After two games: What we know and don’t know

[Wezsh0T]

I'm a Dak fan, I just don't think he's worth near the money he wants. He's not an Elite QB. Very good, even great at times, but he's not Elite, and therefore should not make Elite money.

This is where I stand as well. I love his poise and leadership and think that he is continuing to improve. He is definitely and above average QB (30-35million seems to be the going rate for above average these days), but I don't think he's a 40 million dollar QB.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Umm, ok insults when you have no argument. Got it. The ignore list it is.

I didn't even watch the press conference, I've always thought this way and it makes the most sense. As I said, if he goes for 1, we're driving at the end of the game to tie the game and when we miss that two point conversion then, we lose. It's not rocket science, but you seem incapable of even trying to understand.

Makes sense if you want to lose.

and to think you watched what happened and still try to pander it. Lol

put me on ignore.....it won’t stop me from hammering you in public. You can close your eyes if you want to.

 

[FortyFiveYearFan]

My point is this front office obviously does not value defense as much as offense.

Jerry is all about putting butts in seats. He thinks in terms of star power, so he wants those flashy wide receivers and running backs. Stephen literally had to force him to take Zack Martin. On defense, the stars are your pass rushers, which is why DLaw gets paid but Byron Jones is allowed to leave.

 

[FortyFiveYearFan]

I'm a Dak fan, I just don't think he's worth near the money he wants. He's not an Elite QB. Very good, even great at times, but he's not Elite, and therefore should not make Elite money.

Agreed. He is a good QB with an embarrassment of riches for weapons. He didn't look so good there for a while when Zeke wasn't at his best and before Cooper showed up.

 

[kskboys]

I'm a Dak fan, I just don't think he's worth near the money he wants. He's not an Elite QB. Very good, even great at times, but he's not Elite, and therefore should not make Elite money.

You just described how at least 80% of the fans feel about Dak.

 

[Bobhaze]

Jerry is all about putting butts in seats. He thinks in terms of star power, so he wants those flashy wide receivers and running backs. Stephen literally had to force him to take Zack Martin. On defense, the stars are your pass rushers, which is why DLaw gets paid but Byron Jones is allowed to leave.

Well said- and this Jerry philosophy may sell tickets (It shouldn’t) but if winning a championship is the primary goal, Jerry either doesn’t know how to do that or just doesn’t care enough about winning as he does making money.

 

[kskboys]

I rewatched the game at 5am this morning. Pathetic I know but I was up early so what the hell. Here is my take...

The OL was terrible in the 1st but really stepped up. It’s remarkable how well the tackles played given who they are. Long term that’s good for Dallas.

CeeDee reminds me of Michael Thomas. Not a blazer but a shifty guy with great route running. He is also tough after the catch. I think he can put on 10 pounds and that will only help.

The WRs as a whole were excellent. They all made big plays. People here rip on Cooper. That catch was amazing. The guy can play.

Zeke has no burst. He is no longer a home run hitter but he is a bull. They need to be careful that he doesn’t hurt himself with that punishing style.

I have been real hard on Schultz. He shut me up. Fumble was bad but he played well. Maybe he just needed a chance.

The fake punts didn’t bother me on further review. Both plays should have worked. I think having the threat to fake a punt will help them down the road.

Dak is a star QB. Period. He is not Pat Mahomes but who is? Dak is a winner. He played a great game despite taking a few shots.

Jaylon Smith is terrible. I don’t care what the stats say. Even on the blitzes he is not close to getting home. Late in the 3 Q he flat out gave up on a big play to Hurst. He just stopped running. The coaches have to see that. Guy needs to be a healthy scratch for a couple weeks and find some humility.

Biggest play in the game, late 3rd down. Griffen makes a coverage sack. No Tank. No Tank a lot of the game. I need to check the stats but he got a little more than half the snaps. Not what you pay 105 million for. Even when he was in he would get stood up at the line and often carried out of the play. If he is not hurt he also needs to be a healthy scratch when Gregory is ready. Tank and Smith are going to be salary cap albatrosses.

