The NFC championship game is this weekend and features the 49ers and Seahawks. The Cowboys haven't been in the game since Jan. 1996. Lately, Dallas seems to be stuck in a cycle of mediocrity.
The Cowboys just finished up their third straight season at 8-8. Dallas' regular-season record is, incredibly, exactly .500 since it won Super Bowl XXX over Pittsburgh in 1996. Counting the playoffs, the Cowboys are below .500 and have just one postseason win since that Super Bowl victory. This season, Dallas ended up with just one win over a team that finished with a winning record, over Philadelphia on the road Oct. 20. Dallas' most complete game probably came against the Rams, who ended up 7-9. The 'Boys beat St. Louis, 31-7, in Arlington on Sept. 22.
Dallas' season ended in a fashion similar to the past two seasons -- with a loss to an NFC East rival with the division title on the line. At the end of the 2011 season, that loss was to the Giants. Last season, it was to the Redskins. And this year, it was to the Eagles.
We will never know if Tony Romo would have won in the defacto division title game because he was injured and couldn't play. As it was, Dallas lost, 24-22, with Kyle Orton under center. The Cowboys had a chance to move down the field in the final couple minutes and kick a game-winning field goal but Orton threw a pick on the first play. Still, it was the closest the Cowboys have come to winning in Week 17 the past three seasons. Dallas lost to New York, 31-14, two years ago and 28-18 to the Redskins last year. I believe that Romo might have made that difference and the Cowboys would have defeated the Eagles with him. We won't know but I really think that.
Next year doesn't appear to get any easier. Dallas' opponents outside the NFC East are set. They are the NFC West teams, because the entire NFC East plays that division. That division was the toughest in football this year. Seattle was 14-2, San Francisco was 12-4, Arizona was 10-6, and St. Louis was 7-9. Dallas faces Seattle and St. Louis on the road and hosts San Francisco and Arizona. The AFC division the NFC East faces is the AFC South. Now that division was not the strongest. The Colts were 11-5, the Titans 7-9, the Jaguars 4-12, and the Texans 2-14. The Cowboys travel to play the Jaguars (I think this game might be in London) and Titans and host the Colts and Texans. The other two non-NFC East teams on Dallas' schedule are determined by how Dallas finished in the division in 2013. If you're a team that finished second, you face the second-place teams from the division you aren't already facing in your conference. For the NFC East, that is the NFC South and NFC North. Dallas finished second so that means they face the Bears, on the road, and the Saints, in Arlington.
Dallas faces cap issues headed into next season and might have to make some tough decisions. The Cowboys are expected to be about $30 million over the salary cap and the team will have to let some players go, maybe some ones that fans wouldn't want to see go. Some notable free agents include DT Jason Hatcher, DE Anthony Spencer, LB Ernie Sims, K Dan Bailey, OL Brian Waters, and RB Phillip Tanner. There are also questions surrounding the futures of WR Miles Austin and DE DeMarcus Ware with the Cowboys. Both were injured (Austin was injured a lot) and put up poor numbers.
As of now, there aren't any major coaching changes to speak of with the Cowboys. Bill Callahan will be back as offensive coordinator and reports are he will continue to call plays in 2014. I thought the offense was OK this year, not great or bad, but not good as it has been in the Tony Romo era. The Packers' game mistake, to me, ended up falling on Romo. He changed the run play to a pass play when he saw a certain defensive look and ended up throwing an interception. Originally, I blamed Callahan but Romo changed the play when he shouldn't have. Callahan also said he should not have given Romo the option of changing the play. And as I said in a post after the game, head coach Jason Garrett must also step in when necessary and reiterate to Romo the situation in the game and how important it is to run the ball in a given situation.
Now here is what makes no sense. As of now, Monte Kiffin is coming back as Dallas' defensive coordinator. Yes, the team dealt with lots of injuries on that side of the ball. That seems like the norm for most teams, though. Injuries are a reality of the NFL. And even if we had remained healthy on 'D' in 2013, how good could the unit have been? It gave up the most yards in franchise history (fourth-most in NFL history). Maybe if we had been a middle-of-the-road defense with the injuries, you could justify bringing
Kiffin back. Kiffin's 4-3 scheme he developed in Tampa Bay has had a good run, but I think the NFL has passed him by. The Cowboys should move on from Kiffin, but it looks as if Jerry Jones is giving him another chance.
Romo is also going to be coming off a major surgery to repair the herniated disk in his back and will be 34. He was signed to a six-year contract last season so he won't be going anywhere anytime soon. He will be a young 34, though, because he did not take any snaps or in-game hits during his first three seasons in the league. Still, eventually, he is going to start feeling the effects of age, surgery, and hits, and it could come sooner rather than later.
