jday
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Being the sixth edition, many of you are likely already familiar with this concept. In short, this is a collection of topics that have been circling the drain of my brain situated in one place. All that really means is that I am lazy and would rather not have to babysit more than one thread. By default, that means this really isn’t for the TL/DR crowd…unless you instead read one topic, take a break, read another topic, take a break…wash, rinse, repeat. After all, self-imposed illiteracy doesn’t necessarily mean you are stupid…but it is a common denominator.
Without further ado…
Monkey Business
Years ago I was told a story of an experiment conducted by scientist in California. They placed 6 monkeys in an enclosed habitat. In the center of this habitat, they placed a ladder and hanging within monkey-reach of the top of the ladder was a single banana. Every time a monkey would endeavor to climb the ladder and get the banana, the other monkeys would get sprayed with cold water. Eventually the monkeys figured out that when a monkey went for the banana, the others would get sprayed, so the monkeys as a collective began attacking any monkey that dared make an attempt to ascend the latter for the banana. Overtime, it became accepted as policy that the ladder and by extension the banana were forbidden, and the monkey’s gave the ladder a wide-berth in their monkey business.
This is where it gets interesting. The scientist then removed a monkey, and replaced it with a new monkey. Naturally the new monkey headed directly for the ladder and banana only to get attacked by all the original monkeys. He too, learned over time that the banana was the forbidden fruit of their mini-animal kingdom. Once again, they removed an original monkey and added a new monkey. Not surprisingly, the original monkeys attacked the new monkey as it approached the ladder…however, the scientist were shocked to see that the monkey who had never been sprayed also joined in on the attack, despite never being directly conditioned himself to care rather or not another monkey approaches the ladder. Based on his immediate experience, however, he only knew he shouldn’t approach the ladder. And yet, despite the lack of the perceived necessary habituation, he was just as enraged as the others that the new monkey would dare approach the ladder.
The scientist kept replacing original monkeys with new monkeys who had never been sprayed until none of the original monkeys were left. And yet, the policy to leave the ladder and banana alone was upheld as if the original monkeys were still there.
Why?
Because that’s how they’ve always done things.
In life, at your job, and in sports, therein is an extremely useful lesson: Just because that is the way we have always done things doesn’t mean that today there doesn’t exist a more efficient and effective way to accomplish a task. Change is the only constant in life and yet despite all the change we see around us as a community, we humans struggle to adapt. We find a way that works and we stick with it until it no longer works. And we attack anyone who would challenge the way we have always done things…just like the monkeys.
Here in Dallas, are best seasons as a franchise typically featured a #1 receiver; a guy who could demand the double team and still flourish, whilst providing the receivers around them more room to work with…a guy whose play inspired the play of his peers…a guy the quarterback could count on to go get that football when you needed him to, with or without all the pressure in the world on his shoulders…that go to guy who most often wore that franchise-wide revered number eighty-eight. Much like the aforementioned monkeys, us fans have been conditioned to believe that is the only way this franchise can have a successful season…beyond of course having the right quarterback and our traditional bell cow.
Of course, if you look at the receivers who have won a Super Bowl over the last 20 years, you of course know, that is absolutely not true. You may argue in response: Well, they maybe don’t need a true #1 but that’s because their coaches know how to win without a #1; theier coaches are better tacticians than Garrett. In Garrett’s scheme, he has to have a #1 receiver to win!
While I don’t condone you skipping the rest of this section, in retort, I would point to the tape in the next section which displays every pass by Dak over the course of three games without Dez doing exactly that: winning!
So the question is can the Cowboys actually better without Dez? I can’t say I’m certain…that would be a lie. But I do believe it is possible.
How?
Romo was quoted as saying that he would try and get Dez involved early for fear of Dez mentally checking-out of the game.
Boom! What’s does that do, does that blow your mind? That just happened!
~ Ricky Bobby ~
Oh, you don’t get it?
