Current concerns

Current concerns-

Coaches- will they actually design plays/ offensive packages to scheme uses for these new wr's and use them in games? Same for TE's. They haven't shown the ability to get non starters involved much in the past. Often the backup wr's are used as blockers or forced to run the same pattern as starters wether that fits their strength or not.

QB to wr- which qb and wr will begin to put in the countless hrs of extra practice that it takes to form the romo to dez type of connection. Normal practice time just isn't enough to build a good repoirt needed to win tough games.


Defense- we have tons of bodies, tons of guys with position flex, few guys who dominate 1 position.

Wait did I just read someone wants to try Jaylon Smith at S?

LOL

Sydla said:

I’ve yet to see any concrete evidence in the press saying that it is being considered.

I’ve seen some in the media suggest it might be an option.

Has it been reported the Cowboys are seriously considering moving him?

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It’s a fall back plan if they get into camp and do not like the actual safeties. It’s also Stephen filling time in interviews he does because all the questions about safety to him have really been are you going to get Thomas. So he throws this out there.

Captain-Crash said:

Smith's back and the LG position is the main concern.

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This.

If they get into camp and I hear Smith has “tightness” in his back this team is in deep do-do.

jobberone said:

QB-Dak and two backups who I have faith in to hold the fort down creates positive vibes. Still some concern over what's between his ears.

TE-a concern with the retirement of Witten. Ok is the best I can conjure at present. Marginally ok. Swaim, Schultz, and the other two should suffice.

WR-a true concern here. I think it will be ok but lots of questions here WR by committee.

Brown, Noah*
Cannon, K.D.
Earl, Malik
Gallup, Michael*
Hurns, Allen*
Lenoir Jr., Lance
Murdock, Marchie
Thompson, Deonte
Williams, Terrance*
Wilson, Cedrick*
Austin*

RB-EE, Austin, Smith, Scarborough FB-Olawale

OL-Starters: Smith, Willams, Fred, Martin, Collins* Fleming SOT. G-Edwards, Kadeem; Martin, Marcus; Robertson, Jay; Stanton, Dustin 2 Guards from the latter OT reserves: Campos, Jake; Johnson, Bryce; Jones, Jarron 2 from the OT reserves. We're in good shape here.

DE-

Armstrong, Dorance* *=starters
Charlton, Taco*
Ealy, Kony*
Hearns, James
Jones, Datone
Larkin, Austin
Lawrence, Demarcus*
Tapper, Charles
Gregory, Randy*

DT-

Crawford, Tyrone* 3/5 *=starter
Irving, David* 3/5
Ash, Richard
Collins, Maliek*-injured 8-12 weeks
Osborne, DeQuinton* 1/3
Price, Brian 1
Ross, Daniel 1/3
Ward, Jihad 3/5

Would like a better 3 to go with the other two DT but we're ok here. Look for some TC changes here.

LB-Lee*, Smith*, LVE*, Wilson*; Thomas 53. One more out of the rest. Will look outside team for another
Lanning, Joel-STs
Lee, Sean-WILL
March-Lillard , Justin-STs
Queiro, Kyle-listed as LB but probably SS
Shockley, Ed-rotation/STs
Smith, Jaylon-rotation all three; some Nickel
Thomas, Joe-R/ST
Vander Esch, Leighton-rotation MIKE/Nickel cover/ST
Wilson, Damien-rotation SAM/ST

S-Heath SS; Jones likely moves to CB; Frazier; Woods; Awuzie moves to FS. These are starters.

CB-Just too much movement and UDFAs to predict much. Jones likely outside starter. Lewis the other. Not sure about SL and Nickel. We're good here although one S with more experience is a pro but the con is taking up a roster spot of an up and comer.

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God, you're right full of concerns man. Is there anything you aren't concerned about?

theebs said:

It’s a fall back plan if they get into camp and do not like the actual safeties. It’s also Stephen filling time in interviews he does because all the questions about safety to him have really been are you going to get Thomas. So he throws this out there.

