Linehan is the real MVP

[Bleu Star]

Maybe it's just me but.... Is anyone else noticing that our game plans are no longer one size fits all? The predictability is gone. In these first four weeks there have been unique wrinkles designed to capitalize off of specific perceived weakness in the armor of opposing defenses. We are exploiting weaknesses. I haven't seen that in years. That's cerebral game planning and situational strategy.

 

[CATCH17]

Gonna go out on a limb: they're probably doing that because he was the Head Coach during the time when the Oline has been architected. What's funnier is people pretending he's not for no reason other than they have such a vested interest in him not being capable of effectively coaching the Dallas Cowboys.

You almost made me spit my drink all over the steering wheel.

It's true though. We've seen Jason Garrett offenses long before last year and it's pretty much Romo dependent.

He had a line he could've ran behind last year but he gave up on it every chance he got. Or it's like Jbell said.. Zach Martin is Larry Allen x10.

He's the kind of coach that when he is down 7 or 10 points you can kiss the run game goodbye.

If anyone really thinks Jason would've called that game against the Rams anything like Linehan did then they are pretty delusional.

Less of JAson Garrett is good for the Cowboys.

 

[Bleu Star]

It's true though. We've seen Jason Garrett offenses long before last year and it's pretty much Romo dependent.

He had a line he could've ran behind last year but he gave up on it every chance he got. Or it's like Jbell said.. Zach Martin is Larry Allen x10.

He's the kind of coach that when he is down 7 or 10 points you can kiss the run game goodbye.

If anyone really thinks Jason would've called that game against the Rams anything like Linehan did then they are pretty delusional.

Less of JAson Garrett is good for the Cowboys.

Oh you don't have to convince me. I firmly believe the same.

 

[Zman5]

You're going to pull a muscle in your back if you keep bending like this. We took the good OL players in the first round of the draft under his tenure. When we had not done so in a long, long time before that. There really is nothing else to be said about it. It's not a political issue, it's just what happened. It's ok if that doesn't sit well with you because acknowledging it means giving Jason Garrett credit.

For my part, I'm thrilled the OLs all panned out, but I still happen to think we overdrafted the interior OL at the expense positions that are harder to fill. Both with Frederick and with Martin. That doesn't mean I'm criticizing those picks which turned out to be great, I just think the we were in a position where we had to overdraft those two players. Frederick, relative to where he probably would have gone. Martin, relative to where I'd ever draft a player I expected to be a career OG (that changes if we move him to OT eventually). But, hey, it was part of our plan for what we'd do if the players/positions we'd targeted higher weren't available. That's what any good plan requires: contingency.

Nice try to deflect my original point. JG claims he had a plan after the fact. Typical JG BS.

I too am glad we did build the oline and the picks worked out. I know some of you want to believe everything good that happens for the team is JG's doing and everything bad is Jerry's doing but if you really look at the facts and give credit where credit is due, it's Jerry and Stephen who should get it.

 

[Idgit]

Nice try to deflect my original point. JG claims he had a plan after the fact. Typical JG BS.

I too am glad we did build the oline and the picks worked out. I know some of you want to believe everything good that happens for the team is JG's doing and everything bad is Jerry's doing but if you really look at the facts and give credit where credit is due, it's Jerry and Stephen who should get it.

I'm not deflecting. You simply don't have a point, and so there's nothing to deflect.

And I'm not sure who 'some of you' is supposed to be aimed at, but, other than obviously including the head coach in crediting the drafting decisions for the three first round picks in question, I'd readily credit the rest of the team management, as well. Because that plan we went into the draft with...well, they were all involved in assembling it. And right now, it looks like they did a pretty good job.

You can have the last word here, because the going around in circles trying to credit everybody but the head coach for the first round draft picks is, honestly, kinda silly. But if you won't credit the guy in a case this obvious, you're never going to, and it's not my job to convince you otherwise if you don't want to be objective about it. Nice back and forth, though.

 

[Zman5]

I'm not deflecting. You simply don't have a point, and so there's nothing to deflect.

