Archer: What 3-1 would mean for the Cowboys

JMech said:

Strangely enough, the team has not had trouble with this Manning. Of course, that was a few years ago......

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They have kind of kicked his ass.

Genghis Khan said:

It was also in the 3-4 which Manning notoriously struggles against but we no longer play.

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I was going to post this very thing and I backed off thinking the new Cowboy front is playing better now than they ever did with the 3-4.

Genghis Khan said:

Yep. I hesitate to call this a must win, but the path to the playoffs gets much harder if they lose this game.

The good news is SD isn't particularly tough at home.

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The way our division looks, the road to the playoffs is looking pretty good right now...

ravidubey said:

I was going to post this very thing and I backed off thinking the new Cowboy front is playing better now than they ever did with the 3-4.

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Payton Mannings stats versus the Cowboys all-time:

w/l 2-2 att159 comp107 % 67.2 yards 1183 ypa 7.4 long54 TD 7 int 7 QB rating85.4

lostxn said:

Payton Mannings stats versus the Cowboys all-time:

w/l 2-2 att159 comp107 % 67.2 yards 1183 ypa 7.4 long54 TD 7 int 7 QB rating85.4

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I feel pretty safe saying this is Manning's best receiving corps...even better than Harrison/Wayne/Clark.

It would be excellent is he could get White Negroed again like was in Lee's rookie season.

Genghis Khan said:

Yep. I hesitate to call this a must win, but the path to the playoffs gets much harder if they lose this game.

The good news is SD isn't particularly tough at home.

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No way... Even if we lose, it's two road losses to 2 non conference teams-- hardly catastrophic when it comes to their chances to make the playoffs.

Hawkeye19 said:

No way... Even if we lose, it's two road losses to 2 non conference teams-- hardly catastrophic when it comes to their chances to make the playoffs.

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The bigger picture is this is a weaker team Dallas should beat, and with 4 very tough games on the schedule every win counts.

Hawkeye19 said:

No way... Even if we lose, it's two road losses to 2 non conference teams-- hardly catastrophic when it comes to their chances to make the playoffs.

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All true, except it's more troublesome when viewed in the context of the team's schedule.

Let's say you think 9 wins will win the division. That means you can have 7 losses.

They already have 1. Let's be slightly optimistic and assume a 4-2 division record. That's 3 overall losses. If they want to be 9-7, they can afford 4 more losses then. Doesn't seem too bad except when you consider our schedule. We play Chicago, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Denver. We could easily lose to all 4, and if we do, that means (assuming a 4-2 division record) we have to beat everyone else on the schedule including SD.

So the point is, if we lose to SD we either HAVE to beat one of those 4 much harder games, or we have to do even better than 4-2 in division. I'd rather not see us in that position.

Genghis Khan said:

All true, except it's more troublesome when viewed in the context of the team's schedule.

Let's say you think 9 wins will win the division. That means you can have 7 losses.

They already have 1. Let's be slightly optimistic and assume a 4-2 division record. That's 3 overall losses. If they want to be 9-7, they can afford 4 more losses then. Doesn't seem too bad except when you consider our schedule. We play Chicago, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Denver. We could easily lose to all 4, and if we do, that means (assuming a 4-2 division record) we have to beat everyone else on the schedule including SD.

So the point is, if we lose to SD we either HAVE to beat one of those 4 much harder games, or we have to do even better than 4-2 in division. I'd rather not see us in that position.

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Whats bigger here is the fact that if Dallas cannot beat NO, Chicago, and Denver the playoffs would be purely symbolic. Denver and NO are looking like the elite teams right now. Not sure about Chicago.

I'd like to see Dallas beat a couple of those teams and then I may not be able to keep myself from homering out about the season chances.

UncleMilti said:

Whats bigger here is the fact that if Dallas cannot beat NO, Chicago, and Denver the playoffs would be purely symbolic. Denver and NO are looking like the elite teams right now. Not sure about Chicago.

I'd like to see Dallas beat a couple of those teams and then I may not be able to keep myself from homering out about the season chances.

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The thing with Dallas is they will get beat by a team that no one expects us to be beat by, but then we will turn around and beat a team that everyone thinks is better then us. It will happen at least once this year. I'd be extremely surprised if we get beat by Denver, Chicago, NO, and Greenbay. I also would be surprised if we take care of business against every San Diego level team as well.

I will say this about Dallas. They were in the game for the most part with their losses and I think they are better this season.

L.T. Fan said:

I will say this about Dallas. They were in the game for the most part with their losses and I think they are better this season.

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I do think they played hard all of last year and didn't quit which is a departure from Dallas teams of the past. However, when push came to shove and the cards were on the table, Dallas folded as they always did.

