Takeaway Tuesday: Dez Bryant Officially a Problem, Charlton Improving?

27 thoughts on “Takeaway Tuesday: Dez Bryant Officially a Problem, Charlton Improving?”

1. Ummm. You forgot to mention the owner. Isn’t that where the buck truly stops?

   • Yes, but he’s the owner. Jerry is the only guy in that organization who can’t be fired. If he was gonna hire a real GM, thinking he’d have done it during the early 2000s with those 6-10 seasons and revolving door at HC.

     Sorry, just don’t see why that’s still a comment worth making in 2017. Jerry is Jerry. Coaches and players, however, are options. Thanks for reading.

2. All valid points every single one

   • Thank you for reading!

3. I completely agree that as someone who was considered an “elite” wr, Dez needs to do better. However, I would like to point out that his drop in numbers is directly related to the loss of Romo. Romo was injured and did not play most of 2015, and then Dak took over in 2016. Dez’s stats dropped off considerably in 2015 (Dez missed quite a few games as well in 2015) and has never picked back up. The Cowboys would have fared better by keeping Romo as the starter for another year and let Dak learn from one of the best. Given the situation, Romo wasnt going to be willing to mentor his replacement while he sat on the bench. And all you people that trashed Romo back then are starting to realize that he made our team better than they really were. He did more with a lot less than Dak has around him now. Sure he threw a lot of interceptions, but he also threw the ball an insane number of times because we lacked a decent rb for years.

   • Let me start off by saying that I’m a HUGE Tony Romo fan. I agree that Dez’s stats have dropped off since Romo stopped playing because injuries or Dak. I do believe sticking with Dak was the right call, and I also believe Prescott will have a pretty good career despite having a tough second season.

     It’s an interesting topic, really. But it could also work both ways. Could it be possible that Dez actually wasn’t as good as we thought he was and that simply his chemistry with 9 was awesome? As I said, I’m a huge fan of Romo and I agree that a large portion of Cowboys Nation trashed Romo. I also think we’re starting to see the same but this time with Dak.

     Dak’s to blame in part, he deserves to be blamed for his poor performance this season. But he’s going to be a good QB down the road, I’m sure. His development will be key. At this point, be it because of his lack of chemistry with Dak, or because he simply isn’t good anymore, Dez Bryant isn’t worth $17M right now. Thank you for reading!

     • Good point.

     • If you watched Dak’s play last year and then this year, it becomes clear that he really requires open receivers to excel. This isn’t a bad thing per se, but plays where the WR is one on one and can do a battle for the ball in the air is not something Dak is best at. That’s not to say Dak can’t do better, but he needs a more open window from the receiver than Romo did. It’s also a part of the reason why Dak threw so few interceptions last year. This year defenses adjusted and made the windows much tougher and worried less about yards after catch, something the Dallas WRs don’t excel at anyways.

       Going forward, we are going to need better route runners and our number 1 receiver is going to need better speed so that the safety will need to cheat more to that side to open up the rest of the field. Dez used to require that, but he’s lost a step speed wise and it shows. Defenses are not needing to cheat an over the top player as much as they used to.

     • Dak to me got to the point Sunday of looking unsure and aiming his throws. I never thought that when he struggled earlier in the year. First thing is he was getting beat up, so we don’t know if there was a cracked rib or something that he never told anyone about.

       There is no way I’m bailing on him. The best idea is to get a better coach for him, better protection and better receivers and passing game scheme.

       I’ve had enough of both Garrett and Linehan.

       • I’m just like your respect to our HC but it hurts Jerry does not think that and he’s going to leave, I do not understand why waste time on someone who will never take you to a superbowl, so I think we’ll have JG for other years.

   • Well said. I agree.

     • I think it has to be pointed out, Does Dak have good chemistry with any of the receivers let alone Dez? Jason, Terrance and Beasley , all had career lows I believe.

       • Actually, it appeared to me that Dak and Brice Butler had a thing going earlier in the year, before Butler was injured. They connected on several big throws, if I recall correctly.