It is almost as if the Cowboys need a bad season so they can realize where they stand and end up with a high draft pick. Really clean house. These 8-8 seasons aren't helping anyone and it is hard to tell which direction the franchise is going. I do not want that happen, though. I, of course, want Dallas to win the Super Bowl every year, but that is unrealistic. Getting back to the NFC championship game would be real progress for a team that has just one playoff win since its fifth Lombardi Trophy. Unfortunately, even if lots of changes are made after a bad season, I doubt anything will change at the very tip-top where Jones sits on his perch, untouchable. Under Jones' leadership, for the most part, I expect the Cowboys to continue to spin their wheels.
The Cowboys just finished up their third straight season at 8-8. Dallas' regular-season record is, incredibly, exactly .500 since it won Super Bowl XXX over Pittsburgh in 1996. Counting the playoffs, the Cowboys are below .500 and have just one postseason win since that Super Bowl victory. This season, Dallas ended up with just one win over a team that finished with a winning record, over Philadelphia on the road Oct. 20. Dallas' most complete game probably came against the Rams, who ended up 7-9. The 'Boys beat St. Louis, 31-7, in Arlington on Sept. 22.
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| Tony Romo |
We will never know if Tony Romo would have won in the defacto division title game because he was injured and couldn't play. As it was, Dallas lost, 24-22, with Kyle Orton under center. The Cowboys had a chance to move down the field in the final couple minutes and kick a game-winning field goal but Orton threw a pick on the first play. Still, it was the closest the Cowboys have come to winning in Week 17 the past three seasons. Dallas lost to New York, 31-14, two years ago and 28-18 to the Redskins last year. I believe that Romo might have made that difference and the Cowboys would have defeated the Eagles with him. We won't know but I really think that.
Next year doesn't appear to get any easier. Dallas' opponents outside the NFC East are set. They are the NFC West teams, because the entire NFC East plays that division. That division was the toughest in football this year. Seattle was 14-2, San Francisco was 12-4, Arizona was 10-6, and St. Louis was 7-9. Dallas faces Seattle and St. Louis on the road and hosts San Francisco and Arizona. The AFC division the NFC East faces is the AFC South. Now that division was not the strongest. The Colts were 11-5, the Titans 7-9, the Jaguars 4-12, and the Texans 2-14. The Cowboys travel to play the Jaguars (I think this game might be in London) and Titans and host the Colts and Texans. The other two non-NFC East teams on Dallas' schedule are determined by how Dallas finished in the division in 2013. If you're a team that finished second, you face the second-place teams from the division you aren't already facing in your conference. For the NFC East, that is the NFC South and NFC North. Dallas finished second so that means they face the Bears, on the road, and the Saints, in Arlington.
Dallas faces cap issues headed into next season and might have to make some tough decisions. The Cowboys are expected to be about $30 million over the salary cap and the team will have to let some players go, maybe some ones that fans wouldn't want to see go. Some notable free agents include DT Jason Hatcher, DE Anthony Spencer, LB Ernie Sims, K Dan Bailey, OL Brian Waters, and RB Phillip Tanner. There are also questions surrounding the futures of WR Miles Austin and DE DeMarcus Ware with the Cowboys. Both were injured (Austin was injured a lot) and put up poor numbers.
As of now, there aren't any major coaching changes to speak of with the Cowboys. Bill Callahan will be back as offensive coordinator and reports are he will continue to call plays in 2014. I thought the offense was OK this year, not great or bad, but not good as it has been in the Tony Romo era. The Packers' game mistake, to me, ended up falling on Romo. He changed the run play to a pass play when he saw a certain defensive look and ended up throwing an interception. Originally, I blamed Callahan but Romo changed the play when he shouldn't have. Callahan also said he should not have given Romo the option of changing the play. And as I said in a post after the game, head coach Jason Garrett must also step in when necessary and reiterate to Romo the situation in the game and how important it is to run the ball in a given situation.
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| Jerry Jones |
Kiffin back. Kiffin's 4-3 scheme he developed in Tampa Bay has had a good run, but I think the NFL has passed him by. The Cowboys should move on from Kiffin, but it looks as if Jerry Jones is giving him another chance.
Romo is also going to be coming off a major surgery to repair the herniated disk in his back and will be 34. He was signed to a six-year contract last season so he won't be going anywhere anytime soon. He will be a young 34, though, because he did not take any snaps or in-game hits during his first three seasons in the league. Still, eventually, he is going to start feeling the effects of age, surgery, and hits, and it could come sooner rather than later.
It is almost as if the Cowboys need a bad season so they can realize where they stand and end up with a high draft pick. Really clean house. These 8-8 seasons aren't helping anyone and it is hard to tell which direction the franchise is going. I do not want that happen, though. I, of course, want Dallas to win the Super Bowl every year, but that is unrealistic. Getting back to the NFC championship game would be real progress for a team that has just one playoff win since its fifth Lombardi Trophy. Unfortunately, even if lots of changes are made after a bad season, I doubt anything will change at the very tip-top where Jones sits on his perch, untouchable. Under Jones' leadership, for the most part, I expect the Cowboys to continue to spin their wheels.
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