CFZ NFL Parity is real, but Cowboys are undersized, soft and have zero red zone offense success

[VaqueroTD]

Parity is alive and well. 49ers stomped us then lost 2 in a row. Cards stomped us and lost to everyone else on their schedule. We stomped the Jets, Jets beat the Eagles. We stomped the Pats, Pats beat the Bills, and so on...

There is only one elite QB in the NFL now, and his name is Patrick Mahomes. Everyone else is trying to get better so throw your Dak angst somewhere else.

Which of these 3 are the biggest problems this year? And more important, how do you fix it? Can you fix it? Because these 3 obstacles are what I feel most likely to keep this team from winning it all in a league full of parity where anyone can look good or bad each week, especially depending on starter injuries. As Aikman said, depth is so bad now, every team is just 1-2 injuries away from mediocrity.

1. Cowboys are undersized.
   1. Biggest reason why 49ers had their way. Don't believe me? Go look at Cleveland's defensive linemen size vs ours. Look at our RBs and WRs sizes versus several teams. This team is built on speed, which is good, but it can also backfire, and this team will be physically dominated by squads like the 49ers that we are sure to meet in the Playoffs. #11 can tear up teams, if he's not too worn out from being double-teamed against offensive linemen 50-75lbs bigger than him. (Or they can just run over him) The two units that aren't undersized are the offensive line and safeties, and they're not executing.
2. Cowboys are mentally soft.
   1. Biggest reason why the Cards won. Never seen a cornerback injury deflate a team so much but apparently Diggs is our injury that takes us to mediocrity. You saw players like #11 and #88 get accused of giving up in the 49ers game. Even Darryl Johnston pointed out how mentally soft this team can be and not shake it off. Also consider that teams come to play when it's a game against Dallas. They know it has the ratings. Stupid stuff like Kittle wears his shirt. This is a big game for many opponents who don't play in the lights 24/7 like our overhyped team. And the penalties are coming back. Stupid penalties from an undisciplined mentally soft squad have been an Achilles' heel of the Coach Mac era, even if they want to blame unfair refs, which IMO makes them look softer.
3. Red Zone offense stinks.
   1. Now the Dak Haters can get excited. Blame Dak, blame the undersized RBs, blame the new offense (which looks like the culprit if you just compare red zone numbers versus last year). But Cowboys are sitting on 39.13% scoring percentage in red zone. Only 6 teams are worst. AND the scoring % is lower the last 3 games! So no sign of it getting better except for a good showing from the QB last week. No reports of trading for a physical back to support Pollard. Best thing you can say about this is they will improve as they implement it weekly, and offensive line is back together again, but still dinged.

 

[MarionBarberThe4th]

I think you’re right when I think of Dallas roster I think of our safeties playing linebacker. Our running backs who are micro. Our linebackers who are finesse. It’s hard to just change the dna on the fly but you can definitely just steamroll them. You honestly might could do that tush push on every play and just rugby your way to the end zone

 

[Cowboy_svt]

cowboys being soft has been as issue since parcells left.
I dont mind the speed vs size thing but i think the scheme on both sides (more so offense) isnt using it right.
Sending pollard up the middle 400 times and maybe one time to the outside is beyond stupid. We also barely use him in the passing game, so its like we have speed, never really utilize it and try to be physical with it and fail.

 

[VaqueroTD]

I think you’re right when I think of Dallas roster I think of our safeties playing linebacker. Our running backs who are micro. Our linebackers who are finesse. It’s hard to just change the dna on the fly but you can definitely just steamroll them. You honestly might could do that tush push on every play and just rugby your way to the end zone

Good point on the Safeties playing LB. Forgot to mention that. Not undersized, but because they are being asked to play LB position. Seems to work well for one year then they struggle. (Kearse, Wilson, Bell's first year in the light)

 

[VaqueroTD]

cowboys being soft has been as issue since parcells left.
I dont mind the speed vs size thing but i think the scheme on both sides (more so offense) isnt using it right.
Sending pollard up the middle 400 times and maybe one time to the outside is beyond stupid. We also barely use him in the passing game, so its like we have speed, never really utilize it and try to be physical with it and fail.

