Twitter: Baldy and Sturm say Cowboys game plan differently w/Cooper vs Dak

[Zman5]

All this Dak hate after the first game reminds me of all the hate Romo got after his first game vs SF in 2014. He played like crap throwing 3 INTS and only 1 TD(61QB rating). Everyone was bashing Romo after that first game of the season. Just like they are bashing Dak now.

That year, they decide to be more run heavy offense and have Romo do less. He had the least number of attempts (playing full season) in his career, and he ended up having one of, if not the best season in his career. Murray ended up with the rushing crown.

Looking back at that season, people should be reminded that it's silly to judge how Dak will play rest of the season based on game one. KM needs to be reminded that we have an OL that is a better at run blocking than pass blocking and he should call his games accordingly. Regardless of who the QB is.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Yoiu may be right but maybe its Dak audibling out of a run to a pass?

You know I never thought about this. Could be the problem. Dak being selfish wanting it in his hands

 

[Cowboyny]

It's football 101 in any era, balance is the key. Much easier to pass when you can run the football.

 

[Jarv]

So do you think Dak is a top 10 QB in the NFL? Put up or shut up.

Maybe he was, like Romo was until he was hurt all of the time.

As of now, he has to prove it again. His last half of the 2021 season and the first game of the 2022 season I would absolutely say no he is not top ten NOW.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Maybe he was, like Romo was until he was hurt all of the time.

As of now, he has to prove it again. His last half of the 2021 season and the first game of the 2022 season I would absolutely say no he is not top ten NOW.

So it was the injury that did it?

 

[goshann]

All this just provides more evidence that you do not need to spend $40 million for a QB to win in the NFL. If you use that money to build a solid team from the inside out, an average QB like Rush can manage the games effectively enough to win. This is what I said when Dak was asking for $40 million. The Cowboys should have let him go and found a smart QB for half the money while using the savings on offensive and defensive lines.

Nah sorry that isn’t how the league works at all. You can hit lightening in the bottle occasionally, but ur best bet to get to the SuperBowl is with an elite QB, and that costs a ton of money.

beating a crummy giants team doesn’t change that

 

[calicowboy54]

The Rush game plan makes more sense given the strengths and weaknesses of this team, and should remain the plan with either QB.

Stop trying to Air Raid teams with Dak and play to your strengths - runs, quick passes, and the occasional play action down the field.

does anyone ever stop to ask if maybe Dak is Changing the play call at the line since he knows this offense inside and out? that is why there is a different offense being run.

 

[USArmyVet]

does anyone ever stop to ask if maybe Dak is Changing the play call at the line since he knows this offense inside and out? that is why there is a different offense being run.

Perhaps but if that is the case then Dak changing the play should see positive consistent results and that is not the case. I doubt Cooper Rush is changing the plays much, if at all, and instead running what is being called. The results speak for themselves wherein the Dallas rushing game is thriving while Rush is doing what needs to be done in the passing game while avoiding mistakes.

 

[MyFairLady]

There is nothing I hate more than the audible. For years teams have taken advantage of us. They show us something knowing that we will react a certain way then they take advantage of that. They dictate to us what we are going to do. Then they laugh about it after. Pathetic.

 

[ElGatoGrande]

The Rush game plan makes more sense given the strengths and weaknesses of this team, and should remain the plan with either QB.

Stop trying to Air Raid teams with Dak and play to your strengths - runs, quick passes, and the occasional play action down the field.

,,, and really the new game plan would be playing to Dak's strengths by avoiding his weaknesses. Against the better defenses they need to reel him in and not let the usual panic/confusion set in.

 

[MyFairLady]

Romo was almost always in the top 5 in quarterback rating his entire career. He was without a doubt one of the best passers of a football of his era. Dak was an incredible effective QB as a rookie in a dual threat role. I fear we may never see that QB again.

 

[Hennessy_King]

Great post. And all of these are 100% correct and fall on the OC and playcaller

 

[Proof]

That's nearly half the calls.

We didn't have Zack that game, and avgd 3.3 ypc. Meanwhile Dak was playing out of his mind.

