It has become an all too familiar pattern. The Dallas Cowboys come off a disappointing season. They draft and sometimes dip into the free agent and trade markets to improve the roster. Usually there is some kind of significant coaching change. We watch the offseason and training camp activities with decidedly rose colored glasses. Our hopes soar for it to finally be the year we see real playoff success.
And things crash to the ground. Or more likely make a wet splatting sound.
Why do we do this to ourselves? Tom Ryle and Sean Martin dig into things. (And share your pain.)
Tom – There are so many parts of this. One thing is certain, this team has not had a clear-eyed view of itself for many, many years. So let’s start with one element that has been constant throughout the long drought for Dallas: Ownership.
You’ll notice I don’t single out Jerry Jones, but use that term to include Stephen as well, and even encompass any inputs Charlotte and Jerry Jr. might make. Most of the, um, smoke getting slung our way does come from Jerry, but Stephen usually contributes to it. He’s just not as flamboyant and flat out loud as his father.
Obviously there are myriad reasons to question Jerry Sr.’s acumen as a football executive, but one thing that is unquestioned is his talent at marketing. When the team had its great success in the early nineties, he not only returned them to their status as the glamor franchise of the NFL, he took them to new heights. Sadly, he fails to see that selling a brand is much more useful than overselling a team’s ability to actually win on the field.
Unwittingly (perhaps) the media plays right along with that, reporting every convoluted statement and bizarre metaphor he issues. And we just kind of get sucked in.
Now we have reached a point where it has spread to the players themselves. Yes, I’m going back to the ludicrous, in hindsight, ‘Greatest Offense There Is’ label that the players, apparently led by Dak Prescott, came up with. While some of us were a bit hesitant to buy all the way in, we still thought the offense was the real strength of the team. But lately, they have been floundering, while the defense looked a lot better against the Green Bay Packers. If they are to win Monday against the Philadelphia Eagles, who now have lost Jalen Hurts for the season, it may be on the defense to carry things. Who would have guessed that a couple of months ago?
Sean – Being adverse to change at a wide enough or fast enough scale is a topic that’s been talked about for literal years on end when it comes to both the shortcomings of the Cowboys, and why we fall for it as fans. Exhaustion doesn’t even begin to describe how much I don’t want to have that same talk anymore, but let’s just frame this one way with the road game at Philadelphia looming.
In year one of Brian Schottenheimer, and game number one, a close loss to these Eagles in primetime was seen as an actual good sign and the effort of the team was complimented in that process. 22 games later, the pitchforks are already out, and a close loss at the birds this time will get exactly zero brownie points from the fanbase.
The team’s effort is no longer good enough. Hell, even a win might not make us feel great. That is an amazing amount of dropoff normally reserved for a team that lost its starting quarterback for significant time. Oh that’s right, it’s the Giants and Eagles with season ending quarterback injuries, and the Commanders having every reason to think they could have the Cowboys sitting at 1-5 if their QB didn’t come out of that week two game. Things are very not fun right now, Tom.
Tom – No, they are not. But they could at least get interesting with a win at Philadelphia, because the rest of the division has so many struggles right now. String a few wins together and they could win the NFC East.
Whether that would help in the long run is of course a big question. Staggering into the playoffs and going out in the first round would leave many questions, including whether they need to make a change at the top of the coaching staff. That does not seem terribly likely, given Jerry Jones’ tendency to stick with head coaches a season or two too long. And a win this week would turn down the heat on Schottenheimer’s seat a bit.
Likewise, a close win would not bode well. This is a wounded Eagles team. If the Cowboys were just competent on both sides of the ball, they should be able to win by a decent margin. That would boost confidence in a locker room that has to be reeling a bit. A lot is riding on this one.
Sean – I said I would continue to try to find any reason for some optimism until it’s flat out impossible, and you gave me something to work with here Tom, when it comes to this up-for-grabs NFC East. I actually think one of the things that could inspire a head coaching change or other change of real meaning would be making the playoffs but exiting in the Wild Card round again, which is the overwhelming expectation for whoever comes out of the division right now.
Moving on from Schottenheimer before he reaches the playoffs at least once is likely a level of failure the ownership you talked about isn’t willing to admit. Finding out as soon as possible that Schotty is the latest coach whose ceiling is getting the team in the dance, but not going home with the prom queen could be the catalyst. It could also lead to a little less of a firestorm that we’ve seen in the recent offseasons, where the pressure is firmly on to get back in the playoffs.
As far as your other point about winning in any type of convincing fashion at the Eagles, I have my serious doubts. There’s a running theme we’ve been touching on already about recent game box scores not even telling the full story.
The Texans were penalized to death in a game the Cowboys still flirted with losing. The Bucs spoiled a home party with a UDFA QB, and also a slew of penalties. The Packers dropped multiple touchdowns, and you guessed it, committed a lot of penalties too, and beat these Cowboys by ten. This is just not a winning outfit right now, simply put.
Tom – I can’t argue with your last point. As troubling as the bad performances on the field are, I am at least as worried about how there just doesn’t seem to be a winning culture in Dallas.
Now, I realize that can be a bit of a circular argument, since winning itself seems to be the prime determinant of a winning culture. Still, this team is not responding well to adversity. They are dealing with injuries, but have you looked at the San Francisco 49ers? They are almost out of wide receivers, yet they still are undefeated after a bit of a narrow escape against the Washington Commanders. Clearly coaching is playing a part there, which just increases the questions about that of the Cowboys.
It may only be week seven of the season, but the Philadelphia game looms as a crucial test for Dallas. A win gives them some hope of making something good out of the season. A loss will inevitably be seen as virtually ending their chances at the postseason this year. I wish I could say that I have optimism they are going to show us some real spine and get a clear victory.
But that would be a lie worthy of a political ad.
Sean – Glad we could air out some frustrations, Tom. It’s perfectly clear we aren’t the only fans with such feelings. Personally, I don’t think things will ever get bad enough for me not to enjoy a win against the Eagles at least a little bit, so let’s see what happens.
Bobcats are back home here in Bozeman for the first time in several weeks on Saturday, followed by a Sunday where the Cowboys can’t hurt any of us. Cheers to the weekend.