ESPN's Bill Barnwell: Cowboys have worst group of WRs in the league

[InTheZone]

When its obvious....so you know the play called, the reads the receiver and QB are looking for, and how the defense played the receiver throughout the route, and the defensive front seven played this play to cause disruption and moving the quarterback off the spot where the point of attach originated?

I reject the notion fans who watch this game, and in the normal telecast do not show all 22 on the field at the snap, while focusing on all the routes, blocks, stunts and twists and QB at the same time, that anyone can know for certain why a play breaks down.

Much less think people sitting at home have a professional level understanding of this game to know all the things above.

For years I suffered through the people claiming they knew the play before the snap.

Well, let's see, it's either going to be a run or a pass. Well, it's third an 8, chances are it will be a pass. Unless in the scouting report the OC understands on third and 8 in this portion of the field at this time in the game their tendencies are to edge rush, while dropping back a defensive lineman to clog a passing lane therefore they are liable to leave the middle open for the lead draw.

The facts about Dak from last season was clearly Dez losing a step and his attitude sucked. Beasley was bracketed to take away that outlet. Williams had a crappy season. Zeke was not on the field, Smith was injured and missed time. The team allowed their LG to walk during the previous off season. The team had no option for back-ups in case of injury or misjudging Leary's replacement. And defenses were playing 8 man fronts and blitzing to throw Dak out of his comfort pocket and timing.

People say he cannot throw deep, yet he can when he has time. He plays a safer game rather than tossing picks. Why does no one suggest the West Coast offense have QB's that cannot throw deep. Frankly Montana was a noodle arm compared to most QB's.

There is a great deal of assumption about this game by fans that proves to be opinion. Including mine.

Yup, but I'm not talking about the hidden things that the camera doesn't pick up every time. It's really not that complicated what I was trying to say and a lot of times replays show a different angle giving us a better view. Again, my post wasn't all about Dak, but it seems the response was treading towards excuses for Dak and that's what I'm trying to avoid in this conversation. Good day.

 

[TwoDeep3]

Yup, but I'm not talking about the hidden things that the camera doesn't pick up every time. It's really not that complicated what I was trying to say and a lot of times replays show a different angle giving us a better view. Again, my post wasn't all about Dak, but it seems the response was treading towards excuses for Dak and that's what I'm trying to avoid in this conversation. Good day.

The response was about the hubris of fans thinking they have an understanding at the same level of the Coaches.

 

[Johnny23]

this^^^^^

False.
T-Will proven to be what he is. inconsistent two with mental issues.
Hurns injury prone two who can't get off the ball and separate.
Beasley. Typical slot smurf who gets about 30-40 and is overhyped by cowboys fans. Had one outlier year in 2016.
Deonte Thompson. Journeyman wr 4 who isn't good enough to be anything more than what he is.

Gallup. rookie with potential.
Wilson. practice squad candidate.

cut the unproven crap. They aren't that good and stop with the mental gymnastics.

 

[DandyDon52]

And if they don’t could you be wrong or will you blame something else? Lol

How the hell but some overly homeristic views believe based on these recievers history this is going to be an effective group? What in the world are you basing it on beyond hopeful speculation?

You cant go by their past history, especially what they did on other teams.
Players can be better , or worse, or the same when they go to another team.

I will wait till I see at least 3 season games to judge them.
you cant know how they will do till they play some real games.

I am hoping the coaches have come up with some new plays, and not just run the same plays they have in the past.
I am hoping the OL and blocking schemes can give dak more time in pocket, that would help a lot.
I am hoping Dak has worked on a quicker release time, and will take off and run more if run lane opens up, but I am not
real optimistic about that .
I am hoping they run the ball more than they pass, it is the strength of the team, they should use it more.
It would help when they do pass.

I think last year they passed more than they ran.

Coaching will play a part in how they do, and again I don't have a lot of confidence in our coaches, so hoping they surprise me.

In the SB phil had a 3rd and 4, most teams pass in that situation, especially Dallas, phil ran the ball and had a big play, that is due
to coaching.
Dallas passes in 3rd and 4,3, and 2 lol. They need to start running in more of those.

Players are not robots, they wont always play the same, many variables come into play.
Who thought at start of last year that foles would be SB mvp ?? ......... no one
who thought keenum would do so good in Minnesota?

You never know, that is why it is fun to watch.
I think really though it is up to the coaches as to whether this team will do good or not, and after a few games we will
have better idea of how it is going to play out.

