Kellen Moore listed as No. 2 quarterback

[Stash]

While player B may be better, he very well is not ready to face an NFL defense game plan when he played at Central Michigan his whole career.

And Moore isn't physically capable. If either one plays, it's a loss.

But at least the better quarterback would be gaining experience instead of it being wasted.

 

[Idgit]

Does anyone believe Moore's pop gun arm and seemingly lack of pocket presence would not be completely exposed against the Giants?

The Giants defense exposed our starter last year. It would expose either of our backups.

 

[Zman5]

If you think about it, the Cowboys have always been a team that's forced to make changes that are later deemed brilliant.

Dave 5-11 Campo .. Never understood the logic .. one 5-11 season, okay maybe .. a second one? time to look elsewhere. a third one? did they expect banging their head against the wall would work the third time?

Wade Phillips 1-7 start to the season .. it took a 1-7 record and an embarrassing loss on national TV for the Cowboys to make this change.

Romo? They had him sit on the bench for years. Even then, they waited too long into the season before they finally turned the team over to him.

Prescott? He's only our franchise quarterback because Romo and Moore were injured last year and even then, the plan well into the season was to still bring back Romo until Prescott kept winning making it hard for them to justify it. If Moore had not been injured, we would have been sitting at 0-8 and even then they would have turned the team back over to Romo when he returned.

Cooper Rush? He had to play almost perfect football just to make the roster and even then, they probably still thought about trying to sneak him on the practice squad.

Our front office and coaching staff get a lot of accolades, but the reality is that beyond the scouts, there's been very little unforced brilliance from the front office and coaching staff. I am not bashing them in general. I'm just saying that maybe they might want to be a little more open minded to changes and new players. We had a great team in 2014 with Romo and another one last year with Prescott, and we still haven't even made it to the NFC Championship game this century.

 

[aikemirv]

It is kind of comical that fans here think they know better than the coaches and would just love to throw their FA QB that played in FCS to the wolves on opening day against one of the best defenses in the NFL!

BUt you guys know better I guess......

I doubt there is one coach in the NFL, that if given another option would choose to put Rush in.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

Rush will play if Dak goes down anyway because Moore is that bad. Just depends how long it will be till he starts and how many losses we get.

 

[Sydla]

The Giants defense exposed our starter last year. It would expose either of our backups.

But only one has the arm to possibly take advantage of an aggressive Giants defense. The other one does not.

I'll take the backup who has the ability to make a play, even with his lack of experience, over the guy who can't. If the odds are that you are going to lose anyway, why not go down swinging playing the guy with upside over the guy whose best quality is he did a better job memorizing the playbook?

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

He's not on the roster to 'win games.' He's in the roster to help Dak and Rush and the coaches in a backup capacity and to finish a game if the starter gets hurt. We don't know which QB they'd play if they needed a replacement for multiple games with a full week of prep.

I think they'll start Rush when needed only when they believe he's ready. And I don't think we fans are in position to have a knowledgeable debate about where Rush is in that process. All we know is the team apparently don't want to potentially rush him into live action just yet.

I don't care about the extra LB. or any 53rd player, for that matter. I'd prefer we churn those bottom roster positions throughout the year, anyway. I'm not losing sleep over anybody occupying that spot for week one.

He doesn't need to be on the roster to do that. They could put him on the PS or have him coach for that.

If he isn't going to win you games --and you don't dispute that-- then there is no point in him being on the roster. You are right that we don't know that Rush can succeed but at least he has a chance where Moore provides none.

ANd the team has needs particularly depthwise. I am not going to tell you that player X is going to be the answer but the more spots we churn the faster we find solutions to those problems. Having Moore on the roster solves nothing.

 

[Idgit]

But only one has the arm to possibly take advantage of an aggressive Giants defense. The other one does not.

I'll take the backup who has the ability to make a play, even with his lack of experience, over the guy who can't.

