The Condemning Air Yards Stat

[McMicah]

Exactly. This is why I suggested two years ago that Dallas build the team to run the football and play stout defense. Take the pressure off Dak, or make him dispensable. No need to pay him the ridiculous money they pay him.

And btw, who had Zack Martin falling apart on their Bingo card? Before teh season I think we assume he would be the same guy we have seen every year. His demise has really been a problem for the offense this year.

I did. I had Zack Martin falling apart. I did a deep dive on the Oline and said the backups looked as good as he did, and I got destroyed. I even said last year they made a mistake paying him because he was just average.

I’m not mad at fans for not noticing, but I hate the coaches and FO for not knowing when a player is done. Zeke is done, Martin is done, and yes, Dak is done without his legs. Yet these guys hang onto glory day players like their team can run on glory day fuel

 

[Canada180]

IMO Air Yards tell you more about a QB than many other stats. I went back and manually looked at all 3 QBs in tonight’s game and looked at air yards relative to the line of scrimmage. While some screens are designed to be negative air yards, in general you want a QB that’s able to throw downfield when needed.

Kirk cousins had a net of 73 yards through the air, with everything else coming through YAC. That’s 3.7 Yards beyond the LOS per completion. Not bad bus driving.

Cooper Rush also had 73 yards on only 14 throws, and he would’ve had way more if Ceedee or Jaylen could’ve snagged their deep balls. That’s 5.2 air yards beyond LOS per completion. Well done, Coop. Way to sling it.

Dak had 22 completions, and netted a whopping 35 net air yards the whole game. He only had 8 net air yards in the whole first half! That’s 1.7 yards beyond the LOS per completion. That is objectively awful.

The question is, who do we blame this on? The Oline? The coaches for the scheme and play calling, or Dak for not seeing the field or having bad accuracy down range? Or maybe the scheme is a reflection of Daks issues.

You tell me

Ladies and gentlemen thats what 60 million per year buys you!!

 

[CowboyStar88]

Been saying for a while that Dak is not a down the field passer. People love to trot out that "deep passes" stat but those stats only consider "deep" 20 yards. When I looked at the charts to compare 30+ air yard passes from the LOS on the NextGen site, Dak has the worst completion percentage among some of the top QBs with at least 4 attempts this year. Russell Wilson has only played 2 games but is arguably the best modern day bomb ball thrower out there.

Purdy .......... 3/4
Wilson ......... 3/5
Goff .............. 5/9, 3 TDs
Darnold......... 5/9, 2 TDs
Hurts ............ 7/14, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Herbert ........ 3/6, 1 TD
Mahomes ..... 2/4, 1 TD
Rodgers ....... 2/4, 1 TD, 1 INT
Burrow .......... 4/9, 2 TDs
Allen .............. 4/10
Lawrence ...... 3/10, 1 TD, 1 INT
Stafford ......... 3/11, 2 INTs
Jackson ........ 3/12, 1 TD
Dak ............... 2/11, 2 INTs

It’s getting even uglier. Sure Dallas can’t run the ball, but it’s not just because we have a terrible oline and zero talent in the backfield. Defenses can play closer to the line because Dak is struggling to beat their coverages. Defenses are not scared of Dak.

 

[morat1959]

All three of those are at least partly a function of what happens when you have an OL that cannot pass block. Look, im not trying to sell you that dak is awesome or even good this year, but it should come as no surprise that when an OL struggles hard, the rest of the offense suffers HARD.

I have broke down Dak’s limitations many times on this board. It’s the things you don’t see in a stat line. What did Dak accomplish when he did have a good O-line? I’ll wait. I can’t make you see it if you don’t. There are many things that stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[NotForLong]

He’s gonna say something about it being garbage time without realizing the irony. Just wait.

Exactly. Unless he thinks twice about doing that. Never the less It was exciting to see Rush spreading the ball around and going for some long passes. I also like his style of play which I believe helps the defense stay fresh. Some have criticized the low scores in games he has started but I enjoy his ball control style.

 

[CowboyStar88]

Exactly. Unless he thinks twice about doing that. Never the less It was exciting to see Rush spreading the ball around and going for some long passes. I also like his style of play which I believe helps the defense stay fresh. Some have criticized the low scores in games he has started but I enjoy his ball control style.

The one thing that stood out to me was his drop back. Once that back foot hit the ball was out of his hand it was a striking difference between he and Dak. So I’m curious to see how that plays out over the next few weeks. I have a feeling that’s how the offense is taught.