CFZ Under-Appreciated Cowboys Gems

[T-RO]

Dallas has some extremely valuable coaches and players. Very underrated. Some will stay, and sadly some are/will soon be gone without ever receiving proper recognition. I never cease to be amazed that some of these get minimized or even vilified.

Donavan Wilson

Absolute dawg-baller. Down-hill tackler. Reliable. Sells out to hit.​

Tony Pollard

Seems like only in the past couple months have most of the fans here finally come to appreciate Pollard for what he is - top 5 NFL all-purpose running back.​

Dan Quinn

Have you so quickly forgotten the long-suffering pathetic state of the defense before Quinn came? Now we are getting turnover and have top ten defense by yardage and points.​

​

Terence Steele

Zach Martin went out of his way to praise Steele's road grading ways. Superior in the run game, quite adequate vs. pass rush. A step and a quarter removed from all-pro. 73.9 PFF score​

Tank Lawrence

Stout against the run and the pass. Physical. Savvy.​

Jayron Kearse

Versatile. Aggressive. Rangy. Long. Smart​

Kellen Moore

He was a coaching hod rod open for hire for 5 minutes before the Chargers gobbled him up. OC's with his credentials (top marks in 3 of 4 seasons in points/yardage and many other metrics) simply don't hit the open market. I was embarrassed for those of you who failed to appreciate what we had with Moore. You will rue his departure.​

​

Tyron Smith

Future Hall-of-Famer willing to switch positions without complaint? The guy still gets elite marks for his performance when he's out there.​

Dak Prescott

Yup he's on the list. He ain't top eight, maybe not top twelve... but some of you are nuts in thinking Dak is junk. Maybe he's not a gem every game, but only a handful of QBs are.​

 

[Jayinem]

So now Dak is under appreciated on this forum despite 95% of the forum defending him to death. He choked, some of us predicted he would choke. He doesn't deserve to be coddled anymore than he already has.

 

[T-RO]

Do as you want, but my suggestion for better Cowboys fan life:

Try to Remember: These players and coaches can't fix Jerry Jones and they can't fix the past thirty years. They also can't repair the league's corrupt officiating. Most of these guys have just been here 1-5 years. They aren't in control. How about less blame and rage and snap-judgments? More appreciation for what we have? A little respect.

A number of the gems above and others who perhaps should have made this list like Vander Esch...will soon be gone.

 

[Creeper]

LVE was underappreciated this year. I think Diggs is getting a lot more criticism than he deserves. I think Malik Hooker is underappreciated. The guy is as steady as anyone on this defense. And of course, Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown. The defense missed both of those guys after they got hurt. Thank goodness Bland turned out to be a player.

Which reminds me. Remember when we were begging Jerry to do something about our safety situation? Since they upgraded the position the defense has been so much better than it was. If only Jerry could learn the same lesson about the interior DL.

 

[T-RO]

LVE was underappreciated this year. I think Diggs is getting a lot more criticism than he deserves. I think Malik Hooker is underappreciated. The guy is as steady as anyone on this defense. And of course, Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown. The defense missed both of those guys after they got hurt. Thank goodness Bland turned out to be a player.

Which reminds me. Remember when we were begging Jerry to do something about our safety situation? Since they upgraded the position the defense has been so much better than it was. If only Jerry could learn the same lesson about the interior DL.

Agree on all counts.

Sometimes it's justified to appreciate players that do have some limitations. LVE's center of gravity and leanness doesn't permit him to hit like a demon. But he's got very under-rated range and he does.his.job. PFF rates him as a quite respectable 70.8.

I'd like to upgrade LVE, Brown and Lewis but they are each serviceable (or better) .

 

[EPL0c0]

Amari Cooper, Cedric Wilson, John Ridgeway

 

[T-RO]

Amari Cooper, Cedric Wilson, John Ridgeway

Cooper's loss hurt like crazy. And Jerry got personal about it, which I thought was both ignorant and classless. Cooper has an artists temperament, and the man paints his routes like a master. Smart, well-informed dude. Team really missed him in 2022.

 

[cowboyec]

c tyler biadasz.
improved each season.
i thought he was a bright spot on our oline...solid season.

 

[T-RO]

biadasz

He's a guy I've never dis-respected, nor really much valued. Perhaps I should re-consider that.

 

[Jake]

Do as you want, but my suggestion for better Cowboys fan life:

Try to Remember: These players and coaches can't fix Jerry Jones and they can't fix the past thirty years. They also can't repair the league's corrupt officiating. Most of these guys have just been here 1-5 years. They aren't in control. How about less blame and rage and snap-judgments? More appreciation for what we have? A little respect.

A number of the gems above and others who perhaps should have made this list like Vander Esch...will soon be gone.

Big surprise, when all else fails put on the tinfoil hat, again.

I honestly don't know why someone who seriously believes that spends one second following the NFL. It seems illogical.

(Hint: it's a coping mechanism. It'll suddenly not be corrupt if the Cowboys ever win another Super Bowl. That will be totally legit.)

 

[mardwin]

So now Dak is under appreciated on this forum despite 95% of the forum defending him to death. He choked, some of us predicted he would choke. He doesn't deserve to be coddled anymore than he already has.

Don't forget his 40M salary.

 

[T-RO]

Big surprise, when all else fails put on the tinfoil hat, again.

I honestly don't know why someone who seriously believes that spends one second following the NFL. It seems illogical.

(Hint: it's a coping mechanism. It'll suddenly not be corrupt if the Cowboys ever win another Super Bowl. That will be totally legit.)