Don’t worry baby birds, I’ll feed you!
~ Daniel Tosh ~
Jokes aside, Dak is not Romo (mind blowing concept…I know!). Dak does not have the requisite experience behind center to do as Romo did. Dak can’t read a defense as quickly or completely like Romo to an extent to where he can decide to take something from the opposing defense regardless if they allow it or not…and Romo could. It is as simple as that. In fact, I suspect a great many of the interceptions Dak threw in 2017 was as a result of him trying to do just that…and failing miserably.
Because Dak will no longer have that in-huddle pressure to distribute the ball to someone in particular he may very well flourish in his first complete Dez-less season. Dak is at his best when he can simply sit back and take what the defense gives. For some, that may seem like a slight towards Dak…and to some extent it is. On display in the videos below are all the same issues we saw in 2017: poor footwork, erratic-at-times accuracy, and velocity behind passes that was all over the place (sometimes too much touch, sometimes too much heat).
Evenso, I still believe the Cowboys can win with Dak (even a Championship)…and I think, I think he may be better off without the services of Dez, who was likely consistently in his ear about giving him the ball…just maybe…I think….but don’t quote me on that if I turn out to be wrong.
My overall point here should be fairly obvious at this point: Just because in our collective memory the Cowboys have always won with a clear #1, doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t win without one.
A Patently False Narrative
Recently, the above collection of videos surfaced on YouTube displaying Dak’s heroics without Dez in the 2016 season. For some time now in the aftermath of the 2017 season, many have suggested that the reason we saw a different Dak is because he enjoyed less time in the pocket. It’s an easy conclusion to leap to; the 2017 offensive line, after all, was missing two of their stalwarts from the year before (Free / Leary), so naturally that had to be the reason Dak’s performance fell off. But based on watching every pass from every game over the course of those three games without Dez, I can say with a high degree of confidence that narrative is patently false.
The 49ers, Bengals and Packers blitzed Dak unmerciful likely thinking that if they could simply disturb the rookies timing and composure they could derail what the Cowboys wanted to do. As we all witnessed, that strategy proved to be fatal for all three teams and Dak unwittingly picked apart the opposition, taking everything the defense gave him. His poise, his escapability and his never-say-die attitude was on full display for anyone who bothered to watch.
No, the difference between 2016 and 2017 was absolutely not time in the pocket or a lack thereof by comparison. The primary difference, based on my observation of the above tape was three-fold:
1. Good ole fashion luck and the impact that had on Dak & company’s mind state. Have you ever had a day where you seemingly could not lose? And did you note that with the rise in your confidence, your performance noticeably improved? It’s hard to define, quantify or measure, but in all of us, I believe, there is a capacity for greatness. To achieve that greatness several things must happen that are both within our control and without. Dumb luck is a significant part of our greatness we have little to no control over. Ball bounces that go our way, interceptions that could have been, the quarterback losing the football inches short of paydirt to effectively win the game and instead it lazily rolling out of the back of the endzone to end the game in your favor instead are all examples of pure dumb luck.
The crazy thing is, when our team wins due to crazy dumb luck, rarely do we give that luck the acknowledgement it’s due. All we care about is our team won and therefore our team should be considered the better team…and nothing could be further from the truth.
In short, in 2016 there was a myriad of happy-happenstances that turned the tide of victory into the Cowboys favor. In 2017, no so much…it happened, (such as the referenced Raiders game) but not nearly enough to matter in the end.
2. 2016 Beasley > 2017 Beasley. For good reason, most of this offseason our collective attention has been centered on Dez and his supposed diminishing ability (I’m not saying he’s the same ole’ Dez; but I do believe he could still be great in the right system with the right quarterback). But what about Beasley the leading receiver from a year ago….what happened to him? Once again yet another sweeping false narrative has stepped in and been accepted by the masses: The opposition took away Beasley by giving him the Dez-treatment (double coverage).
