To say the Dallas Cowboys season has been a disappointment is an understatement. I’ve heard their season compared to everything from a roller coaster ride to jet lag. Wins haven’t come easy for the Dallas Cowboys and I think as fans we’ve taken for granted how good the NFL season is. We get caught up in our lofty expectations for our teams (super bowl or bust), that we can’t appreciate their success.
I subscribe to the camp of if I’m going to pile on this team when they play bad. Then I have to praise them when they play well. All isn’t lost in Cowboys nation. I just want to put it out there, somebody has to win this weak ass NFC East division. The Washington Redskins are not a good football team. They were able to force 3 turnovers and still lost the game. On top of that lost their starting QB. At one point it appeared that the Skins had a legit defense. Notice I said appeared! Their front 3 is tough. Those linebackers are suspect in coverage, and their secondary is patchwork.
It brings me great pleasure to say this one out loud, THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ARE GARBAGE! Thank you Philly for returning to the bums we all knew you were. I hear every week about how banged up the Eagles are. The Cowboys have been playing most of the season without Sean Lee (their third best linebacker, but key player), David Irving (now injury, first suspension), Antwaun Woods (their starting DT), and Taco Charlton (key rotational pass rusher). The Cowboys best unit is their defense and for the past three weeks they’ve been short handed and have managed. I don’t want to hear anymore from you sheagles fans! You finally won you first super bowl, cherish it, because this team aint going back.
Last but not least the NY Giants. What should be said about them, oh they stink! They have put it together the last two games, winning both contests. The Giants really need to upgrade its offensive line and quarterback positions. Those are two of the more important positions in football. I love saquon Barkley and Beckum won’t be a factor until they get a stronger armed quarterback that can scramble. The Giants season is about over. Now that I’ve addressed how completely inept the NFC east is. Let’s talk shop!
Its taken the Cowboys coaching staff nine weeks ( the Eagles game last week) to understand that the key to winning football games is giving #21 the ball. ZEKE is the best player on the team, without question. If they’re looking for someone to force the defense to stop it’s Zeke, not any of these average wide receivers (yes that includes Amari). Zeke is a mismatch for any linebacker in the league with his speed and quickness. He is too big for defensive backs in space once he gets the ball in his hands. Zeke should never finish a game with less than 30 touches. If they hand it to him 20 times and the defense doesn't stop him, hand it to him another 20 times. If the defense stops him on those 20 carries, then throw it to him 20 times. If the defense can stop him carrying and catching then let him throw the ball. I can't stress enough that the only hope for this offense is putting the ball in the hands of #21.
The Cowboys have done and amazing job the last two games getting Zeke the ball. Against the Eagles the Cowboys threw on early downs to loosen up the defense. That effectively backed the linebackers up and allowed Zeke to run against soft fronts. In the Falcons game, the Cowboys made him a factor in the passing game. After loosening up the Falcon’s defense with short passes, Zeke was able to find opening on the ground. I don’t care how they get Zeke the ball just give it to him.
Why is Zeke being subbed out on third downs? Even if he is tired, he is a world class athlete. I’m sure he can go get water and a breather after the first down has been picked up. If you’re going to use Rob Smith use him on 1st and or 2nd down, sub him out for Zeke on third down.
The bigger question is why don’t the Cowboys use Rob Smith a lot more? This is only more evidence that this coaching staff doesn’t know what they’re doing. Rob Smith is a very good running back. No, he isn’t Zeke and doesn’t have the same explosion as Zeke. What Smith will do is run hard and help keep the chains moving. I’ve been saying all season that the Cowboys should use more two back sets, with Rob Smith and Zeke on the Field at the same time. They could also go with Tavon and Zeke or Tavon and Rob Smith too. Offensive creativity isn’t one of their strong qualities.
I can’t write a blog without addressing the quarterback. Cowboys nation let’s get ready to get behind Dak because he isn’t going anywhere. While I would rather cut our losses now than pay this guy $25 million+, I think he would benefit from a completely different system. Take for example Vince Young. Young had a good rookie season, showed promise that year, and was considered a franchise quarterback. Unfortunately for Vince he played for “Mr.8-8” Jeff Fisher and the blame for the Titans being bad fell on Young instead of Fisher. It wasn’t until Fisher tired to ruin Jared Goff’s career that he was found out to be a terrible head coach. Which is good, how many quarterbacks careers must be ruined by this clown before we put an end to it?
I look around the league and see all the innovative things happening on the offensive side of the ball. Chicago is using a ton of misdirection in the backfield to confuse linebackers, giving the quarterback time to throw, and creating passing lanes. Bill Nagy is an Andy Reid discipline. I’m not even going to mention what Reid has going on in Kansas City. Both of these offensive play callers use misdirection, motions, RPOs, and other COLLEGE concepts to assist the quarterback with moving the ball through the air. I mention Jared Goff, has anyone else seen what good offensive system can do for a quarterback. Dak needs a new system, one that will allow him to use is athleticism more, while scheming guys open. The Cowboys could do a lot more sprint outs, with high low reads. I rarely ever see them use pre snap motion to try and make the defense account for something else. Ever since Tavon went down they don’t even use the jet sweep motion that they once used. While I don’t think Dak is anything special, I do think he is way better than what we’ve seen from him. I also think a different scheme will help his progression.
I’m going to close this out with props to the defense. This is a scary unit. The secondary is coming together, well all of them expect Chidobe Awuzie. He was considered the best defensive back on the team before Byron Jones completely ended that thought. At this point I would rather see Jourdan Lewis or Anthony Brown back on the outside. Jeff Heath has been a bright spot in the secondary. He still misses too many tackles for my liking but he makes it work. Jaylon Smith is a heat seeking missile. If it moves he is looking to destroy it. Smith is also amazing in coverage. Combined with the “Tackling Dutchmen” Leighton Vander Eshe, the Cowboys have an excellent young linebacker group. The pass rush will be healthy with the returns of David Irving, Taco Charlton, and Antuon Woods. Even Sean Lee’s presence will be appreciated, albeit in a rotational compactity. Think about it, this is a top 5 defense and they have 4 key pieces out. Boy, I feel sorry for the rest of the league if the defense every gets back to 100%!
Comments
Post a Comment