Switzerland in WWII

[TwentyOne]

The IQ in the room seems to drop considerably in the wake of Cowboys losses. As such, I feel the first order of business is to address what Sunday was not. It was not a loss to a bad team; the Rams may very well be the team to beat in the NFCW. Nor was it a mollywhop at the hands of a good team; a difference of 5 points in the final score. If even one turnover or turnover opportunity missed had gone the other way, the game could have very easily ended differently and in the Cowboys favor.


There was the Switzer fumble. There was the interception of Dak off of a deflected pass. There was the fumble recovery that never was because Crawford didn’t see or saw too late that the football was right in front of him for a moment before dived on by a Rams player. And there was the ball that just bounced off the top of Anthony Brown’s fingertips to float harmlessly to the ground. Again, any of those plays actually work in the Cowboys favor and a different outcome would have been very possible (perhaps even likely); particularly if more than one had bounced the Cowboys way.


But, alas, it did not and now logic, understanding, and good ole’ fashion common sense is in short supply among Cowboys nation. And understanding of the above logic is not the only thing being missed by the many; the Lecherous Legion of told you so’ers and agenga-pushers would now have us believe that the real Dak has in fact finally stood up and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a bottom of the fourth round pick for a very good reason. Four weeks in; four very good defenses in a row (though, the Rams defense was likely the least of challenges compared to the Giants, Broncos, and Cardinals). Not even Tom Brady or Aaron Rodgers is likely to emerge from that same stretch of games looking like their normal selves.


What am I missing here?


Sure, he threw a pass short of the sticks on fourth down to end the game; that decision clearly deserves questioning. Beyond that lapse in judgement, though, you would be hard pressed to find more ample proof that Dak is not in fact a franchise level quarterback, especially if you keep a firm grip on context.


The Cowboys faithful are also forgetting the Cowboys were without the services of two corners Carroll and Awuzie (though Carroll, I’m sure, was hardly missed), their starting Left Guard Chaz Green, their Defensive leader and Left Linebacker Sean Lee and, of course, lest we forget, the recently returned from suspension Defensive End David Irving. The Rams won fair and square; I offer no excuses to wash away the Cowboy loss. But we are collectively kidding ourselves if we say the above did not have an impact on the final outcome of the game. Especially a game against a good team where the final result was a difference of 5 points.


I will agree that poor coaching had a hand in that loss. To put it simply and keep this short, in the first half the Cowboys played to win; in the second half, the Cowboys played to not lose. And as many a long-time football watcher knows, playing to not lose will get you beat more often than not…especially against a hungry-to-prove-their-doubters-wrong team like the Rams. We as a fanbase have to hope the Cowboys can get back that edge fueled by doubters from a year ago. At .500 on the year, the ground is now fertile for doubt. I suspect we will start to see a return of that lost intensity against the Packers in the upcoming contest. The fear I harbor at this moment is with each win will we see a return of arrogance or will they maintain their hunger to prove the football watching nation wrong…as of right now, that’s really hard to say which is why my prognosticating days are done for now…


Thoughts?

Good writeup as always. Thanks for the work.

But i have to disagree: The IQ doesnt drop after loses. It just shows up more.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

I will agree that poor coaching had a hand in that loss. To put it simply and keep this short, in the first half the Cowboys played to win; in the second half, the Cowboys played to not lose.

Such a nonsense argument. Did playing not to lose make Dak go 9/21?

Did playing not to lose cause Brown to drop a sure INT?

We executed in the first half. We didn't in the 2nd half. Plain and simple.

 

[waldoputty]

The bad thing about all these fans with low IQ's, they all seem to want to post on the CZ every time the Cowboys lose. Ain't that a *****?

especially those former coaches!

 

[Trouty]

So was I and Switzerland was neutral in WWII

Yup. No one's messing with dem banks, Bigdog. Not even ol' Adolf.

J, great writeup, brother. Amazing.

 

[waldoputty]

I suspect the latter. Of the position's that require continuity, the offensive line is among the most important places to have it. They have time to get it corrected, you just have to hope these early losses don't come back to bite them.

lets hope u r right.
some say that rams played more zone and less blitzes in the 2nd half?

is it me or did dak have less time in the 2nd half?
that does not seem to jive with more zone and less blitzes?
if they are playing off in zone, should our running not improve?

