Week 2: Bears @ Cowboys

[cable guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jasong7777

Can we stop saying that the Cowboys are talented? They aint. They have a couple great defensive players and a very good tight end. The rest of the team is mediocre.

Common now, They have alot of real good talent at certain positions.

[Boilerbuzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkrich83

The offensive line is exactly the reason they lost last week. There were plenty of players to help them in the front 7 or on the offensive line or at the safety position, if anything I trade down and multiple picks for that spot. How many pass catchers do they need? Now you're paying prime time money to 3 WR's and a TE. What has it gotten them? They have a nice set of skillplayers, but they have a lot of holes that either were not addressed or they had guys that didn't pan out. Is Wade Phillips a great coach? No. Is Jason Garrett a great play caller? No. Can you blame their 0-2 start solely on coaching. Not even close. Jerry Jones bears as much of the blame as anyone. He's the one who built this roster, like his own personal fantasy team.

1. I think everyone gets too fixated on that penalty that lost the game. They line had trouble, but the line was not the reason all of their drives stalled. Romo, on the whole had enough to to put up MASSIVE numbers. Same for this week.

2. Though I agree they could have traded down to take advantage of the depth, I think your boy Jerry Jones is always looking for the high impact player. He traded up to get a talent he feels could dominate. MANY teams draft with that philosophy - get the best talent available. That has worked since he's come on as owner.

3. Let's not forget something - Miles Austin JUST showed up for them. Roy Williams has been a bust in Dallas. Yeah, they are paying top dollar for them, but you don't know if Austin was "1 year" wonder and would come back down to earth (which I don't believe, but he drops a lot of passes btw), or if Williams would EVER work in Dallas. Beyond those 2, you had Crayton - who's no where near a #2, let alone a #1. Jones need to replace the TO impact in terms of ability and marketability. What better way than to get the Texas native that just happened to be a stud. It made good business sense. It feel in line for drafting the best available talent, and it was an insurance policy. I think this is Williams last season if he doesn't step up - regardless of the contract.

As for their first 2 loses - I blame is TOTALLY on coaching. First, look at the Choice fumble. WHY THE HELL do you not just go into halftime as is? That was a bad call. There's no argument about that. It was a risk that wasn't worth taking. The holding call at the end. That's a discipline/coaching problem. This week. Why did they not MIX IN those blitzes that the Bears clearly had trouble handling more? More conservative play calling and abandoning the running game in BOTH games. They became one dimensional. The moved the ball, but shut down as they got in the green zone. Now, do you want to blame the players on the picks? Go ahead. But guess what? Those turnovers were because of those skill players that you claim they have plenty of? Not because of some missed block by the offensive line.

Look, I can't stand Jerry Jones. I hate his guts and I can't stand Dallas as much as I can stand the Peckers. But the issues I see would be fixed with a dope coach. It's that simple. I DO agree that they need better players on the OL. But most teams do. But I also saw very few players guaranteed to be better than what they got. I don't understand the Flozell Adams move either...

[Boilerbuzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jasong7777

Can we stop saying that the Cowboys are talented? They aint. They have a couple great defensive players and a very good tight end. The rest of the team is mediocre.

Really?! Romo may sometimes be inconsistent, but that dude is dope. He's the reason that TE puts up the numbers he does. Jones, Barber, or Choice could be a starter for any other team in the league. Miles Austin's numbers speak for itself. Even the bust, Roy Williams, was a proven #1 - I just don't think he fits in Dallas. You've already acknowledged the defense so I won't go there.

My point is that I don't see how an offense can have the talent to drop 400+ yards of offense on teams, and still come away looking inept by not putting it in the endzone.

[Boilerbuzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by bkrich83

Roger Safflold T, out of Virginia, who a lot of teams tried to trade up to get from the Rams. He by the way is I believe their starting left tackle at this point. Could have gotten DL line depth with Odrick, Brian Price or Dan Williams. Could have gone the safety route with TJ Ward, Nat Allen or Taylor Mays.

None of these were projected to be the impact player Bryant was thought to be by some. Some GMs didn't like his mental makeup though for the record. So, I didn't like the pick anyway.

