You have failed this franchise!” But now that I’ve dispensed with my gee

OK Womens Connor Williams Jersey , what came to mind when I first started thinking about writing this article was the Green Arrow telling Scott Linehan “k outburst, let’s get into the meat of things. The genesis of this goes back a couple of days, before the divorce between the Dallas Cowboys and their offensive coordinator became final. It started with a look at quarterback Dak Prescott and how he performed down the stretch this season. Then the aspect of how Ezekiel Elliott is one of the premier running backs in the league, but was so often put in unwinnable situations also seemed pertinent. There is a serious argument to be made that their talents were not utilized to the fullest this season. That is certainly a driving factor in Linehan’s departure. It also may bring a little clarity to the old “play-calling versus execution” argument that raged around Linehan all season.As with so many things, this was all inspired by a few things out there in the Twitterverse. (Is that one of the alternate realities in the multiverse? OK, really, geekfest over now.) Here are some that really hit home.Here is what I took away from that: Dak is producing at a high level, is actually more accurate than most NFL quarterbacks, and is at his best under pressure. Those are some statistical things to support the contention that he is a much better quarterback than the conventional wisdom believes. Now add in the old eye test, when we watched him rise to the occasion again and again to get his team to the divisional round of the playoffs.So here is the hypothesis: Linehan didn’t just fail to get the most out of his quarterback. His innate conservatism and stubbornness actually held his young QB back. Here is one more bit of fuel on that fire.Another term that has been used is “bad marriage” between Linehan and Prescott. Clearly, the senior management saw this, and just as clearly, decided they had a legitimate chance of finding a better partner for their franchise field general. There was clearly no rational way to think they could fix things with Linehan on board. In the next year or two, they are going to get a new deal in place with Prescott. Something had to give, and only one thing really could.The same happened with Elliott with those well-known criticisms of the running game. There is an analytics-based theory that running on first down actually decreases the likelihood of success. To perhaps oversimplify the argument, you should be calling plays that have the best chance of moving the sticks when you have ten yards to go, and those are almost never running ones. That is the exact opposite of what Linehan tried to do. That does open up the issue of just how much head coach Jason Garrett is wedded to the same idea. But, even though reports have it that the decision to move on was mostly Garrett’s call, it is also absolutely certain that he was getting some strong input from above that changes had to be made. We will have to see how it all plays out this year, but I, for one, will bet that putting a new man in the OC job is just part of what is being demanded of Garrett. He has to show some flexibility, but at least the perception of intransigence that surrounded Linehan is not readily evident with the head coach.In any case, the running game certainly under-performed in Dallas. That may seem an odd observation given that Zeke was the league’s leading rusher, and has led the NFL in yards per game for his entire career Youth Byron Jones Jersey , but consider that the Cowboys were only tenth in rushing overall. With the top ground-gainer on your roster, you should do better. Elliott was really all they had, though. And that is something that can reasonably be laid at Linehan’s feet as well. It goes beyond just 4 and 21. Cole Beasley has been an impressive weapon with Prescott, and with Tony Romo before him. Yet he often disappeared from games in 2018. There is still a good chance that Beas will seek greener pastures (and paychecks) in free agency, but it was just about a given that he was gone if Linehan had remained. Now, at least, the team may make a serious effort to retain him.In the big picture, the weapons the Cowboys have were just not utilized well. The next guy to fill the OC job has to do a better job. That leaves Dallas with the task of finding someone who can do that. Having been in the playoffs may have cost them some opportunities as teams that sat out the postseaon have already signed some who might have been targets.However, the Dallas job has some interesting advantages for whoever that turns out to be. First, the team expects Travis Frederick back, and Connor Williams should be stronger and therefore better after a full offseason conditioning and