And I'm not sure who 'some of you' is supposed to be aimed at, but, other than obviously including the head coach in crediting the drafting decisions for the three first round picks in question, I'd readily credit the rest of the team management, as well. Because that plan we went into the draft with...well, they were all involved in assembling it. And right now, it looks like they did a pretty good job.

You can have the last word here, because the going around in circles trying to credit everybody but the head coach for the first round draft picks is, honestly, kinda silly. But if you won't credit the guy in a case this obvious, you're never going to, and it's not my job to convince you otherwise if you don't want to be objective about it. Nice back and forth, though.

You are deflecting since you haven't made one reference to my original point. Where is this JG's plan if it ever existed? Surely if it was this great plan, everyone would have at least heard about it. They would have made a concerted effort to draft Olinemen every year with a high pick by targeting them. So show me some evidence if you have any.

 

[ConstantReboot]

Its not that he shouldn't get credit.....but the notion that its just Linehan for credit? Its silly to me. This offense wasn't as bad as you guys made it out to be. They were #5 in offense and were #2 in redzone efficiency.

Is the offense better this year? I believe so. But guys are making it like he took the worst offense in the league to one of the best. Like Maranelli has done with his side of the ball.

And another thing that's starting to get annoying is that the Cowboys coaching staff is any different than most. MOST teams in this league have a OC and a DC.....and the head coaches that do call their defense have a defensive staff. But Garrett is suppose to get less credit? For what?

We were always an offense loaded with talent. Under Garrett we were just not bad. But with Linehan we are taking that talent and bringing it all together and taking it to anther levels . Something which Jason Garrett has failed t do since his been here.

Thus Linehan deserving of the credit he's getting now. As for Garrett what about him? He's nothing more than a figurehead. If you want to give him credit for 3 8-8 seasons than that's fine with me. But I don't care for mediocrity which was a trademark for a Garrett led offense.

 

[Idgit]

You are deflecting since you haven't made one reference to my original point. Where is this JG's plan if it ever existed? Surely if it was this great plan, everyone would have at least heard about it. They would have made a concerted effort to draft Olinemen every year with a high pick by targeting them. So show me some evidence if you have any.

I explicitly addressed your weird 'plan' argument many times, by pointing out that even contingency picks *are* part of a plan. Because every draft requires teams to plan for contingencies.

If you think a criticism that 'OL was really high on the list, but not the highest position on the list' for each draft somehow mitigates the pick itself, well, I don't know what to tell you other than 'it doesn't.'

Ok. This time I really will let the debate rest.

 

[jobberone]

I credit a powerhouse line for bringing it all together. I credit Linehan for great playcalling and using what he has to the greatest extent. I credit Garrett for stepping back and overseeing things. I credit JJ for signing off on all of this.

Who's MVP? I don't know. I'm just damn glad it all came together and we're having success.

I love rhubarb.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I explicitly addressed your weird 'plan' argument many times, by pointing out that even contingency picks *are* part of a plan. Because every draft requires teams to plan for contingencies.

If you think a criticism that 'OL was really high on the list, but not the highest position on the list' for each draft somehow mitigates the pick itself, well, I don't know what to tell you other than 'it doesn't.'

Ok. This time I really will let the debate rest.

"The most important job I have and our staff has is to put the team together the right way," Garrett said. "Obviously, the rules in the NFL are set up so I can't just snap my fingers and get whoever I want whenever I want. There's a draft. There's a salary cap. There's all of these different considerations. The thing we decided on three years ago is we were going to try to do it the right way. We weren't going to make ad-hoc, short-term decisions that didn't make any sense. We were going to try to build a program with the right kind of guys and think about it for now and the long term and build the right kind of team that we're all going to be proud of."

"There are always temptations to take shortcuts in anything in life," he said. "You have to be mentally tough, strong and disciplined to that plan. The word I think about more than anything else is build. I've been thinking about that for a long time. We have to build this program, and we have to build this team."

....................................

“Yeah you would say it’s similar to that,’’ Garrett said. “We’ve had really good players on the defensive line, like we have really good players on the offensive line. You have to move with it in a different direction.

