Troy Aikman: Yards are not what we should be looking at

[INCowboysFan]

He is almost there. His body of work is impressive but to call him great, maybe if he repeats last year. He and Wilson are Head shoulders above the rest of the younger QBs in the league

Wilson is 31, not sure I'd call him one of the "younger" QBs in the league.

 

[kskboys]

Wilson, Rodgers and Mahomes. Best three by a long way.

Allen is creeping up.

 

[kskboys]

Yep, because Brady, Brees, Roethlisberger, and Rivers are in a steep downturn. I still think Stafford has been a victim of circumstance, as is Ryan to a degree.

Burrow looks very promising if he can survive his offensive line, and Lamar Jackson is uniquely talented and might get there. We'll see if Murray, Tua, Mayfield, Locke, Watson, or Herbert can get there. Darnold may be too mentally damaged from playing in that disaster, and I think Dak, Watson, Tannehill, Allen, Carr, Garapollo, and Cousins, are what they are. Good, but flawed quarterbacks.

Good stuff.

Allen is playing at a whole new level this year.

 

[G2]

Good stuff.

Allen is playing at a whole new level this year.

He also has a well balanced and solid roster to play with.

 

[kskboys]

He is almost there. His body of work is impressive but to call him great, maybe if he repeats last year. He and Wilson are Head shoulders above the rest of the younger QBs in the league

I'm not one to anoint early, but man you gotta start watching Mahomes. This kid simply gets it, and it's wildly apparent when you watch him. He's already great.

 

[kskboys]

He also has a well balanced and solid roster to play with.

Absolutely. That's always a necessity to become a great Qb. (See Poor Matt Stafford).

 

[Diehardblues]

Uh no.. Winston threw 30 INTS and fumbled another 4-5 times. He committed damn near TRIPLE the turnovers Dak did. All passing stats are skewed these days because of the rule changes. We are likely less than a decade from a guy throwing 60 TDs in a season and 6000 yards. If you have watched this change across eras you can place the numbers in perspective. The bottom line has always been winning and always will be. Dak needs to do whatever it takes to win whether it be throw for 500 yards and 5 TDs or throw for 200 yards and 1 TD. I don't care as long as it's a W.

You’re using one particular stat for your spin. No doubt int were a big differential. But the topic of Troys comments were yards. And their teams results were very similar as well. 7-9 and 8-8. I would agree with your effects of pass happy league.

Jameis
5109 Yards
33 TD

Dak
4902 Yards
30 TD’s

 

[Kevinicus]

Right. Troy is an idiot??! Come on dude. He’s not being that literal. His point is you can put up Techmo stats anyday and be 25 of 55 for 400, 2 TDs and 2 TOs and the 400 won’t matter if you don’t produce late. I love how people on a board find HOF QBs thoughts as just bs.

Um...the point you said he was making is the point I was trying to tear down.

It absolutely can matter, regardless of what you do "late."

The entire game matters as a whole. Not just the end, not just the beginning, but all 60 minutes.

Sometimes, the team plays well enough early that no matter how bad they are late, they'll win. Sometimes, they have to play better late to make up for poor play early. Sometimes it's back and forth, and sometimes it's good, bad, or meh all the way through.

"Late" is not some special portion of the game where points are worth more.

 

[Diehardblues]

Absolutely. That's always a necessity to become a great Qb. (See Poor Matt Stafford).

Yep

Ryan and Rivers two others prob in that category.

 

[erod]

Pretty well accessed.

Josh Allen’s stock is rising. Buffalo appears a solid contender too. And I’d throw Goff in that next best group as well. Their offense isn’t much without him.

As we saw with Jimmy G and Tannehill last year that next group can be more than serviceable in the right situation and supporting cast.

But generally the teams with the most Elite QB’s have the best opportunity to succeed.

Agreed on Goff. I wrote that pretty quickly and didn't check off the list as I went.

Allen and Jackson could both be there, but they're wildly inaccurate at times. Accuracy is so critical in crunch time and in the playoffs.

