Dallas Cowboys 2021 Regular Season Thread -- Money, Masks, & Masochism

[DougO 5261]

1 minute ago, Vic Mackey said:

I always wanted a DB like Diggs. He might give up some plays but he knows how to play the ball. He is the polar opposite of Byron Jones in a great way. That dude was allergic to the ball. I'll take giving up big plays if he makes up for it with picks that impact the game. It's inevitable that big plays will be had in today's NFL anyways. 

Yeah, I have no problem with it. You put a more control guy on the other side and let Diggs make big plays. It fits what the Cowboys do and need to do with that they have, especially when you're getting gashed up the middle by running backs in come from behind bids.

[conVINCEd 21477]

22 minutes ago, DougO said:

Yep. Safety still on the top priorities list ever since Darren Woodson retired.

We have been very consistent in our refusal to spend any draft capital or cap room on the safety position for the last 15 years.  Evil Roy Williams was the last time we pretended to care about our safeties

[Patrick Bateman 3966]

BYE week.  Dak with a calf strain.  May be a good week to look at shoring up your backup QB spot.  Will Grier doesn't count.

Also, it may be a good week to try out kickers.  

 

 

[Patrick Bateman 3966]

3 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

We have been very consistent in our refusal to spend any draft capital or cap room on the safety position for the last 15 years.  Evil Roy Williams was the last time we pretended to care about our safeties

Ironically we drafted Xavier Woods, who's a pretty decent safety but let him bounce.  He was only 1.5 million so I thought it was strange.

 

 

[conVINCEd 21477]

1 minute ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Ironically we drafted Xavier Woods, who's a pretty decent safety but let him bounce.  He was only 1.5 million so I thought it was strange.

 

 

I don’t have time to look up the numbers, but when you spend what we spend on offense,  in a league with a hard salary cap, the defense will suffer.  It is what it is.  We are always going to have young mid-round picks starting, because that’s all we can afford.

[Hate 20232]

1 hour ago, Loch Ness Monster said:

Sean McVay also has a clock management guy in his ear.

Can the Cowboys afford one?

And I am not even talking about a guy that makes McCarthy aware of the possible scenarios or how many timeouts he has left.  I mean a guy that literally screams in his ear to take a timeout at the appropriate time.  His clock management is going to cost us a game.  It almost did against the Chargers and again last night.  He's been bailed out twice by the kicker making field goals that should have been much closer attempts.

[C-Man 27685]

2 hours ago, Hate said:

He’s probably the worst clock manager I’ve ever seen. He needs a coach strictly to work the clock for him. It’s embarrassing how bad he is.

Richie Whitt gets it: https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/dallas-mike-mccarthy-decisions-new-england-nfl-blunders-coaching?fbclid=IwAR0FROSR9E3-jwLoxZBIxDx1Iyb9Yth4mCnlP76V8LKpMenYkG0WQ-pMIZc

Quote

FRISCO - No way around it, the Dallas Cowboys are 5-1 despite Mike McCarthy not because of him.

Dak Prescott's MVP accuracy. Trevon Diggs' script-flipping interceptions. Greg Zuerlein's clutch kicking. Those are the impetus for the Cowboys' five-game winning streak - punctuated by the 35-29 victory over the New England Patriots last Sunday - and ascension onto the NFL's front burner as they head into their Bye week.

What makes Dallas' super start all the more impressive? Their befuddling head coach consistently - even weekly - makes irrational fourth-down decisions and clock-management gaffes you won't find on Friday night high-school fields throughout Texas.

The Cowboys' players are performing like a 5-1 team. Their coach is making calls on a 2-4 level.

Yes he has a Super Bowl on his resume and a Hall-of-Fame owner in his corner. And yes, there are obviously things being accomplished behind the scenes - countless things - that he's doing right.

But in this area? McCarthy just has to get to better. Now. It's one thing to screw around with a mediocre 2020 outfit that was doomed from the start. But this year's team has realistic Super Bowl aspirations.

The Cowboys are too good to be coached this bad.

But there was McCarthy last Sunday in Foxboro, continuing a troubling two-year trend of head-scratching, logic-defying decisions.

In a dramatic, pretzel plot of a game the Cowboys had to finally win overtime, McCarthy ...

*Went for 4th-and-1 at his own 34 on the opening possession of the game. High risk, low reward. Even with a conversion (they failed), the Cowboys were assured of nothing but a first down in their territory.

