Schedule Release Thread...

Five Wonders on Cowboys’ schedule

April, 24, 2014

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com


IRVING, Texas -- The NFL draft is coming up, but we break out Five Wonders on a Thursday to talk about the Dallas Cowboys' schedule.

Away we go:

  • I wonder just how seriously the Cowboys were considered to be the Seattle Seahawks’ opponent in Week 1. The Cowboys have five prime-time games despite their lack of playoff success in recent years and would have been a good draw. The Green Bay Packers got the nod, which will bring up the “Fail Mary” talk from the 2011 season when replacement refs were used early in the season. The Cowboys opened the 2012 season at MetLife Stadium after the New York Giants won the Super Bowl the previous season. The Cowboys won that game, too. Had the Cowboys been the pick this year you can bet the 2006 wild-card game would have been front and center with NBC showing a lot of highlights of Tony Romo’s bobbled snap.
  • I wonder if the Cowboys leave for London on Nov. 3, the day after they play theArizona Cardinals. It would give them extra time to get acclimated to the time change after a long flight to get ready to play the Jacksonville Jaguars. Late last year I wondered if the Cowboys would play an East Coast game against the Giants,Philadelphia Eagles or Washington Redskins and left the next day for London. That would have been a long time on the road, so this possible schedule would seem to work better.
  • I wonder if the networks agree with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones when he mentioned how good of a show Dallas provided after their loss last year to the Packers. Well, not really. I know they agree with Jones on that. And that’s why the Cowboys have the maximum amount of prime-time games and could find themselves playing in prime time a sixth time thanks to the flex scheduling later in the year. The Cowboys will be playing night games on NBC (three times), CBS/NFL Network (once) and ESPN (once). I wonder if the networks would petition for more Cowboys games if the club could actually have, you know, actual playoff success, too.
  • I wonder what kind of record the Cowboys need to have in the first half of the season to make a playoff run in the second half. They are on the road in four of the final six games of the year. Three of their first five games are at AT&T Stadium and they have a three-game homestand in Weeks 7-9. That would appear to be the must-win territory to build up a cushion down the stretch.
  • I wonder if the Cowboys believe in climate change. Three of their four games in December might have them in coooooooold temperatures. We know it will be cold in Chicago for the Dec. 4 meeting against the Bears at Soldier Field. It was a ridiculous 8 degrees with a minus-9 wind chill when these teams met on Dec. 9, 2013, in what turned out to be a 45-28 Chicago win. Ten days later, the Cowboys play at Philadelphia. In the Dec. 8, 2013, game at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles beat theDetroit Lions in a blizzard. The Cowboys close the year Dec. 28 in Washington. It might be warm, but it might be coooooooold, too. And Redskins fans might want to hope for snow or ice so they can throw it at the Cowboys as they go off the field.
 
Deuce said:
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.
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I worry that the Cowboys are going to have a QB problem this year. Fat Tony coming off of back surgery at 34...I think he's going to struggle with injury in some form and that either Orton or, god forbid, Weeden ends up starting a lot of games. If that happens they'll be looking at a 5–11/6–10 type of season. If Romo fully recovers and gets into shape I think 8–8 is a reasonable expectation, give or take a game either way.
 
:lol

I like how he uses a curse word, albeit a light one, while at the Catholic School for Boys.
 
bbgun said:


I hope the Niners play this on a continuous loop before Game 1.
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So you are one of those guys that wants the team to suffer for the sins and hatred of Jerry Jones? There are several on this site to keep you company. :art
 
L.T. Fan said:
So you are one of those guys that wants the team to suffer for the sins and hatred of Jerry Jones? There are several on this site to keep you company. :art
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absolutely. Jerry must be punished for his arrogance and hubris. the fans are collateral damage.
 
Clay_Allison said:
What were you predicting in 2010 coming off a playoff win? The team fell to 6-10 then with a much better roster.
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I will give you this. If Romo misses most of the season 6-10 is a legit possibility. Otherwise you're smoking crack.
 
Cowboysrock55 said:
I will give you this. If Romo misses most of the season 6-10 is a legit possibility. Otherwise you're smoking crack.
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What was our record WITH Romo in 2010? I didn't even expect it to be as bad as it was despite the glaring refusal by the team to fix the RT situation.

If you think it's impossible for an 8-8 team with bad coaching to slip to 6-10, you're definitely the one that's smoking crack.

With the talent on this defense teams should be hanging 40+ on us week in and week out. In previous years the D started out OK and then collapsed late due to injuries and terrible depth.

This time the only important injured player coming back is Lee, other than him the D roster looks as bad as the one that was giving up 4 TD performances to Quinn and McCown.

That's only going to expose Romo to more hits as Garrett becomes more pass happy than ever.
 
boozeman said:
After an offseason where you get rid of your best pass rusher, your QB is coming off of back surgery and you have a lame duck coach?
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It's almost exactly the same as the previous season. We didn't have Ware or Ratliff either last year, and Melton is younger than Hatcher.
 
Cowboysrock55 said:
Said you last year and the year before...
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:lol

Why are you so amped about a non 8-8 prediction?

If it's "silly" to talk pre-draft about a non 8-8 prediction, it's just as silly to defend another 8-8 prediction.
 
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This schedule is a joke. 4 of last 6 games on the road? And we have to play a Sunday Night game on the road against a divisional rival before the Thanksgiving game, then go on the road 7 days later. Just give up the Thanksgiving day game, its not worth it, if this is what the league is doing to us. Couple all this with a trip to Europe the week before. I thought Jerry Jones had some sway in the league office.
 
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pdom said:
:lol

Why are you so amped about a non 8-8 prediction?

If it's "silly" to talk pre-draft about a non 8-8 prediction, it's just as silly to defend another 8-8 prediction.
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People just try so hard to be pessimistic on this board, even when it's not realistic. I guess I should just predict 10-6 then to balance it out but I know better then that.
 
Cowboysrock55 said:
People just try so hard to be pessimistic on this board, even when it's not realistic. I guess I should just predict 10-6 then to balance it out but I know better then that.
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So, do you predict that every other team in the league will have the exact same record as last year, because it would be silly not to?
 
I am inclined to think of this team as an 8-8 team. But that schedule is brutal. I'm not sure I see 8 wins on there.
 
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