The Things I Worry About for the 2021 Cowboys

[DandyDon52]

I am worried about a devastating rash of injuries that takes out every Pro Bowler we have, completely neutralizes any significant contributions from the rookie class, reduces critical positions to practice squad graduates, and sentences fans to a painfully slow season of watching their team being dominated like they were the neighborhood biatch.

You know, a typical Cowboy season.

I dont worry about that stuff till it happens, and even if it does they need to adjust and make do with what they have like the other teams.

 

[Creeper]

. . . and things I don't worry about :

Worries:

- MM in game decision making! He's been questionable here.
- MM's judgement . The guy's made me scratch my head a few times.
- Dan Quinn's schemes. Nolan was an utter disaster and MM allowed it. Here's hoping DQ is a better choice that aids our players and doesn't compromise their abilities.
- All the Cowboy coaches and their schemes. As this thread suggests, coaching can make or break this team.
- Health of the OL in general. If our starters stay in there and play up to their capabilities this team's offense will be smokin hot!


Not Worried:

- Not worried about Daks leg/ankle/throwing motion/mobility. I think the guy's mentally tough and a top 5 QB. He has gotten better at the position every year and noticeably better. Not worried about him breaking his leg/ankle again or it hindering him.

- Not worried about Jaylon Smith and LVE's play. I think both looking so bad in 2020 is DIRECTLY attributable to Nolan's complicated scheme. Actually nobody on the D was sure of their assignments and this is evidenced by the team's D starting to look better toward the end of the year . . . still had holes but looked a bit better.

- Not worried about our TE situation. I think our guys will easily be top 10 statistically combined.

- Not worried about our DL (strangely enough). I think Tank will get his 8-10 sacks and Gregory too. We'll do much better plugging the middle. The LB'ers will be much better. Safety will not be our strongest point but will be satisfactory. Overall the D improves a lot (if DQ does his job, and I think he will).

- Not worried about Jerry anymore. He's really calmed down over the last 5-6 years. He knows he has been a richard at his GM job over the years and now wants to get one more before he goes off into that next phase of life / death.

I am optimistic (again) about this team and the possibilities. No, I don't "expect" a SB but I expect us to surprise a few folks and be a pretty good team. I expect a playoff team! I don't expect to post a thread in January 2022 lamenting this teams lack of success. Feel free to add your worries or optimisms here!

Just win, baby!

Go Cowboys!

You seems to be more worried about the Cowboys coaching than the players on the field. Although I agree the OL needs to stay healthy. But health is a concern for every team. The healthiest teams are usually in the thick of things at the end of the season. The teams with a lot of injuries are not.

I am not worried about Dak's injury. I am sure that will be healed by September, but I do worry that the injury may have a mental effect on Dak. Maybe he will be less inclined to take off and run for a 1st down in a critical situation.

I am not worried about LVE and Smith only because they have Parsons and Neal. I don't have high hopes that Jaylon is going to revert to the player he was in college. The focus on his jersey number may be an indication he is looking in the wrong place to become a better player. The fact that no teams showed any interest in trading for him is an indication 31 other teams agree with me. I am less concerned about LVE. He showed he does have a strong desire to be a better player and his response was to work harder than ever to improve. That is the response we want to see.

You say Tank will get his 8-10 sacks. That's more than he had for the last 2 seasons. Why do you think he will get more sacks in 2021? The DL has not improved much, unless Gallimore makes a huge leap in 2021. The Cowboys still lack a legitimate push up the middle. I do think Gregory will be the most disruptive on the DL. He was getting a lot of double teams last year. But someone on that DL has to step it up.

I am concerned about Connor Williams and Tyler Biadasz playing next to each other on the OL. Williams is going into his 4th year and appears to be the same guy we have seen every year. Against the DTs in the NFC East he is going to struggle. Playing next to a young C with limited NFL experience could be a weakness other teams exploit. I admit my concern is more about not seeing enough of this tandem to make a better assessment, but it is a concern right now.

 

[Ranched]

Im just wondering what team you are watching. You devote an entire thread to what you are "worried about" and defense isnt listed once.

Neither is/was Moore. He's made ridiculous calls & lost us the division title in that Philly game. Why he constantly gets a free pass is mind boggling.

Who benches their 2 WR's on 4th & goal when the game's on the line. WHO?! No wonder he's ranked 21st in Defensive Coordinators.

But let's blame the quarterback & MM.

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

You seems to be more worried about the Cowboys coaching than the players on the field. Although I agree the OL needs to stay healthy. But health is a concern for every team. The healthiest teams are usually in the thick of things at the end of the season. The teams with a lot of injuries are not.

I am not worried about Dak's injury. I am sure that will be healed by September, but I do worry that the injury may have a mental effect on Dak. Maybe he will be less inclined to take off and run for a 1st down in a critical situation.

