CFZ What we need and don’t need for a Cowboys deep playoff run

[fivetwos]

Yeah still not sure what some people were watching. Not nearly as close as the score indicated. Jimmy G did his best Neil O Donnell impression or it was much worse.

Fake punt conversion also.

That game wasn’t as close as the scoreboard.

The idea of moaning when they didn’t get a shot for a Hail Mary pass at the end and getting all fired up at the refs was a pathetic look.

I don’t blame Dak alone though, but it’s certainly case in point that he isn’t going to be able to overcome the shortcomings of his supporting cast just because he is paid on par with those who sometimes can.

 

[Shane612]

It was 23-7 after three quarters. Niners won both lines of scrimmage most of the day. San Fran possessed the ball for over 33 minutes and Dallas had 14 penalties.

Laying all of that on Dak, who definitely had his own issues, is just scapegoating. The Niners were the better team that day. Jimmy G made it closer with a bad pick.

Are you saying he decided to wait until the 4th quarter to start playing. That in itself is a little disturbing.
Dak supporters boast that the Cowboys had one of the top offenses in the league last year. Was it the top offense until they play a better teams?
.
I'm not necessarily saying it was all his fault. However, the way that game ended was chaotic. That's on Dak and the coaches. Dak's QB rating was 69. His completion rate was barely over 50%. He looked confuse most of the time. Doesn't sound like an "elite" QB, as some here would want you to believe. Not all his fault, but if get paid like an elite player, you play like it in the most important game of your season. He rarely does.

 

[john van brocklin]

The frustration of the last 27 years grinds on us all. This is by far the longest drought of playoff success in the Cowboys storied history. No need to detail the futility. We all know the numbers. We are long overdue for a deep run in the playoffs.

So what needs to happen for us to win at least 3 playoff games this year? I think the answer to that question is simpler than many might think.

Let me start by saying WHAT WE DO NOT NEED:

• We won’t have a deep playoff run because our QB carried us. I don’t care if Dak or Rush starts. I do think that Dak is a better QB in the long haul, but unless we have Brady or Mahomes, no QB alone can carry any team to a championship. We just need our QB to play efficient, smart football. We don’t have a gunslinger, and neither do about 29 other teams. SB history is full of QBs who weren’t HOFers but won rings.
  
• We don’t need some washed up former star being added to this roster- like Odell Beckham, Jr or Ndamakong Suh. Guys like that won’t be the difference. We already have enough talent on this roster to win in the playoffs.

WHAT WE DO NEED:

• We must have a complete team- all 53- playing together as a TEAM with intensity and toughness- honestly we have been a soft team for far too long. Last year the niners taunted us by saying they were going to run on us- and they did just that. Soft.
  
• Role players must perform in key moments- Very few playoff games are won by just the QB or some other star player- for example:
  • In last year’s SB win, the rams had several key role players make huge contributions. Their leading tackler in last year’s SB? LB Ernest Jones who had 6 tackles and a sack.
  • How about Tampa Bay’s leading tackler in SB LV? LB Devin White had 12 tackles, 2 were TFL.
  • Many forget that in the 2020 NFC championship game, Tom Brady threw 3 picks. What saved him and the Bucs was the defense. Anyone remember Sean Bunting’s 3 INTs in the playoffs?

My point is, we need all 53 players to do their jobs with commitment, focus and toughness. We don’t have to have a superstar QB. We need a tough team to emerge like we haven’t seen since the 90s. This team has been resilient after week one. Can they maintain it and continue to get better? The answer to that question is what makes football fun.

Its what keeps the long season interesting.

 

[Jake]

Are you saying he decided to wait until the 4th quarter to start playing. That in itself is a little disturbing.
Dak supporters boast that the Cowboys had one of the top offenses in the league last year. Was it the top offense until they play a better teams?
.
I'm not necessarily saying it was all his fault. However, the way that game ended was chaotic. That's on Dak and the coaches. Dak's QB rating was 69. His completion rate was barely over 50%. He looked confuse most of the time. Doesn't sound like an "elite" QB, as some here would want you to believe. Not all his fault, but if get paid like an elite player, you play like it in the most important game of your season. He rarely does.

Your need to oversimplify an entire football game to one person is not my problem. What I said was clear. Your need to spin what I said is, again, not my problem.

 

[Shane612]

Your need to oversimplify an entire football game to one person is not my problem. What I said was clear. Your need to spin what I said is, again, not my problem.

 

[atlantacowboy]

As good as he is Rogers only has one Super Bowl ring.......let that sink in.

GB has been a poor man's version of the Patriots for most of Aaron's career. Lots of pieces but nobody to put it all together. Belechek was always able to put together a top tier defense to support Brady and that got NE a lot of those rings. Brady didn't have to be perfect and put throw 4 TDs every playoff game. In fact, he's had some real playoff stinkers through the years and the team still won.

This year is a typical one for GB the past 6-7 years. They've got a HOF QB and NOTHING around him, yet they still always manage to make a playoff run. Look at what he's doing right now...........GB is 3-1 with nothing at WR. They didn't replace Devontae Adams. Whose the TE? Its almost like GB has been setting him up to fail for years since they drafted that QB in round 1.

