NFL 2016 Season

Caught the end of the Vikes @ Lions game, and most of the Redskins @ Cowboys. So got to see the dramtic ending for the Lions and an enjoyable contest from the the other game. Cowboys offense was brilliant and Dak and Zek are something else.

Interesting take on Romo's speech from Charles Woodson: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/11/tony-romo-charles-woodsen-espn-dak-prescott

Goes against a lot of the recent opinion.
 
BlueMerle said:
I'm so glad that's over. I don't want anymore of the Redskins.

Cold comfort I know, but they are a damn good team!
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Strangely the loss hasn't bothered me that much. Maybe that first drive set my expectations, the rest of the first half reinforced them and then actually we exceeded them in the second half.

I guess also it shows we shouldn't be afraid of any team. Another day we could have won and the Cowboys are currently considered in the top 2 or 3 in the league. The bigger concern will be making the playoffs from what is now perhaps the toughest division.

Maybe controversial, but I'm not sure Dak is as good as everyone says. Don't get me wrong, he's good, but I think there are probably at least 10 other QB's I'd choose before him if I was picking a squad, Cousins included. If you swapped him and Cousins last night, the Cowboys would have won by a land slide.

I'm not wanting to hate on him, as I said, he is clearly a good QB playing error free football and making plays when they count (that 3rd and 7 where he scrambled then Whitner hit him sliding, basically ended the game) but he's playing behind the best O Line in the league right now, with the best running game (or 2nd best?) which makes life a lot easier. He didn't make me go 'wow' at any point, which both Cousins and Stafford did for example (that throw while getting hit, on 3rd down, across to Bouldin, was amazing).

Anyway, I don't want to sound bitter. Cowboys played the better game. We certainly gave it a good shot and would certainly look forward to a post season rematch if we make it.

Also, only watching Red Zone these days, and even if I watch a Skins full game, it's usually 'condensed', I miss out on a lot of the stats about teams. I didn't realise our O was that well rated. Fewest 3 and outs in the league (and I think a zero from yesterday?) and 2nd rated on many stats. If we had a slightly better running game, that would be scary! Improving our D would be kinda handy too :)
 
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AndyCr15 said:
Strangely the loss hasn't bothered me that much. Maybe that first drive set my expectations, the rest of the first half reinforced them and then actually we exceeded them in the second half.

I guess also it shows we shouldn't be afraid of any team. Another day we could have won and the Cowboys are currently considered in the top 2 or 3 in the league. The bigger concern will be making the playoffs from what is now perhaps the toughest division.

Maybe controversial, but I'm not sure Dak is as good as everyone says. Don't get me wrong, he's good, but I think there are probably at least 10 other QB's I'd choose before him if I was picking a squad, Cousins included. If you swapped him and Cousins last night, the Cowboys would have won by a land slide.

I'm not wanting to hate on him, as I said, he is clearly a good QB playing error free football and making plays when they count (that 3rd and 7 where he scrambled then Whitner hit him sliding, basically ended the game) but he's playing behind the best O Line in the league right now, with the best running game (or 2nd best?) which makes life a lot easier. He didn't make me go 'wow' at any point, which both Cousins and Stafford did for example (that throw while getting hit, on 3rd down, across to Bouldin, was amazing).

Anyway, I don't want to sound bitter. Cowboys played the better game. We certainly gave it a good shot and would certainly look forward to a post season rematch if we make it.

Also, only watching Red Zone these days, and even if I watch a Skins full game, it's usually 'condensed', I miss out on a lot of the stats about teams. I didn't realise our O was that well rated. Fewest 3 and outs in the league (and I think a zero from yesterday?) and 2nd rated on many stats. If we had a slightly better running game, that would be scary! Improving our D would be kinda handy too :)
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Fair points.

I will say that you'd be all alone on an island when it comes to picking 10 better QBs. Dak was not drafted until the 4th round, #134 I think, if they redid the draft today he'd go #1 overall. It's one thing for a seasoned pro to do what Dak is doing, it's another all together for a rookie to do it. In case you don't know the college game rarely prepares a QB for life in the NFL. You're seeing NFL history in the making here... I'm not joking.

Not trying to make excuses here, Cousins played a great game, simple as that. But it's fair to point out that the Cowboys are missing several starters on the D side of the ball and yesterday one of the backups went out as well. Now, with that said, our defense does need some help. But not as much as most think.

Surprised to hear you weren't aware of our O line. They are consistently rated #1 league wide. And lets be clear about this they are a major reason that Zeke is having the kind of year he is.... not that Zeke isn't a great player in his own right.

I don't think it's unreasonable for both wildcards in the NFC to come out of the East. There's a good chance the Redskins make the tourny.
 