That is certainly a part of it; I’m not completely dismissing the truth of that assessment. But watch the above tape from 2016 and I believe you will notice a stark and obvious difference between 2016 Beasley and 2017 Beasley. Over the offseason following that dream-season, Beasley bulked up. As Cowboys fans, we are no strangers to this phenomenon; remember Felix Jones?
I can’t remember the exact year this happened (2012 maybe…I think), nor do I care to do the requisite research to determine the irrelevant-to-this-conversation exact year but at one point Felix was being viewed as the next bell-cow running back of our beloved Cowboys. In order to prepare himself for this added responsibility, Felix bulked up over the offseason in an attempt to help weather NFL hits….understandably so. The problem is text book physics.
What made Felix particularly special was his short area quickness; the same thing that made Beasley special in 2016, particularly in consideration of how he runs routes. With the additional bulk both these potential stars added, they lost that elite short area quickness and their seasons suffered accordingly. With the additional weight, they lost their explosion and ability to change direction on a dime. Beasley just wasn’t the same guy coming out of his breaks at the top of his routes and was unable to create the same amount of separation he did in 2016.
Dak lost Zeke for only 6 games last season, but he lost his best and favorite target in Beasley for the entire season and the negative impact of that development showed in 2017. Since the Dez release, the question has been asked ad-nauseum: How do we replace his snaps? The real question, in my mind, is how do we get back 2016 Beasley? I suspect if we could simply just do that, by 2018 season end we’ll be like: Dez who?
3. We all know losing Zeke for 6 games was a 2017 death sentence at this point (particularly in consideration of who the Cowboys faced without Zeke…Falcons, Eagles to name a few). But, once again, watching the Dak’s 3-game Dezless tape from 2016 something really stood out to me. Outside of Zeke’s ability to get an inch when all you need to get is an inch….disregarding Zeke’s homerun hitting ability from anywhere on the field…perhaps the best thing Zeke does (not just better than anyone else on this team but) perhaps better than any other running back in the league, the dude straight up stonewalls would-be blitzers…his ability to pass protect is truly remarkable and a thing of beauty. Without a question in my mind, I can say with complete certainty that there is absolutely no way Dak gets sacked 10 times against the Falcons if Zeke had been in that game.
From the Atlanta game, Dak’s play fell off considerably and the season spiraled out of control. He no longer looked composed in the pocket. His escability was next to non-existent. And the offense regressed into a dink-and-dunk shell of its formerly explosive self. As I have intimated repeatedly this offseason, that was the turning point and the beginning of the end.
I have no issues whatsoever with anyone attempting to refute the above. All I ask is that you do so armed with actually watching from start to finish every game provided above before you do. Otherwise, you are wasting both of our time.
Wrap It Up
If you thought this was long, you should have seen it before I edited. I had written two additional topics for this piece (Pavlov’s Dogs & Of Muscle Memory & Synaptic Connections) only to once again find the word-limit to this site. Perhaps these topics will find their way into the next edition of Kibbles & Tidbits, which I’m guessing won’t be until after the draft…no promises, though.
The disconcerting aspect of those omissions is that it honestly detracts from the theme I was attempting to build with this contribution which was mostly centered on human nature and my own personal observations. Take for instance my sitting down to watch Dak’s work in the 3 games above featuring a Dezless offense. I sat down to rewatch it to see if I could somehow figure out a way to convince myself (and by extension, you) that the Cowboys will survive without Dez. As far as I’m concerned, I succeeded in that effort (you, of course, are another story; I certainly can’t decide for you) but in doing so, I gleaned so much more from the viewing.
For starters, as I pointed out above, luck played a significant part in the Cowboys success in the 2016 season (and don’t kid yourself, luck plays a part in every teams successful season…even the Patriots). I admittedly may have actually overrated Dak when watching those games live. But in the rewatch, I saw many of the same issues that plagued Dak last year.
The difference?