 

[Oz-of-Cowboy-Country]

No quarterback in this league can carry a team to multiple Super Bowl victories without having a strong defense. We need to get better at stopping the run and we need to avoid shooting ourselves in the foot.

 

[MyFairLady]

Meh while I like and agree with your premise if you go back and look at the teams that make the conference finals every year and then you look at their QBs you will start to notice a bit of a trend.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

The frustration of the last 27 years grinds on us all. This is by far the longest drought of playoff success in the Cowboys storied history. No need to detail the futility. We all know the numbers. We are long overdue for a deep run in the playoffs.

So what needs to happen for us to win at least 3 playoff games this year? I think the answer to that question is simpler than many might think.

Let me start by saying WHAT WE DO NOT NEED:

• We won’t have a deep playoff run because our QB carried us. I don’t care if Dak or Rush starts. I do think that Dak is a better QB in the long haul, but unless we have Brady or Mahomes, no QB alone can carry any team to a championship. We just need our QB to play efficient, smart football. We don’t have a gunslinger, and neither do about 29 other teams. SB history is full of QBs who weren’t HOFers but won rings.
  
• We don’t need some washed up former star being added to this roster- like Odell Beckham, Jr or Ndamakong Suh. Guys like that won’t be the difference. We already have enough talent on this roster to win in the playoffs.

WHAT WE DO NEED:

• We must have a complete team- all 53- playing together as a TEAM with intensity and toughness- honestly we have been a soft team for far too long. Last year the niners taunted us by saying they were going to run on us- and they did just that. Soft.
  
• Role players must perform in key moments- Very few playoff games are won by just the QB or some other star player- for example:
  • In last year’s SB win, the rams had several key role players make huge contributions. Their leading tackler in last year’s SB? LB Ernest Jones who had 6 tackles and a sack.
  • How about Tampa Bay’s leading tackler in SB LV? LB Devin White had 12 tackles, 2 were TFL.
  • Many forget that in the 2020 NFC championship game, Tom Brady threw 3 picks. What saved him and the Bucs was the defense. Anyone remember Sean Bunting’s 3 INTs in the playoffs?

My point is, we need all 53 players to do their jobs with commitment, focus and toughness. We don’t have to have a superstar QB. We need a tough team to emerge like we haven’t seen since the 90s. This team has been resilient after week one. Can they maintain it and continue to get better? The answer to that question is what makes football fun.

Good post. I would add that we need to stop the run better.

 

[noshame]

I just hope we fight.
Too many times we've gone into big games and have been rolled.
I want to see us out-coach these 2 teams instead of being out-coached.
I don't want to see Zeke up the middle for 2!
I want to see Pollard and Turpin in the slot.
Come on coaches!

 

[Risen Star]

We would need Prescott to break something else.

 

[kskboys]

Cowboys lost that game by 6 measly points. It was very winnable.
If one player would have stepped up and played a little better....

More like, if we had just paid more attention to shoring up the middle and stopping the run when acquiring personnel.

 

[kskboys]

SF last year is the blueprint for what this team needs to be.

Yup. Complete w/ emphasis on the DT position.

 

[starfan1]

It was 23-7 after three quarters. Niners won both lines of scrimmage most of the day. San Fran possessed the ball for over 33 minutes and Dallas had 14 penalties.

Laying all of that on Dak, who definitely had his own issues, is just scapegoating. The Niners were the better team that day. Jimmy G made it closer with a bad pick.

How dare you use logic in here. Good post

 

[fansince68]

Stop wasting 1st down on pointless runs up the middle, that's lazy coaching. Work on getting at least 4 yards on 1st down whether it's run or pass. We put ourselves in too many 3rd and long with lazy early down play calls.
Let Micha play LB more than DE. Micha is too light and is wasted "setting the edge" . Micha can rush the passer from a "roving" LB position and it will preserve his energy for getting after the QB and TFL.
Stop Stop trying to block punts, we have probably the best punt returner but we don't give him much chance because we don't set up the return game. The odds of blocking a punt are low.

 

[kskboys]

GB has been a poor man's version of the Patriots for most of Aaron's career. Lots of pieces but nobody to put it all together. Belechek was always able to put together a top tier defense to support Brady and that got NE a lot of those rings. Brady didn't have to be perfect and put throw 4 TDs every playoff game. In fact, he's had some real playoff stinkers through the years and the team still won.

This year is a typical one for GB the past 6-7 years. They've got a HOF QB and NOTHING around him, yet they still always manage to make a playoff run. Look at what he's doing right now...........GB is 3-1 with nothing at WR. They didn't replace Devontae Adams. Whose the TE? Its almost like GB has been setting him up to fail for years since they drafted that QB in round 1.

They already tried that. Didn't work. The one year Rodgers won a super bowl, top 5 D. Building a nasty D is how you win super bowls.

 

[CowboyRoy]

The frustration of the last 27 years grinds on us all. This is by far the longest drought of playoff success in the Cowboys storied history. No need to detail the futility. We all know the numbers. We are long overdue for a deep run in the playoffs.

