Top Five Excites/Concerns about Cowboys 2020 season

quickccc said:

Five things i am most EXCITED about in this Cowboys 2020 year:

1 Much better HC,asst coaching impact in all 3 phases of the game (vs Garrett regime)
2 Better Defense plan/personnel per vs run, pass rush & ball hawks
3 Addition of C Lamb, expansion of Zeke, Pollard and Jarwin
4 Moore and Musshemeir returning to Dak
5 Contribution of rookie class (Lamb,Diggs,Neville,Biadasz,Bradley,)

Five things i am most CONCERNED about in this Cowboys 2020 year

1) Uncertainty about the Secondary
2) new OL coach Joe Philibin replacing Marc Columbo
3) RDE starting role
4) LB depth
5) Our Offense vs NFL's Best Defenses

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1) i really think MCCarthy is gonna behtmju much better game manager and in game adjuster than what Garrett displayed; the inability
to adjust at halftime was a true killer with us and many times a game changer going against us.
And that was both offense and defense.
What will need to be seen with MM is his ability to make changes within his coaching staff if need be. One thing that helped add to
his demise in GB was his far too late change in his DC per long time Dom Capers. How long would he give his familiar associate
Nolan to turn it around in Big D;' as DC ? Especially if the High Risk/High Gamble defense doesn't turn out well ?

ClappingCarrot said:

Things I'm excited about:
1. I don't have to see that awful grin from that red headed coach that loves to spit and clap.
2. A coaching staff comprised of football guys.
3. The WR trio is going to be hell on opposing DC's.
4. The draft looked great and we will be getting McGovern back.
5. Zeke.


Things I'm not excited about:
1. Commentators and talking heads talking about Dak and his contract all the time.
2. Pass rush.
3. The TE position.
4. The Punter.
5. Will there even be football, and if so, how will the pandemic impact scheme installation? These guys have five weeks to learn a new system.

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Good point. That's gonna be really taxing and challenging to guys that need to learn a new defense.
That could result in a number of blown assignments both vs pass and vs run.

The number one thing I'm looking forward to is the offense, post-Garrett.

Most excited:
-New coaching staff/philosophies (No pets, no bs)
-Incredible talent at the RB and WR position, if this offense stutters for 3 quarters against every good team then we all know without saying who needs to be replaced
-1 year closer to a new face at the QB position

Most concerned:
-Daks business decisions on the field (less instinctive runs, more holding onto the ball instead of rifling it to the breaking receiver, etc.)
=Linebacker group
-Will the cornerbacks improve upon last season?
-Safeties (Would not be surprised to see a bunch of "I actually miss Jeff Heath" threads)
-Kicker (Just tossed away our most accurate kicker for a more expensive guy who has struggled recently, makes zero sense). Extra point - Anyone care to explain why we cut Dan Bailey again?

This won't be a normal season IF they play. Too many NFL players sitting out.

Ball hawks? Who are they referring too?

Excitation.....stephen is finally getting complete control of all things football.

Concerns.....still questions about defense.

RS12 said:

Ball hawks? Who are they referring too?

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Diggs, ..Ha Ha,....LVE, ..Lee.. .

..hopefully X-Woods,.. Donovan Wilson, ..they are hoping Reggie Robinson eventually becomes one. (safety?)

quickccc said:

2) new OL coach Joe Philibin replacing Marc Columbo

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Not that Colombo was great, he was adequate.

But I just can't get my finger on Philbin as a pure offensive line coach.

He was last a full-time OL coach back in 2006 in Green Bay. Before that you have to go all the way to his three years at Iowa from 1999-2002 and before that one year stints at Ohio, Merchant Marine and someplace called Worchester Polytechnic institute.

The rest of his time was spent as OC, OC/OL coach and assistant OL.