Agree they are playing Pollard wrong. Just need to trade for a big back and can fix that. And yes, call it soft, call it believing the hype too much, whatever the case, Parcells was the only coach to date who could keep it level, even with prima donnas like TO.

 

[Cowboy_svt]

Agree they are playing Pollard wrong. Just need to trade for a big back and can fix that. And yes, call it soft, call it believing the hype too much, whatever the case, Parcells was the only coach to date who could keep it level, even with prima donnas like TO.

getting a dude like Quincy Carter and that rebuilding team into the playoffs was something i didnt appreciate at the time till later.
Then the cupcake Wade era and then JG, makes you almost think McCarthy is a massive improvement over those guys. Too bad the culture is so tainted here i doubt any coach here can do well in that regard.

I honestly dont know if a big back can do better here, zeke could be considered a big back and we still didnt see much success with him (he was hampered by injury at times) but he was getting stuffed at the line immediately, i dont think Henry does substantially better to give up picks for him, esp at his age and potential injury (he already had a big one before)

 

[MRV52]

Are the Vikings undersized? They took it to the 49ers last night and the score should have not been close. Our problem are the COACHES!!! They don’t know how to use our players. McCarthy is a real problem.

 

[shabazz]

Roster…..just above average but enough to make the playoffs from year to year
Head Coach…..uninventive guy trapped in the early 2000s
Owner……stubborn dictator trapped in his own ego

Steady as she goes and full speed ahead

 

[acr731]

Parity is alive and well. 49ers stomped us then lost 2 in a row. Cards stomped us and lost to everyone else on their schedule. We stomped the Jets, Jets beat the Eagles. We stomped the Pats, Pats beat the Bills, and so on...

There is only one elite QB in the NFL now, and his name is Patrick Mahomes. Everyone else is trying to get better so throw your Dak angst somewhere else.

Which of these 3 are the biggest problems this year? And more important, how do you fix it? Can you fix it? Because these 3 obstacles are what I feel most likely to keep this team from winning it all in a league full of parity where anyone can look good or bad each week, especially depending on starter injuries. As Aikman said, depth is so bad now, every team is just 1-2 injuries away from mediocrity.

1. Cowboys are undersized.
   1. Biggest reason why 49ers had their way. Don't believe me? Go look at Cleveland's defensive linemen size vs ours. Look at our RBs and WRs sizes versus several teams. This team is built on speed, which is good, but it can also backfire, and this team will be physically dominated by squads like the 49ers that we are sure to meet in the Playoffs. #11 can tear up teams, if he's not too worn out from being double-teamed against offensive linemen 50-75lbs bigger than him. (Or they can just run over him) The two units that aren't undersized are the offensive line and safeties, and they're not executing.
2. Cowboys are mentally soft.
   1. Biggest reason why the Cards won. Never seen a cornerback injury deflate a team so much but apparently Diggs is our injury that takes us to mediocrity. You saw players like #11 and #88 get accused of giving up in the 49ers game. Even Darryl Johnston pointed out how mentally soft this team can be and not shake it off. Also consider that teams come to play when it's a game against Dallas. They know it has the ratings. Stupid stuff like Kittle wears his shirt. This is a big game for many opponents who don't play in the lights 24/7 like our overhyped team. And the penalties are coming back. Stupid penalties from an undisciplined mentally soft squad have been an Achilles' heel of the Coach Mac era, even if they want to blame unfair refs, which IMO makes them look softer.
3. Red Zone offense stinks.
   1. Now the Dak Haters can get excited. Blame Dak, blame the undersized RBs, blame the new offense (which looks like the culprit if you just compare red zone numbers versus last year). But Cowboys are sitting on 39.13% scoring percentage in red zone. Only 6 teams are worst. AND the scoring % is lower the last 3 games! So no sign of it getting better except for a good showing from the QB last week. No reports of trading for a physical back to support Pollard. Best thing you can say about this is they will improve as they implement it weekly, and offensive line is back together again, but still dinged.

