I would not start Dak against Philly

[rags]

I want Dak to succeed and move this team forward. Only he can carry this team to the Super Bowl.

Therefore I agree 100% with your post. Let Cooper take a loss and it will tilt everything positive for Dak and fan's support of Dak. Doing otherwise could sabotage Dak's future (and the Cowboys future).

If Dak comes back and loses his first game: the pressure and noise will be unbearable and could snowball. Just let it play out: Coop will lay an egg.

This is starting to look so much like a sequel of Dak/Romo with shoes on other feet.

Or, going back further to 1991, Aikman/Beuerlein.

 

[RonnieT24]

I want my team to win.. If Dak is back to being the best version of himself then he gives us the best chance to win not just against Philly but against any team. But if Dak looks tentative or is not sharp in practice they should hold him out. Sending him out there before that thumb has fully healed and he has fully recovered his confidence benefits no one. Least of all Dak.

 

[LovinItAll]

Surely, that's the whole point of this thread, surmising whether Dak plays against the Eagles if he's fit.

I agree that as soon as Dak's fit he should play over Rush (yep, ive never been one of those that says it's Rush's job to lose), the disagreement is on how much preparation he needs to give better production than Rush.

Now if certain fans quote the lackluster Offensive numbers in the Rams game (surely by design with only 16 attempts) then Dak should be able to improve on that, provided he is able to grip and throw. As you say this is about winning a game and it happens to be our biggest threat....if this was the Lion's up next i'd be holding Dak back, but it's not and we can't afford to hold players back in case of re-injury.

Surely, that's the whole point of this thread, surmising whether Dak plays against the Eagles if he's fit.

I agree that as soon as Dak's fit he should play over Rush (yep, ive never been one of those that says it's Rush's job to lose), the disagreement is on how much preparation he needs to give better production than Rush.

Now if certain fans quote the lackluster Offensive numbers in the Rams game (surely by design with only 16 attempts) then Dak should be able to improve on that, provided he is able to grip and throw. As you say this is about winning a game and it happens to be our biggest threat....if this was the Lion's up next i'd be holding Dak back, but it's not and we can't afford to hold players back in case of re-injury.

Right. I don’t think there’s any question among people with brain cells that a healthy, prepared DP gives us a better shot at winning than Rush at his very best. I’ve heard some folks refer to the Philly game as a throwaway, as in, ‘Even if we lose, we’re still 4-2, so no harm letting Rush see if he can notch another win.’

Except that we’ll fall 2 games back behind Philly if that happens. It’s not a must win, but it’s an important game. As such, I want to see our best players on the field. Doesn’t mean I want to get away from the game plan that’s been successful so far. Rush has protected the ball well, but Dak isn’t a turnover machine, either.

Again, the only people that really know are the players and coaches watching practice. If Dak plays, I’m going to assume he’s close to 100%, and that’s much better than Rush.

 

[T-RO]

Two criteria, IMO:
1 Dak needs to be at least 98% healthy
2 He needs a full week of unlimited practice

Seems like that criteria won't be reached for the Philly game

 

[DandyDon52]

Or, going back further to 1991, Aikman/Beuerlein.

Jimmy stuck with beuerlein, till late in the playoff game with detroit, and put aikman in and aikman couldnt do anything either.
He looked real rusty after 6-7 weeks off.

Dak has been off for 4 weeks, and he cant just step in and play like he would if he had been playing all season.

 

[DandyDon52]

you guys keep saying dak is better qb, but aside from stats, I just dont see it.
and once dak is back in they will get away from the strategy they are using now, count on it.

 

[kramskoi]

Right. I don’t think there’s any question among people with brain cells that a healthy, prepared DP gives us a better shot at winning than Rush at his very best. I’ve heard some folks refer to the Philly game as a throwaway, as in, ‘Even if we lose, we’re still 4-2, so no harm letting Rush see if he can notch another win.’

Except that we’ll fall 2 games back behind Philly if that happens. It’s not a must win, but it’s an important game. As such, I want to see our best players on the field. Doesn’t mean I want to get away from the game plan that’s been successful so far. Rush has protected the ball well, but Dak isn’t a turnover machine, either.

Again, the only people that really know are the players and coaches watching practice. If Dak plays, I’m going to assume he’s close to 100%, and that’s much better than Rush.

Not if he looks like he looked in game one. He won't be 100% for this game even if he does play (which I doubt at this point). He hasn't played live football in over a month. His mechanics, his accuracy, what he's seeing...all that matters. The Eagles' pass rush could exacerbate all those issues. Russell Wilson wasn't right for a few games after his return. Bring him back against the Lions and Bears...hit the bye week and come back close to 100% for the Packers, where we really need him to be hitting on all cylinders.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Again, the only people that really know are the players and coaches watching practice. If Dak plays, I’m going to assume he’s close to 100%, and that’s much better than Rush.

Agree, that's my point if he's even close to 100% he's the better option than Rush.....so he should play. The disagreement was your comment that he needs "a full week of preparation".

 

[kramskoi]

Agree, that's my point if he's even close to 100% he's the better option than Rush.....so he should play. The disagreement was your comment that he needs "a full week of preparation".

The last time Prescott beat a team outside of the NFC East was 10 months ago (week 13 vs. New Orleans, with Taysom Hill at quarterback). Given how he looked in game one...with a GOOD hand, I think he needs a damn sight better than 3 or 4 days of prep.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Not if he looks like he looked in game one. He won't be 100% for this game even if he does play (which I doubt at this point). He hasn't played live football in over a month. His mechanics, his accuracy, what he's seeing...all that matters. The Eagles' pass rush could exacerbate all those issues. Russell Wilson wasn't right for a few games after his return. Bring him back against the Lions and Bears...hit the bye week and come back close to 100% for the Packers, where we really need him to be hitting on all cylinders.

