Sunday Poll: The Worst Loss Suffered by the 2009 Dallas Cowboys
by Aaron Novinger on May 30, 2010 9:58 AM CDT
in Dallas Cowboys General
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Print"Any man can make mistakes, but only an idiot persists in his error." - Marcus Tullius Cicero
Around this time last year, many of us were wondering what to make of the '09 Cowboys. On defense they had replaced Chris Canty, Zach Thomas, and Roy Williams with free agents Igor Olshansky, Keith Brooking, and Gerald Sensabaugh. After trading Anthony Henry to the Lions for Jon Kitna, Coach Phillips declared an open competition between 2008 rookies, Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick, for the starting cornerback spot opposite Terence Newman.
Then, after drafting two more DE/OLBs in Victor Butler and Brandon Williams, Greg Ellis grumbled his way into his being released. Anthony Spencer took over for Ellis...and voilà, five new starters on defense!
On offense, someone in-house was expected to step up to help replace the surprisingly released, yet apparently divisive Terrell Owens. The trade for Roy Williams consumed the team's first-round pick, so his contributions were expected to be leaned on heavily by Tony Romo. As for Romo, the ugly memories of 44-6 needed erasing. To do so, he had to progress as a leader; he had to take better care of the football.
2009 saw the Cowboys make their fair share of blunders. But Dallas learned from its mistakes--enough to trim down its total regular season losses to just five. While the team learned to rebound from adversity, each loss had its own particular sting.
Week 2: Giants @ Cowboys
Ouch! A loss to open up new Cowboys Stadium in front of a record crowd certainly deflated the Cowboys' hopes. Just as they ended '08, the defense couldn't hold a team down and Romo kept coughing up the ball.
Eli Manning connected twenty times with receivers Mario Manningham and Steve Smith. Lawrence Tynes' 37-yard field goal sucked the air out of north Texas. Cowboys lose 31-33.
Week 4: Cowboys @ Broncos
Brandon Marshall made Dallas defenders look silly on his 51-yard go-ahead score. Tony Romo was hoping for a little magic from one of his own wideouts, but his heroic efforts would remain unanswered when Champ Bailey knocked away a potential game-tying TD catch by Sam Hurd. Cowboys lose 10-17.
Week 10: Cowboys @ Packers
Dallas running backs carry the ball a combined total of 11 times, while the Green Bay defense harasses Tony Romo to the tune of five sacks, a lost fumble, and an interception at the goalline. Dallas' only score comes in garbage time. Cowboys lose 7-17.
Week 13: Cowboys @ Giants
Romo completes 41 of his 55 pass attempts for 392 yards and three touchdowns. Eli Manning completes only 11 of his 25 passes, but things just go the Giants' way. Brandon Jacobs' 74-yard catch and run was simply disheartening. And then, the Dallas kickoff coverage unit failed to contain late in the fourth quarter. Cowboys lose 24-31.
Week 14: Chargers @ Cowboys
Even with Marion Barber, Dallas can't punch it in on 4th-and-goal. Vincent Jackson makes enough clutch catches and Nick Folk is anything but clutch. The DeMarcus Ware injury has the entire Cowboys fanbase holding its collective breath. Cowboys lose 17-20.
Isn't it fun reminiscing? Now that you've relived some of the worst Cowboys moments of 2009, which game boiled your blood the most?
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I hated them all!
I gues I most hated the ones where they couldn’t stop the pass rush. Very frustrating to watch considering how pass-dependent the team is.
FREE THE OGLETREE!!!
Why...
…when we watch these god-awful memories are the opposing team broadcasters always so emphatically animated whenever their lame-ass team makes a play? Listen to how they announce a first down against us. Listen to the GB broadcast for their proclamations about the great plays of the fudgepackers and their claim that they pierced a “dagger through the star of the Cowboys”.
I’m guessing Jerry and Brad Sham and others aren’t reading these blogs, but I’m begging our leaders for less objectivity in our broadcasts and a little more homer-ism. We dedicated Cowboys need it. We suffer too much in the name of the Cowboys. GIve us something. I’m begging here!
by Eagles suck on May 31, 2010 10:02 AM CDT up reply actions
The first giant loss didn't bother me as much
because we outplayed them and it was early in the season. The second loss ate at me and I thought it was the beginning of another late season slide. The Chargers loss was really tough too because we outplayed them as well.
The first one bugged the heck out of me
BECAUSE we outplayed tehm. and losing the first home game in the mothership is just plain wrong.
