Who was the problem?

[buddahjoe445]

soooooo........was it the play calling or was it Dak?

 

[DeaconMoss]

Dak. Easy choice.

 

[America's Cowboy]

 

[Hawkeye19]

Dak and Kellen can get into some really bad synergy. Acho is absolutely right to criticize the cutesy east/west trick plays.

Staying on schedule and ahead of the chains is so important. Kellen wants to push the envelope more and “open up the offense” with Dak— but they find themselves in far too many long down and distances.

Play smarter and the offense will remain efficient and effective

 

[America's Cowboy]

Dak and Kellen can get into some really bad synergy. Acho is absolutely right to criticize the cutesy east/west trick plays.

Staying on schedule and ahead of the chains is so important. Kellen wants to push the envelope more and “open up the offense” with Dak— but they find themselves in far too many long down and distances.

Play smarter and the offense will remain efficient and effective

Penalties while having limited weapons and an Oline with 1/2 being inexperienced also hurt the Offense during Week 1.

 

[Flamma]

soooooo........was it the play calling or was it Dak?

The problem was Tampa bays defense. Our defense is holding teams to under 20 points. That's why we're winning with rush.

I'm not trying to prop up Dak either. He doesn't inspire much confidence either. But make no mistake, these last two wins is due to defense.

 

[MysteryIceGuro]

Such a foolish question. Only a fool can’t see the answer for what it is. Dak is the obvious problem. Absolutely hilarious that this team actually looks like a unit when Rush comes in versus Dak the Dowardly Distraction. He needs to be cut, but we can’t do that unfortunately. Demote him to the practice squad immediately.

 

[GINeric]

soooooo........was it the play calling or was it Dak?

It was a combination of both. Then throw in all the penalties that the offense has to overcome. Our penalties almost robbed Rush of a win, just like Dak.

 

[Hawkeye19]

Penalties while having limited weapons and an Oline with 1/2 being inexperienced also hurt the Offense during Week 1.

For sure. And I think Dak taking his first reps led to him being rusty and off timing. Brady didn’t look particularly good for most of the game either.

Anyway— Winning two in a row with a backup QB is impressive. Smith looks awesome as a rookie and Micah and this passrush look legit.

Everything is in front of this team if they can just elevate their game, limit mistakes and dumb penalties— they can be in the thick of the NFC race.

Time will tell as Dallas tends to front run and then fade away— so they need to prove it with grit and consistency, but this roster can compete.

Next week should be fun

 

[Dre11]

soooooo........was it the play calling or was it Dak?

It's a culmination of things, you don't have to be arocket science, everybody raised their game a level without the starting Qb, they've played a couple so so teams, it's not the first game of the season, o line is gelling, and we're not playing Tampa's defense. Dak played a bad game,playcalling could've been better

 

[DeaconMoss]

It's a culmination of things, you don't have to be arocket science, everybody raised their game a level without the starting Qb, they've played a couple so so teams, it's not the first game of the season, o line is gelling, and we're not playing Tampa's defense. Dak played a bad game,playcalling could've been better

Dak has override authority. He can check out whenever he wants. Which I think is part of the problem. He's not good enough to do that. Just run what is called Dak. Rush isn't out there changing all kinds of stuff and it seems to be working fine.

 

[Dre11]

Dak has override authority. He can check out whenever he wants. Which I think is part of the problem. He's not good enough to do that. Just run what is called Dak. Rush isn't out there changing all kinds of stuff and it seems to be working fine.

It's, possible, but again, they were playing a mu h tougher team. It was expected after Tampa, the schedule eased up along with the other things I listed.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

The problem isn't Dak. Why the two wins under Rush vs a loss under Dak?

Look at the rushing stats:
Tampa Bay - 18 carries, 71 yards. Loss by 16 pts.
Cincinnati - 27 carries, 107 yards. Win by 3 pts.
New York - 30 carries, 176 yards. Win by 7 pts. (If not for the Lamb drop or the non-called interference call on Brown, probably 14.)

50% and 67% more rushing attempts, respectively, in the wins. Of course, the stiff Tampa Bay defense had something to do with that, but only partly.

Dallas still mostly wins by the old school method - establish the run to open up the passing game. If Dak is to blame at all, it's for not being a high-volume passing attack quarterback, but that's Jerry's choice - try to win the way the 90's teams did. Dak was never the high-volume passing quarterback; he wasn't drafted to do that. For those wanting him or the Cowboys to do that, ain't happening. Though they tried.

Better find another team to root for...

 

[Pass2Run]

Last night, the problem was easily Lamb.

Without his drop, there wasn't a problem.

The other problem was penalties. So I'd say McCarthy and Co. need to clean those up.

