The early conundrum facing Cowboys coaches

[noshame]

Wow, Dak has absolutely no idea how to read an NFL defense. Everything is disguised. In college, it's as vanilla as can be. Dak doesn't understand the zone concepts of the NFL quite yet. He will, but not yet.

I expect a lot of packages for quick throws. Look for Zeke and Morris/Dunbar to be in the game at the same time. Get the ball out in space to backs and run a lot of screens. Defenses can't scheme that with anything elaborate.

This will be a real learning experience for you, and a few others around here.

 

[BleedinBlue]

How long are we going to play the if "Romo was in there card" 2 years, 3 years, never let go? There's a reason Dak is starting..Romo cant.
The absolute worse thing that could happen to this football team this year is for Romo to come back too soon and get injured again.

 

[TheHerd]

If this offensive line is so "tremendous", then why is our starting quarterback suffering broken bones constantly

I know this is heresy to say it here, but the OL is the best run blocking line, but not the best pass blocking. Romo covers a lot of errors. He also creates a lot of his own issues.

 

[TheHerd]

The thread title implies our coaches have to actually ... coach.

 

[erod]

This will be a real learning experience for you, and a few others around here.

So you are saying that Dak will do what Peyton Manning couldn't do?

He won't have to do too much, which is good, but he'll only have about 40 percent of the playbook. They'll have to really simplify things.

Fortunately, the first four games are against weak opponents.

 

[acr731]

Now is when this defense is going to rear its ugly head.

Cowboys coaches have a dilemma. They've got to dumb down this offense to a rookie level and figure out a way to run the ball and win. Pittsburgh did that with Roethlisberger when he was a rookie by giving him about a 18-pitch limit in the passing game. The Cowboys must do the same.

On one hand, this is the PERFECT offense to accomplish this. A tremendous offensive line and two formidable running backs should make this doable. Then, when Dak drops back, he's got Dez and Witten to lean on, and he's got his legs.

Sounds like a solid plan.

However, unlike Roethlisberger, Dak doesn't have a defense to lean on. He's going to have to probably outscore his opponents, so he doesn't get the luxury of a rookie gameplan as much. And he's NEVER seent the types of defenses he's about to. Defensive coordinators can break a QB down to his weaknesses pretty readily until they have none.

If Dallas can't churn out first downs in mass early in the running game, Dak isn't ready for a Romo game where he's calling out defensive blitzes at the line of scrimmage and reading coverages. Dak will be very limited, and he's ripe for the bear trap laid out for him.

These first 4-6 games will rest on Rod Marinelli to pull a rabbit out of his backside. His unit won't have Romo to cover up all the ugly on that side of the ball.

I have zero confidence in Garrett. He's shown me nothing in 5 and a half years to suggest he's catching on. In the last couple years Jerry has taken play calling duties away, reinstated them, and then removed him entirely from offensive obligations. Last year was the perfect chance for him to show what kind of coach he could be after losing Romo and he failed miserably. If there is a true dilemma facing the coaching staff it starts and ends with Garrett's incompetence.

They can't dumb the offense down any more than was done last season without expecting another disaster. Dak is more mobile and has a fresh arm. They should open it up instead and let him sink or swim. The season is likely lost anyway, so open it up and get Dak some good experience to build on for next season. He could surprise everyone and have a great season. He could also tank badly, but at this point its a risk worth taking.

 

[acr731]

They'll have to really simplify things.

Why? If he's going to be the future, open it up and lets see what the kid can bring to the table.

 

[erod]

Why? If he's going to be the future, open it up and lets see what the kid can bring to the table.

Not that simple. College defenses are no more complicated than 8th grade. It's about physical matchups only.

NFL defenses disguise everything, from coverages to blitz packages to man-zone combinations. It takes QBs a long time to learn it. Romo became a Jedi master about 3-4 years ago. It takes time.

If Dak just lets it rip, he'll throw 4-5 picks a game. The good thing is, if the run game can pull teams into 8-man fronts, it's much harder to disguise coverage. I suspect they'll let Dallas run the ball until they get into the red zone, then come up to stop the run with a back boundary to limit the field they have to cover.

 

[erod]

I have zero confidence in Garrett. He's shown me nothing in 5 and a half years to suggest he's catching on. In the last couple years Jerry has taken play calling duties away, reinstated them, and then removed him entirely from offensive obligations. Last year was the perfect chance for him to show what kind of coach he could be after losing Romo and he failed miserably. If there is a true dilemma facing the coaching staff it starts and ends with Garrett's incompetence.

They can't dumb the offense down any more than was done last season without expecting another disaster. Dak is more mobile and has a fresh arm. They should open it up instead and let him sink or swim. The season is likely lost anyway, so open it up and get Dak some good experience to build on for next season. He could surprise everyone and have a great season. He could also tank badly, but at this point its a risk worth taking.