You do realize that SF lost 2 very important pieces of their offense to injury, right?

 

[NoLuv4Jerry]

Parity is alive and well. 49ers stomped us then lost 2 in a row. Cards stomped us and lost to everyone else on their schedule. We stomped the Jets, Jets beat the Eagles. We stomped the Pats, Pats beat the Bills, and so on...

There is only one elite QB in the NFL now, and his name is Patrick Mahomes. Everyone else is trying to get better so throw your Dak angst somewhere else.

Which of these 3 are the biggest problems this year? And more important, how do you fix it? Can you fix it? Because these 3 obstacles are what I feel most likely to keep this team from winning it all in a league full of parity where anyone can look good or bad each week, especially depending on starter injuries. As Aikman said, depth is so bad now, every team is just 1-2 injuries away from mediocrity.

1. Cowboys are undersized.
   1. Biggest reason why 49ers had their way. Don't believe me? Go look at Cleveland's defensive linemen size vs ours. Look at our RBs and WRs sizes versus several teams. This team is built on speed, which is good, but it can also backfire, and this team will be physically dominated by squads like the 49ers that we are sure to meet in the Playoffs. #11 can tear up teams, if he's not too worn out from being double-teamed against offensive linemen 50-75lbs bigger than him. (Or they can just run over him) The two units that aren't undersized are the offensive line and safeties, and they're not executing.
2. Cowboys are mentally soft.
   1. Biggest reason why the Cards won. Never seen a cornerback injury deflate a team so much but apparently Diggs is our injury that takes us to mediocrity. You saw players like #11 and #88 get accused of giving up in the 49ers game. Even Darryl Johnston pointed out how mentally soft this team can be and not shake it off. Also consider that teams come to play when it's a game against Dallas. They know it has the ratings. Stupid stuff like Kittle wears his shirt. This is a big game for many opponents who don't play in the lights 24/7 like our overhyped team. And the penalties are coming back. Stupid penalties from an undisciplined mentally soft squad have been an Achilles' heel of the Coach Mac era, even if they want to blame unfair refs, which IMO makes them look softer.
3. Red Zone offense stinks.
   1. Now the Dak Haters can get excited. Blame Dak, blame the undersized RBs, blame the new offense (which looks like the culprit if you just compare red zone numbers versus last year). But Cowboys are sitting on 39.13% scoring percentage in red zone. Only 6 teams are worst. AND the scoring % is lower the last 3 games! So no sign of it getting better except for a good showing from the QB last week. No reports of trading for a physical back to support Pollard. Best thing you can say about this is they will improve as they implement it weekly, and offensive line is back together again, but still dinged.

Excellent, excellent, excellent post

I told anyone who would listen....this is a PERSONELL issue. We do not have players that can make plays in phone booth....but we install an offense the requires that!!!!!!! It is pure COMEDY the way this franchise is run

It's like we just add players without any thought of how they are going to fit!!!!!

A healthy 49ers team would beat a healthy Cowboys team 10 out of 10 times. Their coaching is far superior...but more than that....they are too physical for us to handle. If this is the team that knocked you out of the playoffs 2 years in a row...why would you build a team that has ZERO chance of beating them? Are you hoping you would not have to see them again? And for the record...the Eagles are way to physical for us to beat them either.


We are not some team in rebuilding mode....so not sure how we continue to sit back and not try to construct a roster and or philosophy to BEAT the teams that are better than us

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Parity is alive and well. 49ers stomped us then lost 2 in a row. Cards stomped us and lost to everyone else on their schedule. We stomped the Jets, Jets beat the Eagles. We stomped the Pats, Pats beat the Bills, and so on...

