We Doubled Down

[817Gill]

I get all the hand-wringing over the state of our WR/TE corps, our lack of depth at DT and S, and maintaining the status quo with Garrett/Linehan. I get it. We definitely have flaws.

But-- IMO, the formula that worked for us in 2016 is still very much in play for us in 2018. Run the ball. Limit turnovers. Control the clock. Wear teams out by the 4th quarter and salt the game away.

Sure-- it's not a sexy new offensive system that's gonna light up the scoreboard every week. It's a formula as old as dirt. But it works. I blame the FO for not addressing S and DT, but I have to give them credit for doubling down on what they do really, really well: run the ball and punch teams in the mouth with a nasty OL. Signing Fleming and drafting Williams was brilliant and really set us up to get back to our brand of football this year.

I'm not under a delusion that this is a SB contender, but I think we will be closer in performance to 2016 than 2017 this year. Win some games, establish your identity, get some swagger back-- and who knows? This team is set to peak late-- will be fun to see how the young guys develop.

And I think it'll be safe to say the defense will be a helluva lot better than 2016. Even though that group was fine statistically, the potential for this unit is as a legit top 10 group. With a top 10 defense, this strategy will suffocate teams. All we'll have to do is score 20 and we have the advantage.

 

[817Gill]

What changed was no Zeke for 6 games and no Tyron. No Sean Lee didn’t help either lol

More and more people need to understand this haha. How can you put everything on the shoulders of a second-year qb and expect magic? He lost the three most important players on the team midseason and the coaches refused to adjust. I don't understand how Dak doesn't catch a break from haters with all that happening

 

[PUSHfold]

More and more people need to understand this haha. How can you put everything on the shoulders of a second-year qb and expect magic? He lost the three most important players on the team midseason and the coaches refused to adjust. I don't understand how Dak doesn't catch a break from haters with all that happening

Because people are idiots and expect Dak Prescott to be Aaron Rodgers or a 10 year veteran Tony Romo. They can't be happy that we potentially found one of the steals of the decade in a 4th rounder.

 

[Doomsday101]

Other teams improved too... better NFC field in 2018 than 2016

Hard to say what any other team will do. There will be playoff teams of 2017 who will not make post season, it happens every year.

 

[Doomsday101]

More and more people need to understand this haha. How can you put everything on the shoulders of a second-year qb and expect magic? He lost the three most important players on the team midseason and the coaches refused to adjust. I don't understand how Dak doesn't catch a break from haters with all that happening

True, but he also helped the team go 3-3 without our best weapon in Elliott.

 

[Diehardblues]

We're in the middle of a rebuild. Some hiccups are expected.

How do we go from basically one play from a championship appearance to a disappointing season missing playoffs because of our best players suspension to in the middle of a rebuild?

 

[Techsass]

How do we go from basically one play from a championship appearance to a disappointing season missing playoffs because of our best players suspension to in the middle of a rebuild?

Well we totally revamped the DBs last season. We're now doing the same with our receivers this season.

 

[Diehardblues]

Well we totally revamped the DBs last season. We're now doing the same with our receivers this season.

If we were a playoff team we should be retooling not rebuilding .

Rebuilding is where we were after 6-10 and 3 straight 8-8.

 

[Techsass]

6 of these & a half dozen of those. Whatever we call it, they've done a major overhaul.

The DB retooling looked pretty good by the end of last year. Hopefully the new receivers won't take as long to gel this season.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I agree but I still think the passing attack has to be good enough to back defense off the line.

Like they did in 2016?

 

[Diehardblues]

6 of these & a half dozen of those. Whatever we call it, they've done a major overhaul.

The DB retooling looked pretty good by the end of last year. Hopefully the new receivers won't take as long to gel this season.

The bottom line is if Elliott doesn’t go out we’re most likely more of a playoff contender last year if not in the playoffs which wouldn’t represent a team in rebuilding mode but one making more of a push than it did in 2016.

So , either we aren’t a legit playoff team in 2016 and were already in a rebuild mode last year or the Elliott suspension and the results of it set us back into rebuild mode?

Something isn’t adding up to me.

 

[Idgit]

Offense hasn’t been the problem in Dallas for years.

 

[Diehardblues]

Offense hasn’t been the problem in Dallas for years.

