sbk92
2
- Messages
- 12,134
- Reaction score
- 6
Far From Close
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - If you follow the Cowboys closely, you probably noticed last week that many of us who cover the team weren't quite certain if they had been officially and mathematically eliminated from the postseason yet.
Among many other examples, my failed spaghetti bridge project in 10th grade geometry class speaks to the fact I am hardly a math guy, so don't put too much stock into my claim that the team was still technically alive up until Sunday night's loss to Philadelphia. I'm pretty sure it was true, though the NFL never confirmed one way or the other, and when things move beyond simple addition and subtraction, I'm never all that confident.
But now we know the Cowboys' incredibly fleeting hopes for a postseason berth are over and done with. Shocker, right? Even if there technically was still a minute chance, everyone knew the season was dead in the water at 1-7 when Jason Garrett took over, and probably much sooner than that.
The Cowboys have played a lot better since Garrett succeeded Wade Phillips, and the games have been very entertaining and worth watching, as I suspect they'll continue to be for the next three weeks. Since Garrett became the coach, the Cowboys have improved their play and shown a lot of heart, and all that will be worth remembering at the end of the year.
But we, the coaches and the Jones family should not forget how the Cowboys got themselves into the mess they did before Garrett took over, or take for granted that Garrett's promotion has fixed everything for the long haul. Because the second half of the season is just that - half of the season. No one should get too caught up in moral victories or how the team was playing at the end.
See, here's the thing. This team stunk. They've been really bad.
The offense was bad, the defense was bad, the special teams was bad, and worst yet, the attitudes were often bad as well. It wasn't all bad, all the time, but it certainly was so too much to just give out free passes because things have been better in the last two months of the season.
You are what you are, as they say, and the Cowboys aren't 3-2, their record under Garrett. They are 4-9, assured of their first losing season since 2004. This team needs big, sweeping changes, maybe too many to make in one offseason, especially an offseason taking on the uncertain look of this one.
They seem to realize these things, but just hope it isn't lip service:
"What I don't want to do is make it sound like everything is going to be all right, we've got Jason now, and here we go," Jerry Jones said a week ago after the Cowboys beat Indianapolis. "That's not fair to him. That's not a fair read for how we got in this spot. We're dealing with a disappointing season, but we're trying to do some things that I think are positive, winning these last games."
While Monday's press conference with Garrett started out with a barrage of question over why he won't start younger players just to see them in game action, the coach kept coming back to the point that he is trying to win games. That's why Jon Kitna continues to start over Stephen McGee. That's why the offensive line remains intact. For now, Jones, Garrett and the coaches believe these guys give them the best chance to win.
Coaches and executives are apt to change their minds in the offseason, though, and they would be wise to weigh the performances of each player in the first half of the season just as heavily as they do the second.
Garrett's go-to talking point about "the process" is simple enough, and easy for him to say, but this isn't pee-wee soccer. He knows what matters at the end of the day.
"I was proud of our football team last night," Garrett said on Monday of the loss to Philly. "That's a good team that we played. There are a lot of good teams in this league. You have to battle them; you have to battle them in all three areas."
Putting up a good fight isn't enough, though.
"You have to put your best foot forward," Garrett said. "Ultimately we didn't do that. There were some plays in the game that made a difference in the game, that allowed them to win and caused us to lose. We looked at those things and hopefully we'll go forward and be better as a result of it."
Yes, for the Cowboys' own sake, they should take greater consideration in the plays that weren't made than the effort that was. It's nice that the club is actually trying now, but Jones and Garrett had better not forget the utter give-up displayed by so many against Jacksonville and Green Bay. They definitely can't forget the stupid mistakes players made to get themselves beat during the first six games of the year.
See, last offseason the Cowboys accentuated the positives moreso than worried about the negatives. They were more excited about keeping the good vibes rolling from the four-game winning streak and the playoff victory than they were worried about shoring up the holes Minnesota exposed in the divisional playoff blowout.
The same can't happen this time, regardless of whether the Cowboys finish the season on a high.