The concern is that the one who's got the arm isn't in a position to use it effectively as a rookie free agent coming in against a blitz-happy DC without the benefit of practice reps in the game plan. And further, that putting him in a situation with such a low probability for success could actually be harmful for his development.

Team's have struggled for years debating whether or not throwing a young QB to the wolves is the best way to develop him. Though I don't think many coaches in that sink or swim group would recommend doing it without the benefit of game prep snaps if you absolutely didn't have to.

It doesn't matter if Moore gets clobbered in a relief capacity. Because he doesn't have the ability to be a pretty good NFL player down the line anyway.

 

[Kevinicus]

Not surprising to me. Not many rookies can step on the field. Hate him as you will, Moore knows the playbook better.

Rush will be #2 next year; he just needs time and reps in practice.

Linehan knows it best. Maybe he should be the #2?

All joking aside...he might be a better option than Moore.

 

[Sepia]

Appropriate. He plays like #2..... a steamin' pile of #2...

 

[PJTHEDOORS]

It is kind of comical that fans here think they know better than the coaches and would just love to throw their FA QB that played in FCS to the wolves on opening day against one of the best defenses in the NFL!

BUt you guys know better I guess......

I doubt there is one coach in the NFL, that if given another option would choose to put Rush in.

It is kind of comical Moore couldn't adjust vs vanilla preseason defenses too.

 

[TheHerd]

The secondary point is no QB was winning games in 2015. Brandon Weeden had years in the system and all the physical skills in the world and he sucked that year. Cassell had been to a Pro Bowl and he sucked that year. Moore at least moved the ball.

If Moore was playing with the 2017 team instead of the 2015 team, do you really think he wouldn't execute a handoff to Ezekiel Elliott? Do you think he can't thrown intermediate routes to Dez or Witten?

I think Moore can hand the ball off. I think Rush can hand the ball off as well. I think Zeke would have a tougher time running with Moore at QB because if the DC is smart (like Spags) there will be 11 guys within 2 yards of the LOS. At least with Rush there is the possibility, however slight, that he might throw a pass more than 5 yards in the air.

I do not think Moore can throw intermediate routes to Dez or Witten, even if he can read the correct route to throw. I do believe Rush can make those throws.

 

[Kaiser]

Moore racked up a bunch of yards in garbage time and still turned the ball over. RZ picks are always bad. He could not score.

I disagree entirely that he outplayed Weeden. Weeden at least did not turn the ball over while playing much more difficult defenses.

Weeden had some good games early and then was benched because he went into checkdown mode of throwing nothing but dump offs. Moore isn't much but he wasn't the reason we lost games that year, but Weeden did lose games by himself.

 

[Stash]

If you think about it, the Cowboys have always been a team that's forced to make changes that are later deemed brilliant.

Dave 5-11 Campo .. Never understood the logic .. one 5-11 season, okay maybe .. a second one? time to look elsewhere. a third one? did they expect banging their head against the wall would work the third time?

Wade Phillips 1-7 start to the season .. it took a 1-7 record and an embarrassing loss on national TV for the Cowboys to make this change.

Romo? They had him sit on the bench for years. Even then, they waited too long into the season before they finally turned the team over to him.

Prescott? He's only our franchise quarterback because Romo and Moore were injured last year and even then, the plan well into the season was to still bring back Romo until Prescott kept winning making it hard for them to justify it. If Moore had not been injured, we would have been sitting at 0-8 and even then they would have turned the team back over to Romo when he returned.

Cooper Rush? He had to play almost perfect football just to make the roster and even then, they probably still thought about trying to sneak him on the practice squad.

Our front office and coaching staff get a lot of accolades, but the reality is that beyond the scouts, there's been very little unforced brilliance from the front office and coaching staff. I am not bashing them in general. I'm just saying that maybe they might want to be a little more open minded to changes and new players. We had a great team in 2014 with Romo and another one last year with Prescott, and we still haven't even made it to the NFC Championship game this century.

Awesome post!