There is only one elite QB in the NFL now, and his name is Patrick Mahomes. Everyone else is trying to get better so throw your Dak angst somewhere else.

Which of these 3 are the biggest problems this year? And more important, how do you fix it? Can you fix it? Because these 3 obstacles are what I feel most likely to keep this team from winning it all in a league full of parity where anyone can look good or bad each week, especially depending on starter injuries. As Aikman said, depth is so bad now, every team is just 1-2 injuries away from mediocrity.

1. Cowboys are undersized.
   1. Biggest reason why 49ers had their way. Don't believe me? Go look at Cleveland's defensive linemen size vs ours. Look at our RBs and WRs sizes versus several teams. This team is built on speed, which is good, but it can also backfire, and this team will be physically dominated by squads like the 49ers that we are sure to meet in the Playoffs. #11 can tear up teams, if he's not too worn out from being double-teamed against offensive linemen 50-75lbs bigger than him. (Or they can just run over him) The two units that aren't undersized are the offensive line and safeties, and they're not executing.
2. Cowboys are mentally soft.
   1. Biggest reason why the Cards won. Never seen a cornerback injury deflate a team so much but apparently Diggs is our injury that takes us to mediocrity. You saw players like #11 and #88 get accused of giving up in the 49ers game. Even Darryl Johnston pointed out how mentally soft this team can be and not shake it off. Also consider that teams come to play when it's a game against Dallas. They know it has the ratings. Stupid stuff like Kittle wears his shirt. This is a big game for many opponents who don't play in the lights 24/7 like our overhyped team. And the penalties are coming back. Stupid penalties from an undisciplined mentally soft squad have been an Achilles' heel of the Coach Mac era, even if they want to blame unfair refs, which IMO makes them look softer.
3. Red Zone offense stinks.
   1. Now the Dak Haters can get excited. Blame Dak, blame the undersized RBs, blame the new offense (which looks like the culprit if you just compare red zone numbers versus last year). But Cowboys are sitting on 39.13% scoring percentage in red zone. Only 6 teams are worst. AND the scoring % is lower the last 3 games! So no sign of it getting better except for a good showing from the QB last week. No reports of trading for a physical back to support Pollard. Best thing you can say about this is they will improve as they implement it weekly, and offensive line is back together again, but still dinged.

I don't know about the undersized argument. Yeah Parsons is small....and Bell is as well but size doesn't seem to effect Bell.

Mentally soft....I mean I don't think they are mentally soft but I do think they took the Diggs injury hard just like the 49ers took losing Deebo hard. I think its natural. But under the McCarthy regime he has goten this team to win games when guys are out. I can't accuse them of being mentally soft...not yet anyway. Let's see how they play against teams like the Eagles and I may change my opinion on that.

Redzone offense is bad. No argument there lol. I will say though the offense is lower because of that San Fran debacle. Seemed they were better against the Chargers. At least jumped to 50.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Excellent, excellent, excellent post

I told anyone who would listen....this is a PERSONELL issue. We do not have players that can make plays in phone booth....but we install an offense the requires that!!!!!!! It is pure COMEDY the way this franchise is run

It's like we just add players without any thought of how they are going to fit!!!!!

A healthy 49ers team would beat a healthy Cowboys team 10 out of 10 times. Their coaching is far superior...but more than that....they are too physical for us to handle. If this is the team that knocked you out of the playoffs 2 years in a row...why would you build a team that has ZERO chance of beating them? Are you hoping you would not have to see them again? And for the record...the Eagles are way to physical for us to beat them either.


We are not some team in rebuilding mode....so not sure how we continue to sit back and not try to construct a roster and or philosophy to BEAT the teams that are better than us

I don't know man I think these are some excuses. Cowboys need to play better. THey are flawed. But every team is flawed.

You can't beat a team by 30 and 40 points and then lose like you did to San Fran. Granted, 49ers are a great team but the Browns and Vikings showed they aren't this superior juggernaut.

 

[davey999]

You forgot poorly coached.

