Cowboys fans

[Cruzer 1,992]

Outside of snatchit, who no doubt has Dallas going at least 13-3, what are your predictions and expectations for this year?

 

* Jerry finally figured out that you win football games from the inside out - I've been screaming this for years now. The offensive line is going to be really good, possibly one of the best in the league. We will score points and we will put up some stats.

 

* Just like every other year in the past few - it all depends on Romo and his health. He goes down, it's over. Even healthy it's already over, but you know what I mean. I still firmly believe we will rue the day Jerry gave him that ridiculous extension.

 

* If you thought last year's defense sucked, wait till you see this unit. Spencer is the only one that might possibly be a threat to get to the qb - and no, I have no faith Selvie can pull that out of his ass again. Our LBs are the worst in the league - almost comical. Speaking of jokes - then there is our secondary, what an overpaid piece of junk Carr is and M. Claiborne is a huge focking bust.

 

* Red Garrett? I set the over/under on games he will mismanage the clock at 4. I will take the over.

 

 

The offense will keep us in some games, they will even prolly win just enough to keep us from a really high premium draft pick. I have us going 6-10.

[Texas10 15]

I had us going 8-8, par for the course. I'll stick with that only because the NFC east is just not very good, possibly one of if not the worst division.

[BiPolarBear 476]

I'm still waiting for Cruser to say anything I disagree with.

 

My FanDuel strategy is to use cheaper players every week that are playing against Dallas D., leaving money to spend on other positions. This week I have Kaepernick and Gore.

[snatchit 108]

Ha ! Except Snatchit... I think these out of no where D players could surprise

[GreenTD 56]

Ha ! Except Snatchit... I think these out of no where D players could surprise

Kool-aid must be tasty today!

[ThatDude 9]

4 - 5 wins

[weepaws 2,456]

Good news , you don't need too worry about the playoffs any time soon .

[dehaven123 31]

5-11

[sirensong 111]

i think they will slightly overperform. consensus power ranking is in the 21-22 range, which suggests a 6-10 or 7-9 season. i actually think the defense has the potential to be better than last season, since they will not be adjusting on the fly. everyone is fixated on the loss of ware, lee, and hatcher. but what people are forgetting is that last season, they had to adjust to the loss of lee, ware performed like a jouneyman, and hatcher was only really good for the first half of the season. in addition, the barrage of injuries meant that many of the midseason starters were 3rd stringers and street FAs who had 1 or 2 weeks of practice with the team. and yet in weeks 12-17, DAL was still competing for a playoff spot without lee and essentially without ware. go look at the defensive depth chart from game 13 last season, and compare it to this week's--i think it's safe to say that we're better off now.

 

i'll disagree with your assessment of carr--he has been one of the most consistent defenders on the roster, and he has been one of the only playmakers. the problem is that he has been a good corner who was paid to be a great one. so he hasn't lived up to his price tag--i'll agree with that. claiborne is not a bust, however. he's a guy with no injury history who has been hurt pretty much continuously since being drafted. if you look at his games played, he has basically lost a season (not to mention 3 preseasons). maybe his body just can't handle the NFL, but if not, he isn't a 'bust' in the sense of being a stupid draft decision. rather, he'll be a gamble that didn't pay off.

 

things look a lot better offensively, but i think the real determinant is going to be doug free. if we get the good free, i think we'll be a top-5 offense. but if he goes back to his bad habits and sloppy technique, things are going to get grim in a hurry.

 

so 8-8, and possibly 9-7 on the strength of the offense.

[Kent 228]

0-16. Get the brown paper bags ready!

[Cruzer 1,992]

i think they will slightly overperform. consensus power ranking is in the 21-22 range, which suggests a 6-10 or 7-9 season. i actually think the defense has the potential to be better than last season, since they will not be adjusting on the fly. everyone is fixated on the loss of ware, lee, and hatcher. but what people are forgetting is that last season, they had to adjust to the loss of lee, ware performed like a jouneyman, and hatcher was only really good for the first half of the season. in addition, the barrage of injuries meant that many of the midseason starters were 3rd stringers and street FAs who had 1 or 2 weeks of practice with the team. and yet in weeks 12-17, DAL was still competing for a playoff spot without lee and essentially without ware. go look at the defensive depth chart from game 13 last season, and compare it to this week's--i think it's safe to say that we're better off now.

