jterrell
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First let's be clear that there is plenty of blame to go around here.
If you are attached in ANY way to this Dallas Cowboys 2018 offense then you suck. Don't care if you just video the games. As Parcells would say you are what you are and this is a dumpster fire. No one escapes the dumpster fire without smelling awful.
But don't let the bright flames distract you from thinking.
We hear a lot of false narratives.
And there are tons of things that are accurately stated but also stated in such a way as to seem as if they are the CRUX of the issue and not part of the larger poo pie.
So let's break down these things and offer context and balance while we await the inevitable 6 point showing versus Jacksonville... yay team!.
Dak Prescott sucks!!!
His performance is simply unacceptable. We can all agree there right? But the issue with any QB is his performance is simply the most visible part of the overall offense. Ever wonder why Troy Aikman has such a total man crush on Norv Turner? Because Troy was once part of an offense this bad in Dallas. New offense healthy Irvin, better blocking and voila... we had the most ruthlessly efficient QB of all-time.
Where does Dak actually suck?
Since ATL last year Dak has one consistent issue. He will fall back and throw off his back foot when pressure is near. The vast majority of his poor throws can be traced pretty clearly to this. It effects accuracy mightily. Dak simply must practice this. Someone needs to be drilling this with him. Roll at his feet and he must still "finish" the throw. Drive his lead foot into the ground and transfer the weight.
Where he "might" suck.
Pre-snaps reads is simply not something we can diagnose. I get it, everyone at home with 200 bucks has All 22 and it just seems oh so clear. But there are a lot of variables we do not know. Gallup and Hurns both admitted yesterday that some WRs missed reads and play call changes. When the WR and QB are on different pages things will look bad fairly often. The QB holding the ball a bit too long, taking the safe option and forcing it to trusted guys can very much be attributed to not trusting WRs.
But we can't say Dak is killing defenses with pre-snap reads either because aside form the long TD to Zeke that doesn't seem to be happening much.
One play I saw broken down online showed Dak check down to Zeke on the right flat. It looked like he had Cole 1v1 for an easy 1st down so easy to blame Dak right? Not so much.
Actual replay showed Allen Hurns run right by a LB that was heading to Zeke. Any sort of pick at all and Zeke may well gain 20+ if not even score. But Hurns right by by the dude....
Accuracy. Dak is not consistently accurate. He has issues with form when pressured and on the move his accuracy suffers which is truly a bummer as he is so athletic and tough you'd love to have a moving pocket regularly. But his in the pocket accuracy is often overly criticized and many of his "poor" throws are easily explainable in the context of the play.
Troy Aikman feels accuracy is manna from heaven. I tend to disagree. I think you can absolutely train it and that's why everyone that is any good has a personal QB coach. In this day and age of practice time limits that personal positional coaching is critical. Were I a personnel guy that would be a big part of my decisions on guys.
Where Dak doesn't suck.
Dak does not lack arm strength and he does not turn it over a lot.
The 4 INT this year all touched a WR's hands. That doesn't mean he avoids any and all blame on them but those were NOT airmailed, hit a defender in the hand picks. He also takes a mauling without fumbling. Dak is built like a RB and he protects the ball like one. He is very much a Parcells QB. He is tough, will protect the ball and will run the offense that's called.
Add all that up and you get a myriad of opinions.
Is Dak a top 10 QB? Unlikely.
Top 20? Probably.
Top 30? Definitely.
But why so bad then??
Look at basically any passing offensive metric measured and this team has been poor. WRs do not get much separation. The team seldom wins a scheme design. Guys are simply not just running free very often unless it's on the back side of a designed play as a 4th option. When you see that on film please use your brain power to understand the defense likely knows the play call and has decided to give that up because they are focused on the first few options.
WRs: Dallas has a low "drop rate". But it also has a very low play making rate. What WR has made a memorable play? Anyone breaking any tackles? Yards after catch stats look BAADDDDD.
Dallas has one guy in the top 25 at 25 with Zeke. The top actual WR is Cole Beasley who is outside the top 50 with 60 yards. That is 12 yards per game after the catch. Ughhh... The other WRs don't even register.
I'd argue this is largely due to offensive design.
Guys relying on comeback routes or outs are unlikely to break plays open. When Dez Bryant frustratingly says I made myself a WR1 he is not lying to you. This is what he means: He gave you well beyond the play design (when he caught it). 90% of WRs are not doing that in this offense.
How to fix that? Try modern pick plays and misdirection. Screens and shuffle passes. Sign WRs who can either out-quick guys to make them miss or can break tackles with strength. Stop relying on a cookie cutter WR profile. Focus on guys with outlying skillsets. In fairness they are trying to do some of that with Tavon's speed and Rico's size. So they do get it. But they simply don't have consistency in front of those guys and they aren't every down players.