I am not worried about LVE and Smith only because they have Parsons and Neal. I don't have high hopes that Jaylon is going to revert to the player he was in college. The focus on his jersey number may be an indication he is looking in the wrong place to become a better player. The fact that no teams showed any interest in trading for him is an indication 31 other teams agree with me. I am less concerned about LVE. He showed he does have a strong desire to be a better player and his response was to work harder than ever to improve. That is the response we want to see.

You say Tank will get his 8-10 sacks. That's more than he had for the last 2 seasons. Why do you think he will get more sacks in 2021? The DL has not improved much, unless Gallimore makes a huge leap in 2021. The Cowboys still lack a legitimate push up the middle. I do think Gregory will be the most disruptive on the DL. He was getting a lot of double teams last year. But someone on that DL has to step it up.

I am concerned about Connor Williams and Tyler Biadasz playing next to each other on the OL. Williams is going into his 4th year and appears to be the same guy we have seen every year. Against the DTs in the NFC East he is going to struggle. Playing next to a young C with limited NFL experience could be a weakness other teams exploit. I admit my concern is more about not seeing enough of this tandem to make a better assessment, but it is a concern right now.

I am worried about coaching more. I think excellent coaching overcomes so-so talent. But let's add that coaching also increases the level of talent. Seen it so many times from my old HS all the way to the NFL and the NE Patsies.

I also worry about MM yes I do. His judgement at hiring (Nolan), not adjusting Nolan's approach and system, in game calls (all the way down to officiating challenges). So, to me , he needs to prove himself more in the coaching wisdom department. The jury is still out on him. I generally like old fat HC's (Reid and Pederson for example). But it is my prerogative to worry that (again) Booger Jones can't get the right guy to run this team. The 2 times he did he ended up running them off. (JJ and The Tuna).

I think Biadasz showed a lot for a rookie, He's had a year in the weight room and a year to mature. I'm pretty confident he'll be a quality NFL center. JMHO. Williams gets a lot of flack and I think a lot of it is undeserved but I'll stand with you and say it is a make or break year for him (and a contract year coming). No NFL team is perfect down the line but I think our OL has a pro bowl foundation and will be at least a top 10 line in the league.

On Tank, I think stronger inside DL play helps him. Yeah he only had 6.5 sacks but I think he'll face less double teams . I am guarded in being encouraged about our DL but I still think it's better this year. I think it keeps the LB's cleaner and is just an overall stronger unit. I think we are going to be better at stopping the run which puts enemy offenses in more passing situations and more predictable passing situations. That should translate into more sacks.

Look, we can pick one another opinions apart but I respect yours and its thoughtful approach. I just am thinking it's possible for the planets to align this year and it's my hope this is the Age of Aquarius for our Cowboys (sorry ... the old hippie me rears its head every now and again).

 

[Flamma]

I haven’t worried about the Cowboys for about 15 years. Obviously I want them to win and I’m thrilled when they do. If they don’t, it doesn’t bother me that much. As I’ve aged, I’ve enjoyed sports even more because I just don’t get upset.

So, instead of worries- what do I think the Cowboys potential problems are? IMO, the biggest problem this team has (and has had for a long time) is a lack of physical and mental toughness. If things are going well, they’re ok, but they need to get a lot tougher mentally and physically.

There are a lot of things that could be said good and bad about this team. But if it can get some grit and toughness I will feel a lot better about their chances of making some noise.

This has been a problem. I was hoping it would change with a new staff. They're fine when routing a team, but when a good team challenges them, not so much.

Other than that I still worry about the run defense. Constantly being in 2nd and 3rd and short makes things more difficult.

Injuries are my only other concern.

 

[CouchCoach]

The Cowboys are not a team that builds across like the Patriots, they build from the top down so depth isn't there. They probably are tops in cap dedicated to the 1st teamers so when injuries come a calling, that "next man up" doesn't apply with this team as it does with others.

Any good season the Cowboys have had, check the injuries. 2014, 2016 and 2018 they were healthy, except in 2016 losing the QB1, which they overcame.

Quality depth in the NFL is a real challenge because finding 32 quality starting anything's doesn't exist. Every team has to select where they're going to try and have depth because overall depth is out of the question.

You almost need the words "when healthy" before discussing any part of this team. And that begins on the OL. When healthy, this is a top 5 OL. But the real Achilles of this team, regarding injuries, is that secondary. Full health and it's the weakest part of the defense but even one injury can send this defense spinning.

And I am not stating this as a criticism, it's just how they approach the team. Booger is the eternal optimist so asking him to anticipate injuries is out of the question. No owner can have stars and be overly concerned with depth. But, that is the kind of team we roll with.

 

[DuncanIso]

. . . and things I don't worry about :

Worries:

- MM in game decision making! He's been questionable here.
- MM's judgement . The guy's made me scratch my head a few times.
- Dan Quinn's schemes. Nolan was an utter disaster and MM allowed it. Here's hoping DQ is a better choice that aids our players and doesn't compromise their abilities.
- All the Cowboy coaches and their schemes. As this thread suggests, coaching can make or break this team.
- Health of the OL in general. If our starters stay in there and play up to their capabilities this team's offense will be smokin hot!