This game is actually huge as far as how the rest of the season may go. They (impressively) beat up what looks to be a shitty Rams team. Do they eat the cheese and lay an egg? Or do they build on St. Louis and win impressively?

The way Jerry has been crowing all week can't help. I think that attitude trickles down to the whole org. Hey, the boss thinks we are the best, we must be the best! Gosh darn it, we were the better team, we just got beat. That's been the attitude for awhile and even Parcells comments about eating the cheese makes me think it is something that has been going on for awhile.

I will say this. I'm super impressed with Marinelli. We'll see if it holds up, but the DL play has probably been the most surprising thing I've seen all year.

EZ22 said:

I think we get rolled.

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I see no reason to believe otherwise. 15 years of this has taught me not to get my hopes up

The Campo teams played hard. Doesn't get you very far if the other elements aren't there.

We were actually pretty close to getting blown out several times last season.

Cowboys say a 3-1 start is important

September, 28, 2013


By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com


IRVING, Texas -- It's really amazing when you think about it, but the last time the Cowboys started a season 3-1 was 2008.

"Yeah, now that you say that, I hadn't thought much about it," tight end Jason Witten said. "But that would be a good feeling, for sure."

The Cowboys have a chance to improve to 3-1 with a victory Sunday at San Diego. This franchise has been up-and-down the past few years. It started off 2-2 before bye weeks the past two seasons and in 2010 opened with a 1-4 mark. In 2009, the Cowboys also started 2-2. A 3-1 start can build momentum for this season that has so much promise.

"Since I’ve been here we’ve had shots to go 3-1 and we’ve had some tough losses," linebacker Sean Lee said. "We have to find a way to build that consistency and we understand that it’s building throughout the year and stacking games together is what the great teams do. That’s what we have to do."

The Cowboys are taking on coach Jason Garrett's conservative approach of living day-by-day. Garrett doesn't want his team thinking ahead because it could distract from the importance of the game in front of them. So, while an Oct. 6 game against the Denver Broncos looms, a loss to the Chargers this Sunday increases discussions that the Cowboys are just a .500 team.

"It’s huge for us," Lee said of moving to 3-1. "It’s something we’ve not done in the past consistently. The last two years we’ve been 8-8 because we’ve won one and lost one. Winning on the road is going to be tough, especially against a San Diego team that’s a really good team. They’re a really good offense. It’s one of the best offenses we’re going to see all year, a ton of talent with a great quarterback."

One thing about that 2008 season, despite the 3-1 start, the Cowboys finished 9-7 overall and lost three of their last four games, including the regular-season finale, 44-6, to the Philadelphia Eagles. A victory would have clinched a playoff berth.

junk said:

I do think they played hard all of last year and didn't quit which is a departure from Dallas teams of the past. However, when push came to shove and the cards were on the table, Dallas folded as they always did.

This game is actually huge as far as how the rest of the season may go. They (impressively) beat up what looks to be a shitty Rams team. Do they eat the cheese and lay an egg? Or do they build on St. Louis and win impressively?

The way Jerry has been crowing all week can't help. I think that attitude trickles down to the whole org. Hey, the boss thinks we are the best, we must be the best! Gosh darn it, we were the better team, we just got beat. That's been the attitude for awhile and even Parcells comments about eating the cheese makes me think it is something that has been going on for awhile.

I will say this. I'm super impressed with Marinelli. We'll see if it holds up, but the DL play has probably been the most surprising thing I've seen all year.

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Great point, and so true about Jones. He is so desperate to show the world he's a great football GM that all it takes is a little momentum and he starts running his mouth. I totally believe the team buys into his hype and unrealistic optimism. Its one of the constants on this team.

junk said:

I do think they played hard all of last year and didn't quit which is a departure from Dallas teams of the past. However, when push came to shove and the cards were on the table, Dallas folded as they always did.

This game is actually huge as far as how the rest of the season may go. They (impressively) beat up what looks to be a shitty Rams team. Do they eat the cheese and lay an egg? Or do they build on St. Louis and win impressively?

The way Jerry has been crowing all week can't help. I think that attitude trickles down to the whole org. Hey, the boss thinks we are the best, we must be the best! Gosh darn it, we were the better team, we just got beat. That's been the attitude for awhile and even Parcells comments about eating the cheese makes me think it is something that has been going on for awhile.

I will say this. I'm super impressed with Marinelli. We'll see if it holds up, but the DL play has probably been the most surprising thing I've seen all year.

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It's simple. He wants credit yet still wants to be the players friends. That's why he is always so positive about the team when he speaks. He wants the players to know that he is behind them at all times. Why do you think all of his ex-players love him so much? It also bleeds into contracts when he overextends a player.

dallen said:

I see no reason to believe otherwise. 15 years of this has taught me not to get my hopes up

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Except for the rolled part...we usually lose close ones.