Dak has been lights out

DanA

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The best way to beat Dak is to force him to be indecisive by confusing him with coverages and bait him out of the running game by showing run heavy looks pre-snap and then dropping 7 into coverage once you are sure he's checked into max protect and is only sending 2-3 guys into the pattern. It's a game of cat and mouse because you either have to get a bead on his audibles or he gets a bead on your defense. If he deciphers what you're doing on defense you're toast no matter what you do. When that happens your only chance is the same as it is for every QB that has ever lived. You have to get heavy pressure in his face and keep him in the pocket. If he figures your defense out AND he has time, it's over for you. Now this is not some deep dark secret because it literally applies to just about any good QB. As I have said many times, the QB has not been born who can beat you from flat on his back. The caveat for Dak and really any athletic QB is you can get pressure on him and he can still escape and turn would be sacks into big plays or he can just run for first downs and frustrate your pass rush that way.

I think Dak before the calf injury last year was on a trajectory to challenge Rodgers for MVP honors. That little bit of loss of confidence in his legs was enough to derail what was on its way to being a historic season. We are seeing something of a repeat of that this year with Allen. He has been far less dominant after getting dinged than he was before. It remains to be seen if he can get back on track. His might be even tougher than Dak's because it was an injury to his throwing arm. But it will an interesting watch. Dak's biggest issue right now is he just needs to dial back the aggressiveness. All his INTs since returning have been aggressive shots. Some of them on friggin first down. He's got to learn to be more patient and to keep putting together drives and quit looking for the home run as much as he does. It's a balancing act, knowing when to take a shot and when to drop it off and let his guys do the work. He's not there yet.. but he's learning.


For me, the biggest issue last season wasn't the calf (though it was a problem). It was the inability to create mismatches.
  • We had four good WR's but they're all kind of the same
    • 6'1 tall
    • 200lbs
    • 4.5 speed
    • 6.9' three-cone
  • We stuck with a hobbled Zeke over Pollard
  • We had a single TE (Jarwin)
That makes it hard for Dak to look at the field and say, this is what I need to exploit. CB's can easily switch between zone and man coverage, the run game and play action aren't respected, and maddeningly we never turned to Pollard. Jarwin going down meant we lost most of our 12 personnel plays which was the one way we could create mismatches.

Compare to this year
  • Pollard being utilized as a primary back
  • Zeke's healthy and more effective
  • We have four effective TE's and regularly use 12 personnel and even 3 TE sets
  • Dak can run
Now we are equally devastating running and passing from 12 personnel, we utilize play action more than anyone with great results, Pollard is able to find matchups against LB's, and Dak offers the threat of running it himself. The receivers are almost complementary in what's an incredibly varied offense. If you want to disguise your defense in a two-high shell like last season....good luck. We'll run it down your throat in 12 personnel and play hurry-up offense stopping you from subbing into a more favorable matchup.
 

shabazz

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Dak divides Cowboys fans like no QB ever, even Romo.

I mean does the guy have to be perfect? Dak's achievements are belittled and his shortcomings are magnified. The truth, as always, is in the middle. The facts are this: the Cowboys' offense has been infinitely better since Prescott came back but the real test will come when the playoffs start.

Until then I guess we should all just agree to disagree.

people these days are pretty much dug in with their opinions. Nobody’s argument laden with stats is going to change a single mind. Indisputable facts are being ignored and people aren’t budging no matter how negative or positive they may be…..it’s not just in football either.

These days, anything less than a Lombardi won’t change many peoples mind…..it’s just the way it is.
 

CowboysFaninHouston

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As always, Dak just needs to consistently play at a high level. He’s shown overall improvement, but some inconsistent play plagued him in the 1st half of the Giants game. He’s only a few weeks in while the rest of the league is on week 12. If he continues to “improve” every week this team will make noise in the playoffs. The defense can carry this team in the post season, no question.
that's the one thing about Dak. he is streaky. sometimes game to game. sometimes within a game (which is actually better than game to game IMO). only if he was more consistent..............
 

Gorgon

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I know you guys don’t want to hear this but Dak had some balls that were high. The WRs were a big part of that success today and yes, Dak was very good in the second half and looks a lot better compared to the first part of the year.
This concerned me. If the WRs catch those, fantastic. But if they bounce off their hands, INT. I know Olsen was bragging on those throws, but I'd prefer lower.

BTW, the TE group is extremely good---no breakaway Novacek/Gonzolez types but very solid 10-15 yard receivers, good runners after the catch.
 