weight program. That will help both facets of the offense, since both pass protection and run blocking should be improved. And Amari Cooper is now part of the mix and will also have a full year to hone his chemistry with Prescott, while Michael Gallup was clearly on the ascent late in the season.One odd thing that has emerged from all this is that it is anticipated that Kellen Moore will keep his job as the quarterbacks coach. He was obviously a Linehan guy. Most thought his future was handcuffed to Linehan, but at the moment that is not the case. (It must be mentioned that statements about who is going to keep their jobs are not exactly set in stone, as we saw this past week, and a new OC may want to bring in his own man there.) But it is reasonable to think that Moore got a vote of confidence from Prescott. In any case, at the moment he has not been judged to be part of the problem.Linehan, of course, was. It should be considered whether he was scapegoated a bit in all this, since the scheme that was used did have Garrett’s fingerprints all over it. But given how things played out with the coaching moves a year ago, any excess blame placed on Linehan may be a case of what goes around, comes around.The Cowboys have a young roster, and outside of Beasley, that certainly applies to the offensive skill positions. They need an offensive coordinator who can maximize that talent. Last season was pretty clear evidence that Linehan was not getting the job done. With a huge payday in the offing for Prescott, possibly Elliott http://www.thecowboysfootballauthentic.com/jeff-heath-jersey-authentic , and likely Cooper, the team had to come up with a better way forward.They have a new one, at least. There’s no denying the greatness of the 2018 Los Angeles Rams, but to think the Cowboys have no shot this weekend in the Divisional round would be a huge mistake. When looking at the Rams in 2018, their offense was absolutely incredible. They finished the season ranked second in total yards (421.1), second in points per game (32.9), fifth in passing yards per game (281.7), and third in rushing yards per game (139.4). Scary right? Of course, but there’s reason to believe the Cowboys defense can overcome all of this with a good outing on Saturday Night.Put Pressure on Jared GoffMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsIn the first six weeks of the season, Jared Goff was an MVP candidate, and looked to be one of the best quarterbacks in the league. His numbers in those first six weeks were absolutely remarkable and his averages per game looked like this:321.1 passing yards per game2 passing TD’s per game0.8 interceptions per game68.5 completion % per game105.7 passer rating per game1.8 sacks per gameThose are remarkable numbers, but when we take a look at Jared Goff’s numbers the last six weeks of the season, they tell a much different story for the third-year quarterback. His averages over the final six weeks of the season look like this:259 passing yards per game 1.67 passing TD’s per game1 interception per game60.5 completion % per game86.7 passer rating per game2.3 sacks per gameThe question to be asked is what is the huge difference from the first half of the season to the second half of the season, and I think the answer it pretty simple. In the first half of the year, Goff was getting plenty of time to stand in the pocket, set his feet, and find the open man. Over the last six weeks of the season, Goff has dealt with much more pressure, and as the pressure came, so did his mistakes.Play 1 - Play-action from a clean pocketThe first thing you’ll notice on this play is the play-action fake. The Rams are a heavy play-action team, and lead the league in play-action percentages with 34% of their passing plays coming off of the play-fake. The second thing you’ll notice is a squeaky clean pocket to throw from. Due to the clean pocket, Goff is able to take his drop, hit his back foot, and deliver a beautiful ball to wide receiver Cooper Kupp, which thankfully http://www.cowboyscheapauthenticstore.com/tyrone-crawford-jersey-cheap , the Cowboys will not have to deal with. Now let’s take a look at a similar play that happened later in the season.Play 2 - Play-action with some pressureThe route-concepts, and defensive coverage is a little different on this play, but the point still remains the same. If you want Jared Goff to make mistakes you have to apply consistent pressure. Rod Marinelli and Kris Richard aren’t huge fans of blitzing, but this is a week we may see those dialed up a bit. With the amount of plays the Rams will run play-action, dialing up a blitz on those long developing passing plays can throw the Rams offense completely out of whack.2. Getting Dak Involved in the Running Game Early Tim Heitman-USA TODAY SportsI feel like a broken record at this point, but the point still stands. DAK PRESCOTT DOES NOT RUN ENOUGH IN THIS COWBOYS OFFENSE. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s take a look at why the Cowboys need to incorporate Dak’s legs more come Saturday Night.First off, in games that Dak Prescott scores a rushing touchdown the Cowboys hold a 16-3 record. With zero context included, the Cowboys almost always win the football game when Dak Prescott punches it in on the ground. Second, in games in 2018 that the Rams defense faced a “mobile” quarterback, their record was 3-1 (CHI, KC, SEAx2), but in those games the quarterbacks involved combined for 21 carries and 143 yards. In those games, the Rams also gave up 31 against the Seahawks twice, 51 against the Chiefs, and 15 against the Bears, that leaves them only outscoring their opponents 134-128.One of the biggest reasons getting Dak’s legs involved early will be key is due to the way the Rams play defense. I’m sure you’re aware of how disruptive the Rams front seven can be against the pass, and that is in large part due to how aggressive they are getting up field. The Cowboys broke it out some in the Wild Card Round, but incorporating the QB sweeps and QB draws would be a great way to combat Los Angeles’ aggressiveness when rushing up the field. If Ezekiel Elliott is finding success running the football (which we should all expect him too), adding Dak’s legs to the game will not only slow the Rams pass rush down, but also give those undersized linebackers a little more to think about before they can flow to the football.3. Do Not Get Run HappyTim Heitman-USA TODAY SportsEveryone loves Ezekiel Elliott, and everyone should. Zeke is without a doubt one of the best running backs in the game, along with Todd Gurley. The one thing the Cowboys need to try and not do is overfeed Ezekiel Elliott. Before you call me crazy, hear me out. The Rams have one of the worst run defenses in the NFL according to the statistics. In 2018 Youth Allen Hurns Jersey , the Rams rank 23rd in the NFL in total rushing yards given up (1,957), and 32nd in the NFL in yards per attempt (5.1). The last thing you want to do against a team that is bad at something, is tip your cap and let them knows it’s coming more often than naught. No matter what the stats say, if the Cowboys go into this game with a “run it right at them approach” it’s not going to work. With Aaron Donald, Ndamukong Suh, and Michael Brockers standing on the other side of the ball, keeping them guessing will be a huge factor when deciding this game. For example, Ezekiel Elliott biggest run of the game last week against Seattle came at a time the Seahawks weren’t expecting the run. The Cowboys were in their two-minute offense and were looking to move the ball quickly hoping to at least get into field goal range before the half. On this drive, Prescott out-touched Elliott 6 to 1. Elliott’s one carry was the 44-yard run that set the Cowboys up for a 11-yard touchdown pass to Michael Gallup. You could say the Cowboys passing attack lulled the Seahawks defense to sleep before a run outside for 44 yards. While I’ve heard a lot of people this week say they hope Zeke’s gets 30+ touches on the ground, and while the stats say that is exactly what they should do, that may be feeding right into what the Rams defense wants. 4. Containing Todd GurleyKirby Lee-USA TODAY SportsShutting down Todd Gurley is impossible, let’s get that out of the way right now. Containing Todd Gurley is possible and that is exactly what the Cowboys defense needs to try to do. In the Rams three losses in 2018, Gurley was held under 100 yards and 20 carries in each of those games. Two of those losses came at the end of the year dealing with a knee injury, which is something he still is dealing with. But containing Gurley on the ground isn’t the only thing the Cowboys defense has to focus on. Gurley is one of the best receiving running backs in the NFL and he can completely take over a game not only as a runner but also as a receiver. As we talked about earlier, the Rams use a lot of play-action to attack opposing defenses down field, they also use the screen game off of play-action. While applying pressure to Jared Goff is also one of the key factors in winning the game, not getting too aggressive and allowing Gurley to leak out on the screens is going to be just as important. This game is by no means going to be a cake walk for either team, but the Cowboys matchup better with the Rams than most people want to realize. If the Cowboys defense plays a similar game that they did against the Saints, the Cowboys will win this football game. That all comes with putting pressure on Jared Goff, containing Todd Gurley, and playing smart disciplined football. cheap football jerseys