The undisputable fact is that the Cowboys were in the game until 6 seconds before the final buzzer. When the kick was blocked, they were still in it. but the special team on the field let the Skins pick up the ball and run down the field without tackling him until he was almost to their field goal range. Even then, that would have thrown them into overtime because it was unlikely the kicker could make it from that point. But the penalty gave them 15 more yards on the end of the runback. And that put them within range, barely. Their kicker had already missed a 49 yarder. So the Cowboys give him another chance at the 47. And he made that one.
Up to the point of that penalty, the Cowboys were still in the game. They had a chance. That 15 yard penalty, regardless of the 60 minutes of football already played, regardless of good or poor coaching, regardless of caught or dropped passes, regardless of missed tackles and all the other crap that we watched during the game, was the cincher. That penalty put the ball on a place on the field where their kicker could make the winning field goal.
Now, back to where I started.
Good teams don't make those mistakes or commit those penalties. The Cowboys simply aren't a good team. Their record, and their play from game to game is the proof I offer for this claim. Sure, they have a flash of brilliance. But they follow it with a flash of lunacy to make up for it. You can type all day and "if" until the cows come home, but the bottom line is they are 4-4. And the rest of the schedule looks to be a repeat of the 1st half of the season. 8-8 is the most probable outcome of this season, based on already played games by all concerned. 9-7 would be considered by me as an achievable, although unlikely goal. Anything beyond that is devoid of reality.
I hate this. I hate having all the expectations every year and have the whole thing wind up being this canker sore just oozing with vile memories. I hope Romo lights it up, whether they lose or not. We need to go into next season with a QB we can count on. TO was a nice folly, but he's simply not getting the job done. Zimmer isn't getting the defense where it needs to be. Time for him to go.
Parcells. . . . . . I have mixed emotions here. I think he was a great coach. I'm beginning to believe he isn't anymore. And I don't know if he's got the fire in him anymore. It looks like every game we have like yesterdays just rips him to shreds. Recouping from that looks to be very difficult for him.
I agree with his philosopy, bend, don't break on defense, manage the clock on offense and become a disciplined team. But we don't really have that. The defense does well 3/4 of the time. It's that other 1/4th of the time that costs us games. The offense under Romo is doing fair on the time management thing. It will get better, I suspect. Probably too little, too late, though. The discipline thing is just simply out of hand. It's fine for the 1st round pick to be disciplined to have that water in Parcells hands right on time. Unfortunately, they don't give points for that. It would be much better for receivers to keep their eyes on the ball and actually catch the damned thing instead of dropping it. It would be better for players to stop making penalties or missing blocks. I bet Jerry Jones would hire someone to get Parcell's water if the team would start playing professional football instead of this crap they're dishing out every other week this season.
Seeing half a season go by with the pattern of up one week, down the next, and seeing our record at this point being exactly where it should be based on performance, 4-4, one can only come to the conclusion that the Cowboys are mediocre, average. . . .bordering on bad. Yes they can improve. Yes, they can get worse, too. It's a wash.
Maybe next year. . . .
Rod
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