 

[Bobhaze]

Parity is alive and well. 49ers stomped us then lost 2 in a row. Cards stomped us and lost to everyone else on their schedule. We stomped the Jets, Jets beat the Eagles. We stomped the Pats, Pats beat the Bills, and so on...

There is only one elite QB in the NFL now, and his name is Patrick Mahomes. Everyone else is trying to get better so throw your Dak angst somewhere else.

Which of these 3 are the biggest problems this year? And more important, how do you fix it? Can you fix it? Because these 3 obstacles are what I feel most likely to keep this team from winning it all in a league full of parity where anyone can look good or bad each week, especially depending on starter injuries. As Aikman said, depth is so bad now, every team is just 1-2 injuries away from mediocrity.

1. Cowboys are undersized.
   1. Biggest reason why 49ers had their way. Don't believe me? Go look at Cleveland's defensive linemen size vs ours. Look at our RBs and WRs sizes versus several teams. This team is built on speed, which is good, but it can also backfire, and this team will be physically dominated by squads like the 49ers that we are sure to meet in the Playoffs. #11 can tear up teams, if he's not too worn out from being double-teamed against offensive linemen 50-75lbs bigger than him. (Or they can just run over him) The two units that aren't undersized are the offensive line and safeties, and they're not executing.
2. Cowboys are mentally soft.
   1. Biggest reason why the Cards won. Never seen a cornerback injury deflate a team so much but apparently Diggs is our injury that takes us to mediocrity. You saw players like #11 and #88 get accused of giving up in the 49ers game. Even Darryl Johnston pointed out how mentally soft this team can be and not shake it off. Also consider that teams come to play when it's a game against Dallas. They know it has the ratings. Stupid stuff like Kittle wears his shirt. This is a big game for many opponents who don't play in the lights 24/7 like our overhyped team. And the penalties are coming back. Stupid penalties from an undisciplined mentally soft squad have been an Achilles' heel of the Coach Mac era, even if they want to blame unfair refs, which IMO makes them look softer.
3. Red Zone offense stinks.
   1. Now the Dak Haters can get excited. Blame Dak, blame the undersized RBs, blame the new offense (which looks like the culprit if you just compare red zone numbers versus last year). But Cowboys are sitting on 39.13% scoring percentage in red zone. Only 6 teams are worst. AND the scoring % is lower the last 3 games! So no sign of it getting better except for a good showing from the QB last week. No reports of trading for a physical back to support Pollard. Best thing you can say about this is they will improve as they implement it weekly, and offensive line is back together again, but still dinged.

Well said. Even more true in my mind is the NFL’s tendency to be a “week to week” league. It is so hard to define a team or predict what they are in the first 4-6 weeks of the season.

So many fans watch a team win emphatically one week and then project that out for the rest of the season in every game as if what a team is in Sept is completely reliable every week.

I have learned that the NFL is almost impossible to predict. Unlike college football, the talent gaps between teams are razor thin and the rules are set to foster parity rather than dominance. A team one week can look like they are a juggernaut then the next week look like a high school JV team.

Bottom line: NFL teams develop and change during the season. Honestly, I don’t know who the best teams are yet. And neither does anyone else who’s honest enough to admit the NFL is unpredictable.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

You forgot poorly coached.

Are they though?

 

[jazzcat22]

You do realize that SF lost 2 very important pieces of their offense to injury, right?

And we were missing much more than 2 pieces in our losses....excuses for one team but not the other. Yeah, that is how it works on here.

 

[Dakota]

Well this weeks power rankings are out and we are no worse than 7 in all but 3 of the ones I saw. For comparison, the eagles, for all the hype surrounding them, only finished 1st in a handfull and 2nd in the rest. So the gap between us is not that wide according to the real experts who put out the power rankings. So the respect for the Cowboys is real.

