erod
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Play calling. The fan's ultimate give-up gripe on Sundays, especially here these days. It's nauseating to listen to that know-nothing cliché.
"Why won't Garrett call something downfield?" "Garrett sucks, you have to throw it beyond the first down sticks!" "Dallas is so predictable and conservative. The play calling sucks!"
The Cowboys passing game is apparently the most non-creative Pop Warner-level attack in the NFL. And it's all Garrett's fault. Shaking my damn head.
First off, Garrett doesn't call the plays. Linehan does. You'd think that memo got out by now, but not among most of this fan base. And Linehan has been doing it for a long time, and is considered one of the game's best at it. He was lauded last year and during his time with Romo.
Second, Linehan can't throw the football. There are multiple guys in routes, and the QB decides where the ball goes most all of the time, and when to throw it. Plays typically have short, intermediate, and dowfield routes woven into them. You know, like options?
Third, the QB can change the play call at the line of scrimmage according to the defense. Linehan can't know what that will be exactly until they line up. Quarterbacks have to know what they're seeing so they can check out of bad matchups and into better plays.
The offensive struggles right now rest on one player. Dak Prescott. To say anything different is just to refuse to put your pom-poms down long enough to open your eyes.
That doesn't mean it will be like this forever. He's a second-year guy. This is a hard league. Most quarterbacks get eaten alive in the NFL, even those with perfect arms and good minds. Sanchez, Weeden, Couch, Gabbert, Leinart, Cutler, Manuel, Leftwich, Ponder, the older Carr.....the names are endless.
But this is a regression of concerning proportions. Without Zeke to lean on, Dak just isn't seeing it. He's holding it forever. Guys are open, and he won't let it go. He quite obviously doesn't trust his arm or accuracy, or he simply doesn't see the patterns and defenses at all.
So he checks it down. Again and again and again.
The NFL has figured this out, and they've ganged up on Beasley and Witten. They sit in zones and watch his eyes. There's no confidence in those eyes, especially when forced to throw from the pocket.
It's painful to watch.
So back to play calling. What is Linehan supposed to call when either Dak can't see it or won't throw it? Slim playoff possibilities aside, this is the most critical matter at hand right now.
If you don't have a QB, you don't have a viable football team. The team has to be honest with itself and decide if they're going to throw away the careers of this offensive line and Zeke Elliott while Dak bumbles away years of opportunity. Or, is Dak Prescott going to develop into an elite QB? Right now, he falls somewhere in the 20-25 range in the NFL, if that.
If it's me, I draft a QB early. Might even sign another one since Dak is so cheap. You have to find a QB first and foremost, or you're just spinning your wheels in this league. The Browns and the Bears have had lots of quarterbacks that played like Prescott over the years. It's a dead end.
How did we let Garrapolo get away for such a cheap price? Should they look at Cousins, who is playing loads better than Dak? Should they draft Baker Mayfield or another QB that falls to them in the first round?
My gut is, they'll stand pat and completely depend on Dak Prescott to become a great QB. That's their plan, and it's set in stone.
Sadly, that seems like longer odds than our playoff possibilities right now. I don't see it.
"Why won't Garrett call something downfield?" "Garrett sucks, you have to throw it beyond the first down sticks!" "Dallas is so predictable and conservative. The play calling sucks!"
The Cowboys passing game is apparently the most non-creative Pop Warner-level attack in the NFL. And it's all Garrett's fault. Shaking my damn head.
First off, Garrett doesn't call the plays. Linehan does. You'd think that memo got out by now, but not among most of this fan base. And Linehan has been doing it for a long time, and is considered one of the game's best at it. He was lauded last year and during his time with Romo.
Second, Linehan can't throw the football. There are multiple guys in routes, and the QB decides where the ball goes most all of the time, and when to throw it. Plays typically have short, intermediate, and dowfield routes woven into them. You know, like options?
Third, the QB can change the play call at the line of scrimmage according to the defense. Linehan can't know what that will be exactly until they line up. Quarterbacks have to know what they're seeing so they can check out of bad matchups and into better plays.
The offensive struggles right now rest on one player. Dak Prescott. To say anything different is just to refuse to put your pom-poms down long enough to open your eyes.
That doesn't mean it will be like this forever. He's a second-year guy. This is a hard league. Most quarterbacks get eaten alive in the NFL, even those with perfect arms and good minds. Sanchez, Weeden, Couch, Gabbert, Leinart, Cutler, Manuel, Leftwich, Ponder, the older Carr.....the names are endless.
But this is a regression of concerning proportions. Without Zeke to lean on, Dak just isn't seeing it. He's holding it forever. Guys are open, and he won't let it go. He quite obviously doesn't trust his arm or accuracy, or he simply doesn't see the patterns and defenses at all.
So he checks it down. Again and again and again.
The NFL has figured this out, and they've ganged up on Beasley and Witten. They sit in zones and watch his eyes. There's no confidence in those eyes, especially when forced to throw from the pocket.
It's painful to watch.
So back to play calling. What is Linehan supposed to call when either Dak can't see it or won't throw it? Slim playoff possibilities aside, this is the most critical matter at hand right now.
If you don't have a QB, you don't have a viable football team. The team has to be honest with itself and decide if they're going to throw away the careers of this offensive line and Zeke Elliott while Dak bumbles away years of opportunity. Or, is Dak Prescott going to develop into an elite QB? Right now, he falls somewhere in the 20-25 range in the NFL, if that.
If it's me, I draft a QB early. Might even sign another one since Dak is so cheap. You have to find a QB first and foremost, or you're just spinning your wheels in this league. The Browns and the Bears have had lots of quarterbacks that played like Prescott over the years. It's a dead end.
How did we let Garrapolo get away for such a cheap price? Should they look at Cousins, who is playing loads better than Dak? Should they draft Baker Mayfield or another QB that falls to them in the first round?
My gut is, they'll stand pat and completely depend on Dak Prescott to become a great QB. That's their plan, and it's set in stone.
Sadly, that seems like longer odds than our playoff possibilities right now. I don't see it.
Come on erod. This is getting absurd.
