Addressing Dak’s “Sophmore Slump”

[HungryLion]

I'm sick and tired of fans pushing false narratives...

"Under pressure all game"

Dak was the 16th most sacked QB in the league last year!! Not even close to being the most sacked!!

Wentz, Wilson, Brady , Stafford were sacked more times than Dak and they didn't turn into Tim Tebow..

What does Dak need? An OLine that doesn't give up any sacks? Get real..

Also, the Oline gets alot of blame but I think most of the sacks were on Dak because he was gun-shy and held on to the ball on some plays, stepped into sacks on other plays ,(instead of maneuvering in the pocket) and since teams didn't fear getting burnt deep they went blitz crazy on third downs..

teams don't Blitz guys like Brady or Rodgers often because they make you pay...

Some fans really don't understand football..

Or your post is not filled with facts, but rather opinion that is presented as facts.

I actually think Percy’s data makes it pretty clear what causes Dak to play bad.

If you also read what he is stating clearly. You would see that Dak has been terrible in games with an abnormal amount of pressure. As in, worse than most QB’s are during those situations. Which I can’t argue with.

The data shows that with good protection, Dak plays as well as just about any QB in the league. And with poor protection, he is worst than most QB’s.

What it means is, Dak needs to improve his play during games where he is facing a lot of pressure. It’s rather clear from both percy’s Stats and watching the games. Dak needs to get better at that if he wants long term success in the NFL.

Your opinion that Dak gives up an inordinate amount of sacks due to his fault is just an opinion and has no basis in reality. You cite that he gives up some sacks due to poor pocket presence and holding the ball, but then fail to also discuss all of the sacks Dak prevents due to his size and scrambling ability. Times where he escapes the pocket to avoid pressure and makes plays. Times where he gets hit and breaks the tackle to make plays.

Insinuating that an inordinate amount of sacks given up are Dak’s fault is ridiculous unless you actually have evidence to prove it.

 

[starcity214]

He was supposed to drop 200 on the Seahawks. At least he wasn’t held to single digits again.

If Troy Aikman was here, he would slap you on your head.

Troy Aikman (a Hall of Fame player in this league) was about to have a seizure because Dak didn't take advantage of the looks the Seahawks defense was giving him..

Go back and look at that game.

When you constantly have 9 guys waiting for you at the line of scrimmage, you ain't picking up many yards..

You know how you stop a defense from doing that? By throwing the ball deep..

 

[Ranching]

Unless you're the Eagles?

Or have a play caller like the eagles.

 

[Aviano90]

If Troy Aikman was here, he would slap you on your head.

Troy Aikman (a Hall of Fame player in this league) was about to have a seizure because Dak didn't take advantage of the looks the Seahawks defense was giving him..

Go back and look at that game.

When you constantly have 9 guys waiting for you at the line of scrimmage, you ain't picking up many yards..

You know how you stop a defense from doing that? By throwing the ball deep..

Lol. Think Zeke was aware of that before making that bet?

 

[Diehardblues]

Before Zeke was suspended, these were Dak’s numbers over the first eight games:

Total Yards - 2,013
Total TDS - 20
Interceptions - 4

Project those stats over an entire season:

Total Yards - 4,026
Total TDs - 40
Interceptions - 8

Compare that to his rookie year:

Total Yards - 3,949
Total TDs - 29
Interceptions - 4

So even with some early struggles from the offensive line and a worsening connection with Dez, Dak’s trajectory was pointing way up.

So had Dak & Zeke played the entire season together, we’d be talking about what a monster year Dak just had.

If you take away his best weapon, injure his best offensive lineman [and do nothing to compensate for it] and leave him with receivers who struggle to get open, your QB is bound to struggle.

But since Zeke will be playing a full season next year and the front office is using draft picks to make the offense “Dak friendly”, we have absolutely no reason to believe his trajectory won’t go back to pointing up.

Dak is the man and we’re fortunate to have him.

His stats don’t reflect the concerns we have with Daks passing ability. We can all spin facts and stats to support a narrative.