4. It is really exasperating not to see a change of HC and that Jerry even seeing the poor performance is determined to give him confidence, I think the performance of the team is so mediocre and we do not think we will improve if there is no change, JG should already give the thank you and bring someone to take advantage of all that young talent or wait for the next season that will be winning and then another loser and so we take it for another 10 years, incredible that they did not sit down to DB, JW we had young receivers in the bands that arian better plays, another thing DAK showed that it will be an average marshal nothing special, there is no improvement, disappointed the truth of this team that has young potential but their HC they do see it from BAD to MEDIOCRE ..

5. To answer the headline, yes and yes IMO.

   I think Dez is viable still as a power possession receiver, who works single up while a speed WR stretches coverages. To me the fact that Linehan and Garrett could never implement that even though they had the speed WR (Butler), was Dez’s biggest problem. And one of Dak’s problems. This receiving corps underperformed this year and it needs churn in a big way.

   I can’t pay Dez half the cap for it however. I want to keep him for less $ and with the above changes to the unit. Try for a speed WR in the draft and also keep Butler. And go to Gathers in a big way next year. I will trade Terrance Williams if there is any good offer, and same for Beasley.

   Beasley can get back to his old self if the other unit churn gets the lockdown coverages off of him. But you can probably get the same from Switzer, so if there is an offer good enough for Beasley then take it. The unit has to be much more formidable next year.

   Taco: I like it. He looks like he trimmed down from his draft videos, and when he’s gotten reps at LDE he has shown quicks & burst. If we are to lose Lawrence to FA, he should be the starter next year next to Irving at LDT. That’s 4 long arms to obstruct right-handed passers with.

6. And we may not need to draft a speed RDE, because Gregory will be eligible next year… ;^)

   • Gregory will be thirty before he will be eligible to play. Plus what has he shown when he did play? Nada!

7. After last year’s season, it’s not surprising that the team fell back a bit. They played more quality QBs than last year and more quality defenses. Defenses also adjusted to Dak and his tendencies.

   To counter this, the coaching staff is going to have to make some tweaks to their offense to fix these situations. The scouts will need to find some better players, especially along the offensive line and perhaps the linebackers. WRs will also have to be looked at, but they usually take time to groom, so don’t expect an immediate impact from there.

   Firing any of the coaches at this time would be a mistake. They had a rough year. Everyone can have that. Will next year be better? If it is, then they learned from it and got better at their craft. If they didn’t, then it’s time to look to replace some of the staff.

   The real key is how does the staff respond. Just dumping coaches for the sake of dumping coaches is a poor choice. People are frustrated and their emotions are raw. Take some time to relax and look back at this season.

   Dak had some good games and some bad ones. It’s time he learned from both and come back better next year. Zeke performed well, but he needs to be on the field every game. The WR corps needs to get better, either by improving internally or by making some moves. The backup tackle needs to be addressed, hopefully finding someone in the draft who could backup now and perhaps start in a few years. It would also be nice to find a Lee replacement soon as he won’t last forever and a 1 tech would be nice so Collins could move back to his natural position at the 3 tech.

   Let’s see how this staff uses the off season and see if they get better. Next season will have the staff on the hot seat, but firing them now is not in the best interests of the team.

   • I understand your sentiment, with one caveat. From what I can see, the coaching staff is either unable, or unwilling, to make changes and adjustments. Their play calling is predictable and as a result, unproductive. I believe something has to change. But as one local fan told me in a discussion earlier this month, what coach would want to work for Jerry Jones, given that it is common knowledge that they would be coaching with one hand tied behind their back, subject to the whims of an owner who needs to let the football minds do what they do?

     • I would counter that with what happened last year. They did a pretty amazing job of adjusting and dealing with the changes, especially at QB. However, they did have an easier schedule than last year and seem to have the same up and down record from season to season that the Carolina Panthers are currently doing. They were great two seasons ago, bad last season, great this season again. I don’t like being on that roller coaster, but it is what it is… for now.