 

[Haimerej]

We didn't have Zack that game, and avgd 3.3 ypc. Meanwhile Dak was playing out of his mind.

Ok. But Roy was asking for evidence of Dak not sticking with the run. Moore affirmed Dak has that authority. Roy downplayed the number of times Dak audibles out so I pointed out it was nearly 50% of the total.

 

[Proof]

Ok. But Roy was asking for evidence of Dak not sticking with the run. Moore affirmed Dak has that authority. Roy downplayed the number of times Dak audibles out so I pointed out it was nearly 50% of the total.

yeah i'm tracking the convo, but it was also mentioned that's one (potentially outlier of an) example. i was providing context.

 

[Jarv]

So it was the injury that did it?

Not sure, what are your thoughts on it?

 

[khiladi]

This is complete garbage by Dak-Stans trying to project that Moore is doing something different. Dallas was running heavy two TE formations to begin the season last year until Blake Jarwin got hurt. Dallas was top 5 in the 12 package usage before Blake went down.

Strum using numbers at November 1st of last year to compare to Cooper Rush this year is so manipulative it’s comical.

Further, Dak has been using play action at top 5 rate ever since he cane into the league. In fact, during his stretch of horrible play in 2019, when he lost to the Jets, his worst performances were against teams that defender play action well, including the Bills who were bad at that point.

Arguing that Moore us doing something different with Dak based on these ‘facts’ are bogus claims to make it seem like Dak isn’t at fault.

 

[khiladi]

This is actually a BS take, as the Cowboys were running heavy 12 personnel to start the season last year before Jarwin got hurt. It was the injury of Gallup that caused them to use it more in the first place.

The fact that a guy like Stum uses November 1st for his date point, shows how these Dak-stans work. Jarwin actually got hurt in the Vikings game, which the Cowboys won with Cooper Rush.

This season Moore has moved away from the spread 11-personnel looks of 2021 and gone to bulkier personnel packages that involve extra tight ends. It was a shift we predicted before the season and a shift Moore indicated he wanted to make as early as last season. But as we explained before, Blake Jarwin’s injury in 2021 scrapped those plans (Dallas was top-5 in 12 personnel before Jarwin was lost).

12 personnel is a key grouping for the Dallas Cowboys designed to beat 2-high shells by pulling defenders back into the box.

 

[khiladi]

The most you can argue is the Dallas offense works better running heavy 12 personnel. Acting like Moore has changed the offense for Moore, but not Dak, is bogus as they were fifth in 12 personnel usage before Jarwin went down, which was when Cooper won the game.

But there is nothing to suggest that Dak didn’t struggle against 12 personnel as the season went on anyways. Facts of the matter is, teams showed men in the box and dropped back into cover 3 and Dak struggled. So it very well could have been Dak checking out of runs into passing situations when defenses showed 12 personnel looks.

First, let’s look at the trend: According to Sharp Football Stats, Kellen ran 12 personnel 196 times in 2019 (18%). In 2020 that number went up to 221 snaps (21%). Last year the usage grew once again, moving up to 290 snaps (24%).

 

[khiladi]

Also, as I stated regarding play action usage:

Based on early counts we see the Dallas Cowboys used play-action 31% of the time, going 14-18 for 120 yards. Those are overwhelmingly supportive of the large scale findings that play-action does not need a successful running game to work. It doesn’t even need anything close to a balanced approach. It just needs to be used (primarily on early downs) and it will work.[/quote

These were the numbers LAST year against Tampa, when Dak threw it over 50 times. Just because Rush is doing it successfully doesn’t mean Moore was ignoring it last year for Dak.

Fact of the matter is Zeke and Pollard were both averaging over a whopping 5 YPC to start the season in 2021, which is completely unsustainable over the course of a season period. For whatever the reason, teams decided that they were not “going to bother” with the run, meaning even if their was threat of run for the play-action, they probably still dropped men in coverage and forced Dak to throw and he looked like complete garbage doing it, as he always has against zone coverages.

yeah, we all know if your offense can consistently run the ball and put the QB in manageable third and short situations it makes it easier for both the OC and QB.