CFZ What Dak is Doing Is Not Normal

[McMicah]

This performance surge is not normal. In fact, I can’t think of another QB that had late career surges like this. I give up trying to project QB play. For me it goes back to Wentz vs Dak. I went back and forth on that 10x before Wentz fell off the cliff.

But Dak was no saint then, and until after this years bye week, I saw the same Dak I always have seen since after his rookie year. Consistently inconsistent, game to game and even qtr to qtr. He COULD be awesome, but also COULD be a tragedy at times.

All this time I have assumed Hurts had the ultimate higher ceiling due to youth, and yet Dak has become randomly…consistent. But he’s also randomly….better. ALOT better. Better than he’s ever played, and that makes 0 sense to me at this stage of his career. I keep waiting for his inconsistency to pop out and say hi and it just hasn’t yet.

I know we’ve played some bad teams in that stretch, but he was great against the eagles and the Seahawks (who admittedly played their best game of the season IMHO).

My complaints against Dak have almost all gone sideways. His pocket presence and footwork has improved ALOT, despite not great pass pro. He keeps his eyes downfield. He is balancing using his legs better than I’ve seen since his rookie year. He even throws the ball away ON PURPOSE when he needs to. He’s throwing with anticipation and letting his instincts control his aen and he seems so relaxed doing it. Maybe my only complaint that still has life is his accuracy isn’t always great on every throw, but he’s throwing some dimes lately.

Am I wrong in this? No one can convince me that he was this good all the time. I’m not looking for a Dak worshipper to tell me it was always like this because I know it wasn’t. Even you apologists have to admit it’s on another level right now. But the Dak critics also have to see it.

The guy is absolutely balling. Let’s pray he had some late career eureka moment and that this sticks, cause if so, I’m not worried about QB for a while. Hopefully MVP Dak is here to stay.

 

[Tabascocat]

Sometimes the light clicks on and the game slows down for a player. Lets hope this is the case going forward.

 

[Rockport]

This performance surge is not normal. In fact, I can’t think of another QB that had late career surges like this. I give up trying to project QB play. For me it goes back to Wentz vs Dak. I went back and forth on that 10x before Wentz fell off the cliff.

But Dak was no saint then, and until after this years bye week, I saw the same Dak I always have seen since after his rookie year. Consistently inconsistent, game to game and even qtr to qtr. He COULD be awesome, but also COULD be a tragedy at times.

All this time I have assumed Hurts had the ultimate higher ceiling due to youth, and yet Dak has become randomly…consistent. But he’s also randomly….better. ALOT better. Better than he’s ever played, and that makes 0 sense to me at this stage of his career. I keep waiting for his inconsistency to pop out and say hi and it just hasn’t yet.

I know we’ve played some bad teams in that stretch, but he was great against the eagles and the Seahawks (who admittedly played their best game of the season IMHO).

My complaints against Dak have almost all gone sideways. His pocket presence and footwork has improved ALOT, despite not great pass pro. He keeps his eyes downfield. He is balancing using his legs better than I’ve seen since his rookie year. He even throws the ball away ON PURPOSE when he needs to. He’s throwing with anticipation and letting his instincts control his aen and he seems so relaxed doing it. Maybe my only complaint that still has life is his accuracy isn’t always great on every throw, but he’s throwing some dimes lately.

Am I wrong in this? No one can convince me that he was this good all the time. I’m not looking for a Dak worshipper to tell me it was always like this because I know it wasn’t. Even you apologists have to admit it’s on another level right now. But the Dak critics also have to see it.

The guy is absolutely balling. Let’s pray he had some late career eureka moment and that this sticks, cause if so, I’m not worried about QB for a while. Hopefully MVP Dak is here to stay.

He’s improved because of the coaching, the new offense and the improvement of the offensive line.

 

[nyc-cowboy]

He’s throwing with anticipation and letting his instincts control his aen and he seems so relaxed doing it.

The O has opened up but the biggest reason is he's getting plenty of time.

His clock better speed up this week, cause I doubt he gets the time he had vs Wash and Seattle.

 

[MysteryIceGuro]

We are playing bottom feeder teams. I would hope he would light them up. He’s been playing great but I just hope he can remain competent under brighter lights. I’m not saying he should light them up but he needs to be zeroed in next week, in Buffalo, and in Miami.

 

[McMicah]

The O has opened up but the biggest reason is he's getting plenty of time.

His clock better speed up this week, cause I doubt he gets the time he had vs Wash and Seattle.

I don’t know about the time thing. He played with OLs in his first 4 years IMO. Steele is almost a revolving door and Biadisz lets the pocket get pushed.