I was a little surprised they didn't go after James Campen. He went to the Chargers instead.

quickccc said:

Five things i am most EXCITED about in this Cowboys 2020 year:

1 Much better HC,asst coaching impact in all 3 phases of the game (vs Garrett regime)
2 Better Defense plan/personnel per vs run, pass rush & ball hawks
3 Addition of C Lamb, expansion of Zeke, Pollard and Jarwin
4 Moore and Musshemeir returning to Dak
5 Contribution of rookie class (Lamb,Diggs,Neville,Biadasz,Bradley,)

Five things i am most CONCERNED about in this Cowboys 2020 year

1) Uncertainty about the Secondary
2) new OL coach Joe Philibin replacing Marc Columbo
3) RDE starting role
4) LB depth
5) Our Offense vs NFL's Best Defenses

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Five things i am most EXCITED about in this Cowboys 2020 year:
1) Garrett Gone.
2) Garrett Gone.
3) Garrett Gone.
4) Garrett Gone.
5) Garrett Gone.

quickccc said:

Diggs, ..Ha Ha,....LVE, ..Lee.. .

..hopefully X-Woods,.. Donovan Wilson, ..they are hoping Reggie Robinson eventually becomes one. (safety?)

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Gonna have to see that to believe it. Ball hawks have gone the way of the stolen base in baseball. Everson Walls, Mel Renfro, Lee Roy Jordan and Chuck Howley. Those were ballhawks.

quickccc said:

it maybe one thing to talk about moving the ball,.. it's another thing to talk about being effective and finishi in the red zone and actually scoring.
- the slow starts,..erratic FG kicking game,..seemingly conservatism on the road (see Saints, Jets, Philly) .. a lack of splash plays from RBs in pass game all could have a part in ineffectiveness,
heres' hoping this new coaching regime can better address and solve those concerns, but it'll remain a concern with me until i see different.

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One part in here I do agree with. And it's not even so much the red zone. It's 1st and goal scoring we have a problem with. Our offense is limited from that position.

Dak in the clutch.
The suckandary.
Dak vs good teams.
The suckandary.
Dak on the road.

I'm excited about:

1. the start of the season
2. the potential of new players, both drafted and veterans, to make the team better
3. being able to discuss results of games that occured that day or the day before.
4. discovering how this team is going to start out, in the 1st quarter of games, as well as the first quarter of the season.
5. how far this team is capable of going.

I'm concerned about:

1. the team learning a new system under new coaches without minicamps and preseason games
2. all the distractions, Dak's contract, the current health measures, the social issues, Jerry Jones's remarks, etc.
3. the coach's ability to evaluate the players and make the right decisions despite the lack of minicamps and preseason games
4. the outcome of the first four games
5. how far this team is capable of going

quickccc said:

in terms of our offense vs good defenses - who are that on our 2020 schedule who best fit he mold of Good D" ?
Niners ?
Ravens?
Steelers ?
Vikes ?
Searrle ?
Do we still put the Iggles in mix on Defense ?

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I forgot about this part. I'd say the 49ers, Seahawks, and Ravens will give us the most trouble. Not so much the Ravens. But when you consider all 3 teams move the ball well, their defenses stay off the field and rested.

I'm not buying into the Eagles D being that good. The Commanders could be scary up front if they weren't such a dumpster fire overall. I don't see any other team on our schedule whos D would concern me. The Steelers D has been trash since 2011.

Alexander said:

Not that Colombo was great, he was adequate.

But I just can't get my finger on Philbin as a pure offensive line coach.

He was last a full-time OL coach back in 2006 in Green Bay. Before that you have to go all the way to his three years at Iowa from 1999-2002 and before that one year stints at Ohio, Merchant Marine and someplace called Worchester Polytechnic institute.

The rest of his time was spent as OC, OC/OL coach and assistant OL.

I was a little surprised they didn't go after James Campen. He went to the Chargers instead.

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i was very surprised McCarthy did not immediately go after Campen as primary OL coach, a role he has had with Packers
over 11 years. Campen was also the run game coordinator. A zone stretch run scheme which apparently MM is wanting to implement here.
And it was Campen (not Philibin) that seemed to be *constantly turning low round draft picks into Pro Bowl-caliber players while with Green Bay. This includes players such as Scott Wells, Josh Sitton, TJ Lang, and David Bakhtiari (all of whom were drafted in the fourth round or later)

- Joe Philibin was only the OL coach at GB way back in 2003 and that was for only one season. He spent most of his time at
GB in an OC role with MM. but apparently MM wanted his services enough to have to have him on the staff in some kind of lead role capacity.
Philibin's rep and creditable wasn't too sturdy at all when it comes to OL play.at the NFL level during his last stint in that role.

