CFZ This off-season has made the offense more of a gamble

[Miller]

Not really. We can go back 4 years and claim Cooper "saved the season," or we can look at the collection of work and more importantly, the recent past. I encourage you to watch the all 22 and focus on Cooper.

His collection of work is that he was our #1 WR. He is a #1 WR in the league. His numbers didn’t say #1 at times but other teams looked at him that way He runs great routes. He got other teams best DBs at times. That is now on either CeeDee or Gallup. So are either of those two guys good enough to get a teams top defender and produce while opening up things for others? That’s a legit question. I personally felt it was a strength of Cooper. I hope these guys step up or it could be ugly. CeeDee has the talent

 

[G2]

His collection of work is that he was our #1 WR. He is a #1 WR in the league. His numbers didn’t say #1 at times but other teams looked at him that way He runs great routes. He got other teams best DBs at times. That is now on either CeeDee or Gallup. So are either of those two guys good enough to get a teams top defender and produce while opening up things for others? That’s a legit question. I personally felt it was a strength of Cooper. I hope these guys step up or it could be ugly. CeeDee has the talent

Lamb scored 2 TDs less, 300 yards more and a better average. I'm pretty sure we're fine.

 

[Miller]

Lamb scored 2 TDs less, 300 yards more and a better average. I'm pretty sure we're fine.

Right! As the #2. That’s been my point. Cooper opened things up for others. I hope you are right. As I said he’s talented but right now we’ve yet to see really any of these guys without Coop at one side. Btw I wasn’t one clamoring we had to keep Coop. I was just answering the question of what he brought to the table

 

[Diehardblues]

I think what hurt the trade more than anything was Stephen Jones absolutely telegraphing the team’s intentions to not keep Cooper on his radio show- not once but twice. If he had just acted like Coop was still in their future (even though he wasn’t) they should have been able to get more than a 5th.

Front office 101- don’t talk too much. A fundamental of good front office practices completely lost on the two Jones boys who have had decades of experience- and no SB in two and a half decades. If those two knuckleheads just shut up, it would be an immediate improvement for this team.

Yep but they won’t shut up because selling a public perception is more important than actual strategy.

They chose to sell why they didn’t or couldn’t retain Cooper. That potentially cost them a better return on him. And why what’s best for team doesn't out weigh what’s best for our owners image. But we continue to want to take this dysfunctional organization serious .

There’s one main objective in place which they are more than meeting maintaining interest and relevance promoting and selling their brand so the gravy train continues enabling them to stay in power. The rest is incidental collateral damage and consequences of their actions.

 

[Bobhaze]

I take issue with this statement:

• It’s not true that he wasn’t thrown the ball enough. He was 2nd on the team in number of passing targets behind only Lamb.

Cooper ranked 47th in average number of targets per game. That’s unacceptable for a #1 receiver you’re paying $20 million a year. It’s unreasonable not to factor that in to an assessment of his productivity.

https://www.fantasypros.com/nfl/reports/targets/

Maybe you’re right about Cooper needing the ball more. My point was really more about the idea that Cooper wasn’t getting the ball that much less than he had in previous years. It was less. But not as significantly as many here seemed to indicate. For example in 2020, Coop had 8.1 targets per game. Last year, it was 6.9 targets per game. That’s only 1.2 targets per game less.

I agree that as a $20 mil a year receiver, we should have gotten more. Some of that probably was on Kellen Moore and Dak.

But those YAC and yards per catch numbers are not indicative of a top 20 receiver. And he also occasionally disappeared at bad times in games. I liked Coop a lot. He was a great receiver. But even though he’s only 27, he has definitely dropped quite a bit in performance.

 

[Diehardblues]

Maybe you’re right about Cooper needing the ball more. My point was really more about the idea that Cooper wasn’t getting the ball that much less than he had in previous years. It was less. But not as significantly as many here seemed to indicate. For example in 2020, Coop had 8.1 targets per game. Last year, it was 6.9 targets per game. That’s only 1.2 targets per game less.