 

i'll disagree with your assessment of carr--he has been one of the most consistent defenders on the roster, and he has been one of the only playmakers. the problem is that he has been a good corner who was paid to be a great one. so he hasn't lived up to his price tag--i'll agree with that. claiborne is not a bust, however. he's a guy with no injury history who has been hurt pretty much continuously since being drafted. if you look at his games played, he has basically lost a season (not to mention 3 preseasons). maybe his body just can't handle the NFL, but if not, he isn't a 'bust' in the sense of being a stupid draft decision. rather, he'll be a gamble that didn't pay off.

 

things look a lot better offensively, but i think the real determinant is going to be doug free. if we get the good free, i think we'll be a top-5 offense. but if he goes back to his bad habits and sloppy technique, things are going to get grim in a hurry.

 

so 8-8, and possibly 9-7 on the strength of the offense.

Claiborne not a bust, and possibly 9-7? Ha, the rose colored glasses are in full bloom early.

[rallo 132]

I think Dallas will surprise early and fade late... i mean look at their schedule!!!!

 

it almost seems as if it was planned by the NFL that they have another later collapse.

 

They have 6 VERY losable games to end the season, with the majority of them being on the road

 

@NYG

PHI

@CHI

@PHI

IND

@WAS

 

they better start out hot, because they almost have a scripted meteoric fall coming... that said, i like them to surprise and start out 4-1... only to finish 7-9

[Pecos Rattlers 5]

I had 8-8 right after the draft, but after the defensive injuries & the pre season defensive showing I am thinking more of a 6-10 year.

 

Yeah, it's just pre season, but they looked beyond horrible on defense ... worse than putrid. Our offense will be good, but I don't think we can make up for the D this time.

 

I'm still excited about our long term potential. The core of the offense is very young & Witten is the only player that I see retiring soon (assuming Romo's back holds up he is good for awhile longer IMO).

 

I agree that some of our young defensive players could be better than expected, I just don't think they will get it all together in one year. An early pick to grab an elite DE or DT could be what we need to get the defense back on track.

[cbfalcon 824]

A group of us went game by game through the schedule last weekend. We had to decide Win/Loss/50-50, and we gave half a win for the 50-50 games obviously.

 

We all decided to give them a split in the division, just because it seems to always happen (likely being generous) then we gave them 2.5 wins in the other 10.

 

5.5 Wins - 9.5 Losses.

[sirensong 111]

Claiborne not a bust, and possibly 9-7? Ha, the rose colored glasses are in full bloom early.

 

reread what i wrote about claiborne.

 

as for 9-7 being a possibility, i was looking at the numbers a couple of days ago, and both the saints and the giants won recent SBs with defenses ranked in the mid-20s. now, the stars aligned for them, and their defenses started making plays in the playoffs--i'm not going to try to predict that. but 9-7 is within reach.

 

think about it this way--last year, dallas had one of the worst defenses in the history of the league. in addition to the scheme being obsolete, they were starting players who had been with the team for 2 weeks. lee was out. ware was playing at ~70%, and hatcher's performance had fallen off a cliff after game 8. despite this, on sunday morning of week 17, their record was 8-7 and they were one win from the division title.

 

there is no reason to suggest that the offense has not improved since then. callahan's weird playcalling is gone, replaced by a really good playcaller. the weak link of the offensive line has been replaced by a guy who most people considered the most NFL-ready lineman in the draft. the then-rookie WR2 had an outstanding offseason, and is noticeably better at routerunning and catching the ball. the injured scatback is healthy, and the preseason playcalling indicates a commitment to getting him (and the underutilized TEs) involved in the scheme.

 

in addition to the offense getting better, the defensive personnel are definitely better than they were in the back half of last season, if for no other reason than they've been with the team during training camp. go back and look at least season's starting lineups. do you think they're better with mcclain starting at MLB, or the rookie 6th rounder? with DLmen who were actually in camp, or with street FAs who had 3 days of practice to learn their assignments? with heath or with wilcox? and with a coordinator whose scheme has been solved, or with a guy who was running a top defense 3 years ago in CHI?

 

 

i'm not saying that the defense is not going to be bad--they'll probably be near the bottom again this season. my point is that they're going to be slightly better than last season. and if they had been slightly better, it is likely that the team would have finished 9-7 and won the division.

