Twitter: Aikman: If Cowboys beat Eagles, QB1 becomes hard question

[tyke1doe]

So you are saying the Cowboys had possessions that they didn't want to get a score from it?

No. I'm saying that the strategy could have shifted based on the flow of the game. If the Rams had come out guns blazing and scoring TDs, our strategy would have had to match theirs.

But, on the contrary, because our defense was playing well, we could take a more conservative approach. Sure, we're trying to score on every possession. But we also didn't need to pass the ball every down.

That's my point. There are strategies within strategies in games. Because the defense and special teams were doing as well as they were, Rush didn't need to pass the ball as much.

If Dak was the QB the strategy would have been the same. Score as many points as we can.

That's rather simplistic. It's like saying the goal in traveling is get from Point A to Point Z.
Right. No one is disputing that. The issue is HOW and what is the BEST way to get from Point A to Point Z.
Do you do it by foot, by car, by boat, by motorcycle, by plane, etc.?
The determination of HOW and the time you have to do it in dictates the mode of transportation.
It isn't that we DON'T want to get to Point Z. It's what is the most EFFECTIVE way to do so.
And your mode changes depending upon the circumstances and the situation.

Bringing us back to football, we wanted to get in the end zone with every possession. But we calculated we could get there running the ball more so than passing the ball.

The defense scored a TD and a blocked punt set them up for a field goal. That's nine points right there. I understand what your saying, they would have been more aggressive if they didn't have those easy nine points. But he fact remains you take away those nine points and the score is 13-10.

Fair enough.

You can't say that them being more aggressive would have lead to more points. Their aggression could have backfired and given the Rams more points from turnovers. The bottom line is team, with Rush at QB, isn't going to average 27 points per game.

I didn't say they should have been more aggressive.
I'm saying because of the defense and special teams, they didn't have to be on offense.
I would like to think it would have been the same had Dak been in the game. But KellMo seems to let Dak do his thang and throw the ball more. Shrug.

 

[TheMightyVanHalen]

I hope you guys don't expect Dak to not have another bad game in his career? He will. That's part of sports. Anyone who's played will tell you this. Rush is doing better that we hoped and that's not lose a game on account of him, ie, fumbles, ints, etc. But, to compare Dak against Coop....no comparison.

When you say "You guys" you make me feel like I'm in the anti-Dak crowd here, which I'm not. As his haters call others here, I'm a Dakster. I was also a Romosexual, Aikmen and a Staubacker. Whoever is the franchise QB of my favorite team I totally support. I love Dak and want him to win a SB so bad to shut all his haters up here. I will probably get banned here for constantly calling all them out if he does. But Rush is the QB now so I'm backing him 100 percent because unlike all the Dak haters here, I actually support my TEAM 100 percent.

That said, yes I think Dak will have more stinkers over his career. I was saying to this thread topic, IF Rush beats Philthy and has a decent game, and IF Dak loses against the Lions and Bears, then all hell break loose here and at The Star and Aikman's question will need to be addressed.

But let's be positive. That's not going to happen. Rush will beat Philthy with the help of our defense and Dak will take us to the SB with the help of our defense. Teams will be in line to give us a top pick for Cooper Rush like they did with Steve Walsh. That's the best case scenario for this debate.

GO COWBOYS!!

 

[DCowboyz]

Dak is the better QB but I'd also ride it out with Rush until he loses. While he isn't doing much, he's doing enough not to lose, even if that means the D is doing most of the work.

 

[TheMightyVanHalen]

If you love that we're winning then you have a really weird way of showing it.

And when we lose with Dak being our QB, you have a weird way of showing you're a fan of this TEAM. Have you made your "Dallas Rush's" shirts and hats yet?

Stop being a hypocrite, young man!

 

[CowboyRoy]

All I know is if Rush goes in and gets a win this weekend, and they go back to Dak the next game, Dak better look good.

Because if he doesn't look good, and more importantly, if he loses while looking bad, the media and fan base might be heading to Dallas with their proverbial pitchforks.


Having said that, I don't really think Jerry believes there can be a QB controversy. He's going to go back to Dak and stick with him, regardless. He's not going to let $40 million sit on the bench.

Im interested to see what Rush looks like when he has to keep up with another great offense and has to push the ball down the field or is one dimensional. I think I know the answer, but it will still be interesting to see.

 

[Cmac]

Let's be real....... Cooper has done well with game management coupled with D playing well. Kudos to Cooper for not adding any self-inflicted damage.
The major difference is benchmark.......Cooper's benchmark is not percieved to be high, in fact most of us expected the wheels to fall off. Dak has a higher benchmark or expectations due to salary......and even before salary increase.

