Report Card Grades for 2019 Offense and STs

PAPPYDOG said:

That's a lot of A and B for a team that went 8-8 and beat 1 team with a winning record.
Guess our failure is due to Austin and Olawale Jones P who got the only D marks.
Man sell fantasy land to the children, not us....

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The defense would.be a bunch of Cs Ds and Fs hence 8-8

WillieBeamen said:

A B+ for a QB that stunk it up in the most important game of the season?


Yea thats a no from me dawg

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Man this is a genuine question. Once Dak leaves man who are you going to move on towards? I wonder about guys like you and Pappy but I have a feeling even if he went on to another team he’d still be brought up randomly lol.

rocyaice said:

Man this is a genuine question. Once Dak leaves man who are you going to move on towards? I wonder about guys like you and Pappy but I have a feeling even if he went on to another team he’d still be brought up randomly lol.

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Do you really think I would bother with Dak if he is no longer part of our team?
Trust me here as you might worship this inept QB but the feelings are not mutual even on the negative side!!!!
As long as Dak is no longer our starting QB and we are on the right road to have a respected passing game he's all yours bud.
GL supporting him in the CFL(His eventual landing spot)and read up on that Canadian league as it will be useful when selling him to our northern neighbors on their teams chat rooms.

rocyaice said:

Man this is a genuine question. Once Dak leaves man who are you going to move on towards? I wonder about guys like you and Pappy but I have a feeling even if he went on to another team he’d still be brought up randomly lol.

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What are you gonna do when he leaves?


Whose nuts you gna ride then?

Bobhaze said:

• QB:
  • Dak gets a B+. Would have been an A but had some bad stretches at the worst times. Had one of the best QB statistical years in Cowboys history. (Even though most stats are overrated) He showed great improvement and I think he’s overly criticized by too many fans here.
  • Cooper Rush- Incomplete.
• RB:
  • Jamize Olawale- D. What is his function? is he still running that deep route we saw in Chicago? LOL.
• WR:
  • Amari Cooper- B. Much like Zeke, Cooper was great except when he wasn’t, which came at the worst time this year. I’m actually against signing him to a big contract. I can’t find a recent SB winner with a top 3 paid WR price tag.
  • Michael Gallup- A. He had a great year. Emerged as a legit ProBowl type player with 1k season. Big time player now.
  • Randall Cobb- B+. Had over 800 yards as the 3rd option which was very good. Getting a little older but I say keep him.
  • Tavon Austin: C. Not used much. Still explosive but often injured. I wouldn’t bring him back.
• OL:
  • Tyron Smith: B-. The back, knee and other injuries are piling up on what used to be the best LT in football. He’s still good, but no longer great. Too many penalties.
  • Connor Williams: D. One of the bigger disappointments this year. Needs to rebound from injury to prove something.
  • Travis Frederick: B-. I chalk this year up to his rebound from his recovery from the illness. I expect him to be better next year.
    
  • Zack Martin: A. The most consistently outstanding player on the team, period. All Pro, maybe HOFer.
  • La’el Collins: A-. Had a very good year. His most consistent year so far and he still has upside.

• Tight End
  • Jason Witten: B-. He needs to retire for good. I say that because I love JW. But he’s definitely not the future.
    
  • Blake Jarwin: B+. He can be a passing game playmaker. Not a great blocker but needs more PT to develop.
    
  • Dalton Schultz: C-. Known as “the blocking TE” since he only caught one pass. Needs to improve a lot or he should be gone.

Thoughts on Offense and STs in 2020

• We should still have some firepower on offense.
  
• I would NOT sign Cooper. He’s super talented but IMO WRs don’t need to soak up huge cap space.

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I see a lot of grading on a curve.

I have to give Dak an A-. He played to a level I didn't think he could reach. Exceeded expectations.

Think about how different we'd be feeling about Dak, and the team, if he had been healthy against the Eagles. Think about if he had had a contract, and wasn't understandably worried about ripping up his shoulder going into free agency. The most reasonable interpretation of his inaccuracy in the Eagles game is that he was hurt. In each game on either side, 125+ QB rating, 40+ points. Looking back, should we not have played Rush? Another coaching failure. One that likely cost us a playoff home game for a team that looked kind of hot in 2/3 of its last games. The silver lining is it also cost Garrett his job.

I'm in less of a hurry about Tyron. Makes second team Pro Bowl, not an alternate. He looked basically healthy. I think he turned the corner with his back. It's something he'll we watching, but unlike 2017-2018, it wasn't obviously limiting his play on the field.

I'd give Williams at least a C+. Improved from last year. Not a noticeable problem. Better than Schultz and Witten.