*Didn't go for 4th-and-2 at New England's 33 down 21-20 with 2:42 remaining. High risk, high reward. A conversion (instead of a Greg Zuerlein missed 51-yard field goal) would have allowed Dallas to run the clock down and kick a shorter field goal on the game's final play.

*Didn't call timeouts when he should've and then did when he shouldn't have on the Cowboys' final drive in regulation. Getting the ball with 2:05 remaining, armed with two timeouts and the two-minute warning, and only needing a field goal to tie, they had plenty of time to map out a game-winning touchdown. While Dallas drove to New England's 31, it did so without stopping the clock along the way and were left with 4th-and-1 and only :31 remaining. 

The coach decided to try for the game-tying field goal but - inexplicably - called a timeout with :24 remaining. Why?! Zuerlein made the 49-yarder. But the Cowboys left time on the clock, and then had to kick off. 

Mac Jones and a mediocre Patriots' offense couldn't exploit Dallas' time mismanagement, but - down the road, on a bigger stage - the likes of Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rodgers certainly could.

Look, we all grew tired and bored with former coach Jason Garrett's conservative mindset and metrics that used a white-bread algorithm with the crusts cut off. But ... this? McCarthy is light years beyond the opposite end of the spectrum, a gut-instinct gambler with his hair on fire and no common-sense rationale on his play sheet.

There is nothing more fascinating - or maddening - in DFW sports than McCarthy's mismanagement of time and risk.

 

['stache 22117]

I'm not so upset about the early 4th and 1 call, but the clock issues are just incredible. How can this not get fixed? It's not that fucking hard. Fans on their couches wasted on Miller Lite know how to manage the clock in those situations.

[C-Man 27685]

1 minute ago, 'stache said:

I'm not so upset about the early 4th and 1 call, but the clock issues are just incredible. How can this not get fixed? It's not that fucking hard. Fans on their couches wasted on Miller Lite know how to manage the clock in those situations.

I thought the first 4th-and-1 call was silly but there were 55 minutes left in the game. As Richie said, it was "high risk/low reward" in that if you get it, it's 1st-and-10 on your own 35 with no guarantee of points. Failing, and they did, and you almost guarantee the Pats are going to score points. They did.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

3 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

Zeke spitting the truth. The refs weren't even hiding how one sided they were.

 

Someone had to fucking say it. Fuck that game. Glad we won, but Jesus 

[Trey3216 15450]

24 minutes ago, Patrick Bateman said:

BYE week.  Dak with a calf strain.  May be a good week to look at shoring up your backup QB spot.  Will Grier doesn't count.

Also, it may be a good week to try out kickers.  

 

 

I don't think we have a problem at kicker.  That kick would've been blocked if it were on target.  

[Funk Doctor Spock 13121]

I'm not a Cowboys fan, but y'all have looked impressive so far. Looks like the pieces are getting put together. I also really like Micah Parons and that Diggs kid. 

[Trey3216 15450]

2 minutes ago, Spider2YBanana said:

I'm not a Cowboys fan, but y'all have looked impressive so far. Looks like the pieces are getting put together. I also really like Micah Parons and that Diggs kid. 

Just don't go sending emails to them, or Kellen Moore.  

[Patrick Bateman 3966]

28 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

I don’t have time to look up the numbers, but when you spend what we spend on offense,  in a league with a hard salary cap, the defense will suffer.  It is what it is.  We are always going to have young mid-round picks starting, because that’s all we can afford.

That was the point, Woods was a young mid-round (actually low round) pick who was with the team, progressed to starter level and we let him go for slightly cheaper vet guys like Kazee and Hooker.  About 500k more.  It it was it is, but just strange as we usually like to keep guys we drafted.  Instead of eating Jaylon's contract earlier, we though he had trade value and this probably ate up a cap number but whatever.... it is what it is.  I think the point is, the defense to truly be elite would need a ball hawking FS but we'll probably never have one because we refuse to pay that positional grouping. 

Same with 1 tech, run stuffing DT.  Unless it was a draft surprise.

 

[Patrick Bateman 3966]

20 minutes ago, Trey3216 said:

I don't think we have a problem at kicker.  That kick would've been blocked if it were on target.  

25th in XP.  18th in FG% this year.

Last year:  20th in XP.  17th in FG%.  He leaves some points on the field.  Additionally, Z or Greg "The Leg" assumed value would be the strength of his leg and thereby pick up some points with longer FGs.  He's 4-12 on FG's over 50 yards, that's like 28th in % since he started kicking here.  Now, he was in the better half of the league in touchbacks last year and is 3rd this year and that's an underrated part of kicking, but as a FG kicker, he's mediocre. 