There were certainly several contributing factors, however, had the Cowboys had a little more luck, the same Beasley from 2016, and Zeke for the whole season minus the distraction of the impending suspension, 2017 would have played out a lot differently and the Cowboys would be picking close to if not at the very bottom of the upcoming draft.
Thoughts?
Without further ado…
Monkey Business
Years ago I was told a story of an experiment conducted by scientist in California. They placed 6 monkeys in an enclosed habitat. In the center of this habitat, they placed a ladder and hanging within monkey-reach of the top of the ladder was a single banana. Every time a monkey would endeavor to climb the ladder and get the banana, the other monkeys would get sprayed with cold water. Eventually the monkeys figured out that when a monkey went for the banana, the others would get sprayed, so the monkeys as a collective began attacking any monkey that dared make an attempt to ascend the latter for the banana. Overtime, it became accepted as policy that the ladder and by extension the banana were forbidden, and the monkey’s gave the ladder a wide-berth in their monkey business.
This is where it gets interesting. The scientist then removed a monkey, and replaced it with a new monkey. Naturally the new monkey headed directly for the ladder and banana only to get attacked by all the original monkeys. He too, learned over time that the banana was the forbidden fruit of their mini-animal kingdom. Once again, they removed an original monkey and added a new monkey. Not surprisingly, the original monkeys attacked the new monkey as it approached the ladder…however, the scientist were shocked to see that the monkey who had never been sprayed also joined in on the attack, despite never being directly conditioned himself to care rather or not another monkey approaches the ladder. Based on his immediate experience, however, he only knew he shouldn’t approach the ladder. And yet, despite the lack of the perceived necessary habituation, he was just as enraged as the others that the new monkey would dare approach the ladder.
The scientist kept replacing original monkeys with new monkeys who had never been sprayed until none of the original monkeys were left. And yet, the policy to leave the ladder and banana alone was upheld as if the original monkeys were still there.
Why?
Because that’s how they’ve always done things.
In life, at your job, and in sports, therein is an extremely useful lesson: Just because that is the way we have always done things doesn’t mean that today there doesn’t exist a more efficient and effective way to accomplish a task. Change is the only constant in life and yet despite all the change we see around us as a community, we humans struggle to adapt. We find a way that works and we stick with it until it no longer works. And we attack anyone who would challenge the way we have always done things…just like the monkeys.
Here in Dallas, are best seasons as a franchise typically featured a #1 receiver; a guy who could demand the double team and still flourish, whilst providing the receivers around them more room to work with…a guy whose play inspired the play of his peers…a guy the quarterback could count on to go get that football when you needed him to, with or without all the pressure in the world on his shoulders…that go to guy who most often wore that franchise-wide revered number eighty-eight. Much like the aforementioned monkeys, us fans have been conditioned to believe that is the only way this franchise can have a successful season…beyond of course having the right quarterback and our traditional bell cow.
Of course, if you look at the receivers who have won a Super Bowl over the last 20 years, you of course know, that is absolutely not true. You may argue in response: Well, they maybe don’t need a true #1 but that’s because their coaches know how to win without a #1; theier coaches are better tacticians than Garrett. In Garrett’s scheme, he has to have a #1 receiver to win!
While I don’t condone you skipping the rest of this section, in retort, I would point to the tape in the next section which displays every pass by Dak over the course of three games without Dez doing exactly that: winning!
So the question is can the Cowboys actually better without Dez? I can’t say I’m certain…that would be a lie. But I do believe it is possible.
How?
Romo was quoted as saying that he would try and get Dez involved early for fear of Dez mentally checking-out of the game.
Boom! What’s does that do, does that blow your mind? That just happened!
~ Ricky Bobby ~
Oh, you don’t get it?
Don’t worry baby birds, I’ll feed you!
