How did we get here?

[Scot]

I was just going over the issues we have had already and was trying to keep track of them all.

So far this season we have had...

Our starting QB go down with a broken collar bone in week 2 (out till week 11)
We benched his back up who couldn't perform
We are on our third string QB who signed with the team 3-4 weeks ago
We had our starting RB injured with an ACL or MCL. Can't remember which one it was
Our second RB is now out with an oblique strain
So we are starting our third string RB next game with our Fourth string RB backing him up and we might now see our fifth RB get some carries soon
Our starting star WR went down with a broken foot in week 1 (gone for 7 weeks so far)
So our Second WR tried to take on the primary role (and failed)
Our third WR was out for a hammy but is now back
Our starting Left Guard was injured and replaced with a Rookie who has been doing well
S. Lee went out with a concussion for almost two games
Our stud Rookie Gregory went down with a high ankle sprain for four games and is finally back
Our best pass rusher (Hardy) and McClain were both suspended for four games and are back

Am I forgetting anything?

When you look back at the season and what has happened it's easy to see why we are in last place in our division.

But beyond all of these problems we are most handicapped by our inept coaching. if we had decent coaching we could have still been able to overcome all of the above mentioned set backs and could and should be sitting at 5-1 or 4-2

 

[Doomsday]

People forget the year before last, when we were bringing in guys off the street to play DL due to the massive injuries. We played 21 different starters that year in the DL and finished with our third consecutive 8-8 record.

Your 12-4 last year was a aberration, fluke of mostly luck - injury bug stayed away for the most part, you had Tony's back issues forcing Dallas to run the ball more, and you had a RB beasting it in a contract year. Plus ironically, it was a injury that helped for a change - losing Claiborne improved the secondary greatly last year. And all of this resulted in only four more wins than the previous three 8-8 efforts. Yes, only four more wins.

How we got here is the chickens coming home to roost. We didn't draft a RB or acquire a good FA back because we didn't think we would have to feature the run with Tony now much healthier and their plan was to go back to Tony carrying us. And the dumb luck runs both ways - last year we were charmed, this year not so much.

In a league where mediocrity is the norm, we remain in the top five of the 20 or so, perennially mediocre NFL teams. That's all it is.

 

[cmd34]

This is the problem with having a few superstars and crappy depth. If the superstars play bad or are hurt, you have to play the crap.

 

[Doomsday]

This is the problem with having a few superstars and crappy depth. If the superstars play bad or are hurt, you have to play the crap.

And.... That's the difference between the perennially mediocre NFL teams like us, and the ones who pretty much every year remain at or near the top. Competent Management.

 

[Scot]

I believe if any other team out there experienced the same set backs to their equivalent star players that they would have ended up with more wins than we have. Simply due to better coaching or more depth at each key position

Belechick would be sitting at 4-2 right now or better

Our Coach is our main handicap

 

[Doomsday]

I mean, "How did we get here" isn't the right question. It assumes we've been somewhere recently. We're getting, nowhere. We haven't been anywhere in 20 years now.

 

[Scot]

But from an outsider looking in I'm sure it would be easy to say "how did they even scrape together 2 wins" if you didn't know the whole story and just looked strictly at the injury report

 

[Doomsday]

Our Coach is our main handicap

The pole smoker who hired him.

 

[Scot]

The pole smoker who hired him.

That too

 

[Doomsday]

That too

That ONLY.

 

[Scot]

As the old saying goes "shit runs downhill"

But in this case it's the reverse

If you take a few steps back you can trace the problem to its origin. The Front Office And JJ himself

We are loosing games first and foremost because of horrible coaching.
He decided to hire yet another puppet coach that he can control and who can not coach worth a damn

With our injuries prevalent it has directed a spotlight on just how lacking our depth at each position is which traces back to the front office. Our scouts who are hired by the front office have not done a good enough job finding talent and have been wrong about the talent that we now have.

Not having a QB who can fill in for Romo has been our biggest problem. Not only that, but we don't have a player nor the plan in place for someone to take over when he retires

Basically every problem we have this season can be traced directly back to Jerry and the front office

 

[ZeroClub]

Goodness.

