Silver Linings

[CATCH17]

Not sure we can say DEN, NE, SEA, etc. "came out of nowhere." And year after year?

Nobody was picking Seattle.. Heck not many were picking Denver. Carolina? Again nobody.

It's a parity league and Dallas had a good chance.

 

[Everson24]

The team cannot rely on the Romo comeback, we have no idea if Dak has that kind of clutch ability, especially as a rookie. This means the rest of the offense has to be on their game, and either the special teams or defense is going to have to step up as well.

This may be the biggest silver lining of them all. They have leaned on Romo far too many times over the years. Let's see some heart in this team for a change.

 

[VACowboy]

Silver lining - TE's will have a banner year -with all the check downs Dak will be throwing. Same with Beasley in the slot, career year. I think Romo should be back after the bye.
Dak was a late 4th round pick, Im still not sure what to think, hes looked fantastic, but its PS. About game 3 when there is film on him, and teams really start to game plan for him. Both the first and second picks are getting to sit and learn, but we are throwing pick 135 ( just a guess) in to start due to need and poor planing.
My fear is he will struggle and go into a shell, hopefully not the david carr shell.
He needed a year to watch and learn, its such a bummer he is being forced into action so early ! Good luck young man ! Hope you beat the odds, but not counting on it ...

I agree about game film and all, but what does the round in which he was drafted have to do with anything?

 

[ghst187]

Could run a killer read option, the same one a much lesser rookie QB and RB used to carry the skins to a division title a few years back. And oh yeah, we have that same RB from that team as our backup.

 

[chicago JK]

It stinks for tony.

Winning games with a rookie is going to be tough...no matter how good that rookie is.

Dallas will need to win games like they tried to last year. We just got to hope our talent evaluators learned from their mistakes last year and our coaches also learned from their mistakes. Not very confident in either imo.

They will need Dak to not a lot of mistakes while making a few big plays a game and maybe a few qb rushes to extend drives. I read that his back shoulder throw was his best throw in college and we have seen it already in the pros. I also saw on Twitter the option play of handing of to Zeke or throwing a back shoulder catch to Dez is the type of simple play we could see a lot.

This year we have a power running game. Last year we in way too many second and third down and longs. Getting into manageable and advantageous downs will really help a young qb.

Lastly, I don't expect the defense to lead the league in takeaways like they did in 2014 but they better be much better than they were last year. If they can be top 10 in takeaways that would help greatly. I think they need to be at least middle of the league in both takeaways and turnover/takeaway ratio.

 

[JackOfNoTrades]

And if Romo is only out 4 - 6 games the Cowboys can play a slimmed down playbook without the entire league adjusting to it. When he is healthy again Romo will be able to use the entire playbook from day one and opposing DCs will have to adjust to that.

Dak isn't going to take Romo's job, but in a short stretch like this is could be both a trial by fire and a great learning experience for Dak.

Romo is brittle and when/if he returns, it's only a matter time/snaps to when he goes down next. He can not be relied on. I believe it's a dawn of a new day here in Dallas.

 

[Cowboy06]

there is no reason to write off any season, not with the schedule we have.....we have been rebuilding for years...no excuses

I agree, but I'm being a realist...I am sick of one player stopping the show. This should be a lesson, one player alone does not make a team. Move on with Dak or someone...but move on post haste.

 

[kiheikiwi]

I agree about game film and all, but what does the round in which he was drafted have to do with anything?

Normally, not everytime, but normally the higher the draft pick - or round you were taken in. Means all the scouts, thought your chances of suceeding in the league were better. Lower rounds, more flaws, longer time needed to develop. Bottem of 4th round means teams saw him as a player that needed time.
Now being thrown in to start, is not ideal...
Thats the theory, guys like Brady and Romo blow that out of the water. But they both sat to start their careers...
But its the time to develope that should be needed, by Dak.And why i wanted him to sit for a year or two.
He may be the exception to rule, but the odds are stacked highly against it .....

 

[xwalker]

4. If Dak succeeds, Romo can be a premier backup. I know he (and some here) won't want to hear that, and his contract is probably un-cuttable until end of next year (in 2017, he has a cap hit of $24M, but dead money of $19M, so only a $5M savings; whereas in 2018, he has a cap hit of $25M, but dead money of only $8M, so a $17M savings). So, if Dak proves capable, keep Romo around to back him up through 2017, and cut him in 2018. Or trade him, if you find a willing contender.

You don't pay Romo's salary (14M in 2017) to be a backup to avoid dead-money because that just creates more cap issues. Like you said, they save 5M by cutting him. Dead money does not matter when the team actually gains cap space due to the lack of the big salary.

 

[xwalker]

1. Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariotta came out as juniors and played well as rookies. Dak played four years, through his senior year. While Dak was not graded as highly as those two, there is no reason to think he can't be as successful with a better offensive supporting cast.

2. This was not a Super Bowl roster. Nor did the FO treat this as a Super Bowl team. They made no significant free agent moves. And used a high 2nd round pick on a redshirt player. Losing Romo may have cost us a shot at a division championship and maybe a playoff win, but that is all. So let's keep that in perspective and enjoy the glimpse of our future in Dak.

3. This is a great reason to change this offensive playbook. Last year, it was proven again that no other QB can succeed in this Garrett/Linehan system other than Romo. So, if this coaching staff was smart, they will tailor the system to the player (Dak), not the player to the system, and change this system for good. We have the personnel to turn this offense in the SEA offense: run-first, play action passing, lots of rollouts to keep the pass rush guessing, read draws to open up bigger rushing lanes for Zeke. I would love to see this transition.

