2016 Cowboys: Giddyup for Elliot

[Bosoxen]

Dak played a good game and certainly came up big when it counted the most, but he also had a small handful of passes that were just way off. What are the reports saying happened there, was that on Dak or were the receivers running the wrong routes?

I honestly couldn't say. I haven't really had the chance to consume much media coverage regarding the game. From what I could tell though it was a little of both. There were certainly instances where he and the receiver weren't on the same page but there were also instances where the throw was just woefully off. As LondonSox just alluded to, I think the credit needs to go to the Philly defense for the amount of pressure they put on him. He was very clearly rattled and very easily could have ended that game with 2-3 interceptions. Were it not for that extremely heads up play by Terrance Williams (there's a phrase I never thought I'd ever utter), the game is over and Philly wins.

 

[Greg29fan]

Mo Claiborne is out for a while with a sports hernia. Big loss.

Barry Church also broke his forearm.

 

[TFisNEXT]

Dak made some really awful throws...almost hanging up in the air over the middle. They bounced harmlessly, but man, a few more of those that don't land harmlessly and I think the narrative could change in the media. He very nearly had a game-ending pick too but got lucky the Eagles dropped it...and yeah, there's the Terrance Williams "good" pass interference which stopped another pick.

I think he runs the short passing and play-action offense very well assuming that the run game is clicking...which it usually is with this O-line, and his threat to run the read-option is a great dimension in the red zone. But when it comes time to get a bit more vertical in a hurry up offense, he's looked like a rookie. Tony Romo's ability to go vertical is what make the imagination run wild with this offense. Basically think 2014, but even better.

That said, it's easy to not want to fuck with a winning streak. Maybe Romo really isn't 100% yet either. I have always thought the Cleveland game was the line in the sand...I still think that, but some of your posts above make me think twice. It's possible they are being way more cautious with him. At any rate, the win streak is almost certainly going to run to 7 games. Even if Dak has an awful game, it's tough to lose to the Browns. They could probably hand off to Zeke every play and win that game.

 

[Bosoxen]

I think he runs the short passing and play-action offense very well assuming that the run game is clicking...which it usually is with this O-line, and his threat to run the read-option is a great dimension in the red zone. But when it comes time to get a bit more vertical in a hurry up offense, he's looked like a rookie.

This is exactly the impression I have gotten. He has thrown some good deep balls but not with any sort of consistency. It was evident very early on last night that the Cowboys were going to have to air it out some in order to soften the defense. The Philly D was selling out to stop the run and get in Dak's face, which they did with an alarming amount of success. That's where not having Romo under center hurts the offense because his presence causes the defense to blitz at their own peril.

Credit where it's due, everyone involved made the necessary adjustments to make the plays that were needed to win but that still required Philly to drop an inordinate amount of balls - on both offense and defense - for that even to be a possibility. I'm not ready to throw the baby out with the bath water yet but Dak has had two iffy, at best, games in a row. It bears monitoring.

And now for something completely different. Everyone involved with the Cowboys special teams, with the exception of Dan Bailey and Chris Jones, need to be fired out of a cannon. Outside of the fake punt and the long field goals, the special teams were a special kind of awful last night. The game was almost put away in the first quarter on the basis of special teams gaffes alone. That shit just cannot happen.

 

[Marciano490]

Is there nothing to the Zeke abuse allegations? I thought they'd gone away awhile back, but seem to be resurfacing again.

 

[Bosoxen]

Is there nothing to the Zeke abuse allegations? I thought they'd gone away awhile back, but seem to be resurfacing again.

This seems to be a decent summary of what's going on (I know this is a Dallas publication but the Observer is a very left-leaning one, so they wouldn't bend over backward for him or any other misbehaving athlete). Everything I've ever heard has been that there is substantial evidence which would point to Elliott's innocence. Per his attorney (which the city attorney confirmed):

My office provided a mountain of exculpatory evidence demonstrating Mr. Elliott's innocence and directly contradicting all of the false allegations contained in the Accuser’s two police reports as first reported on July 22, 2016

I don't quite know what to make of this but the whole situation stinks of the NFL doing that thing it does where it overreacts to something. Regardless of his guilt or innocence, I'm afraid Elliott will be made an example of as a direct result of the Josh Brown debacle.