Ultimately, Dak will be evaluated like all QB’s are with the success of the team . Remember without the winning wave in his Rookie season he wouldn’t have remained a starter .

And if Daks effectiveness is totally related to Elliotts presence that could long term be an issue.

If the Cowboys return to the playoffs in 2018 then the healing process will mend whatever shortcomings Dak has throwing the ball downfield.

Just for the record one stat you didn’t mention is he ended up ranked 16th in NFL in passing . Which I believe is a fair ranking of him. Average passer while his instincts and mgmt of the game is much better.

And the Cowboys were last in the league in pass attempts beyond 20 yards from the LOS.

 

[cowboyblue22]

everybody thought rg3 was the next great thing after his first season in Washington Dak has a lot to prove this year he pretty much spit the bit in the last half of last season.

 

[glimmerman]

I'm sick and tired of fans pushing false narratives...

"Under pressure all game"

Dak was the 16th most sacked QB in the league last year!! Not even close to being the most sacked!!

Wentz, Wilson, Brady , Stafford were sacked more times than Dak and they didn't turn into Tim Tebow..

What does Dak need? An OLine that doesn't give up any sacks? Get real..

Also, the Oline gets alot of blame but I think most of the sacks were on Dak because he was gun-shy and held on to the ball on some plays, stepped into sacks on other plays ,(instead of maneuvering in the pocket) and since teams didn't fear getting burnt deep they went blitz crazy on third downs..

teams don't Blitz guys like Brady or Rodgers often because they make you pay...

Some fans really don't understand football..

Held on to the ball to long? Maybe because of the long developing playcall or WR not able to get open. Naw, I am sure that it’s all on Dak. It was never Chaz fault in the falcons game he got sacked.

I am not looking for excuses but there is no way it just Daks fault. Plenty of blame for this season. But for anyone to put it solely on one thing or person is just unreasonable. It’s a team game.

 

[DFWJC]

The polarity is pretty ridiculous. It seems like here, most gravitate to the respective poles of "Dak is terrible" and "Dak is awesome". Or it could just be theyre outliers and louder than the rest.

I'm not as down on Dak as some. But, he still has a lot to prove this season. I think he'll bounce back but there's no guarantee of that.

I'm in this camp.

TBD

 

[Aviano90]

The polarity is pretty ridiculous. It seems like here, most gravitate to the respective poles of "Dak is terrible" and "Dak is awesome". Or it could just be theyre outliers and louder than the rest.

I'm not as down on Dak as some. But, he still has a lot to prove this season. I think he'll bounce back but there's no guarantee of that.

Too few people in the middle regarding almost every issue on any topic these days.

 

[G2]

If Troy Aikman was here, he would slap you on your head.

Troy Aikman (a Hall of Fame player in this league) was about to have a seizure because Dak didn't take advantage of the looks the Seahawks defense was giving him..

Go back and look at that game.

When you constantly have 9 guys waiting for you at the line of scrimmage, you ain't picking up many yards..

You know how you stop a defense from doing that? By throwing the ball deep..

You need time to throw deep and to suggest all he needed to do was throw deep is silly. Everyone has a better view of a game from the booth or TV.
It's hard to take advantage when you're all pro RB is limited to under 100 yards and Dez had a meltdown. We know he was responsible for at least one turnover that resulted in a TD.
Naw, lets blame only one player who was struggling.

 

[CouchCoach]

The polarity is pretty ridiculous. It seems like here, most gravitate to the respective poles of "Dak is terrible" and "Dak is awesome". Or it could just be theyre outliers and louder than the rest.

I'm not as down on Dak as some. But, he still has a lot to prove this season. I think he'll bounce back but there's no guarantee of that.

I think he'll go as far as the team can help him as I do not see him as one of those QB's to pull the team along like a Brady, Brees, Rivers or Rodgers. Dak is more like Flacco or Smith and will excel when the team does.

 

[glimmerman]

I think he'll go as far as the team can help him as I do not see him as one of those QB's to pull the team along like a Brady, Brees, Rivers or Rodgers. Dak is more like Flacco or Smith and will excel when the team does.