Chido is the worst CB on the team. By far. That guy has no dawg in him at all and is easily defeated. Diggs on the other hand has gotten beat the first 2 weeks but you can tell he is a special player. Got beat and came right back to make a nice play. While Chido looks gassed to me late, Diggs looks like a Bama player. Still strong late in a wild game.

Aldon Smith looked like a guy that needs a couple more weeks to get in game shape. It’s a shame that Dallas has had to rely on him heavily early on. Lawrence’s lack of any production hurts this team.

Poe had very limited impact. Very. We all wanted a run stuffer DT. He is no longer that. Hill was again the best interior defender. If he can check his attitude he might become something special.

The on sides kick was one of the best I have seen. It was so good it seemed to bedazzle the Falcons.

Garrett does not win that game,

Agree w/ everything, except Zeke. I seriously can't figure out why you'd think his burst is gone. It's been excellent for 2 weeks in a row.

 

[Redball Express]

I always believe it takes at least 4-6 games to have a good idea what an NFL team’s identity is. So after two weeks and two wild games for this team, I still believe it’s trying to find itself.

Here are a few things I believe we do know about this team, although it could still change:

• The defense is a mess. We knew going into this season it was our weak link, and so far that has clearly proven out. It must improve for us to have any shot to do anything this year. Injuries to several starters don’t help.

• The OL is no longer a top position unit in this league. Injuries along with the Travis Frederick retirement have made this unit less than stellar. Rookie Terrance Steele and and second year retread Brandon Knight have shown some promise, but it’s way too early to know if those guys can be consistent.

• Dak Prescott is an outstanding QB in this league. The anti-Dak Cowboys fans cannot say Dak sucks and be able to call themselves objective. He has become one of the top young QBs in this league and he’s still only 27. He’s not Mahomes (no one else is) but he’s really good.
  
  
• Zeke has continued to play at a high level. Most RBs by their 5th year begin to show some wear on the tire tread. Zeke has played very well to start the season, even with a makeshift OL.

• Mike McCarthy seems to be trying too hard to make a statement- I like a HC who takes risks, but there’s a difference between risk and stupid. The decision to go for two with 4 min left and down 9 yesterday was incredibly foolish. He got rescued by Dak’s playmaking and poise late along with the mindlessly stupid falcon special team players who apparently didn’t understand you have to recover an onside kick, lol. Relax Coach Mac. Don’t try too hard.

What we don’t know yet:

• Will this rash of injuries to start the season continue, and if so can we overcome them?Overcoming injuries are part of the game too many fans don’t seem to realize. The ability of the coaching staff to coach up backup players is huge. If the backups can perform well enough to keep the team afloat, we will still have a chance.
  
  
• The identity of this team is still in doubt- is this team mentally tough enough to overcome its problems? Mental toughness is huge when injuries have ravaged your team. Will be interesting to see if this team can develop a swagger despite being banged up.

• Will this defense be able to improve? If not, this is clearly not a playoff team. If it is to improve, it will need to come from some unproven players like Diggs and several other young and unproven players. Can Mike Nolan cobble together a defense that can improve to a level of at least average?

It’s still way too early to start looking at the schedule and declaring where the wins will come from. Many fans will of course, but this team after two games is damn lucky to be 1-1. If this team is to become something better than mediocre, there is a lot of work to be done.

To add to your list..

We do know this team likes to gamble

McCarthy gambled last week and it cost the game by not kicking a tying FG and giving the team a shot at getting to OT and maybe winning. It cost us probably more than we know. It's early still.

He gambled again twice yesterday with 2 fake punts that failed..both leading to the Falcons scoring and nearly putting the game out of reach before half-time.

Those should have ended us getting back in the game on a normal Sunday.

Yesterday was anything but normal.

We found out Moore does understand passing offense

Before yesterday..we only thought he knew how to hand off to Zeke on first down. Come to find out he and Dak actually know how to take advantage of our three 1000 yd receivers, not just wonder 'what if'.

And that fantasy about 3 WRs at 1,000+ each?

It's not a fantasy.

Later.

 

[Whyjerry]

Agree w/ everything, except Zeke. I seriously can't figure out why you'd think his burst is gone. It's been excellent for 2 weeks in a row.

