Post by MR COWBOY on Dec 7, 2009 15:03:04 GMT -7
The bigger the game, the more guts Cowboys seem to lack
By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL
star-telegram.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — I am not going to mention a certain name this morning for fear of this being dismissed as another one of those rants. Let’s instead dissect what transpired Sunday in the Meadowlands.
One team came in beat-up, declared playoff road kill and trailing 10-0 early. They had been taking punches for going on a month yet pulled themselves off the mat when necessary. They personify mentally and physically tough.
The other was riding high, talking the talk and dismissing any talk of December foibles as a media creation. They were outmentaled, outphysicaled and eventually beat, 31-24.
Guess which one was the Cowboys.
A certain someone we are not talking about is kind of right when he says this is not a December problem. It is a Cowboy problem. It just so happens that in December, when stakes go up, their tendency to crater under pressure is magnified.
Blame is a personal thing. Take your pick. What I hope we all can agree on is this December collapse has become a nasty little trend.
"Very much as a missed opportunity, very much a missed opportunity," Cowboys wide receiver Patrick Crayton said, then thinking better corrected himself.
"Not just a miss, completely off target. A miss is it was close. This was just a complete ... "
I’d love to let him finish, but his imagery is a little much for Cheerios. It is also dead on for what happened Sunday in the Meadowlands, when the Cowboys proved they are what we thought they were in December. They are the ones who fail to punch back when hit in the mouth, and this one really hurts.
A win Sunday would have sent a message that this year is different, as well as getting them closer to the three wins they needed to host a home playoff game. The pressure is on now.
"I am not thinking there goes Super Bowl chances, there goes some kind of trend of December or there goes all of that, " a disappointed yet shockingly upbeat Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said afterward. "It has very little to do with those big plays made out there."
We will have to agree to disagree.
Let me assure you, the four missed tackles on the 79-yard punt return for a touchdown and the 5-yard dump pass against a zone defense that turned into a 74-yard touchdown and the fumble by Cowboys running back Marion Barber and the two scores allowed before halftime to let the Giants right back into this game and the missed field goal that the kicker blamed on the hold have everything to do with December demons.
This whole December deal has become mental for them.
"We don’t really talk about it," punter Mat McBriar said. "Maybe we should. I’m going to get a therapist."
He was kidding, I think. He may be onto something.
Half of the Cowboys don’t know how to fix it. The other half are in denial about it.
"I don’t think it’s a mental block. I think it’s something you made up," a certain Cowboys coach who we are not talking about said afterward.
This is how he responds to real problems facing this team, by putting his fingers in his ears and pretending they do not exist. And how is that working out for the Cowboys?
You could see a here-we-go-again resignation afterwards.
For guys like Jason Witten and Bradie James, who put it on the line going in with talk about Giant hatred and by gutty play, you could see the desperation. And the frustration when it all turned out exactly like it usually does this time of year.
"I don’t think that," James said when asked if too much had been made of December. "Because it’s warranted. We haven’t won in December. Until we win, that is what you guys have to motivate us to do."
The Giants, by comparison, have heard for three weeks how they were soft and weren’t physical and how they couldn’t rush the passer or stop the Cowboys’ run. And you know what they did? They did not give anybody a stat to discount it, or give Pollyanna speeches about how it is meaningless, or talk about how they did a heck of a job winning a Super Bowl. They shut everybody up with their play.
"There is something about this team where we just play a whole lot better when all the chips are stacked against us," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. "This team is one of the most mentally tough teams in the league."
The assumed corollary is the Cowboys are not that mentally tough. And we will find out Sunday for sure, when The Fighting Norvs arrive in Texas. Did I mention Norv is undefeated in December in San Diego? This officially became an absolutely, positively must-win for the Cowboys after Sunday.
Lose this and the Cowboys may not win another game this season, much less in the playoffs. Talk about a shame spiral.
This is where we learn about their mental and physical toughness.