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I don’t like it personally. It would appear to be a band aid to cover up the fact they did nothing at the S position this offseason. Take your promising CB and make him a safety.

Smells like taking your promising 3 Tech rookie DT and moving him to the 1 Tech because your typical cheap 1 Tech plan failed.

I guess I can take small solace in the fact Richard would be calling the shots.

Awuzie at safety is beyond dumb.

stilltheguru88 said:

Awuzie at safety is beyond dumb.

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Typical Cowboys move.

Sydla said:

Wait did I just read someone wants to try Jaylon Smith at S?

LOL

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It’s just a matter of adjusting the biscuit intake!

If Dak becomes a more prolific passing QB we should be able to overcome most of our other weaknesses.

Melonfeud said:

,,,#4 has double saddle bags full of 'native ability',,, friend? ,,,er,,, yer' ain't one of them there chip on the shoulder race baiters per chance are ya?,,,

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He doesn’t know Dakota came from a cartoon his mom liked.

jobberone said:

Yes but not a done deal.

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Good lord if we switch another damn player

coaching, can they adapt, can they handle injuries, can they switch out bad players.

offense, starts with the Oline, impose their will to open up and let the offense take whats given.

defense, can it get after the qb, can it get aggressive. can the new LB coach get that corp running well. Can Kris Richards get some "go after the juggular" and Rod do his part.


On paper this team can compete, but its going to take the coaching to make the different going from season warriors to post season demons.

Garrett can have all the success he wants in the regular season, but if he cant show it in the post season why are we wasting time.

Put Elliot on ST.

jobberone said:

QB-Dak and two backups who I have faith in to hold the fort down creates positive vibes. Still some concern over what's between his ears.

TE-a concern with the retirement of Witten. Ok is the best I can conjure at present. Marginally ok. Swaim, Schultz, and the other two should suffice.

WR-a true concern here. I think it will be ok but lots of questions here WR by committee.

Brown, Noah*
Cannon, K.D.
Earl, Malik
Gallup, Michael*
Hurns, Allen*
Lenoir Jr., Lance
Murdock, Marchie
Thompson, Deonte
Williams, Terrance*
Wilson, Cedrick*
Austin*

RB-EE, Austin, Smith, Scarborough FB-Olawale

OL-Starters: Smith, Willams, Fred, Martin, Collins* Fleming SOT. G-Edwards, Kadeem; Martin, Marcus; Robertson, Jay; Stanton, Dustin 2 Guards from the latter OT reserves: Campos, Jake; Johnson, Bryce; Jones, Jarron 2 from the OT reserves. We're in good shape here.

DE-

Armstrong, Dorance* *=starters
Charlton, Taco*
Ealy, Kony*
Hearns, James
Jones, Datone
Larkin, Austin
Lawrence, Demarcus*
Tapper, Charles
Gregory, Randy*

DT-

Crawford, Tyrone* 3/5 *=starter
Irving, David* 3/5
Ash, Richard
Collins, Maliek*-injured 8-12 weeks
Osborne, DeQuinton* 1/3
Price, Brian 1
Ross, Daniel 1/3
Ward, Jihad 3/5

Would like a better 3 to go with the other two DT but we're ok here. Look for some TC changes here.

LB-Lee*, Smith*, LVE*, Wilson*; Thomas 53. One more out of the rest. Will look outside team for another
Lanning, Joel-STs
Lee, Sean-WILL
March-Lillard , Justin-STs
Queiro, Kyle-listed as LB but probably SS
Shockley, Ed-rotation/STs
Smith, Jaylon-rotation all three; some Nickel
Thomas, Joe-R/ST
Vander Esch, Leighton-rotation MIKE/Nickel cover/ST
Wilson, Damien-rotation SAM/ST

S-Heath SS; Jones likely moves to CB; Frazier; Woods; Awuzie moves to FS. These are starters.