 

 

 

 

edit: amusingly, after writing this post, i went and hit DC.com to see if there were any updates for tomorrow. spagnola's column says pretty much the exact same thing: http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/article-MickeySpagnola/Spagnola-Defensive-Questions-Keep-Us-All-Clueless/4e0d1789-dbdf-4622-8cc7-8af069acb92f

[snatchit 108]

Didnt they sweep the redskins and giants last year ? I see them doing it again this year.... so there is 4 wins there. Their D and O will be better, 9 and 7 sounds reasonable. Didnt they lose a ton of games by just one score last year and was still 8 and 8 ?

[sirensong 111]

i'm not going to presume a near-sweep of the division--NYG can't possibly be as bad as last year, and DAL-WAS is always an unpredictable game. PHI is the team to beat, and they are definitely going to be better this year than last.

 

but i agree--there was only 1 game last season where DAL was never in a position to win. even with all the bad stuff.

 

that's reason for optimism.

[snatchit 108]

I have a feeling because this is the 1st year Jerry hasn't endorsed the cowboys as a contender... It will go along way in the team. Especially Romo with the Johnny football comments

[polecatt 401]

I think best case scenario we are healthy on both sides of the ball. The offense will be very goo0d and the defense will finish 20-25 range. With good OL play and effective running the offense could help mask the poor defense. We would win 9-10 games and finally make the playoffs. Once in we could win a game. We could ven get hot, crazier things have happened.

[Joey Gladstone 33]

Do 49ers Suck and Gepetto still post here?

[snatchit 108]

Believe me no cowboys fan is delusional.. We know from years of experience. But in a year with no expectations maybe things will be different. Our biggest worry is the Eagles

[Cruzer 1,992]

Believe me no cowboys fan is delusional.. We know from years of experience. But in a year with no expectations maybe things will be different. Our biggest worry is the Eagles

In a sea of delusional Cowboys fans, you are the Grand Poobah of them all...... There are 400 things to worry about, the Iggs being the least of our concerns.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Well - get used to this Cowboys fans - going to be a long ass season.

* I've said it since the ink dried on the paper - Dallas will rue the day Jerry gave Romo that extension. 34 year old qb, coming off consecutive season back surgeries, $108m contract - unfreaking bealievale. 3 picks yesterday - are you kidding me???

* It's always easy to spot Brandon Carr on the field - the back of his jersey is always showing as he chases his guy running with the football. They needed a fire extinguisher for him yesterday as he came off the field - $50m worth of junk.

* One bright spot - incredible game by Gavin Escobar. The single greatest 2nd round pick in the history of this franchise...

[Cruzer 1,992]

edit: amusingly, after writing this post, i went and hit DC.com to see if there were any updates for tomorrow. spagnola's column says pretty much the exact same thing: http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/article-MickeySpagnola/Spagnola-Defensive-Questions-Keep-Us-All-Clueless/4e0d1789-dbdf-4622-8cc7-8af069acb92f

Outside of Snatch - there isn't a bigger delusional Cowboys homer than Spags.

[Cruzer 1,992]

I think Dallas will surprise early and fade late... i mean look at their schedule!!!!

 

it almost seems as if it was planned by the NFL that they have another later collapse.

 

They have 6 VERY losable games to end the season, with the majority of them being on the road

 

@NYG

PHI

@CHI

@PHI

IND

@WAS

 

they better start out hot, because they almost have a scripted meteoric fall coming... that said, i like them to surprise and start out 4-1... only to finish 7-9

Hell, they're all losable.... Next up Tennessee, St. Louis and then NO. There's a damn good chance we start 0-4. With Houston and Seattle after that 0-6 is not out of the question too.

[Cruzer 1,992]

So we get Tennessee this week, line has us a 3 point dog. Seems a bit generous to me, but the offensive potential no doubt is driving that.

 

So what do the kool aid, red rose colored glasses folks think? I think we will put up a decent effort, certainly better than last week. I think we could possibly even steal a win if Romo and company protect the ball.

 

Titans 24, Dallas 20

[WhiteWonder 2,171]

Wait, is snatchit Dallas empire?

[Cruzer 1,992]

Wait, is snatchit Dallas empire?