~ Daniel Tosh ~
Jokes aside, Dak is not Romo (mind blowing concept…I know!). Dak does not have the requisite experience behind center to do as Romo did. Dak can’t read a defense as quickly or completely like Romo to an extent to where he can decide to take something from the opposing defense regardless if they allow it or not…and Romo could. It is as simple as that. In fact, I suspect a great many of the interceptions Dak threw in 2017 was as a result of him trying to do just that…and failing miserably.
Because Dak will no longer have that in-huddle pressure to distribute the ball to someone in particular he may very well flourish in his first complete Dez-less season. Dak is at his best when he can simply sit back and take what the defense gives. For some, that may seem like a slight towards Dak…and to some extent it is. On display in the videos below are all the same issues we saw in 2017: poor footwork, erratic-at-times accuracy, and velocity behind passes that was all over the place (sometimes too much touch, sometimes too much heat).
Evenso, I still believe the Cowboys can win with Dak (even a Championship)…and I think, I think he may be better off without the services of Dez, who was likely consistently in his ear about giving him the ball…just maybe…I think….but don’t quote me on that if I turn out to be wrong.
My overall point here should be fairly obvious at this point: Just because in our collective memory the Cowboys have always won with a clear #1, doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t win without one.
A Patently False Narrative
Recently, the above collection of videos surfaced on YouTube displaying Dak’s heroics without Dez in the 2016 season. For some time now in the aftermath of the 2017 season, many have suggested that the reason we saw a different Dak is because he enjoyed less time in the pocket. It’s an easy conclusion to leap to; the 2017 offensive line, after all, was missing two of their stalwarts from the year before (Free / Leary), so naturally that had to be the reason Dak’s performance fell off. But based on watching every pass from every game over the course of those three games without Dez, I can say with a high degree of confidence that narrative is patently false.
The 49ers, Bengals and Packers blitzed Dak unmerciful likely thinking that if they could simply disturb the rookies timing and composure they could derail what the Cowboys wanted to do. As we all witnessed, that strategy proved to be fatal for all three teams and Dak unwittingly picked apart the opposition, taking everything the defense gave him. His poise, his escapability and his never-say-die attitude was on full display for anyone who bothered to watch.
No, the difference between 2016 and 2017 was absolutely not time in the pocket or a lack thereof by comparison. The primary difference, based on my observation of the above tape was three-fold:
1. Good ole fashion luck and the impact that had on Dak & company’s mind state. Have you ever had a day where you seemingly could not lose? And did you note that with the rise in your confidence, your performance noticeably improved? It’s hard to define, quantify or measure, but in all of us, I believe, there is a capacity for greatness. To achieve that greatness several things must happen that are both within our control and without. Dumb luck is a significant part of our greatness we have little to no control over. Ball bounces that go our way, interceptions that could have been, the quarterback losing the football inches short of paydirt to effectively win the game and instead it lazily rolling out of the back of the endzone to end the game in your favor instead are all examples of pure dumb luck.
The crazy thing is, when our team wins due to crazy dumb luck, rarely do we give that luck the acknowledgement it’s due. All we care about is our team won and therefore our team should be considered the better team…and nothing could be further from the truth.
In short, in 2016 there was a myriad of happy-happenstances that turned the tide of victory into the Cowboys favor. In 2017, no so much…it happened, (such as the referenced Raiders game) but not nearly enough to matter in the end.
2. 2016 Beasley > 2017 Beasley. For good reason, most of this offseason our collective attention has been centered on Dez and his supposed diminishing ability (I’m not saying he’s the same ole’ Dez; but I do believe he could still be great in the right system with the right quarterback). But what about Beasley the leading receiver from a year ago….what happened to him? Once again yet another sweeping false narrative has stepped in and been accepted by the masses: The opposition took away Beasley by giving him the Dez-treatment (double coverage).
That is certainly a part of it; I’m not completely dismissing the truth of that assessment. But watch the above tape from 2016 and I believe you will notice a stark and obvious difference between 2016 Beasley and 2017 Beasley. Over the offseason following that dream-season, Beasley bulked up. As Cowboys fans, we are no strangers to this phenomenon; remember Felix Jones?