 

[zrinkill]

The team was not ready to start the season.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Kellen wants to push the envelope more and “open up the offense” with Dak— but they find themselves in far too many long down and distances.

The o-line isn't good enough for a "open up the offense (i.e. a long passing game)".

Now Dak needs to do better, but the best teams tailor their offense to what fits the talent on the team. We see that with Rush running the offense, much more running in the wins vs. the loss.

Dak can do just as well in this offense, probably better due to a bit (not a huge amount, to be real) better arm strength, but he's not a Mahomes or a Rodgers or such type quarterback.

It's increasingly obvious the real problem on this team is Moore....

 

[Hawkeye19]

The o-line isn't good enough for a "open up the offense (i.e. a long passing game)".

Now Dak needs to do better, but the best teams tailor their offense to what fits the talent on the team. We see that with Rush running the offense, much more running in the wins vs. the loss.

Dak can do just as well in this offense, probably better due to a bit (not a huge amount, to be real) better arm strength, but he's not a Mahomes or a Rodgers or such type quarterback.

It's increasingly obvious the real problem on this team is Moore....

As you pointed out— the team is built to win on the ground and is doing so with Rush staying within the system.

Dak checked out of a lot of called runs vs TB (12/28). Was that because the run wasn’t working, or bc he was trying to play “hero ball”?

If Kellen is calling runs, and they are effective— but Dak is checking to passes— then the problem isn’t really with Moore, but with a QB who thinks he has to win with his arm every game

 

[LACowboysFan1]

As you pointed out— the team is built to win on the ground and is doing so with Rush staying within the system.

Dak checked out of a lot of called runs vs TB (12/28). Was that because the run wasn’t working, or bc he was trying to play “hero ball”?

If Kellen is calling runs, and they are effective— but Dak is checking to passes— then the problem isn’t really with Moore, but with a QB who thinks he has to win with his arm every game

In the third play of the game, as the poster in the video points out, the Cowboys went to a trick play. Doesn't appear Dak changed that play, but even if he did, it wasn't changed to a passing play, but a reverse, which failed miserably. That doesn't indicate Dak "wants to win with his arm".

And as far as "If Kellen is calling runs", do you really expect an ex-quarterback OC to call a lot of runs? Haven't checked all the game films, and even if we did we have no way of knowing if Moore is calling run plays much or not, if Dak changes the call at the line, was the original play a running or passing play? Formations don't tell you that all the time, for example an empty backfield could mean a quarterback run, though you would think it's an obvious passing formation. Teams do many different plays from the same formations.

Not saying you might not be right, but to us fans sitting and watching the game on the tube we just can't tell that much about whether plays were changed from running to passing or passing to running....

 

[Hawkeye19]

In the third play of the game, as the poster in the video points out, the Cowboys went to a trick play. Doesn't appear Dak changed that play, but even if he did, it wasn't changed to a passing play, but a reverse, which failed miserably. That doesn't indicate Dak "wants to win with his arm".

And as far as "If Kellen is calling runs", do you really expect an ex-quarterback OC to call a lot of runs? Haven't checked all the game films, and even if we did we have no way of knowing if Moore is calling run plays much or not, if Dak changes the call at the line, was the original play a running or passing play? Formations don't tell you that all the time, for example an empty backfield could mean a quarterback run, though you would think it's an obvious passing formation. Teams do many different plays from the same formations.

Not saying you might not be right, but to us fans sitting and watching the game on the tube we just can't tell that much about whether plays were changed from running to passing or passing to running....

I think one of the clear changes to the offense under Rush is a commitment to running the ball and taking more snaps under center.

Whether it’s MM forcing Kellen to stay consistent with the run, or it’s Rush sticking with run calls and not changing the play at the LOS like Dak is debate-able.

What’s not debate-able are the results. This team wins when we are committed to the running game— not a sexy passing attack. Hopefully Dak sticks with that whenever he gets back into the lineup.

After all— this is the formula that won him the job in 2016. Dance with who brung ya to the party lol

 

[LACowboysFan1]

I think one of the clear changes to the offense under Rush is a commitment to running the ball and taking more snaps under center.

Whether it’s MM forcing Kellen to stay consistent with the run, or it’s Rush sticking with run calls and not changing the play at the LOS like Dak is debate-able.

What’s not debate-able are the results. This team wins when we are committed to the running game— not a sexy passing attack. Hopefully Dak sticks with that whenever he gets back into the lineup.

After all— this is the formula that won him the job in 2016. Dance with who brung ya to the party lol

Yes, I don't think Dak has any illusions that he's a high-volume passing attack quarterback, like Mahomes, Rodgers, Payton Manning, and many others. He's not dumb enough (surely) to keep trying for personal glory, as in passing records and such.

But ya never know!