Even when he’s had time in the past he seemed to miss open guys a lot more. I mean he’ll even the beginning of this year I don’t think he could even see Cooks, and now the dude is rolling big time.

 

[McMicah]

We are playing bottom feeder teams. I would hope he would light them up. He’s been playing great but I just hope he can remain competent under brighter lights. I’m not saying he should light them up but he needs to be zeroed in next week, in Buffalo, and in Miami.

This is the real test. I don’t even need him to win those games. I just want him to play well. If he can do that through all those teams and Detroit, then this isn’t some anomaly to me. He’s just flat out better now for some reason. But I’m reserving final judgment until then

 

[RomoIsGod]

It clicked for Romo in 14 with bad back and all.

 

[QuikZ06]

Kellen Moore is gone, that helps A LOT!!

 

[America's Cowboy]

You Dak haters just need to man-up, admit you were wrong about Dak, and confirm he is what the Cowboys need going forward.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

Sometimes the light clicks on and the game slows down for a player. Lets hope this is the case going forward.

This^^^^^^yes it's taken 8 years but you can now see his command of the position. He now reminds me a lot of Romo ( mentally ) his last 2-3 years

 

[TwoDeep3]

I saw a commentary where Romo stated that Rodgers showed him delivering the ball from different throwing angles. He ;earned it but Romo said it was too late in his career to have made a huge impact.

I'm certain I am not alone thinking he was doing that all along. Who knew?

 

[Yobwocs]

I'll take the obvious scapegoat.... Kellen Moore.

The Dak haters were saying "watch Moore with Herbert." Well... what now? His mighty Chargers 10 points and 6 points in consecutive weeks. His offense is obviously not complex. Denver, KC, and 49ers figured it out. Some teams seem to really know what they're doing against his offense. And it's showing in LA.... they're somehow MUCH worse this year and their offense is just as much to blame as their defense.

 

[Asklesko]

Maybe he sold his soul to the devil, just like Jerry Jones

 

[nyc-cowboy]

I don’t know about the time thing. He played with OLs in his first 4 years IMO. Steele is almost a revolving door and Biadisz lets the pocket get pushed.

Even when he’s had time in the past he seemed to miss open guys a lot more. I mean he’ll even the beginning of this year I don’t think he could even see Cooks, and now the dude is rolling big time.

I dont know - I remember a couple of years ago - 21 season - the first like 7 games he was absolutely ballin', even all the talking heads were saying he was front runner for MVP then we played Denver...

He seems to have gotten better but we all know that "until he does it in the play-offs" mantra will remain til he proves otherwise.

 

[Yobwocs]

I dont know - I remember a couple of years ago - 21 season - the first like 7 games he was absolutely ballin', even all the talking heads were saying he was front runner for MVP then we played Denver...

He seems to have gotten better but we all know that "until he does it in the play-offs" mantra will remain til he proves otherwise.

Denver owns the Cowboys. The 2013 Romo 5 TD 500 yard game aside...... Denver whips Dallas up and down the block with every QB, coach, or coordinator.

And last I remember, that 2013 game was a loss, altho as honorable a loss as it gets.

 

[Whiskey Cowboy]

He was great in 16,19, and 21. It seemed the light was coming on in 20, but the ankle injury cut his season short. Last season he was ok, considering what he had to work with, and it seems the focus on the off-season was risk management and turnover prevention. Throw in Cooks, Ferguson coming on, and Gallup being another year away from his injury. Then you factor in the fact that Mike is calling the shots and running an offense that caters to the QB and his cast and the results seem to look exceptional.

Maybe the light did come on, but he's been on an upward trajectory since the day he showed up, and it appears that he's not done evolving. I was down on him coming into the season. I'm about done talking. He's looking special this year. Great time to be a Cowboy!

 

[RonnieT24]

This performance surge is not normal. In fact, I can’t think of another QB that had late career surges like this. I give up trying to project QB play. For me it goes back to Wentz vs Dak. I went back and forth on that 10x before Wentz fell off the cliff.

But Dak was no saint then, and until after this years bye week, I saw the same Dak I always have seen since after his rookie year. Consistently inconsistent, game to game and even qtr to qtr. He COULD be awesome, but also COULD be a tragedy at times.

All this time I have assumed Hurts had the ultimate higher ceiling due to youth, and yet Dak has become randomly…consistent. But he’s also randomly….better. ALOT better. Better than he’s ever played, and that makes 0 sense to me at this stage of his career. I keep waiting for his inconsistency to pop out and say hi and it just hasn’t yet.