SteveTheCowboy

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Show me where I was hating?

I'll wait. and yes, I took the weekend off from this place. So let's go; you and me. Bring up where I am hating...


Waiting...
Don't hold your breath brother. He's got nothing, we know it.

He gets off on calling people "hater", then proceeds to dismiss them and then call THEM a troll.

Psychologists have a name for that.....
 

RonnieT24

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Wow. Only a pure unadulterated homer could make this statement.

Or someone who is aware that Dak has an on-target throws rate of around 77% and Rush's is around 67%. In 6 starts Prescott has been charged with 28 bad throws out of 182 .. In 5 starts Rush was charged with 32 out of 161.

Your witness..
 

foofighters

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Don't hold your breath brother. He's got nothing, we know it.

He gets off on calling people "hater", then proceeds to dismiss them and then call THEM a troll.

Psychologists have a name for that.....
Oh I know this about him. I just want him to say it. He's a casual fan and gets off on calling people haters/trolls when they clearly are not. He's got a hatred for the haters that supersede everything else he states. It's easy for him to call people haters instead of really discussing the facts. There's nothing wrong with it. He just needs to own it. We all know this about him.
 

Miguelitomama

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I think his best game ever was against the 8-1 Vikings. More on that in a minute,

I think the critics of him in the SF game and then Bucs game to start the season were off. “Can’t win against good teams”

I think the Bucs was a lack of preseason practice. I think the SF game was that he knew cee dee was a poor route runner (he rarely targeted one on one matchups) and didn’t want to lose the game on turn overs early. Dak does not like poor route runners. CeeDee has improved late this year, but last year, he was a bit of a liability. Plus, Dak and Zeke were banged up late last year.

Back to the Vikes. So he he plays a highly successful team in the Vikings and carves them up. He follows up with a very good game against a 7 win NYG team. He is beating good teams.

QB1 has been great.

Thank you. I honestly stayed off this board for months because I was so sick of the Dak hate.
 

RonnieT24

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Thank you. I honestly stayed off this board for months because I was so sick of the Dak hate.

Don't let the trolls drive you off.. That's exactly what they want.. They want to dominate the discussion with their vitriol and they giggle to themselves every time someone engages them.. I was going to say expel spermatozoa into their underwear but I try not to be crude ALL the time..
 

SteveTheCowboy

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Or someone who is aware that Dak has an on-target throws rate of around 77% and Rush's is around 67%. In 6 starts Prescott has been charged with 28 bad throws out of 182 .. In 5 starts Rush was charged with 32 out of 161.

Your witness..
That is certainly "better"....but "worlds above"?

Dak's passes are more crisp and lasered....but I was surprised how many Rush fluttery floaters ended up right in the receivers hands.
 

RonnieT24

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That is certainly "better"....but "worlds above"?

Dak's passes are more crisp and lasered....but I was surprised how many Rush fluttery floaters ended up right in the receivers hands.

Yes 77% to 67% is world's above. 67 is a D.. 77 is a B-. One gets you a passing grade in grad school.. the other means you have to take the course again. 6.4 bad throws per game versus 4.66. Two extra bad throws per game can be the difference between winning and losing. Rush was able to float the ball into the right place more often than not but we all could see that it was not sustainable. Some teams are going to have good enough secondary players to go get those balls. And we all saw the two INTs negated by penalties against Washington and the 3 dropped INTs against Cincy. The brother was playing with a rabbit's foot in his pocket and we knew it.
 

SteveTheCowboy

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Yes 77% to 67% is world's above. 67 is a D.. 77 is a B-. One gets you a passing grade in grad school.. the other means you have to take the course again. 6.4 bad throws per game versus 4.66. Two extra bad throws per game can be the difference between winning and losing. Rush was able to float the ball into the right place more often than not but we all could see that it was not sustainable. Some teams are going to have good enough secondary players to go get those balls. And we all saw the two INTs negated by penalties against Washington and the 3 dropped INTs against Cincy. The brother was playing with a rabbit's foot in his pocket and we knew it.
I dig. I'm not making a Custer's Last Stand from it! :laugh:

Also not trying to tear Dak to prop Coop. Quite glad Dak is back and getting his groove on!
 

eromeopolk

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Dak Prescott can not throw you to a Super Bowl. If you run the ball and stop the run, he can lead you to the Promise Land but he can't cross over the river Jordan.
 
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