 

[Rick Burlesons Yam Bag]

I don't quite know what to make of this but the whole situation stinks of the NFL doing that thing it does where it overreacts to something. Regardless of his guilt or innocence, I'm afraid Elliott will be made an example of as a direct result of the Josh Brown debacle.

I'm all tied up in knots on this one. On the one hand, I hate everything about DV. I wish the league could have a zero tolerance policy on it, but I also understand that that could be more disastrous potentially. I tend to think that these guys are guilty more often than not (this includes Nelson Agholor for whom charges were dropped, of the Eagles), even when charges are dropped.

On the other, I love Zeke. He came from an incredibly rough background where he had done some bad stuff, but outside rumors of some party drug use with Joey Bosa, he was considered a pretty damned good guy while at tOSU. A kid who flipped on the switch.

I don't want anyone to get involved in DV. I want the league to pound guys who even have a whiff of it on them. But man oh man do I not want Zeke to have done this stuff.

 

[Bosoxen]

I'm right there with you. From everything I've seen during his time in Dallas, he's a good kid. He recently set up a pet adoption rally with the SPCA where people could adopt rescue animals for $21, with Zeke filling in the rest of the adoption fee.

Naturally, that got no press outside of Dallas because good news doesn't sell. Which is a shame simply for the fact that it provides a pretty compelling counterpoint to this DV issue.

With that said, I concur that if he did this thing, I would hope they would apply every punishment available. That shit has no place in a polite society (though, like I mentioned in the Philly thread, I'm starting to question just how polite our society really is).

 

[jimbobim]

What a hoot reading these comments from Jones and the loud discussion with Friel with deflategate in mind ....

Jones' position is that time has elapsed since the incident and Elliott will not face any legal repercussions in Ohio. The NFL does not require the same burden of proof in its personal conduct policy. A player does not have to be charged to run afoul of the policy

Jones acknowledged having a conversation with Lisa Friel, who serves as special counsel to the NFL involving personal conduct issues, at the recent owners' meetings in Houston. He called it a "good discussion," and said it might have gotten loud because, "I was having to talk over the music."

"I don't know that the NFL has a closure, has a situation where they've cut it close, which could be a frailty of the system," Jones said after the Eagles' game. "As you know in law, one of the things in the Constitution is that not only are you innocent before proven guilty, you get quick addressing and then you don't get it drawn out. It has certain time frames and has a lot of economic limitations. So we have to, in my mind, just make sure that we inject that in the type of looking for information that we do in the NFL. But law has many, if you will a couple 100 years at least, working on through how you basically create some timeframes, create how it's initiated, create what the circumstances are about. And several which pertain to the NFL and companies, they don't necessarily have to go by that. We have a different deal though. We're so public and our issues are so public that we don't afford some of the things for some of the players, other people involved in the NFL, that the law does."

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/17975031/accuser-alleges-february-incident-involving-dallas-cowboys-rb-ezekiel-elliott

 

[Bleedred]

Was JJones drunk when he gave that quote? It's borderline unintelligible.

 

[mwonow]

Was JJones drunk when he gave that quote? It's borderline unintelligible.

Borderline?

 

[Bosoxen]

Was JJones drunk when he gave that quote? It's borderline unintelligible.

You must be new here.

 

[EP Sox Fan]

Comprehensive win yesterday. Yes it was against the Browns, but they took care of business and thoroughly dominated the game in pretty much all facets. IMO, the defense looked pretty vulnerable in the first half of the game when the Browns were running the ball. Once the abandoned the running game in the second half, the D could just concentrate on rushing the passer and did so very capably. I think their biggest weakness is the run defense which is going to show up at some point when they face a team that can run the ball effectively and can keep the Cowboys off the scoreboard. Leveon Bell is probably the best back they've faced this season so next week should be a good test.