If Dallas had this year's schedule a year ago, it would have gone a lot better.

No coach can take Weeden/Cassel and beat Brady, Brees, Eli, Wilson, Ryan.....it was a brutal schedule right after Romo got hurt.

 

[MileyDancer]

Seent?

That's not a word. #grammarnazi

 

[acr731]

Not that simple. College defenses are no more complicated than 8th grade. It's about physical matchups only.

NFL defenses disguise everything, from coverages to blitz packages to man-zone combinations. It takes QBs a long time to learn it. Romo became a Jedi master about 3-4 years ago. It takes time.

If Dak just lets it rip, he'll throw 4-5 picks a game. The good thing is, if the run game can pull teams into 8-man fronts, it's much harder to disguise coverage. I suspect they'll let Dallas run the ball until they get into the red zone, then come up to stop the run with a back boundary to limit the field they have to cover.

I get what you're saying. My reasoning is that the season is probably lost anyway having a rookie QB starting. Many of us think he could be the future (I'm still on the fence), so throw him to the wolves and see what he can do. Hopefully he doesn't have a first season like Aikman did. Remember how bad that was for him?

 

[acr731]

If Dallas had this year's schedule a year ago, it would have gone a lot better.

No coach can take Weeden/Cassel and beat Brady, Brees, Eli, Wilson, Ryan.....it was a brutal schedule right after Romo got hurt.

I agree. But any coach worth his salt would have figured out how to win more than 1 game.

 

[Diehardblues]

If Dak can do half as well as he has this PS we should score a lot. I think he's scored on 10 of his 11 possessions. That is nuts!

Yes, but none of those were in a come from behind 2nd half or 4th qtr pressure game on the line scenario. Closet thing was drive before half in Seattle which was impressive .

 

[erod]

I agree. But any coach worth his salt would have figured out how to win more than 1 game.

Gotta be fair though. It wasn't just Romo. It was Dez Bryant, who was useless when he came back hobbling around. Not to mention Orlando Scandrick, the failure to re-sign or replace Demarco Murray, and the horrible safety play.

 

[erod]

I get what you're saying. My reasoning is that the season is probably lost anyway having a rookie QB starting. Many of us think he could be the future (I'm still on the fence), so throw him to the wolves and see what he can do. Hopefully he doesn't have a first season like Aikman did. Remember how bad that was for him?

It's not lost. Dallas needs only get 3-3 somehow until Romo can return and give it a go. I'll betcha he's able to take more hits than people think. That one fluky.

At least we're not Minnesota right now.

 

[Diehardblues]

If you're insinuating that our offensive line isn't tremendous, then you're kinda wrong.

It's a tremendous rushing OL. Stats reveal above average in pass coverage.

Free is a weak link that could end Romo's career early. If he's not holding he's getting beat.

 

[acr731]

Gotta be fair though. It wasn't just Romo. It was Dez Bryant, who was useless when he came back hobbling around. Not to mention Orlando Scandrick, the failure to re-sign or replace Demarco Murray, and the horrible safety play.

You improvise and overcome. Don't throw in the towel like they appeared to do.

 

[Diehardblues]

It's not lost. Dallas needs only get 3-3 somehow until Romo can return and give it a go. I'll betcha he's able to take more hits than people think. That one fluky.

At least we're not Minnesota right now.

Problem is that 3-3 was even a probability with Romo. Bengals and Packers very lose able games. I can definitely see a loss against either NY or Wash and at Chicago is never a cake walk . The only game we prob should win is at SF.

3-3 is very optimistic or as Jerry said "too optimistic ". Good news is like last year division may not be any better than 3-3 so 2-4 we're still in it. That's actually more realistic.

 

[followthestar]

Dak has a lot of things going for him here, not least of which is his youth. I'll wager he ends up with 50 yards rushing and 200 passing. And while Romo isn't on the field, he'll be in Dak's ear telling him what he sees and what to look for. We have a better than even chance of winning our opener, I think. And imagine how the Giants will feel, losing to a rookie starting the first game of the year. How demoralizing would that be? Make it so, kid...

 

[acr731]

Problem is that 3-3 was even a probability with Romo. Bengals and Packers very lose able games. I can definitely see a loss against either NY or Wash and at Chicago is never a cake walk . The only game we prob should win is at SF.

3-3 is very optimistic or as Jerry said "too optimistic ". Good news is like last year division may not be any better than 3-3 so 2-4 we're still in it. That's actually more realistic.

Its the NFL. No game should ever be considered a gimme. Nor should it be an automatic loss either, exception being Green Bay. That place is like a curse on the Cowboys. Same as it used to be for them coming to Dallas.