I still advocate trying out kickers this week.  First, it doesn't mean you're going to make a change, but it does put Greg on notice.  It also allows you to know who you want to go to if a change is needed..... by circumstance or injury.

 

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Thought Xavier Woods was pretty terrible last year? He's the guy that said something along the lines you can't give 100% effort every play.

[Hate 20232]

A couple more interesting tidbits from the game last night.  From CBS:

The Cowboys piled up 567 yards of total offense on Sunday, which is notable, because it's the most any team has ever gotten against a Belichick defense. This includes his time as both a head coach and defensive coordinator, which spans 619 career NFL regular season and playoff games. Dak Prescott's 445 yards were also the most the Patriots have given up to a QB since Belichick became coach. 

[Catdaddyhorn 3462]

2 hours ago, Hate said:

I got this from ESPN:

Diggs' pick-six was his league-leading seventh interception of the season and second returned for a touchdown, and he tied the NFL record of six straight games with at least one pick to start a season.

Among those who share the record is the late Tom Landry, who coached the Cowboys for their first 29 seasons.

Diggs' hands are what set him apart from any CB I've seen in a long time.  Lot's of DBs get their hands on balls, but they don't have the ball skills to finish the play consistently.  If the ball hits Diggs hands he's controlling it for the INT 95% of the time.  

Edited October 18, 2021 by Catdaddyhorn

[Sgt Hulk 14330]

I like the 4th and 1 aggression. With zeke Dak and pollard you should be able to stumble fuck your way to 1 yard. The clock shit makes me want to push a baby

[immortal13 4059]

2 hours ago, Dr. Beeper said:

There’s no question. Diggs got baited for sure and had a lousy play, but that’s why fucking safeties exist. That’s precisely why their positions are called “safety”. Kazee should never be confused with Schooler, but goddamn if he didn’t look like him on that play. Romo saying that is really stupid. Romo is so bad. 

How is Romo bad? He is one of the best color commentators out there. 

[Vic Mackey 47847]

[gsoda3 3358]

3 minutes ago, Dr. Beeper said:

Used to be. Now he’s jumped the shark and is an obnoxious fuckface. 

i like romo, i think he's still the best color guy in all of football.  he sees things most others don't see but what separates him from the rest is his ability to communicate what's going to happen before the snap.  eventually the game will change and he'll lose this superpower but until then i'm enjoying it.

[Billy Pilgrim 2058]

My only issue with Romo is that it feels like he goes overboard trying not to sound like a Cowboy homer. Makes it sound like every questionable call against the Cowboys is a correct one and every questionable call for the Cowboys is iffy.

[Pam Cummings 9823]

I like Tony but he seems to have gotten into Troy and Joe's liquor cabinet lately or something.

[conVINCEd 21477]

50 minutes ago, Sgt Hulk said:

I like the 4th and 1 aggression. With zeke Dak and pollard you should be able to stumble fuck your way to 1 yard. The clock shit makes me want to push a baby

Pushing babies is so last year.  The cool kids are snubbing babies these days.

[Gucci_Suit 2809]

20 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

i like romo, i think he's still the best color guy in all of football.  he sees things most others don't see but what separates him from the rest is his ability to communicate what's going to happen before the snap.  eventually the game will change and he'll lose this superpower but until then i'm enjoying it.

The Ticket was dogging him hard this afternoon. All the things that they find cringy, I find endearing and different. I love that (and I think I posted this elsewhere) I feel like I’m watching while sitting next to him while he’s drinking Coronas at Twin Peaks. But instead of being a normal dumbass, he knows what he’s talking about. 

I love it. 

[gsoda3 3358]

He’s gotten about 40 calls in a row wrong. I’m pretty sure Nantz hates him. 

I didn't notice a lot of bad calls yesterday.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

I don’t think we have a kicker problem. He’s not what he used to be, but when I look at the kicking woes across the league, I think ours is pretty much league average. All kicks are important, but he tends to make the most important ones, so I’ll give him that.

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

3 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

I always wanted a DB like Diggs. He might give up some plays but he knows how to play the ball. He is the polar opposite of Byron Jones in a great way. That dude was allergic to the ball. I'll take giving up big plays if he makes up for it with picks that impact the game. It's inevitable that big plays will be had in today's NFL anyways. 