He was the Colts OL coach for 2016-2017, and it was among the worst units in the NFL in both vs pass and blocking. Was it him or a mash of injuries to the OL that got drastically better when he departed and they added 3 new players ?
And though he was HC than OL coach in Miami , he was much scrutinized by the way he didn't address or handled a struggling OL unit

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...offensive-line-epitomizes-joe-philbin-era?m=0

- This really is by far the only coaching hire replacement move i am really questioning MM with.

- i thought Columbo was more than adequate as his '19 OL unit produced the 2nd least allowed sacks in entire NFL.
That speaks a lot of volume, imo
Columbo was also very instrumental in individual coaching as players such as Lael Collins were rejuvenated under his tutor.

- But Columbo also seemed to favor the man-up power blocking of the 90's team and he even had the 90's ex-OL coach Hudson Houck
help him return to those yester years 90's style of running. Oddly Columbo was the OL asst. under Frank Pollack who himself was asst.
to OL coach phenom Bill Callahan who emphasized the zone scheme.

- While the 90's style of OL was great run scheme that vaughted a tremendous combo of OL and RB and thrived on the middle run, we
seem to want to re-implement that methodical, clock grinding schematics but saw less splash run plays than what we saw in 2016,
Though we still produced a 1300 yrd rusher gone were the 20-40+ yards
Mind you ex-All pro Fredrick wasn't near his self and Williams isn't one year wonder Ron Leary.

Cowboyny said:

-Hopefully, the healthy return of Lve into the lineup.
-Having a legitimate, massive NT that should help our run and hit linebackers
-Zeke's expansion to the team's passing game as well as Pollard/Jarwin
-Cooper playing more snaps in the slot
-Moving away from Marinelli defensive scheme.
-The safety position, I think it;s going to be much better then many think
-Crossing my fingers, but a more of a consistent PK.

-Making up for the loss of our best pass rusher and best cover corner
-Pass rush, don't think enough pressure players
-Creating more defensive turnovers
-Team Tackling
-Kellen Moore as a pass happy playcaller
-Ability to start faster and not playing ahead in which Zeke's best trait as a closer is not used.
-Special Team units

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i still have no idea who our starting CB roles will be in secondary.and the safeties Ha Ha and Woods can be underwhelming
tacklers..
And i'd more prefer to gradually work Diggs into lineup as a 3rd CB, instead of a crash course for Day one, but if Chido is
a fixture to be moved to safety, we may have no choice, other than stopgap Daryl Worley who i hope won't be another Nolan Carroll 2.0/

- and if Anthony Brown (and renewed 15 million contract ) is announced the starter on the outside,then there's gonna be a huge
outbreak burst in the water dam. Whispers from the Star can talk about him being the most underrated defender and how fast and tough he is, but he is still the worst we have at not getting his head turned to play the ball on deep passes downfield.
Even worse than Chido. In a slot role he is not as magnified and exposed.

- i do have worries about high risk defenses vs bend but don't break ones. Nolan seems to b geared toward high risk.
the philosophy of a bend but don't break is keeping all plays in front of you, prefering the dink-dunk, nickel and dime bit
here and there approach, while vending for a defensive play such as a sack strip, fumble or INT that changes the
game momentum and field position in between.... instead of giving up that one big chunk play all at once.

- Look at the Eagles high risk approach. They place great emphasis on pressuring QB with their 4 man fronts and overload
blitzes while stressing bump n run man coverage with their CBs, They don't want to give up ground and completion to sustain drives and want the fastest way to get opponents off field on 3rd downs or gain the turnover produced through their pass pressure defense.
But we still do see their press CBs suffer in man coverage at times - especially vs our WRs, with us getting huge chunk plays or a TD score.

