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(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)

Do you think that history can repeat itself when comparing the current team to Jimmy Johnson's first years with the Cowboys? This team is not that good right now, but Dallas has a good amount of draft capital, just like Jimmy did. Plus, look how hard these guys play for Brian Schottenheimer, just as they did for Jimmy. – Andre Shell/Springdale, AR

Nick: If there ever was a glass-half-full approach to something, that's it. I don't hate it either, it's just a very positive outlook - something we don't always see around here. But I will say this, it's very hard to compare anything in the NFL that is before 1993. That's when the salary cap was implemented and to me, that's when it got a lot harder to sustain success.

So what the Patriots did, what the Chiefs are doing now - those things are very rare in today's league. The NFL is designed to be equal and so it's always going to be hard for a team to duplicate that. If you want to find a parallel to the 90s Cowboys, the 2000s Patriots and 2020s Chiefs - it's the fact they had a young quarterback that didn't take long to become great. I think that's the real key for teams to sustain success - having a young, but talented quarterback you can build around.

In the Cowboys' case, Dak certainly isn't young but he's proving that he can have his best season so far in his 10th year. And it's not too late to give him some help but the window is closing for Dak obviously. But it's still open enough. I think what this team needs is to just be adequate on defense. The offense is rolling and will for a few years to come. The draft capital has to be used to get some defensive playmakers. But in this league, everyone seems to be a player or two away from getting over the hump and the Cowboys are no exception.

Patrik: I'm not going to hang that on Schottenheimer — a comparison to the trajectory achieved by Jimmy Johnson — because that's simply unfair, in my opinion. That doesn't mean I can't see where you're angling, though. What I'll point out is that Jimmy had far more draft capital by way of the Herschel Walker trade, and everyone should immediately stop pretending the Micah Parsons' trade is anywhere near that haul, so loading up the way Jimmy was able to isn't available to Schotty. The added first-round picks do allow for solid leverage, but those could easily be closer to the second round if the Packers go on a run ... in part thanks to landing Micah Parsons. What's true is that the players are completely bought-in to Schotty's culture and his dealings on the offensive side of the ball. But if you want to get anywhere near what Jimmy did in his first five years, you'd better figure out the defensive side of the equation because here's another thing Schotty and Jimmy don't have in common: the former has an MVP candidate in Year 10 with the window closing. The latter had a first-overall pick with his entire career ahead of him.