The real question will be if KMoore returns us to a pass-happy team when Dak returns, or have learned that slingling the ball all over the place and trickery isn't always necessary. I still think our Red Zone efficiency needs to improve.

 

[RonnieT24]

What exactly more could dak do that cooper isn’t doing? He hasn’t turned the ball over. Hasn’t taken sacks. Hit all his passes. Many deep balls dropped.

Please don't bring mindless absolutes into a nuanced discussion. Rush has not come close to hitting all his passes.. and in addition to the dropped deep balls how many INTs have been dropped? Or bailed out by penalties? I'm fine with acknowledging that Rush has done a good job.. but good lord has be been one lucky SOB. Obviously he's taken sacks.. Hell he took three just last Sunday one of which he fumbled on. And that was on just 19 dropbacks. He hasn't turned the ball over yet.. but it has not been for lack of trying..

We don't need to declare Rush flawless just because we've won these games. It's okay to be thankful for the wins, and still recognize that the other guy can do more. The two are not mutually exclusive. Maybe the defense will hold every opponent to 10 points or less t he rest of the way and we can keep winning this way.. But no sane person believes that.. and people who get paid to be right about such things and get fired if they're wrong want Dak back playing.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Dak is the better QB but I'd also ride it out with Rush until he loses. While he isn't doing much, he's doing enough not to lose, even if that means the D is doing most of the work.

Yah, but you got guys like Parsons playing with a hurt groin and stuff like that because he knows the defense cant let up. Be nice to rest a few guys here and there and get Dak back with some blowouts. You can have an overly conservative game plan with Dak too if you need to.

 

[aikemirv]

The oline has struggled in keeping an overall clean pocket the last couple of weeks against 2 very good D lines. They are going to face another one this week. If Rush continues to get pushed back and throws off his back foot his luck is going to run out and he is going to turn the ball over. If we give him a good pocket to step and throw we could win this game.

 

[dfense]

Rush passed for 102 yards against the Rams

I've seen Dak throw for lots of yards and lose.

It's not how much you can eat. It's the quality of the food.

I just made that up.

 

[Dorsett33]

When you say "You guys" you make me feel like I'm in the anti-Dak crowd here, which I'm not. As his haters call others here, I'm a Dakster. I was also a Romosexual, Aikmen and a Staubacker. Whoever is the franchise QB of my favorite team I totally support. I love Dak and want him to win a SB so bad to shut all his haters up here. I will probably get banned here for constantly calling all them out if he does. But Rush is the QB now so I'm backing him 100 percent because unlike all the Dak haters here, I actually support my TEAM 100 percent.

That said, yes I think Dak will have more stinkers over his career. I was saying to this thread topic, IF Rush beats Philthy and has a decent game, and IF Dak loses against the Lions and Bears, then all hell break loose here and at The Star and Aikman's question will need to be addressed.

But let's be positive. That's not going to happen. Rush will beat Philthy with the help of our defense and Dak will take us to the SB with the help of our defense. Teams will be in line to give us a top pick for Cooper Rush like they did with Steve Walsh. That's the best case scenario for this debate.

GO COWBOYS!!

When I said you guys....I was speaking of "those who know who they are". I agree with you totally. I'm going to support whomever is the QB. I've been a diehard fan of the Cowboys since '77. And I think it's great that Rush is helping keep the fort down. I hope you're right about him helping beat Philly. I don't see our offense being able to keep up with their offense. My problem is "those who know who they are" don't support Dak. If Dak had the same stats (I don't recall him ever just having a 100 yards), they would want his head. They've shown it before....and before he signed his contract. Dak is gonna have bad games. Rush has had a bad game, it's just our defense is playing lights-out. People keep saying, if Rush beats Philly this week, it's gonna be tough for Dak to get his job back. Rush, thus far......has done nothing to prove he needs to be QB. He was fighting for a roster spot in camp. He's not a starting QB in the NFL. But....I'll continue root for him. And I'm glad he's playing mistake free football.

 

[Clove]

What I'm sad about for Cowboys fans is that no matter what QB plays, if one of them wins the Super Bowl, there will still be sad fans because the guy they didn't like won it. This really is a Fan vs Fan forum and not a Cowboys fan forum.

 

[RonnieT24]

Let's be real....... Cooper has done well with game management coupled with D playing well. Kudos to Cooper for not adding any self-inflicted damage.
The major difference is benchmark.......Cooper's benchmark is not percieved to be high, in fact most of us expected the wheels to fall off. Dak has a higher benchmark or expectations due to salary......and even before salary increase.