“We’ve done a very good job as an organization getting younger and finding some cornerstone players on our offensive line. I think about Tyron Smith, I think about Travis Frederick. We feel like those two guys can be cornerstone players for us going forward.
..................................................

“We believe in what we do,” Garrett said. “We’re convicted about how we put this team together, how we build this team, the kind of guys we want on this team, the physical nature we want to play with. We have strong convictions about that. You just have to keep going about it the right way.”

................................................

“Yeah, that’s a long time ago. We liked him a lot,” Garrett said of Watt. “We did spend a lot of time investigating him, getting to know him. That same year we took Tyron Smith so we feel really good about that decision. All those decisions we made very consciously and very deliberately and certainly that first pick was critical for us.

“We were at the point with our offensive line where we let three veteran offensive linemen go and we were really young and under-resourced there.

“We felt like we needed to get some cornerstone players, and Tyron Smith was coming out that year, and we felt like he can be a left tackle and be a cornerstone player for us. We felt he had all the traits to be a great, great player for a long time at a really important position, and he’s certainly off to a good start.”

...............................

Why would anyone think that he had a plan to rebuild the oline?

 

[Zman5]

I explicitly addressed your weird 'plan' argument many times, by pointing out that even contingency picks *are* part of a plan. Because every draft requires teams to plan for contingencies.

If you think a criticism that 'OL was really high on the list, but not the highest position on the list' for each draft somehow mitigates the pick itself, well, I don't know what to tell you other than 'it doesn't.'

Ok. This time I really will let the debate rest.

You haven't provided any solid proof that explicitly state that they were going to use 3 high picks on OL when JG took over as the HC. As I posted before, SF wanted to build their OLine and used 2 1st rounders in one year. That's walking your talk and putting your plan to action. Not even picking an OL in 2012 draft, let alone using a high pick to do so, tells me there were no real plans to build the OL with 3 high picks like JG has been implying past few weeks.

 

[Idgit]

"The most important job I have and our staff has is to put the team together the right way," Garrett said. "Obviously, the rules in the NFL are set up so I can't just snap my fingers and get whoever I want whenever I want. There's a draft. There's a salary cap. There's all of these different considerations. The thing we decided on three years ago is we were going to try to do it the right way. We weren't going to make ad-hoc, short-term decisions that didn't make any sense. We were going to try to build a program with the right kind of guys and think about it for now and the long term and build the right kind of team that we're all going to be proud of."

"There are always temptations to take shortcuts in anything in life," he said. "You have to be mentally tough, strong and disciplined to that plan. The word I think about more than anything else is build. I've been thinking about that for a long time. We have to build this program, and we have to build this team."

....................................

“Yeah you would say it’s similar to that,’’ Garrett said. “We’ve had really good players on the defensive line, like we have really good players on the offensive line. You have to move with it in a different direction.

“We’ve done a very good job as an organization getting younger and finding some cornerstone players on our offensive line. I think about Tyron Smith, I think about Travis Frederick. We feel like those two guys can be cornerstone players for us going forward.
..................................................

“We believe in what we do,” Garrett said. “We’re convicted about how we put this team together, how we build this team, the kind of guys we want on this team, the physical nature we want to play with. We have strong convictions about that. You just have to keep going about it the right way.”

................................................

“Yeah, that’s a long time ago. We liked him a lot,” Garrett said of Watt. “We did spend a lot of time investigating him, getting to know him. That same year we took Tyron Smith so we feel really good about that decision. All those decisions we made very consciously and very deliberately and certainly that first pick was critical for us.

“We were at the point with our offensive line where we let three veteran offensive linemen go and we were really young and under-resourced there.

“We felt like we needed to get some cornerstone players, and Tyron Smith was coming out that year, and we felt like he can be a left tackle and be a cornerstone player for us. We felt he had all the traits to be a great, great player for a long time at a really important position, and he’s certainly off to a good start.”

...............................

Why would anyone think that he had a plan to rebuild the oline?

These quotes are outstanding. Case closed.

 

[Bleu Star]

Case reopened.