If he looked as he did in Game 1, AND we continue to play the same Gameplan and Dak throws, he'll probably struggle against the Lions and Bears. Saying he needs time to bond with his receivers appears to be the same excuses that we always hear ....and even myself as a fan on the Dak fence shakes his head.....did the much inferior Rush need time to build chemistry in Game 2 (how many warm up games did he need?)

The argument against Dak has always been that he needs everything around him to be perfect for him to perform, sometimes a 'Franchise' player needs to perform in adversity .......eg Parsons rushing on one leg.

Everything's in place for Dak: a varied running game, an O-Line that's solidified (unless its against the best DT on the planet) and a Defense that will always keep us in the game..... step up and take the opportunity.

 

[CowboyoWales]

The last time Prescott beat a team outside of the NFC East was 10 months ago (week 13 vs. New Orleans, with Taysom Hill at quarterback). Given how he looked in game one...with a GOOD hand, I think he needs a damn sight better than 3 or 4 days of prep.

He went 14/29 in the 3qtrs vrs Bucc's. The whole evolution and one of the reason's we're winning is we are a run first Offense with two complimentary RB's. In certain circumstances i'd give Dak 2 running plays so he doesnt have the option to change to the pass.

One of Dak's problems is that try's too hard, play it simple, run first.

 

[Blackrain]

I get your point, but could you imagine the opposite scenario of yours? What if Dak is healthy and gives it to Philly IN Philly? It would be a great statement.

This is why he gets 40mil. For these big games not the lions of the league

 

[Blackrain]

I want my team to win.. If Dak is back to being the best version of himself then he gives us the best chance to win not just against Philly but against any team. But if Dak looks tentative or is not sharp in practice they should hold him out. Sending him out there before that thumb has fully healed and he has fully recovered his confidence benefits no one. Least of all Dak.

Stepping up and leading his team to a victory over the Eagles would go a long way in healing a lot of wounds especially his confidence

 

[jay94]

I'd might dress him but I wouldn't start him. If Dak goes in there and he's rusty and throws 2 picks and Dallas gets rolled next week. It won't be good for him.
I would start Cooper Rush until he loses. That will slow down the QB controversy thing that the media is trying to push right now.

Rush threw for 100 yards last week, obviously Dak needs to play better than week 1, but it's clear we have a bus driver at the helm at the moment. If anything I take the shot here being a divisional game and rest him if need be against the Lions and Bears, which should easily be winnable with Rush.

 

[bigE79]

Same as 2016 and 17 when Zeke was leading the offense with the best ol in football...we were a smash mouth team those years..it all started going down hill in 18 until we got Cooper,when everyone dared us to pass cause teams were stopping the run consistently.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Same as 2016 and 17 when Zeke was leading the offense with the best ol in football...we were a smash mouth team those years..it all started going down hill in 18 until we got Cooper,when everyone dared us to pass cause teams were stopping the run consistently.

Yep, this is why we need Dak back, to compliment the (fit) improved run game. When we find a team that stops our run game is when the issues start.....this is why Dak should play vrs the Eagles as there's the real chance our run game stops on Sunday. (Obs... provisional on Dak able to throw any kind of decent ball).

 

[RonnieT24]

This aint rocket surgery. If Dak is healed and ready he should play.. If he is not then he shouldn't. They will know by the second hour of practice today where he's trending. The good thing about the injury not being to his legs his conditioning and footwork should be right where it needs to be. He just needs to get back used to gripping the ball and spinnin it. If the thumb is fully healed or close to it that should take about a hundred throws or so.

 

[RonnieT24]

Yep, this is why we need Dak back, to compliment the (fit) improved run game. When we find a team that stops our run game is when the issues start.....this is why Dak should play vrs the Eagles as there's the real chance our run game stops on Sunday. (Obs... provisional on Dak able to throw any kind of decent ball).

I'm not so sure about this. The Eagles give up more yards per carry than the Cowboys .. 5.0 to 4.7. Zeke has averaged 5 ypc and 97 yards per game against better Eagle defenses than this one. I think he likes playing them. Of course now that we've shifted to him sharing the carries with Pollard another 120 yard game is probably out of the question.. but he can still be the engine that drives the offense against them.

 

[TexasHillbilly]

There is no controversy, only Dak haters heads.

Cooper went 10 of 16 today for 106 yards and the offenses only TD was a Pollard 57 yard run.


There is zero controversy. Dak starts as soon as he can because he gives us the best chance to win.

I hate it when posters speak the truth. Just kills me.

 

[RonnieT24]

you guys keep saying dak is better qb, but aside from stats, I just dont see it.
and once dak is back in they will get away from the strategy they are using now, count on it.

If you don't see it it's because you don't want to. On average Dak leads the offense to 10 more points and over 100 yards per game. He's a better passer.. a better runner has a stronger arm and is better able to extend plays with his legs. We all watched him struggle against Tampa and nobody is disputing that he looked horrible in that game. What doesn't get talked about is that the receivers were also terrible in that game. Nobody got open and when they did they dropped the ball. If that is the best Dak can do then no he is not better than Rush.. But I don't think any sane person believes that's the best Dak can do.. But until he comes back and plays a game or two.. we can't know. What we do know is that he HAS played at a level that is several notches above what we've seen from Rush. Of course past results are no guarantee of future performance.. but he gets the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.