Prescott's issues last week seem to have resolved themselves this week due to a lack of pressure from the Browns defense. If he has time, he's great at working through his progressions and finding an open receiver. Elliot continues to be a complete beast. 7-1 and a two game lead in the conference is a surreal place to be. Though the Steelers are not playing good football at the moment, they still have Ben, Antonio Brown and Bell and their offense is more than capable of putting points on the board. Should be a tough game for this team, which has responded every time it has been tested this season.

Looking more and more unlikely that Romo is going to get the keys back anytime soon. Prescott did a great job of getting Dez to STFU and calm down yesterday. Seems as though he's taken charge of the team and that makes it hard to turn back to Romo, whether he may be more dynamic or not.

 

[Bosoxen]

Looking more and more unlikely that Romo is going to get the keys back anytime soon. Prescott did a great job of getting Dez to STFU and calm down yesterday. Seems as though he's taken charge of the team and that makes it hard to turn back to Romo, whether he may be more dynamic or not.

I think that, more than anything else, may be the final nail in Romo's coffin. The way Dak grabbed Dez by the collar and pulled him toward him as if to say, "knock that shit off," and for Dez not to completely go apeshit, was a sign that Dak has control of the locker room unequivocally.

That truly was a sight to behold.

 

[Flunky]

Well, Nomar got traded. I guess I can live with Romo being unceremoniously dumped.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Got the Cowboys to win the Super Bowl at 22:1 odds this summer and feeling pretty darn good about it. Anyone here take the plunge?

 

[Bosoxen]

I didn't but a buddy of mine plopped $50 on them when he was in Vegas over the spring. I think he got 20:1 at the time but that would still be a pretty good payout.

 

[Bosoxen]

Romo will not be active for the game against Pittsburgh. The fact that this is news means he's getting close. If I'm the Cowboys, I kick that can down the road as far as I can muster because this decision will be a franchise changer.

 

[tims4wins]

Romo will not be active for the game against Pittsburgh. The fact that this is news means he's getting close. If I'm the Cowboys, I kick that can down the road as far as I can muster because this decision will be a franchise changer.

I kind of see this playing out like the Manning thing last year. They will start Dak until he has a bad half, throwing a couple picks or whatever, then bring in Romo to save the day and he will start for the remainder of the season.

 

[Bosoxen]

I kind of see this playing out like the Manning thing last year. They will start Dak until he has a bad half, throwing a couple picks or whatever, then bring in Romo to save the day and he will start for the remainder of the season.

They can't keep Prescott on such a short leash for several reasons:

A) The Philly game proved that he's the type of player that can pick himself up off the mat and still somehow find a way to win.
B) He's not Brock Osweiller.
C) Related to B, even with that ridiculous defense, the Broncos still only managed a 5-3 record under Osweiller.
D) Prior to Manning's injury, the Broncos were 8-0 - the Cowboys are 0-0 under Romo this year.
E) Manning only missed half of the season. Romo hasn't played a full game in well over a year.
F) They would have a mutiny on their hands if they were to make such a knee-jerk move.

I'm sure I could find some more and go on, but I'm sure you get the picture. The fact of the matter is that Prescott will have to go on a very shittastic run before they hand the keys over to Romo, which, considering the remaining schedule, is a possibility. But they can't make any rash decisions, which was kind of the point of my kicking the can down the road comment.

 

[pappymojo]

Counter point: Romo is a much better quarterback than Manning was last year.

 

[Bosoxen]

Counter point: Romo is a much better quarterback than Manning was last year.

That's fair. But we also don't know what he'll look like after two collar bone fractures, one vertebra fracture and not playing in an NFL regular season game since last Thanksgiving. He could be really rusty, diminished or both.

I'm as big of a Romo supporter as you'll find and even I'm willing to concede that the set of circumstances necessary for Romo getting his job back could be either catastrophic to the team's championship aspirations or to Prescott's development (or, again, both). I don't envy the people who have to make this decision.

 

[Rick Burlesons Yam Bag]

That's fair. But we also don't know what he'll look like after two collar bone fractures, one vertebra fracture and not playing in an NFL regular season game since last Thanksgiving. He could be really rusty, diminished or both.

I'm as big of a Romo supporter as you'll find and even I'm willing to concede that the set of circumstances necessary for Romo getting his job back could be either catastrophic to the team's championship aspirations or to Prescott's development (or, again, both). I don't envy the people who have to make this decision.

It is truly a tough situation. Let me begin this by saying that Dak Prescott has a bright future ahead of him and will be a very good QB for his career. Given that he is a 4th round pick (and will be paid as such), he has a good likelihood of being more valuable to the Cowboys than Carson Wentz will be to the Eagles, even if Wentz is the better QB.

With that said......The Cowboys have a team that could make a playoff run this season and when I watch the game film against the Eagles again, I see Prescott as being a playoff risk (right here today, not necessarily come playoff time). He had at least 6, maybe as many as 12 throws that were well off target and interceptable when it seems like there were better options available to him (the uncertainty lies in the receivers and also the defenders. This was a weird game in that the Cowboys receivers did seem to cut in ways that seemed incorrect for the coverage on a number of occasions.....but obviously I have no clue what the correct cut was. Similarly, the Eagles struggled to provide seamless coverage in zone. Yes, had CBX been at the mark when the ball was thrown then it would have been an interception.....but he wasn't, he seemed to think that OLBY was going to cover the receiver until some point further downfield than one might expect). He completed fewer than 50% of his passes, had one INTs and a fumble (which was not a turnover). He also came up very big with two beautiful reads and throws in the fourth quarter to pull the game out.

So.....do you take that and roll the dice, or look around the room at the other talent and take the "safer" option of Romo? And if you don't play Romo in the run up to the playoffs, is he too rusty to be effective? If Garrett makes the right call he has a chance at playing in a Super Bowl. If he makes the wrong call and falls short of the NFC Championship, he may end up on the hot seat.

 

[Bosoxen]

I really don't know at this point. Prescott has made a compelling case but you're right, the games he had in Green Bay and particularly against Philly did begin to sound some alarms. At the very least, he's earned himself a much longer leash than what was suggested this morning.

Again, that's precisely why I wouldn't want to be the one making that decision (though I'd love to take a shot at it to earn that much money). I do think Romo gives them the best chance to win now but I'm really basing this on his 2014 performance, which occurred prior to two devastating injuries and unknown amounts of rust accumulating.

In other news, Randy Gregory just failed another drug test. This likely means he'll have already played his last game for the Cowboys. They knew the risk and that's why he fell so far in the draft. Bummer.

 

[Rick Burlesons Yam Bag]

In other news, Randy Gregory just failed another drug test. This likely means he'll have already played his last game for the Cowboys. They knew the risk and that's why he fell so far in the draft. Bummer.

This got me very depressed when I heard this earlier. The guy has anxiety issues and makes bad decisions. It is really a tragedy.

 

[Marciano490]

Hopefully, he can find redemption like Brandon Marshall.

One other thing to consider in the Dak vs. Romo debate is what happens to Dak if he's pulled, especially in the midst of a bad game, but then Romo is injured? Does he bounce right back, or is he affected for the rest of the year? I agree the Cowboys have a SB run in them, so the question is how fragile is Romo going to be, and is your best bet at running the table Dak with Romo ready to jump back in, or Romo with Dak at the ready. I assume, too, that at this point in their careers, Dak loses out on a lot more development by sitting than Romo does.

 

[21st Century Sox]

I am okay if Cowboys stick with Prescott. That said, Romo is healthy, ready, (full practices) and is inactive today. So....if something happens to Dak, a healthy Romo will be standing around in sweats while Mark Sanchez runs the offense?

I don't get it, the controversy is not going away, keeping Romo inactive this week is a risk.....

 

[dcmissle]

Ok?

After today, if Jerry even thinks of making a QB change, Stephen needs to file an incompetency petition.

You guys are reliving 2001. Don't throw it away.

 

[DJnVa]

Well damn.

 

[Bosoxen]

This got me very depressed when I heard this earlier. The guy has anxiety issues and makes bad decisions. It is really a tragedy.

They had a good discussion about this on the Ticket on Friday afternoon. It's probably a topic for a completely different thread but they brought up the fact that nearly a third of NFL teams play in states where marijuana is now legal for recreational use, meaning the league rules should logically be re-visited (though I doubt any one of us wants to hold our breath on that).

Independent of the league's medieval rules regarding marijuana, it's a sobering case study on the topic of medical marijuana vs traditional prescription medications. That Gregory would risk a career where he could make millions of dollars to avoid the side-effects that traditional medications present is really very sad. I can't fathom the shit he's had to go through for the calculus to result in that decision.

With all that said, thanks Mike Tomlin. Had you not spent the entire game chasing the points you left on the field with your boneheaded two point attempts, the Cowboys probably lose that game. Just another example of a football coach trying to be way too cute with a no-brainer decision.

 

[Greg29fan]

Just like the Pats with Brady/Bledsoe, it's highly likely they're going to need Romo at some point, whether it's injury or ineffectiveness, but do not mess this up Jerrah. Dak is your starter.

 

[dcmissle]

Jerry said he won't; gotta stay with the hot hand. Which is good.

Because two of the most storied and successful teams in the last quarter of the last century were the Cowboys and Redskins. How many Lombardis between them, 8?

If the math is right, they have won jackshit the last 40 seasons combined. Because Jerry is Jerry and Danny aspires to be Jerry. Both would rather lose and have fun than win while proven wrong.

Thankfully there is Stephen, who intercepted the Manziel draft card and was able to persuade Jerry somehow (mortality closer than ever before?) that drafting those lineman, while definitely not fun, is smart.

Thankfully here, Danny was on the cusp of losing another generation of fans and the stadium was looking relatively empty on game days. (But I'm not entirely sold that old Danny is not lurking in the weeds).

If these two self absorbed sociopaths have been neutralized finally, the NFC East will return to its glory days.

 

[Rick Burlesons Yam Bag]

The NFC East has been beating the shit out of the other divisions this season.

 

[Bosoxen]

Indeed it has. The four teams have a combined 11 losses between them - six of those have come from within the division. They're also collectively 9-1-1 against the AFC North so far. Philly is 5-1 outside of the division and Dallas could complete the sweep of its AFC counterparts on Sunday.

This division is on a rampage.

 

[dcmissle]

It also has 3 QBs who, health allowing, could be on 10+ year runs. Don't want to hear anymore that Kirk Cousins is an NFL backup.

 

[bankshot1]

Romo in the midst of a hearfelt speech/pc about his being hurt (phyisically and emotionally) and missing out on this season and feeling like an outsider.

And how he will not become a distraction to his team's or Dak's success.

 

[edmunddantes]

Could this play out more like the Brady/Drew process?

 

[OCST]

Romo in the midst of a hearfelt speech/pc about his being hurt (phyisically and emotionally) and missing out on this season and feeling like an outsider.

And how he will not become a distraction to his team's or Dak's success.

This was one of the most emotional things I have seen in a long time. I don't follow the Cowboys and don't care either way but this guy was letting all his pain hang out there.

 

[dcmissle]

Could this play out more like the Brady/Drew process?

I trust there is no Texas Ron Borges who will go medieval on the brass because they just M-F'ed his beloved source, Tony Romo.

I suspect Boston, Philly and NY have a monopoly on that caliber media lunacy.

 

[Stitch01]

It also has 3 QBs who, health allowing, could be on 10+ year runs. Don't want to hear anymore that Kirk Cousins is an NFL backup.

Wentz and Prescott might be upper-tier NFL starters. Cousins is....not going to be at that level. He's more likely to Flacco or Cutler a salary cap than be a long-term building block. He's also 28, so 10 year run seems...unlikely

 

[bankshot1]

This was one of the most emotional things I have seen in a long time. I don't follow the Cowboys and don't care either way but this guy was letting all his pain hang out there.

That's the way I felt. I'm not a fan, but I've always liked the guy.

And not that he wants or needs my sympathy, but for a guy making tens of millions and banging models, the realization he may never get another shot at what he really wants seems to have sunk in.

The guy seems a little snake-bit.

 

[Bosoxen]

It felt like a retirement speech at first. The way he opened up the statement talking about his football mortality, I got the distinct feeling that he was going to hang em up. That was just brutal to listen to.

You guys are right, it was so emotional and he was so choked up, he barely even sounded like himself. Had you played me a snippet of that speech completely out of context, I don't think I would have ever guessed it was him talking.

My mom has always said she hates sports because of the emotion on the losing side. This was that and then some.

 

[cromulence]

As a Giants fan, I've really felt nothing but schadenfreude over the years when it comes to Romo. This one is different though. The way this has played out is like the ultimate cherry on top of his thoroughly star-crossed Cowboys career. A long, painful list of times where he was SO close in one way or another, and then to have it possibly end like this? Ouch. I would absolutely root for him if/when he goes elsewhere to finish his career.

That said, I bet there's still a twist left in the story.

 

[TFisNEXT]

If there is one thing Romo may have contributed without really being obvious at first, it was him getting the shit kicked out of him from 2009-2011 that made the front office finally realize they needed to build the team from within...the offensive line. It's too bad that once the rebuilding of that line was finally complete in 2014, he only got to play behind it for one healthy season...and he was probably the best QB in football this side of Brady that season.

If he never plays another down with the Cowboys, he sacrificed his body for a longer term success that will continue beyond his career here.

 

[Bosoxen]

If there is one thing Romo may have contributed without really being obvious at first, it was him getting the shit kicked out of him from 2009-2011 that made the front office finally realize they needed to build the team from within...the offensive line. It's too bad that once the rebuilding of that line was finally complete in 2014, he only got to play behind it for one healthy season...and he was probably the best QB in football this side of Brady that season.

If he never plays another down with the Cowboys, he sacrificed his body for a longer term success that will continue beyond his career here.

And this is precisely why I wanted desperately for him to win a Super Bowl. He deserves that affirmation of his legacy because the franchise would have been completely sunk without him. It really is a shame that his reputation has been tarnished because of the GM's reluctance to building the team properly.

And in news that should shock exactly no one, Rolando McClain failed another drug test. He, too, is facing a year long suspension.

 

[dcmissle]

Romo probably gets a SB ring, with the usual caveat about health. And he will have earned it by what is noted above.

Team reminds me of the young Boys breaking through under JJ, but this emergence is more sudden.

I would be wary of Seattle. Get past them, you'll likely find Denver without enough offense or NE without enough defense.

 

[jsinger121]

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

This is an extremely likeable team. I cant believe those words just came out of my mouth.

 

[Greg29fan]

Little bit of a slow start for Dak and the o-line but they cleaned it up and got it going after the first quarter and got the job done. On to Turkey Day.

Zeke didn't have a monster day on the ground, although nearly 100 against the Ravens is quite good, but he's a real weapon in the passing game too and made some plays there.

 

[Bosoxen]

Major kudos to the coaching staff. It wasn't that long ago that a start like yesterday's would result in one of those losses where the defense finally caves under the pressure of being on the field all day long and gives up a score late in the 4th quarter. They saw what Baltimore was doing on defense, adjusted, and took the game to them from the second quarter on. There are still remnants of poor coaching decisions floating around - like Garrett accepting the holding penalty on what would have been 4th down late in the 2nd quarter which cost them 12 seconds and a shot at the end zone at the end of the half - but we're seeing a maturation of the players and coaching staff, alike. It gives me great hope that the term "brain trust" can no longer be used sarcastically when referring to the Cowboys coaching staff.