I'm in no way defending the front office and Garrett, and I know how frustrating it is to watch the Cowboys lose week after week, but let's be real --- take the starting QB and the team's best (non-QB) offensive skill position player off of almost any NFL team and that team is going to struggle.

Think about it this way:

Let's say that the Weeden/Cassel Cowboys, without Romo and without Dez, played:

1. The Atlanta Falcons without Matt Ryan and Julio Jones.
2. The New Orleans Saints without Drew Brees and C.J. Spiller.
3. The New England Patriots without Brady and Gronk.
4. The New York Giants without Eli Manning and, I guess, Beckham.

The Cowboys would have gone 3-1 in those games. At least.

Starting QBs and top-flight offensive threats matter more than ever in today's NFL.

 

[Scot]

Yes they do matter
But you should be able to still win without them

See the Steelers this year with a second and a third string QB coming in and still being able to win games

 

[bbgun]

Going with Weeden one more year bordered on criminal negligence. It's like a pajamas company selling PJs they know are flammable. Based on his abortion of a performance vs. the Cards last year and his work in training camp, they knew he couldn't play, yet they rolled the dice anyway. Unforgivable.

 

[Scot]

Maybe Weeden looks great during 7 on 7 in practice and that's why they thought he was worth keeping. Who knows

I'm just glad he has been exposed for the weakness that he truly is this season. Now we can finally move on from him with zero apprehension that he would somehow be able to run this offense.

There is no way that they can keep him after this season knowing full well he is not capable of running our offense

 

[bbgun]

Maybe Weeden looks great during 7 on 7 in practice and that's why they thought he was worth keeping. Who knows

no, the reporters who covered camps and mini-camps said he sucked there as well. always looking to check down.

 

[Scot]

I wonder.....

If Cassel does ok and wins us a couple games before Romo gets back they may just cut Weeden this season. We still have Moore if we need him and Cassel would be the primary back up to Romo

So there really is no valid reason for keeping it one week longer than we have to

We should use his spot for someone else like R Smith

Or maybe the towel boy. Either one helps the team more than Weeden

 

[Everlastingxxx]

When you lose, everything gets questioned.

To me it’s pretty simple. If you turn the ball over and you don’t create turnovers, you are going to lose.

That’s why we are here.

Losing Romo and Dez was pretty devastating too btw.

 

[LAZARUS_LOGAN]

Your 12-4 last year was a aberration, fluke of mostly luck - injury bug stayed away for the most part, you had Tony's back issues forcing Dallas to run the ball more, and you had a RB beasting it in a contract year.

You're being stupid again. The 12-4 was because the playcalling was taken out of Garrett's hands period. And luck... because of no injuries...? How often does any team have BOTH their stud QB and WR go down early in the season nearly the same time? You talk as if this is a common occurance and it isn't. The past 4 games were WINNABLE. WITH FUCMKING BRANDON WEEDEN. Those games without Romo and Dez.

We've argued back and forth as to how you claim this team is 8-8 at it's core. I'll concede that this team at best is a 8-8 team WITH GARRETT AS HC.

But do you really believe that this team could not and would not be more than 8-8 with BETTER AND CONSISTENT COACHING?

This is a fuck you Jerry for not valuing coaches, when he himself like the rest of us saw it first hand. Campo and his three consecutive 5-11 teams --- a bad coach with a bad roster, 5-11 is/was expected. In comes Parcells, with the very same rothers. First year. BAM! 10-6. Division title.

Lucky... no this team has been very unlucky. Unlucky to have Garrett as an HC.

Romo can win without Garrett, but what has been evident to all of us, and now catching on with the media is that Garrett cannot win without Romo. Garrett is not going to get any better. This is it for him.

Granted our depth is not great, but most teams' depth isn't. That's when coaching comes in. But this asshole can't even coach the top shelf players on his team.

 

[Scot]

I can see the Seattle game going one of two ways

Cassel gets settled down, figures out his timing, turns the ball over 1-2 times only, we are able to run the ball again and we squeak out a very ugly win

Or The fear of the Legion of Boom gets to him, messes with his head, and it's a INT fest. Then we loose an ugly horrible game that takes away any confidence Cassel or anyone else for that matter has in him. Then next week we are talking about Moore. lol