Schedule Release Thread...

Cotton

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Why? The Giants have fallen apart, the Skins aren't that good even with their fragile QB and Philly was able to do wonders with dogshit at QB. My guess is Foles comes back to earth, especially without Jackson.
Philly has a new QB in town!

In all seriousness, I don't see the division being as bad a last year. I can see the Eagles taking a step back, but the rest will move forward, IMO.
 

Cujo

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I'm going 8-8 cause after a rough start to the year, Garrett gets canned and the team responds to Linehan as interim coach going 2-1 at the end and securing his place as next HC.


Dude.
 

P_T

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With 5 night games and 5-6 nationally televised games, it does not look like Sunday Ticket will be worth the price at any cost this year.
 

hstour

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Talking about records is silly until after the draft, but status quo, I have us at 7-9 best case scenario.
I'd say the same but move it to post training camp. I would have said the DL last year could be solid (not great). Then they started dropping like flies.


No, all the bad teams on our schedule are going to be a lot better. All the great teams on our schedule are going to remain great. So basically everyone else in the NFL next year will be awesome except the Cowboys.
To say that denies the fact that since the salary cap, approximately half the previous year's playoff teams have failed to make the playoffs the following year.
 

Texas Ace

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To me a 6-10 prediction is just as silly and far out there as a 10-6 prediction. I have no idea why anyone would predict anything other then 8-8 for this team.
How so?

This team is worse on paper right now than it was at this point in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

So you really think it's that far fetched to suggest they'll be 2 ganes worse especially since we're a team that needed last minute comebacks against the likes of the Browns and Vikings in recent seasons?
 

Cotton

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Cowboys' schedule holds a few advantages -- no opponents coming off byes, for one

The Cowboys’ schedule doesn’t have the mostly home-road-home-road pattern of last season, or the home opener and closer.

And it’s backloaded with road games.

But there are small advantages in it.

For one, the Cowboys don’t face any team coming off its bye. No team will get the extra week to prepare for new defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli or play-caller Scott Linehan.

Also, the Cowboys don’t have to travel to a home opener in a rabid environment like last year, when they went to Kansas City and got ambushed. This year, the Cowboys are the home opener for Tennessee.

The Cowboys and 49ers will be on equal footing, schedule-wise, when they open the season at AT&T Stadium. But when the Cowboys host the Saints in a Sunday night game in Week 4, it will be the third road game in four weeks for the Saints. The Saints will have opened with two on the road, at Atlanta and Cleveland, before their home opener.

The next week, the Texans will be in the same kind of stretch. They will come to AT&T Stadium for a third road game in four weeks, having gone to the West Coast for a game against Oakland then the East Coast to play the Giants before coming back for a home game.

And it happens one more time. Two weeks later, the Giants will also be on their third road game in four weeks when they come to Arlington. For the Giants, that road stretch is entirely against the NFC East – at Washington in Week 4, at Philadelphia in Week 6 and at the Cowboys in Week 7.

In Week 6, the Cowboys have to face the Super Bowl champs. But they’ll face a Seahawks team coming off a road Monday night game – a cross-country Monday night game, at that. The Seahawks will have played at Washington, so they’ll start their short week after a late East Coast finish.

In some ways, the schedule sets up. It may all mean nothing, or those small advantages could add up for an edge on a play here and there.

Whatever it means, the Cowboys will take anything they can get by the time they get to December and have to finish with their own stretch of three roadies in four weeks.

-- Carlos Mendez
 

Cotton

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Cowboys softest stretch is early November
April, 24, 2014

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

After reviewing the Cowboys' schedule, one of the softest portions occurs in November.

Quarterback Tony Romo has an outstanding record in November, 24-5, and it's expected he should gets some big wins here before heading into the biggest stretch run of the season.

After the Cowboys visit the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 12, there's a three-game homestand starting Oct. 19 against the New York Giants. The Giants won their first four games at the new Cowboys' stadium until last year. The Cowboys earned a 36-31 victory in the 2013 season opener.