CB-Just too much movement and UDFAs to predict much. Jones likely outside starter. Lewis the other. Not sure about SL and Nickel. We're good here although one S with more experience is a pro but the con is taking up a roster spot of an up and comer.

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I have less concerns than the last several years at this time.

QB - More depth options than last preseason.

OL - Legit Swing Tackle now and top tier draft pick at LG.

WR - Extensive depth. You ommitted Beasley.

TE - Many options. They may replace some 2 TE sets with sets that include Noah Brown. They live his blocking.

RB - It's all about Zeke, same as 2016 and 2017.

DE - Many Options.

DT - Collins injury is a big concern. Datone Jones played primarily at a DT last season and might have been better at 1tech than Price. Crawford can play DT if needed because they have many more DE options than last season.

LB - A little short on depth but deeper than last season. Jaylon no brace and experience. Vander Esh replaces Hitchens. Thomas has starting experience and is a legit option in Nickel/Dime.

CB - Many options. Awuzie and Jones likely starters unless desperate for Awuzie to play Safety.

Safety - Same depth as last season. Not great but managable. Who plays SS on passing downs?

I think the best way too look at it is what are the positions I don’t have real concern over:

OL - Sure Smith’s back will always be a concern but in reality we have arguably the most talented OL in football and now some quality depth.

TB - I like Elliott and Smith and now add Scarborough. Throw in Austin on some trick, situational plays and I think TB is fine.

CB - Sure they are young but I think we have depth and talent there, especially with Jones moving to CB.

Everywhere else, I have much bigger concerns.

Sydla said:

I’ve yet to see any concrete evidence in the press saying that it is being considered.

I’ve seen some in the media suggest it might be an option.

Has it been reported the Cowboys are seriously considering moving him?

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The FO has made the statement.

There are too many other options at DE to play Crawford there primarily. There are now too few DT options

jobberone said:

The FO has made the statement.

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I totally missed it. My bad. When did they say that?

Frankly, I think it’s a dumb move but this franchise is always doing things like this when they fail to fix a hole.

It's really early but here's what I think before any 2018 practices or preseason results

QB
I think the oline and run game will be better to the point that most QBs would/should be very comfortable...including Dak.
I think he ends up performing better than 2017 and well enough....say somewhere between 2016 and 2017 on paper. That would put him top 1/3 in the league vs bottom 1/2 to 1/3 that last years stats showed.
So I'm not worried.

TE
A bit concerning short term, but not overly so. Witten was such a security blanket and provided so much leadership.
I think our blocking will be fine, and it's not like Witten's receiving numbers were off the charts.
Kind of wait and see mode here with a short term regression. I like Shultz longer term and think we got a slight steal there....just not right away.

WRs
If we are comparing to last year's WR group, I don't have many concerns about the WRs
In fact, I feel confident that this years group will be better overall than 2017
Should be a real battle for roster spots. We might even trade soemone

RBs
Better. Not worried at all.
A team strength

O-Line
Better than 2017
A big team strength and luxury

DE
A real chance that this group is better than in 2017. Young and full of energy. This could be interesting.
No worries for me.

DT
I'm a bit concerned here but not overly so. Collins is hurt and we didn't add great youth to the mix. Irving has sick potential, but is a knucklehead. Crawford is solid. Ward could get in the rotation a little.
Wait and see mode. Mild concern,

LB
Highly variable. Depends on Lee's health and growth of LVE and Smith.
Lot's of ifs, but I don't see it being worse than last year

CBs
Better than 2017. Arrow point up for these guys
This could eventually be a team strength. Won't go there yet.

S
Area of concern. The pass rush hopefully will help cover some of this. And as the year goes on, we should hope LVE's range can help some too.
But I'm not comfortable with these guys. Still expecting us to add someone.


So overall, the team, on paper, should be better.