CFZ What the 49er playoff loss should teach us about the 2022 season

[quickccc]

I don’t need to tell any Cowboys fan around here how disappointing that wild card game loss was to the 49ers last January. It was simply awful.

But nearly 7 months later, there are some things we could learn from that game if we want to take the next step and at least make an NFC championship game for the first time in 26 years. Here is a list of what that playoff taught us- have we made the right adjustments?

FIRST- SOME GAME FACTS- NINERS 23-COWBOYS 16.

• The niners had 5 sacks; we had zero.
• The niners won TOP 34 minutes to 26 for Dallas. And that’s after we had the ball for most of the 4th qtr.
• In the niners first 7 possessions of the game, they scored 5 times and on their last possession of the first half, they even took a knee, leading 16-7.
• The Cowboys did not make a sack all game, and only had 4 pressures. Micah Parsons was consistently neutralized when rushing and D-Law was too. Randy Gregory had a few pressures but he had some stupid penalties too.
• The Cowboys OL got whipped all day. Tyron Smith had his worst game of the season and Connor Williams had his usual bad holding call at the worst time.
  
• For some reason Dak (or Kellen Moore) were choosing to not get the ball in the hands of their best playmakers.

So what can we learn from this?

• The trenches is where we got whipped and the biggest reason we lost that playoff game. IMO, It remains the biggest problem this team has. Not enough in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
• FOOTBALL 101: The team who wins the trenches usually wins- especially in the playoffs. You need skill position players too, but without the big guys on the line holding their own, you can’t win playoff games.

So here are some questions going into 2022 based on what last year should have taught us:

1. Did we strengthen our OL and DL this off-season? Enough to avoid a repeat of what the niners did to us last January? Can we finally stop the run?
2. Will our offense be able to get the ball to playmakers regardless of what the defense is doing? Dumping passes to Dalton Schultz all day won’t get it done. Can Kellen Moore get better? Can Dak consistently get the ball to his playmakers?

The answers to these questions will probably determine if this team does something more than what it’s done the last qtr century. We will start seeing soon.

- Kellen Moore knows very little about how to best utilize the RBs in both pass and run game - right up the middle, draw plays and he doesn't effectively make
the RBs serious weapons in the pass games. Pollard should ne deadly on quick screens with pulling OL guys in front of him, ..that's a 40 yd to homerun TD
with him. But Moore relishes them to mere dump off passes. He's a one track mind when it comes to WR -TE designs vs RB designs.

- Dak and Kellen had to resort to dump offs to Shultz underneath because when teams like Denver handed out the blue print to less bltizing, much more zone,
we not only not have the run game upfront to make them pay ...but those zones made Dak -Kellen conservative and passive, thinking
more about the big mistake than the big play, it kept the two big WRs out of the game -and Kellen only knew those tired WR bubble screens to go to ..

- When teams can run down your throat, not only does that better set up their play action passes, but it keeps the pass rushers more at bay,
they have to be more pre-occupied with vs the run ... but even when the few times when Niners-Grapp faced long yrd, we still were not
able to get to him.

 

[Flamma]

yeah I thought SF would win,or had a good shot to win, but for anyone saying they KNEW SF WOULD WIN, why didnt they bet all their money on it??
So if you placed a large wager on the game picking SF, then you can say you knew ! lol

LOL yeah, if anyone actually knew, there would be a lot of gambling going on. I think expected them to lose would be a better choice of words

 

[Pacowboy1968]

It has been the Cowboys' M.O. for the last four playoff games.
I know three of those apperances were under the former HC & OC...but a good part of the offensive core were in place for all of them (QB, RB1, LT, RG; WR1 for the last three.
GB____13 pts @ halftime, 13 pts entering 4th qtr
SEA___10 pts @ halftime, 10 pts entering 4th qtr
LAR____7 pts @ halftime, 15 pts entering 4th qtr
SF______7 pts @ halftime, 7 pts entering 4th qtr

 

[Pacowboy1968]

This screams how poor they are at making halftime adjustments. Is the mindset that "We're still in this so stick with the game plan"?

 

[nightrain]

2nd to last drive (4th Q). If you can't score on the opposition when you need it most and their 2 best defensive players are out of the game, you don't belong there.

 

[Alexander]

Dak throwing checks downs when we are in a hurry and need 80 yards. F Dak.

I am not going to put all of that on him.

