Audibles are a thing. This wasn't playcalling

[big dog cowboy]

It's too late to defend Garrett.

He is who we thought he was.

 

[superonyx]

Most of you know my qualms with Dak Prescott and the prospect of paying him like a top-five quarterback. Forget that for now. Last night was not about that at all.

This isn't a Dak criticism post. I think the guy played really, really well last night. In fact, that's the best game I've ever seen him play by a mile. After a rocky start with an almost pick-six, he got himself together and played a tremendous game. Very, very good to see.

However, far too much focus is being placed on the play-calling at the end. Namely, the two run calls.

Any playcall can be cancelled with an audible. They are all the time. They are DESIGNED to be changed at the line of scrimmage based on looks or whatever.

If you remember, Tony Romo almost never ran the play that was sent in. Brady, Brees, Rodgers, etc, etc, etc....they audible more than they don't.

So it's dumb to blame last night on playcalling. It's lazy and mindless thinking. This team moves the ball just fine so far with Dak at the helm.

The second down run made sense with only two yards to gain and a need to drain the clock. The second run was silly against that front. You don't run a toss play with the defense lined up out wide like that. Disaster.

And then, was the 4th down play really designed to go to Zeke? Dak was NOT required to throw it there. That is not coaching. That's a quarterback decision. I'm looking for Cooper there, and if he's doubled or tripled, the big tight ends should have advantages.

Last night was a great game. The Cowboys defense and interior offensive line play was the biggest problem, but there were others. Many others. And Dak was part of that late blunder, too.

I have a hard time blaming playcalling when you've got the ball at the 9 yard line going in for a game winning touchdown in a should-be 31-28 victory.

The game was there to be won. Dak played great, but I think he could have handled that sequence much better. It's lazy thinking to blame Kellen Moore, and even more so to blame Jason Garrett. Celebrate Dak last night, as he deserves, but don't absolve him entirely. He shared in this loss, too.

This fan base obsesses over coaching and playcalling in excess because the majority of it can't dissect what it's watching. Same with the click-baiting, non-thinking media.

This audible thing is a way to let someone off the hook who many not deserve to be off the hook. There are only so many options you can audible to and clock time needs to be considered.

The 3rd down run itself would have worked if Connor Williams blocked the right man. Zeke would have had the 2 yards. Instead C Williams was blocking 8 yards downfield while the guy he was assigned to combo block was on Zeke.

I don't like the calls at all on any of those 3 plays. But I don't believe we need to shirt the blame away from the play calls by saying the QB can change the play. That logic can be used to never hold coaching accountable.

Our offensive line has been awful in run blocking and only ok in pass blocking.

Running the ball to Connors side is a play that should not be called last night on 3rd down.

 

[gimmesix]

The second down run made sense with only two yards to gain and a need to drain the clock. The second run was silly against that front. You don't run a toss play with the defense lined up out wide like that. Disaster.

And then, was the 4th down play really designed to go to Zeke? Dak was NOT required to throw it there. That is not coaching. That's a quarterback decision. I'm looking for Cooper there, and if he's doubled or tripled, the big tight ends should have advantages.

Quarterbacks do not have an endless supply of audibles to choose from when they go to the line of scrimmage on any given play. If they recognize that the defense is playing the pass, they have a run they can audible to or vice versa. They might can change which side the play is run to. The real problem isn't the fact that Prescott audibled, but what he had to audible to.

 

[erod]

Quarterbacks do not have an endless supply of audibles to choose from when they go to the line of scrimmage on any given play. If they recognize that the defense is playing the pass, they have a run they can audible to or vice versa. They might can change which side the play is run to. The real problem isn't the fact that Prescott audibled, but what he had to audible to.

Actually, they do have multiple options. The elite guys can literally audible to 100 different plays if they want to.

I'm not blaming Dak. Just pointing out that the "play call" is hardly the only option a quarterback has once they see the front.

 

[Romo_To_Dez]

So, if for some reason or another the Cowboys move on from Dak and get a new promising young QB out of the draft. Is it completely up to that young QB to change the plays and not on the coaching staff and especially Garrett to call the correct plays and to design the perfect offensive system that matches the QB's talents, in order to give that QB the best chance for success.