Yes, but.....
the first loss allowed Romo to become the leader. After that game he was much more careful with the ball and it is what helped him take the next step.
re:
The chargers if I remember were playing well at the time and they abused our secondary. Their receivers were clearly bigger and better and we couldn’t stop them when it mattered. I remember seeing excellent coverage on several outs and Rivers passes were perfect and had to be.
With the benefit of hindsight
I actually think the first three losses were good for the team, heading off any cockiness right off the bat. The first NYG game put a damper on high-flying expectations, the DEN loss made it clear that the NYG game was not an accident, and the GB loss again brought us back to earth after getting on a little roll after the bye week.
The last loss against the Chargers set the Boys up for the endrun against NO, WAS and PHI, so a good and timely loss again.
The week 13 Giants loss was the killer for me, simply because it served no purpose whatsoever.
by One.Cool.Customer on May 30, 2010 10:19 AM CDT reply actions
The 2nd loss to the Giants was easily the most painful.
The Giants had lost 5 out of 6 and the Cowboys were in a spot to not only knock them out of contention for the division but possibly the playoffs altogether.
It was certainly more demoralizing than the first Giants loss because that one could clearly be pinned on Romo. As absurd as it is to run for 250 yards at nearly 9 YPC and still lose, it was better for Romo to have his worst stinker in the 2nd game of the season than the next-to-last game of the season.
The 2nd loss? It was a team effort to lose that one; starting with Marion Barber whose 2nd quarter fumble really opened the floodgates. Then after retaking the lead the defense has a brain fart and lets overrated sack o’sh*t Brandon Jacobs jaunty on down the field with a 74-yard run and catch; things like this simply shouldn’t happen. Special teams blunder? Coming right up.
The Chargers loss the following week was no picnic either but the defense held for most of the game at least against an elite offense. Of course, what those two losses had in common were final minute frantic window dressing TD drives that really meant nothing but made the final scores appear closer than the games actually were.
I hate the NFC east
And as much as the entire eagles team and their fans suck (and sure, and lets add the whole of philly too — I lived there for a couple of years — a truly unwelcoming and rude lot!), nothing sucks as hard as Brandon Jacobs. Well, maybe that gap-toothed jackass, Strahan, challenges Jacobs.
How truly, truly wonderful it would be to go 6-0 vs. nfc east.
by Eagles suck on May 31, 2010 10:09 AM CDT up reply actions
Most painful
That 74 yd run should have never counted, Sensi was clearly held by lineman.
How come the zebra’s miss that?
They all sucked, Green Bay less than the others.
I voted for the 1st Giants loss because they closed out and opened up a stadium with losses that could’ve been avoided.
However, I was livid after the Denver and 2nd Giants losses because in both games Dallas pissed away a 10-0 lead. The 2nd Giants game saw Romo have a career game, but the defense couldn’t cover a bed, letting Jacobs and Hixon run all over them for an extra 14 points. It was only fitting that a mediocre Carolina squad blew New York out in their home finale.
Thinking about it, Dallas could’ve easily had a 15-1 season, when you take away the miscues against NY the first time, the blown 10-0 leads, and Dallas actually doing something besides running on 4th and 1 (San Diego game). Sigh, what could’ve been…
Both teams looked awful in the Green Bay game, so I’ll give that a free pass.
I had to go with the 2nd loss to the Giants
If for no other reason than I was at that game. It was yet another game where the Cowboys were dominating the Giants, yet on the scoreboard the game was still close. Two breakdowns later, and complete inefficiency of the offense and bam! you have one heck of a painful loss.
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by Brandon Worley on May 30, 2010 11:07 AM CDT reply actions
DEN loss, because it was so unnecessary
Came away empty on 2 red zone drives in a low-scoring game. Gave up an awful touchdown late, gave up a cheap score on a TO.
I'm not losing my memory, I'm living in the now
First Giants game
First game at new stadium, Eli autographing the wall, same old “What’s wrong with Romo” questions, pass defense was killed, great rushing attack went for naught, the interception off Witten’s ankle, and to lose on the last play of the game was just the cherry on top.
Worst Loss
Week 13..The Cowboys had turned the corner and were playing great. Romo had figured out his early season problems and was playing at the top of the game. The game was simply given away by the defense and special teams mainly..
If Dallas wins this game they have home field advantage against the Vikings..Things may have been completely different..
I was going to vote week 2, but then abstained.
The truth is we could have won all of those games. The only one we were never really in was Green Bay. And of course Minnesota, which I really deem as our worst loss of the year.
