I, too, have been dubious about Dak but I must confess

[CowboysFaninHouston]

I might add, Dak needs to keep the ball more on those RPO’s in the redzone. He could have walked in twice yesterday.

I think having to go more to RPOs and Dak running inside the 5, points to bigger problems for our running game than anything else. not sure, probably several factors but we suck running generally specially inside the 5. I think most of it is our blocking scheme. I do not like the new OL coach. it feels as if he has a system he wants to implement, regardless of the personnel he has.

 

[Captain-Crash]

People around here go overboard.

That's where the sentence should stop, because it's equally if not more ridiculous for criticism.

We had nimrods on here suggesting we start Rush.

When is Rush starting?

 

[jazzcat22]

When is Rush starting?

2024. When he gets traded on draft day. Which ever team gets the #1 overall pick. They will trade it to Dallas for Cooper Rush.
Dallas will pass on Caleb Williams. Draft a RB to replace Pollard.

 

[Swagger]

So, yesterday it was the Dallas D that put up over 600 yards offense and it was all against Devito?

Dak threw for 400 yards against Devito?

Seems suspicious, but okay, it's your story bro I'll let you tell it.

The relentless pressure by the D gave the Cowboys offense Time of Possession against a poor and overmatched defense, gassed early on by being on the field too long. Furthermore the Giants had no release given its terrible offensive line.

Cowboys also had excellent starting field position on a regular basis thanks to the Cowboys D, for example the offense going for it and failing on 4th and short near the endzone only to get the ball straight back thanks to the D. Further, the D was able to stop the Giants offense on four occasions only 12 yards out following an ill advised interception by #4.

How did Prescott play against the 2-8 Cardinals bro?

As mentioned, the season will come down to whether the Eagles or Cowboys secure the #1 seed.

 

[Jack Burton]

Dak has played very well for the most part since the stinker against San Fran. I'm enjoying it and the wins. The problem with Dak is that he's always been kind of up and down with some very high highs and super low lows. Credit where credit is due. He has been more consistently accurate this season. It's great seeing him using his legs again. He is getting the ball out quicker. He's doing a lot of good things. That said. It's difficult to believe that after all this time, he finally figured it all out, and the Jeckyl and Hyde act is over. I sure hope I'm wrong. I want to be wrong. I'm tired of feeling like Charlie Brown after Lucy promises to hold the football for reals this time, only to pull it away again. I'm rooting for you Dak and I'm ready to eat crow. Here we go!

 

[Whyjerry]

nobody is 100%

Yeah sure. It’s been a problem. Especially for a team with talent like Dallas. Good streaks vs bad teams like LA and the Giants mean little.

 

[Whyjerry]

The QB draw was bread and butter inside the 5 until 2019 or something

I think they need to show it some. Also work in more of the power runners. Just adding those looks will help in the long run. I find they try to complicate things in the red zone too often.

 

[817Gill]

People around here always go overboard with their praise. I am willing to say that Dak played well this last game. But when you start putting up notions like Top 5 QB and MVP, that is pure homerism to me.

MVP is solely a matter of who else is in the running. Factually speaking, this has been a down year for QB’s. Guys like Allen and Burrow have been inconsistent, Mahomes isn’t as prolific as usual, and Hurts is getting it done but it’s not pretty.

There just isn’t many QB’s playing better than Dak this year especially the last 4 games.

Do I think he’s a top 5 talent, or should be in the convo based on talent? No. But if you look at how QB’s have done this year he has had a top 5-6 season, especially as of late.

It may be cheaper since it’s half due to the fact that other QB’s aren’t as productive this year, but he’s still in the shortlist of contenders for what it’s worth.

 

[john van brocklin]

I’m pretty level headed about dak but I don’t think it’s fair to form opinions about him based on this 4 game stretch. Just like that very difficult 4 game stretch in December wont be fair to validate opinions on him either. For some until he wins a super bowl or gets to a championship game it won’t matter.

We’ve seen mvp like stretches for him before in his career- the thing with dak is his consistency and ability to do it against tougher competition. I think dak is a good quarterback and more than capable but also don’t expect him to play at an mvp level consistently- which is why he never imo gets to that true top 5 elite territory

Not elite but also doesn’t suck either….the truth is more in the middle. He’s a good quarterback who can play great in stretches.

Great analysis.
I think those spurts of greatness are why so many fans are frustrated with him.
It's like, why cant you give us that level of play day in and day out ?

 

[Whyjerry]

The one where Pollard got stopped at the goal line....Dak should've kept that.

I agree. I think they should work a few Dak keepers into the mix. Boot legs back to TE would help too.

Btw am I the only one that hates the corner fades? They look pretty but seem to fail often.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

The last 4 teams - the Eagles are the only one with a winning record and we lost that. The remaining 3 wins were against bottom feeder and middling teams. So far two playoff contenders we have played this year has led to losses and this team is entirely capable of laying an egg against a bad team like Arizona.