Or is it just fine for a coach who calls bad plays to constantly ride the coat tails of his QB changing the play to a better one. While the QB gets all of the blame for losses or mistakes and the head coach receives no accountability or responsibility for losses and failure to make it to the Conference Championship game after years of coaching?

 

[erod]

So, if for some reason or another the Cowboys move on from Dak and get a new promising young QB out of the draft. Is it completely up to that young QB to change the plays and not on the coaching staff and especially Garrett to call the correct plays and to design the perfect offensive system that matches the QB's talents, in order to give that QB the best chance for success.

Or is it just fine for a coach who calls bad plays to constantly ride the coat tails of his QB changing the play to a better one. While the QB gets all of the blame for losses or mistakes and the head coach receives no accountability or responsibility for losses and failure to make it to the Conference Championship game after years of coaching?

Listen to what you're asking.

How is Moore or any OC supposed to know what the defense is calling? They don't know what the front will be, whether they're going to play two deep safeties, show blitz, play press or zone, shift the line left or right...etc.

That's entirely up to the QB and center to diagnose at the line of scrimmage. The QB then is responsible to get the team into the right play. That's why rookie quarterbacks struggle unless they're Patrick Mahomes and already know how to read defenses.

Tony Romo changed virtually every playcall from about 2010 onward. Dak is starting to do more of this, but he continues to start very slow and struggle in big moments. He is getting better at it, however. That is reason for optimism.

 

[Eightneight]

You have a good point but the two run plays were called in to burn time off the clock which in theory makes sense. In execution, they back fired horribly. I have a hard time blaming Dak for anything that happened last night because he was the only reason the Cowboys were even in that game. The trenches were dominated by Minnesota on both sides of the ball. Dak was under pressure most of the night and STILL managed to play lights out. It's lazy to pick one or two plays to blame the loss on the qb who kept the team in the game. I firmly believe the situational play calling is bad and needs to improve.

 

[CATCH17]

What about the constant slow starts?


It's just old and stale. Garrett can't get through to these players. Playing hard isn't enough and he underchieves with good rosters.

 

[Eightneight]

4th and 5 smh why throw to Zeke running an out route on the short side of the field. Vikings where in man coverage if im not mistaken and Amari was open underneath on a slant route. Even if Dak doesn't audible out of that play it was the right call just a bad decision on that play. I blame the coaches for a lot but that wasn't one of them it was simply bad execution on that down. Dak played a hell of a game. Does anyone know how to prevent these slow starts? They are killing us.

Back to play calling....why not run some kind of pick for zeke on that play?

 

[CowboyRoy]

Most of you know my qualms with Dak Prescott and the prospect of paying him like a top-five quarterback. Forget that for now. Last night was not about that at all.

This isn't a Dak criticism post. I think the guy played really, really well last night. In fact, that's the best game I've ever seen him play by a mile. After a rocky start with an almost pick-six, he got himself together and played a tremendous game. Very, very good to see.

However, far too much focus is being placed on the play-calling at the end. Namely, the two run calls.

Any playcall can be cancelled with an audible. They are all the time. They are DESIGNED to be changed at the line of scrimmage based on looks or whatever.

If you remember, Tony Romo almost never ran the play that was sent in. Brady, Brees, Rodgers, etc, etc, etc....they audible more than they don't.

So it's dumb to blame last night on playcalling. It's lazy and mindless thinking. This team moves the ball just fine so far with Dak at the helm.

The second down run made sense with only two yards to gain and a need to drain the clock. The second run was silly against that front. You don't run a toss play with the defense lined up out wide like that. Disaster.

And then, was the 4th down play really designed to go to Zeke? Dak was NOT required to throw it there. That is not coaching. That's a quarterback decision. I'm looking for Cooper there, and if he's doubled or tripled, the big tight ends should have advantages.

Last night was a great game. The Cowboys defense and interior offensive line play was the biggest problem, but there were others. Many others. And Dak was part of that late blunder, too.

I have a hard time blaming playcalling when you've got the ball at the 9 yard line going in for a game winning touchdown in a should-be 31-28 victory.

The game was there to be won. Dak played great, but I think he could have handled that sequence much better. It's lazy thinking to blame Kellen Moore, and even more so to blame Jason Garrett. Celebrate Dak last night, as he deserves, but don't absolve him entirely. He shared in this loss, too.

