What happened to Dak?

[Kaiser]

The entire receiving corp is subpar. TWill should be a #3 but is functioning more like a #1 now because Dez isn't. Witten needs better/faster receivers around him or need to step back and let a younger more athletic TE play half of his snaps. Beasley does not have elite speed or RAC elusiveness. He needs better receivers around him to offset his limitations.

I think Rico Gathers solves all ills at TE. Even if Witten comes back I see Gathers starting at one TE position with Witten doing more blocking. Gathers can be the explosive threat that other teams have at the position and Witten can still be the slow guy who is a great safety value.

 

[Cmac]

Helmet got tighter.

 

[Cmac]

I think Rico Gathers solves all ills at TE. Even if Witten comes back I see Gathers starting at one TE position with Witten doing more blocking. Gathers can be the explosive threat that other teams have at the position and Witten can still be the slow guy who is a great safety value.

Have you seen Witten's blocking?.....when did he become known for blocking?

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Earlier heading into the season someone created a thread asking what Dak needed to improve on.

At that time I said a few things and they’ve proven to remain true:

1) Pocket Awareness/Feel. I really thought he would develop in this area with more snaps under center and playing in the pocket from what he did in college to his rookie season and entering into his second season. Unfortunately he didn’t. He holds onto the ball way too long and works his way into sacks. You always hear about QBs speaking of having an internal clock where they know they have to get rid of it. Dak hasn’t shown that.

2. Accuracy/Ball Placement. Marcus Mosher has done a good job of documenting some of what I’m talking about. This is an area that separates good QBs from great ones; putting the ball in a place where your reciever can make play and maximize YAC. Time and time again Dak will hit a slant but the ball is thrown high or behind the reciever which doesn’t allow the reciever to exploit the play for more yardage. Part of what makes Brady and Rodgers great is that they throw the reciever open and in stride. Dak seems to throw it in the area code.

I am down on Dak, but I want to see how he evolves in year 3, if at all before writing him off.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

Dak has Tebow-like accuracy issues. If he doesn’t sort that out in the offseason, he will be out of the league by year 4.

 

[FLCowboyFan]

I like Dak, unclear for me if he is the answer....and that has little to do with this last game...it is his body of work WHEN Zeke was out...his passes were not good even though the lame coaching staff couldn't put together a legit game plan

I totally understand this thinking. I have the same worries but if you think ok Aikman playing with no Emmit for 6 games and Irvin not being effective. What would that have looked like early in his career? In 1989 Troy went 1-15 and in 1990 Emmit was drafted and they went 7-9. Year 2 of both of them playing together they went 11-5. So a hall of fame QB playing without other talent around them can struggle just like Dak.

That said the NFL is full of players who fizzle out and never regain greatness like RG3, Kapernick, etc. I'm hoping in Dak we have the next Aikman but we won't know until next year.

 

[FLCowboyFan]

Dak has Tebow-like accuracy issues. If he doesn’t sort that out in the offseason, he will be out of the league by year 4.

After my last post you may think this is an odd post but I agree with you. He looked pretty good year 1, but this year he has overthrown, thrown behind players, etc. He has to correct this to be the QB we are all hoping he can be. I believe he tried to do way too much and then lost his confidence. If I were him I would spend all off season throwing balls and work on mechanics. He seems to be the kind of guy that is willing to do so and if he does he is likely to get much better. Maybe he can even work with Romo in the off season.

 

[Philmonroe]

Dak has Tebow-like accuracy issues. If he doesn’t sort that out in the offseason, he will be out of the league by year 4.

They were just talking about this on first take. One of the people on the show said Dak accuracy is affecting Dez play cause Dez is getting open.

 

[xwalker]

I think Rico Gathers solves all ills at TE. Even if Witten comes back I see Gathers starting at one TE position with Witten doing more blocking. Gathers can be the explosive threat that other teams have at the position and Witten can still be the slow guy who is a great safety value.

That would be awesome but I don't want to count on it. I do think it's possible. I once thought Hanna would do something as a receiver and didn't expect him to become an excellent blocker. Also when I was at training camp in MartyB's 2nd year, I thought he would become a Pro Bowl type player; therefore I'm suspicious of my own ability to judge TEs.

 

[Kaiser]

That would be awesome but I don't want to count on it. I do think it's possible. I once thought Hanna would do something as a receiver and didn't expect him to become an excellent blocker. Also when I was at training camp in MartyB's 2nd year, I thought he would become a Pro Bowl type player; therefore I'm suspicious of my own ability to judge TEs.

Marty B has fooled a lot of people smarter than we are.

I think Rico Gathers has an H Back type of role next year if Witten returns, you can't trust preseason showings completely but he was explosive in that kind of role this year. He wasn't blocking well enough to make the roster but I think he will be after another offseason of coaching.

 

[xwalker]

Marty B has fooled a lot of people smarter than we are.

I think Rico Gathers has an H Back type of role next year if Witten returns, you can't trust preseason showings completely but he was explosive in that kind of role this year. He wasn't blocking well enough to make the roster but I think he will be after another offseason of coaching.

His physical ability to block is terrific but the Cowboys value precision blocking over brute force blocking with their TEs and he made mistakes. I think he'll work out the blocking issues and it will come down to just how good is he as a receiver and route runner.

 

[jday]

1. No Zeke for six games.
2. Poor protection. Tyron Smith missed time, played hurt all year.
3. Poor receiver production. Failure to gain separation. Tipped balls led to at least three picks I can recall.
4. Dak himself regressed in some areas (accuracy, ball placement). And I'm a huge supporter that readily admits it.
5. Poor playcalling and scheme.

2018 will let us know if Dak is our franchise, or if he's a guy that will serve as the placeholder for the next guy. Then we will need to hope that guy is the next Wentz/Goff and not a bust.

I'm not knocking you because I fall in this trap every year. I'll say something to the effect of, "This next game will be the determinant, this next season will tell the tale, this next whatever will be the final piece of evidence we need to decide what we have." Then it happens, and in hindsight as much as we would like to draw a conclusion, we simply can't because of things like 1, 2, 3, and 5 happening again.

At the end of the day, there will always be multiple reasons why something went wrong or right...not just one and therefore, there will always be debate about what and who Dak is until he lifts a Lombardi Trophy. Until then, there will always be somebody making the short-sighted proclamation that as long as (enter player or coach here) is a part of the Cowboys, we will never win a Super Bowl!