Maybe the Cowboys have turned the tide at their own facility against the Giants.

Following the Giants game, the Cowboys have a chance to string together a nice win streak heading into the bye after the Jags game. The Cowboys have to take advantage of this stretch of games because the last month of the season has too many road games.

In what might be the easiest part of the 2014 schedule the Cowboys have consecutive home games against Washington (Oct. 27 on "Monday Night Football") and on Nov. 2 against Arizona. Following the Arizona game, the Cowboys will leave for London to take on the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars.

If the Cowboys can go into the bye week with say, a four-game win streak, they could set themselves up for a strong finish to the season.

Winning at home is imperative to a successful season for the Cowboys. Now, AT&T Stadium isn't an imposing place, but the Cowboys are 9-2 at home in November and face two NFC East opponents in addition to Arizona that month.
 

Cowboysrock55

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How so?

This team is worse on paper right now than it was at this point in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

So you really think it's that far fetched to suggest they'll be 2 ganes worse especially since we're a team that needed last minute comebacks against the likes of the Browns and Vikings in recent seasons?
Or last second losses to teams like the Bronco's but hey we could play that stupid game all day long. I swear we have this conversation every year where everyone on here bitches and moans about how much harder our schedule is this year. And then they break down every game as a win or loss. And every year the people on this board are wrong again.

By the way the talent on our roster isn't necessarily worse. Hatcher was our only real loss. Ware sucked balls last year. Spencer didn't play. If we draft anyone decent to play RE our D-line could easily be better this year with Melton and the added depth.
 

Cotton

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Or last second losses to teams like the Bronco's but hey we could play that stupid game all day long. I swear we have this conversation every year where everyone on here bitches and moans about how much harder our schedule is this year. And then they break down every game as a win or loss. And every year the people on this board are wrong again.
Yeah, god forbid we like talk about stuff like the schedule in the doldrums of the offseason on a message board or anything.
 

Cotton

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Cowboys toughest stretch is late
April, 24, 2014

By Calvin Watkins | ESPNDallas.com

The people who put the NFL schedule together must love watching how the Cowboys season unfolds at the end of every season.

The schedule makers have placed the Cowboys on the road in three of their last four 2014 games in December and that's the toughest part of their schedule.

There are visits to Chicago (Dec. 4) and Philadelphia (Dec. 14) a home game against Indianapolis (Dec. 21) and a road contest at Washington on Dec. 28 to finish the regular season.

Ending seasons haven't gone well for the Cowboys in the past. They've been knocked from a possible postseason berth in the regular season finale in each of the last three seasons. The Cowboys finished 2013 (1-3) and 2011 (1-4) badly.

It's very difficult to see this team succeeding through this tough stretch. Last season, in a Dec. 9 game at Chicago, the Cowboys were beaten badly, 45-28, in the coldest regular-season game in franchise history. The game-time temperature was 8 degrees with the wind chill at minus-9.

Games on the road against division rivals Washington and Philadelphia will be difficult as well.

And to say the Cowboys will beat the Colts at AT&T Stadium is no easy task. The Cowboys are just 3-7 in December at their facility, so the Cowboys have plenty of proving to do this season to a fan base starved for postseason football.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Yeah, god forbid we like talk about stuff like the schedule in the doldrums of the offseason on a message board or anything.
And god forbid people who were wrong the last three years change anything they are saying...

Listening to a broken record is just as boring.
 

Cotton

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And god forbid people who were wrong the last three years change anything they are saying...

Listening to a broken record is just as boring.
I believe I remember you saying this last year, too. Just saying.
 

data

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And god forbid people who were wrong the last three years change anything they are saying...

Listening to a broken record is just as boring.
I think the most selected poll option for 2013 predictions was 8-8 or 9-7 out of playoffs.
 

Cotton

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Schedule: Five key games for Cowboys

April, 24, 2014

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com


IRVING, Texas -- For a team that has lived in an 8-8 neighborhood the past three seasons and missed the playoffs in Week 17 each time, every game is a key game.

