Cooper's game winning grab may have solved the red zone problems

[RonnieT24]

I completely agree. Completely. Passes inside the 5 are hit and miss at best. BUT, if you can also run inside the 5, passes become much easier. The o-line needs to be able to clear a path to the end zone from within the 5 on a more consistent basis. We have a good o-line. There's more depth than I thought, too. But, inside the 5 we certainly don't dominate.

Rewatching the Lamb TD I came across the 3rd and 4th down sneaks we got screwed on. The refs blew the hell outta that 3rd down. And the problem with screwing up that call is that it forced Dak to have to go over the top exposing the ball so that it could be punched out .... They did the same thing to us in the Philly game.. so they've now made it so that we have to take added risk in those situations that other teams don't.

 

[Scotman]

Rewatching the Lamb TD I came across the 3rd and 4th down sneaks we got screwed on. The refs blew the hell outta that 3rd down. And the problem with screwing up that call is that it forced Dak to have to go over the top exposing the ball so that it could be punched out .... They did the same thing to us in the Philly game.. so they've now made it so that we have to take added risk in those situations that other teams don't.

The refs certainly didn't help us with any of that nonsense. I'd still like to see the o-line open some holes that allow the ball carrier to get through without heroics on a more consistent basis. I want that kind of swagger on the o-line.

"We're going to run the ball through here and score. And there's nothing you can do about it."

 

[RonnieT24]

The refs certainly didn't help us with any of that nonsense. I'd still like to see the o-line open some holes that allow the ball carrier to get through without heroics on a more consistent basis. I want that kind of swagger on the o-line.

"We're going to run the ball through here and score. And there's nothing you can do about it."

This line simply isn't good enough to do that anymore. We have two guys in the middle who get pushed back into our backfield. That leaves us with no choice but to run behind Martin and Steele and guess what... defenses know that too.. so they stack and slant to that side. Throw in the fact that our receivers are not great blockers so we can't really run outside either..

 

[quickccc]

I have long maintained that a big part of the reason the Cowboys have struggled in the red zone since Moore took over is that they lack a true throw it up guy at receiver.

The way Cooper elevated and went up to take that ball away from the DB could change my thinking on that.
Dude got waaaaay up over that DB and frankly sort of effortlessly plucked it out of the air. That was positively Dez-like.
If we can count on him to do that with any regularity we should become an 80% TD in the red zone team.

- Cooper is not a true up and get WR near goal lines, he depends far more on route precision - great footwork and press moves ala, hip & shoulder fakes and body control to make the fades and
seldom occasional slants count. He's not gonna physically overpower or sky high out jump DBs for goal line TDs, He's not a Dez in that term.

- As Dak continues to improve as a pure passer, as his feather touch and short accuracy ever improves, i think we'll see some fades and back shoulder throws, but imo, those routes, those type of
passes are not a lead direction for better red zone efficiency.

- Around the NFL, i usually see far more slants having a chance to complete than fade passes.- If TEs need to be more infused, but i see Schultz getting his share of TDs.
The other plays i tend to see are occasional FBs on curl routes,

- But i do wonder if it's the issues of overall lack of power oriented in-line players - Jarwin, Williams, Tyler, Steele, that's added to the problems.

- BTW, where do we currently rank in both red zone efficiency in NFL stats, as well as our overall scoring ranking among NFL stats ?
we may be the team that grabs more chunk plays for TDs than we do inside the 20,.. ala Ceddy Will's 73 yard deep middle pass for a TD vs Minny.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Don't make me point out to you that Gallup aint been active in 7 weeks damnit!!

Yes I agree Gallup has superior hops.. but what jumped (no pun intended) out at me about the Cooper catch was just how effortless he made it look. You do have to factor in the level of effort by the DB (or lack thereof) so there's that. I am not dismissing Gallup at all though. He's just not as physically strong up top as Coop (at least he doesn't appear to be) so I like Coop's chances of outmuscling the DB a little better. That's the thing about that play.. It's not just about outleaping the DB but also about hanging onto the ball when the DB gets his hands in there to rip it out as happened to Cedrick in the NE game. All in all, I just love what knowing we have two guys capable of making this play means for our offense down there.

(In bold ^^^): Are you kidding, RonnieT?

Gallup has an extremely strong upper body and hands. He's very strong at making contested catches and fighting off defenders. He's also one of our team's best vertical leaders.

 

[RonnieT24]

- Cooper is not a true up and get WR near goal lines, he depends far more on route precision - great footwork and press moves ala, hip & shoulder fakes and body control to make the fades and
seldom occasional slants count. He's not gonna physically overpower or sky high out jump DBs for goal line TDs, He's not a Dez in that term.