4. If Dak succeeds, Romo can be a premier backup. I know he (and some here) won't want to hear that, and his contract is probably un-cuttable until end of next year (in 2017, he has a cap hit of $24M, but dead money of $19M, so only a $5M savings; whereas in 2018, he has a cap hit of $25M, but dead money of only $8M, so a $17M savings). So, if Dak proves capable, keep Romo around to back him up through 2017, and cut him in 2018. Or trade him, if you find a willing contender.

This guy was an Eagles fan...

 

[acr731]

They have leaned on Romo far too many times over the years. Let's see some heart in this team for a change.

They had that chance last season and Garrett blew it badly.

 

[Irvin88_4life]

I think Dak is the only rookie starting QB week 1....depending on Denver situation. We will find out if he is the future or not this season which will allow us to go after QB next season or getting pieces for Dak.....defense.

Teams like eagles and Rams might not even see their rookie play this season

 

[Gameover]

People are overreacting to this - and yes, I know that is what this site is for.

I agree with the first three in the OP but not with #4, Dak isn't taking Romo's job. This situation is a total fluke, it isn't related to previous injuries and it isn't because Romo is brittle. Look at it like DLaw, as if it was some flakey suspension for the first 4 - 6 games.

So on the OP, I would add my own silver lining. The playbook is going to have a limited set of plays that look like this:

Run Zeke
Run Zeke
Run Zeke
Safe route to Dez
Run Zeke
Run Zeke
Deep ball to TWill or Dez
Run Zeke
Run Zeke
Run Zeke
Dump off to Witten
Run Morris
Run Morris
Run Morris


The good news is that we have the personnel to do that successfully. We have a dominant OLine and Dak has shown he can make all the throws and run a ball control offense. We don't need Dak to be Romo, we just need him to execute a run-first offense.

I know the Romo thread will hit 200 pages, but in the big scheme of things this doesn't change our season all that much.

I think it will depend on the match up. But that's been essentially the plan w Romo under Linehan. He's meat and potatoes

 

[jday]

1. Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariotta came out as juniors and played well as rookies. Dak played four years, through his senior year. While Dak was not graded as highly as those two, there is no reason to think he can't be as successful with a better offensive supporting cast.

2. This was not a Super Bowl roster. Nor did the FO treat this as a Super Bowl team. They made no significant free agent moves. And used a high 2nd round pick on a redshirt player. Losing Romo may have cost us a shot at a division championship and maybe a playoff win, but that is all. So let's keep that in perspective and enjoy the glimpse of our future in Dak.

3. This is a great reason to change this offensive playbook. Last year, it was proven again that no other QB can succeed in this Garrett/Linehan system other than Romo. So, if this coaching staff was smart, they will tailor the system to the player (Dak), not the player to the system, and change this system for good. We have the personnel to turn this offense in the SEA offense: run-first, play action passing, lots of rollouts to keep the pass rush guessing, read draws to open up bigger rushing lanes for Zeke. I would love to see this transition.

4. If Dak succeeds, Romo can be a premier backup. I know he (and some here) won't want to hear that, and his contract is probably un-cuttable until end of next year (in 2017, he has a cap hit of $24M, but dead money of $19M, so only a $5M savings; whereas in 2018, he has a cap hit of $25M, but dead money of only $8M, so a $17M savings). So, if Dak proves capable, keep Romo around to back him up through 2017, and cut him in 2018. Or trade him, if you find a willing contender.

1. Agree.
2. Don't agree. This team could be very good; I wouldn't discount them just yet. A bit early to say one way or another.
3. Agree. I've been saying this for years. Adjust the playbook to the players strengths.
4. This largely depends on what Dak does. If he is undefeated by the time Romo returns, there will be uncivil war here on the zone.

 

[LocimusPrime]

Not sure we can say DEN, NE, SEA, etc. "came out of nowhere." And year after year?

Right on.

 

[phildadon86]

Agreed. The coaching staff of every team spends the summer creating the offensive system for the upcoming season. They are not making any major changes to it now. They have already shown they can adapt to Dak with their playcalling and Dak has shown that if given time, he can quarterback this offense.

Last season during PS i remember saying we cant even score without Romo. At least Dak can put points on the board.

 

[bsbellomy]

1. Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariotta came out as juniors and played well as rookies. Dak played four years, through his senior year. While Dak was not graded as highly as those two, there is no reason to think he can't be as successful with a better offensive supporting cast.

2. This was not a Super Bowl roster. Nor did the FO treat this as a Super Bowl team. They made no significant free agent moves. And used a high 2nd round pick on a redshirt player. Losing Romo may have cost us a shot at a division championship and maybe a playoff win, but that is all. So let's keep that in perspective and enjoy the glimpse of our future in Dak.

3. This is a great reason to change this offensive playbook. Last year, it was proven again that no other QB can succeed in this Garrett/Linehan system other than Romo. So, if this coaching staff was smart, they will tailor the system to the player (Dak), not the player to the system, and change this system for good. We have the personnel to turn this offense in the SEA offense: run-first, play action passing, lots of rollouts to keep the pass rush guessing, read draws to open up bigger rushing lanes for Zeke. I would love to see this transition.

4. If Dak succeeds, Romo can be a premier backup. I know he (and some here) won't want to hear that, and his contract is probably un-cuttable until end of next year (in 2017, he has a cap hit of $24M, but dead money of $19M, so only a $5M savings; whereas in 2018, he has a cap hit of $25M, but dead money of only $8M, so a $17M savings). So, if Dak proves capable, keep Romo around to back him up through 2017, and cut him in 2018. Or trade him, if you find a willing contender.

Man I've got to disagree with we had a shot at the super bowl. This is basically the same team that played the Packers to the wire in 2014, except with a better RB

 

[JBS]

Silver lining is Dak either does well and we have our future

Or he doesn't do well and we clean house and have a relatively high pick

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

playbook