Watch Spencer Rattler at OU and tell me he doesn't throw and move very similarly to Patrick Mahomes. It's like he's trying to imitate him, a la Kobe and Jordan.

 

[G2]

Absolutely. That's always a necessity to become a great Qb. (See Poor Matt Stafford).

Agreed, he'd be fantastic on a better team. Lions have been cursed.

 

[erod]

Um...the point you said he was making is the point I was trying to tear down.

It absolutely can matter, regardless of what you do "late."

The entire game matters as a whole. Not just the end, not just the beginning, but all 60 minutes.

Sometimes, the team plays well enough early that no matter how bad they are late, they'll win. Sometimes, they have to play better late to make up for poor play early. Sometimes it's back and forth, and sometimes it's good, bad, or meh all the way through.

"Late" is not some special portion of the game where points are worth more.

What happens in the last 5 minutes is ultimately what defines teams and quarterbacks.

Especially these days when virtually ever game is decided by 10 points or less.

 

[kskboys]

Agreed on Goff. I wrote that pretty quickly and didn't check off the list as I went.

Allen and Jackson could both be there, but they're wildly inaccurate at times. Accuracy is so critical in crunch time and in the playoffs.

Watch Spencer Rattler at OU and tell me he doesn't throw and move very similarly to Patrick Mahomes. It's like he's trying to imitate him, a la Kobe and Jordan.

Allen appears to have overcome most of his inaccuracy problems. Shocking to me, as I didn't think he would.

 

[Diehardblues]

New NFL is joke, it is set up so fans come to see loser teams because they may pull it out if they have the ball last. Points are what matters let keep giving the O more changes and help to up the total points.

Fantasy Football is driving most of the fringe fans the league is attracting with these new rules and emphasis on passing offense generating interest which translates to revenue.

That’s fine if it’s the direction the league wants to go . As long as we don’t let those stats cloud our evaluations which is what Troy is basically saying.

 

[erod]

Allen appears to have overcome most of his inaccuracy problems. Shocking to me, as I didn't think he would.

It's the short stuff with him. Rocket arm, holy moly. But he'll throw a dumpoff or quick slant into the fourth row on you, too. He was good late last week, and I like his poise.

 

[kskboys]

Yep

Ryan and Rivers two others prob in that category.

And the Dolts completely derailed one of the best young QB's coming out in Luck. If Luck had been picked by the Ravens or 49ers, we'd be arguing over who was better, he or Mahomes.

 

[erod]

Fantasy Football is driving most of the fringe fans the league is attracting with these new rules and emphasis on passing offense generating revenue.

That’s fine if it’s the direction the league wants to go . As long as we don’t let those stats cloud our evaluations which is what Troy is basically saying.

This is exactly right. Dak is a Hall of Fame fantasy quarterback, and many fans today view players through that lens alone.

 

[Qcard]

Today on The Ticket.

"NFL is now like the NBA. It doesn't matter what you do all game, it comes down to the last 5 minutes."

"400 yards is offense is not a a big deal anymore. Throwing for 400 yards isn't that hard to do."

True.

Mos every team comes back from big deficits. Used to be rare in Troy's day.

He added that CBA negotiations these days bring the owners more money and players less practice time, and it shows.

Wasn't criticizing Dak or quarterbacks in general, but was inferring that the league as a whole had changedichanged and is less disciplined.

Great post.

Though Dak has been forced to throw more because its everyone's fault....Dak, Coaches, OLine, Special Teams, RBs etc

The Unbalance is a complete team problem.

 

[csirl]

Its getting like basketball where scoring is expected on every possession and not scoring is the exception. And it doesnt matter where a drive starts. Gone are the days when field position was important.

 

[G2]

You’re using one particular stat for your spin. No doubt int were a big differential. But the topic of Troys comments were yards. And their teams results were very similar as well. 7-9 and 8-8. I would agree with your effects of pass happy league.

Jameis
5109 Yards
33 TD

Dak
4902 Yards
30 TD’s

Not factoring in the failure of turning the ball over is the real spin.