Josh Ellis
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - If you follow the Cowboys closely, you probably noticed last week that many of us who cover the team weren't quite certain if they had been officially and mathematically eliminated from the postseason yet.
Among many other examples, my failed spaghetti bridge project in 10th grade geometry class speaks to the fact I am hardly a math guy, so don't put too much stock into my claim that the team was still technically alive up until Sunday night's loss to Philadelphia. I'm pretty sure it was true, though the NFL never confirmed one way or the other, and when things move beyond simple addition and subtraction, I'm never all that confident.
But now we know the Cowboys' incredibly fleeting hopes for a postseason berth are over and done with. Shocker, right? Even if there technically was still a minute chance, everyone knew the season was dead in the water at 1-7 when Jason Garrett took over, and probably much sooner than that.
The Cowboys have played a lot better since Garrett succeeded Wade Phillips, and the games have been very entertaining and worth watching, as I suspect they'll continue to be for the next three weeks. Since Garrett became the coach, the Cowboys have improved their play and shown a lot of heart, and all that will be worth remembering at the end of the year.
But we, the coaches and the Jones family should not forget how the Cowboys got themselves into the mess they did before Garrett took over, or take for granted that Garrett's promotion has fixed everything for the long haul. Because the second half of the season is just that - half of the season. No one should get too caught up in moral victories or how the team was playing at the end.
See, here's the thing. This team stunk. They've been really bad.
The offense was bad, the defense was bad, the special teams was bad, and worst yet, the attitudes were often bad as well. It wasn't all bad, all the time, but it certainly was so too much to just give out free passes because things have been better in the last two months of the season.
You are what you are, as they say, and the Cowboys aren't 3-2, their record under Garrett. They are 4-9, assured of their first losing season since 2004. This team needs big, sweeping changes, maybe too many to make in one offseason, especially an offseason taking on the uncertain look of this one.
They seem to realize these things, but just hope it isn't lip service:
"What I don't want to do is make it sound like everything is going to be all right, we've got Jason now, and here we go," Jerry Jones said a week ago after the Cowboys beat Indianapolis. "That's not fair to him. That's not a fair read for how we got in this spot. We're dealing with a disappointing season, but we're trying to do some things that I think are positive, winning these last games."
While Monday's press conference with Garrett started out with a barrage of question over why he won't start younger players just to see them in game action, the coach kept coming back to the point that he is trying to win games. That's why Jon Kitna continues to start over Stephen McGee. That's why the offensive line remains intact. For now, Jones, Garrett and the coaches believe these guys give them the best chance to win.
Coaches and executives are apt to change their minds in the offseason, though, and they would be wise to weigh the performances of each player in the first half of the season just as heavily as they do the second.
Garrett's go-to talking point about "the process" is simple enough, and easy for him to say, but this isn't pee-wee soccer. He knows what matters at the end of the day.
"I was proud of our football team last night," Garrett said on Monday of the loss to Philly. "That's a good team that we played. There are a lot of good teams in this league. You have to battle them; you have to battle them in all three areas."
Putting up a good fight isn't enough, though.
"You have to put your best foot forward," Garrett said. "Ultimately we didn't do that. There were some plays in the game that made a difference in the game, that allowed them to win and caused us to lose. We looked at those things and hopefully we'll go forward and be better as a result of it."
Yes, for the Cowboys' own sake, they should take greater consideration in the plays that weren't made than the effort that was. It's nice that the club is actually trying now, but Jones and Garrett had better not forget the utter give-up displayed by so many against Jacksonville and Green Bay. They definitely can't forget the stupid mistakes players made to get themselves beat during the first six games of the year.
See, last offseason the Cowboys accentuated the positives moreso than worried about the negatives. They were more excited about keeping the good vibes rolling from the four-game winning streak and the playoff victory than they were worried about shoring up the holes Minnesota exposed in the divisional playoff blowout.
The same can't happen this time, regardless of whether the Cowboys finish the season on a high.