The big key to high risk is not just pass pressure demand but also a disciplined top tackling unit but in the front seven but also
at the back end in the secondary.

I am pretty neutral at this point. Won’t get excited until I see how the minutes leading up to opening kickoff are handled.

JoeKing said:

Excited about...
1 New coaching staff
2 New offensive scheme
3 New talent
4 New schedule
5 New year presents new hope

Concerned about...
1 Coronavirus
2 Lack of quality practice
3 Limited or no fans attending games
4 Decline in Quality of the game
5 How the woke BS may permanently hurt a once-great league

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Great post, my feelings exactly.

quickccc said:

i still have no idea who our starting CB roles will be in secondary.and the safeties Ha Ha and Woods can be underwhelming
tacklers..
And i'd more prefer to gradually work Diggs into lineup as a 3rd CB, instead of a crash course for Day one, but if Chido is
a fixture to be moved to safety, we may have no choice, other than stopgap Daryl Worley who i hope won't be another Nolan Carroll 2.0/

- and if Anthony Brown (and renewed 15 million contract ) is announced the starter on the outside,then there's gonna be a huge
outbreak burst in the water dam. Whispers from the Star can talk about him being the most underrated defender and how fast and tough he is, but he is still the worst we have at not getting his head turned to play the ball on deep passes downfield.
Even worse than Chido. In a slot role he is not as magnified and exposed.

- i do have worries about high risk defenses vs bend but don't break ones. Nolan seems to b geared toward high risk.
the philosophy of a bend but don't break is keeping all plays in front of you, prefering the dink-dunk, nickel and dime bit
here and there approach, while vending for a defensive play such as a sack strip, fumble or INT that changes the
game momentum and field position in between.... instead of giving up that one big chunk play all at once.

- Look at the Eagles high risk approach. They place great emphasis on pressuring QB with their 4 man fronts and overload
blitzes while stressing bump n run man coverage with their CBs, They don't want to give up ground and completion to sustain drives and want the fastest way to get opponents off field on 3rd downs or gain the turnover produced through their pass pressure defense.
But we still do see their press CBs suffer in man coverage at times - especially vs our WRs, with us getting huge chunk plays or a TD score.

The big key to high risk is not just pass pressure demand but also a disciplined top tackling unit but in the front seven but also
at the back end in the secondary.

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-We expect to see Diggs as a starter at some point, no matter if it's day 1 or sometime after. He possesses those high level ball skills that this secondary lacks and was an elite press corner on the college level. Yes, like any other rookie, no matter the role, we should expect some growing pains. My prediction to start the season would be Awuzie/Worley as the starters in the base, Diggs replaces Awuzie in the nickel where Awuzie moves inside. I'm not a fan of Brown, either, but feel he is the #4 CB on the depth chart once the dust clears.

-In the new scheme, our safeties will not be used in a traditional way, more over the top coverage, protecting the press corners. It's my understanding, that they will play more like zone corners. They won't need to be strong tacklers in the box, but must hold up as the last line of defense or big plays will happen.

-Good reference about the Eagle Defense. I think you are right, Nolan's scheme is going to be high risk. He is going to take away the run and the quick passing game, but will leave the deep secondary vulnerable. Let's see if he is as stubborn as the Eagle DC, after they give up a big score. How will he react after getting punched in the mouth so to speak. The secondary just started their rebuild, it's going to take some time to acquire the right players for this system. I'm expecting more turnovers, but more big plays given up too!

-Defense has to become much better tacklers as a whole. The entire unit has struggled in this area, which usually leads to big plays given up. Let's hope Lve returns to his rookie form as a tackler as he was probably the best on the entire unit.

quickccc said:

Another irony ? ..the same year a one legged injured Rodgers knocked us outta the playoffs in 2014, we had the 2nd best defense
in the NFL in creating turnovers with 31, despite being the 15th ranked Defense in the NFL .. but we still did not reap the rewards that
the Saints and Packers did to win their respective SB's.

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Still 31 (+???) turnovers is probably a good thing for us this season.