Who will be the most important person to our success this upcoming season?

[CouchCoach]

There isn't one coach or player in the ultimate team sport. "Just do your job" isn't some catch phrase that Belichick thought up. That's what his players do and there are few small roles on his teams.

Just this last season we saw the effect of the subtraction of Yosemite and the addition of Cooper, both had synergistic effects. Williams taking the next step is as important as Yosemite's return and Big Smitty's health. It's all about how it operates as a unit.

On D, Lawrence has to help his DL teammates get better by being the focal point of the opposing OC. And that DL must keep the OL off the two playmaking LB's and the CB's must cover well enough in the first 2.5 seconds to give the DL time. Three units working as one and not one more important that the other.

Garrett's gotta keep them focused as well as himself on the sideline, Moore has to grow up fast as he will face some very good DC's and whoever calls the D plays must be aggressive. It's OK to make mistakes through aggressiveness but making them through being too conservative brings the entire team down.

Throughout history, all the great teams had one thing in common. You couldn't point to one coach, one player on O or D, it was the entire package. Brady is a great QB but he's not the reason for their dominancy. No more than Montana or Joe Greene or Lawrence Taylor or Emmitt Smith were for their teams.

 

[CouchCoach]

He actually didn't.

Dak's rook year, Linehan called plays that way because Dak was a rook. It was publicized after his first year that they were exanding the playbook, at which time Linny went back to his beloved long developing routes.

They also didn't ask Dak to do anything more than execute the plays and improvise with his feet when it was available.

By comparison to other rookie QBs that are named the starter at the beginning, Dak's real NFL QB rookie year was his soph season when he was asked to do what the other QB's had been asked to do. Such was the advantage of a rookie QB stepping into an offense with an exceptional OL and run game and very little time to prepare for the QB1 role. The only two other times I have seen that was Marino and Rothliesberger. P. Manning and Luck led the NFL in picks their rook seasons.

 

[Pantone282C]

I’m going with Kellen Moore like practically everyone else did, but also throw in Kris Richard as well.

The truth is that, at this point, we pretty much know what we’re going to get out of most of our players.

Dak is clutch. He’ll take some bad sacks but he will throw more touchdowns than interceptions, he’ll run for about 6 more touchdowns, and he’ll win the game for you if the team is down by less than 7 with two minutes left.

Zeke is a grinder and now he has added pass catching to his arsenal. Zeke will run for another 1500 yards and be the workhorse he always is.

The offensive line should go back to being one of the best in the game with Fredbeard back. The defense will be top 3 with two war daddies on the ends, two good corners and the league’s best linebacking combination.

What failed this team last year is coaching, and it has nothing to do with Garrett. Garrett is a leader and a motivator but he’s not a game day coach.

That means Kris Richard and Kellen Moore are the keys to this team’s success. Their ability to game plan and call the right plays will determine whether or not this is a Super Bowl caliber team. I really believe there is already enough talent at the skill positions.

Good points. I really don't know how much Garrett influences game day, but there has to be some amount as he and Linehan collaborated on the playbook. We'll see what happens during the season.

 

[Doomsday101]

I thought LInehan did some boneheaded predictable play calls but at the same time I think he tried to play to Daks strengths of keeping it simple and throwing short. I really think Daks consistency and accuracy is why the play calling doesnt feature more of a mid field use.

I consider myself a supporter of Dak but I agree, he has to step up and do a better of on some of these plays. Easy to lay it all at the feet of coaches but coaches did not miss the read on open WR or not connect with Gallup in some big situations. Dak seems to be in sync with Cooper which really helped this offense over the 2nd half of the season and helped get us to a 7-1 record over that period. But is falls to Dak to get things going with people like Gallup and other WR and TE on this team. I think people going after the coaches is the easy way out but not a complete solution, they share in it but players do as well. There is not coaching strategy for failed execution

 

[Idgit]

Easily, the QB taking another step forward is the biggest bang for our buck here. Moore can bomb and there are others who can call plays effectively. HC is always important but the output we get from Garrett isn’t going to change one way or another. Dak works hard, has better tools and protection around him and still has upside. A big step forward from him can make all the difference.

 

[northerncowboynation]

I say Kellen Moore. If he can revive this offense and be creative enough to give us an advantage (instead of ordering vanilla for much of a game), I think Dak can give us enough to get us into at least the NFC Championship Game - injuries notwithstanding.

Who say ye!

Write this down.... Helen the Kellen "mini-me" Moore!!!

 

[kskboys]

They also didn't ask Dak to do anything more than execute the plays and improvise with his feet when it was available.

By comparison to other rookie QBs that are named the starter at the beginning, Dak's real NFL QB rookie year was his soph season when he was asked to do what the other QB's had been asked to do. Such was the advantage of a rookie QB stepping into an offense with an exceptional OL and run game and very little time to prepare for the QB1 role. The only two other times I have seen that was Marino and Rothliesberger. P. Manning and Luck led the NFL in picks their rook seasons.

Yup. And unfortunately, due to early success, we didn't do near enough development on Dak. Our FO couldn't see through the wins as a rook to realize that it was unsustainable as is.

 

[cowboyblue22]

as always coaching and qb play

 

[Hook'em#11]

Garrett.

 

[JayFord]

Garrett and Kellen Moore

If they can’t get this offense in the top 10 then it’s 7-9 for us