jday
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Disclaimer: The following is obviously not for the TL/DR crowd. However, if the sheer size of this doesn’t scare you away, you should probably note that this is really three threads combined. I combine them because they are three different perspectives on the exact same thing; so to divide the following accordingly would contradict the purpose.
You may have noticed, if you have kept up with my contributions as of late, I’m divided. From one thread to the next, I have debated with pessimist, optimist, and the trickiest of foes, realist. Nevertheless, all three combined pale in comparison to the mirror-match that transpires prior to my fingers touching the keyboard in front of me.
All of me believes the Cowboys are on the cusp of greatness. Where there is a divide in this belief among me, myself, and I (the optimist, the pessimist and the realist, respectively) is when. The optimist has us in the Super Bowl this year. The pessimist has us in the Super Bowl sometime in the next 5 years. The realist recognizes that greatness can be achieved by the Cowboys, without the benefit of ever receiving rings for their trouble. The nature of the NFL dictates that the best team doesn’t always win (thank Dean Blandino for that enlightenment), and as such the Cowboys could be the best team football has ever seen and still not win a Super Bowl.
Nevertheless, as there seems to be no end in sight to the internal debate that rages within even now as I write, I thought I would try something different and allow you the reader to have “ring side seats” for my 3-way-split take on the Cowboys offense. Tomorrow, I’ll attempt to do the same for defense.
Me
What’s not to like? Granted, the Cowboys lost some cogs in the wheel with the departure via Free Agency of Ron Leary and the expected retirement of Doug Free, but in their place moves La’el Collins and a group of guys who could very easily become a somebody surrounded by the talent of Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and Travis Frederick. Given their All-Pro surroundings, surely someone who can at the very least provide solid play will emerge.
Beyond that minor blemish, the Cowboys return largely the same league leading offense from a year ago. New to the arsenal are Ryan Switzer and Noah Brown. Admittedly, Noah Brown is likely practice squad bound, however, he has reaped Dez Bryant physicality comparisons. Ryan Switzer is as close to a carbon copy of Cole Beasley as you will find. The predominant difference between the two is that Switzer also brings what has been described as an elite ability to field punts and kick returns. Having been a running back in high school, he also has better run-after-the-catch ability than Beasley.
Rico Gathers (drafted in the 7th round of the epic 2016 draft / spent last year on the practice squad), according to many sources, will likely make the 53 in 2017. According to Will McClay, “We can’t stop him,” referring to Rico’s ability as a receiver. Now, rather that is an indictment of the defense or a truth regardless of who lines up opposite Gathers, remains to be seen. But for a guy who hasn’t played football since junior high to garner these accolades even against a subpar defense should be encouraging to any Cowboys fan.
Behind that Great Wall of Dallas and alongside that uber-talented receiver group, is Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, the two rookies from a year ago largely responsible for ushering in a new winning era for the Dallas Cowboys. When scouts remove bias and intangibles from the conversation, what is left is supposed to be a developmental prospect who will ideally sit for 2 to 3 seasons before starting, when looking at Dak Prescott’s measurable’s…and his measurable’s alone. However, when you throw back in his desire to be great, his natural leadership ability/charisma, and his never-say-die approach to the game, he is clearly on another level from the typical rookie Quarterback…regardless of where said quarterback was drafted (from first overall to last). Last year Dak Prescott showed the world he was a rookie in title only. From the moment he took a snap, the Cowboys team was Dak’s…and all Tony Romo could do was sit and watch as Dak removed all doubt who was running the show and that he would not relinquish his crown.
Not since Emmitt Smith, has the NFL seen a running back as complete as Ezekiel Elliott. You can site better runners. You can site better pass protectors. You can find guys that our faster. And you find guys who break more tackles. What you will not find is a guy who does all these things as well as Zeke does all in the same player. That is what makes Zeke a generational talent…and still the better option over Jalen Ramsey…and it is still not even close. A year removed from his rookie year, he returns to the field with getting better in mind. Specifically, he was recently quoted as saying, he wants to be a better second level runner; translation – he feels he should have taken even more to the house on some of the long runs he had where he was caught from behind.
Expecting anything less than better than last year would be lunacy!!!
Myself
Offensive line’s demand continuity, first and foremost. Even if you were to be afforded the ability to hand pick your own offensive line, choosing only the best for every position, your offense would still likely struggle in the early going of a football season. Again, that’s with the best of the best at every position across the offensive line.
