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Cowboys were close, but have to start over
January, 16, 2015
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys badly wanted to be playing in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Jeremy Mincey said after the loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys had the "formula" to beat the Seahawks. Maybe, but a regular-season win in Seattle in October is a lot different than a postseason win in January.
It sure would have been fun to find out, but it raises a question: How close are the Cowboys to being Super Bowl contenders again?
They beat the Seahawks 30-23, and the score was that close in part because of special teams’ mistakes. They trounced the Indianapolis Colts -- who will play the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game -- in Week 16 by 35 points.
They lost to the Packers 26-21 at Lambeau Field on a controversial call.
I’ve long believed that almost every team in the league is somewhere around 8-8 going into the season. With good healthy, quality play and some breaks, they go 10-6 or better. Without good healthy, quality play and those breaks, they go 7-9 or 6-10.
There really isn’t a long climb to the playoffs or a steep drop to the NFL’s abyss. Everybody is kind of the same.
That is why the Packers’ loss hurts. The Cowboys were right there. They beat two of the four remaining teams in the playoffs and looked good doing it. They had a third, who did not lose a game at home in the regular season, on the ropes and maybe should have won.
"We had 60 minutes to do it and we didn’t accomplish that goal of moving on to the next step," Garrett said. "That’s going to stick with all of us in challenging our guys to continue to do what they’ve done, but do the things necessary to take that next step. And fight the way we fought and battle the way we battled and do all the things I thought made this team special, but we’ve got to get back to work. Guys will get away from it for a little bit but then we’ll get recharged and ready to do again."
But the 2015 Cowboys will not start with a 12-4 record. They will start 0-0, like every other team. Often, Garrett has referenced that the past has no bearing on the present or future.
Maybe next season’s Cowboys won’t be as healthy. The schedule will be a little more difficult with regular-season meetings at Green Bay and against the Seahawks at AT&T Stadium. The New England Patriots also visit Arlington, Texas.
"I like to think that we’re building something," Garrett said. "There’s no question that you do start all over again. But whatever the makeup of our team is going to be when we reassemble in the spring is going to be different than it is right now. The 2014 Dallas Cowboys are a unique entity. But I’d like to think that when we get together we’re going to have these cornerstone pieces and we’re going to have these experiences that we’ve had together that we can build on and we can benefit from. So, you are starting over, there’s no question about that. You have to do all the work, again and again and again, but that’s the great challenge of the whole thing. But we do have these people, we do have these experiences we’ve had together that we can certainly build on."
January, 16, 2015
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com
IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys badly wanted to be playing in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Jeremy Mincey said after the loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys had the "formula" to beat the Seahawks. Maybe, but a regular-season win in Seattle in October is a lot different than a postseason win in January.
It sure would have been fun to find out, but it raises a question: How close are the Cowboys to being Super Bowl contenders again?
They beat the Seahawks 30-23, and the score was that close in part because of special teams’ mistakes. They trounced the Indianapolis Colts -- who will play the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game -- in Week 16 by 35 points.
They lost to the Packers 26-21 at Lambeau Field on a controversial call.
I’ve long believed that almost every team in the league is somewhere around 8-8 going into the season. With good healthy, quality play and some breaks, they go 10-6 or better. Without good healthy, quality play and those breaks, they go 7-9 or 6-10.
There really isn’t a long climb to the playoffs or a steep drop to the NFL’s abyss. Everybody is kind of the same.
That is why the Packers’ loss hurts. The Cowboys were right there. They beat two of the four remaining teams in the playoffs and looked good doing it. They had a third, who did not lose a game at home in the regular season, on the ropes and maybe should have won.
"We had 60 minutes to do it and we didn’t accomplish that goal of moving on to the next step," Garrett said. "That’s going to stick with all of us in challenging our guys to continue to do what they’ve done, but do the things necessary to take that next step. And fight the way we fought and battle the way we battled and do all the things I thought made this team special, but we’ve got to get back to work. Guys will get away from it for a little bit but then we’ll get recharged and ready to do again."
But the 2015 Cowboys will not start with a 12-4 record. They will start 0-0, like every other team. Often, Garrett has referenced that the past has no bearing on the present or future.
Maybe next season’s Cowboys won’t be as healthy. The schedule will be a little more difficult with regular-season meetings at Green Bay and against the Seahawks at AT&T Stadium. The New England Patriots also visit Arlington, Texas.
"I like to think that we’re building something," Garrett said. "There’s no question that you do start all over again. But whatever the makeup of our team is going to be when we reassemble in the spring is going to be different than it is right now. The 2014 Dallas Cowboys are a unique entity. But I’d like to think that when we get together we’re going to have these cornerstone pieces and we’re going to have these experiences that we’ve had together that we can build on and we can benefit from. So, you are starting over, there’s no question about that. You have to do all the work, again and again and again, but that’s the great challenge of the whole thing. But we do have these people, we do have these experiences we’ve had together that we can certainly build on."