Jake I like you but we are destined to bash on this topic. Your description of my view is vacuous cardboard.

I first noticed corrupt officiating when it was the NBA and the corruption benefitted my team. My Lakers went to the free throw line about 15 times in the 4th quarter and made a "miraculous" come-back. I thought "something's not right here." Then a couple of years later I read a tell-tell book my a corrupt veteran NBA ref, and my suspicions were confirmed.

And by no means do the refs corruption always go against the Cowboys. There are games when Boys are clearly getting an extra boost from refs. This weekend was another showcase of league scripts playing out. I freely admit it diminishes enjoyment, but I can't deny the obvious.

 

[Szczepanik]

I enjoy this post. While some people will complain about Dak on the list, he's a top 8 to 12 QB.

Anyways, can we give some love to Daron Bland? He was very promising as a rookie, tough, non knucklehead.

Sam Williams looked promising as well.

The rooks overall have alot of upside.

The defense overall gets a standing ovation, last year we were bullied on D. This year we didn't get bullied on D.

 

[T-RO]

I enjoy this post. While some people will complain about Dak on the list, he's a top 8 to 12 QB.

Anyways, can we give some love to Daron Bland? He was very promising as a rookie, tough, non knucklehead.

Sam Williams looked promising as well.

The rooks overall have alot of upside.

The defense overall gets a standing ovation, last year we were bullied on D. This year we didn't get bullied on D.

Very excited for both Bland and Williams. I just wouldn't describe them as "unappreciated gems"

Yes...despite the disappointment of losing Niner game...standing ovation for defense! Both for their regular season and for their performance in playoff games.

 

[Pass2Run]

Dallas has some extremely valuable coaches and players. Very underrated. Some will stay, and sadly some are/will soon be gone without ever receiving proper recognition. I never cease to be amazed that some of these get minimized or even vilified.

Donavan Wilson

Absolute dawg-baller. Down-hill tackler. Reliable. Sells out to hit.​

Tony Pollard

Seems like only in the past couple months have most of the fans here finally come to appreciate Pollard for what he is - top 5 NFL all-purpose running back.​

Dan Quinn

Have you so quickly forgotten the long-suffering pathetic state of the defense before Quinn came? Now we are getting turnover and have top ten defense by yardage and points.​

​

Terence Steele

Zach Martin went out of his way to praise Steele's road grading ways. Superior in the run game, quite adequate vs. pass rush. A step and a quarter removed from all-pro. 73.9 PFF score​

Tank Lawrence

Stout against the run and the pass. Physical. Savvy.​

Jayron Kearse

Versatile. Aggressive. Rangy. Long. Smart​

Kellen Moore

He was a coaching hod rod open for hire for 5 minutes before the Chargers gobbled him up. OC's with his credentials (top marks in 3 of 4 seasons in points/yardage and many other metrics) simply don't hit the open market. I was embarrassed for those of you who failed to appreciate what we had with Moore. You will rue his departure.​

​

Tyron Smith

Future Hall-of-Famer willing to switch positions without complaint? The guy still gets elite marks for his performance when he's out there.​

Dak Prescott

Yup he's on the list. He ain't top eight, maybe not top twelve... but some of you are nuts in thinking Dak is junk. Maybe he's not a gem every game, but only a handful of QBs are.​

Good points.

I think fans forgot what the offensive play calling could be like before Kellen Moore came along and took charge. It's been too long, so they all think he sucks.

Parsons is great, but nobody had a better football play than Lawrence on the goal line stop where he took on 4 defenders at once to make the stop.

 

[T-RO]

nobody had a better football play than Lawrence on the goal line stop where he took on 4 defenders at once to make the stop.

That had to be the biggest defensive play of the year, given situation, impact and what it took.

 

[Cmac]

So now Dak is under appreciated on this forum despite 95% of the forum defending him to death. He choked, some of us predicted he would choke. He doesn't deserve to be coddled anymore than he already has.

.....perhaps undisputable right now. But I was thinking the very same about Kellen Moore too, on the list as a gem.
Just because the Chargers scooped him up so fast doesn't mean anything yet. G-Men did the same with Garrett (though a demotion). So we will see.

 

[BoyzBlaster]

Jake I like you but we are destined to bash on this topic. Your description of my view is vacuous cardboard.

I first noticed corrupt officiating when it was the NBA and the corruption benefitted my team. My Lakers went to the free throw line about 15 times in the 4th quarter and made a "miraculous" come-back. I thought "something's not right here." Then a couple of years later I read a tell-tell book my a corrupt veteran NBA ref, and my suspicions were confirmed.

And by no means do the refs corruption always go against the Cowboys. There are games when Boys are clearly getting an extra boost from refs. This weekend was another showcase of league scripts playing out. I freely admit it diminishes enjoyment, but I can't deny the obvious.

What is vacuous cardboard?

 

[JustChip]

I enjoy this post. While some people will complain about Dak on the list, he's a top 8 to 12 QB.

Anyways, can we give some love to Daron Bland? He was very promising as a rookie, tough, non knucklehead.

Sam Williams looked promising as well.

The rooks overall have alot of upside.

The defense overall gets a standing ovation, last year we were bullied on D. This year we didn't get bullied on D.

I like Sam Williams’ potential, but I also see him as potentially the most likely to do what #58 of Cincy did at the end if the AFCCG. I hope I’m wrong on that last point.

 

[T-RO]

What is vacuous cardboard?

hollow paper product