The Cowboys Great Wall is losing 2 bricks from a wall that consist of 5 bricks. If it was 2 bricks from the Great Wall of China, fine, that wall will continue to stand; no debate from me on that. But this is almost half of the entire offensive line now gone. In their stead, the Cowboys are substituting in the still largely unproven La’el Collins and a hand full of names who will remain just names until they otherwise demonstrate their ability to be more than just camp bodies. You would be hard pressed to find a guy beyond Tyron, Travis, Zack and La’el currently slotted to play on the Cowboys offensive line that could start in place of what 31 other teams already have on their perspective offensive lines. The Cowboys are hoping someone emerges, but the ugly truth is, we haven’t the slightest idea what any of them are. To think the Cowboys offensive line will return to their 2016 form in 2017 is a slim bet at best…it all starts up front.
Dez Bryant fell off in 2016. He may return to greatness, but people don’t typically get faster and stronger with age beyond 28. And if we are all be honest with ourselves, I think we can all agree that even with his best play since this last contract began, he still has yet to earn that top receiver pay. I suspect there is not a single person reading this right now that couldn’t list off 5 receivers they would rather have in place of Dez without consulting Google.
Behind Dez, is solid…I can admit that much. But should Dez miss time and the offensive line is unable to reproduce 2016’s magic, the Cowboys simply don’t have another receiver that demands the same defensive attention Dez’s reputation has a tendency to collect. Without fear of the passing game, the opposing defense can key on and take away the running game, nullifying the one thing that gives the Cowboys a chance in 2017: their offense.
Hard to complain about Zeke on the field, but off the field is another matter entirely. Given his behavior garnering media attention, it won’t be long before the NFL must respond in the form of a suspension. Behind Zeke, the Cowboys have nothing that comes close to replacing his production. In other words, if the Cowboys lose Zeke, the Cowboys lose….in much the same manner the Cowboys lost in the 90’s when Emmitt did not play.
Perhaps the biggest mess the Cowboys have on offense centers on the TE position. Returing to their lineup is the aging (and by extension slowing) future hall of famer Witten, Swaim, Hanna, and Gathers. Witten defines greatness in all that he does. But father time has no respect for character or attitude…and he is undefeated. Eventually, Witten will fall off…I suspect his decline will manifest itself this season. Behind Witten, the options are paltry. Both Swaim and Hanna are returning from injury and Gathers hasn’t played football since Junior High. As is true of Dez and Zeke, should Witten go down for any amount of time, the Cowboys offense as a whole is in trouble.
Granted, it is unlikely everything I sighted that could go wrong will go wrong…I can admit that. The problem is if even one of those issues should manifest itself in some way or another, the entire offense will suffer. And the Cowboys can ill-afford for the offense to be anything less than spectacular, such is the suspect nature of the Cowboys defense. But, of course, more on that defense tomorrow.
I
Say what you will about the Cowboys chances in the 2017 season, you absolutely have to love the direction of the Cowboys and their collection of savvy and smart offseason moves; be it through the draft or their smart-buys in Free Agency. The 2016 draft was a draft for the ages and will likely be referred to in history as one of the better drafts over the lifetime of our beloved Cowboys. Dak, Zeke, Brown, and Collins - These are the guys we know the Cowboys struck gold on. But, I suspect there still be gold in them there hills in the form of none other than Jaylon Smith, Charles Tapper, and Rico Gathers.
More on Jaylon and Charles tomorrow, as this is about offense. As for Gathers, while he may not earn Pro Bowl consideration in his first year, he does have the requisite athleticism and physical size to be a headache and mismatch for most defenders. The big question in his game will more than likely be blocking. It is hard enough to teach the hybrid TE/WR who played 4 years in college to pick up blocking. The Cowboys are attempting to teach Rico everything about being a TE in the NFL, including blocking. So, with that mind, we must temper our expectations as it pertains to Gathers. If Rico is by season end anything up to and above being labeled serviceable, that would have to be considered an accomplishment on the coach’s part.
But at the end of the day, for me, it really isn’t about rather or not the Cowboys will ever win a Championship again. It really isn’t. And if you are being honest with yourself, that’s not the reason you watch either. You love football. And you love the Dallas Cowboys. So regardless of rather or not you think the Cowboys will be playing in February, you will still be watching every Sunday without fail. That is simply how most football fans are wired. After all, the odds of winning it all are staggeringly low when you consider that there are 31 other teams with the same goal in mind.
So remind yourself what this really is all about is the entertainment of watching the classic gridiron struggle. It’s about watching the chess match that occurs between the coaches on the sideline. It’s about watching physical poetry in motion. It’s about hard hits. It’s about players bouncing back from those hard hits and lining back up as if to say “thank you sir, may have another.”