100% agree. See some haters online quoting how many yards Diggs has given up this year but who cares. This is no longer the NFL of punting 7 times a game unless the opposing QB is awful. Forcing turnovers and holding offenses to field goals in the red zone is what defense is about now. 

Kazee has had a couple good games but the 75 yard TD was more on him than Diggs. 

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

11 minutes ago, Gucci_Suit said:

The Ticket was dogging him hard this afternoon. All the things that they find cringy, I find endearing and different. I love that (and I think I posted this elsewhere) I feel like I’m watching while sitting next to him while he’s drinking Coronas at Twin Peaks. But instead of being a normal dumbass, he knows what he’s talking about. 

I love it. 

Romo is cringey A LOT but I would prefer him over a robot in the booth. Robot color guys put me to sleep. 

[Hate 20232]

I'm not a Romo fan at all.  He gets oddly excited at weird times and his voice is grating. 

[conVINCEd 21477]

21 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

I don’t think we have a kicker problem. He’s not what he used to be, but when I look at the kicking woes across the league, I think ours is pretty much league average. All kicks are important, but he tends to make the most important ones, so I’ll give him that.

A trade is the only way we could upgrade the kicking situation.   Find a good kicker on a bad team that has decided to throw in the towel on this season.  The guys sitting on their couch waiting for a phone call are there for a reason.  The only reason you call one of those guys is if your guy gets hurt or catches the yips.  Greg hasn’t been perfect, but he’s a long way from having the yips.

[DougO 5261]

Kickers are what they are. For whatever reason, the really consistent ones seem to be a bit more rare these days. And there's a reason that there are still a lot of unemployed kickers out there, because they got released from other teams for inconsistency. 

Zuerlein has the second most total points, OK a lot of that due to opportunity afforded by the offense. He has hit 12/15 overall. That's not terrible. He has missed two extra points, but about half the league's kickers have missed at least one. Dallas has been spoiled by the level of kicking they have had for most of their history. They are unlikely to find a better one available at this point.

[youdunnf'dup 2147]

14 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

A trade is the only way we could upgrade the kicking situation.   Find a good kicker on a bad team that has decided to throw in the towel on this season.  The guys sitting on their couch waiting for a phone call are there for a reason.  The only reason you call one of those guys is if your guy gets hurt or catches the yips.  Greg hasn’t been perfect, but he’s a long way from having the yips.

Kickers are so fickle, a guy can be lights out on a shitty team because he knows he isn’t in important situations, then go to a good team and fold under pressure. I don’t want to give up anything for a kicker. I wouldn’t mind having a better one, but I don’t want to give up anything for one. 

[conVINCEd 21477]

2 minutes ago, youdunnf'dup said:

Kickers are so fickle, a guy can be lights out on a shitty team because he knows he isn’t in important situations, then go to a good team and fold under pressure. I don’t want to give up anything for a kicker. I wouldn’t mind having a better one, but I don’t want to give up anything for one. 

I agree.  Just pointing out that they guy living in his parent’s basement isn’t likely to be an upgrade.  A couple of years ago I would’ve entertained the notion of trying to coax Dawson out of retirement to play for his hometown team, but that time has passed

[Trey3216 15450]

At least we no longer have to deal with this on a weekly basis...

 

 

[gsoda3 3358]

12 minutes ago, Trey3216 said:

At least we no longer have to deal with this on a weekly basis...

 

 

hah i'm glad he's no longer here.  he was where he was supposed to be (in that gap) on this play but there he is again unable to shed a block.

[kingkoopa6 8594]

Bruh, Diggs is bad ass man..

i surely thought that pick 6 was the game winner.. 

this was me...

 

[Loch Ness Monster 3533]

Am I the only one that thinks the only reason Greg the Leg missed the 2nd to last kick was because the Patriots guy was gonna block it? Greg saw him and it changed the kick.

[kingkoopa6 8594]

1 hour ago, Vic Mackey said:

I need him to adopt some Neon dance moves 

 

[kingkoopa6 8594]

1 minute ago, Loch Ness Monster said:

Am I the only one that thinks the only reason Greg the Leg missed the 2nd to last kick was because the Patriots guy was gonna block it? Greg saw him and it changed the kick.

They was talkin about it in the booth...

I guess if it was blocked, could have been potential disaster ST TD for the pats..

[El Diablo 4232]

Heard it during the radio broadcast of the game that Pats were 102-2 when leading at the half in Gillette. 102-3 now. 