So what needs to happen for us to win at least 3 playoff games this year? I think the answer to that question is simpler than many might think.

Let me start by saying WHAT WE DO NOT NEED:

• We won’t have a deep playoff run because our QB carried us. I don’t care if Dak or Rush starts. I do think that Dak is a better QB in the long haul, but unless we have Brady or Mahomes, no QB alone can carry any team to a championship. We just need our QB to play efficient, smart football. We don’t have a gunslinger, and neither do about 29 other teams. SB history is full of QBs who weren’t HOFers but won rings.
  
• We don’t need some washed up former star being added to this roster- like Odell Beckham, Jr or Ndamakong Suh. Guys like that won’t be the difference. We already have enough talent on this roster to win in the playoffs.

WHAT WE DO NEED:

• We must have a complete team- all 53- playing together as a TEAM with intensity and toughness- honestly we have been a soft team for far too long. Last year the niners taunted us by saying they were going to run on us- and they did just that. Soft.
  
• Role players must perform in key moments- Very few playoff games are won by just the QB or some other star player- for example:
  • In last year’s SB win, the rams had several key role players make huge contributions. Their leading tackler in last year’s SB? LB Ernest Jones who had 6 tackles and a sack.
  • How about Tampa Bay’s leading tackler in SB LV? LB Devin White had 12 tackles, 2 were TFL.
  • Many forget that in the 2020 NFC championship game, Tom Brady threw 3 picks. What saved him and the Bucs was the defense. Anyone remember Sean Bunting’s 3 INTs in the playoffs?

My point is, we need all 53 players to do their jobs with commitment, focus and toughness. We don’t have to have a superstar QB. We need a tough team to emerge like we haven’t seen since the 90s. This team has been resilient after week one. Can they maintain it and continue to get better? The answer to that question is what makes football fun.

The fact that you seem to have a small struggle with who might be the better QB says it all.

And if we are going to make a deep playoff run, you can be sure that at some we will need our QB to step up.

There is really 4 things we need to make a deep playoff run:

1. Health
2. Dak has to come back and play well
3. We need to somehow fix the run defense
4. The Oline needs to stay healthy and play well with no Mcgovern or Farniok starting.

 

[foofighters]

The frustration of the last 27 years grinds on us all. This is by far the longest drought of playoff success in the Cowboys storied history. No need to detail the futility. We all know the numbers. We are long overdue for a deep run in the playoffs.

So what needs to happen for us to win at least 3 playoff games this year? I think the answer to that question is simpler than many might think.

Let me start by saying WHAT WE DO NOT NEED:

• We won’t have a deep playoff run because our QB carried us. I don’t care if Dak or Rush starts. I do think that Dak is a better QB in the long haul, but unless we have Brady or Mahomes, no QB alone can carry any team to a championship. We just need our QB to play efficient, smart football. We don’t have a gunslinger, and neither do about 29 other teams. SB history is full of QBs who weren’t HOFers but won rings.
  
• We don’t need some washed up former star being added to this roster- like Odell Beckham, Jr or Ndamakong Suh. Guys like that won’t be the difference. We already have enough talent on this roster to win in the playoffs.

WHAT WE DO NEED:

• We must have a complete team- all 53- playing together as a TEAM with intensity and toughness- honestly we have been a soft team for far too long. Last year the niners taunted us by saying they were going to run on us- and they did just that. Soft.
  
• Role players must perform in key moments- Very few playoff games are won by just the QB or some other star player- for example:
  • In last year’s SB win, the rams had several key role players make huge contributions. Their leading tackler in last year’s SB? LB Ernest Jones who had 6 tackles and a sack.
  • How about Tampa Bay’s leading tackler in SB LV? LB Devin White had 12 tackles, 2 were TFL.
  • Many forget that in the 2020 NFC championship game, Tom Brady threw 3 picks. What saved him and the Bucs was the defense. Anyone remember Sean Bunting’s 3 INTs in the playoffs?

My point is, we need all 53 players to do their jobs with commitment, focus and toughness. We don’t have to have a superstar QB. We need a tough team to emerge like we haven’t seen since the 90s. This team has been resilient after week one. Can they maintain it and continue to get better? The answer to that question is what makes football fun.

Unity, right? That's what you're saying? The only issue with that is does Jerry provide that kind of atmosphere? I'd say no, no he doesn't.

 

[Montanalo]

How about just better OL play, particularly at LG and C.

 

[atlantacowboy]

They already tried that. Didn't work. The one year Rodgers won a super bowl, top 5 D. Building a nasty D is how you win super bowls.

Already tried what? Its a rare year when Rodgers is surrounded with talent. GB has been putting most of its draft resourced into the defense since he took over from Favre. In fact, in the Rodgers era GB has only selected 1 WR in the first round which was Jordy Nelson back in 2008. Only 4 out of their last 13 first and second round picks have been on offense, and only 1 of those 13 picks was a skill position player who could help him ( a rb who flamed out but its the thought that counts here). The fact is that GB has totally botched the Rodgers era.