This fan base obsesses over coaching and playcalling in excess because the majority of it can't dissect what it's watching. Same with the click-baiting, non-thinking media.

admitting you were dead wrong about dak is a thing. Lol

 

[BleedinBlue]

Why have coaches ? Why not let the QB call the plays. Someone is forgetting that not all those plays Romo checked into worked. Some were bad, very bad results.

 

[blueblood70]

Most of you know my qualms with Dak Prescott and the prospect of paying him like a top-five quarterback. Forget that for now. Last night was not about that at all.

This isn't a Dak criticism post. I think the guy played really, really well last night. In fact, that's the best game I've ever seen him play by a mile. After a rocky start with an almost pick-six, he got himself together and played a tremendous game. Very, very good to see.

However, far too much focus is being placed on the play-calling at the end. Namely, the two run calls.

Any playcall can be cancelled with an audible. They are all the time. They are DESIGNED to be changed at the line of scrimmage based on looks or whatever.

If you remember, Tony Romo almost never ran the play that was sent in. Brady, Brees, Rodgers, etc, etc, etc....they audible more than they don't.

So it's dumb to blame last night on playcalling. It's lazy and mindless thinking. This team moves the ball just fine so far with Dak at the helm.

The second down run made sense with only two yards to gain and a need to drain the clock. The second run was silly against that front. You don't run a toss play with the defense lined up out wide like that. Disaster.

And then, was the 4th down play really designed to go to Zeke? Dak was NOT required to throw it there. That is not coaching. That's a quarterback decision. I'm looking for Cooper there, and if he's doubled or tripled, the big tight ends should have advantages.

Last night was a great game. The Cowboys defense and interior offensive line play was the biggest problem, but there were others. Many others. And Dak was part of that late blunder, too.

I have a hard time blaming playcalling when you've got the ball at the 9 yard line going in for a game winning touchdown in a should-be 31-28 victory.

The game was there to be won. Dak played great, but I think he could have handled that sequence much better. It's lazy thinking to blame Kellen Moore, and even more so to blame Jason Garrett. Celebrate Dak last night, as he deserves, but don't absolve him entirely. He shared in this loss, too.

This fan base obsesses over coaching and playcalling in excess because the majority of it can't dissect what it's watching. Same with the click-baiting, non-thinking media.

I agree with most of that..too much blame goes to play calling vs execution.. coaches cant hold their hand the entire play..

 

[DC4L_0420]

Back to play calling....why not run some kind of pick for zeke on that play?

Zeke should've been used a Decoy only. I think the Vikings where in Man coverage, Amari was cooking, and he looked wide open underneath on a slant. So I guess those reason are why they shouldn't have ran a pick play for Zeke.

 

[Keithfansince5]

So, you are fine with calling 16 first down runs that averaged just 2.7 yards per? When they called a pass on first down (14 btw) it yielded just under 9 yards per. Hmmm. I could give you this if for 1 qtr it went on like this so you can make sure that they are really serious about stopping your running plays. But, after a dozen or so plays, I EXPECT the coaches to adjust their game plan to what they are seeing on the field. This never happened. Garrett even bragged once about not making any adjustments at half. He doesn't. He just does what he does.

The drives you are mentioning are those by which Dak is bailing out the offense on 3rd and longs because we got nothing on 1st down. Then we would just lob a deep pass to Gallup for nothing and then be looking at 3rd and long again. This was a theme last night. Throw a pass on first, gain 7 or 8 yards, run Zeke on 2nd and maybe even on 3rd to get the first. Play smart. Garrett just hopes his game plan works regardless of the situation. That is not coaching.

 

[gimmesix]

Actually, they do have multiple options. The elite guys can literally audible to 100 different plays if they want to.

I'm not blaming Dak. Just pointing out that the "play call" is hardly the only option a quarterback has once they see the front.

Not really. They can make subtle changes to the play they've been given such as adjusting protection , adjusting a route or adjusting direction, but they generally cannot wholesale go through a list of plays and decide which one to call at the line of scrimmage because it would be confusing for the rest of the players and there can be a lot of miscommunication after the huddle breaks.

If a run is called, you're not going to see quarterbacks switch to a different run that takes different blocking because all 11 players have to be on the same page. They can simply either run to the right or the left.