Olawale. He was open on that deep pass against Chicago. The play worked just as it should have as far as he was concerned. Olawale was just a coaching failure. We brought back a guy we barely used in 2018 to a surprisingly high contract, and then barely used him again. Either we weren't using a guy who had more, or we completely misjudged him when we brought him back. I want to hear the story on Olawale. There must be a reason they didn't use him.

On the WRs and TEs:

Much like the team, you left out Devin Smith. We took a flyer on a consensus second round pick who just might finally be healthy, he was, and he played like a 2nd round pick on a new team in the preseason. He looked like our fourth best. In his limited regular-season play time, Dak had a 137 qb rating when throwing to him. And yet he wasn't even active for much of the season. And don't tell me it's because he didn't do special teams. His draft profile touts him as one of the best gunners in the nation. This is another story I want to hear, although I have my doubts I'll get it given that the mothership kept radio silence on Smith for all but a week in preseason.

One key is looking at half year splits. Second half of the season, Cobb got great, Witten got awful. Cobb's QB rating when thrown to was in the 120s. Witten's collapsed from the 120s in the first 8 to something awful in the last 8, where his ypt was less than 5. 5! That's a joke.

Witten has got to go. Schultz needs to compete for play time with some developmental guys, and should be gone unless he makes a huge jump. We should bring in a lot of TEs. One true blocker. And train Knight and/or Williams as short yardage blocking TEs.

On the offense as a whole:

I don't see Jerry letting Cooper walk. I'm doubtful about paying big bucks to WRs too, but that was baked into the cake the moment we traded a 1st for him.

Cooper and Dak get tagged, if nothing else. The only people we "lose" on offense are dead weight. Witten. WAddition by subtraction.

I like it a lot if we keep Cobb and Cooper. We should go 3-4 wide as a matter of course given our personnel. No FB, and nothing but Jarwin at TE. 2 of Jarwin/Cobb/Smith/Pollard rotate in depending on the matchups. Pollard is the bigger, stronger version of the rb/wr threat Austin was supposed to be. McCarthy makes it extra likely we go 3-4 wide more often.

The oline only improves. Fredbeard gets healthy. Williams likely continues to improve, and McGovern takes LG if he can top that. That's a great oline. Smith/Fredbeard/Martin/Collins could all make the Pro Bowl.

Zeke doesn't miss camp. Pollard puts on some muscle and improves his route running.

Franchise QB. Great oline. Great RBs. Great WRs. So many playmakers. No dead weight. Looks like a *great* offense to me, with McCarthy likely to push us in the direction we should have gone this year.

PAPPYDOG said:

Do you really think I would bother with Dak if he is no longer part of our team?
Trust me here as you might worship this inept QB but the feelings are not mutual even on the negative side!!!!
As long as Dak is no longer our starting QB and we are on the right road to have a respected passing game he's all yours bud.
GL supporting him in the CFL(His eventual landing spot)and read up on that Canadian league as it will be useful when selling him to our northern neighbors on their teams chat rooms.

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Nobody believes this lol. You will make posts wherever he’s at.

WillieBeamen said:

What are you gonna do when he leaves?


Whose nuts you gna ride then?

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Here you go talking about another mans nuts lol. Never fails. You gonna answer the question or you gonna yak about another mans nuts?

Zeke was A for a guy that did zero offseason and ends up with almost 1800k all purpose and double digit TDs.

I'd switch Cooper and Gallup's grades.

"The Cowboys’ passing offense has been one of the league’s best with Cooper on the field, netting 122.0 EPA on his 907 plays compared to just 2.95 EPA on 425 plays without him."

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-top-10-non-quarterback-free-agents-on-offense

DallasDW00ds0n said:

Zeke was A for a guy that did zero offseason and ends up with almost 1800k all purpose and double digit TDs.

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His stats were good, no doubt. But Zeke had less of an impact this year than his previous 3 years. He’s still young so not worried but he didn’t look like the Zeke we’ve come to expect IMO.

Connor Williams had a good season. Certainly not a D season

Bobhaze said:

(This would be too long to include Defense- I will add that later)

OFFENSE: As a whole unit: B+. Had a ton of yards but didn’t score enough points, especially when it counted most. Passing game carried this team at times. Running game was not as good as it should have been.

