Appreciation in the face of disappointment

The Cowboys came up against a desperate football team yesterday.

The Bengals boast talented receivers, their offensive line proved tough, and Palmer is no slouch. Our defense allowed only two 1st-half field goals, with BOTH drives starting in Dallas territory. After allowing their only sustained drive of the game to open the second half, and despite being under constant pressure from bad field position (Bengals 48, Dallas 41, Dallas 37), the defense allowed only 9 more points.

Better pass rush, better coverage, less turn-overs from our version of Farve… yes, yes, yes.

But this team is good enough to overcome mediocre performances. This offense is good enough to post 31 points on an off night. This defense was tough enough to get the win.

I remain confident that Romo will cut down on the turnovers, that we’ll see more of Felix… that Pacman will get his pic-6, that Ware and Ellis will get double-digit sacks… that the secondary will tighten…

The theme of the first 5 games continues to be “room for improvement” … which is exactly what we want these guys focused on at this point in the season.

would I rather see this type of play now, early October when we have over 10 games to improve, or be great on both sides of the ball as well as special right now, then fade again in December?

I know how I would answer that question. I want to see the team grow into a championship team by December, I don’t want to see them be great early on like last season and then get complacent down the stretch like last year.

This team needs to stay focused and by having flaws right now, it gives them the opportunity to stay focused and improve as the season goes on.

The 10-12 yd pass is killing the Cowboys on D, what can be done to defend this?

I do have to hand it to the Bengals they did play a good game and used every conceivable way to try and beat the Cowboys ( the onside kick, aaaah @ssholes) however the Cowboys namely Romo, need to protect that ball!!!. 8 games in a row Romo has turned the ball over, at some point he has to stop this (I may have a stroke if he doesn’t).

Patrick Crayton had a clutch catch in the end to finally put the nail in the coffin, but he had a dropped pass that would have kept a drive going earlier in the game. If I were PCrayton I would be worried about my job, Miles Austin looks good as of late and if I remember correctly Sam Hurd wasn’t too far behind MAustin before he got hurt in preseason.

 A win however they need to realize that it wouldn’t have been if they were playing a better team.

It’s a combination of your own rise in talent and play that translates to wins with vulnerability by traditionally powerful opponents. The stars were aligned for us last year, we know that, but couldn’t take advantage. We all believe this is our year and while there’s plenty of evidence it could be, there’s some creeping in it might not.

Some teams use adversity to gain an edge-Giants have perfected the disrespect theme and it serves them well. Think we can all agree both NY and WAS are better, so far, than we thought. As to the recent uncertainty – it seems to be showing itself as tightness – afraid to make mistakes, and in doing so playing too cautiously(saw far too much if that in Parcell’s era). I see this more on the defensive side of the ball and ST’s. O is almost too aggressive, and far too defensive when their play is questioned. But you could see the tightness creeping in as well when CIN made a game of it.

I’d like to see coaches help this team develop an edge, an attitude they can use to become the champions we know they can be

…I’m like you in that although I yell and cuss at the TV when our Boyz do stupid things, I limit my complaints because I think about the three consecutive 5-11 seasons.

And when it’s Romo I shout at, I think, he made a mistake, he’ll bounce back, and he’s furlongs better than Bledsoe, Testaverde, Henson, Carter, Hutchinson, Wright, and Leaf…

You hit everything on da head with this post.

As much as I hate to admit this, but sometimes wins like these are better than wins where we kill our opponents on the scoreboard.

Why?

Because it reminds us of what weaknesses we need to improve upon, and that we’re not kings of the hill and we have to work harder and smarter to develop into being the NFL’s best team.

I want us to remain hungry, and a game like yesterday will help do that more than a blowout win.

I feel the same frustration. NFL football is a game of inches and Romo seems to be about a centimeter off. Not enough to kill us, but enough to get a pick, lose a fumble, and throw behind an open recever.

The defense plays to keep the long play so we can expect to see more of the dink and dunk from every team we see. Notice that Washington and Cincy had trouble once they got closer to the endzone. There was no room, so they ended up getting feild goals.

The one bright spot, if it really is happening, is that we are struggling now instead of December. Hopefully, we can get hot at the end of the year like New York did last year.

You ever have alone time with the wifey and your doing your best to be romantic and she’s doing her best to be sexy. You came home from work early. She made sure the kids were away. You get down to business and it’s satisfying but not the romp in the hay you were expecting.

This is the worst!!

I’ll take the victory though.. Time to get ready for AZ, we better be ready to put up some points..

Less pressure on our guys, if that’s possible for a Cowboys team.

Just look at last year. Who is playing better in January is what matters.

Dude, if you have kids and your wife still puts effort into being sexy at times, you’re like miles ahead of the rest of the field. Rejoice, bro.

I think it’d maybe be good for our guys to spend several weeks being denounced as the most overrated team in football, not as good as NY or Wash., etc.

What’s Newman’s status?

To risk the boos of a Parcells reference, I was thinking the wins just don’t make up for the losses anymore…Then again it could all be because of the new Cowboys gear that I have been working into the rotation…. Wore it last week, and again this week. Guess it needs to go back in the dresser.

Did we play crappy compared to how we should? Yes. Should it have been a 42-10 route? Yes. Should Romo someday learn to not turn the ball over? Absolutely.

That being said, a win is a win and it’s only October. We have 11 games to keep improving as a team, and unlike last year, we should be in line to peak at the right time, namely the playoffs.

I really hate the Dallas sports media…

I must agree with all that you are saying, but I just loved the way you put this out!

thanks!