Upon further review in Denver

[Sydla]

He looked fine against an offense that hasn't scored 20 points in 8 straight games.

I live two doors down from an orthopedist who's a big Cowboys fan. He's insistent that Jaylon's injury simply will never heal. That's about as good as it will get.

And there are doctors who said he very easily could recover.

I mean it's hilarious that we have now decided that we need to use a top pick on a MLB after a guys' first two NFL games. Hahahahahahahahaha.

How about we wait 8-10 games before reaching the conclusion we need a new MLB?

 

[Staubacher]

I should also add that can Jerrah please stop with the early round draft reaches? Getting injured and character-deficient guys because if they didn't have those issues they's be 1st rounders ain't working.

 

[erod]

So we made a mistake with Romo.

Big time.

 

[erod]

And there are doctors who said he very easily could recover.

I mean it's hilarious that we have now decided that we need to use a top pick on a MLB after a guys' first two NFL games. Hahahahahahahahaha.

How about we wait 8-10 games before reaching the conclusion we need a new MLB?

I don't care about the performance. I care about whether he'll heal or not in the long run. History of this injury shows that to be unlikely. It's never happened before that I remember, nor can my neighbor.

 

[Sydla]

I don't care about the performance. I care about whether he'll heal or not in the long run. History of this injury shows that to be unlikely. It's never happened before that I remember, nor can my neighbor.

Your doctor has said that it's never happened before that a guy damages a knee nerve and actually recovered?

Because that's the issue here. Forget that he's a football player. Look at him simply as a human. Have human beings had a full regeneration of a damaged nerve?

You mention lateral quickness and yet just last week, he planted and changed directions on a reverse and ran down Shepard on a reverse. I mean I guess people have preconceived notions (such as bodi below) and just then look for things that fit that notion.

It's way too early to simply write Smith off.

 

[bodi]

He looked fine against an offense that hasn't scored 20 points in 8 straight games.

I live two doors down from an orthopedist who's a big Cowboys fan. He's insistent that Jaylon's injury simply will never heal. That's about as good as it will get.

I have been saying this the whole time it was a Jerry move wanted that publicity - but IMO the kid will never get any better

 

[bsbellomy]

Big time.

Wasted year.

 

[erod]

Your doctor has said that it's never happened before that a guy damages a knee nerve and actually recovered?

Because that's the issue here. Forget that he's a football player. Look at him simply as a human. Have human beings had a full regeneration of a damaged nerve?

Not for an injury that bad on an elite athlete. It's about the worst injury a football player can suffer.

Yes, people walk again, but they're never the same. He said it's like getting severe frostbite. You can save the tissue, perhaps, but it won't ever be the same.

This is like a partial paralyzation of the foot. He'll have to wear the brace for the rest of his career.

 

[Toruk_Makto]

We will miss Dez when he's gone. Yeah he comes up short against Julio and Antonio and OBJ. And then the list ends. Every team in football would love to have Dez except our stupid fanbase. Xwalker yesterday was saying we'd be better off with Jordy Nelson. Jordy in this team would be Terrance Williams. Can you imagine Dez with Aaron Rodgers?

Also I watch a lot of football. Very few wrs run as many useless go routes and post corners as Dez does. These are simply low percentage throws by a qb who is a middling talent throwing deep. If you aren't wide open because the safeties and lbs bit on play action Dak simply does not hit tight windows enough for the long ball. It'd why I chuckle when people day we need a DeSean Jackson type. As if DeSean will make Dak more accurate downfield.

Fact is Dez has never not been open 1 on 1. Romo fed him regularly with a DB nearby and we were all better for it because he threw an accurate ball. Dak doesn't throw an accurate ball and so that's Dez's fault? You guys are simply playing favorites.

 

[Idgit]

Nobody's mentioning it, but the slick field obviously bothered our DBs. I'm wondering if it was a bigger problem for Smith with his foot. He definitely seemed to be playing farther from the line and taking wider angles to his tackles. He looked bad, from just my initial watching of the game.

 

[Sydla]

Not for an injury that bad on an elite athlete. It's about the worst injury a football player can suffer.

Yes, people walk again, but they're never the same. He said it's like getting severe frostbite. You can save the tissue, perhaps, but it won't ever be the same.

This is like a partial paralyzation of the foot. He'll have to wear the brace for the rest of his career.

So again, it's impossible for him (or anyone for that matter) to get a full regeneration of the knee nerve?