I can’t remember the exact year this happened (2012 maybe…I think), nor do I care to do the requisite research to determine the irrelevant-to-this-conversation exact year but at one point Felix was being viewed as the next bell-cow running back of our beloved Cowboys. In order to prepare himself for this added responsibility, Felix bulked up over the offseason in an attempt to help weather NFL hits….understandably so. The problem is text book physics.
What made Felix particularly special was his short area quickness; the same thing that made Beasley special in 2016, particularly in consideration of how he runs routes. With the additional bulk both these potential stars added, they lost that elite short area quickness and their seasons suffered accordingly. With the additional weight, they lost their explosion and ability to change direction on a dime. Beasley just wasn’t the same guy coming out of his breaks at the top of his routes and was unable to create the same amount of separation he did in 2016.
Dak lost Zeke for only 6 games last season, but he lost his best and favorite target in Beasley for the entire season and the negative impact of that development showed in 2017. Since the Dez release, the question has been asked ad-nauseum: How do we replace his snaps? The real question, in my mind, is how do we get back 2016 Beasley? I suspect if we could simply just do that, by 2018 season end we’ll be like: Dez who?
3. We all know losing Zeke for 6 games was a 2017 death sentence at this point (particularly in consideration of who the Cowboys faced without Zeke…Falcons, Eagles to name a few). But, once again, watching the Dak’s 3-game Dezless tape from 2016 something really stood out to me. Outside of Zeke’s ability to get an inch when all you need to get is an inch….disregarding Zeke’s homerun hitting ability from anywhere on the field…perhaps the best thing Zeke does (not just better than anyone else on this team but) perhaps better than any other running back in the league, the dude straight up stonewalls would-be blitzers…his ability to pass protect is truly remarkable and a thing of beauty. Without a question in my mind, I can say with complete certainty that there is absolutely no way Dak gets sacked 10 times against the Falcons if Zeke had been in that game.
From the Atlanta game, Dak’s play fell off considerably and the season spiraled out of control. He no longer looked composed in the pocket. His escability was next to non-existent. And the offense regressed into a dink-and-dunk shell of its formerly explosive self. As I have intimated repeatedly this offseason, that was the turning point and the beginning of the end.
I have no issues whatsoever with anyone attempting to refute the above. All I ask is that you do so armed with actually watching from start to finish every game provided above before you do. Otherwise, you are wasting both of our time.
Wrap It Up
If you thought this was long, you should have seen it before I edited. I had written two additional topics for this piece (Pavlov’s Dogs & Of Muscle Memory & Synaptic Connections) only to once again find the word-limit to this site. Perhaps these topics will find their way into the next edition of Kibbles & Tidbits, which I’m guessing won’t be until after the draft…no promises, though.
The disconcerting aspect of those omissions is that it honestly detracts from the theme I was attempting to build with this contribution which was mostly centered on human nature and my own personal observations. Take for instance my sitting down to watch Dak’s work in the 3 games above featuring a Dezless offense. I sat down to rewatch it to see if I could somehow figure out a way to convince myself (and by extension, you) that the Cowboys will survive without Dez. As far as I’m concerned, I succeeded in that effort (you, of course, are another story; I certainly can’t decide for you) but in doing so, I gleaned so much more from the viewing.
For starters, as I pointed out above, luck played a significant part in the Cowboys success in the 2016 season (and don’t kid yourself, luck plays a part in every teams successful season…even the Patriots). I admittedly may have actually overrated Dak when watching those games live. But in the rewatch, I saw many of the same issues that plagued Dak last year.
The difference?
There were certainly several contributing factors, however, had the Cowboys had a little more luck, the same Beasley from 2016, and Zeke for the whole season minus the distraction of the impending suspension, 2017 would have played out a lot differently and the Cowboys would be picking close to if not at the very bottom of the upcoming draft.
Thoughts?
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