2015 Dallas Cowboys: Feels A Lot Like Deja Vu

Between now and September we will see a lot of predictions, projections, and straight up guesses on the success of the 2015 Dallas Cowboys. People will pick games, assume things, and we’ll see who is proven right. One thing that won’t be mentioned as often though is that we’ve seen this team before… in the past.

Present teams get compared to past teams all the time though, right? The 2007 Patriots were compared to the 1999 Rams and their Greatest Show on Turf. Six years later the 2013 Broncos were compared to those 2007 Pats, and we’ll see another team in the future that makes us reflect on Peyton and his 2013 Bronco bunch. 30 years ago this season, the 1985 Bears forged a defense that became the measuring stick for all great ones.

So to whom will the 2015 Dallas Cowboys be compared? Better yet, how can we even compare them to anyone when all that has happened this year is free agency? The answer lies within the 2014 Dallas Cowboys (and some handy NFL history). Examining the success from 2014 and what we’ve seen in 2015 gives us just enough to reference a certain team’s two year period…the 2005-2006 Indianapolis Colts.

2005 Indianapolis Colts

The fourth rendition of Tony Dungy’s Colts (and Peyton Manning’s eighth) was pretty nifty and featured some moves that I’d like to reference in a second:

• They locked up their stud right tackle, Ryan Diem, to a multi-year contract before the season began.
• They lost every preseason game.
• They played the NFC West.
• Edgerrin James rushed for 13 TDs.
• They won their division.
• They lost in the divisional round of the playoffs.

“Alright RJ, where are you headed with this?” Settle in and check this out.

2014 Dallas Cowboys

The fourth (full) rendition of Jason Garrett’s Cowboys (and Tony Romo’s [full] eighth) …wait, what? You’re telling me that Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning were around for the exact same amount of time (excluding Tony Romo’s partial 2006 and Jason Garrett’s interim 2010) on the Cowboys as Dungy and Peyton Papa John were on the Colts? But wait! There’s more!

• They locked up their stud left tackle, Tyron Smith, to a multi-year contract before the season began.
• They lost every preseason game.
• They played the NFC West.
• DeMarco Murray rushed for 13 TDs.
• They won their division.
• They lost in the divisional round of the playoffs.

“Ok you got me. That’s kind of cool. But so what?” So what? So what?! You want more? Fine.

This 2005 Colts team was LOADED. They even had eight Pro Bowlers. Among the 2005 Colts’ Pro Bowlers were: QB Peyton Manning, RB Edgerrin James, and WR Marvin Harrison (What number did Marvin wear? What was it? 88? Huh, weird.) Triplets.

The Colts went on an absolute tear that season and were even 13-0 before the San Diego Chargers stopped their streak. Their playoff loss to Pittsburgh in the RCA Dome will always be remembered for Jerome Bettis’ fumble and Ben Roethlisberger’s heroic tackle to set up a Mike Vanderjagt shank that left the Colts devastated. It was a heart breaker, and it was time to look forward to 2006.

The 2014 Dallas Cowboys had… any guesses out there? Anyone? Bueller? Yes! Eight! Among the 2014 Cowboys’ Pro Bowlers were: QB Tony Romo, RB DeMarco Murray, and WR numero double ocho Dez Bryant. Triplets again?

The Cowboys didn’t exactly start off with a 13 game winning streak, but we did have a six-game streak that woke people up. Much like the Bettis fumble, our playoff loss will ALWAYS be remembered for the Dez play.

2006 Indianapolis Colts

“I’m not going to lie to you, RJ. You’ve got me interested. But how do the 2006 Colts factor into this? I don’t get it!” It’s your lucky day, my friend. I’ve got the answer! The WORLD CHAMPION 2006 Indianapolis Colts have some nifty moves of their own that I’d like to share with the class:

• Edgerrin James left via free agency to the Arizona Cardinals.
• Marvin Harrison signed a long-term contract.
• They played the AFC East.

Tony and Peyton got off to their fifth and ninth respective Colts seasons by losing their prominent running back to the jaws of free agency. Nobody panicked. They addressed that need in the draft with rookie Joseph Addai out of LSU. This team started off on similar fire to 2005 and had another undefeated streak snapped…this time by Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys in Week 11. They managed to overcome this, though, and would go on to have ultimate success in the playoffs beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card Round, the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round, the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship, and the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI. World champs.

2015 Dallas Cowboys

“I’m with you now, RJ. Bring it home.” Obviously the 2015 season has yet to be played, or even scheduled for that matter, but we can draw some interesting parallels here. What do we know so far about the 2015 Dallas Cowboys?

• DeMarco Murray left via free agency to the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Dez Bryant has been franchise tagged.
• We play the AFC East.

Look, I know that ultimately none of this guarantees anything. But it is worth looking back on and reflecting. The 2005 Colts had a heartbreaking divisional round loss to the Steelers much like our January loss to the Packers. They played the NFC West and AFC East in back to back years like we’re about to. They lost their pro bowl running back in free agency exactly like we just did. You know what they did next?

They won the Super Bowl.