Super Bowl or not, by season end we all be able to say we were entertained, if nothing else. So, if you were entertained, you got your money’s worth…especially if you don’t buy team apparel or tickets to games.
Thoughts?
You may have noticed, if you have kept up with my contributions as of late, I’m divided. From one thread to the next, I have debated with pessimist, optimist, and the trickiest of foes, realist. Nevertheless, all three combined pale in comparison to the mirror-match that transpires prior to my fingers touching the keyboard in front of me.
All of me believes the Cowboys are on the cusp of greatness. Where there is a divide in this belief among me, myself, and I (the optimist, the pessimist and the realist, respectively) is when. The optimist has us in the Super Bowl this year. The pessimist has us in the Super Bowl sometime in the next 5 years. The realist recognizes that greatness can be achieved by the Cowboys, without the benefit of ever receiving rings for their trouble. The nature of the NFL dictates that the best team doesn’t always win (thank Dean Blandino for that enlightenment), and as such the Cowboys could be the best team football has ever seen and still not win a Super Bowl.
Nevertheless, as there seems to be no end in sight to the internal debate that rages within even now as I write, I thought I would try something different and allow you the reader to have “ring side seats” for my 3-way-split take on the Cowboys offense. Tomorrow, I’ll attempt to do the same for defense.
Me
What’s not to like? Granted, the Cowboys lost some cogs in the wheel with the departure via Free Agency of Ron Leary and the expected retirement of Doug Free, but in their place moves La’el Collins and a group of guys who could very easily become a somebody surrounded by the talent of Tyron Smith, Zack Martin and Travis Frederick. Given their All-Pro surroundings, surely someone who can at the very least provide solid play will emerge.
Beyond that minor blemish, the Cowboys return largely the same league leading offense from a year ago. New to the arsenal are Ryan Switzer and Noah Brown. Admittedly, Noah Brown is likely practice squad bound, however, he has reaped Dez Bryant physicality comparisons. Ryan Switzer is as close to a carbon copy of Cole Beasley as you will find. The predominant difference between the two is that Switzer also brings what has been described as an elite ability to field punts and kick returns. Having been a running back in high school, he also has better run-after-the-catch ability than Beasley.
Rico Gathers (drafted in the 7th round of the epic 2016 draft / spent last year on the practice squad), according to many sources, will likely make the 53 in 2017. According to Will McClay, “We can’t stop him,” referring to Rico’s ability as a receiver. Now, rather that is an indictment of the defense or a truth regardless of who lines up opposite Gathers, remains to be seen. But for a guy who hasn’t played football since junior high to garner these accolades even against a subpar defense should be encouraging to any Cowboys fan.
Behind that Great Wall of Dallas and alongside that uber-talented receiver group, is Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, the two rookies from a year ago largely responsible for ushering in a new winning era for the Dallas Cowboys. When scouts remove bias and intangibles from the conversation, what is left is supposed to be a developmental prospect who will ideally sit for 2 to 3 seasons before starting, when looking at Dak Prescott’s measurable’s…and his measurable’s alone. However, when you throw back in his desire to be great, his natural leadership ability/charisma, and his never-say-die approach to the game, he is clearly on another level from the typical rookie Quarterback…regardless of where said quarterback was drafted (from first overall to last). Last year Dak Prescott showed the world he was a rookie in title only. From the moment he took a snap, the Cowboys team was Dak’s…and all Tony Romo could do was sit and watch as Dak removed all doubt who was running the show and that he would not relinquish his crown.
Not since Emmitt Smith, has the NFL seen a running back as complete as Ezekiel Elliott. You can site better runners. You can site better pass protectors. You can find guys that our faster. And you find guys who break more tackles. What you will not find is a guy who does all these things as well as Zeke does all in the same player. That is what makes Zeke a generational talent…and still the better option over Jalen Ramsey…and it is still not even close. A year removed from his rookie year, he returns to the field with getting better in mind. Specifically, he was recently quoted as saying, he wants to be a better second level runner; translation – he feels he should have taken even more to the house on some of the long runs he had where he was caught from behind.
Expecting anything less than better than last year would be lunacy!!!
Myself
Offensive line’s demand continuity, first and foremost. Even if you were to be afforded the ability to hand pick your own offensive line, choosing only the best for every position, your offense would still likely struggle in the early going of a football season. Again, that’s with the best of the best at every position across the offensive line.
