But still, they lack something innate inside to actually close the deal. You often see this in losers -- look at the Lions blowing a 17 point lead a few weeks back. For us, we're not losers in the main sense. But when it comes to a playoff-type stage, we are.

Will it ever change?

 

[Boysboy]

I think this goes back to why this team struggles to win in playoff-like settings. I don't think we truly now how to finish a game like this.

It looked like we did when we got the goal-line stand. But for as big of a play as that was, we all knew more work needed to be done. The Steelers, too, realized it wasn't over. But the Cowboys played like they were trying to milk two minutes off the clock with a big big lead, and it came back to bite them.

It reminds me of the Giants game last year. There was a sense throughout 3/4 of the game that it was fairly easily within grasp. We were playing better, had a lead most of the way and, boom, we're down.

Now, I don't necessarily know how much I read into the players dancing on the sideline. TO explained afterward that they knew it wasn't over but they were just celebrating a big play. I actually buy that. They had a right to get excited.

But still, they lack something innate inside to actually close the deal. You often see this in losers -- look at the Lions blowing a 17 point lead a few weeks back. For us, we're not losers in the main sense. But when it comes to a playoff-type stage, we are.

Will it ever change?

Having lived in New Orleans for years, I've watched alot of Saints games. They weren't bad b/c they were *horrible*, per se, but they just found 100s of ways to lose you can poke holes through. For example, remember that Hail Mary play they gave up to the expansion Browns in '99 which gave them their first win? Or how about that once in a century game against Jax in '03 where they scored on desperation laterals at the end, only to lose b/c they missed an extra point at the end?

Pt being that bad teams just seem "satisfied" with "being competitive", and always want a pat on the back at all times-they end up ignoring all the fundamentals and details. Look at the San Diego Chargers this year and how many games they lost by razor-thin margins. Even Norv has this "Oh, they played hard" demeanor in his PCs.

 

[Boysboy]

I do, it seemed with a 10 pt lead all we were set on was running clock and punting.

We even slowed down our pressure on BR in fear of giving up a deep pass.

I would rather fail going "balls out" than playing not to lose.

Like I said, we weren't executing, we weren't playing with this same energy like the rest of the game...they practice these plays all week, there's no excuse for not clicking when the game is on the line.

 

[Dave_in-NC]

Did I read that right? Did Jerry say he was sick?


ray: :crossed:

 

[Shotgun Dave]

Thats not why we lost.

Not yesterday anyways.


We wanted to score more.
We needed to score more.

But we didnt.


That the teams "execution" fault.

We were ahead so, technically, we did NOT "need" to score more. What we needed to do was move the ball to take time off the clock. We needed a punter who could punt more than 23 yards when it mattered most. We needed a ST unit that wouldn't allow a 35 yard return.

THAT is what we needed but didn't get.

 

[WV Cowboy]

We needed a punter who could punt more than 23 yards when it mattered most. We needed a ST unit that wouldn't allow a 35 yard return.

THAT is what we needed but didn't get.

Neither of these would have been needed if we continue to just move the chains, ... short passes, run now and then.

3-4 yds each play. Don't give the ball back when you have it.

Don't put it on a punter, a ST unit, or ask even more from a defense that had played brilliantly all day long.

Keep the ball like we did against Wash.

 

[Shotgun Dave]

Neither of these would have been needed if we continue to just move the chains, ... short passes, run now and then.

3-4 yds each play. Don't give the ball back when you have it.

Don't put it on a punter, a ST unit, or ask even more from a defense that had played brilliantly all day long.

Keep the ball like we did against Wash.

My original post, which you inexplicably edited...

We were ahead so, technically, we did NOT "need" to score more. What we needed to do was move the ball to take time off the clock. We needed a punter who could punt more than 23 yards when it mattered most. We needed a ST unit that wouldn't allow a 35 yard return.

Padding the post count?

Yes, we needed to move the ball. That's why I said "we needed to move the ball". You can't just throw all the blame on the offense because it makes you feel better. Yes, the defense played incredibly well for 53 minutes but, last time I checked, the game is 60 minutes long. There's room for improvement all the way around, but our ST has sucked all year. You have to give the Pittsburgh defense some credit, too. Our offense was going against the team ranked #1 against the rush AND #1 against the pass. We put up more rushing yards against them than any other team this year.

If Witten doesn't slip, we move the chains and at least force overtime.

It's all academic at this point anyway. Spilt milk.