BlueMerle said:
In case you don't know the college game rarely prepares a QB for life in the NFL. You're seeing NFL history in the making here... I'm not joking.
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There have been other Rookie QBs that have had great first Seasons; Roethlisberger, Marino, Wilson, Ryan, Newton, Manning, Luck etc.

Dak has had the benefit of plugging in to a very good team with a great OL as you say. That said I still think what he and Ezekiel Elliott are doing is remarkable. For me he has the Cowboys contending in a way they haven't done for a long time.
 
Timber said:
There have been other Rookie QBs that have had great first Seasons; Roethlisberger, Marino, Wilson, Ryan, Newton, Manning, Luck etc.

Dak has had the benefit of plugging in to a very good team with a great OL as you say. That said I still think what he and Ezekiel Elliott are doing is remarkable. For me he has the Cowboys contending in a way they haven't done for a long time.
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No doubt other QBs have had great rookie years. I wasn't suggesting otherwise. Look at your list.... now how many rookie QBs have there been in the history of the NFL? It's not common, and what Dak is doing is exceptional.

Yes, he plugged into a good team, but it's the same team from last year when backup QBs only managed to win 1 game.

Winning is contagious.
 
BlueMerle said:
No doubt other QBs have had great rookie years. I wasn't suggesting otherwise. Look at your list.... now how many rookie QBs have there been in the history of the NFL? It's not common, and what Dak is doing is exceptional.

Yes, he plugged into a good team, but it's the same team from last year when backup QBs only managed to win 1 game.

Winning is contagious.
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There's been lots of rookie QB's in the history of the NFL, just that most of them are rubbish or don't end up making the grade. It's also more of a recent trend to let drafted QB's play from the get go and why so many of the names of great rookie seasons are current players. Dak will undoubtedly win plaudits and awards for this season but I am making the point that we have seen this before.

I think he's got your team playing on another level and I think Dallas have a great shot at winning this year.
 
Timber said:
There's been lots of rookie QB's in the history of the NFL, just that most of them are rubbish or don't end up making the grade. It's also more of a recent trend to let drafted QB's play from the get go and why so many of the names of great rookie seasons are current players. Dak will undoubtedly win plaudits and awards for this season but I am making the point that we have seen this before.

I think he's got your team playing on another level and I think Dallas have a great shot at winning this year.
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We're on the same page with the exception of you saying "we've seen this before". None of the QBs you listed had a rookie season that comes close to what Dak is doing.

I'm not saying they weren't good, or that what they did wasn't very impressive, just that it's not what Dak is doing.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one.
 
BlueMerle said:
Surprised to hear you weren't aware of our O line.
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I didn't think I did say that. It's kinda my whole point that Dak has a reasonable easy role (compared to most rookie QB's)

BlueMerle said:
It's one thing for a seasoned pro to do what Dak is doing, it's another all together for a rookie to do it.
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My point being, I don't think he's doing as much as the O line and Zeke. Again, he is doing great, but also supported by such a solid running game and great pass protection.

BlueMerle said:
You're seeing NFL history in the making here... I'm not joking.
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That would suggest what he's doing has not been seen before surely? But you then accept that it has? Big Ben went 13-0 as a starter in his rookie year for example.

Timber said:
There's been lots of rookie QB's in the history of the NFL, just that most of them are rubbish or don't end up making the grade.
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A lot of the ones expected to step right in are taken early and therefor on their way to poor teams with little support around them. Many of them have bigger expectations, more weight on their shoulders which generally doesn't help.

For my own interest, 10 I would rather have - Brady, Brees, Rivers, Roethlisberger, Cousins, Stafford, Rodgers, Wilson, Newton, Luck... maybe Manning, Palmer and Dalton for good measure. **EDIT** And probably Derek Carr
 
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AndyCr15 said:
A lot of the ones expected to step right in are taken early and therefor on their way to poor teams with little support around them. Many of them have bigger expectations, more weight on their shoulders which generally doesn't help.
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But the reality is more QB's fail than achieve great things. So many Rookie QB's go on to achieve nothing

BlueMerle said:
None of the QBs you listed had a rookie season that comes close to what Dak is doing.
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On this point I'm happy to disagree. Some of those other QB's had stunning rookie seasons and achieved that in lesser teams.
 
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Tbh, it's the kind of thing we love to discuss, but there's not really an answer at the moment. Maybe in 5 years we'll know. Maybe Prescott will be a future HOF QB. Right now I see him in a (very good) run orientated offence doing a great job, but personally I wouldn't go further than that.
 
AndyCr15 said:
To be fair, he threw 160+ yards and 3 TD's in the first half. Looked quite good the bits I saw. As you say though, it is the Saints D...
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that's my point tho, if it was a decent defence fair enough but new orleans, they shut us out in the 3rd quarter :(.

noticed ingram has over 100 yds rushing for them, longest of 61 when the rams seemed to forget how to tackle :D

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total shut out in the 2nd half by new orleans D, not even close to good enough :(
 
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