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

[kskboys]

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.

Nuh uh, you are so far off base w/ this one, all we need is to get us some more CB's and WR's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Bobhaze]

Noooo, the biggest issue by leaps and bounds is that we couldn't stop the run.

This X 10000. And it will remain our issue until the FO understands that good OL and DL play are critical to winning in the playoffs. Skill position guys sell jerseys. Whoever owns the trenches wins playoff games.

 

[Acceptablename]

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.

We did a good job in the draft and that’s the FO philosophy. IMO we might get a. Wild card but still be fairly good. Tyron is vulnerable to injury soo that means arookie switches position and Ii guess McGovern man’s LG. not comfortable there.
DL needs a year. So are the Cowboys good enough? For what? A wild card? Yes.

 

[75boyz]

This X 10000. And it will remain our issue until the FO understands that good OL and DL play are critical to winning in the playoffs. Skill position guys sell jerseys. Whoever owns the trenches wins playoff games.

True ninety nine point nine nine nine percent of the time and then the crazy talent and well...let's call it unbelievable toughness, in the kid by the name of Burrow shows up last year.

He at least should get the obvious credit/recognition for the regular season AND even worse post season a** whooping that his oline constantly took and even yet a genuine championship did probably finally boil down to one play where his guy was unable to block the defender so the miracle Bengal ending was finally put to a stop.

Huge believer in trenches determining outcomes.

That kid "almost" became the exception to the rule.

Just sayin.
It shouldn't be glossed over/ignored.


PS. Mahommes gets a runner up prize for his entire starting offensive line being replaced in 2021 and him getting his team to an AFC championship.

The Cowboys can't even hardly function offensively if Tyron is missing for one game.

There are just those certain guys who seem to not only raise their individual game to a whole new level in the midst of the most challenging circumstances, but they raise their team mates level of play as well.

And however many threads want to play the all 53 are important team game angle, the truly great ones are still rising above both personnel and other extreme deficiencies to "carry" their team as an individual and as the primary reason for the team's success.

jmo

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

I'm betting, DE Sam Williams doesn't help us win in the trenches this year. But RT Abraham Lucas would have. I would have felt way better about our OL if they'd traded back a little and drafted Lucas. Just saying.

 

[Bobhaze]

We did a good job in the draft and that’s the FO philosophy. IMO we might get a. Wild card but still be fairly good. Tyron is vulnerable to injury soo that means arookie switches position and Ii guess McGovern man’s LG. not comfortable there.
DL needs a year. So are the Cowboys good enough? For what? A wild card? Yes.

We may have done a good job in the draft. Certainly hope so. But we cannot say we had a good draft before any of these guys have faced NFL opponents in pads in a meaningful game.

Practice, OTAs, mini-camps and even pre-season games won’t tell us what regular season games will. We won’t know how good this draft is for at least a year or two.

 

[Acceptablename]

We may have done a good job in the draft. Certainly hope so. But we cannot say we had a good draft before any of these guys have faced NFL opponents in pads in a meaningful game.

Practice, OTAs, mini-camps and even pre-season games won’t tell us what regular season games will. We won’t know how good this draft is for at least a year or two.

I know that’s the tried and true wisdom but I think differently about this class. I’m willing to be called out on it and be wrong. Even believe Smith can take a few games to get it.
Our first three picks will be rookie contributors.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

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

A home game ...
We just peed it away. Sod.

 

[pitt33]

Cowboys underestimated them last January.

Therein lies the problem.

Poisoned culture.

 

[McKDaddy]

Therein lies the problem.

Poisoned culture.

I don't think they underestimated them. They looked scared before the game. I think they knew SF was more physical going into the game and weren't willing to match that intensity.

 

[kskboys]

This X 10000. And it will remain our issue until the FO understands that good OL and DL play are critical to winning in the playoffs. Skill position guys sell jerseys. Whoever owns the trenches wins playoff games.

Jerry must've been really really drunk to not see the effects of both our stellar O and Dlines in the early to mid 90's.

 

[kskboys]

True ninety nine point nine nine nine percent of the time and then the crazy talent and well...let's call it unbelievable toughness, in the kid by the name of Burrow shows up last year.

He at least should get the obvious credit/recognition for the regular season AND even worse post season a** whooping that his oline constantly took and even yet a genuine championship did probably finally boil down to one play where his guy was unable to block the defender so the miracle Bengal ending was finally put to a stop.

Huge believer in trenches determining outcomes.

That kid "almost" became the exception to the rule.

Just sayin.
It shouldn't be glossed over/ignored.


PS. Mahommes gets a runner up prize for his entire starting offensive line being replaced in 2021 and him getting his team to an AFC championship.

The Cowboys can't even hardly function offensively if Tyron is missing for one game.

There are just those certain guys who seem to not only raise their individual game to a whole new level in the midst of the most challenging circumstances, but they raise their team mates level of play as well.

And however many threads want to play the all 53 are important team game angle, the truly great ones are still rising above both personnel and other extreme deficiencies to "carry" their team as an individual and as the primary reason for the team's success.

jmo

Cincy has the best NT in the game and a top 5 DLine. Not an exception. Their DLine was the great equalizer and was the ONLY reason they were able to mount a comeback vs KC. That Cincy DLine was wicked in neutralizing Mahomes.

 

[tyke1doe]

We looked scared (can't get that pre-game shot out of my mind) and played scared.
We got punched in the mouth, and we couldn't do anything about it.
We have talent, which is why the score was even THAT close.
But we just aren't mentally equipped nor do we have the discipline and coaching to beat a playoff team like the 49ers.
In the "predict the score" contest, I was one of the few who had the Cowboys losing the game.
Patterns don't change. Been seeing this one for 27 years and counting.

 

[Bobhaze]

Jerry must've been really really drunk to not see the effects of both our stellar O and Dlines in the early to mid 90's.

It’s hard to see anything when a man is that stupidly arrogant.

 

[DanA]

Noooo, the biggest issue by leaps and bounds is that we couldn't stop the run.

There’s reason to believe it will change. Both Gallimore and Osa look to have made a pretty big physical transformations this off-season and are likely to be our starters. Bohanna should be better as a second year player and I’d expect Ridgeway to be a better 1st year player than Bohanna, so whoever makes the team as our rotational 1-tech should be an upgrade on last session. Watkins also wasn’t healthy against the 49ers and was pushed around.

 

[CouchCoach]

What does that loss teach the coaches opposing the Cowboys this season?

 

[Bobhaze]

What does that loss teach the coaches opposing the Cowboys this season?

1. Until proven otherwise, run the ball against the Cowboys.
2. If you have a good pass rush from your DL, only rush 4 and employ a 2 deep safety zone that takes away the deep and intermediate throws.
3. (Not because of the niner game last Jan) Double Cedee Lamb and see what the other receivers can do.