OL play: This one is more a sore subject as we love us some OL in Dallas. And PFF assigns sacks each play and has assigned a fair share of those to Dak not the OL. So all Dak right? Ehh, not really. 1st PFF does not assign sacks to a bad WR read or to coverage. 2nd, if the play call expects a heavy coverage component then that's the play call. This OL is the highest paid in football by a large margin. They collect a full 23% of this team's salary cap. They simply can't be judged by standards of the rest of the league. They need to excel. We need more here or we need to add talent elsewhere and reduce the cost here.
Playcalling: I do not think Linehan is a terrible play caller. I think it is more that he has a very dated offensive philosophy. Especially the part he shares with the head coach. It relies on out-executing people and this might be the toughest situation to be in and ask that. Young QB with a bunch of fairly new WRs and no real elite talent mismatch anywhere combined with least practice time in the last 40 years of NFL. Execution is likely not the thing you wanna rest upon.
What can they do?
Obviously 95% of the fan base and that might be the rare under-exaggeration wants to see a new play caller hired. Realistically, you arent getting that in season unless you wanna see Jason Garrett or Kellen Moore call plays.... But they could script more plays and they could add:
Dak runs. Dak runs they seem to score. Seems pretty easy. I know they have had RPO stuff in but I mean literally more called runs. On 4th and 1.5 with a banged up Zeke? How about stealing Carolina's QB power sweep? Think Norv loves calling QB run plays? LOL. It works.
Pick plays. Nothing is better for a WR or QB confidence than an easy pitch and catch that nets about 20 yards after the catch. Get open right away and slow down pass rushes.
Deep passes. Dak throws a nice deep ball. They worked this a lot in camp and it has been solid this year.
Absolutely must test teams deep once per quarter. How about first play of the friggin game?
Stop coming out and running it 3 times then punting. First play, deep pass.
Long-term Dak: There is no rush to sign Dak. In fact you could even be a little greedy and simply run him more now. If he can handle it and you succeed he gets big money. If his body breaks down then you draft someone after the inevitable win-less Connor Rush performance. But worrying about paying him 20M a year right now is wasted energy. He's signed for this year and NEXT. That's a long ways off.
Reality is you either mail it in by firing Garrett and Linehan now then letting Richard take over and handing the offense to Lal or Kellen Moore or you ride this out til the end of the year. If you do that the guys here realize whats on the line and must tweak this offense to get better performances all around.
The best available WR is Dez Bryant. That's simply where that is so it would perhaps be helpful if the Owner shuts up about the player who keeps begging to be resigned. Failing adding a WR you simply must look for what has worked for these WRs in past situations and how to incorporate more of it. What is very, very clear is status quo simply won't do and Tony Romo is not walking in that door.
If you are attached in ANY way to this Dallas Cowboys 2018 offense then you suck. Don't care if you just video the games. As Parcells would say you are what you are and this is a dumpster fire. No one escapes the dumpster fire without smelling awful.
But don't let the bright flames distract you from thinking.
We hear a lot of false narratives.
And there are tons of things that are accurately stated but also stated in such a way as to seem as if they are the CRUX of the issue and not part of the larger poo pie.
So let's break down these things and offer context and balance while we await the inevitable 6 point showing versus Jacksonville... yay team!.
Dak Prescott sucks!!!
His performance is simply unacceptable. We can all agree there right? But the issue with any QB is his performance is simply the most visible part of the overall offense. Ever wonder why Troy Aikman has such a total man crush on Norv Turner? Because Troy was once part of an offense this bad in Dallas. New offense healthy Irvin, better blocking and voila... we had the most ruthlessly efficient QB of all-time.
Where does Dak actually suck?
Since ATL last year Dak has one consistent issue. He will fall back and throw off his back foot when pressure is near. The vast majority of his poor throws can be traced pretty clearly to this. It effects accuracy mightily. Dak simply must practice this. Someone needs to be drilling this with him. Roll at his feet and he must still "finish" the throw. Drive his lead foot into the ground and transfer the weight.
Where he "might" suck.
Pre-snaps reads is simply not something we can diagnose. I get it, everyone at home with 200 bucks has All 22 and it just seems oh so clear. But there are a lot of variables we do not know. Gallup and Hurns both admitted yesterday that some WRs missed reads and play call changes. When the WR and QB are on different pages things will look bad fairly often. The QB holding the ball a bit too long, taking the safe option and forcing it to trusted guys can very much be attributed to not trusting WRs.
But we can't say Dak is killing defenses with pre-snap reads either because aside form the long TD to Zeke that doesn't seem to be happening much.
One play I saw broken down online showed Dak check down to Zeke on the right flat. It looked like he had Cole 1v1 for an easy 1st down so easy to blame Dak right? Not so much.
Actual replay showed Allen Hurns run right by a LB that was heading to Zeke. Any sort of pick at all and Zeke may well gain 20+ if not even score. But Hurns right by by the dude....
Accuracy. Dak is not consistently accurate. He has issues with form when pressured and on the move his accuracy suffers which is truly a bummer as he is so athletic and tough you'd love to have a moving pocket regularly. But his in the pocket accuracy is often overly criticized and many of his "poor" throws are easily explainable in the context of the play.