 

[Sydla]

We will miss Dez when he's gone. Yeah he comes up short against Julio and Antonio and OBJ. And then the list ends. Every team in football would love to have Dez except our stupid fanbase. Xwalker yesterday was saying we'd be better off with Jordy Nelson. Jordy in this team would be Terrance Williams. Can you imagine Dez with Aaron Rodgers?

Also I watch a lot of football. Very few wrs run as many useless go routes and post corners as Dez does. These are simply low percentage throws by a qb who is a middling talent throwing deep. If you aren't wide open because the safeties and lbs bit on play action Dak simply does not hit tight windows enough for the long ball. It'd why I chuckle when people day we need a DeSean Jackson type. As if DeSean will make Dak more accurate downfield.

Fact is Dez has never not been open 1 on 1. Romo fed him regularly with a DB nearby and we were all better for it because he threw an accurate ball. Dak doesn't throw an accurate ball and so that's Dez's fault? You guys are simply playing favorites.

You are doing the same thing though. This notion that Dak is this erratic QB is just you trying to play favorites with Dez.

 

[erod]

So again, it's impossible for him (or anyone for that matter) to get a full regeneration of the knee nerve?

Yes, when it's that severe, according to him.

I obviously have no idea one way or the other.

 

[Sydla]

Yes, when it's that severe, according to him.

I obviously have no idea one way or the other.

And other doctors have said the opposite. Which is the point. We don't have a clue what Smith is going to become. Shoot, his knee might fully heal and he just not be a very good MLB. Stud college players have crashed and burned in the NFL before.

We don't know what Smith will become. He's a guy coming off a severe knee injury who has only played 2 NFL games in his life. He looked OK in one, bad in another. To then reach the conclusion that we definitely need to draft a MLB next year is a pretty large overreaction at this point.

 

[erod]

And other doctors have said the opposite. Which is the point. We don't have a clue what Smith is going to become. Shoot, his knee might fully heal and he just not be a very good MLB. Stud college players have crashed and burned in the NFL before.

We don't know what Smith will become. He's a guy coming off a severe knee injury who has only played 2 NFL games in his life. He looked OK in one, bad in another. To then reach the conclusion that we definitely need to draft a MLB next year is a pretty large overreaction at this point.

For now, I just want Hitchens back asap.

 

[mardwin]

We will miss Dez when he's gone. Yeah he comes up short against Julio and Antonio and OBJ. And then the list ends. Every team in football would love to have Dez except our stupid fanbase. Xwalker yesterday was saying we'd be better off with Jordy Nelson. Jordy in this team would be Terrance Williams. Can you imagine Dez with Aaron Rodgers?

Also I watch a lot of football. Very few wrs run as many useless go routes and post corners as Dez does. These are simply low percentage throws by a qb who is a middling talent throwing deep. If you aren't wide open because the safeties and lbs bit on play action Dak simply does not hit tight windows enough for the long ball. It'd why I chuckle when people day we need a DeSean Jackson type. As if DeSean will make Dak more accurate downfield.

Fact is Dez has never not been open 1 on 1. Romo fed him regularly with a DB nearby and we were all better for it because he threw an accurate ball. Dak doesn't throw an accurate ball and so that's Dez's fault? You guys are simply playing favorites.

Dak didn't miss Dez against GB last year... so Dez is much of an impediment to how this offense functions. We force the ball to him to much. Similar to Romo, Dak worse numbers as a passer come when he is trying to get the ball to Dez. Can't run a route, can't create separation and has a nag for always dropping balls when things don't go his way.

 

[Sydla]

For now, I just want Hitchens back asap.

LOL at Hitchens being some elixir.

 

[DenCWBY]

After a day of retrospection, and another watch of that horror movie....

• Let's take a big old deep breath. Tom Brady is 3-7 playing in that stratosphere, and the Broncos are the only team he has a losing record against. Denver simply always wins in Denver in September, except for once in the past 21 games. That was ugly, but just move on. Even if it revealed some serious flaws in this team, just turn the page.
  
