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

[links18]

troy likes to keep himself relevant. all he's really saying is that the way football is played today isn't the same as it was 25-30 years ago when he was a star. and for that, i am happy.

Could you elaborate?

 

[Future]

I've said for years that there are are two sets of rules for receivers in the NFL. One for everybody else and then one for Dallas. Even in this last game on the play where they picked up the PI flag on Flowers against Gallup because the ball was tipped they conveniently ignored the fact that there was contact 10 yards down the field. And the "he pushed him out of bounds call" against Jaylon on Olson. Olson ran 5 steps after the push before going out of bounds and he was running in that direction to begin with. Allowing that catch to stand was horse bleep as was the PI call against Carr. That was just two guys jockeying for position. Hell the tight end ran INTO Carr and the rule clearly states that a defender has as much right to go after the ball as the receiver. Both guys moved toward where the throw was going. Should have been left at no call.

 

[RonnieT24]

Im not sure with his history, experience and resume I wouldn’t put him higher. I’d have no problem at #1. He seems to have turned a new leaf with their HC. And they shored up their defense.

I understand Mahomes Is the second coming and deservedly so but Rogers has been consistently up there so long. They were right there last year and could have easily been them in SB.

I’d call them the favorites right now in NFC. And in easier division than the West could post best record which Lambeau even without fans is a tough place to win in January.

The thing I always come back to with Dak is his starting point relative to the other guys at the top of the list. Dak came into the league with very little preparation for the pro-style passing game. He had never been in a "sling it 50 times a game" offense like Mahomes was and he never played with first round pick receivers like Watson or many of these others did. Even Wentz, though he played at the 1-AA level, played in a more pro-style offense than Dak did. I will keep reminding folks, Dak was supposed to sit and watch Romo for at LEAST two years before being asked to lead the show. That's always been the starting point in my evaluation of him. The fact that he has won 2/3 of his games WHILE trying to figure it out is a friggin miracle. But as I keep saying, this is year 5.. it's time for him to take that next step. He needs to finish this season with 30+ TDs and single digit interceptions and he needs to manage games in a manner that lets the Cowboys win more than they lose. The fact that his defense stinks is not a big secret to anyone so he needs to manage games, manage the clock in such a way that the defense spends more time on the sidelines than on the field. He need to take it upon himself to run for some of those easy first downs that present themselves to him every game so he can keep the chains moving and do the above. If he does that, the Cowboys will win at least 10 games this year and the division. And he will get a deal in the neighborhood of 40 million a year.. Period. If he doesn't, he will play next season on the tag and the Cowboys will draft his replacement in the 2021 draft.

 

[Cmac]

Preach Troy......we've been enamored with Dak's stats, just like Romo.....same results.....mediocrity and under-achievement.

 

[cern]

Could you elaborate?

sure. over the years football has become more pass oriented sports than in prior years. in the 50's and 60's, the game was far more run oriented. then as time passed, especially with don coryell, qb's started throwing more, particularly on first downs. then wr's went from having 40-50 catches a year to 80. now qb's routinely pass 40+ times a game and even te's have close to 100 receptions a year.. it's a natural progression of things. offenses change. defenses change. not too many dynasties any more. look who won the superbowl last year. look at his they won it.

 

[Naruto]

The quickest way you can tell yards don't matter is look at opinions of Kellen Moore

Dallas was #1 in yards last season

Guess what they are #1 in yards this season

Yet people would cheer if Moore was fired today.

 

[RonnieT24]

Preach Troy......we've been enamored with Dak's stats, just like Romo.....same results.....mediocrity and under-achievement.

Who is "we?" I have NEVER been enamored with anyone's stats. Not Dak's, not Romo's not anybody's. I always look at what a player does to help his team win. The numbers can tell you part of the story but they never tell the whole story. You simply HAVE to watch the games to get the full picture. Luckily for me, I like watching the games.. ;-)

 

[Cmac]

Who is "we?" I have NEVER been enamored with anyone's stats. Not Dak's, not Romo's not anybody's. I always look at what a player does to help his team win. The numbers can tell you part of the story but they never tell the whole story. You simply HAVE to watch the games to get the full picture. Luckily for me, I like watching the games.. ;-)

Ok....you don't have to be included in "we". Let it go over your head. Who is "you"?

 

[jrumann59]

And Mahomes. I think Mahomes is the best QB in the NFL atm.

He may be but his career is what 4 seasons long. There have been some unbelievable talents that had meteoric rises and then flamed out.

 

[jrumann59]

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.

