The first would be that people would stop insisting that anything short of playing every regular season game while still at least "in the picture" or not mathematically eliminated from playoff contention is a success. Winning 7 games is not successful just because we only won once last year.
First of all, this isnt last season. Last year was a complete disgrace. What happened last season should have no baring at all on what the barameter is for success.
To me, success is victory. The goal of every team is to ultimately become a world champion. And while I do realize you cant turn a team that just wasnt talented the previous season into a world beater in one year, you can however become competative again. When you consider the players we got back from injury, last years record wasnt indicative of what the roster was capable of.
We had a horrible coach. We dont now. Sparano isnt the best, but I like the attitude he has instilled in the team. We also had the worst QBs you could possibly have and call yourself and NFL team. This year we dont. We have a proven winner that knows how to win running our offense. Those two things alone change things a great deal.
Back to my point. The goal is always to become a world champion. Thats the whole point of playing. At least it is for winners. Some people(like JT) simply play for fame and paychecks. Well we need to rid ourselves of those type of guys and get guys with the attitude Im talking about.
Sorry....I get off on a tangent....back to the point again.........
So basically the goal for every team should be to play all 16 regular season games and still be playing to get into the playoffs. Seeing as to win the title, you must get in the playoffs. If you are still mathematically alive going into the last game, then youve made a respectable run at it. Once you get into the playoffs, its anyones tournament to win. The hottest team is capable of winning at any venue vs. any team. Weve seen wildcard teams win the title before.
Having said all of this, THIS IS THE NFL. And if you havent noticed, each and every week, the difference in winning and losing is VERY SLIM. It usually comes down to ONE play that did or could have made the difference in victory. So each and every team has a LEGIT shot to win each and every week. The teams who wind up in the playoffs are the teams who came out on top of these situations more often than not. And the difference in those teams IS NOT MUCH.
Therefore its ridiculous IMHO to believe that we arent capable of winning enough games to be in the mix all the way to the Meadowlands in late December for the final regular season contest vs. the Jets. We just blew a game where any number of plays couldve been the single play that gave us a victory instead of a loss.
At 3-2 we would be right in the mix with anyone else. Hell, at 2-3 we ARE right there in the mix. All we have to do is start winning these games when we have the opportunities. Make the plays at the end to come through. Its not like we are that far away from 4-1 and on top of the division right now. Its ridiculous for our fans to suggest they would be satisfied with 7 wins just because we havent been a good team the last few years.
Which leads me to my second wish........STOP pretending you can attribute wins and losses to teams down the line or if they were playing "team X". This is the NFL. You cant do that. This isnt college ball when you get to play South Carolina school for the deaf after you play an SEC team. I was just reading that Matt Ryan thread where someone "knows" that Atlanta would be 1-4 vs. the same schedule we just played. BS. No one knows. They could be 5-0 as easily as they could be 0-5. ITS THE NFL.
Just like I told a bunch of people all week how everyone was hyping up the NFC East as if it were so much better than every other division....BS. Everyone just swore the skins were a LOCK to be 7-1 at the bye. I was like, since when can you just guarentee 3 more wins in a row in the NFL. I dont care who youre playing. And look what happened. Not only did Washington lose to the Rams, the Giants lost to the Browns, and the all mighty Cowboys lost to the Cards(that one I expected btw. Anyone who really knows the league knows that the Cards are TOUGH at home winning 9 or their last 11 there and I think 6 straight).
Truth is the NFC East MIGHT be the best division, although Im not certain that the AFC East and NFC South arent better. But, even if it is the best, it certainly isnt by much. Perhaps Washington got overhyped because the two teams they beat on the road, the Eagles and Cowboys, simply arent as good as everyone thought they were.
Reality is the Cowboys are no better than about 15-20 other teams in this league. Their offense is certainly better than most teams, however defensively they have serious flaws, starting with that secondary. Also, their QB is the most overrated player in the game and happens to be a turnover machine who also cant come through in the clutch without choking. IMHO they are better off getting rid of Romo. I dont think they will ever be a championship team with him at QB and the more stats he rakes up, the harder it will be to justify getting rid of him.
Again, the difference in winning and losing in this league is a very thin line. You can say are schedule isnt the toughest, and I have. Ive stated many times that if we can get to 4-4 that we would have a good shot to win 6 of the last 8 and get into the playoffs. But, at the same time its not as if any of these games are gimmies. None are. We could just as easily go 2-14 as we could go 13-3. If we play as well as we did in our two wins each week, we can beat any team at any venue really. If we play like last week, we will get beaten by most every team in the league. Lets face it, we were LUCKY to even be in that game last week the way Houston moved the ball on us. Thats what makes it more heartbreaking that we had a golden shot to steal that win. Because wins are so hard to come by in the NFL.
So lets stop pretending that it matters a great deal about what the schedule is. It does matter some and like I said, our schedule is favorable to us down the stretch. But, lets also not pretend we can just apply wins and losses to teams based on who they are playing. Any team in this league, even the bungles, will beat your *** on Sunday if you arent ready to bring your best game. Dont believe me.....ask the Redskins.
And you should also not pretend btw, that any team who is 4-1 right now is not playing good football, no matter which teams they have beaten. Especially if we play 14 of the same games ourselves. That paragraph was just for someone who seems to think teams sitting at 4-1 havent earned it.