I know we’ve played some bad teams in that stretch, but he was great against the eagles and the Seahawks (who admittedly played their best game of the season IMHO).

My complaints against Dak have almost all gone sideways. His pocket presence and footwork has improved ALOT, despite not great pass pro. He keeps his eyes downfield. He is balancing using his legs better than I’ve seen since his rookie year. He even throws the ball away ON PURPOSE when he needs to. He’s throwing with anticipation and letting his instincts control his aen and he seems so relaxed doing it. Maybe my only complaint that still has life is his accuracy isn’t always great on every throw, but he’s throwing some dimes lately.

Am I wrong in this? No one can convince me that he was this good all the time. I’m not looking for a Dak worshipper to tell me it was always like this because I know it wasn’t. Even you apologists have to admit it’s on another level right now. But the Dak critics also have to see it.

The guy is absolutely balling. Let’s pray he had some late career eureka moment and that this sticks, cause if so, I’m not worried about QB for a while. Hopefully MVP Dak is here to stay.

I have been saying for years that Dak's best football was ahead of him because his starting point was so much lower than most other QBs coming out of college. The best comp I can think of would be either Steve Young or maybe Rich Gannon.. Both were super athletic QBs in college who relied on that athleticism as much or more than their arms in college and early in the NFL but both always had talent lurking just below the surface and really just needed the right coach to bring it out. For Steve Young it was the great Bill Walsh.. and for Gannon it was Jon Gruden.. Now we have McCarthy playing that role for Dak. I never thought much of the "development" that Dak was undergoing under Garrett/Linehan/Moore. The first real strides as a passer came in his time with Kitna but when Kitna was let go I thought things kinda took a few steps back. The first signs that this dude was lurking inside of Dak was those first 5 games in 2020 and then again the first 6 games of 2021. I don't think we ever got that guy back until after the 49er game and I think he's here to stay this time. All that's left is for us to enjoy it!

 

[Yobwocs]

I have been saying for years that Dak's best football was ahead of him because his starting point was so much lower than most other QBs coming out of college. The best comp I can think of would be either Steve Young or maybe Rich Gannon.. Both were super athletic QBs in college who relied on that athleticism as much or more than their arms in college and early in the NFL but both always had talent lurking just below the surface and really just needed the right coach to bring it out. For Steve Young it was the great Bill Walsh.. and for Gannon it was Jon Gruden.. Now we have McCarthy playing that role for Dak. I never thought much of the "development" that Dak was undergoing under Garrett/Linehan/Moore. The first real strides as a passer came in his time with Kitna but when Kitna was let go I thought things kinda took a few steps back. The first signs that this dude was lurking inside of Dak was those first 5 games in 2020 and then again the first 6 games of 2021. I don't think we ever got that guy back until after the 49er game and I think he's here to stay this time. All that's left is for us to enjoy it!

Well..... Dak in his first 7 years was better than Gannon ever was before Oakland. During the 90s.... Gannon was a journeyman. He made a great turnaround with Gruden tho, but 1999-2005 lots of people could thrive under the systems of New England, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Oakland, St. Louis and Baltimore. Either dominant defenses or offenses that featured Gannon, Rob Johnson, and Trent Dilfer and somehow were Super Bowl contenders.

I think most people here never watched Dak in college. Dak was the real deal in college. He passed, he ran, his offense only succeeded with him. And the other Mississippi State quarterbacks before him all failed, and that's all with Dan Mullen as coach. Dan was at State for 5 years before Dak's break out year in 2014 and the main reason his team never elevated was because Dak was not inserted as full time starter until '14.

He didn't just rely on his athleticism. He was a passer. As for why he was picked in the 4th round.......... it's because of physical measures like arm strength. Draft evaluators gave Paxton Lynch a 1st round grade, and Dak only a 7th round grade. Anyone who watched the games knew Dak wasn't a 7th round talent. Paxton Lynch was also nowhere close to being a 1st round talent if you watched him at Memphis.

This is what I mean..... watch the games. Don't go by some draft report. I didn't think Dak was Montana in college, but he sure as well was way better than a 4th round talent. He'd be picked #1 if you had to do the draft over again.

I will say, however, Dak has become a brainy QB with excellent timing, and his finesse skills are improving.... tho he was always more of a finesse QB. In college.... he didn't display those traits to as great an extent. So he definitely has improved since college.

 

[TWOK11]

The reality is that Dak has always been a good to very good QB. It’s just that some were so dug in against him that only once he ventured into the stratosphere of truly elite, playing so well that nobody could possibly deny it, that they recognized it.