That guy we are not talking about this morning would be wise to realize that has to start with him.
By JENNIFER FLOYD ENGEL
star-telegram.com
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — I am not going to mention a certain name this morning for fear of this being dismissed as another one of those rants. Let’s instead dissect what transpired Sunday in the Meadowlands.
One team came in beat-up, declared playoff road kill and trailing 10-0 early. They had been taking punches for going on a month yet pulled themselves off the mat when necessary. They personify mentally and physically tough.
The other was riding high, talking the talk and dismissing any talk of December foibles as a media creation. They were outmentaled, outphysicaled and eventually beat, 31-24.
Guess which one was the Cowboys.
A certain someone we are not talking about is kind of right when he says this is not a December problem. It is a Cowboy problem. It just so happens that in December, when stakes go up, their tendency to crater under pressure is magnified.
Blame is a personal thing. Take your pick. What I hope we all can agree on is this December collapse has become a nasty little trend.
"Very much as a missed opportunity, very much a missed opportunity," Cowboys wide receiver Patrick Crayton said, then thinking better corrected himself.
"Not just a miss, completely off target. A miss is it was close. This was just a complete ... "
I’d love to let him finish, but his imagery is a little much for Cheerios. It is also dead on for what happened Sunday in the Meadowlands, when the Cowboys proved they are what we thought they were in December. They are the ones who fail to punch back when hit in the mouth, and this one really hurts.
A win Sunday would have sent a message that this year is different, as well as getting them closer to the three wins they needed to host a home playoff game. The pressure is on now.
"I am not thinking there goes Super Bowl chances, there goes some kind of trend of December or there goes all of that, " a disappointed yet shockingly upbeat Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said afterward. "It has very little to do with those big plays made out there."
We will have to agree to disagree.
Let me assure you, the four missed tackles on the 79-yard punt return for a touchdown and the 5-yard dump pass against a zone defense that turned into a 74-yard touchdown and the fumble by Cowboys running back Marion Barber and the two scores allowed before halftime to let the Giants right back into this game and the missed field goal that the kicker blamed on the hold have everything to do with December demons.
This whole December deal has become mental for them.
"We don’t really talk about it," punter Mat McBriar said. "Maybe we should. I’m going to get a therapist."
He was kidding, I think. He may be onto something.
Half of the Cowboys don’t know how to fix it. The other half are in denial about it.
"I don’t think it’s a mental block. I think it’s something you made up," a certain Cowboys coach who we are not talking about said afterward.
This is how he responds to real problems facing this team, by putting his fingers in his ears and pretending they do not exist. And how is that working out for the Cowboys?
You could see a here-we-go-again resignation afterwards.
For guys like Jason Witten and Bradie James, who put it on the line going in with talk about Giant hatred and by gutty play, you could see the desperation. And the frustration when it all turned out exactly like it usually does this time of year.
"I don’t think that," James said when asked if too much had been made of December. "Because it’s warranted. We haven’t won in December. Until we win, that is what you guys have to motivate us to do."
The Giants, by comparison, have heard for three weeks how they were soft and weren’t physical and how they couldn’t rush the passer or stop the Cowboys’ run. And you know what they did? They did not give anybody a stat to discount it, or give Pollyanna speeches about how it is meaningless, or talk about how they did a heck of a job winning a Super Bowl. They shut everybody up with their play.
"There is something about this team where we just play a whole lot better when all the chips are stacked against us," Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said. "This team is one of the most mentally tough teams in the league."
The assumed corollary is the Cowboys are not that mentally tough. And we will find out Sunday for sure, when The Fighting Norvs arrive in Texas. Did I mention Norv is undefeated in December in San Diego? This officially became an absolutely, positively must-win for the Cowboys after Sunday.
Lose this and the Cowboys may not win another game this season, much less in the playoffs. Talk about a shame spiral.
This is where we learn about their mental and physical toughness.
That guy we are not talking about this morning would be wise to realize that has to start with him.