 

[Buzzbait]

But you are supposed to be improving the team not getting worse.

That's what I'm talking about PA. If they're better than Twill and Brice Butler, then we've improved.
So like I said, how good do they have to be to beat Twill and Brice Butler?

 

[Buzzbait]

Dak will be fine
The receivers are a question mark

And Cowboy fans will do what Cowboy fans do.

Go Dak!

Don't know about the receivers.

"And Cowboy fans will do what Cowboy fans do"? Uh Oh!

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

That's what I'm talking about PA. If they're better than Twill and Brice Butler, then we've improved.
So like I said, how good do they have to be to beat Twill and Brice Butler?

We really don't know if they're better or not though until we see them play.

 

[Buzzbait]

We really don't know if they're better or not though until we see them play.

Well, that's true. So let's HOPE they're better than Twill and Butler. LOL

 

[JoeKing]

May the Cowboys WRs make Mr Barnwell eat those words.

 

[Bullflop]

Whether our WRs are unproven or not, our WRs and Dak will simply be challenged to produce impressively. Hopefully they would be afforded a decent opportunity to prove their wares before the haters see fit to mercilessly berate them. Bold changes always require the time to prove themselves worthy. Unfortunately, there are always those who can't wait to do push the worst possible scenario -- much like the writer here, Bill Barnwell, for instance.

 

[Diehardblues]

Let me guess. Haters are anyone who question or call out any potential concerns? Please don’t criticize . It hurts my feelings.

The fact we aren't as hopeful this recieving Corp by committee isn’t going to be an improvement ..we’re some hateful fans? Lol

Pardon the heck out of me for not raising my Pom Poms. I thought this was a fan forum to discuss our state of affairs not a pep rally.

 

[Batman1980]

I dunno, with Hurns gone, the Jaguars are pretty bad. So are the Ravens and the Buccaneers. Don't even get me started on the Bears or the Lions.

 

[Bullflop]

Let me guess. Haters are anyone who question or call out any potential concerns? Please don’t criticize . It hurts my feelings.

The fact we aren't as hopeful this recieving Corp by committee isn’t going to be an improvement ..we’re some hateful fans? Lol

Pardon the heck out of me for not raising my Pom Poms. I thought this was a fan forum to discuss our state of affairs not a pep rally.

Let's not fly into a tizzy here. It's one thing to say they're questionable and another thing entirely to claim they're the "worst group in the league." Nothing personal, friend, nor was I criticizing those who say they're unproven. They definitely are unproven, although that surely doesn't mean there's no hope for them, nor the worst in the league. We all need time on our side to prove ourselves -- it's justifiably only fair play, after all.

 

[Batman1980]

It's on thing to say they're questionable and another thing entirely to claim they're the worst group in the league. Nothing personal, nor was I criticizing those who say they're unproven. The definitely are unproven, although it surely doesn't mean there's no hope for 'em. Nothing personal, my friend!

Allen Hurns is pretty proven as a #2 option. Beasley is...proven as Romo's slot receiver and has 1 good year with Dak. I think Gallup is going to turn heads but it might not be this year unless he's hitting that weight room harder than I think he is.

 

[Diehardblues]

Let's not fly into a tizzy here. It's one thing to say they're questionable and another thing entirely to claim they're the "worst group in the league." Nothing personal, friend, nor was I criticizing those who say they're unproven. They definitely are unproven, although that surely doesn't mean there's no hope for them, nor the worst in the league. We all need time on our side to prove ourselves -- it's justifiably only fair play, after all.

The claim that they were the worst group of recievers didn’t necessarily claim no hope. That’s how you interpreted it.

Ranking them last isn’t as concerning to me as the “ unproven “ aspect you mentioned. Which brings even more uncertainty with a developing QB who struggled with proven recievers last year.

The last time we went into a season with a group by committee it failed miserably with our running backs in 2015.

I suspect these concerns will culminate in how we steer in 2019 draft after disappointing results.

 

[Bullflop]

Allen Hurns is pretty proven as a #2 option. Beasley is...proven as Romo's slot receiver and has 1 good year with Dak. I think Gallup is going to turn heads but it might not be this year unless he's hitting that weight room harder than I think he is.