But it is pretty clear, there was no clear plan on that final drive. Things just happened and everyone seemed confused. Then they tried to explain how they meant to do that after it was all over.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Can't win when you only score 7 points in 3 Q of football at home vs a wildcard team!!

Let me guess? It's Dak's fault???

SMH

 

[Jfconrow]

I didn’t really see it that way. I saw a team with no running back, Pollard was out and Zeke was injured. Then the niners pulled a cheap move and targeted Parsons, knocking him out of the game. Dallas didn’t have strong DTs so they couldn’t stop the run.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

Let me guess? It's Dak's fault???

SMH

Apologies it's the Cheerleader's fault......

 

[America's Cowboy]

Apologies it's the Cheerleader's fault......

 

[ShortRound]

I don’t need to tell any Cowboys fan around here how disappointing that wild card game loss was to the 49ers last January. It was simply awful.

But nearly 7 months later, there are some things we could learn from that game if we want to take the next step and at least make an NFC championship game for the first time in 26 years. Here is a list of what that playoff taught us- have we made the right adjustments?

FIRST- SOME GAME FACTS- NINERS 23-COWBOYS 16

• The niners told us the week before the game they were going to run the ball down our throats. And they did exactly that, rushing for 169 yards.
• The niners had 341 total yards to 307 for the cowboys.
  
• The niners had 5 sacks; we had zero.
• The niners won TOP 34 minutes to 26 for Dallas. And that’s after we had the ball for most of the 4th qtr.
• In the niners first 7 possessions of the game, they scored 5 times and on their last possession of the first half, they even took a knee, leading 16-7.
• The Cowboys did not make a sack all game, and only had 4 pressures. Micah Parsons was consistently neutralized when rushing and D-Law was too. Randy Gregory had a few pressures but he had some stupid penalties too.
• The Cowboys OL got whipped all day. Tyron Smith had his worst game of the season and Connor Williams had his usual bad holding call at the worst time.
  
• For some reason Dak (or Kellen Moore) were choosing to not get the ball in the hands of their best playmakers.

So what can we learn from this?

• The trenches is where we got whipped and the biggest reason we lost that playoff game. IMO, It remains the biggest problem this team has. Not enough in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
• FOOTBALL 101: The team who wins the trenches usually wins- especially in the playoffs. You need skill position players too, but without the big guys on the line holding their own, you can’t win playoff games.

So here are some questions going into 2022 based on what last year should have taught us:

1. Did we strengthen our OL and DL this off-season? Enough to avoid a repeat of what the niners did to us last January? Can we finally stop the run?
2. Will our offense be able to get the ball to playmakers regardless of what the defense is doing? Dumping passes to Dalton Schultz all day won’t get it done. Can Kellen Moore get better? Can Dak consistently get the ball to his playmakers?

The answers to these questions will probably determine if this team does something more than what it’s done the last qtr century. We will start seeing soon.

• For some reason Dak (or Kellen Moore) were choosing to not get the ball in the hands of their best playmakers.

This is the one that worries me. The brains of this offense needs to get a clear idea of what it is they want to do. MM needs to get it out of them, and if not, move on.

 

[Ranching]

That word gets used around here far too freely and often.

In all fairness, the word Homer is thrown around a lot too. I used to live in the film room, not any more. Now I just enjoy the game and don't worry about analyzing the game. I like to stay positive, so that makes me a Homer.

 

[America's Cowboy]

• For some reason Dak (or Kellen Moore) were choosing to not get the ball in the hands of their best playmakers.

This is the one that worries me. The brains of this offense needs to get a clear idea of what it is they want to do. MM needs to get it out of them, and if not, move on.

Their best playmakers need to get open first.

 

[America's Cowboy]

I think I can understand all points of view from fans here. I agree we should always give each new season a chance. I am excited about every new season even if I don’t “believe”some things other fans do.

Some call posts that identify problems as “hate”. Others see those who are excited about the Cowboys as kool aid drinkers. Who cares either way? Cowboys fans have the right to be whatever they want to be. That’s what this forum is all about IMO.

If I wasn’t a fan of the Cowboys, I wouldn’t spend so much of my time here. We should all give each other credit instead of criticism for being around here. I disagree with many opinions here and many disagree with many of mine. There’s no problem with that. I don’t see disagreement with a fellow fan as “hate”. And I know you don’t either.

Nah, BH. There is a difference between a fan who dislikes a player and one who outright hates a player. There definitely are a handful of haters in here.