- As Dak continues to improve as a pure passer, as his feather touch and short accuracy ever improves, i think we'll see some fades and back shoulder throws, but imo, those routes, those type of
passes are not a lead direction for better red zone efficiency.

- Around the NFL, i usually see far more slants having a chance to complete than fade passes.- If TEs need to be more infused, but i see Schultz getting his share of TDs.
The other plays i tend to see are occasional FBs on curl routes,

- But i do wonder if it's the issues of overall lack of power oriented in-line players - Jarwin, Williams, Tyler, Steele, that's added to the problems.

- BTW, where do we currently rank in both red zone efficiency in NFL stats, as well as our overall scoring ranking among NFL stats ?
we may be the team that grabs more chunk plays for TDs than we do inside the 20,.. ala Ceddy Will's 73 yard deep middle pass for a TD vs Minny.

This is absolutely the issue. We have three relatively weak offensive linemen so we can't overpower teams to run it in. We don't have a great blocking tight end on the roster so we can't run off the edge either.. then we don't have a single BEAST receiver so we gotta get guys open which we all know is orders of magnitude harder in the compressed area inside the 20. That's why the Cooper catch caught my attention.. It was a BEAST play.. Now maybe it was possible only because the DB was sorry but so what... a lot of teams are going to have sorry DBs trying to cover in that situation so if Cooper can consistently go up and BEAST on them that makes us better. We shall see how it shakes out going forward.. but that play encouraged me greatly.

 

[RonnieT24]

(In bold ^^^): Are you kidding?

Gallup has an extremely strong upper body and hands. He's very strong at making contested catches and fighting off defenders. He's also one of our team's best vertical leaders.

I didn't call Gallup some wimp.. I just believe that Cooper is bigger and stronger.. and if he has now added "Mossin fools" to his repertoire our offense just got that much better in the red zone.

 

[Scotman]

This line simply isn't good enough to do that anymore. We have two guys in the middle who get pushed back into our backfield. That leaves us with no choice but to run behind Martin and Steele and guess what... defenses know that too.. so they stack and slant to that side. Throw in the fact that our receivers are not great blockers so we can't really run outside either..

I agree. I'm a big proponent of drafting from the lines out. I wouldn't mind high picks almost every year on the OL and DL.

 

[quickccc]

This is absolutely the issue. We have three relatively weak offensive linemen so we can't overpower teams to run it in. We don't have a great blocking tight end on the roster so we can't run off the edge either.. then we don't have a single BEAST receiver so we gotta get guys open which we all know is orders of magnitude harder in the compressed area inside the 20. That's why the Cooper catch caught my attention.. It was a BEAST play.. Now maybe it was possible only because the DB was sorry but so what... a lot of teams are going to have sorry DBs trying to cover in that situation so if Cooper can consistently go up and BEAST on them that makes us better. We shall see how it shakes out going forward.. but that play encouraged me greatly.

Gallup is the closet player and WR to being able to both out jump and physically overpower coverage CBs.

He has the most physicality element to his game, even when CBs are draped tight and hanging all over him,
Of course he's not in Dez's league when Bryant was in his prime.

And we cannot dismiss Gallup's tidy toe tap footwork, and body control near sidelines, goal lines and back of the end zones also.

 

[Zman5]

Don't make me point out to you that Gallup aint been active in 7 weeks damnit!!

Yes I agree Gallup has superior hops.. but what jumped (no pun intended) out at me about the Cooper catch was just how effortless he made it look. You do have to factor in the level of effort by the DB (or lack thereof) so there's that. I am not dismissing Gallup at all though. He's just not as physically strong up top as Coop (at least he doesn't appear to be) so I like Coop's chances of outmuscling the DB a little better. That's the thing about that play.. It's not just about outleaping the DB but also about hanging onto the ball when the DB gets his hands in there to rip it out as happened to Cedrick in the NE game. All in all, I just love what knowing we have two guys capable of making this play means for our offense down there.

I get all that but I don't agree with your assumption that somehow Coop being able to also catch the endzone fade ball will solve our redzone woes. We need to run better when we are near the end zone.

 

[quickccc]

Don't make me point out to you that Gallup aint been active in 7 weeks damnit!!

