News: There’s no doubt something happened behind the scenes with Cooper

KJJ said:

It wasn’t a good move because not having the same running game the following year ultimately spelled the end of Tony Romo. Our running game sucked early in the season causing him to get injured against Philly. He ended up re-breaking his collarbone against Carolina after Darren McFadden missed a block. We’ve rushed for 700 fewer yards in 2015 than we did in 2014. We ended up having to use the fourth overall pick on Zeke instead of picking Jalen Ramsey.

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Fastpitch Dad said:

In fairness to @Pass2Run , I didn't see where he called Lamb "special". Although maybe he has said so in another thread.

I pretty much agree with everything both of you said. I do think Lamb has more fight in him than Cooper ever will, but he needs to clean up his concentration issues. I'm not sure if I believe he is a true number one, but we will find out soon.

Cooper was way too apathetic for my liking. Even though I prefer the way Novacek acted compared to Owens after a touchdown grab, I would have like to have seen a lot more fight in him. My memory isn't what it once was but I remember an away game two years ago where it was raining hard and cold. Cooper spent most of the game on the sideline with a leg injury.

The following week was a home game and he caught a pass over the middle and the "injured leg" took a hard hit while his foot was firmly planted. It looked bad enough to me where I thought he was done for the season. But he got up and finished the game showing no ill-effects from the hit.

I wasn't his biggest fan before that, but it did sour me on him. In my humble opinion, I think of him the same way I did Lett. Lett could have had a hall of fame career if he played every down to the best of his ability. I believe he had all the tools to have been mentioned with the greats. But I don't think he played up to his potential. I know we are all built differently, I just hate to see real talent in any profession go to waste. Waste is probably not the right word, but you're a smart guy and I'm sure you understand what I mean.

Sorry for the long reply, I don't post much because I don't know when to stop and hit the post reply button.

Have a great weekend.

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Pass2Run said:

That's exactly why Gruden traded him.




That's not what I'm saying.

To Amari's credit, and CeeDee's, the lack of success in the passing game came from the fact we never really got the offense going in terms of establishing the run early on. And we struggled to move the ball as a consequence. A lot of that playoff loss, and trust me, I'm just as upset about it as you are, had to do with the middle of the line getting pretty much blown up overall throughout the game. They just couldn't get it going.

That, and the 9ers offense came out in the 1st round and knocked us down.. And we never answered, and only decided to answer when it was too late.

And by that time, Dakota had his thumb up his culo because he forgot to hand the ball to the ref.

And game over.

The playoff game wasn't the only thing. But I do think it was the straw that broke the camel's back, as they say.

I'll echo what you say. It was a team loss. But Cooper didn't earn his money. So he's toast now.

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TheMarathonContinues said:

They used a 4th overall on Zeke because they wanted to. They could've addressed that position in later rounds. And I'd much rather have Zeke than Demarco. And Romo was brittle long before then...the running game wouldn't have stopped him from getting hurt he got hurt on a scramble of all things.........

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Corso said:

Well... tbh, I don't think you can stand players calling out the QB that's not going to be going anywhere.
It potentially ruins the locker room, or opens it up for more grumbling by players.
Whether they're right, or wrong.

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KJJ said:

They used the fourth overall pick on Zeke because the combination of Joseph Randle and Darren McFadden didn’t work the way they thought it would. As usual they miscalculated. The Cowboys thought both backs could put up the same production Murray did and they couldn’t. We had 700 fewer rushing yards and 10 fewer rushing TDs in 2015. This put more pressure on Romo which forced him to have to carry the team at times. Jerry and Stephen talked about it during the Cowboys post draft press conference as to why they chose Zeke over Ramsey. The selection was to help Romo prolong his career. He was able to manage games in 2014 with Murray leading the charge. In the game he got injured in 2015 against Philly both Murray and Randle averaged under 4 yards per carry. Philly was able to pin their ears back and come after Romo who was on pace for over 40 passing attempts.