 

[Bobhaze]

Nah, BH. There is a difference between a fan who dislikes a player and one who outright hates a player. There definitely are a handful of haters in here.

Who cares? There are always going to be people like that. Why let that bother you on an opinion forum which in and of itself is designed to allow lots of different views presented? I disagree with many opinions offered here. But it’s what makes this place work.

“Hate” on an opinion marketplace of ideas is extremely hard to define. Sometimes I point out something I see as a genuine weakness in the Cowboys and it gets called “hate”. I’ve been called a “hater” when merely presenting facts. Sometimes people on this forum see lots to be optimistic about and they get called ”homers”, “cheerleaders” or “kool aid drinkers”. Either kind of criticism is silly to me.

Bottom line- let people think what they want to think. Doesn’t mean you’re wrong or they’re right.

IMO…the best response is to tell them why you disagree. Have a debate without getting personal. The variety of fans we have on this forum is vast. And that’s a good thing.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

Nah, BH. There is a difference between a fan who dislikes a player and one who outright hates a player. There definitely are a handful of haters in here.

Why do you bring your HATE-filled world here in these lovely forums?
Until Dak takes this team(as its leader) to new glories expect the heat to rise in the kitchen!!!

 

[plasticman]

I think an important issue in regards to the line play was the never ending lineup changes due to injuries.

The entire projected starting defensive line went down before the season even started.

Lawrence, Gregory, Gallimore, and Hill were generally assumed to be the starters.

Well, these four projected starters were the actual starters for 29.4% of their games. In fact, only one defensive lineman on the team started more than 12 games.

There were instances in a game were the four D-linemen on the field at a particular point in a game were all rookies

There is a general misunderstanding among fans when discussing momentum going into the playoffs. Most associate the word with winning streaks or a season ending surge in their quality of play. It is actually a culmination of familiarity and cohesion with the newer players on the team or with the system of a new coordinator.

I can't stress the importance of consistency in the quality of play in a playoff bound team. Just as importance is the consistency in the starting lineup.

The defensive line had consecutive weeks of the same starters only three times throughout the entire season. The line was talented in many places but so what? They just couldn't jell because they were unfamiliar with each other and couldn't make up the lost time due to injury or other issues. They never created a cohesive unit.

The same was partially true for the offensive line as well. One of the major blunders was the O-line starters shakeup that changed the two O-line starters past the midway point of the season. The other blunder was tolerating La'el Collions decline in work habits, attitude, and commitment. Then there was that same rash of injuries that prevented the O-line from a well coordinated run blocking scheme.

You look at the starting O-linemen on a Super Bowl team and you usually find that most of them started almost every game that season. The Cowboys last SB team featured 5 starting O-linemen that missed a combined 5 of 80 starts that regular season and three of those guys were 34 or older.

One of the keys to success is a relatively healthy unit of starters that doesn't miss any serious time on the field, and which improves as the season progresses. This team is due some good luck in this area and if it happens then you will see a team with an entirely different set of results in the postseason.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Why do you bring your HATE-filled world here in these lovely forums?
Until Dak takes this team(as its leader) to new glories expect the hate to rise in the kitchen!!!

Bonafied Dak hater ^^^^

 

[America's Cowboy]

Who cares? There are always going to be people like that. Why let that bother you on an opinion forum which in and of itself is designed to allow lots of different views presented? I disagree with many opinions offered here. But it’s what makes this place work.

“Hate” on an opinion marketplace of ideas is extremely hard to define. Sometimes I point out something I see as a genuine weakness in the Cowboys and it gets called “hate”. I’ve been called a “hater” when merely presenting facts. Sometimes people on this forum see lots to be optimistic about and they get called ”homers”, “cheerleaders” or “kool aid drinkers”. Either kind of criticism is silly to me.

Bottom line- let people think what they want to think. Doesn’t mean you’re wrong or they’re right.

IMO…the best response is to tell them why you disagree. Have a debate without getting personal. The variety of fans we have on this forum is vast. And that’s a good thing.

It's not about who's wrong or who's right. It's about calling it like it is. If someone makes it clear year after year they dislike a player and constantly bash that player, what do you call that? A hater, correct? Or is it too much? Is labels off limits? Is this part of the new rules?

 

[Buzzbait]

Getting tougher and eliminating penalties- that’s another way this team can take the next step. It’s been too soft for too long.

If we could score points for penalties we'd be Super Bowl Champs!