 

[817Gill]

Great analysis.
I think those spurts of greatness are why so many fans are frustrated with him.
It's like, why cant you give us that level of play day in and day out ?

I think we forget that beating other good teams requires a total team effort as well as coaching. This is why we had the same issue in the Garrett/Romo era.

Other good teams often have the coaching advantage over us, and more-so psychological edge with how fragile Cowboys football culture can be mentally.

We often have the talent to beat worse teams without coaching being great, but you can’t get away with that versus the top of the league; especially without a generational QB.

Does Dak need to be better in those games? Sure. But nobody outside or Mahomes/Brady types is going to win games against the best teams consistently if the coaching and culture isn’t up to par.

For example, last year Steve Young said we are never beating the niners running “the same plays from 2015”. You can’t be at that much of a schematic disadvantage and expect to win, especially without an all timer at QB.

 

[FanofJerry]

Havent read thread...maybe already discussed...

Ive been banned here numerous times for defending Dak...and I am reasonable about his abilities not a Homer...

But...I did notice something last night that seemed to reinforce Dak critics that seem to act like they know what they are talking about and discuss x and o's on why they think he is not good. One of the biggest issues brought up is Dak vs zone. Anyway...last night in the 3rd quarter after halftime one of the announcers mentioned how he thought it was a good idea that Giants started going zone defense and their play seemed to stop some of the leakage after going zone. Well...like right after the announcer brought up that Giants went to zone....Dak throws and INT into zone coverage.

Just thought it was interesting. Im a Dak supporter, dont think you can get a better busdriver and the QB market just is what it is. If we make Playoffs again and Dak does nothing in a sloppy loss...as in he makes no playmaking passes at all, makes a bunch of bad decisions like not throwing the ball out of bounds, has an INT or two...then its prolly time to move on if you have an old team and old guys wanting to get paid again. But Dallas isnt near a rebuild situation so you have to keep your busdriver.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Yes we do. You can deny it. You can hope it doesn't. But Dak will play great in the Wildcard game against who ever the NFC South puts out.. and will play completly opposite the next week and get sent home.. like normal. It's the same Dak with the same results until he proves otherwise.

I get it. You have to be pessimistic and negative to protect yourself. So I get it. But we don’t know how this ends. Because if you did you’d put money on it right now.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Nothing false about what I said though. All of the wins and Dak’s best games were against teams at or below .500. He has always performed well against those type of teams. Philthy is the exception of the best/better teams because Dallas and Dak don’t go into a shell against them.

There is only one NFC team that is worrisome and you know who that is.

I mean you can make exceptions if you want but the fact is he played well against a good team last week. Completely dispelling the myth he only plays well against the dogs.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

For sure they are using designed rollout plays. What I don’t like is that we are trying or having to use designed rollout plays to the weak or left side. It looks and has to be awkward for Dak. It’s to get away from the pressure on Steeles side. He is not playing well. But yeah the designed plays look good. I wish he would keep a few of those option plays. A couple of them he had miles of field in front of him.

He for sure should’ve kept that Pollard play last night. It looked like he was gonna walk in.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Agree to a point but it used to be…under JG…late season games in Philly or just a game we needed. And I want to reiterate I think he is playing great and has played great before. But that hump needs to be cleared.

There was that one game in Philly where Dak got hurt the previous week and came in injured. That’s pretty much the only blunder I remember from him against them.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I agree. I think they should work a few Dak keepers into the mix. Boot legs back to TE would help too.

Btw am I the only one that hates the corner fades? They look pretty but seem to fail often.

They seem to fail for us for sure….

 

[Rockport]

...have the last four games changed your perception of him? It appears he can now see the entire field and is better at reading the defense. Especially, pre-snap. He checked off several times yesterday and would find the open receiver. He actually hit receivers in stride and I love the slants that they ran. Give credit where credit is due. I know it was the Vagiants but I thought that MM called a great game. Your thoughts?

This is a new offense. It took the players some time to fully understand it and now be able to play by instinct without have to think. The scary thing for other teams is that the offense can only get better as long as they stay healthy.

 

[75boyz]

I’m pretty level headed about dak but I don’t think it’s fair to form opinions about him based on this 4 game stretch. Just like that very difficult 4 game stretch in December wont be fair to validate opinions on him either. For some until he wins a super bowl or gets to a championship game it won’t matter.

We’ve seen mvp like stretches for him before in his career- the thing with dak is his consistency and ability to do it against tougher competition. I think dak is a good quarterback and more than capable but also don’t expect him to play at an mvp level consistently- which is why he never imo gets to that true top 5 elite territory

Not elite but also doesn’t suck either….the truth is more in the middle. He’s a good quarterback who can play great in stretches.

Great post.