• Dak was poor. I have no doubt he'll bounce back, but there are some disturbing trends. First, he needs to slow down on the "Romo impersonation" for now. He doesn't see the defense like Romo yet, and he doesn't need to be making umpteen changes at the line of scrimmage. He needs to trust the call like last year for the most part because his changes just aren't working. His throws are erratic and too often short of the sticks. He's not even looking downfield most of the time at all, and he's not comfortable throwing from the pocket still. More plays to get him outside. I'd also like to see him scramble more so long as he slides or gets out of bounds. He's simply trying to be a QB that he's not ready to be yet. Simplify things, and focus on what he's good at.
• Demarcus Lawrence has 4 sacks. Last year, it wasn't until mid-November that a DE had four sacks. That guy is killing it, and if his back holds together, he's head for a $50 million dollar deal or a franchise tag. Help is coming with Moore returning this week, and Irving soon.
• La'el Collins had a rough time with the best pass rusher in football, but it wasn't as bad as my first impressions. He battled, which is obviously in his DNA. Miller created conflict, but Dak held the ball too long on plays at times, and Miller was offsides multiple times. Overall, Collins held up as well or better than most do against this speed demon. It was not that bad at all.
• I'm really concerned about Jaylon Smith. His instincts are good, but he was really bad in pass coverage, playing way off guys, and he couldn't get to anything. Sean Lee was having to cover for him, and that made Lee look late and poor as well. They have to wrap that foot so tight that it's basically a stump, and the lateral movement and power is just gone. Jaylon was getting steamrolled backward. Let's just hope he'll heal and get better because this isn't going to get it done. Dallas needs Hitchens back in the worst way.
• Dez just isn't an elite receiver, and Linehan and Dak have to stop forcing him the ball. The completion rate is low and if he keeps drawing the top corners (Peterson this week?), he is going to be blanketed all game long. Accept that, and throw it to better options when he's covered. Romo could throw Dez open with perfect back-shoulder and high-point targets, but that isn't in Dak's bag just yet. Just treat him like another receiver and get more creative. As Aikman and many, many others have said repeatedly, he doesn't run good routes, or very many, and he doesn't get separation, so let's stop pretending he's like Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, and DeAndre Hopkins. He's not. He's a useful cog in the wheel, but he's not elite.
• Zeke.... That was not a pretty display, and I'm more concerned about the sulking on the sideline than anything. This guy needs to take inventory of where he is in this world asap, because it doesn't feel like his career is going to end well. He's chubby, a step slower, and disconnected from his reality right now. If anything, Dallas needs to use and abuse him this year because future years look less than promising. Get what we can out of him before he goes full Eddie Lacey or Randy Gregory. I don't see him here beyond his rookie contract unless some serious maturing takes place in multiple areas.
• Jeff Heath looks decent, but Byron Jones not so much. Perhaps Jones is just a slot corner, or maybe he's close to getting it, but so far, he's just not reacting quickly enough to make any plays. Better get ready because the league sees it, too.
• The defense as a whole is starting to smell bad. Let's hope the pass rushers on the way helps loads, and better health at corner happens soon. It just feels eerily familiar already.
• Jason Garrett needs to feel Jerry's impatience. I certainly do. I support Garrett because he manages and tolerates Jerry well, and he was the impetus for this youth movement. But all coaches' voices grow tiresome, and this is a get-it-done year for him. With that Hall of Fame under Jerry's belt, I suspect he is more comfortable paying a name coach now. He's growing damn tired of waiting.
• Lastly, and this is a hard one, but there is no way on God's green earth that this is a Super Bowl team. Atlanta will likely annihilate Dallas worse than Denver did, and the Broncos are a fringe playoff team at best. The defense needs work, and the offense needs to overcome what top defenses do to it. If the Giants had any semblance of an offensive line and a healthy Beckham, we'd be 0-2 right now. Can't sit on the sidelines next offseason. Fix the defense while Dak remains cheap. Unless an epic evolution takes place during the season on defense, this is just a stepping stone season.

Hammer meet nail!! Always appreciate your write ups EROD. Right on point.

 

[erod]

LOL at Hitchens being some elixir.

It would help Lee.

 

[perrykemp]

We will miss Dez when he's gone. Yeah he comes up short against Julio and Antonio and OBJ. And then the list ends. Every team in football would love to have Dez except our stupid fanbase. Xwalker yesterday was saying we'd be better off with Jordy Nelson. Jordy in this team would be Terrance Williams. Can you imagine Dez with Aaron Rodgers?

Also I watch a lot of football. Very few wrs run as many useless go routes and post corners as Dez does. These are simply low percentage throws by a qb who is a middling talent throwing deep. If you aren't wide open because the safeties and lbs bit on play action Dak simply does not hit tight windows enough for the long ball. It'd why I chuckle when people day we need a DeSean Jackson type. As if DeSean will make Dak more accurate downfield.

Fact is Dez has never not been open 1 on 1. Romo fed him regularly with a DB nearby and we were all better for it because he threw an accurate ball. Dak doesn't throw an accurate ball and so that's Dez's fault? You guys are simply playing favorites.

I agree Dez would missed if left. He is the most talented WR on the club by a mile.

As it relates Jordy Nelson, I’m not a subscriber that Jordy is just a product of Aaron Rodgers. When healthy, his production is Top 5.