Troy Aikman feels accuracy is manna from heaven. I tend to disagree. I think you can absolutely train it and that's why everyone that is any good has a personal QB coach. In this day and age of practice time limits that personal positional coaching is critical. Were I a personnel guy that would be a big part of my decisions on guys.
Where Dak doesn't suck.
Dak does not lack arm strength and he does not turn it over a lot.
The 4 INT this year all touched a WR's hands. That doesn't mean he avoids any and all blame on them but those were NOT airmailed, hit a defender in the hand picks. He also takes a mauling without fumbling. Dak is built like a RB and he protects the ball like one. He is very much a Parcells QB. He is tough, will protect the ball and will run the offense that's called.
Add all that up and you get a myriad of opinions.
Is Dak a top 10 QB? Unlikely.
Top 20? Probably.
Top 30? Definitely.
But why so bad then??
Look at basically any passing offensive metric measured and this team has been poor. WRs do not get much separation. The team seldom wins a scheme design. Guys are simply not just running free very often unless it's on the back side of a designed play as a 4th option. When you see that on film please use your brain power to understand the defense likely knows the play call and has decided to give that up because they are focused on the first few options.
WRs: Dallas has a low "drop rate". But it also has a very low play making rate. What WR has made a memorable play? Anyone breaking any tackles? Yards after catch stats look BAADDDDD.
Dallas has one guy in the top 25 at 25 with Zeke. The top actual WR is Cole Beasley who is outside the top 50 with 60 yards. That is 12 yards per game after the catch. Ughhh... The other WRs don't even register.
I'd argue this is largely due to offensive design.
Guys relying on comeback routes or outs are unlikely to break plays open. When Dez Bryant frustratingly says I made myself a WR1 he is not lying to you. This is what he means: He gave you well beyond the play design (when he caught it). 90% of WRs are not doing that in this offense.
How to fix that? Try modern pick plays and misdirection. Screens and shuffle passes. Sign WRs who can either out-quick guys to make them miss or can break tackles with strength. Stop relying on a cookie cutter WR profile. Focus on guys with outlying skillsets. In fairness they are trying to do some of that with Tavon's speed and Rico's size. So they do get it. But they simply don't have consistency in front of those guys and they aren't every down players.
OL play: This one is more a sore subject as we love us some OL in Dallas. And PFF assigns sacks each play and has assigned a fair share of those to Dak not the OL. So all Dak right? Ehh, not really. 1st PFF does not assign sacks to a bad WR read or to coverage. 2nd, if the play call expects a heavy coverage component then that's the play call. This OL is the highest paid in football by a large margin. They collect a full 23% of this team's salary cap. They simply can't be judged by standards of the rest of the league. They need to excel. We need more here or we need to add talent elsewhere and reduce the cost here.
Playcalling: I do not think Linehan is a terrible play caller. I think it is more that he has a very dated offensive philosophy. Especially the part he shares with the head coach. It relies on out-executing people and this might be the toughest situation to be in and ask that. Young QB with a bunch of fairly new WRs and no real elite talent mismatch anywhere combined with least practice time in the last 40 years of NFL. Execution is likely not the thing you wanna rest upon.
What can they do?
Obviously 95% of the fan base and that might be the rare under-exaggeration wants to see a new play caller hired. Realistically, you arent getting that in season unless you wanna see Jason Garrett or Kellen Moore call plays.... But they could script more plays and they could add:
Dak runs. Dak runs they seem to score. Seems pretty easy. I know they have had RPO stuff in but I mean literally more called runs. On 4th and 1.5 with a banged up Zeke? How about stealing Carolina's QB power sweep? Think Norv loves calling QB run plays? LOL. It works.
Pick plays. Nothing is better for a WR or QB confidence than an easy pitch and catch that nets about 20 yards after the catch. Get open right away and slow down pass rushes.
Deep passes. Dak throws a nice deep ball. They worked this a lot in camp and it has been solid this year.
Absolutely must test teams deep once per quarter. How about first play of the friggin game?
Stop coming out and running it 3 times then punting. First play, deep pass.
Long-term Dak: There is no rush to sign Dak. In fact you could even be a little greedy and simply run him more now. If he can handle it and you succeed he gets big money. If his body breaks down then you draft someone after the inevitable win-less Connor Rush performance. But worrying about paying him 20M a year right now is wasted energy. He's signed for this year and NEXT. That's a long ways off.
Reality is you either mail it in by firing Garrett and Linehan now then letting Richard take over and handing the offense to Lal or Kellen Moore or you ride this out til the end of the year. If you do that the guys here realize whats on the line and must tweak this offense to get better performances all around.
The best available WR is Dez Bryant. That's simply where that is so it would perhaps be helpful if the Owner shuts up about the player who keeps begging to be resigned. Failing adding a WR you simply must look for what has worked for these WRs in past situations and how to incorporate more of it. What is very, very clear is status quo simply won't do and Tony Romo is not walking in that door.