When I die I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my Grandfather -- not screaming like the passengers in his car.
They All Hurt
The first Giants loss hurt the least. It was early in the season and my expectations weren’t that high, and the team played well with the exception of Romo.
The second Giants loss hurt the most because the team as a whole made too many dumb mistakes, with the exception of Romo, who played great. My hopes shouldn’t have been that high for this game. Dallas usually plays flat the week after Thanksgiving.
Green Bay
In hindsight, if the Boys had won the game against the Packers, they would’ve had only 2 losses after game #10. Homefield would have been in our sights and we may have focused more on the other games lost later.
The second Giants game was pretty painful.
Anything said above is purely the opinion of AFB unless said otherwise.
by The Immortal Iron Fist AKA AFB on May 30, 2010 1:00 PM CDT reply actions
Chargers for me
The 2nd loss in a row to open December, leading to further doubts about the toughness of this team, the potentially devastating injury to D-Ware, Nick Folk virtually costing us the game, and Jason Garrett’s horrible playcalling (Barber up the middle gets stuffed, Barber up the middle gets stuffed, Barber up the middle gets stuffed, Barber up the middle gets stuffed).
P.S. – I haven’t visted SB Nation much during the ‘Boys/Mavs offseason, so I’m wondering if the BTB and other teams’ home screens are as messed up for others as they are for me?
Before you ask why I'm a fan of both the Cowboys and Jets, I'll just say the answer is complicated and that it just turned out that way.
Although Giants 2 pissed me off as well
Specifically what I remember was the momentum-changing Barber fumble. With less than 2 minutes to go in the 1st half, Barber has a clear lane to the sidelines, where he should have run out of to stop the clock. Instead he turns, puts his head down, and loses the ball.
I was screaming at the television that day.
Before you ask why I'm a fan of both the Cowboys and Jets, I'll just say the answer is complicated and that it just turned out that way.
GB was the worst
all the other 4 losses were close games when one or another unit let us down, but despite that they could have gone the other way with one or two plays differently. at the time I could take positive things out of them knowing that just don’t go your way all the time, but we played good teams tough. but the GB game was just a total fiasco (and ended up looking kind of like a preview of the Vikes game).
one way i gauge this is if a game is fun to watch later even if we ended up losing. the other 4 games we made enough plays that they’re still entertaining to watch despite the loss. The GB game is not fun to rewatch, it was just a smelly pile of poo.
Does that count with wins, too?
The Cowboys 7-6 win over the Redskins was anything but fun to watch until the very end.
Before you ask why I'm a fan of both the Cowboys and Jets, I'll just say the answer is complicated and that it just turned out that way.
I don't know...
That 2nd Giants game is extremely painful to try to watch. Knowing that such a great performance by Romo was wasted by the defense and special teams.
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by Brandon Worley on May 30, 2010 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions
painful yes, but at least you can enjoy the performance by Romo
the GB game, there’s not much to enjoy period.
GB game we were outplayed and outcoached.
Our offense was a piece of $h.t in that game. Red genius’ was just red that day and without the garbage time TD w should be scoreless. The defense was hanging on and kept the high powered GB offense grounded.
I'll vote Sandy Eggo
Taking another December loss, at home, and watching DWare getting carted off the field was more to me than a punch to the gut. Yeah I hate the gints, and watching jacobs rumble down the side line was tough, but the SD game went too far.
If you believe in such things, the football gods seemed to have cursed JJ and the dallas faithful for years now. No playoff wins in years, no SBs in years, December meltdowns after hugh Oct/Nov runs filled with so much promise, etc, etc.
The SD game seemed to me a culmination of that curse.
Whatever football sins JJ had committed in the past, it had seemed to me that he had suffered and paid for enough. And by extension, so had we.
Then came the SD game and Dallas unable to punch the ball into the EZ, and then Ware getting carted off the field, and the inevitable (so it seemed to me) loss.
Was this just punishment for some heinous football crimes of the past, some great disrespect to those all-mighty football gods committed by the dallas faithful?
Or was this nothing more than malice on their part? Dare I ask, had they gone too far with this punishment?
Who knows, but maybe in the big scheme of things, there was a little of that going on. It sure felt like it to me.
Was Ware’s rapid recovery and the huge road win the following week some acknowledgment on the part of the gods that their punishment was meted out with too much gusto? Like I said, who knows? That was the low point of the season for me.
Anyway, something to ponder.
Maybe the football gods
are like the Greek gods and they punish hubris.
Homer: Aw, twenty dollars! I wanted a peanut!