First of all, this isnt last season. Last year was a complete disgrace. What happened last season should have no baring at all on what the barameter is for success.
To me, success is victory. The goal of every team is to ultimately become a world champion. And while I do realize you cant turn a team that just wasnt talented the previous season into a world beater in one year, you can however become competative again. When you consider the players we got back from injury, last years record wasnt indicative of what the roster was capable of.
We had a horrible coach. We dont now. Sparano isnt the best, but I like the attitude he has instilled in the team. We also had the worst QBs you could possibly have and call yourself and NFL team. This year we dont. We have a proven winner that knows how to win running our offense. Those two things alone change things a great deal.
Back to my point. The goal is always to become a world champion. Thats the whole point of playing. At least it is for winners. Some people(like JT) simply play for fame and paychecks. Well we need to rid ourselves of those type of guys and get guys with the attitude Im talking about.
Sorry....I get off on a tangent....back to the point again.........
So basically the goal for every team should be to play all 16 regular season games and still be playing to get into the playoffs. Seeing as to win the title, you must get in the playoffs. If you are still mathematically alive going into the last game, then youve made a respectable run at it. Once you get into the playoffs, its anyones tournament to win. The hottest team is capable of winning at any venue vs. any team. Weve seen wildcard teams win the title before.
Having said all of this, THIS IS THE NFL. And if you havent noticed, each and every week, the difference in winning and losing is VERY SLIM. It usually comes down to ONE play that did or could have made the difference in victory. So each and every team has a LEGIT shot to win each and every week. The teams who wind up in the playoffs are the teams who came out on top of these situations more often than not. And the difference in those teams IS NOT MUCH.
Therefore its ridiculous IMHO to believe that we arent capable of winning enough games to be in the mix all the way to the Meadowlands in late December for the final regular season contest vs. the Jets. We just blew a game where any number of plays couldve been the single play that gave us a victory instead of a loss.
At 3-2 we would be right in the mix with anyone else. Hell, at 2-3 we ARE right there in the mix. All we have to do is start winning these games when we have the opportunities. Make the plays at the end to come through. Its not like we are that far away from 4-1 and on top of the division right now. Its ridiculous for our fans to suggest they would be satisfied with 7 wins just because we havent been a good team the last few years.
Which leads me to my second wish........STOP pretending you can attribute wins and losses to teams down the line or if they were playing "team X". This is the NFL. You cant do that. This isnt college ball when you get to play South Carolina school for the deaf after you play an SEC team. I was just reading that Matt Ryan thread where someone "knows" that Atlanta would be 1-4 vs. the same schedule we just played. BS. No one knows. They could be 5-0 as easily as they could be 0-5. ITS THE NFL.
Just like I told a bunch of people all week how everyone was hyping up the NFC East as if it were so much better than every other division....BS. Everyone just swore the skins were a LOCK to be 7-1 at the bye. I was like, since when can you just guarentee 3 more wins in a row in the NFL. I dont care who youre playing. And look what happened. Not only did Washington lose to the Rams, the Giants lost to the Browns, and the all mighty Cowboys lost to the Cards(that one I expected btw. Anyone who really knows the league knows that the Cards are TOUGH at home winning 9 or their last 11 there and I think 6 straight).
Truth is the NFC East MIGHT be the best division, although Im not certain that the AFC East and NFC South arent better. But, even if it is the best, it certainly isnt by much. Perhaps Washington got overhyped because the two teams they beat on the road, the Eagles and Cowboys, simply arent as good as everyone thought they were.
Reality is the Cowboys are no better than about 15-20 other teams in this league. Their offense is certainly better than most teams, however defensively they have serious flaws, starting with that secondary. Also, their QB is the most overrated player in the game and happens to be a turnover machine who also cant come through in the clutch without choking. IMHO they are better off getting rid of Romo. I dont think they will ever be a championship team with him at QB and the more stats he rakes up, the harder it will be to justify getting rid of him.
Again, the difference in winning and losing in this league is a very thin line. You can say are schedule isnt the toughest, and I have. Ive stated many times that if we can get to 4-4 that we would have a good shot to win 6 of the last 8 and get into the playoffs. But, at the same time its not as if any of these games are gimmies. None are. We could just as easily go 2-14 as we could go 13-3. If we play as well as we did in our two wins each week, we can beat any team at any venue really. If we play like last week, we will get beaten by most every team in the league. Lets face it, we were LUCKY to even be in that game last week the way Houston moved the ball on us. Thats what makes it more heartbreaking that we had a golden shot to steal that win. Because wins are so hard to come by in the NFL.
So lets stop pretending that it matters a great deal about what the schedule is. It does matter some and like I said, our schedule is favorable to us down the stretch. But, lets also not pretend we can just apply wins and losses to teams based on who they are playing. Any team in this league, even the bungles, will beat your *** on Sunday if you arent ready to bring your best game. Dont believe me.....ask the Redskins.
And you should also not pretend btw, that any team who is 4-1 right now is not playing good football, no matter which teams they have beaten. Especially if we play 14 of the same games ourselves. That paragraph was just for someone who seems to think teams sitting at 4-1 havent earned it.