Not Worried:

- Not worried about Daks leg/ankle/throwing motion/mobility. I think the guy's mentally tough and a top 5 QB. He has gotten better at the position every year and noticeably better. Not worried about him breaking his leg/ankle again or it hindering him.

- Not worried about Jaylon Smith and LVE's play. I think both looking so bad in 2020 is DIRECTLY attributable to Nolan's complicated scheme. Actually nobody on the D was sure of their assignments and this is evidenced by the team's D starting to look better toward the end of the year . . . still had holes but looked a bit better.

- Not worried about our TE situation. I think our guys will easily be top 10 statistically combined.

- Not worried about our DL (strangely enough). I think Tank will get his 8-10 sacks and Gregory too. We'll do much better plugging the middle. The LB'ers will be much better. Safety will not be our strongest point but will be satisfactory. Overall the D improves a lot (if DQ does his job, and I think he will).

- Not worried about Jerry anymore. He's really calmed down over the last 5-6 years. He knows he has been a richard at his GM job over the years and now wants to get one more before he goes off into that next phase of life / death.

I am optimistic (again) about this team and the possibilities. No, I don't "expect" a SB but I expect us to surprise a few folks and be a pretty good team. I expect a playoff team! I don't expect to post a thread in January 2022 lamenting this teams lack of success. Feel free to add your worries or optimisms here!

Just win, baby!

Go Cowboys!

I think the OL is a big worry.

Not a lot of depth after the 1's.

Do we really want to see Steele and Knight again?

 

[CowboyRoy]

ok I know the defense was bad at times last season, so not giving them a pass.
Now do you agree, that the defense has little to do with how many points cowboys score?
32 points a game is deceptive, you have to look deeper than that or overall stats.
game 1
This was cowboys best game, and I think MM blew it when he didnt kick a short fg to tie the game at 20-20
But lets look at it by qrt's and halves. 0.14.3.0
2 qrt's with 0 points , that is bad and 1 with only 3 points. same for 2nd half, only 3 points, and it is hard to win games
when off can only score 3 points in 2nd half !
That isnt a #1 off or even a good offense. Now they were playing a good ram defense, but still that is not good.

game 2 0.10.14.16
here again they had 0 point in a qrt. they were down 29-10 at the half, not a good off showing imo.
Falcons let up thinking they had the game, and dallas scores 14 and 16, and the awful lol defense held the falcons to 0 points and then 10
in the 4th to help dallas in the comeback win, not to mention the screw up on the onside kick.
both the off and def rallied in 2nd half to help win this game, but as usual the off gets all the credit.

game 3 Seahawks 9.6.7.9
Cowboys managed to not have any 0 point qrt's thats good, but not one qrt with 10 or more points.
This game turned into a shoot out and the cowboys offense fell short.
Seattle 9.14.7.8 they had 1 qrt with 10 or more points and that was the difference. 38-31
Dallas was again down at the half 23-15
Wilson was hot at that point, so our defense didnt really do all that bad, and the seattle def was really bad at that point.

game 4 cleveland 7.24.10.8 dallas 14.0.0.24
again dallas has 2 0 point qrts , that is bad and puts defense in bad spots usually, as you can see while dallas was not scoring ANY points,
Cleveland scored 34 ! not a coincidence. Dallas was down 41-14 going in 4th so they let up and dak did good scoring the 24 garbage time points.
and had a chance to score a td for tie or lead but threw the int.
So even though dallas scored 38 points, it was too late in the game and partly due to cleveland playing prevent.

The bottom line is the offense was not very good in 1st 4 games, and I dont put all the blame on dak as some do, but thats where the
play calling, and game plans , game mgmt all come into play, and they were not good in any of those.
Really aside from a few early drives for td's they were only good when playing against a team that had a big lead..
They had 5 0 point qrt's in those 1st 4 games , and that is not a good offense.

This is one of the more laughable ridiculous posts I have read yet this year. The offense was "THE BEST IN NFL HISTORY" with Dak through the first 4 games.

 

[CowboyRoy]

Neither is/was Moore. He's made ridiculous calls & lost us the division title in that Philly game. Why he constantly gets a free pass is mind boggling.

Who benches their 2 WR's on 4th & goal when the game's on the line. WHO?! No wonder he's ranked 21st in Defensive Coordinators.

But let's blame the quarterback & MM.

I wont stick up for Moore for that Philly game. I also think that was Dak's worst game as a QB. The entire team and offense was terrible.

That being said a REALLY like Moore. What he has done for the offense and Dak compared to Garrett has made a big difference. As far as being ranked the 21st coordinator I dont know what thats about. I see him as one of the best up and coming your OC's in the game.