[Boilerbuzz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Dice

For all that it's worth, they do have talent. Those great defensive players that they have, Jay Ratliff, Demarcus Ware, Terrence Newman and Mike Jenkins are All pro-bowl caliber players. That's a lot for one team to have.

!?!?!?

Anthony Spencer man! Why are you leaving off my Boilermaker bother!? H.A.T.E.R!

[Dice]

Quote: Originally Posted by Boilerbuzz

!?!?!? Anthony Spencer man! Why are you leaving off my Boilermaker bother!? H.A.T.E.R!

OH! My bad. Forgot all about him. So that makes 5 impact players on defense.

So to the guy who originally stated that they have no talent, how many teams have 5 impact players on defense?

[ProfessaPackMan]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jasong7777

Can we stop saying that the Cowboys are talented? They aint. They have a couple great defensive players and a very good tight end. The rest of the team is mediocre.

They are talented actually. Romo, Jones, Barber, Witten, Austin, Bryant, Newman, Jenkins, Ware, Spencer, Ratliff. That's a pretty talented group right there and too talented to be 0-2 right now. But like Dice said, all that talent ain't worth **** if you're not utilizing it correctly.

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

This. Of all people who I'd blame for the Cowboys troubles this year (so far) and for issues during parts of the last couple years, Jerry Jones wouldn't be on that list. Sure, he made a blunder on the Roy Williams trade. But hell, most of us thought he would excel when coming to Dallas. Now he would have a great QB to play with! Smh... Anyway, the problems that we have are the same problems we've experienced at times over the last 3 years (the Phillips & Garrett era). Sloppy play, inconsistency, penalties, and discipline to some extent. I hardly like to blame the coaching staff because it's so open-ended and can be deemed a cop-out. However, perception is sometimes reality and my perception is that Wade's style of coaching is not effective for this group of players. We have leadership on our team and many if not all of the bad team-chemistry guys are gone; but Wade just seems to be so passive on glaring issues. It's taken him 3+ years to finally admit in a press conference that penalties are an issue! I'm not calling for Wade or Garrett's head at this point. Canning those guys right now would not do us any good. Just pointing out that the issues we seem to be having now are not new issues. To me, the identity of the Dallas Cowboys under Wade's control has been to overcome mistakes; not eliminate them. And when those mistakes can't be overcome, they lose. Simple as that. There aren't too many teams over the last few years that have soundly beaten the Cowboys save the Vikings & Chargers last year, Patriots in 2007, and I'm sure a few others in 2008. It's penalties, mistakes, and poor execution -- just like it has been the last 3 years and why we continue to be the laughing stock of the league.

Agreed with everything stated here.

Quote: Originally Posted by Dice

For all that it's worth, they do have talent. Those great defensive players that they have, Jay Ratliff, Demarcus Ware, Terrence Newman and Mike Jenkins are All pro-bowl caliber players. That's a lot for one team to have. Typically if you have that many impact players on defense, you should be a contending team. Your not going to find too many teams(if not any) that has 4 impact players on defense. Their offense is talented as well. You got a solid WR corp in Austin(all-pro), Byrant(future all-pro) and Williams(head case all-pro). And as you mentioned you got an all world TE in Whitten. And as much as people give Tony Romo the business, he is a pro-bowl caliber QB. How do I know? check his achievements. He's been a pro-bowler 3 times. He's been in the top ten in passer rating for 4 straight years. NOW does he play like it at times? Nope. BUT the ability is there. The RB's they have all have been successful at one point or another in their careers. Last year, they all had average YPC higher than 4.4. So the talent is definitely there. Now all this to say, just because you have talent doesn't mean jack if you ain't using it correctly. Talent can only take you so far. But if the coaching staff(who's probably worst than Chicago's staff) is not maximizing it, then you get what the Cowboys are doing.

Bingo.

[ImTellinTim]

Yep, talk about talent all you want.

The simple fact in this game is that the Cowboys got outcoached and, to some extent, outplayed when it mattered.

But it's a Wade Phillips-led team. Why does this surprise anyone?