Can anyone that has counter argued giving Linehan his due credit help me understand how we went from successive seasons of mediocre unprepared predictable paper champs to what now has the makings of a hyper prepared juggernaut of an offense that's keeping opposing DCs up late in the film room? It happened in one off-season. Please help me understand how Garrett had anything to do with this transformation. Linehan wasn't here last year so he can't be lumped in with the heartbreaking offense of the past few years.

Am I to believe that the drafting of Martin is the epicenter of this monumental shift?

I just don't understand how Linehan is viewed as just a piece of the puzzle. Dude has completely changed the face of our offense in less than one season. Its really quite unbelievable.. Yet it has happened. The heartbreaking offense of the last few seasons feels like a distant memory.

My "MVP" thread title was just for added emphasis. Sure. Others deserve some credit for the turnaround but Linehan by far deserves the most. We are carefully preparing a plan for every opponents and executing like surgeons. We were NOT operating in this fashion on offense prior to Linehan's addition folks. Nowhere close. We had all the talent in the world but ten cent heads attempting to mold it.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Case reopened.

Can anyone that has counter argued giving Linehan his due credit help me understand how we went from successive seasons of mediocre unprepared predictable paper champs to what now has the makings of a hyper prepared juggernaut of an offense that's keeping opposing DCs up late in the film room? It happened in one off-season. Please help me understand how Garrett had anything to do with this transformation. Linehan wasn't here last year so he can't be lumped in with the heartbreaking offense of the past few years.

Am I to believe that the drafting of Martin is the epicenter of this monumental shift?

I just don't understand how Linehan is viewed as just a piece of the puzzle. Dude has completely changed the face of our offense in less than one season. Its really quite unbelievable.. Yet it has happened. The heartbreaking offense of the last few seasons feels like a distant memory.

My "MVP" thread title was just for added emphasis. Sure. Others deserve some credit for the turnaround but Linehan by far deserves the most. We are carefully preparing a plan for every opponents and executing like surgeons. We were NOT operating in this fashion on offense prior to Linehan's addition folks. Nowhere close. We had all the talent in the world but ten cent heads attempting to mold it.

So how much if any credit does Garrett get for the offensive performance?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

We were always an offense loaded with talent. Under Garrett we were just not bad. But with Linehan we are taking that talent and bringing it all together and taking it to anther levels . Something which Jason Garrett has failed t do since his been here.

Thus Linehan deserving of the credit he's getting now. As for Garrett what about him? He's nothing more than a figurehead. If you want to give him credit for 3 8-8 seasons than that's fine with me. But I don't care for mediocrity which was a trademark for a Garrett led offense.

If that's how you see it. IMO, I see this team executing better than it did last year. And when you execute and run the ball effectively and don't get stupid penalties? It helps your whole team including your offense.

Its like when we got Linehan to begin with people hated it because they ASSUMED we would be like the Lions last year which was a pass first team. But when you run the ball effectively at the clip Demarco has? You can afford not to be pass 1st. Its all about execution.

But Linehan is a miracle worker apparently lol. Which is fine. I'm glad he's getting his due. My stance is its a collective effort. INCLUDING Garrett and Maranelli.

What? So Garrett is why these teams were 8-8 lol. Had nothing to do with the lack of depth, the personnel, the injuries...nothing. It was Garrett coaching us to 8-8 lol.

Linehan took us from an offense with no identity and no intestinal fortitude to a steamrolling juggernaut. It's that simple. Major contrast just from last season to present.

If you want to give Linehan the sole credit for that then its fine. But last season...its hard to run the ball when you have a grip of 2nd and 15's and 3rd and 15's or you're always trailing. If Linehan is the reason we're playing more disciplined and sound football than fine. But I think its bigger than just Linehan.

 

[Zman5]

Jason Witten catch a sign of Scott Linehan's creativity
September, 30, 2014
Sep 30
12:00
PM ET
By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas -- Last week Jason Witten's blocking on Dez Bryant's 68-yard touchdown against the St. Louis Rams brought extra attention. In the win against the New Orleans Saints, it is a critical third-down catch in the fourth quarter by Witten that brings extra attention.

Witten has said thousands of times one of the best feelings is making a play when everybody in the stands and on the sideline knows the ball is coming to you, like Troy Aikman to Jay Novacek in the 1990s.