I agree that as a $20 mil a year receiver, we should have gotten more. Some of that probably was on Kellen Moore and Dak.

But those YAC and yards per catch numbers are not indicative of a top 20 receiver. And he also occasionally disappeared at bad times in games. I liked Coop a lot. He was a great receiver. But even though he’s only 27, he has definitely dropped quite a bit in performance.

It’s just difficult to know how much his lack of production is on him. We had another WR1 whose production also fell off over time . Both receivers had other issues as well.

We shall see how our newest WR 1 takes shape . At some point if the trend continues then we might have a bigger problem.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

This has been one of the craziest off-seasons I’ve seen in Cowboys history. (I won’t rehash all the craziness like upskirt shots, a love child revealed, fender-benders, a weak FA haul, etc) Let’s just say it has been at the very least an interesting off-season.

But honestly, until the live bullets of the regular season start flying in September, we won’t really know if this team is better or not. But as we always do this time of year- we can speculate.

I want to start with the offense- After the off-season we’ve had so far- is it better than it was at the end of last year? To me, we are rolling the dice on several guys. Let’s look at some indicators:

• OL- We lost 2 starters with a combined 10 years of NFL experience and replaced them with a rookie and a 3rd year UFA. To be clear, I’m glad we parted ways with Connor Williams and his holding penalty parade and Collins with his wacky undependable ways. But questions remain.
  • Will rookie Tyler Smith be able to upgrade what we got at LG last year? Maybe he can but it is an assumption until he proves it. I like Tyler Smith as a project but I would have felt better if the team wasn’t counting on him day one. It’s a risk.
  • Losing La’el Collins was somewhat understandable with his undependability but he certainly had talent. I like Terrance Steele but can we confidently say we are as good as we used to be at RT? It’s a gamble.

• WR- Amari Cooper was deemed too expensive, and his production has dropped off the last two years. Let’s look at Coop’s downturn in production:

• He only averaged 57 yds per game last year and was only 6th on the team in YAC behind Lamb, Schultz, Cedric Wilson, Pollard, and Zeke. Wow.
• He only averaged about 12 yds per reception the last 2 seasons. Down from nearly 15 yds per catch the previous seasons. Those are slot receiver numbers, not star receiver stats.
• It’s not true that he wasn’t thrown the ball enough. He was 2nd on the team in number of passing targets behind only Lamb.

• We've replaced Cooper and Cedric Wilson with 3rd round rookie Jalen Tolbert and FA James Washington. Is that an upgrade? Maybe. But It’s also a gamble.

IN SUMMARY: Between Amari Cooper, Cedric Wilson, Connor Williams and Lael Collins, we lost 21 years of NFL experience and replaced them with 6 years of NFL experience. If the talent is better, the experience numbers won’t matter. But it is somewhat of a gamble.

Is our offense better as a result of this off-season? Maybe it will. But it’s a gamble.

Winchester Cathedral!
If Amari had a more capable QB, he, Lamb and Cedric would have been all pros instead of NFL JAGS.

 

[Stash]

Maybe you’re right about Cooper needing the ball more. My point was really more about the idea that Cooper wasn’t getting the ball that much less than he had in previous years. It was less. But not as significantly as many here seemed to indicate. For example in 2020, Coop had 8.1 targets per game. Last year, it was 6.9 targets per game. That’s only 1.2 targets per game less.

Which equates to 20 over the course of a full season.

I agree that as a $20 mil a year receiver, we should have gotten more. Some of that probably was on Kellen Moore and Dak.

Actually, it’s ALL on them. Cooper can’t throw himself the ball. And he can’t make plays or put up numbers when the ball doesn’t come his way.

But those YAC and yards per catch numbers are not indicative of a top 20 receiver. And he also occasionally disappeared at bad times in games. I liked Coop a lot. He was a great receiver. But even though he’s only 27, he has definitely dropped quite a bit in performance.

