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Chuck 54

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Say what you want about Dak Prescott; maybe it's true; maybe not. He's certainly part of the problem at least, but anyone who thinks another QB can lead this band of gypsy WR's and pathetic TE's just because they defend themselves with "we're open; we're getting separation" is crazy.

DeShaun Watson is not a great passer of the football. Never has been, not even in college. Yet, look what his guys did for him.

An average NFL TE, not even elite, but athletic receiver --- 6 catches for 65 yards. That included several instances of being the reliable outlet for a QB under pressure who didn't find an open WR, and it's several drive-sustaining first downs and staying ahead of the chains.

A true #1 receiver who catches the ball whether open or not, high reaches above his head, leaps for really high balls, sprawling on the ground to corral low throws by accident or by design due to coverage --- 9 catches for 151 yards. That's the difference in winning or losing on Sunday night.

Bring back Romo, who was clearly better and more experienced than Dak when healthy. Can you even imagine Swaim or any of our WRs putting up those numbers or having any serious impact on the game?

I'm not defending DAK here; I'm pointing to yet another serious flaw by the front office in building a team for 2018-19. Every year it seems they screw the pooch somehow with unimaginable lack of foresight.

  • for years it's ignoring the OL and the defense
  • one year it's not having a capable backup QB when Romo goes down
  • for a few years it's not providing another threat at WR to compliment a slowing, but still capable Dez
  • then it's blowing up the season for lack of a backup LT,
  • then it's not providing a capable compliment to Witten at TE
  • now it's running out a young RB and QB without a veteran support at guard behind Williams and without any playmakers at WR, not a single possession guy at WR or TE, no security blanket for the QB
  • not to mention ignoring opportunities to draft or sign a FA safety.
Love Dak or hate Dak, I don't think that's the main issue with the Cowboys. You can't have studs at every position, but you'd better have capable starters and depth at every level. This organization hasn't seemed capable of fielding a complete and balanced roster in decades, regardless of W-L record. And you can certainly count on it every year that whatever positions we have neglected are the very positions that are exposed early and often, derailing any hope.

So next off-season I'm assuming we will find a TE and a #1 receiver, maybe even a FS. But does anyone doubt that we will neglect some other position and see it exposed yet again next season?
 
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Sydla

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A lot of truth in there. The way they went about this offseason for the offense was strange and the results are predictable.

But the reality is that even with the issues on offense, if a better QB was here, the results would be a bit better. Not SB better but nonetheless better.
 

Chuck 54

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Nobody hates Dak. We hate losing. Dak is a great guy whose going to make a nice back-up QB for somebody.
But do you think another QB would be winning games with these receivers? Certainly another QB wouldn't account for not having a FS on the roster other than Woods. I find this lack of planning a roster more infuriating than any player on the team.
 

Sydla

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But do you think another QB would be winning games with these receivers? Certainly another QB wouldn't account for not having a FS on the roster other than Woods. I find this lack of planning a roster more infuriating than any player on the team.

Yes, I think a better QB would be getting better results. I think last night's game, for example, would have been a win. Texans dared us to test their young secondary deep and we didn't.

The defense, even with issues at the safety spot, has been played adequately, especially last night.

We'd still have issues if we had a better QB but there isn't a shred of doubt that we'd be a better team today with say a Kirk Cousins than Dak.
 

Zman5

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It's a chicken and an egg thing. If we had better receivers, Dak would look better. If we had a better QB, the receivers would look better.

My main issue is with JG and the FO. They knew what we had in terms of QB and the receivers going in to the season yet we still run our offense as though we have Romo, Dez, and Witten in their prime. Even Romo said we need to evolve with the players we have and shouldn't run the same old scheme.
 

atlantacowboy

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But do you think another QB would be winning games with these receivers? Certainly another QB wouldn't account for not having a FS on the roster other than Woods. I find this lack of planning a roster more infuriating than any player on the team.

I've watched Brady throw to a bunch of UDFA's and retreads for years. The QB and the system make the wrs. Guys like Miles Austin, laurent robinson........ these are guys who would not have had careers had they not had the fortune of playing with tony romo. A WR is a complimentary piece not something you build around.

Woods isn't the problem. The defense isn't the problem.
 

Reid1boys

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But do you think another QB would be winning games with these receivers? Certainly another QB wouldn't account for not having a FS on the roster other than Woods. I find this lack of planning a roster more infuriating than any player on the team.
Nah, I mean, it isn’t like qb was the only issue in Cleveland...... they had horrible coaching and playcalling, and as soon as mayfield takes over, they have won 2 out of 3 games. All you need to do is watch with your own eyes and you can see how much better the coaches hav done since mayfield took over......lol

Must be a coincidence.
 

nate dizzle

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I've watched Brady throw to a bunch of UDFA's and retreads for years. The QB and the system make the wrs. Guys like Miles Austin, laurent robinson........ these are guys who would not have had careers had they not had the fortune of playing with tony romo. A WR is a complimentary piece not something you build around.

Woods isn't the problem. The defense isn't the problem.
Bingo...
 