 

[jazzcat22]

The one thing I agree with the most on the OP. Is we do not have a RB that can handle the load and get the tough yards and wear down a defense.
Also we have not had a true end zone threat since Dez. Not even Witten as he was getting older could be a threat he once was.
Our WR's are for sure under sized.

Both of those are the main issue with the scoring problems.

Not having LB's, yeah that also. This team even before DQ came in, always went into TC with like 6 or 7 LB's, they NEVER try to improve that.

 

[jazzcat22]

Bottom line: NFL teams develop and change during the season. Honestly, I don’t know who the best teams are yet. And neither does anyone else who’s honest enough to admit the NFL is unpredictable.

I stated in a thread last night after the game....for our Eagles fans .... that ... NO, Philly is not the best team in the NFC, they just have the best record, for now ....

So yeah, we don't know who is really the best. Maybe KC, but they shown they are beatable. Refs help them win one game (no not saying it was rigged, but a horrible call) and they could have lost another one. Same for the Eagles.

Anyway, all these teams may be much different in December. All I know, Dallas better have worked on cleaning up things over their bye week.

 

[75boyz]

Parity is alive and well. 49ers stomped us then lost 2 in a row. Cards stomped us and lost to everyone else on their schedule. We stomped the Jets, Jets beat the Eagles. We stomped the Pats, Pats beat the Bills, and so on...

There is only one elite QB in the NFL now, and his name is Patrick Mahomes. Everyone else is trying to get better so throw your Dak angst somewhere else.

Which of these 3 are the biggest problems this year? And more important, how do you fix it? Can you fix it? Because these 3 obstacles are what I feel most likely to keep this team from winning it all in a league full of parity where anyone can look good or bad each week, especially depending on starter injuries. As Aikman said, depth is so bad now, every team is just 1-2 injuries away from mediocrity.

1. Cowboys are undersized.
   1. Biggest reason why 49ers had their way. Don't believe me? Go look at Cleveland's defensive linemen size vs ours. Look at our RBs and WRs sizes versus several teams. This team is built on speed, which is good, but it can also backfire, and this team will be physically dominated by squads like the 49ers that we are sure to meet in the Playoffs. #11 can tear up teams, if he's not too worn out from being double-teamed against offensive linemen 50-75lbs bigger than him. (Or they can just run over him) The two units that aren't undersized are the offensive line and safeties, and they're not executing.
2. Cowboys are mentally soft.
   1. Biggest reason why the Cards won. Never seen a cornerback injury deflate a team so much but apparently Diggs is our injury that takes us to mediocrity. You saw players like #11 and #88 get accused of giving up in the 49ers game. Even Darryl Johnston pointed out how mentally soft this team can be and not shake it off. Also consider that teams come to play when it's a game against Dallas. They know it has the ratings. Stupid stuff like Kittle wears his shirt. This is a big game for many opponents who don't play in the lights 24/7 like our overhyped team. And the penalties are coming back. Stupid penalties from an undisciplined mentally soft squad have been an Achilles' heel of the Coach Mac era, even if they want to blame unfair refs, which IMO makes them look softer.
3. Red Zone offense stinks.
   1. Now the Dak Haters can get excited. Blame Dak, blame the undersized RBs, blame the new offense (which looks like the culprit if you just compare red zone numbers versus last year). But Cowboys are sitting on 39.13% scoring percentage in red zone. Only 6 teams are worst. AND the scoring % is lower the last 3 games! So no sign of it getting better except for a good showing from the QB last week. No reports of trading for a physical back to support Pollard. Best thing you can say about this is they will improve as they implement it weekly, and offensive line is back together again, but still dinged.

Good and comprehensive/detailed look at team shortcomings.

I'm more basic in my opinion as to the foundation of team success or failure.
And that is to say that I believe drastic improvement in both offensive playcalling and quarterback decision making in real time would instantly make this a SB contender.

These 2 factors have been our weakest links and continue to show themselves on a weekly basis.

Fix them and we'd be hard to beat.
REGARDLESS of any and all other factors already mentioned in your OP.

jmo