McCarthy forcing the run in the red zone was very telling

[Cowfan75]

I couldn't all the running plays at the end of the game when we were down by 2 scores.Even if we scored a TD there would be very little time left to get the ball back and score again.

And if he called them because he didn't trust Dak, then why pass up the FG and throw on 4th down? Coaching is just spin-the-wheel around here. Has been for decades.

 

[88sAndHeartbreak]

Who said he needed to be perfect?

So you're saying Dak is allowed to make mistakes?

 

[KingCorcoran]

MM knows what Dak can and can't do.

No. He doesn’t.

 

[LatinMind]

He was doing all he could to avoid passing the ball with Dak down there.

When he finally had no choice Dak threw the game ending INT.

Lol ignorance is bliss.

Don't know if you noticed how they were playing the safeties. They forced everything under. In the redzone were theres not much field is alot safer to run, and the team was running the ball good. You know not everything is a dak thing.

Maybe understand what you're watching in the game, you might get an appreciation for what ur watching.

 

[jay94]

Wr not getting open. No separation !!!!!!

There were a few routes where receivers were running in the same area in a very congested spot of the field, horribly play calls.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

No. He doesn’t.

Yea he does and it's telling. Knew this was going to be one big cluster the second they started up with the Texas Coast bs. They have a limited QB, who cannot execute the WCO with any sort of competence.

 

[KingCorcoran]

Kellen is still trash. This doesn’t absolve him. You could always head on over to the chargers forum and become part of their fan base.

Idiots. This game cost me money.

 

[plymkr]

They said the same thing when Dak signed for 40m and yet the elite defense still existed. The Cowboys are not in a situation where they could not afford whoever they wanted. They could sign every single member of their defense and Dak without a single issue to the cap.

I hope you’re right on the financial side of it. I’d be surprised if they could resign Dak to 50 APY, Micah 35-40 APY, CD 20-25 APY, keep Martin at 18 APY, keep Diggs at 20 APY, BDZ 6-8 APY, Tyler Smith 10 APY. I hope they can do it and I hope you’re right. I don’t understand the cap as well as some of you so if you say they can do it then cool.

Now on the field do we want a QB that needs points from ST and defense to get the offense in rhythm. Do we want a QB that limits play calling because the threat of him throwing a pick. Do we want a QB that is ineffective in the RZ. These are problems that teams have with rookies they are developing and trying to win. Dak is an 8 year veteran. If an 8 year veteran is going to throw into triple coverage in the crucial part of the game like a rookie would, then maybe play the rookie.

I’d feel a lot better losing this game with Lance as the starter. At least we would be developing for the future, or seeing what we have in order to plan for the future. But losing to the worst team in the league with your 8 year franchise QB is very disappointing. And the Cardinals had injuries too and also a bad defense and they still won because some guy named Dobbs put the team on his shoulders.

 

[Whiskey Cowboy]

The backup line couldn't protect the QB. It made sense to pound the rock when it was working. Dak needs to be better than what we saw today, but he didn't lose this game. Run defense was pitiful, Oline was pitiful, TEs were bad, WRs couldn't get open, playcalling was rough, (although I think the line played into this), secondary couldn't cover, and the list goes on.

That said, we need more if we are paying the QB $40m/y+. The overthrows could've been game changers. The int was awful. Redzone offense was awful. Not a good look playing a 13 point dog. 4 needs to step it up ASAP

 

[KingCorcoran]

I hope you’re right on the financial side of it. I’d be surprised if they could resign Dak to 50 APY, Micah 35-40 APY, CD 20-25 APY, keep Martin at 18 APY, keep Diggs at 20 APY, BDZ 6-8 APY, Tyler Smith 10 APY. I hope they can do it and I hope you’re right. I don’t understand the cap as well as some of you so if you say they can do it then cool.

Now on the field do we want a QB that needs points from ST and defense to get the offense in rhythm. Do we want a QB that limits play calling because the threat of him throwing a pick. Do we want a QB that is ineffective in the RZ. These are problems that teams have with rookies they are developing and trying to win. Dak is an 8 year veteran. If an 8 year veteran is going to throw into triple coverage in the crucial part of the game like a rookie would, then maybe play the rookie.

I’d feel a lot better losing this game with Lance as the starter. At least we would be developing for the future, or seeing what we have in order to plan for the future. But losing to the worst team in the league with your 8 year franchise QB is very disappointing. And the Cardinals had injuries too and also a bad defense and they still won because some guy named Dobbs put the team on his shoulders.