• QB:
  • Dak gets a B+. Would have been an A but had some bad stretches at the worst times. Had one of the best QB statistical years in Cowboys history. (Even though most stats are overrated) He showed great improvement and I think he’s overly criticized by too many fans here.
  • Cooper Rush- Incomplete.
• RB:
  • Zeke- B. Was good, not great. 4th best rushing yards in the league, but lacked the explosiveness we came to expect most of the time.
  • Tony Pollard- B+. Showed great promise. Had more explosive plays than Zeke. Needs more touches.
    Jamize Olawale- D. What is his function? is he still running that deep route we saw in Chicago? LOL.
• WR:
  • Amari Cooper- B. Much like Zeke, Cooper was great except when he wasn’t, which came at the worst time this year. I’m actually against signing him to a big contract. I can’t find a recent SB winner with a top 3 paid WR price tag.
  • Michael Gallup- A. He had a great year. Emerged as a legit ProBowl type player with 1k season. Big time player now.
  • Randall Cobb- B+. Had over 800 yards as the 3rd option which was very good. Getting a little older but I say keep him.
  • Tavon Austin: C. Not used much. Still explosive but often injured. I wouldn’t bring him back.
• OL:
  • Tyron Smith: B-. The back, knee and other injuries are piling up on what used to be the best LT in football. He’s still good, but no longer great. Too many penalties.
  • Connor Williams: D. One of the bigger disappointments this year. Needs to rebound from injury to prove something.
  • Travis Frederick: B-. I chalk this year up to his rebound from his recovery from the illness. I expect him to be better next year.
    
  • Zack Martin: A. The most consistently outstanding player on the team, period. All Pro, maybe HOFer.
  • La’el Collins: A-. Had a very good year. His most consistent year so far and he still has upside.

• Tight End
  • Jason Witten: B-. He needs to retire for good. I say that because I love JW. But he’s definitely not the future.
    
  • Blake Jarwin: B+. He can be a passing game playmaker. Not a great blocker but needs more PT to develop.
    
  • Dalton Schultz: C-. Known as “the blocking TE” since he only caught one pass. Needs to improve a lot or he should be gone.

• Special Teams: As a whole unit grade: D. Worst field position in the league all year. Bad kicking game, poor kick coverage. One big yuk.
  • Brett Maher: F. Was 1 of 5 from 40-49. Missed more FGs in 13 games than anyone else did in 16. That says it all. Literally cost us games.
    
  • Kai Forbath: B+. Made all 10 FG attempts and all 10 XPs. Only down spot was two kickoffs out of bounds.
    
  • LP Ladouceur: B. When you don’t hear much about a deep snapper, they are doing a good job. No longer gets down the field as fast on kick coverage.
  • Chris Jones: D. Had the worst year of his career, only averaging 41 yds per punt. Very few inside the 20.
    
  • Tavon Austin: D. As a Punt returner was handcuffed with too many FCs and consequently never helped with field position.
  • Tony Pollard: C. Showed explosive potential but rarely had a chance. He should get more chances to return kickoffs next year if possible.

Thoughts on Offense and STs in 2020

• We should still have some firepower on offense.
  
• I would NOT sign Cooper. He’s super talented but IMO WRs don’t need to soak up huge cap space.
  
• We need to draft a TE or get one in FA. Witten needs to go and Jarwin needs some help.
• We need to consider drafting Ty Smith’s successor soon.
  
• Special Teams were atrocious last year. We need to find someone to return punts without so many fair catches or letting the ball bounce only to lose field position yards. STs can win or lose games for you as we saw a lot last year.
  
• Should have a great battle at Kicker and Punter positions in TC.

Your thoughts?

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As soon as I saw the Zeke grade, I realized this was a #ZekeHate thread.

Really man?????

Eh, what do you mean Zack Martin maybe a future HOFer? All pro seasons starting pile up. Clearly on the path to Canton unless serious injury or early retirement.

Sorry, but when you can't lead your team to a single touchdown in three games, any one of which could have gotten us a division title and into the playoffs, you don't deserve a B+. Not for a quarterback and not one for the Dallas Cowboys.

They scored 9 points against the Eagles practice squad in the game for the division. They get nothing but an F. The entire team. The coaching. The team jet. The water boys. Management. Jerry. He gets an F, they get an F, Everyone gets an F!

Bobhaze said:

(This would be too long to include Defense- I will add that later)

OFFENSE: As a whole unit: B+. Had a ton of yards but didn’t score enough points, especially when it counted most. Passing game carried this team at times. Running game was not as good as it should have been.

• QB:
  • Dak gets a B+. Would have been an A but had some bad stretches at the worst times. Had one of the best QB statistical years in Cowboys history. (Even though most stats are overrated) He showed great improvement and I think he’s overly criticized by too many fans here.
  • Cooper Rush- Incomplete.
• RB:
  • Zeke- B. Was good, not great. 4th best rushing yards in the league, but lacked the explosiveness we came to expect most of the time.
  • Tony Pollard- B+. Showed great promise. Had more explosive plays than Zeke. Needs more touches.
    Jamize Olawale- D. What is his function? is he still running that deep route we saw in Chicago? LOL.
• WR:
  • Amari Cooper- B. Much like Zeke, Cooper was great except when he wasn’t, which came at the worst time this year. I’m actually against signing him to a big contract. I can’t find a recent SB winner with a top 3 paid WR price tag.
  • Michael Gallup- A. He had a great year. Emerged as a legit ProBowl type player with 1k season. Big time player now.
  • Randall Cobb- B+. Had over 800 yards as the 3rd option which was very good. Getting a little older but I say keep him.
  • Tavon Austin: C. Not used much. Still explosive but often injured. I wouldn’t bring him back.
• OL:
  • Tyron Smith: B-. The back, knee and other injuries are piling up on what used to be the best LT in football. He’s still good, but no longer great. Too many penalties.
  • Connor Williams: D. One of the bigger disappointments this year. Needs to rebound from injury to prove something.
  • Travis Frederick: B-. I chalk this year up to his rebound from his recovery from the illness. I expect him to be better next year.
    