Doing as well as Romo in his first couple of years?

 

[CouchCoach]

The book is still out on him. I think people rush to judge too quickly, and more are rushing to judge Dak so quickly due to who he replaced. Otherwise, he would get more benefit of the doubt from more people.

The biggest mistake I see is posters forgetting where he came from and where he was placed in the draft. His rookie season spoiled too many and some didn't stop to think about why he was rated that low in the draft.

If they'd all seen him play in college, they would see it. It wasn't Dak's arm that worried the DC's in the SEC, it was his legs and that was what kept them from all out jail breaks. Saban's D's struggle with that type of QB and he mentioned that about Dak, that he created a little different preparation and a little less aggressive strategy.

I think he could be one of the top run QB's in the league if they'd use his talent in that area. He's excellent at grabbing turf when he needs to and is built more like a RB than a QB. If not for Newton's run ability, CAR wouldn't go anywhere and there is the inherent injury risk but more QB's are injured not running and being on the defense in their backfield than out in the open and playing offense where they can slide.

They add that wrinkle in and not as a breakdown tactic but an offensive strategy, these DC's are going to have to play a lower risk D. Sure as hell beats so many dump passes short of the marker and I have more confidence in Dak as a runner than Witten.

 

[CouchCoach]

Doing as well as Romo in his first couple of years?

He's trying to be more of the prototypical NFL QB, Romo was being Favre. The number of plays that Romo created as opposed to the play called executed was just like Favre's and it is easy for a team to become dependent on that.

The mistake they made with Romo was not studying what Holmgren did with Favre since he couldn't change him and the frustration was evident on his face during games. But he figured it out and surrounded Favre with better talent like Reggie and gave him a better defense. He couldn't change him so he changed what was around him.

Dak needs a strong team around him with a good D and run game. He's not a gunslinger but he does share a trait with those that are, he's streaky. When he's off, he's off.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

So show how it's not that "cut and dry."

One might even say "terrible."

I already explained instances of how your statistics misrepresent outcomes. Bootlegs are pressures for example in context of his performance under pressure. The last time we had this discussion in the context of Dez, it was shown that Dez's drops spiked when Dak was pressured.

And your narrative is all about excusing said bad play.shifting blame. You trot it out every time I criticize Dak as if better protection will result in all of his issues going away.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

The book is still out on him. I think people rush to judge too quickly, and more are rushing to judge Dak so quickly due to who he replaced. Otherwise, he would get more benefit of the doubt from more people.

It's been two years not two games.

 

[Aviano90]

It's been two years not two games.

You’re full of useful info, captain

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

The polarity is pretty ridiculous. It seems like here, most gravitate to the respective poles of "Dak is terrible" and "Dak is awesome". Or it could just be theyre outliers and louder than the rest.

I'm not as down on Dak as some. But, he still has a lot to prove this season. I think he'll bounce back but there's no guarantee of that.

I'm sure I get painted in the Dak is terrible camp but I have him ranked as about the 12th QB in the league overall. I'm just pushing back against the fanbois who come at me everytime I criticize him.

I recall in a Fuzzy Thoughts his rookie season I criticized his downfield accuracy in an entry that pointed out what he had done well in the game as well. I was vilified for the whole week.

One pole does not allow for levity if it includes any criticism of Dak whatsoever. A legion of his cavaliers come down on you. I like to argue so great but I don't for a second think the Dak is terrible camp is very populated.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

You’re full of useful info, captain

You are whining about people rushing to judgment recall? You're right that the timeframe here is obvious but that doesn't speak well of you when you need it pointed out.

 

[Aviano90]

You are whining about people rushing to judgment recall? You're right that the timeframe here is obvious but that doesn't speak well of you when you need it pointed out.

Your definition of “whining” is odd, but that is a pretty standard axcusation in the internet these days. I don’t care if you rush to judge. You may ultimately turn out to be right. If so. I will give you props like I give Romo haters props for taking the early stand agianst him and being proven right. I used to argue with them too, I lost on that one and I won’t mind losing on Dak either.