The Cowboys Great Wall is losing 2 bricks from a wall that consist of 5 bricks. If it was 2 bricks from the Great Wall of China, fine, that wall will continue to stand; no debate from me on that. But this is almost half of the entire offensive line now gone. In their stead, the Cowboys are substituting in the still largely unproven La’el Collins and a hand full of names who will remain just names until they otherwise demonstrate their ability to be more than just camp bodies. You would be hard pressed to find a guy beyond Tyron, Travis, Zack and La’el currently slotted to play on the Cowboys offensive line that could start in place of what 31 other teams already have on their perspective offensive lines. The Cowboys are hoping someone emerges, but the ugly truth is, we haven’t the slightest idea what any of them are. To think the Cowboys offensive line will return to their 2016 form in 2017 is a slim bet at best…it all starts up front.
Dez Bryant fell off in 2016. He may return to greatness, but people don’t typically get faster and stronger with age beyond 28. And if we are all be honest with ourselves, I think we can all agree that even with his best play since this last contract began, he still has yet to earn that top receiver pay. I suspect there is not a single person reading this right now that couldn’t list off 5 receivers they would rather have in place of Dez without consulting Google.
Behind Dez, is solid…I can admit that much. But should Dez miss time and the offensive line is unable to reproduce 2016’s magic, the Cowboys simply don’t have another receiver that demands the same defensive attention Dez’s reputation has a tendency to collect. Without fear of the passing game, the opposing defense can key on and take away the running game, nullifying the one thing that gives the Cowboys a chance in 2017: their offense.
Hard to complain about Zeke on the field, but off the field is another matter entirely. Given his behavior garnering media attention, it won’t be long before the NFL must respond in the form of a suspension. Behind Zeke, the Cowboys have nothing that comes close to replacing his production. In other words, if the Cowboys lose Zeke, the Cowboys lose….in much the same manner the Cowboys lost in the 90’s when Emmitt did not play.
Perhaps the biggest mess the Cowboys have on offense centers on the TE position. Returing to their lineup is the aging (and by extension slowing) future hall of famer Witten, Swaim, Hanna, and Gathers. Witten defines greatness in all that he does. But father time has no respect for character or attitude…and he is undefeated. Eventually, Witten will fall off…I suspect his decline will manifest itself this season. Behind Witten, the options are paltry. Both Swaim and Hanna are returning from injury and Gathers hasn’t played football since Junior High. As is true of Dez and Zeke, should Witten go down for any amount of time, the Cowboys offense as a whole is in trouble.
Granted, it is unlikely everything I sighted that could go wrong will go wrong…I can admit that. The problem is if even one of those issues should manifest itself in some way or another, the entire offense will suffer. And the Cowboys can ill-afford for the offense to be anything less than spectacular, such is the suspect nature of the Cowboys defense. But, of course, more on that defense tomorrow.
I
Say what you will about the Cowboys chances in the 2017 season, you absolutely have to love the direction of the Cowboys and their collection of savvy and smart offseason moves; be it through the draft or their smart-buys in Free Agency. The 2016 draft was a draft for the ages and will likely be referred to in history as one of the better drafts over the lifetime of our beloved Cowboys. Dak, Zeke, Brown, and Collins - These are the guys we know the Cowboys struck gold on. But, I suspect there still be gold in them there hills in the form of none other than Jaylon Smith, Charles Tapper, and Rico Gathers.
More on Jaylon and Charles tomorrow, as this is about offense. As for Gathers, while he may not earn Pro Bowl consideration in his first year, he does have the requisite athleticism and physical size to be a headache and mismatch for most defenders. The big question in his game will more than likely be blocking. It is hard enough to teach the hybrid TE/WR who played 4 years in college to pick up blocking. The Cowboys are attempting to teach Rico everything about being a TE in the NFL, including blocking. So, with that mind, we must temper our expectations as it pertains to Gathers. If Rico is by season end anything up to and above being labeled serviceable, that would have to be considered an accomplishment on the coach’s part.
But at the end of the day, for me, it really isn’t about rather or not the Cowboys will ever win a Championship again. It really isn’t. And if you are being honest with yourself, that’s not the reason you watch either. You love football. And you love the Dallas Cowboys. So regardless of rather or not you think the Cowboys will be playing in February, you will still be watching every Sunday without fail. That is simply how most football fans are wired. After all, the odds of winning it all are staggeringly low when you consider that there are 31 other teams with the same goal in mind.
So remind yourself what this really is all about is the entertainment of watching the classic gridiron struggle. It’s about watching the chess match that occurs between the coaches on the sideline. It’s about watching physical poetry in motion. It’s about hard hits. It’s about players bouncing back from those hard hits and lining back up as if to say “thank you sir, may have another.”
Super Bowl or not, by season end we all be able to say we were entertained, if nothing else. So, if you were entertained, you got your money’s worth…especially if you don’t buy team apparel or tickets to games.
Thoughts?