Homer's Brain: Twenty dollars can buy many peanuts!
Homer: Explain how!
Homer's Brain: Money can be exchanged for goods and services!
Homer: Woo-hoo!
by bigbluethruandthru on May 30, 2010 2:49 PM CDT up reply actions
They Do Punish Hubris
Which is why I try to calm down some of the louder mouths here when we win a few in a row.
I usually don’t succeed, and our string of unfilled Super Bowls continues. Coincidence? I think not.
in terms of what game was the most painful at the time
I’d have to agree the SD game, because it seemed to presage another December swoon and took us out of first place, and with the Giants not yet having collapsed there was even a chance of missing the playoffs after that game, it was the loss that most put our season at risk… and losing Ware was the salt on the wound.
But in retrospect, the GB was worse for me.
I voted GB
because we got so far away from what we do offensively. I mean, 11 rushes?
The other games we were in it but didn’t finish.
"We'll see." --Bill Parcells
For some reason I would say the Denver game.
There was just something about that game that really got to me. It was probably the fact that we should have definitely won it and it was the second time in three weeks that you could say that for the Cowboys. The Giants losses, while sucky, still came to a division rival and over the years nothing surprises me in the division. Also, after the second Giants loss I had finals to focus on so I couldn’t get too upset. The GB and Chargers games were both to very good teams (the GB one in Lambeau no less) so they didn’t bother me that much.
If I had a nickel for every Super Bowl the Eagles have won, I would have zero nickels.
Voted the Denver game
only cause we had to read about how McDaniels was God, and how the Broncos were going to go undefeated. Stupid.
The GB loss hurt the most
it pointed out serious flaws that ended up being our undoing.
The first Giants loss was awful cause we had it in the bag, but I’m not too mad about that game – if we hadn’t made the playoffs at 9-7 because of that game, I’d be pissed.
Id prob say the GB was the worst performance
But i didnt see it because i was at the steelers game:(
So in that case Id say the SD game.. at that point in the season Cowboys were entering in the toughest part of the schedule and just came off a devastating loss to an inferior team. Things didnt look good because SD was HOT, and NO was next up and then WASH in D.C
The cowboys D held an explosive SD Offense to 13points until DWare was knocked out of the game. Alot of miscues in that game. December was looking bleak after another tough loss. Dware was a question mark to play let alone play ever again. It was a tough week to be a cowboy fan. Not much light at the end of the tunnel. Good thing the boys are professionals and stuck it to the 13-0 Saints.. what an extreme roller coaster ride Dec was.
Really?! Really?!
The Denver loss bothered me for a while
I believe it was a Denver was undefeated going into it, but I just knew we were better. I did not see the game because of work, but I do remember that we had 4 or 5 turn overs and still only lost be touchdown: we gave that game away.
In all reality the only loss that bugs me the most is the last one!
That's what I voted...
The only word I could describe our offense with for that game… STAGNANT. That Champ Bailey pick at the end of the game in the endzone made me sour for the next 2 weeks..
FEAR the STAR...it's all or nothing.... time to COWBOY UP.
I voted for week 13, but I'd put GB second. As someone referred to the GB game
above, it was a “smelly pile of poo.”
First loss was the worst
A lot of that is because of the stadium opening, but that said, it was a horrible game for us. Romo was melting down, the defense couldn’t get a stop when they needed to, and overall the team was just bad. We weaseled our way into having a chance to win that game and still let it slip away.
YOU CAN MAKE A CASE FOR ALL OF THESE
1st Giants game was more of a historic loss than anything.. First game in the new house losing a close one really sucked!!
Denver in all honesty is most painfull to me, for the simple fact that we had ABSOLUTELYY NO BUSINESS LOSING!!! Had a good handle of the game, and were winning with under two minutes, with the opponent having to drive the length of the feild… THEN, to make things worse, after Marshall torched us, we still had a chance to win the game, and botched two attempts on the one!!!!!
Green Bay was hands down the worst performance of the seaosn (minus the win in Washington). We played like total garbage and couldnt manage to punch it in untill it nolonger mattered.. We got away from our game plan and totrally blew in the passing game. It was also uncharacteristic of the D to completely blow a game as well, typcially they were at least good against the run OR the pass. However, the sucked at both this time around!! VERY DEPRESSING!!