To be clear the guy is still a special player. The number of long runs has dropped every year. He is still great. I do worry about the pounding he gives and takes. I don’t want him to go Marion Barber on us.

 

[Redball Express]

To be clear the guy is still a special player. The number of long runs has dropped every year. He is still great. I do worry about the pounding he gives and takes. I don’t want him to go Marion Barber on us.

Yeah..

I would prefer he play more like DeMarco Murray did in his 1,800 yd season..

as the season wore on..

he started sliding out of bounds more and not taking the hits.

Zeke needs to conserve himself.

 

[conner01]

Simply put it seems preseason prognostications were accurate.

The offense can be scary good and explosive.

The defense will be a headache all year.

Very true
The problem on offense is oline is not what we expected
And on defense you have a problem with injuries too
The defense was a concern even before the injuries hit

 

[Bobhaze]

Very true
The problem on offense is oline is not what we expected
And on defense you have a problem with injuries too
The defense was a concern even before the injuries hit

I think there has been some concern about the OL for a while-TFred’s retirement, Ty Smith’s nagging injuries, Conner Williams’ being inconsistent. Those were all concerns before the season started.

 

[Clove]

Something was clearly wrong with the offense in the first half with fumbles etc, and the game plan was Garrett'esk. After what he witnessed what Dak could do, I think the game plan changes now. JMO

 

[ArtClink]

I always believe it takes at least 4-6 games to have a good idea what an NFL team’s identity is. So after two weeks and two wild games for this team, I still believe it’s trying to find itself.

Here are a few things I believe we do know about this team, although it could still change:

• The defense is a mess. We knew going into this season it was our weak link, and so far that has clearly proven out. It must improve for us to have any shot to do anything this year. Injuries to several starters don’t help.

• The OL is no longer a top position unit in this league. Injuries along with the Travis Frederick retirement have made this unit less than stellar. Rookie Terrance Steele and and second year retread Brandon Knight have shown some promise, but it’s way too early to know if those guys can be consistent.

• Dak Prescott is an outstanding QB in this league. The anti-Dak Cowboys fans cannot say Dak sucks and be able to call themselves objective. He has become one of the top young QBs in this league and he’s still only 27. He’s not Mahomes (no one else is) but he’s really good.
  
  
• Zeke has continued to play at a high level. Most RBs by their 5th year begin to show some wear on the tire tread. Zeke has played very well to start the season, even with a makeshift OL.

• Mike McCarthy seems to be trying too hard to make a statement- I like a HC who takes risks, but there’s a difference between risk and stupid. The decision to go for two with 4 min left and down 9 yesterday was incredibly foolish. He got rescued by Dak’s playmaking and poise late along with the mindlessly stupid falcon special team players who apparently didn’t understand you have to recover an onside kick, lol. Relax Coach Mac. Don’t try too hard.

What we don’t know yet:

• Will this rash of injuries to start the season continue, and if so can we overcome them?Overcoming injuries are part of the game too many fans don’t seem to realize. The ability of the coaching staff to coach up backup players is huge. If the backups can perform well enough to keep the team afloat, we will still have a chance.
  
  
• The identity of this team is still in doubt- is this team mentally tough enough to overcome its problems? Mental toughness is huge when injuries have ravaged your team. Will be interesting to see if this team can develop a swagger despite being banged up.

• Will this defense be able to improve? If not, this is clearly not a playoff team. If it is to improve, it will need to come from some unproven players like Diggs and several other young and unproven players. Can Mike Nolan cobble together a defense that can improve to a level of at least average?

It’s still way too early to start looking at the schedule and declaring where the wins will come from. Many fans will of course, but this team after two games is damn lucky to be 1-1. If this team is to become something better than mediocre, there is a lot of work to be done.

Dak did a great job but he's been doing that ever since he led us to 13-3 season his rookie year. We are lucky to have him even if the Jones cartel put him last in line to sign a contract extension.

 

[conner01]

I think there has been some concern about the OL for a while-TFred’s retirement, Ty Smith’s nagging injuries, Conner Williams’ being inconsistent. Those were all concerns before the season started.

True
But know we lost our swing tackle too and started a tackle who hadn’t played a game at his position since high school