I don't know.... All I know is the pom pom, kool aid drinkers disappeared after the real Dallas Cowboys showed up Week 1.

[R8RMick 242]

Cowboys remind me of an outside dog that thinks it's an inside dog. I've never seen a team so ready to become a power running team. Yet either their owner, coach, offensive coordinator, QB, or perhaps all have visions of Air Coryell. Everybody wants to be a genius in this league, and have a high flying offense, but in my opinion the greatest sign of dominance in the NFL is to run the ball down your opponents throat. They need to become the LA Rams of 1983, where everyone knew Dickerson was getting the ball but there wasn't a damn thing to do about it.

[tanatastic 2,061]

Cowboy hater here, but watch them crush the titans this week. Or at the least im betting Romo has a great game.

[Cruzer 1,992]

Cowboy hater here, but watch them crush the titans this week. Or at the least im betting Romo has a great game.

With the parity in the league, and the fact Jake Locker is on the other side - a win would not shock me.

[sirensong 111]

a win would not shock me.

 

 

nowadays, this is what DAL fans think of as "optimism".

[fightingrousher 0]

I am a Dallas fan living in TN and in a league where 10/12 are all Titans fans and only me and my bro are Dallas fans. I would trade a win this week for the rest of the season and that would be a win on two fronts: 1) 1-15 would get us the top pick for Jerry Jones to screw up and 2) at least I won't have to hear it from the rest of my league all week long.

 

I am nervous but do have some faith. If Romo will protect the ball I say we have a legitimate shot. Romo has historically bounced back well from multiple int games but that is about all I have to hang my hat on right now with how awful the defense looks and how poorly romo played last week

 

Also if this drug deal goes through today will Scandrick play on Sunday? anything helps

[Cruzer 1,992]

Brace yourself - I'm going to give our boys some love. Granted it was against a very average football team, but Dallas took care of business, took care of the ball, and they looked good. I'm still extremely worried about Romo - he's slow, has minimal mobility and his arm just seems to have no zip anymore. I"m not sure if this is the best he has now or if he just needs more time to heal. Either way, he's not the same

 

Props to the run game - that unit continues to move the rock on the ground in great fashion... Given how focking terrible the Giants are and how average the Skins are - Dallas could maybe find itself in a race if they can pick up some early wins and find a way to hang on.

[snatchit 108]

Its official, Tony Romo is now a bus driver.... which I suppose he should be. Kind of bummed in the fantasy part of it. I drafted he and Dez hoping for magic

[Cruzer 1,992]

Its official, Tony Romo is now a bus driver.... which I suppose he should be. Kind of bummed in the fantasy part of it. I drafted he and Dez hoping for magic

I'm officially convinced Romo has a more serious condition w/his back than we have been told. It's clearly obvious in his mobility and arm strength. The fact he's given up golf is a huge clue too. You don't go from being a rabid golfer to just giving it up altogether - the football committment reason was a ruse........ We will see if he can do enough to get it done... He's been sacked 7 times in 2 games - I would be shocked if he isn't carted off the field soon.

[BiPolarBear 476]

The Cowboy D plays like they will not settle for being the worst NFL defense. Rod Marinelli has got them working together.

 

I can't believe they stuck with the run. Even got Randle and Dunbar into the act.

[R8RMick 242]

A top 5 running game will hide a lot of weaknesses on defense. The Boys held TN to 43 plays on 19 minutes time of possession. It's just taken Jerry the Idiot longer to figure out. This is the ONLY recipe for success that Dallas has. Period.

[Gepetto 982]

I'm a happy Cowboys fan for one week.

[sirensong 111]

I'm officially convinced Romo has a more serious condition w/his back than we have been told. It's clearly obvious in his mobility and arm strength. The fact he's given up golf is a huge clue too. You don't go from being a rabid golfer to just giving it up altogether - the football committment reason was a ruse........ We will see if he can do enough to get it done... He's been sacked 7 times in 2 games - I would be shocked if he isn't carted off the field soon.

 

he is a known BSer when it comes to not feeling pain--several times in the past he has claimed to be 100%, and it came out later that he was definitely hurting. it's also possible that he's not feeling pain, but is just not in shape yet. he has always been a guy who was constantly throwing during the offseason, but this year he was on a pretty strict limit during rehab--he may just have to play his way back into shape.