Lance is hot garbage. Move past the nonesense. Damn I needed a win here. The Cardinals for Christ”s sake. The Arizona Cardinals? What a joke.

 

[88sAndHeartbreak]

So now the standard for Dak is “perfect”…. Maybe you guys need to stop making excuses. Yardage by defense given up doesn’t mean points on the board…. Dallas was 21st in the red zone going into this game, meaning Dak had multiple chances to be less than perfect, but he’s mediocre..

Yall use the word "excuses" way too flagrantly. Its funny because in the same breath yall excuse the defense for not stopping the run, excuse MM for calling bad plays in the redzone, excuse WR's for not getting separation, excuse the team's 14 penalties etc... All while calling Dak mediocre because he doesnt win in spite of all that lol.

 

[LocoBates]

Dak has 1 turnover in 3 games. Calm down.

Context please.
Give me a turnover any day when the Team is up by 14+ late in the 4th Qtr , unlike today....

 

[plymkr]

Lance is hot garbage. Move past the nonesense. Damn I needed a win here. The Cardinals for Christ”s sake. The Arizona Cardinals? What a joke.

I’m not saying Lance is the future but before I anoint him or discard him I would like to give him a chance to prove himself. Like said earlier I could stomach this loss way better if Lance was the QB. Because we would know that Lance can’t overcome a bad defense or an average offensive line. Watching Dak not be able overcome a bad defense and a subpar offensive line is just depressing. Sometime this season I want to see what Lance can do. If he’s hot garbage then move on from both of them. But we know what Dak is and without several TOs from the D and a healthy top 5 offensive line he’s average to below average.

I also agree that losing to the Cardinals is a joke. Inexcusable. The whole team played like rookies. When the UDFAs are playing as good as your high contract guys, there’s a problem. When the best player on the field is the FG kicker, there’s a problem. I agree, what a joke.

 

[loublue22]

not just red zone, the entire offense is dink and dunk, very little action down the field. I struggle to see what Dak is bringing that any average QB wouldn't.

 

[Adreme]

I hope you’re right on the financial side of it. I’d be surprised if they could resign Dak to 50 APY, Micah 35-40 APY, CD 20-25 APY, keep Martin at 18 APY, keep Diggs at 20 APY, BDZ 6-8 APY, Tyler Smith 10 APY. I hope they can do it and I hope you’re right. I don’t understand the cap as well as some of you so if you say they can do it then cool.

Now on the field do we want a QB that needs points from ST and defense to get the offense in rhythm. Do we want a QB that limits play calling because the threat of him throwing a pick. Do we want a QB that is ineffective in the RZ. These are problems that teams have with rookies they are developing and trying to win. Dak is an 8 year veteran. If an 8 year veteran is going to throw into triple coverage in the crucial part of the game like a rookie would, then maybe play the rookie.

I’d feel a lot better losing this game with Lance as the starter. At least we would be developing for the future, or seeing what we have in order to plan for the future. But losing to the worst team in the league with your 8 year franchise QB is very disappointing. And the Cardinals had injuries too and also a bad defense and they still won because some guy named Dobbs put the team on his shoulders.

First yes very easily though Tyler Smith is likely around 20m per year. However do not forget that Micah will not see his 33-35m per year for another 3 years and Tyler not for another 4 years. Martin by that time will not be making 18m per year. At that point he will either be far cheaper, retired, or on another team because a 35-36 year old guard is not going to be making 18m per because as much as it hurts to say it is unlikely that at that age he will be an elite all pro G anymore.

Next up we can talk about the RZ offense. The last 2 years the Cowboys were one of the top RZ offenses in the NFL. Therefore either Dak and the offense, who are largely the same players, have either completely forgotten how to play in the RZ or MM is not good at RZ offense. The latter seems FAR more likely considering the circumstances. The idea also that an 8 a 10 or even a 15 year veteran is not going to make a couple boneheaded throws every single game is a fiction. Stafford does it, Burrow does it, Brady and Manning would do it, and even Rodgers and Mahomes do it and those are all wildly different generations of QB. The only way to avoid that is to play the soft "afraid to lose" style that MM was playing which will get you regular season wins but does not work well in winning games in the playoffs .

