:no_upscale()/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/dmn/GRVDAZHM7NBTPELR7TYMAJIA5Y.jpg)
Back in the Cowboys’ heyday, circa Nov. 20, your intrepid reporter surveyed a few players in the wake of their conquest of Minnesota only a week after falling apart against the Packers.
Given the disparity between those performances in a week’s time, the question was: Which team are you?
CeeDee Lamb looked like he smelled something foul.
“What kind of question is that?”
The same one the Cowboys will finally answer Monday.
Beat the Bucs and Hall of Famer Tom Brady at last, and the stench of last week’s loss to Washington lifts, along with fans’ hopes.
Lose like the Cowboys did to the Commanders, and it’s pink slips for everyone.
Pretty simple, actually.
Over the last quarter century or so, by the time the regular season has come to a close, we usually have a handle on who the Cowboys are. Win 12 or 13 games, like they did last year, and we feel pretty good about the odds of a long postseason. After similar regular seasons, a quick exit once surprised us. Like last year’s loss at the hands of the 49ers, which, granted, was made even more stunning by its conclusion, with Dak Prescott and an official playing musical chairs.
Losing in the first round last year only added a layer to the crust of cynicism growing around the Cowboys since they last went to a Super Bowl. Two kids ago, to be exact. Our next generation has grown up, earned degrees and entered the workforce without a clue as to what a Super Bowl looks like up close and personal.
Come to think of it, even the big kids aren’t old enough to remember Jerry Jones’ salad days. Maybe it’s not Jerry’s fault after all. Maybe we should have just had kids sooner.
Anyway, as best as I can recall, no Cowboys team, good or bad, has been harder to predict than this one. Might seem odd to say about a team that’s won 12 games back to back. Do you know how rare that is around here? The last time the Cowboys won double-digit games two years in a row was 1995-96, when Barry Switzer was breaking Jerry’s expense account.
The last time a Cowboys coach made the playoffs in consecutive seasons: Chan Gailey in 1998-99. Even at that, it didn’t stop Jerry from firing him.
Considering that Jerry ranks Gailey’s dismissal among his biggest regrets, why should he even think about canning Mike McCarthy if they lose to the Bucs?
Because no good Cowboys team of the Jerry era has been as confounding, and this year of all years, when another Super Bowl never seemed so accessible.
Geno Smith, Brock Purdy, Daniel Jones, Jalen Hurts, Kirk Cousins, Dak and Brady. Those were the NFC quarterbacks who made the playoffs. No Aaron Rodgers. No Drew Brees.
Not even Eli Manning.
Frankly, it’s enough to make Peyton come out of retirement.
On paper, this should be the postseason that Dak makes up for past indiscretions. Quarterbacking his side of the bracket means he doesn’t have to go through Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen or Joe Burrow. Just a 45-year-old Brady, at least this round. On paper, there’s no reason to think a rematch should go like the opener. The Cowboys receiving corps is better than it was the first time around against Tampa Bay. Back then, all they really had was Lamb. Michael Gallup is back, T.Y. Hilton has proved to be a quick study, and the Cowboys tight ends are, as a group, the most underrated story at The Star.
The 8-9 Bucs should be no big problem for the Cowboys, but do you feel good about their chances of beating Brady for the first time in eight tries?
Me, neither.
Not with Dak giving the ball away like he has since coming back from his thumb injury. His league-leading 15 interceptions hang heavily over the Cowboys’ prospects. Heck of time to develop a career hiccup.
No matter what you may think of Dak, he’s never turned it over much. Except for his sophomore year, his interception rate has never exceeded a perfectly acceptable 1.8. This season? A league-worst 3.8.
From all appearances, he doesn’t seem to see the field as well as he has in the past. He certainly seems more stubborn, as if he’s determined to prove something to himself, if not everyone else, by forcing passes into windows he once never would have pried open.
Before you get the idea this is all on Dak, the Cowboys have other issues, as well. The pass rush that once terrorized the league has dried up. The running game, too. The strong identities that distinguished them from previous pretenders have suddenly receded.
The good news is the Cowboys should be relatively healthy for the Bucs. Healthy enough that there should be no excuses. Whatever happens Monday will define who they are, no questions asked.
Twitter: @KSherringtonDMN
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
January 15, 2023 at 09:00PM
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiiwFodHRwczovL3d3dy5kYWxsYXNuZXdzLmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvY293Ym95cy8yMDIzLzAxLzE1L3RoaXMteWVhcnMtY293Ym95cy1hcmUtaGFyZC10by1wcmVkaWN0LWJ1dC13aWxkLWNhcmQtdnMtYnVjcy13aWxsLWRlZmluZS13aG8tdGhleS1hcmUv0gGaAWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhbGxhc25ld3MuY29tL3Nwb3J0cy9jb3dib3lzLzIwMjMvMDEvMTUvdGhpcy15ZWFycy1jb3dib3lzLWFyZS1oYXJkLXRvLXByZWRpY3QtYnV0LXdpbGQtY2FyZC12cy1idWNzLXdpbGwtZGVmaW5lLXdoby10aGV5LWFyZS8_b3V0cHV0VHlwZT1hbXA?oc=5
Cowboys are hard to predict, but facing Bucs will define who they are - The Dallas Morning News
https://news.google.com/search?q=hard&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment