bbgun

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By Tim Cowlishaw
11:58 AM on Nov 29, 2019

On Thanksgiving we learned, if nothing else, why Jason Garrett doesn’t like to hear talk of win probabilities in his headset during football games. It’s because sometimes — for his Cowboys — there are none.

It’s understandable why so much outrage following the Cowboys’ 26-15 loss to Buffalo has been directed Garrett’s way while owner Jerry Jones has answered with a steadfast refusal to consider a late-season coaching change. The media wants answers, fans want solutions, and everyone is confused by the Cowboys’ 6-6 record, even if it has them clinging to first place at least until the Philadelphia Eagles tie things up Sunday by beating the Miami Dolphins.

I don’t think there’s any question that Garrett will coach his final game here Dec. 29 against Washington and then Jones will go in search of solutions. And while that’s definitely the direction it needs to go after what will have been 91/2 seasons with Garrett at the helm, it doesn’t solve everything. May not even solve much when you look back at what transpired here Thursday as the Cowboys fell to .500 and Garrett tied Tom Landry for Thanksgiving day losses (six) despite the fact Landry coached 21 of these games to Garrett’s 10.

Let’s start with the fact that Garrett is here because of his past as a quarterback and a play-caller, not as a defensive guru. The Cowboys defense showed us once again their players are either wildly overvalued or one of the worst coached units in the entire NFL.

I don’t know, maybe the entire game plan was to stop Frank Gore from creeping closer to Emmitt Smith on the all-time rushing chart. If so, mission accomplished. Unfortunately, everyone else from quarterback Josh Allen to rookie Devin Singletary to — as expected — wide receiver Cole Beasley had a field day against this defense.

Another game without a takeaway. The Cowboys are tied for 27th in the league with one turnover created per game (12 in 12 games). Management refuses to believe it needs to pay a premium for defensive backs, holding the salary cap line at the back end of the defense, and yet take your pick of these three players — New England’s Devin McCourty, Pittsburgh’s Minkah Fitzpatrick and Baltimore’s Marcus Peters. Each has more interceptions than the entire Cowboys team.

The most hopeless sight you can have as a fan is to watch the opposing quarterback standing completely flat-footed in the pocket, surveying the entire field and not even anxious about the pass rush. We saw that Thursday with Josh Allen, who had a much better day than Dak Prescott, which brings us to the next major issue.

Passer rating is hardly a tool that provides an all-encompassing view as to how a quarterback is leading his team. For one thing, it includes no rushing stats, although Prescott doesn’t run as much as he could or should, anyway. Regardless, Prescott has gone from the rare perfect passer rating on opening day to ranking 12th after 12 games. The man who so remarkably shied away from interceptions as a rookie has thrown 11 and is knocking on the door of the top five in this error-free era of the NFL.

Prescott had two costly turnovers Thursday and basically had a third when he fumbled on fourth down. The fact the Cowboys recovered was irrelevant. Another interception was squashed by what appeared to be a very shaky hands-to-the-face penalty against Buffalo. Let’s not forget the fourth-and-goal pass he bounced towards Ezekiel Elliott. It was a poor target decision since Zeke almost certainly wouldn’t have reached the end zone, anyway, but still a terrible pass.

The problem with all of this is that getting rid of Garrett fixes none of it unless Jon Kitna and Kellen Moore are being cut loose as well. And those coaches are largely seen as having been good teachers in promoting more confidence in Dak’s ability to throw it all over the field. To be sure, Prescott leads the NFL in passing yards. If you think that’s the ultimate goal, you must love Detroit’s Matt Stafford and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan most years because they are regular contenders for that top spot.

Maybe Prescott is simply weary of carrying this team. Perhaps that changes with a new head coach. And I think we can be certain that the next coach won’t provide such needless blind loyalty to an inefficient kicker just because he has a big leg.

The Cowboys have reached a head-shaking crossroads. Garrett won’t ultimately be part of this team’s future, but the next man up has plenty of work to do to figure out why this team’s presumed strengths haven’t amounted to much in years.
 
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bbgun

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I disagree with the Dec 29 part. We'll probably still win the East (big fucking deal) and host a home playoff game.
 

cmd34

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I disagree with the Dec 29 part. We'll probably still win the East (big fucking deal) and host a home playoff game.
Do you think this team is mentally tough enough to beat the Eagles in their house with the division on the line?

The Eagles suck but I completely expect this team to fold.
 

bbgun

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Do you think this team is mentally tough enough to beat the Eagles in their house with the division on the line?

The Eagles suck but I completely expect this team to fold.
we might be able to win the East without winning that game. people are expecting Philly to sweep the weak teams left on their schedule but I'm not so sure.
 

Doomsday

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we might be able to win the East without winning that game. people are expecting Philly to sweep the weak teams left on their schedule but I'm not so sure.
That would be all-too fitting wouldn't it? Backing into a division title!
 

Maveric

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I'm not so sure we will. That's making the assumption that we can win in Chicago and/or against the Rams, and at this point both are anything but a guarantee.
 

MrB

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It does appear that we will finally be getting rid of this red headed dipshit. So with all of the hallelujah’s out of the way, what do you guys think of the replacement candidates?

The top two candidates from reports are Urban Meyer and Josh McDaniels. The next guy on the list is Lincoln Riley and I’ve been hearing Greg Roman, John Harbaugh, and the DC in San Fran, as well as Kris Richard.