In the opener against the Giants he had 45 attempts and had to carry the team to that win. He only had one game over 40 passing attempts the previous season with Murray. He had the fewest passing attempts of his career in which he played a full season. The Cowboys would’ve been much better in the long run had they kept Murray who fit our offense and used the fourth overall pick on Jalen Ramsey. Our defense is what ultimately kills us in the playoffs every time we make the postseason. We ended up having to overpay Zeke a couple of years ago which cost us Amari Cooper and possibly Cedric Wilson this year. They combined for 14 TDs last season. The Cowboys could’ve had one of the best secondaries in the league with Ramsey and Trevon Diggs. We’re going be starting the season shorthanded at receiver against the toughest part of our schedule. Wouldn’t surprise me if we get off a similar start we got off to in 2018. Good luck digging our way out of that hole again.

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TheMarathonContinues said:

Zeke>Murray

Not only that but Murray stunk soon as he left here and had a one year resurgence with the Titans. It was the right move.

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TheMarathonContinues said:

Zeke>Murray

Not only that but Murray stunk soon as he left here and had a one year resurgence with the Titans. It was the right move.

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KJJ said:

Murray wasn’t a good fit when he left for Philly and Tennessee but he was a great fit with the Cowboys. I said when he left he wouldn’t do well on another team but he was terrific with us and our OL. We made the wrong decision by letting him walk and it led to other decisions that have kept us spinning our wheels. While Jalen Ramsey is at the top of his game Zeke is in decline and will be spending his last season with the Cowboys.

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Proof said:

he’s yet to have a season better than Demarcos 2014. Yes, it was downhill from there, but chip kelly shoulders a ton of blame for that. I don’t think it’s a stretch to think he could’ve remained successful in Dallas for a couple of seasons. That notwithstanding, the point isn’t whether Zeke is better than Demarco, it’s all of the opportunity costs. Losing Demarco started a chain reaction the following year (after they got caught slipping in a ‘deep rb draft’. In any event Zeke was still the wrong choice at 4, and especially considering Henry went a full round later

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TheMarathonContinues said:

So you have a guy who’s just scheme dependent and you believed we should give that guy 40 million plus? Cowboys had no intentions of taking Ramsey. If they did they would’ve took him over Zeke.

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rnr_honeybadger said:

He likely got tired of playing with a loser like Dak

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KJJ said:

Jerry and Stephen said they considered taking Ramsey. If I could locate that post draft press conference you could hear it for yourself. No doubt they would’ve taken him had they kept Murray. If a player fits your offensive scheme and is setting franchise records they’re worth the money. We were building on something great after the 2014 season and screwed it up. Not even Emmitt Smith had a game or a season like DeMarco Murray. Zeke never had as many long runs as Murray. Zeke was really good for only three seasons and one of those seasons was cut short due to a suspension that derailed our season. Murray failed in Philly because of Chip Kelly who was destroying that team. Murray was stuck in an offense that didn’t fit him. He ended up splitting carries in Tennessee with Derek Henry.

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TheMarathonContinues said:

Jerry and Stephen say whatever they think we want to hear. If they wanted Ramsey they would’ve taken him first and go running back later.

You're doing a lot of assumption on Murray. He was injury prone most of his career...but in your scenario they re-sign him and he somehow stays healthy and they draft Ramsey.

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Typhus said:

He recognized and vocalized Daks deficiencies, and thats a major no no in Big D.

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KJJ said:

The only losers are the fans who come on here trashing Dak day after day blaming him for everything. He’s the best thing the Cowboys have going for them and without him all they would have to look forward to at the end of the 2022 season is a top 10 pick.

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TheCritic said:

I don't think Dak is to blame for his lack of playoff success. But he is damaged goods. Never got the chance to sit and watch Romo. He's had that pressure of being the franchise savior since he got into the league. Then once he damaged his leg, he isn't the same player. It's too bad, but that's the way it is.

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TheMarathonContinues said:

So are we giving Murray credit for that 2014 season? Was the line mediocre or something? What am I missing to where we are revising Murray’s history here?

They took Zeke to help Romo and the defense out. Zeke was the one guy at 4 who could do it. In hindsight yes I’d take Ramsey even though I can’t stand the guy. But Zeke did not stop them from taking Ramsey. Maybe Mo and Carr did…

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KJJ said:

They couldn’t go with Ramsey because they needed an RB! They found d out the hard way that the platoon system with Darren McFadden and Joseph Randle didn’t work. Why can’t you get that? I’m not assuming Murray would stay healthy but he was healthy in 2014 and didn’t have any significant injury history after he left. The guy we passed on has a Super Bowl ring and is probably thankful the Cowboys didn’t select him.

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