I question whether it was him, or the OC and quarterback. We’ll soon find out, especially if Cooper is suddenly himself again in Cleveland and this quarterback and offense are struggling like before Cooper got here.

He’s being made the scapegoat, let’s see if that’s truly the case.

 

[fivetwos]

Maybe you’re right about Cooper needing the ball more. My point was really more about the idea that Cooper wasn’t getting the ball that much less than he had in previous years. It was less. But not as significantly as many here seemed to indicate. For example in 2020, Coop had 8.1 targets per game. Last year, it was 6.9 targets per game. That’s only 1.2 targets per game less.

I agree that as a $20 mil a year receiver, we should have gotten more. Some of that probably was on Kellen Moore and Dak.

But those YAC and yards per catch numbers are not indicative of a top 20 receiver. And he also occasionally disappeared at bad times in games. I liked Coop a lot. He was a great receiver. But even though he’s only 27, he has definitely dropped quite a bit in performance.

I reconcile the offseason, as far as player movement, in my own head, as such.....

Whenever we look great on paper, the media hypes us up and we often disappoint.

So, just move the damn chains somehow and it'll be fine. Games aren't played on paper.

Similar to when Collins replaced Steele last year after Minnesota. They got a better player into the lineup but played worse as a unit.

Maybe the defense takes another step and we don't rely on scoring 30 plus points a game.

 

[fivetwos]

Which equates to 20 over the course of a full season.



Actually, it’s ALL on them. Cooper can’t throw himself the ball. And he can’t make plays or put up numbers when the ball doesn’t come his way.



I question whether it was him, or the OC and quarterback. We’ll soon find out, especially if Cooper is suddenly himself again in Cleveland and this quarterback and offense are struggling like before Cooper got here.

He’s being made the scapegoat, let’s see if that’s truly the case.

I wonder on how many of those 78 Schultz catches was Cooper the first read.

 

[john van brocklin]

This has been one of the craziest off-seasons I’ve seen in Cowboys history. (I won’t rehash all the craziness like upskirt shots, a love child revealed, fender-benders, a weak FA haul, etc) Let’s just say it has been at the very least an interesting off-season.

But honestly, until the live bullets of the regular season start flying in September, we won’t really know if this team is better or not. But as we always do this time of year- we can speculate.

I want to start with the offense- After the off-season we’ve had so far- is it better than it was at the end of last year? To me, we are rolling the dice on several guys. Let’s look at some indicators:

• OL- We lost 2 starters with a combined 10 years of NFL experience and replaced them with a rookie and a 3rd year UFA. To be clear, I’m glad we parted ways with Connor Williams and his holding penalty parade and Collins with his wacky undependable ways. But questions remain.
  • Will rookie Tyler Smith be able to upgrade what we got at LG last year? Maybe he can but it is an assumption until he proves it. I like Tyler Smith as a project but I would have felt better if the team wasn’t counting on him day one. It’s a risk.
  • Losing La’el Collins was somewhat understandable with his undependability but he certainly had talent. I like Terrance Steele but can we confidently say we are as good as we used to be at RT? It’s a gamble.

• WR- Amari Cooper was deemed too expensive, and his production has dropped off the last two years. Let’s look at Coop’s downturn in production:

• He only averaged 57 yds per game last year and was only 6th on the team in YAC behind Lamb, Schultz, Cedric Wilson, Pollard, and Zeke. Wow.
• He only averaged about 12 yds per reception the last 2 seasons. Down from nearly 15 yds per catch the previous seasons. Those are slot receiver numbers, not star receiver stats.
• It’s not true that he wasn’t thrown the ball enough. He was 2nd on the team in number of passing targets behind only Lamb.

• We've replaced Cooper and Cedric Wilson with 3rd round rookie Jalen Tolbert and FA James Washington. Is that an upgrade? Maybe. But It’s also a gamble.

IN SUMMARY: Between Amari Cooper, Cedric Wilson, Connor Williams and Lael Collins, we lost 21 years of NFL experience and replaced them with 6 years of NFL experience. If the talent is better, the experience numbers won’t matter. But it is somewhat of a gamble.