       You have to give a staff a chance at redemption. As bad as the Giants were, it’s a shame they didn’t give the staff a chance. Most bounce back. You learn way more from your loses than your wins and this staff has a ton to learn. Give them that opportunity. If they don’t learn and next year they don’t bounce back, then it’s time to move on. You’d want the same exact opportunity if it were you out there doing the coaching. Plus, how many times have we seen a coach get dismissed after one bad season only to pop up at another spot and succeed. (cough Bill Belichek). I’m not saying that Garrett will be the next Belichek, no one will be, but the odds are that you will regress than move forward.

       • You talk about waiting, when Garret has already been 7 years old and there is no significant change in the team, season with a winning record eliminates you in the first postseason game, the next bad one and so it has been, personally I think you should have a change in HC, there is talent but there is no adjustment plan in every situation, it was lived on Sunday instead of running in the yard 2 passes when you have the best runing in the league, explain that, the whole season never fit you think really that they learned something, sorry but I doubt it and let’s be realistic if there is not a change in the HC we do not cfeo get to a super bowl while JG continues.

         • I’m talking about this year. No one complained last year. In fact people were praising the staff by getting to 13-3 (should have been 14-2 but they didn’t care about the last game) and should have won against Green Bay, but the officials ignored the GB guard who tackled David Irving to the ground on the miracle play. So, how can a staff go from being one of the best to being fired?

           They had a bad season this year, so give them a chance to redeem themselves. You’d want the same courtesy extended to you.

           That still puts them on the hot seat for next year. Their contracts will expire next year anyways, so everyone will understand that either they get it done or they will be looking for work.

           Getting rid of them this year doesn’t make sense, especially financially. You are more likely to get where you want to go with the current staff than by firing them.

         • At the point of the contracts I agree with you it’s a year but you do not think that this team has young talent to waste that year with JG, I would go more to make a change are 7 years of a roller coaster where we never stay up or give that step that this team deserves, man go do not think that this team should improve even with the suspension of ZEKE or injuries, it was JG’s job and its coordinators do the game plan week by week, you speak of greenbay but our DC has never could stop ROGERS that you hope to get back to a playoff game and get out again, we understand this team has talent we need HC and look right now there are many to choose from and help the growth of our rookies, the losing record would be even forgiven if we had seen that the team fought in the whole game but understands we were swept in the second half that is the annoying thing that JG always has that idiot smile and does not know how to recompose Your team or tell me what answer you have to me not to run the ball in the yard 2 having the best running in the league.

         • I understand your frustration. I just don’t agree that you dump the staff. They had a great year last year. They had a bad year this year, but if you look closely, they made significant progress with the defense. I’m still a bit worried about it when Sean Lee isn’t on the field, but the secondary grew up pretty fast and we have some good young corners. Our DL looks solid as well, finally, but that doesn’t mean the defense couldn’t use a player or two to make it even better. The offense regressed, but when you consider that the entire NFL studied Dak and our offense and worked all offseason to develop a way to stop it, it’s not surprising. Most NFL pundits expected a pull back from the amazing year we had last year. When we lost those three games in the middle of the season, we had basically four All Pros missing from the lineup (Lee, T. Smith, Zeke and Bailey). While injuries happen all the time, losing four of your top six players on your team will wreck havoc when you are replacing them with players that might not make other teams, mainly for T. Smith, but the others suffered as well. No team took our running game seriously with Zeke and Smith out of the lineup.

           Look, I understand you want the get rid of the coaches. I just don’t agree. I thought I could convince you otherwise, but it’s clear that no amount of information that I provide will change your mind. That’s your right. It’s also my right to disagree with you and I firmly believe this staff should be allowed to stay for 2018.

           As for your last statement about not running the ball, you can blame Dak on that one. He choose to keep the ball on the run-option. Some think that Linehan shouldn’t have run that play and not even given Dak the option, but that play has been run at the goal line all year and has had a ton of success. Just goes to show you that if it works, everyone thinks you are a genius and when it doesn’t, you must be and idiot. When the reality is that the players didn’t execute. If they had done a run only and not made it in, we’d all complain about how they went away from the run-option and that it worked all year, why go away from it now.

           Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.