WittenOn third-and-9 with 5:26 to play at the New Orleans 38, everybody knew Tony Romo would look to Witten. The Cowboys stopped the Saints' momentum by sniffing out a fake punt, but needed at least a first down to end their chances of a comeback.

The Cowboys were in 11 personnel (three wide receivers) with Witten flexed wide of right tackle Doug Free. New Orleans safety Kenny Vaccaro was lined up on top of Witten, a sign of how much respect defensive coordinator Rob Ryan had for Witten.

The Saints had nine defenders close to the line of scrimmage. One safety played over the top of Bryant to Romo’s left. The other was splitting the difference between Witten, Cole Beasley and Terrance Williams.

Here’s where playcaller Scott Linehan delivered some genius.

Beasley runs mostly short in- or out-breaking routes, but this time streaked down the field. Williams had an inside release and went vertical as well, to occupy safety Rafael Bush, leaving Vaccaro on Witten.

Witten breaks inside at the snap, takes five steps and reverse pivots back to his right, creating separation from Vaccaro and an easy throw for Romo. With Beasley and Williams running down the field, there is a ton of space for Witten to run for a first down and pick up 16 yards.

“That’s Linehan’s touch,” Romo said. “Pretty good one, too, huh?”

Three plays later, Romo hit Bryant for an 18-yard touchdown on a back-shoulder throw, ending the game.

“After we stopped the fake punt,” Witten said, “our mindset was, ‘We need to score.’”

Before the Cowboys could score, they needed a big third-down conversion.

 

[Idgit]

Case reopened.

Can anyone that has counter argued giving Linehan his due credit help me understand how we went from successive seasons of mediocre unprepared predictable paper champs to what now has the makings of a hyper prepared juggernaut of an offense that's keeping opposing DCs up late in the film room? It happened in one off-season. Please help me understand how Garrett had anything to do with this transformation. Linehan wasn't here last year so he can't be lumped in with the heartbreaking offense of the past few years.

Am I to believe that the drafting of Martin is the epicenter of this monumental shift?

I just don't understand how Linehan is viewed as just a piece of the puzzle. Dude has completely changed the face of our offense in less than one season. Its really quite unbelievable.. Yet it has happened. The heartbreaking offense of the last few seasons feels like a distant memory.

My "MVP" thread title was just for added emphasis. Sure. Others deserve some credit for the turnaround but Linehan by far deserves the most. We are carefully preparing a plan for every opponents and executing like surgeons. We were NOT operating in this fashion on offense prior to Linehan's addition folks. Nowhere close. We had all the talent in the world but ten cent heads attempting to mold it.

To reopen the case, you're going to have to come with a lot more than a regurgitation of questions that have already been asked and answered. But, for the record, I don't think anybody at any point suggested Linehan does not deserve full credit for doing a great job with his area of responsibility. The entire offensive coaching staff, for that matter. That's never been at issue.

You are dramatically overestimating the offensive change, I think. And underestimating the defensive problems this team has had for years which are the actual real reason we've missed out on the three NFCE crowns.

 

[Bleu Star]

I'll definitely agree that Marinelli deserves just as much credit. He has the defense rallying around each other. I think trust is a huge word on the defensive side of the ball. Garrett? A distant third with regard to credit.

In Linehan I trust.

Our defense began to bend a bit in the second half of that game. Sometimes the best defense is a clock munching offense. We took their heart late in the game with some well crafted clock killing drives thereby keeping our defense off the field and allowing the offense the opportunity to control our destiny. I can't recall the last time we won a game in that fashion. Yet other teams do it all the time.

 

[Risen Star]

Our coordinator ran a receiver deep to occupy the safety and create room underneath?

That's some genius stuff.

 

[Alexander]

Our coordinator ran a receiver deep to occupy the safety and create room underneath?

That's some genius stuff.

I get the sarcasm, but there has been a distinct lack of creativity and responsive adjustment over the years in Garrett's offense.

We are setting the table better, using play action to our advantage, including pick plays, and the running plays are far less trickery and more brute force.