The real question will be if KMoore returns us to a pass-happy team when Dak returns, or have learned that slingling the ball all over the place and trickery isn't always necessary. I still think our Red Zone efficiency needs to improve.

I have been posting for three years that Kellen Moore doesn't want to run the ball. He has always seemed fixated on showcasing his "creativity" and his "genius" more than just winning the damn game. The "yards are yards" quote pretty much sealed it for me. Even in this last game when we were wearing the Rams out on the ground he went right into his 5 wide empty backfield nonsense in the red zone. That as much as anything signaled to me that despite the fact that the offense has been far more balanced with Rush under center.. Moore aint learned a damn thing. He has been dragged kicking and screaming to this balanced attack and is just laying in wait for the earliest opportunity to abandon it and get back to the Mountain West offense he knows and loves.

 

[TheMightyVanHalen]

I'm sorry so you think offense is playing outstanding ball? You have pretty low expectations. I see things Rush can improve on as well as others on this offense. Right now defense is saving our butts and if we hope to continue to win offensive production will need to improve. It is really that simple. At no point have I blamed offensive ineffectiveness on Rush alone, others on offense need to step up and show more. Really tired of your act, you will sit there and dog on Dak and now claim anyone who wants Dak back does not want Dallas to win? LOL Really you are a joke you have no clue.

Brother don't argue with him. He's a fan of Cooper Rush only and not a supporter of our TEAM. He's the one who took Cowboys out of the team name and replaced it with Rush, making our team name The Dallas Rush's. There's nothing he would love more is for Rush to beat Philthy and when Dak comes back we go on a losing streak. You're a veteran here so you should know his schtick by now. He's just here to argue.

 

[RonnieT24]

What I'm sad about for Cowboys fans is that no matter what QB plays, if one of them wins the Super Bowl, there will still be sad fans because the guy they didn't like won it. This really is a Fan vs Fan forum and not a Cowboys fan forum.

Lord I feel sorry for anybody that this describes.. That is a truly miserable way to go through life.

 

[TheMightyVanHalen]

It's not how much you can eat. It's the quality of the food.

True. When I eat a whole pizza at Dough Pizzeria Napoletana, I don't feel bad because it's quality ingredients. But if I would try to eat a whole pizza at Little Caesars, I would probably die of clogged arteries.

I love good pizza so I had to say that. Lol

 

[Doomsday101]

Brother don't argue with him. He's a fan of Cooper Rush only and not a supporter of our TEAM. He's the one who took Cowboys out of the team name and replaced it with Rush, making our team name The Dallas Rush's. There's nothing he would love more is for Rush to beat Philthy and when Dak comes back we go on a losing streak. You're a veteran here so you should know his schtick by now. He's just here to argue.

He is no fan of Rush, he will tell you he never believed in Rush. He has said so on other threads saying Rush is not the answer. It is a means to take shots at Dak. He will dump all over Rush if we lose. Myself I hope like hell we can get this win vs Philly, it is a big game for both teams would love to see Rush have a great day, out there, I think he will need to because I think Philly will come into this game looking to shut down the run and we will need Rush and the WR to make them pay and to hopefully back them off the line.

 

[MountaineerCowboy]

I want to win but when I see we can this team struggle to score point it is a concern.

The only time we needed points and didn't get them was with Dak in Week 1 though.

 

[Doomsday101]

The only time we needed points and didn't get them was with Dak in Week 1 though.

He had a bad game was not the only one but he did not play well at all. I made no excuses for him.

 

[Cmac]

I have been posting for three years that Kellen Moore doesn't want to run the ball. He has always seemed fixated on showcasing his "creativity" and his "genius" more than just winning the damn game. The "yards are yards" quote pretty much sealed it for me. Even in this last game when we were wearing the Rams out on the ground he went right into his 5 wide empty backfield nonsense in the red zone. That as much as anything signaled to me that despite the fact that the offense has been far more balanced with Rush under center.. Moore aint learned a damn thing. He has been dragged kicking and screaming to this balanced attack and is just laying in wait for the earliest opportunity to abandon it and get back to the Mountain West offense he knows and loves.

Preach RonnieT24......viewing the same. Zack Martin needs to place hands on him the next time. Our Red Zone yields too many FGs to my liking. The Giants game with 1st & goal at the 1, having Cooper pass (though sucessful to Cee Dee) was risking. He disrespected Zeke, TPollard and the OL on that play.