Future

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I've watched Brady throw to a bunch of UDFA's and retreads for years. The QB and the system make the wrs. Guys like Miles Austin, laurent robinson........ these are guys who would not have had careers had they not had the fortune of playing with tony romo. A WR is a complimentary piece not something you build around.

Woods isn't the problem. The defense isn't the problem.
In the modern era, Brady has always had either Randy Moss or Gronk. Not to mention the fact that Edelman and Welker are both better than anything we have right now. So I agree that QBs make average WRs look better, the Pats entire system is about creating matchups, and right now, the only player on the Cowboys who defenses have to key on is...a RB.
 

Future

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So next off-season I'm assuming we will find a TE and a #1 receiver, maybe even a FS. But does anyone doubt that we will neglect some other position and see it exposed yet again next season?
This is basically a really long complaint about the salary cap lol. This is true for every team
 

JohnsKey19

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A lot of truth in there. The way they went about this offseason for the offense was strange and the results are predictable.

But the reality is that even with the issues on offense, if a better QB was here, the results would be a bit better. Not SB better but nonetheless better.

Trying to be the smartest guys in the room. Their approach to FA will never lead to building a talented team with overall depth. Their approach to coaching is a joke.
 

BoysForLife

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Bring back Romo, who was clearly better and more experienced than Dak when healthy. Can you even imagine Swaim or any of our WRs putting up those numbers or having any serious impact on the game?

I can't tell you specifically in real numbers what Romo in his 3rd year as starter would have done with this group of receivers.

I can tell you, for example, what Laurent Robinson did in his 1 season in Dallas (54 catches, 858 yards, 11 TD) vs what he did *combined* in his 5 other NFL seasons (113 catches, 1,252 yards, 4 TD). Those other 5 years averaged out to 23 catches, 250 yards, and .8 TD per season.

Also interestingly--Robinson's catch % for his one year in Dallas was 67.5% of the balls thrown his way were completed.
The rest of his NFL career combined? 51%

I can tell you that Patrick Crayton caught 23 TD passes in 6 seasons in Dallas. Went to SD for 2 years playing with Philip Rivers and caught a total of 2 TD passes in 2 seasons.

So answering your question in a round about way, yes a healthy Romo back in his 3rd year as a starter, no doubt in my mind that this current group of receivers would put up significantly better numbers. Absolutely zero doubt in my mind. Exactly how much better, can't be sure. But better. No doubt.
 

Legend

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A true #1 WR can also get open due to respect at the LOS or via route running... like the one below.

Irvin was open throughout the route from start to finish,

 

T-RO

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I can't tell you specifically in real numbers what Romo in his 3rd year as starter would have done with this group of receivers.

I can tell you, for example, what Laurent Robinson did in his 1 season in Dallas (54 catches, 858 yards, 11 TD) vs what he did *combined* in his 5 other NFL seasons (113 catches, 1,252 yards, 4 TD). Those other 5 years averaged out to 23 catches, 250 yards, and .8 TD per season.

Also interestingly--Robinson's catch % for his one year in Dallas was 67.5% of the balls thrown his way were completed.
The rest of his NFL career combined? 51%

I can tell you that Patrick Crayton caught 23 TD passes in 6 seasons in Dallas. Went to SD for 2 years playing with Philip Rivers and caught a total of 2 TD passes in 2 seasons.

So answering your question in a round about way, yes a healthy Romo back in his 3rd year as a starter, no doubt in my mind that this current group of receivers would put up significantly better numbers. Absolutely zero doubt in my mind. Exactly how much better, can't be sure. But better. No doubt.


This. Laurent R and Patrick C aren’t better than the guys we have now. It’s true that Tony enjoyed having Witten quite a bit.
 

atlantacowboy

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In the modern era, Brady has always had either Randy Moss or Gronk. Not to mention the fact that Edelman and Welker are both better than anything we have right now. So I agree that QBs make average WRs look better, the Pats entire system is about creating matchups, and right now, the only player on the Cowboys who defenses have to key on is...a RB.

The point of the Pats is that they don't pay wrs. They got Moss for next to nothing as a retread. Edelman was a 7th round afterthought and longshot to make the team. Welker was a castoff from San Diego and Miami. He played 3 games in 4 seasons before arriving in NE. Look what their system did for Danny amendola who was a castoff from us. The list goes on.

........Our system lacks creativity and adaptibilty.. Our players have said so for years and so have opposing players. That said, a strong accurate arm can make up for a lot. Norv Turner's system isn't really creative either but he's had some pretty good offenses. Right now, we have neither a good system or a strong armed accurate QB. Its a recipe for going nowhere.
 

Future

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The point of the Pats is that they don't pay wrs. They got Moss for next to nothing as a retread. Edelman was a 7th round afterthought and longshot to make the team. Welker was a castoff from San Diego and Miami. He played 3 games in 4 seasons before arriving in NE. Look what their system did for Danny amendola who was a castoff from us. The list goes on. .
They do pay WRs. Gronk was the highest paid TE when they signed him, if I remember correctly. It's the same as paying a #1 WR. All of those other guys are successful because they can be placed where they belong, as supplemental pieces and it's the attention that Gronk commands that allows them to thrive.
 
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