I know, but he gets his leg shredded next week he will be a blip in the NFL history books

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

He may be but his career is what 4 seasons long. There have been some unbelievable talents that had meteoric rises and then flamed out.

This is true.

 

[Creeper]

Man F you guys man lol....you guys sit here year after year with no complaints. Now "yards don't matter". But I sat here and watched you imbeciles sit here and complain that Dak couldn't throw for 200 yards. Now its yards don't matter. Everybody does it even though I just sat here watched the MVP of last year throw for 97 yards. I've seen Ryan Tannehill throw for 80 yards.

It only matters what you do in the last 5 minutes....alright well Dak had a 31-30 lead in the last 5 minutes and the defense opened its legs on 4th down to Greg Olsen...

LOL. But only the last 1:47 matters. Or actually the last :31 matters!

Imagine being the Cowboys QB and the expectation is you have to hang 40 on every team you play to be considered a good QB.

This Dak talk is such a waste of time. Dak is not an elite QB, but he is not why they can't beat good QBs. Dak doesn't cover receivers, rush the QB or tackle RBs. If he did, I suspect he would be better at it than Jaylon Smith.

 

[beware_d-ware]

For the "dAk iSn'T a WiNnEr" crowd, courtesy of Marcus Mosher....

This was his OL when he got sacked on the final drive. Knight gets beat one-on-one, Connor Williams literally doesn't even make contact when he comes over to help, Dak has a defender in his lap on a 3 man rush in about 2 seconds.



Then when he threw that pick on the next play, here's his blocking. Another DE gets inside of Joe Looney and turns him around, defender all over Dak on another 3 man rush. Look at Looney favoring his leg or ankle too - he shouldn't even be out there, but the Cowboys OL straight-up just ran out of bodies.



I don't even care about the pick here - if Dak throws this ball away, he just lines back up to try the same throw again on 4th and 14 with 7 seconds left.

"wHy iS dAk cHeCkInG dOwN" - when your OL can't even hold off a 3 man pass rush for 3 seconds, you have absolutely zero ability to get receivers downfield.

I don't see how Dak's at fault here. He got let down at the last minute by a ruined OL.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

You know I hate stats.

The only ones I pay attention to are:

• turnover ratio
• 3rd down efficiency on offense and defense
• red zone conversion rate
• points

The rest is drivel.

You are what your record says you are......Bill Parcells.

Dak Prescott 9 -7.....10-6....8-8.. ....Hasn't beaten a team with a winning record since forever.....baby!

 

[Kevinicus]

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.

Defines them to who? That's my point.

The last 5 minutes is no more important than the first 5.

 

[erod]

Defines them to who? That's my point.

The last 5 minutes is no more important than the first 5.

Are you serious?

So Dallas fell down 20-0 and 29-10 against Atlanta, and that was just as defining in that game as the final 5 minutes?

Uh, no.

Anybody can hit a jump shot five minutes into the game, but can you hit the game winner?

 

[Kevinicus]

I’ll trust Troy over Kevinicus. And you are wrong. Yes a whole game counts but in the end, whether you are a QB or a D that needs a stop, etc the last 5 is where it is won. If your D plays great and shuts down a team to 14 pts for a majority of the game but then lets them walk down the field In the last 2 minutes and win, those other quarters don’t matter. Same at QB. Dak can throw for 450 yrds and 3 TDs but in the last 5 min he throws 2 costly interceptions while in scoring position what do you think matters? It’s about nut cutting time and being under pressure. That is the point!

I'm objectively not wrong. Giving more weight to the last 5 minutes is just recency bias.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

Probably get slammed for this but i do think Wilson is good just not in that top tier. People always talk about his deep ball. The guy has to throw it 30 yards up in the air to get any distance on it.

 

[Kevinicus]

Are you serious?

So Dallas fell down 20-0 and 29-10 against Atlanta, and that was just as defining in that game as the final 5 minutes?

Uh, no.

Anybody can hit a jump shot five minutes into the game, but can you hit the game winner?

This is not a logically sound argument.

Yes, the entirety of the game matters. You can't just pick out one game where they played poor early and good late and won and say, see, the end is what matters.
You can also find games where teams play well early and poor late and still win. Would you be consistent and say the last 5 minutes is not where the game was won, but instead, it's the first quarter?

If not for the onside kick...would it have been the last 5 minutes, or the first quarter that mattered?

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Notice the hypocrisy of the Dak Boyz.

When the Cowboys lose no excuse is left off the table e.g. “our defense sucks....the refs....our o-line is in shambles...” in an effort to attribute the loss to anyone but Dak.

Yet, when we win Dak’s supposed “QB W/L” record is trotted out.