         • I also understand your point of view and the same way I appreciate your way of explaining the reasons why JG and his OC DC should remain, but I ask you that we have not been working with this team for 4 years now and it is always a good season and another bad one I do not see how they can lead us to win that ring.
           Regarding talent I agree that you have a lot but I think it is not used as it should be, my point of view is we have talent but an HC to get that extra to be a champion.
           the injuries all teams have during the year but an example Seatle with less talent and we favored a defeat that is not merit of them without belittling the other team I rather believe was the gift of our team that should make the game plan , all the fault JG and company.
           I appreciate that you are a person with whom you can express different opinions and above all respect those that are not consistent with yours, I would like to change your point of view and not only take 2 years as a parameter but the story from 7 years commanding and I think you understand that it is not the way since DALLAS must follow with JG and his team is time to change personnel and really give this team someone who takes advantage of this talent that I think many would want on their team.
           It is also time to switch to DEZ, WITTEN, TERRANCE and some other that has already completed its cycle.

         • I’ve always been of the opinion that when a team has a down year, you give the coaching staff one year to turn it around. Two down years and then it’s time to show them the door.

           That being said, if Dallas wins today, that puts them at 9-7, giving them two winning seasons in a row, something we haven’t seen since Switzer, or at least it seems that long. To be honest, I’d rather have Dallas lose to get the better draft position, but then fans would want JG’s head even more, so I’d be fine with a win as well.

           Look at it this way: Dallas played the one of the toughest schedules in the NFL. If Tyron Smith plays against Atlanta, we probably win that game and would still be in line to make the playoffs. That includes completely revamping the defensive secondary. This team has way more positives than people are willing to admit. Do they have negatives? Yes, they do, but unless you go deep in the playoffs, just about every team has them. This team is still on an upward track in my opinion.

           One of the things they do need to do is make this offense even more Dak friendly. As much as I love Dak, he hates to have to throw into tight windows. And while he throws very well on the run, he needs to feel secure in the pocket to have confidence that he can finish his progressions and make his throw without harassment.

           With that in mind, don’t be surprised if the Cowboys make the Notre Dame OG their first round pick to put between Tyron Smith and Fredbeard. As much as I was cheering for Cooper to be the first team left guard, he just doesn’t have the athleticism the team wants and it puts undue pressure on Tyron and Frederick.

           Once that’s settled, I could see the Boys going LB and WR to help out those squads. Most likely Brice Butler will be gone and so will our only deep threat. Dez does command attention, but he’s not a true deep threat. Williams can also get deep, but he doesn’t really threaten the defense. Dallas needs a real speed demon that makes defenses take a step or two more away from the line of scrimmage. This would open up a ton of room for Dez, Wililams and Witten. The one who might lose out here is Beasley. I could see Dez moving into the slot a lot more, just like Fitzgerald did in Arizona, and create a bunch of possible mismatches. This is predicated on having someone on the outside the defense respects: one with the speed to get deep, the discipline to run good routes and hopefully has hands that won’t tip balls to the defense (I’m lookin at you Dez).

           The team isn’t perfect, but it actually got better by having to play a much tougher schedule and learn what they have to do to take the next step in the NFL. Nothing teaches like failure and this team will be stronger next year. Replacing the coaching staff will make 2018 a rebuilding year when it could be so much more with the current staff.

8. Jerry Jones = Cancer. From Tom Landry to Jason Garrett. Jason is only a puppet for JJ, I do believe that we need a change. DC is not the problem = our defense is good and maybe a few players away from elite.
   First a GM = Will McClay,
   Second a HC = ???
   Third a NEW Offensive coaching staff, not sure who all we have but we have a young team and we need to move forward with new blood. (not a problem if a few remain)
   Top 3 or 4 rounds.
   #1 depends on who’s available. LB, OL or WR
   #2 Depends on our #1 pick
   You get the point.
   Our #1 needs to be a day 1 starter…
   My top pick, we’re going to pick anywhere from 15 to 19.
   LB – Georgia’s – Roquan Smith
   OL – Notre Dame’s – Mike McGlinchey(OT)
   WR – Alabama’s – Calvin Ridley
   I’m not going to say we need to drop Dez, we need another QB to compete with Dak.

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