Yes I agree Gallup has superior hops.. but what jumped (no pun intended) out at me about the Cooper catch was just how effortless he made it look. You do have to factor in the level of effort by the DB (or lack thereof) so there's that. I am not dismissing Gallup at all though. He's just not as physically strong up top as Coop (at least he doesn't appear to be) so I like Coop's chances of outmuscling the DB a little better. That's the thing about that play.. It's not just about outleaping the DB but also about hanging onto the ball when the DB gets his hands in there to rip it out as happened to Cedrick in the NE game. All in all, I just love what knowing we have two guys capable of making this play means for our offense down there.

i disagree with this.
Cooper's best repertoire is his route running, body control and hands.
He's more likely to beat you with brilliant footwork and hip-shoulder juke/shake moves than overpower or flat out sky-jump you.

I'd have to put Gallup ahead of both Cooper and Lamb and Wilson when it comes to physically overpowering and out-jumping CBs

 

[cowboyec]

#19 solves ALOT of problems.
coooooooooooooooooooooop

 

[RonnieT24]

I get all that but I don't agree with your assumption that somehow Coop being able to also catch the endzone fade ball will solve our redzone woes. We need to run better when we are near the end zone.

Cool beans bro.. I don't expect any one thing to solve our red zone issues.. But again.. it's a new arrow in the quiver.. so while it might not solve all the problems.. it certainly will help.. But if you know anything about me.. you know I ALWAYS want to be able to run it in when you get down close.

 

[RonnieT24]

i disagree with this.
Cooper's best repertoire is his route running, body control and hands.
He's more likely to beat you with brilliant footwork and hip-shoulder juke/shake moves than overpower or flat out sky-jump you.

I'd have to put Gallup ahead of both Cooper and Lamb and Wilson when it comes to physically overpowering and out-jumping CBs

Fair enough that you should feel that way. I am only saying that Cooper showing that he can ALSO do this looms large for our red zone offense.. It's fine for folks to think he does other things better.. Hell I think he does other things better.. I had just never seen him do THIS particular thing and it has me excited.

 

[Clove]

What helped is that the CB turned around late. Brady does that all the time, get you while the CB is not ready.

 

[quickccc]

Fair enough that you should feel that way. I am only saying that Cooper showing that he can ALSO do this looms large for our red zone offense.. It's fine for folks to think he does other things better.. Hell I think he does other things better.. I had just never seen him do THIS particular thing and it has me excited.

Ahh, but Question of the Day: Could Cooper have done that vs Patrick Peterson ? , .. who was injured and out.

Also .. let's give Amari Cooper a helluva amount of kudos and bravos, ..the guy was really suffering and laboring and fighting thru that hamstring strain again,
working on sidelines with that tennis or raquet ball ..and still managed to come in ...and come up with that game deciding winning fade catch TD ..within the 2 minute drive. ! !

 

[Mannix]

Not sure what you mean by "throw it up" plays. Those guys were joking in the huddle who gets the td. That was planned....signed sealed and delivered.

I am talking more about fade routes to the back corner of the end zone....they make my blood boil with anger!!!

 

[SteveTheCowboy]

I am talking more about fade routes to the back corner of the end zone....they make my blood boil with anger!!!

Oh okay lol.....I didn't realize that was a back corner fade. It looked like a laser over the top....I did not see coop fade....looked like he ran a straight route and reached up and grabbed it.

But I appreciate your candid assessment

 

[Flamma]

I have long maintained that a big part of the reason the Cowboys have struggled in the red zone since Moore took over is that they lack a true throw it up guy at receiver. The way Cooper elevated and went up to take that ball away from the DB could change my thinking on that. Dude got waaaaay up over that DB and frankly sort of effortlessly plucked it out of the air. That was positively Dez-like. If we can count on him to do that with any regularity we should become an 80% TD in the red zone team.

Might want to get a little more air under the ball. The way that Rush threw it only works if the corner shows you the back of his helmet the entire time. Not every corner plays it that way.

 

[RonnieT24]

Ahh, but Question of the Day: Could Cooper have done that vs Patrick Peterson ? , .. who was injured and out.

Also .. let's give Amari Cooper a helluva amount of kudos and bravos, ..the guy was really suffering and laboring and fighting thru that hamstring strain again,
working on sidelines with that tennis or raquet ball ..and still managed to come in ...and come up with that game deciding winning fade catch TD ..within the 2 minute drive. ! !

He said it was a softball on his radio hit yesterday.. And I do believe he could have done it to what now masquerades as Patrick Peterson.. The name is the same but the game is not.. Ironically when I was looking through Dez highlights last week I came across several TDs where he was beasting over Peterson. I have to admit I didn't remember that. The only really dominant play I could remember against the Cards was that 12 yard dump over the middle where he dragged half the Cardinals defense like 7 yards into the end zone..