 

[waldoputty]

Yup. No one's messing with dem banks, Bigdog. Not even ol' Adolf.

J, great writeup, brother. Amazing.

of course, his family probably have money in there

 

[jday]

When it comes to this offense...I would tell any opposing team that when in doubt make the Cowboys beat you on hot reads. That's been an issue with Garrett's offenses from day 1.

But the defense is still a major problem. And as bad as Heath and Jaylon was, Charlton, Collins, Crawford, Mayowa, etc. were just as bad. This is where I probably would have liked to have TJ Watt because at least he can play the run for now. Charlton can't and we got gashed in the second half by the Rams because of the weakside D-Line's issues. We've really got 1 legit starter on the D-Line. The rest are NFL worthy, but they are not NFL starter worthy at this point.






YR

To be clear, I'm not saying the Cowboys are going to be fine. There are clear issues on this team. I just think it's a bit early to pronounce them dead in the water or to jump to the conclusion that Dak will be backing someone up in the next 5 years.

Here's what I see happening to address most of the issues at present:

Heath may lose his job to Woods, even though Woods might be better suited for FS, he clearly knows how to make a wrap up tackle and takes good angles to the ball, to match his spot on coverage thus far.

David Irving will likely push TCrawford inside in lieu of Paea, if not out of the lineup all together as a rotational piece.

Jaylon may not lose his job but he will lose snaps as Hitchens gets added back to the rotation. It is as I said it was in preseason. So long as he can run in a straight line, he is okay, but the moment he has to stop and redirect, he is typically too far behind the play to do anything. Also , he tends to overrun plays, leaving inside cuts for runners that can be exploited.

Taco is what I thought he was...a guy that's going to need time to develop...but provided he has the right mental intangibles, he'll be solid in a year or two.

I'm not sure why you are down on Collins; he's been really good, for the most part, working in tandem with DLaw and if you consider what the Rams have done to other teams they faced, I'd say the defense as a whole did a great job forcing the amount of field goals they did, given how many players they were missing.

All in all, I think the Cowboys have much of the fixes available to them in-house. We will certainly know more by Thanksgiving.

 

[jday]

The bad thing about all these fans with low IQ's, they all seem to want to post on the CZ every time the Cowboys lose. Ain't that a *****?

I've avoided the room for a few days because of it. I was tempted to respond to some of them, but thought better of it. Some people are beyond help.

 

[John813]

Too short; didn't read.

Lol.

Good read as always.

 

[Corso]

The bad thing about all these fans with low IQ's, they all seem to want to post on the CZ every time the Cowboys lose. Ain't that a *****?

Hey! I gots da IQ da... Judge Wapner is on...

 

[jday]

lets hope u r right.
some say that rams played more zone and less blitzes in the 2nd half?

is it me or did dak have less time in the 2nd half?
that does not seem to jive with more zone and less blitzes?
if they are playing off in zone, should our running not improve?

Depends. Remember, we were missing Green in the lineup. It is possible that Cooper ran out of gas by the second half and he may have had a part in that pressure they were feeling late. Either way, I actually point to the lack of creativity on the offenses part to get things going in the second half. They seemed to stick to the gameplan to a fault and I thought was clear the Rams were in a sense dictating our offense, which has gotten this team in trouble in other games this year, namely the Broncos. Unfortunately, the issue there may in fact be Dak. Dak needs to be careful not to take what the defenses is seemingly giving presnap all the time. Those checks need to be kept at minimum because I think defenses are doing a good job of disguising intent to force that as an issue for him. He'll learn.

 

[waldoputty]

I've avoided the room for a few days because of it. I was tempted to respond to some of them, but thought better of it. Some people are beyond help.

i guess a lot of us have been avoiding the main room.
for me, i just dont have much to say.
too early to say much about any rookie unless they r playing great.
too early to say they are hopeless this year on the OL and DBs.
with NE's problems, at least 3 games too early to say tank the year.
just not scare of alex smith...

 

[jday]

Too short; didn't read.

Lol.

Good read as always.

I'm sporting a migraine today, so I didn't feel like going into depth. Short and sweet, will have to do today and for the rest of the week until I get my new prescription glasses. My doc tells me I now need two different kinds; one for computer work and one for driving.

