Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have Jorge Guajardo, Dyllan Rivers, Tom Ryle and Sean Martin.
Whats gone wrong with the Cowboys offense these last two weeks?
Mike – The biggest problem is a complete lack of creativity and imagination from Brian Schottenheimer. Dallas has far too much offensive talent to look this predictable, yet the route concepts and combinations simply aren’t playing to the strengths of the players.
CeeDee
Lamb should be creating mismatches through motion and movement, while George Pickens should be attacking defenses with routes that exploit his size, speed, and ability to win one-on-one. Instead, we’re seeing static formations, predictable passing concepts, and receivers struggling to create separation because the play designs aren’t helping them.
Jorge – I think what many have said thus far about identity is true. What is this team’s offensive plan/philosophy/identity? Could Schotty or Dak tell you? I don’t think so. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason for what they do; they just naturally fall behind, let Dak and Co. try to drag them back, and end up losing by a solid amount.
All of that is just a sign that Schotty and, by extension, Klayton Adams, don’t have a good feel for what they have on offense. Schotty, in particular, seems so out of his element calling plays, managing the game and trying to put this offense in the best possible position to succeed. Imagine being a second-year head coach without a good feel for your offense, and you’re calling plays. That’s Schotty right now.
Dyllan – This offense wants to be balanced, but they refuse to commit to it. I’m not sure of an instance where I’ve ever witnessed a team throw the ball 32 straight times in a two-possession game. If the defense is forcing you out of runs with the looks they’re presenting, maybe change the way you attack those looks. You simply cannot ask the quarterback to throw over 50 times in a game and expect to win. Stick with the run game, especially when it’s working, and you’ll find taking the load off Dak Prescott will pay dividends.
Tom – I have to lean toward us being sold a real bill of goods this year. We believed the propaganda about how good this offense was and didn’t fully appreciate that they were basing that to a large degree on how they looked against their own defense while it was trying to rebuild itself under a first time coordinator. This might be as simple as they were never that good going into the season and we have suffered seeing the illusion collapse.
Sean – They don’t understand that talent alone doesn’t put points on the board. Defenses should not have as many ways to put the clamps on both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens as they do right now. Avoiding third down shouldn’t be as difficult as it is right now. Playing with more balance shouldn’t be as hard as it is right now. Not falling down on a slant route shouldn’t be hard. If these things are hard, and they just all are right now for Schotty’s offense, your team is going to have a very hard time winning games in modern pro football.
Is Dak Prescott’s recent dip in form more due to the offensive line’s problems allowing pressure, or is it Brian Schottenheimer failing to make the right play calls?
Mike – The offensive line isn’t helping, but Brian Schottenheimer is making a bad situation considerably worse. Dak Prescott has been under constant pressure, but that’s exactly when good coaching should make life easier for the quarterback. Instead, we’re seeing predictable play-calling and not enough quick answers against the blitz. That said, Dak isn’t blameless here and he’s been guilty of forcing throws and making poor decisions under pressure. But for me, the bigger issue starts with Schottenheimer.
Jorge – It’s both the o-line struggles and Schottenheimer’s failures as a play-caller. The Cowboys got Tyler Smith back, and the offense has gotten worse, which does not bode well. On top of that, they just seem bamboozled by simple disguises and blitz coverages; they’re not making even the easy adjustment, and it’s leading to the terrible product you’re seeing on the field. This comes from not having the proper coaching to pivot easily, make adjustments and not be rattled by changes. As soon as things go off script, this offense does its best armadillo impression.
Dyllan – Just can’t ask the quarterback to throw as much as they have. The offensive line will not hold up in pass protection. The quarterback will make mistakes. That is such a large volume where mistakes will be inevitable. Going back to the first question – if Dallas can become more balanced, the offense will go back to being its true self.
