After yesterday's performance...

[Doomsday]

Is it safe to start to think they might be better than average, despite "coach process" and all the idiocy that he brings to the table?

 

[icup]

yes

 

[theoneandonly]

Yep and despite the changes to the O Line which now seems to be jelling, the team appears to be as talented as last year. Oh and the changes in the secondary are no worse than a net zero gain at a fraction of the price. I have to admit I was more impressed with the defense yesterday than at any point this year, and what a coincidence I didnt notice the gimp out there much. Also lets not forget last year they played a last place schedule which was a big help last year.

 

[ThoughtExperiment]

Yep, I've been slow to give praise because they hadn't beaten a good team yet, and got destroyed by the sorry Broncos. But yesterday they did beat that good team.

Then again, like I always say, this team does best when it's doubted, so I wasn't surprised they played well. I wouldn't be surprised at a slip up this weekend.

But yes, this team has much above average talent. It still has the best OL, one of the best RBs, and a very good QB. Plus they're incredibly healthy right now. So they should be playing at least this well.

 

[dbair1967]

It was an impressive win, but they need to show consistency with this for me to say it isn't just an outlier.

They've definitely played better since the bye week, but the dropped passes and a few other annoying things are still concerns.

The Zeke Elliott situation will be huge in how we finish the season and we may get a final resolution on that later this week. Until then it continues to be a cloud hanging over us, as are some of the banged up players/injury concerns.

 

[Doomsday]

Oh and the changes in the secondary are no worse than a net zero gain at a fraction of the price.

Kind of like what I predicted and hoped for. It's no coincidence is it, that we got rid of the Legion of Boobs then suddenly started getting a pick or two here and there, and better coverage has led to some sacks and a lot more QB pressures than we've seen? It's almost like we solved a major problem using addition by subtraction.

 

[Scot]

I am no where near ready to call this team good, or even as good as last year, not yet anyway.

I need to see more than one decent performance before I even think about calling the Bronco game a fluke of a game

Did we have one good game? Sure
Did we perform better than expected? Sure
Does this mean that we are good enough to overcome Garrett’s coaching inadequacies? Not even close
Are we headed in the right direction? I hope so

But...
I’m not sold on this team yet.

 

[Doomsday]

The Zeke Elliott situation will be huge in how we finish the season

I couple of days ago I would have poo-poo'd this, saying something like "next man up" but the next man no matter who it is, won't engender the fear of the opposing defense that Zeke does. Just having that threat on the field whether he touches the ball or not, gives the defense pause. We won't get that with Morris, McFadden, that rookie we have, or any combination of such. Zeke is the straw that stirs the drink, and without him it's going to be tougher to win games.

 

[theoneandonly]

But...
I’m not sold on this team yet.

I dont think anybody said sold. For me it is more like seeing talent bubble to the surface despite other forces holding it back. Nutshell: Somebody says you live or die based on this prediction to win the SB or even make it to the SB, Cowboys or the field, I bet the field every time

 

[bbgun]

We were much better than average last year. Where did it get us? The only question is which round we'll lose in if we make the playoffs, and who outcoached Garrett this time.

 

[NoMoRedJ]

As long as the Red Clapper is HC everything with this team is a roll of the dice. Games they should win they lose. Games they should lose they win. Some games they come out strong in the first half. But in important games they never seem prepared or ready to play. So yesterday's performance doesnt clarify anything for me.

 

[Doomsday]

We were much better than average last year.

Our record was. But we were NOT getting pressures, sacks or turnovers. In these areas we've clearly improved, and these ARE the areas that have come up lacking in the big games, where we would eat shit and die.

 

[yimyammer]

the Red Clapper

 

[MrB]

Depending on the whole Zeke situation the Falcons aren’t looking so scary now. This team could very well be 6-3 going into that game against Philly. Even if the Cowboys win that game too they will still be 1 game behind Philly but would have a better division record. Once again the NFC East looks like the toughest division in football.

 

[Dodger12]

Zeke had a good game but Dak was clutch in the second half when the team needed him to be clutch. If Dak can continue to beat teams with his arm and legs, we have a shot. This team will only go as far as it's QB can carry it. Same with Philly and Wentz.

 

[bbgun]

Zeke had a good game

not much in terms of yards per carry. he's been tackled for a loss in the backfield a lot this year. I'd be interested to know how often it happened in the first eight games of 2016.

 

[Doomsday]

Zeke had a good game but Dak was clutch in the second half when the team needed him to be clutch. If Dak can continue to beat teams with his arm and legs, we have a shot. This team will only go as far as it's QB can carry it. Same with Philly and Wentz.

Read a interesting stat, from Strum.

through 24 games, he has generated 49 touchdowns for the Cowboys against just eight interceptions. If you are wondering what that TD/INT ratio of 6.1 does on an all-time level, according to my friends at STATS, it is the best of all time. In fact, nobody else is over 3.9 (Tyrod Taylor) in the history of the league. He generates six touchdowns for every mistake that turns into a giveaway -- and he was drafted with a compensatory pick in the fourth round.

Those 49 touchdowns, without worrying about giveaways, is also rarefied air. The list of quarterbacks who have generated that in the first 24 starts of their career includes just a half-dozen others. They were all the talk of the league: Dan Marino, Kurt Warner, Daunte Culpepper, Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers and Daryle Lamonica.

since Oct. 1, as elite: 32.4 points per game with 409 yards of offense per game and 917 rushing yards, which leads the league. Also, since the Rams game, Prescott has been rolling along with a quarterback rating of 104.2 with 11 touchdown passes, three more touchdown runs and just two interceptions.

 

[Doomsday]

not much in terms of yards per carry. he's been tackled for a loss in the backfield a lot this year.

He's definitely not sneaking up on anyone, they're keying on him now.

 

[JPP1974]

Yeah and need to find a way to play a bag of tricks over in not keying him so much!

 

[Doomsday]

Yeah and need to find a way to play a bag of tricks over in not keying him so much!

Bull shit, we want them to be keying on him, makes the play-action work! It's kind of the whole point to having a dominant, dangerous RB.