Of those guys, who would you guys like to see and why? Or why not a certain guy?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

kwcoolk619

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It does appear that we will finally be getting rid of this red headed dipshit. So with all of the hallelujah’s out of the way, what do you guys think of the replacement candidates?

The top two candidates from reports are Urban Meyer and Josh McDaniels. The next guy on the list is Lincoln Riley and I’ve been hearing Greg Roman, John Harbaugh, and the DC in San Fran, as well as Kris Richard.

Of those guys, who would you guys like to see and why? Or why not a certain guy?


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As much as I like Urban Meyer to coach the Cowboys (or USC), his health problems will magnify dealing with professional players with their own agendas and dealing with JJones. So, for me, it will be a 'No' with Meyer.
 

Ragnar

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we might be able to win the East without winning that game. people are expecting Philly to sweep the weak teams left on their schedule but I'm not so sure.

The way the Cowboys are playing now, I don't see them beating the Bears or Rams.

Philly, up until this point hasn't given me any reason to believe they would lose to the bottom feeders. They beat the Packers and stomped the Bills on the road. Yeah they lost to the Patriots and Seahawks, a lot of teams do. I don't think the Eagles are that good, but I don't think they've checked out yet. It looks like the Cowboys have.
 

Maveric

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It does appear that we will finally be getting rid of this red headed dipshit. So with all of the hallelujah’s out of the way, what do you guys think of the replacement candidates?

The top two candidates from reports are Urban Meyer and Josh McDaniels. The next guy on the list is Lincoln Riley and I’ve been hearing Greg Roman, John Harbaugh, and the DC in San Fran, as well as Kris Richard.

Of those guys, who would you guys like to see and why? Or why not a certain guy?


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Meyer has shown as good as he is you can't trust him to be around long term. McDaniels has had two head coaching opportunities; Denver was so-so and Indy he flaked on before even signing the deal. No to both for me.

No to Richard as well. We keep hearing how good he is, but I'm just not seeing it translate to the play on the field.
 

dbair1967

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I disagree with the Dec 29 part. We'll probably still win the East (big fucking deal) and host a home playoff game.

The Eagles schedule is so easy, I doubt we do. I think 7-9 is the best record we'll end up with now.
 

dbair1967

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It does appear that we will finally be getting rid of this red headed dipshit. So with all of the hallelujah’s out of the way, what do you guys think of the replacement candidates?

The top two candidates from reports are Urban Meyer and Josh McDaniels. The next guy on the list is Lincoln Riley and I’ve been hearing Greg Roman, John Harbaugh, and the DC in San Fran, as well as Kris Richard.

Of those guys, who would you guys like to see and why? Or why not a certain guy?


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Urban Meyer is exactly what we need. Harbaugh is not leaving Baltimore and the other one has been a failure at Michigan. No to one year wonder coordinators and a definite fuck no to Richard, who has been a huge bust here.
 

cmd34

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Meyer, as head coach of Ohio Sate or Florida, is responsible for everything. He has assistants but every decision is his. The DFO gives him suggestions for travel but Urban decides when they leave for road trips, what time they get in, and what type of food they eat. The assistants and recruiting analysts narrow down the recruits, but Urban decides who gets the offers, who gets invited for official visits, which players get in-house visits from him personally and who gets visits from specific assistants. The NCAA gives you X amount of spring practices ( I think 20) and a range of dates you can have them, Urban picks the exact dates and times of those practices, what each practice will consist of (full, shells, shirts & shorts, etc.). Many more examples but long story short, he has to weigh in on every aspect of the program. Basically, when you are not coaching, you are recruiting. There is no break.

In Dallas, Urban will have a big span of control but it would be significantly less than what he's been doing. He has a full-time scouting department and a General Manager (kind of) to handle personnel. Logistics at the NFL level is completely handled. The NFL also offers much more time off than college does.

His health is a concern but I'd be more worried about it if he took over my USC Trojans than if he took over my Cowboys.
 

theoneandonly

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Meyer, as head coach of Ohio Sate or Florida, is responsible for everything. He has assistants but every decision is his. The DFO gives him suggestions for travel but Urban decides when they leave for road trips, what time they get in, and what type of food they eat. The assistants and recruiting analysts narrow down the recruits, but Urban decides who gets the offers, who gets invited for official visits, which players get in-house visits from him personally and who gets visits from specific assistants. The NCAA gives you X amount of spring practices ( I think 20) and a range of dates you can have them, Urban picks the exact dates and times of those practices, what each practice will consist of (full, shells, shirts & shorts, etc.). Many more examples but long story short, he has to weigh in on every aspect of the program. Basically, when you are not coaching, you are recruiting. There is no break.

In Dallas, Urban will have a big span of control but it would be significantly less than what he's been doing. He has a full-time scouting department and a General Manager (kind of) to handle personnel. Logistics at the NFL level is completely handled. The NFL also offers much more time off than college does.

His health is a concern but I'd be more worried about it if he took over my USC Trojans than if he took over my Cowboys.
Never in my life have I seen an easier decision for those in power at USC than Meyer. Apparently they haven't figured that out yet.
 

theoneandonly

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Speaking of not solving everything, a thread at the zone indicates that there is a good chance that Cooper and Jones don't return 2020. If Jones goes so be it. They need Cooper despite being constantly nicked up and disappearing vs NE.
 
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