If a pass is called, he might shift some of the protection based on what the defense shows or motion to a receiver to run a different route based on the coverage shown, but he's not going to switch to a completely different pass play.

There's a lot that goes into it and multiple slight adjustments that can be made, but the run play that Dallas attempted was most likely the one that was sent into the huddle as an audible for whatever pass play was sent into the huddle.

 

[Eightneight]

Zeke should've been used a Decoy only. I think the Vikings where in Man coverage, Amari was cooking, and he looked wide open underneath on a slant. So I guess those reason are why they shouldn't have ran a pick play for Zeke.

My point wasn't that the the play HAD to go to zeke. The point was some creativity in the offense can help free up those reciecers.

 

[OmerV]

Yeah. Why should we expect the coaches to call plays that will actually work?

You do understand that the reason audibles exist is because a QB gets the opportunity to see the defense across the line of scrimmage and react to their alignment and movements and a guy on the sideline does not … right?

So, while I don't think the 2 runs was a good idea, let's not act as if the OC is supposed to be omniscient, and that there isn't a reason the QB is given the ability to audible.

 

[Eightneight]

Listen to what you're asking.

How is Moore or any OC supposed to know what the defense is calling? They don't know what the front will be, whether they're going to play two deep safeties, show blitz, play press or zone, shift the line left or right...etc.

That's entirely up to the QB and center to diagnose at the line of scrimmage. The QB then is responsible to get the team into the right play. That's why rookie quarterbacks struggle unless they're Patrick Mahomes and already know how to read defenses.

Tony Romo changed virtually every playcall from about 2010 onward. Dak is starting to do more of this, but he continues to start very slow and struggle in big moments. He is getting better at it, however. That is reason for optimism.

Starting to do more of this?? From what I can see he's changing routes and plays constantly throughout the games.

 

[Cmac]

A 4 year starting QB audibling out of a bad play should be automatic.....failure to allow or do so is an indictment on somebody.....Clapper....OC Apprentice or Dak…...will the culprit(s) stand up?

 

[Mr Cowboy]

Most of you know my qualms with Dak Prescott and the prospect of paying him like a top-five quarterback. Forget that for now. Last night was not about that at all.

This isn't a Dak criticism post. I think the guy played really, really well last night. In fact, that's the best game I've ever seen him play by a mile. After a rocky start with an almost pick-six, he got himself together and played a tremendous game. Very, very good to see.

However, far too much focus is being placed on the play-calling at the end. Namely, the two run calls.

Any playcall can be cancelled with an audible. They are all the time. They are DESIGNED to be changed at the line of scrimmage based on looks or whatever.

If you remember, Tony Romo almost never ran the play that was sent in. Brady, Brees, Rodgers, etc, etc, etc....they audible more than they don't.

So it's dumb to blame last night on playcalling. It's lazy and mindless thinking. This team moves the ball just fine so far with Dak at the helm.

The second down run made sense with only two yards to gain and a need to drain the clock. The second run was silly against that front. You don't run a toss play with the defense lined up out wide like that. Disaster.

And then, was the 4th down play really designed to go to Zeke? Dak was NOT required to throw it there. That is not coaching. That's a quarterback decision. I'm looking for Cooper there, and if he's doubled or tripled, the big tight ends should have advantages.

Last night was a great game. The Cowboys defense and interior offensive line play was the biggest problem, but there were others. Many others. And Dak was part of that late blunder, too.

I have a hard time blaming playcalling when you've got the ball at the 9 yard line going in for a game winning touchdown in a should-be 31-28 victory.

The game was there to be won. Dak played great, but I think he could have handled that sequence much better. It's lazy thinking to blame Kellen Moore, and even more so to blame Jason Garrett. Celebrate Dak last night, as he deserves, but don't absolve him entirely. He shared in this loss, too.

This fan base obsesses over coaching and playcalling in excess because the majority of it can't dissect what it's watching. Same with the click-baiting, non-thinking media.

I have no doubt in my mind that at that point, Garrett got into Moore's ear and told him to run the ball so they could run down the clock. Why else would they all of sudden go to the run, when they were doing anything they wanted through the air. Dak confirmed after the game last night that they needed to bleed the clock.

Garrett the idiot thought we were playing Rodgers instead of Cousins. He was afraid to leave too much time on the clock.