Tom – I’m going to duck for cover after my response, because it is that we may be seeing Dak starting to decline. The other factors certainly play major parts, but there have just been too many off target throws and questionable decisions from him this year. Add in that he probably is feeling the pressure to find a way to lift the offense up, and he may well be exceeding what his body can deliver after years of injury and the constant beating that comes with quarterback territory.
Sean – I’ll go with Schottenheimer’s play-calling, because asking an offensive line that features Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, and Tyler Booker in the middle to go backwards instead of forward in run blocking as much as they are right now is unacceptable. To make matters worse, Schotty’s explanation for why these drastic run/pass splits are happening doesn’t even hold up to logic.
I know no fan wants to say or hear anything good about Terence Steele right now, but if you allow yourself to think back to when he was playing well enough to earn praise, getting out in space to run block was a big part of that evaluation. It’s a player deployment problem all across the board, you can lump the receivers and tight ends in here while we’re at it too. That’s coaching.
Philadelphia will be without Jalen Hurts, leaving Tanner McKee at quarterback. Should Dallas take an aggressive defensive approach to exploit his inexperience, or is stopping Saquon Barkley and forcing McKee to win through the air the smarter route?
Mike – Stop the run first and make Tanner McKee prove he can beat you. The last thing Dallas needs is another defensive disaster where an opponent controls the clock and runs the ball down their throat. If Saquon Barkley returns from injury, stopping him has to be priority number one. Without Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia loses a huge part of its rushing threat, so Christian Parker must take advantage by loading the box when necessary and forcing McKee into uncomfortable third-and-long situations. Make Philadelphia one-dimensional, then let the pass rush attack.
Jorge – This defense has to force McKee to beat them. If Barkley has a Bucky Irving-type game, which is crazy to say, the Cowboys will obviously lose. If they make McKee slightly uncomfortable, they’ll be in this game. The defense has slowly improved and has life; if they keep trending up, McKee may not have enough to beat Dallas, with everything going on with the Eagles right now.
Dyllan – I’d love to see Dallas attack this quarterback the way Tampa Bay and Green Bay attacked Dallas. In fact, that’s the way they should have attacked Jalon Daniels. You have to force inexperienced quarterbacks into mistakes. Be aggressive, land some hits, and don’t let McKee get comfortable.
Tom – I’ll go further, and say that the chance to win this game rests primarily on the defense. The good news is that the addition of Mike Pettine seemed to have made a real difference, especially in the second half of the Packers game. If they can continue to improve, they may set the offense up with situations that are favorable enough that they can rack up some points and get the win in a division that is still fully within their grasp to win.
Sean – Go get hits on this quarterback. The amount of things that actually count as really tangible splash plays that make winning differences in this league right now, where one-score games are happening all over the place, is short. Hitting, sacking, or taking the ball away from the quarterback all count. The Cowboys don’t make enough splash plays on offense. They aren’t going to catch interceptions. Hit this quarterback to give yourself the best chance to win.
RAPID FIRE
Who scores first for Dallas?
Jorge – Javonte Williams
Dyllan – Javonte Williams is always the safe pick
Tom – I’ll take a flyer on Tyler Goodson
Sean – Brevyn Spann-Ford.
Dak Prescott passing yards, over/under- 289.5
Jorge – Under
Dyllan – Under, Dallas swings the pendulum back towards a more balanced attack.
Tom – Under
Sean – Under
Dak Prescott passing touchdowns, over/under- 2.5
Jorge – Under
Dyllan – Under
Tom – Under
Sean – Under, but over might give us a chance to have some fun for a change
Saquon Barkley rushing yards, over/under- 85.5
Jorge – Over
Dyllan – Under
Tom – Under, I hope
Sean – Under
CeeDee Lamb receiving yards, over/under- 88.5
Jorge – Under
Dyllan – Under
Tom – Under
Sean – Over
Javonte Williams rushing touchdowns, over/under- 1.5
Jorge – Under
Dyllan – Over
Tom – Under
Sean – Under