Hurns will be obliged to show he's able to physically sustain his play free of sustained injury and the Bease needs to overcome his poor 2017 to regroup and show he hasn't lost what he had previously. The other youngsters need to show they can accomplish what they did in college. As a group, it would seem it's unproven enough to require re-establishing their mojo for the older guys and proving themselves for the youngsters. As a group, their work is undeniably cut out for them. Be that as it may, I think they'll do well enough to fulfill the required level of success. There's always hope, anyhow.

 

[Bullflop]

The claim that they were the worst group of recievers didn’t necessarily claim no hope. That’s how you interpreted it.

Ranking them last isn’t as concerning to me as the “ unproven “ aspect you mentioned. Which brings even more uncertainty with a developing QB who struggled with proven recievers last year.

The last time we went into a season with a group by committee it failed miserably with our running backs in 2015.

I suspect these concerns will culminate in how we steer in 2019 draft after disappointing results.

Let's not split hairs on this thing, ok? They'll either do well enough to deserve kudos or they won't. It won't prevent me from pulling for them nor should that be so with any of us. All I'm saying here is let's give them time to show what they can do. I think they all deserve the advantage of encouragement. I'm not knocking you or anyone else here. No need to turn this into a pissing contest. Case closed with no hard feelings. We're all pulling for the same team.

 

[CPanther95]

Let's not fly into a tizzy here. It's one thing to say they're questionable and another thing entirely to claim they're the worst group in the league. Nothing personal, friends, nor was I criticizing those who say they're unproven. They definitely are unproven, although that surely doesn't mean there's no hope for 'em. We all need time on our side to prove ourselves.

They ranked 26th in receiving yards last year.

How can it possibly be outrageous to anybody that they might be projected to drop 6 spots after they lost their #1 WR and #1 TE and replaced them with unproven players?

Here are the teams that were below the Cowboys in receiving yardage last season and what's different:
27) Bengals: Have 1st rd. pick from 2017 (#9 overall) back from injuries during rookie season - still have A.J. Green
28) Panthers: Drafted D.J. Moore in 1st round - still have one of the best TEs in the NFL
29) Ravens: Brought in Michael Crabtree - not much else.
30) Colts: Not much, but still have T.Y. Hilton who regularly draws double-teams and getting their franchise QB back (allegedly)
31) Bills: Not a lot - have a #37 overall pick entering his 2nd season, but with offseason personal issues. Have Kelvin Benjamin as #1 in his first full year with the Bills.
32) Bears: Drafted Anthony Miller in 2nd Rd. (#51 overall) and signed Allen Robinson from Jaguars coming off an injury in 2017. Robinson was a 1400 yard receiver in 2015, but his production tanked in 2016 (but still had double the receptions and yards of Hurns)

 

[Bullflop]

They ranked 26th in receiving yards last year.

How can it possibly be outrageous to anybody that they might be projected to drop 6 spots after they lost their #1 WR and #1 TE and replaced them with unproven players?

Here are the teams that were below the Cowboys in receiving yardage last season and what's different:
27) Bengals: Have 1st rd. pick from 2017 (#9 overall) back from injuries during rookie season - still have A.J. Green
28) Panthers: Drafted D.J. Moore in 1st round - still have one of the best TEs in the NFL
29) Ravens: Brought in Michael Crabtree - not much else.
30) Colts: Not much, but still have T.Y. Hilton who regularly draws double-teams and getting their franchise QB back (allegedly)
31) Bills: Not a lot - have a #37 overall pick entering his 2nd season, but with offseason personal issues. Have Kelvin Benjamin as #1 in his first full year with the Bills.
32) Bears: Drafted Anthony Miller in 2nd Rd. (#51 overall) and signed Allen Robinson from Jaguars coming off an injury in 2017. Robinson was a 1400 yard receiver in 2015, but his production tanked in 2016 (but still had double the receptions and yards of Hurns)

You asked what's different and here's the answer: Dez and Witten are both gone and a new crop of receivers will be on tap to prove themselves.

I'm hoping with all that's within me that they do. Those other teams can fend for themselves just as they have in the past. Here's hoping we'll win.

 

[CPanther95]

You asked what's different and here's the answer: Dez and Witten are both gone and a new crop of receivers will be on tap to prove themselves.

And if they prove themselves competent enough, they will likely not be considered one of the worst receiving corps in the league next year. Until they do, it shouldn't be surprising to anybody that they are. The "unproven" label doesn't preclude people from projecting their potential.

Having said that, it is odd to apply the "unproven" label to players that have been in the league for a number of seasons already. Typically those players are considered "proven", they're just been proven to be inadequate.