 

[Corso]

I'm sporting a migraine today, so I didn't feel like going into depth. Short and sweet, will have to do today and for the rest of the week until I get my new prescription glasses. My doc tells me I now need two different kinds; one for computer work and one for driving.

I gave Ballard and Bino migraines today and connected them...
Wild.


EDIT: Not even exaggerating. Danny and I had a 2 hour conversation about it when I brought it up. We ended up adding it in.

 

[jday]

i guess a lot of us have been avoiding the main room.
for me, i just dont have much to say.
too early to say much about any rookie unless they r playing great.
too early to say they are hopeless this year on the OL and DBs.
with NE's problems, at least 3 games too early to say tank the year.
just not scare of alex smith...

Like I said in the op, I'm done prognosticating on this team. Too many variables at this point to say which direction they will go. I still say they are a good team, but I'm concerned in particular with how the coaches have been using them.

Heath isn't terrible, but he's not the best option, in my opinion.

Kellen Moore is terrible, and for some reason Cooper Rush has yet to be part of the active 46. That of course has made no difference in games, however, it certainly makes me question the logic these coaches employ. Cooper was the clear cut winner of that QB battle in preseason. There is no question of that and yet Kellen still occupies a spot a better player could occupy that is currently sitting on the couch stuffing his face with Doritos. Pick a Free Agent, and he's probably better at his craft than is Kellen.

Jaylon Smith is still severely limited. I think it's mostly mental, but either way, he's over-pursuing plays and seems to be a hair-late in play recognition...that will come with time, just not sure you want to lose too many more games while you wait for him to figure that out.

Taco is what I thought he was; a guy whose going to need an offseason or two to realize his full potential. Fortunately, David Irving is back, so that will likely be much ado about nothing soon.

Jordan has already replaced Carroll in the lineup in my opinion. Once Chidobe is healthy, this secondary will start to click. We just have to hope they figure things out sooner than later and too late.

 

[jday]

I gave Ballard and Bino migraines today and connected them...
Wild.

An important detail to likely include and flavor to the story telling: migraines are typically followed by bouts of nausea which in turn have a tendency to make the migraine all the more debilitating.

 

[Corso]

Like I said in the op, I'm done prognosticating on this team. Too many variables at this point to say which direction they will go. I still say they are a good team, but I'm concerned in particular with how the coaches have been using them.

Heath isn't terrible, but he's not the best option, in my opinion.

Kellen Moore is terrible, and for some reason Cooper Rush has yet to be part of the active 46. That of course has made no difference in games, however, it certainly makes me question the logic these coaches employ. Cooper was the clear cut winner of that QB battle in preseason. There is no question of that and yet Kellen still occupies a spot a better player could occupy that is currently sitting on the couch stuffing his face with Doritos. Pick a Free Agent, and he's probably better at his craft than is Kellen.

Jaylon Smith is still severely limited. I think it's mostly mental, but either way, he's over-pursuing plays and seems to be a hair-late in play recognition...that will come with time, just not sure you want to lose too many more games while you wait for him to figure that out.

Taco is what I thought he was; a guy whose going to need an offseason or two to realize his full potential. Fortunately, David Irving is back, so that will likely be much ado about nothing soon.

Jordan has already replaced Carroll in the lineup in my opinion. Once Chidobe is healthy, this secondary will start to click. We just have to hope they figure things out sooner than later and too late.

Tickity Taco the Tacky Chicken is going to have be judged in year 3 whether we like it, or not.

 

[Corso]

An important detail to likely include and flavor to the story telling: migraines are typically followed by bouts of nausea which in turn have a tendency to make the migraine all the more debilitating.

Yup, and one happens at the most inopportune time. Then you learn something I'll PM.

 

[jday]

Such a nonsense argument. Did playing not to lose make Dak go 9/21?

Did playing not to lose cause Brown to drop a sure INT?

We executed in the first half. We didn't in the 2nd half. Plain and simple.

Feel free disagree. I saw what I saw. You saw differently. Color me surprised.

 

[jday]

Yup. No one's messing with dem banks, Bigdog. Not even ol' Adolf.

J, great writeup, brother. Amazing.

Thanks brother! You are always a welcome addition to the conversation Trout!!!