 

[Idgit]

He doesn't need to be on the roster to do that. They could put him on the PS or have him coach for that.

If he isn't going to win you games --and you don't dispute that-- then there is no point in him being on the roster. You are right that we don't know that Rush can succeed but at least he has a chance where Moore provides none.

ANd the team has needs particularly depthwise. I am not going to tell you that player X is going to be the answer but the more spots we churn the faster we find solutions to those problems. Having Moore on the roster solves nothing.

He needs to be on the roster if you're going to use him to finish out a game.

Having Moore on the roster keeps you from having to use Rush to finish out a game if you think he's not ready for that yet. And having reps the week of practice is important to a young player in Rush's position. Rush said himself having success against the threes in an unexpected practice drill in camp is what gave him the confidence that he could play effectively against other teams threes in preseason. That's where he guy is in his development. If you're going to then put him against ones, who've put in a gameplan specifically to stop this offense, in an emergency situation where he didn't get the prep that week...that's a huge jump.

Keeping a buffer for Rush on the roster is not about winning that one emergency game. It's about developing the guy long term. And it's a cheap price to pay if Rush can actually play.

 

[Dodger12]

I always said the "luckiest " thing to happen to this franchise last year was Kellen Moore breaking his leg. Otherwise, Prescott would still be the #3 on the depth chart. After seeing Moore elevated to the #2 after getting no interest from another team, is there really any doubt?

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Weeden had some good games early and then was benched because he went into checkdown mode of throwing nothing but dump offs. Moore isn't much but he wasn't the reason we lost games that year, but Weeden did lose games by himself.

There is never one reason a team loses. A QB turning the ball over is always a significant contributing factor to any loss. Weeden couldn't move the offense efficiently but nor was he handing points to the opposition. He laid an egg against a very good Patriots team where the lack of a running game forced him to throw 40 times and people panicked.

I will take Checkdown Charlie every day over Interception Inigo.

Bottomline is that Moore does not see the field as well as people claim he does and he takes chances trying to overcome his lack of arm strength. He turns the ball over at an alarming rate.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

He needs to be on the roster if you're going to use him to finish out a game.

Having Moore on the roster keeps you from having to use Rush to finish out a game if you think he's not ready for that yet. And having reps the week of practice is important to a young player in Rush's position. Rush said himself having success against the threes in an unexpected practice drill in camp is what gave him the confidence that he could play effectively against other teams threes in preseason. That's where he guy is in his development. If you're going to then put him against ones, who've put in a gameplan specifically to stop this offense, in an emergency situation where he didn't get the prep that week...that's a huge jump.

Keeping a buffer for Rush on the roster is not about winning that one emergency game. It's about developing the guy long term. And it's a cheap price to pay if Rush can actually play.

You think that Moore is better equipped to finish out a game than Rush then? Personally I think he is much more prone to turn the ball over and let the other team in or scuttle a rally.

 

[aikemirv]

It is kind of comical Moore couldn't adjust vs vanilla preseason defenses too.

I don't understand how he threw for 435 yards in a game in 2015 then......

 

[Sydla]

The concern is that the one who's got the arm isn't in a position to use it effectively as a rookie free agent coming in against a blitz-happy DC without the benefit of practice reps in the game plan. And further, that putting him in a situation with such a low probability for success could actually be harmful for his development.

Team's have struggled for years debating whether or not throwing a young QB to the wolves is the best way to develop him. Though I don't think many coaches in that sink or swim group would recommend doing it without the benefit of game prep snaps if you absolutely didn't have to.

It doesn't matter if Moore gets clobbered in a relief capacity. Because he doesn't have the ability to be a pretty good NFL player down the line anyway.

And the one who is apparently "in a position" to play given his experience, can't make a play regardless of what he knows, doesn't know, etc.

That's the point.

This is classic over coaching where a team has a pet favorite or two and they ride those guys seemingly blind to the limitations of the player. Marinelli would do it with Hayden. And even good coaches aren't immune from this kind of thinking.