But there are five that stand out as musts for the Cowboys if they want to make the playoffs for the first time since 2009. And it might not be the five you are thinking of, such as the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers or the season ender against theWashington Redskins.

Let’s take a look:

Sept. 21 at St. Louis Rams: You might think this is an odd choice, but the Cowboys need to win games they are supposed to win. If this game was at AT&T Stadium, then you could book DeMarco Murray for at least 150 yards and the Cowboys winning big. Since it is in St. Louis, it will be more difficult but not impossible. The last time the Cowboys visited the Arch, they were pasted 34-14 in 2008 with Tony Romo out because of a busted pinky. The Cowboys missed the playoffs that year by one game. The Rams were a different team at the end of last season than they were when they played the Cowboys in Week 3, but if Dallas wants to be serious, then this is a game they must win.

Oct. 5 vs. Houston Texans: The Texans were 2-14 last year and have a new coach and will have a new quarterback, potentially even a rookie. But Houston has more talent than most 2-14 teams. Last year just snowballed on them and they could do nothing about it. This will be only the second trip to the area to play the Cowboys. In 2006, Tony Romo threw the first passes of his career against Houston in a 34-6 win. Why is this game important? It’s sandwiched between a visit from the New Orleans Saints, who embarrassed the Cowboys last year, and a trip to take on the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. The Cowboys can’t afford a three-game losing streak this early in the season.

Nov. 2 vs. Arizona Cardinals: The easiest way to make the playoffs is to win the NFC East. In order to have a wild-card chance, the Cowboys need to win their out of division matchups in the NFC. The Cardinals finished 10-6 last year and look like a team that can contend for a postseason spot even in a division with the Seahawks and 49ers. For the Cowboys to have wild-card hopes, they will need to hold off Larry Fitzgerald, Carson Palmer & Co. in what concludes a three-game homestand.

Nov. 23 at NY Giants: The NFL did not do the Cowboys any favors with this game being on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” which will mean the Cowboys have a quick turnaround on Thanksgiving against the Philadelphia Eagles. As much as we have discussed the Giants’ success in Arlington, the Cowboys have won three of four games at MetLife Stadium. Coming off the bye week following their trip to London to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Cowboys would be best served to continue their road success in the Meadowlands with the Eagles coming to AT&T Stadium four days later.

Dec. 4 at Chicago Bears: The Cowboys were embarrassed at Soldier Field last year and Jay Cutler didn’t even play. Josh McCown threw four touchdown passes against Dallas, and the Cowboys’ offense was equally as abysmal. It might have been the worst effort of the season. If the Cowboys can win this game, then they could gain a wild-card edge. They would also have a 10-day break before heading to Philadelphia for a key NFC East matchup at Lincoln Financial Field on Dec. 14.
 

Clay_Allison

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Or last second losses to teams like the Bronco's but hey we could play that stupid game all day long. I swear we have this conversation every year where everyone on here bitches and moans about how much harder our schedule is this year. And then they break down every game as a win or loss. And every year the people on this board are wrong again.

By the way the talent on our roster isn't necessarily worse. Hatcher was our only real loss. Ware sucked balls last year. Spencer didn't play. If we draft anyone decent to play RE our D-line could easily be better this year with Melton and the added depth.
Last year Hatcher got more sacks than Melton ever has and while Ware sucked he still drew double teams because teams were afraid he might return to form. No one is scared of the Selvie and Mincey DE tandem, and a starting RDE is not coming in the draft. All of the best pass rushers, like Barr and Ford, will be pass rush specialists in their first year while they add weight and strength. We are going to field the same defense that gave up back to back 4 TD performances against backup QBs and Romo will be passing 50+ times a game to keep up after coming off back surgery.

If you can't see the team possibly taking a step back you are wearing some thick homer glasses.
 

bbgun

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I hope the Niners play this on a continuous loop before Game 1.
 
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