[Nicole44 22206]

6 hours ago, DougO said:

I guess he'll get a humongous contract next year and then rupture an achilles or just start to suck.

Or he'll get his arm caught in the microwave and hijack a school bus full of penguins...But its what tends to happen (injuries/start to suck) to our players once they get the contract. Not all of them mind you, just a fair number over the past damn two decades. 

[Patrick Bateman 3966]

1 hour ago, Trey3216 said:

At least we no longer have to deal with this on a weekly basis...

 

 

This is amazing.  It's almost like he's afraid to hit now.  Like he's afraid to give up his body by taking on blockers and plugging holes like his hair's on fire, which is what is a necessity for a LB.  Whatever happened, he was a terrible extension but he's no longer here and someone else's problem except when we look at our books.

And..... Hmmm..... Never can have too many pass rushers and there is no guarantee Tank can come back from what sounds like a Jones fracture this year (next year, yes).  Good teams need to get guys like this who are interested in maybe shopping for a ring.

 

[markstanco 12773]

Maybe GB should have watched game film of jaylon before signing him. Just a thought.

[Nicole44 22206]

Texans are just dumping players right and left. I can see Mercilus winding up at Zona. They picked up TE Ertz over the weekend from Fecals. They don't have a problem building to win now. JJ Watt may not be what he was but he still has a lot of value. Biggest threats to Cowboys in NFC are Zona, TB, GB and Rams. 

[C-Man 27685]

3 hours ago, Sgt Hulk said:

I like the 4th and 1 aggression. With zeke Dak and pollard you should be able to stumble fuck your way to 1 yard. The clock shit makes me want to push a baby

Apparently, it's not that easy as the Pats stuffed the Cowboys three times in that situation, well, one was a 3rd-and-1 (and Dak actually scored).

[Vic Mackey 47847]

2 hours ago, youdunnf'dup said:

Kickers are so fickle, a guy can be lights out on a shitty team because he knows he isn’t in important situations, then go to a good team and fold under pressure. I don’t want to give up anything for a kicker. I wouldn’t mind having a better one, but I don’t want to give up anything for one. 

Vanderjagt comes to mind. Was on pace to be one of the best kickers ever and he completely shanked a game tying FG in the playoffs in 2005 against Pitt and he was never the same after that. I think he played with us that very next season, too. And he sucked. Nick Folk comes to mind here in Dallas. Was so money. That 50plus FG he made in Buffalo in 2007 on MNF was so fucking money. He made that kick dead center twice because Buffalo iced him during the kick. But then something flipped and he fell way the hell off.

Dan Bailey was the same way. Might have been injury but he became a liability. I think Zuerlein is better at the long kicks than Bailey was and then Bailey was much better at the shorter ones. Zuerlein makes me nervous but he has made some huge kicks this year. Took the lead against TB. Game winner against LAC. Game tying against NE. All of these were pretty long. Off the top of my head, it seemed Bailey missed so many of these long kicks. Especially with the game on the line.

[Vic Mackey 47847]

5 minutes ago, C-Man said:

Apparently, it's not that easy as the Pats stuffed the Cowboys three times in that situation, well, one was a 3rd-and-1 (and Dak actually scored).

That has happened a lot this year it seemed. This OL just can't get a push up front. 

[conVINCEd 21477]

9 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

Vanderjagt comes to mind. Was on pace to be one of the best kickers ever and he completely shanked a game tying FG in the playoffs in 2005 against Pitt and he was never the same after that. I think he played with us that very next season, too. And he sucked. Nick Folk comes to mind here in Dallas. Was so money. That 50plus FG he made in Buffalo in 2007 on MNF was so fucking money. He made that kick dead center twice because Buffalo iced him during the kick. But then something flipped and he fell way the hell off.

Dan Bailey was the same way. Might have been injury but he became a liability. I think Zuerlein is better at the long kicks than Bailey was and then Bailey was much better at the shorter ones. Zuerlein makes me nervous but he has made some huge kicks this year. Took the lead against TB. Game winner against LAC. Game tying against NE. All of these were pretty long. Off the top of my head, it seemed Bailey missed so many of these long kicks. Especially with the game on the line.

IIRC, Bailey was great until he had some minor lower body injury and he changed his stroke to compensate for the injury.  Never the same.  Similar to Spieth and his golf swing.  You can find it again, as Spieth is showing, but it can be a long and winding road to get back.

Edited October 18, 2021 by conVINCEd