The thing about Lance is he is not a top 50 NFL QB. He lost a backup job to Sam Darnold when the 49ers had every reason to favor him, due to the amount they invested into him and yet they still saw how horrible he looked, some of which we got to see, and went "this is not fixable and we cannot make this work". The idea that Trey Lance can be good is based purely around draft hype. There is zero basis based on anything that has been shown of him as a QB for the past 3 years. He had a good college year in 2019 and then did not play in 2020 and then looked bad in San Francisco for 2 years before losing both the starting and backup jobs. The only thing starting Lance does is mean you go from having Super Bowl potential and a 10-12 win team to a 6-7 win team watching the playoffs.

 

[Beaker42]

Dak can't make basic reads and routinely makes bad decisions. Had the pick 6 happened last week against the Jets we could be sitting at 1-2 as that would have really swung the momentum in that game at that point. We are good to great at almost every position except QB.

CB’s and Safeties say “Hi!!!”

 

[CowboyStar88]

Idiots. This game cost me money.

Not sure what the relevance is here to my post. But that sucks? Maybe chill on the sports betting, not sure what to tell ya.

 

[StarLord]

If the defense is the winning factor and Dak just has to ask as the GPS, he's more than fine.

If he's asked to carry the team to victory .. he's not the guy.

That's it. The end.

 

[LovinItAll]

3 guys in there and he throws it

Not sure what you wanted him to do other than throw it away, but even if he had, I’m not sure it would’ve mattered. There was nobody even remotely open on that play. Pollard was ‘open’ at the 5, but if Dak threw to him, the CB had a good chance to come up and swat it away or, at the least, tackle Pollard the moment he caught it.

That int didn’t lose the game for us. Our total inability to score TDs in the RZ is just killing us. It’s not just today, as you know. Last week was just as bad.

MM best go back and look at our RZ success last year and start inserting those concepts. This game today (and last week) was not encouraging at all.

I don’t get down on the Cowboys very often, but
seriously, this was hard to watch. I don’t care about ints….every QB will throw some. Sure seems like Dak is tentative, like no firm plant and fire. I guess we’ll see.

 

[plymkr]

First yes very easily though Tyler Smith is likely around 20m per year. However do not forget that Micah will not see his 33-35m per year for another 3 years and Tyler not for another 4 years. Martin by that time will not be making 18m per year. At that point he will either be far cheaper, retired, or on another team because a 35-36 year old guard is not going to be making 18m per because as much as it hurts to say it is unlikely that at that age he will be an elite all pro G anymore.

Next up we can talk about the RZ offense. The last 2 years the Cowboys were one of the top RZ offenses in the NFL. Therefore either Dak and the offense, who are largely the same players, have either completely forgotten how to play in the RZ or MM is not good at RZ offense. The latter seems FAR more likely considering the circumstances. The idea also that an 8 a 10 or even a 15 year veteran is not going to make a couple boneheaded throws every single game is a fiction. Stafford does it, Burrow does it, Brady and Manning would do it, and even Rodgers and Mahomes do it and those are all wildly different generations of QB. The only way to avoid that is to play the soft "afraid to lose" style that MM was playing which will get you regular season wins but does not work well in winning games in the playoffs .

The thing about Lance is he is not a top 50 NFL QB. He lost a backup job to Sam Darnold when the 49ers had every reason to favor him, due to the amount they invested into him and yet they still saw how horrible he looked, some of which we got to see, and went "this is not fixable and we cannot make this work". The idea that Trey Lance can be good is based purely around draft hype. There is zero basis based on anything that has been shown of him as a QB for the past 3 years. He had a good college year in 2019 and then did not play in 2020 and then looked bad in San Francisco for 2 years before losing both the starting and backup jobs. The only thing starting Lance does is mean you go from having Super Bowl potential and a 10-12 win team to a 6-7 win team watching the playoffs.

Hopefully you’re right about the RZ offense. It may be McCarthy. I’m not going to argue with you on that and I’m hoping you’re right. I’m definitely not going to argue the salary cap stuff.

As far as Dak goes what I’m disappointed about is he couldn’t put the team on his shoulders and win it today. Dak has shown he can’t do that. When the team is humming he plays well. When the team is struggling then Dak struggles. This year it’s McCarthy’s offense that is causing the struggles, last year it was Moore, before Moore it was Garrett. So at some point you got to look at Dak. Dobbs took a less talented team and carried them to victory. How is it that Dak couldn’t do that? So hopefully you’re right and it’s McCarthy’s fault for the production issues in the RZ. I fully expect every player regardless of position to make a boneheaded play (or two) in a game. So the interception is not what I’m basing my disappointment on. My disappointment is he couldn’t carry us to victory against a weaker team.

As far as Lance goes, if we get eliminated from playoff contention then let’s play Lance and see what we got. But we’re not there yet.