ST: Scott Linehan making Prescott, Cowboys’ offense look good

[Idgit]

Seems to be par for course and I said it before the season. It is Jason offense when things go bad it is Linehan offense when things are good. I get a kick out of many fans who actually think they have a clue about play calling.

I wish I found it funny. It just drives me up a wall for some reason. Mostly because it's a phantasm that takes up so much collective fan head-space that it gets in the way of talking about things that matter a lot more to winning and losing.

 

[Nova]

His play calling hasn't been better. The QB play has been better than the crap of 2015.

That play calling criticism is just a fan crutch. Rarely is there anything valid behind the accusation.

Dak's play has been really good. His abilities have allowed Linehan to expand where we couldn't last year.

Zeke also helps. He presents mismatch problems that Linehan has done a good job exploiting for high probability plays.

As a result the playcalling in the passing game has been more creative, more deceptive and has helped take some of the pressure off the run game.

 

[Risen Star]

Dak's play has been really good. His abilities have allowed Linehan to expand where we couldn't last year.

Zeke also helps. He presents mismatch problems that Linehan has done a good job exploiting for high probability plays.

As a result the playcalling in the passing game has been more creative, more deceptive and has helped take some of the pressure off the run game.

No it hasn't. That's your perception of it. That's how you rationalize it in your head rather than just admit you're wrong. He wasn't a good play caller in 2014, a bad one in 2015 and a good one again this year. It's the same guy. His skills as a play caller hasn't changed. The QB play did those three years.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I will say that I did not agree with Linehan's play-calls at times last year (and haven't always this year), but execution can overcome a few suspect calls. Those suspect calls become even more suspect when the execution is poor ... and it also becomes harder to call plays.

Execution was more so why this offense failed last year. Execution was why we lost game 1. You can only do so much as coach.

 

[reddyuta]

I am going to go with Risen on this one,Linehan is nothing special.In 2014 Romo had a career year and made some tremendous plays.last Year the backups could not make the play when it counted.they just completed 34% on 3rd downs(this year Dak is at 50%!). simply put Better QB play has made Linehans job easier which was always easier to begin with with the best Oline and great Running backs to go along with it.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

No it hasn't. That's your perception of it. That's how you rationalize it in your head rather than just admit you're wrong. He wasn't a good play caller in 2014, a bad one in 2015 and a good one again this year. It's the same guy. His skills as a play caller hasn't changed. The QB play did those three years.

How was he bad in 2014?

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

I am going to go with Risen on this one,Linehan is nothing special.In 2014 Romo had a career year and made some tremendous plays.last Year the backups could not make the play when it counted.they just completed 34% on 3rd downs(this year Dak is at 50%!). simply put Better QB play has made Linehans job easier which was always easier to begin with with the best Oline and great Running backs to go along with it.

What good OC can get good play out if a bad quarterback? Not to even say Linehan is special but to not give him credit for a solid offense? I don't get it.

 

[reddyuta]

What good OC can get good play out if a bad quarterback? Not to even say Linehan is special but to not give him credit for a solid offense? I don't get it.

what i am saying is that this offense is all about our Oline,An OC has to be truly awful to mess this up.Good QB play should take us to the playoffs every year with this Oline. going 4-12 with that Oline is still very unacceptable but the QBs last year just could not make the key plays and made a key mistake which cost us the game.

 

[roughneck266]

No, Linehan did it on orders from Jason Garrett, whose strings were being pulled by Jerry Jones.

Did I forget anyone? Oh yeah, I'm sure Marinelli did something, like refusing to share nicknames with them.

You left out the guy from the grassy knoll.

 

[Risen Star]

How was he bad in 2014?

You read that wrong. I'm saying it isn't a case of him being a good play caller in 2014, a bad one last year and a good one again this year. It's the QB play.

 

[dallasdave]

You read that wrong. I'm saying it isn't a case of him being a good play caller in 2014, a bad one last year and a good one again this year. It's the QB play.

 

[Maxmadden]

You call a play and the players for whatever reason don't execute it. So now you are in 2nd and long and you are limited on what plays you can call. On 3rd and long you have even less options and even the defense knows what you are going to do.

Zeke picking up 5 or 6 yards on first down can make any offensive coordinator look like a genius. He has so many more options and the defense is still playing a guessing game. It has more to do with talent and execution than anything.

Norv Turner had the luxury of Emmitt Smith and he took advantage of it by being totally unpredictable. He could call plays that the defense would never expect because he was getting the execution from a talented core of players, and he also had a defense that could bail him out, but I never got the feeling that I could predict what play he would call next.

 

[haleyrules]

God bless Norv Turner and his timing routes!!

 

[nalam]

When OL is functioning and running game is clicking Linehan appears a better OC. ( Most will look goid ) Lol

I think he is brken the game down for Dak to be not overwhelmed that much is true.

 

[dallasdave]

God bless Norv Turner and his timing routes!!

Norv was great in Dallas

 

[waving monkey]

You read that wrong. I'm saying it isn't a case of him being a good play caller in 2014, a bad one last year and a good one again this year. It's the QB play.

It's always execution Linehan is a fine OC

 

[gimmesix]

Linehan knows what he is doing, come on fans scream about play calling in every city as if they had a clue. Players have a responsibility a big one in all of this. The pass plays that come in have more than 1 option it is the QB job to make the right reads to find the open man based on the coverages he sees Linehan can't do that for them. In the case of Dak he is making the right reads and he is finding the open man. The plays will work

Of course, he knows what he's doing. That doesn't mean he gets them all right.

I see no problem with fans, for example, questioning throwing the ball on third-and-1 or third-and-2 and failing to convert. Coaches try to outguess the defense. Sometimes those moves are well-calculated, such as the pass to Beasley that finished off the 49ers, and sometimes they're not.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

It's still a simple and predictable offense. But, as I've always said, simple and predictable are good and even desirable when you have great talent that can win with the majority of its one on one matchups. There are few were moving parts and fewer things that can go wrong.

 

[jobberone]

So...Linehan doesn't suck any more now?

Loser's suck. Winner's don't suck.



I gotta work on this. Not jangly at all. Sucks really but.....

 

[Nova]

No it hasn't. That's your perception of it. That's how you rationalize it in your head rather than just admit you're wrong

Wow. It's pretty cavalier to assume I'm making my claim on what I perceive rather than what I, and others, are actually observing.

Couldn't possibly be that you aren't able to recognize the differences in the plays being called...

He wasn't a good play caller in 2014, a bad one in 2015 and a good one again this year. It's the same guy. His skills as a play caller hasn't changed. The QB play did those three years.

And I didn't say his skills varied. I said he's doing a better job this year.

Just because he's doing a better job doesn't mean he's actually more skilled