San Diego was again, another game we had no business lossing.. Consider we were ridding high with a couple wins till the “december course” and were looking EXTREMELY good on both sides of the ball. Just came off a loss to the G-men and it was as though we were a bunch of pissed off bees who just had their hive F’d with. Yet, in the end, MB3 getting stuffed time after time, letting the long ball kill us, Folk being a D-bag doing what he does best-missing feild goals, and to top it all off Ware almost gave us the scare of a lifetime!!! Still we were in this game, we lost it due to undiscipline and sloppy play on both sides of the ball (Romo excluded). This loss falls on the shoulder of the DB’s and lackluster Oline play.
I guess it would be MUCH easier to sum up which less meant the least, and personally, I’d have to sayit was Giants 2.0 because in the end it meant little, and the only reason it would mean anything at all would be pride of loseing the first time around to a divisioon rival and the fact that we hate them as much as we do!
First Giants game
Opening the new stadium with a loss, that should have been a win. It’s only surpassed by the loss to MIN in the playoffs IMO.
The GB game was another one that still disgusts me to think about.
Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, Jason Witten, Felix Jones = defensive coordinator's Kobayashi Maru scenario
The Green Bay loss
The Cowboys just got their butt kicked in that game. The Minnesota game was the same way. They were not in the game. It exposed the OL.
That first game loss in the new stadium, coupled with the memory of final game
loss in the old staduim left me spent. I still haven’t recovered from our dismal playoff game against the Vikings. The older I get, the more losses hurt.
Family, Friends, Cowboys, Beer & BBQ. Life is good!
I was at the home opener. . . Miserable
But I tried to rationalize the loss by thinking we lost one, but I was able to see the most amazing sports venue ever built. If you guys havnt gotten to a game yet, GO!
Fulton Greenwall: Perhaps we should slow down just a teensy-weensy bit?
Ace Ventura: Nonsense, poopy-pants.
by I am a Romosexual on May 31, 2010 6:51 AM CDT reply actions
How good are We?
I look at this team and expect them to win every week. I know that some places are hard to win at but it shows you how the margin of difference there is from the really good teams and the 7-9 teams.
This year we have to secure home field for the playoffs to have any chance of mking a run at the super bowl.
Comments
Can someone explain where all the comments go after one makes a post. I posted several on here earlier today and they are all gone.
Ahab the Arab
I say keep an eye on this kid, this Louie the Looper. He's going places!
You may be looking in the wrong story
You posted three times today in the Cowboys 2010 Predictions fanpost
by One.Cool.Customer on May 31, 2010 3:09 PM CDT up reply actions
I am a dumbass
LOL that is probably right. I did mean to post on this story as I hate the Giants and both their losses sucked. I like Peyton, but I cannot stand Eli. Didn’t like it when Parcells was here, although I do like the way he coaches somewhat.
Ahab the Arab
I say keep an eye on this kid, this Louie the Looper. He's going places!
Nah
One.Cool and The Gang like to move comments around just to f*** with people’s heads…
FREE THE OGLETREE!!!
Why is everyone so bummed
about losing the opening game at Cowboys Stadium. I was more bummed when we lost in New York because by all means that was a game that everyone said we should win because the Giants were playing horribly and we were starting to really come alive. Plus the fact they won the game because a few calls just happened to go their way (like the obvious holding penalty that wasn’t called on Jacobs 74-yard catch and run). It is what it is though. Personally though, I would take the season how it was. If I had to choose between winning the opening regular season game at Cowboys Stadium or the First Playoff game there, I would take the playoff win. I don’t care what you say either, because my money says you would take the same.
Tony Romo off in dat hole, Watch roll and watch him throw, Watch him lead dem cowboys to the super bowl, now watch me "yua!" crank dat cowboys, Now watch me "yua!" crank dat cowboys, Now watch me "yua!" crank dat cowboys, Now watch me "yua!" crank dat cowboys!
I've gotta say denver because
at the time, there was a posibility the season was going down the drain.
Only being 2-2, and having both wins against sorry teams, was depressing.
Romo was looking like he still hadn’t learned to protect the ball.
And to think-They almost lost to KC the next week, which would have been devastating.
The other losses, I felt they were in the course of a season and to be expected. The Denver one, they were set for a slip and no way the Boys should have been only 2-2.
Pessimists say the cup is half-empty, while optimists say it's half-full. Well, isn't it both? Realist Larry, 2009
The Chargers Game
Easily the most frustrated I got at the Boys last season. From passing out the 3-D glasses to not being able to score from the 1, to giving up a 3rd and long touchdown in the 4th quarter, and thinking D Ware was out for the season. The Broncos game was 2nd. I didn’t get too upset at the others.
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