  • Zack Martin: A. The most consistently outstanding player on the team, period. All Pro, maybe HOFer.
  • La’el Collins: A-. Had a very good year. His most consistent year so far and he still has upside.

• Tight End
  • Jason Witten: B-. He needs to retire for good. I say that because I love JW. But he’s definitely not the future.
    
  • Blake Jarwin: B+. He can be a passing game playmaker. Not a great blocker but needs more PT to develop.
    
  • Dalton Schultz: C-. Known as “the blocking TE” since he only caught one pass. Needs to improve a lot or he should be gone.

• Special Teams: As a whole unit grade: D. Worst field position in the league all year. Bad kicking game, poor kick coverage. One big yuk.
  • Brett Maher: F. Was 1 of 5 from 40-49. Missed more FGs in 13 games than anyone else did in 16. That says it all. Literally cost us games.
    
  • Kai Forbath: B+. Made all 10 FG attempts and all 10 XPs. Only down spot was two kickoffs out of bounds.
    
  • LP Ladouceur: B. When you don’t hear much about a deep snapper, they are doing a good job. No longer gets down the field as fast on kick coverage.
  • Chris Jones: D. Had the worst year of his career, only averaging 41 yds per punt. Very few inside the 20.
    
  • Tavon Austin: D. As a Punt returner was handcuffed with too many FCs and consequently never helped with field position.
  • Tony Pollard: C. Showed explosive potential but rarely had a chance. He should get more chances to return kickoffs next year if possible.

Thoughts on Offense and STs in 2020

• We should still have some firepower on offense.
  
• I would NOT sign Cooper. He’s super talented but IMO WRs don’t need to soak up huge cap space.
  
• We need to draft a TE or get one in FA. Witten needs to go and Jarwin needs some help.
• We need to consider drafting Ty Smith’s successor soon.
  
• Special Teams were atrocious last year. We need to find someone to return punts without so many fair catches or letting the ball bounce only to lose field position yards. STs can win or lose games for you as we saw a lot last year.
  
• Should have a great battle at Kicker and Punter positions in TC.

Your thoughts?

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Report Card for this thread.

S for Sucks.

Your grade are just emotional fan nonsense.

Connor Williams played really well in all but a couple of games.

La'el was over-criticized in the past but over-hyped this season. In run blocking he made too many mistakes.

Tyron went long stretches without allowing a sack.

Zack Martin was not himself this season. Still be than average but not dominant due to a back injury.

Do you just listen to Skip Bayless to form your football opinions...

xwalker said:

Report Card for this thread.

S for Sucks.

Your grade are just emotional fan nonsense.

Connor Williams played really well in all but a couple of games.

La'el was over-criticized in the past but over-hyped this season. In run blocking he made too many mistakes.

Tyron went long stretches without allowing a sack.

Zack Martin was not himself this season. Still be than average but not dominant due to a back injury.

Do you just listen to Skip Bayless to form your football opinions...

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Wow...Ease up there buddy. This isn’t a national security issue. It’s a football opinion forum. Geez.

I Never watch Skip Useless. These are just my opinions, informed or uninformed. Didn’t feel particularly “emotional” as I typed them, lol. Would certainly enjoy seeing your “informed” grades though.

Bobhaze said:

Wow...Ease up there buddy. This isn’t a national security issue. It’s a football opinion forum. Geez.

I Never watch Skip Useless. These are just my opinions, informed or uninformed. Didn’t feel particularly “emotional” as I typed them, lol. Would certainly enjoy seeing your “informed” grades though.

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You are not grading...you're tabulating the emotional sentiment that posters have about those players. That's similar to how Skip Bayless forms his "opinions" based on public sentiment not on actually watching games.

I appreciate the effort @Bobhaze and I do find you one of the more enjoyable posters to read on here.

Having said that, I think you were way to generous on some of those grades and a bit less generous on ones I thought played better.

But that's why we all have our opinions. Again, appreciate the effort.

Enjoyed reading. Thanks for sharing.
I thought most felt fair.

And like many have said thanks for being a fairly sane poster on a forum that can get out of hand at times. Lol

And that’s coming from the new kid on the block!