Is our offense better as a result of this off-season? Maybe it will. But it’s a gamble.

I think we are worse due to the lose of talent.
We shall see.

 

[JoeKing]

Losing Coop will hurt this O. Dak is in decline and I have huge doubts about the O-line improving. Gallup missing games will hurt this team as well.

 

[DandyDon52]

What do y'all consider better? More yards? More points? All I'm looking for is more stability. Can the run game stop disappearing for games and games at a time. The ups and downs this offense goes through ever year coincides with our rushing attack tanking for a stretch. Maybe it's Zeke. Maybe it's the OL. Maybe it's the play calling. What ever it is we need to become a more reliable running team. Balance was the key to 2016 and it'll be the key to 2022.

the funny thing is with linehan we had balance in 2014 and 16 maybe 18 cant remember,
but then kellen came along and he is mr pass guy and throw in some runs.

people bash linehan, but our best balanced offenses started with him and ended after he was let go. Also better run game when he was here.

 

[Acceptablename]

This has been one of the craziest off-seasons I’ve seen in Cowboys history. (I won’t rehash all the craziness like upskirt shots, a love child revealed, fender-benders, a weak FA haul, etc) Let’s just say it has been at the very least an interesting off-season.

But honestly, until the live bullets of the regular season start flying in September, we won’t really know if this team is better or not. But as we always do this time of year- we can speculate.

I want to start with the offense- After the off-season we’ve had so far- is it better than it was at the end of last year? To me, we are rolling the dice on several guys. Let’s look at some indicators:

• OL- We lost 2 starters with a combined 10 years of NFL experience and replaced them with a rookie and a 3rd year UFA. To be clear, I’m glad we parted ways with Connor Williams and his holding penalty parade and Collins with his wacky undependable ways. But questions remain.
  • Will rookie Tyler Smith be able to upgrade what we got at LG last year? Maybe he can but it is an assumption until he proves it. I like Tyler Smith as a project but I would have felt better if the team wasn’t counting on him day one. It’s a risk.
  • Losing La’el Collins was somewhat understandable with his undependability but he certainly had talent. I like Terrance Steele but can we confidently say we are as good as we used to be at RT? It’s a gamble.

• WR- Amari Cooper was deemed too expensive, and his production has dropped off the last two years. Let’s look at Coop’s downturn in production:

• He only averaged 57 yds per game last year and was only 6th on the team in YAC behind Lamb, Schultz, Cedric Wilson, Pollard, and Zeke. Wow.
• He only averaged about 12 yds per reception the last 2 seasons. Down from nearly 15 yds per catch the previous seasons. Those are slot receiver numbers, not star receiver stats.
• It’s not true that he wasn’t thrown the ball enough. He was 2nd on the team in number of passing targets behind only Lamb.

• We've replaced Cooper and Cedric Wilson with 3rd round rookie Jalen Tolbert and FA James Washington. Is that an upgrade? Maybe. But It’s also a gamble.

IN SUMMARY: Between Amari Cooper, Cedric Wilson, Connor Williams and Lael Collins, we lost 21 years of NFL experience and replaced them with 6 years of NFL experience. If the talent is better, the experience numbers won’t matter. But it is somewhat of a gamble.

Is our offense better as a result of this off-season? Maybe it will. But it’s a gamble.

I’m looking toward 2023. That’s just the way it is

 

[Bobhaze]

I’m looking toward 2023. That’s just the way it is

It seems a shame to just throw away an entire season.

 

[Acceptablename]

It seems a shame to just throw away an entire season.

I’m accustomed to twenty something throw aways

 

[SlammedZero]

Time will certainly tell. I will say, at least (for better or for worse) there has been some change. The Oline needed a shakeup IMO. As much as I did like some of the players we chased out of town, we all have to admit their reliability was questionable. Some fresh faces and new energy could go a long way.