It was last year after Elliott went out. And even when he returned wasn’t the same.

 

[Idgit]

It was last year after Elliott went out. And even when he returned wasn’t the same.

Still top 10 in points/offensive series. Including the dip with Elliott and the Smith out for stretches.

 

[Diehardblues]

Still top 10 in points/offensive series. Including the dip with Elliott and the Smith out for stretches.

But those are stats for season not last 8 games.

Who defined us as a rebuilding team when we were 5-3 and 6th seed in NFC?

 

[Alexander]

I get all the hand-wringing over the state of our WR/TE corps, our lack of depth at DT and S, and maintaining the status quo with Garrett/Linehan. I get it. We definitely have flaws.

But-- IMO, the formula that worked for us in 2016 is still very much in play for us in 2018. Run the ball. Limit turnovers. Control the clock. Wear teams out by the 4th quarter and salt the game away.

Sure-- it's not a sexy new offensive system that's gonna light up the scoreboard every week. It's a formula as old as dirt. But it works. I blame the FO for not addressing S and DT, but I have to give them credit for doubling down on what they do really, really well: run the ball and punch teams in the mouth with a nasty OL. Signing Fleming and drafting Williams was brilliant and really set us up to get back to our brand of football this year.

I'm not under a delusion that this is a SB contender, but I think we will be closer in performance to 2016 than 2017 this year. Win some games, establish your identity, get some swagger back-- and who knows? This team is set to peak late-- will be fun to see how the young guys develop.

We started 2017 with this very basic formula and gosh darn it, it did not work out because of suspensions and so on.

Every NFL season is going to have adversity. So if Elliott blows out his knee in week five, is that a lot different from last year?

Should we pray for Tyron's back?

The general point is that every season is different.

 

[Idgit]

But those are stats for season not last 8 games.

Who defined us as a rebuilding team when we were 5-3 and 6th seed in NFC?

Yeah, the season stats are a better indication. Especially for a team that lost Elliott and Smith during long stretches of those last eight games.

We can take it as a given that units struggle when you lose multiple allpro quality players and protection fails. That’s not a scheme limitation.

 

[Diehardblues]

If Elliott isn’t suspended and we win 10 or 11 games heading into the playoffs are we still in rebuilding mode this year?

Just because we missed the playoffs with a disapointing season because of the events that unfolded including Elliott’s suspension and injuries to Smith and Lee doesn’t represent we’re in a rebuilding mode.

Instead it exposed the weaknesses and lack of depth of this team.

 

[Diehardblues]

Yeah, the season stats are a better indication. Especially for a team that lost Elliott and Smith during long stretches of those last eight games.

We can take it as a given that units struggle when you lose multiple allpro quality players and protection fails. That’s not a scheme limitation.

Would you say our season ending 8th ranking of defense was a good representation of the entire season?

And do you believe the season ending offensive ranking was a good representation of this offense ?

 

[Flamma]

I get all the hand-wringing over the state of our WR/TE corps, our lack of depth at DT and S, and maintaining the status quo with Garrett/Linehan. I get it. We definitely have flaws.

But-- IMO, the formula that worked for us in 2016 is still very much in play for us in 2018. Run the ball. Limit turnovers. Control the clock. Wear teams out by the 4th quarter and salt the game away.

Sure-- it's not a sexy new offensive system that's gonna light up the scoreboard every week. It's a formula as old as dirt. But it works. I blame the FO for not addressing S and DT, but I have to give them credit for doubling down on what they do really, really well: run the ball and punch teams in the mouth with a nasty OL. Signing Fleming and drafting Williams was brilliant and really set us up to get back to our brand of football this year.

I'm not under a delusion that this is a SB contender, but I think we will be closer in performance to 2016 than 2017 this year. Win some games, establish your identity, get some swagger back-- and who knows? This team is set to peak late-- will be fun to see how the young guys develop.

I don't think this system is good enough to win a championship. You may have a good season, but you can't hide an average to poor defense all the way to the SB. Time of possession ball control offense with little to no turnovers is a luxury, one mistake and it all blows up. The better teams you face the less room for error you have. You need a defense that can sometimes make plays and cause turnovers. I'm hoping we have that soon because it will be less stressful than to pin all hope on the offense alone.