Mage

We were up at halftime and eventually lost by one possession to a very good Dallas team that easily could be undefeated right now. We lost the game because of the 3rd quarter. That's a bummer, but really I came away from that game optimistic as hell. The offense kept humming. The defense started making some stops in the 4th, although not quite enough. I feel great about where this team is at.

I think he lost his footing a little bit. IIRC he was running a double move.

Lol "I need to see your stats" https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/dal/2019.htm

Hence why I still support Joe Brady being here and believe it will get better. Doesn't mean it isn't a problem, right now. No different than you pointing out Darnold's flaw. Darnold can get better at his flaw (as you said), just as Brady can at his. Doesn't make it any less of a flaw. And yeah, I know passing gets tougher. But compared to other teams? We are much worse at designing pass plays in the red-zone. It's blatantly obvious. And it is why this year we just run Darnold down there. It isn't all on Brady, but it is certainly something he could do improve on

And I get that argument, but it isn't like getting into the red-zone has been a huge issue for us the last two years. Our passing game is clearly much worse in the red-zone than it is elsewhere. Does some of that have to do with the OL? Yes. Does some of that have to do with personnel? Yes. But we can't act like Brady is innocent through it all too.

I'm all for Teddy slander, everyone knows that But he got knocked out the game, so not really fair.

What OC candidates would you take over Joe Brady? Some of ya'll gotta chill. It is okay to criticize someone and also okay not to want to get rid of them. Joe Brady (hopefully) will get better. He's only 32. That is a super young for an OC. We definitely should not fire him. If anything that would hurt Darnold more than help. I was just pointing out a flaw that he has.

Bro, it was a problem last year. It is a problem this year. What other conclusion should I take? And what? Kellen Moore's first year as OC was 2019. Dallas finished 6th in PPG. Last year they were lighting up the NFL through the air until Dak got hurt. So what are you talking about man? Brady's red-zone play-calling and play-designs are 100% an issue right now. We have the sample size of last year and 4 games this year to draw that conclusion from. 20 games is absolutely enough to say that it is an issue.

I mean... we could still do a hell of a lot worse than Joe Brady.

You do realize Joe Brady was the OC last year... right?

And we've given it time. It is a clear problem. We do not design pass-plays well in the red-zone. I think it will get better. Joe Brady is a young OC and it takes time. But it is absolutely a problem at the moment.

In all seriousness, this was a great thread. A really good critique that I hadn't really realized. This is going to sound weird, but I think the main issue that might be contributing to it is that I think in a lot of ways, Darnold still lacks confidence. Like, I don't think he realizes how good his arm is. And so when he has time in the pocket, it's like he is constantly second-guessing himself. It would explain why when he's pressured, he performs better because that is when he just has to play and not think. I could be totally off-base, but that is the sense I get. Darnold is an incredible physical talent, I honestly had no idea how good his arm or legs were. I know he missed Moore and Anderson downfield, but the way the ball just rips off his hand... it's impressive. I just think he's gotta get more confident in himself and just start firing.

SCREW THE BUCS

As someone who has defended Joe Brady for the last year and a half... He sucks at scheming up throws in the red-zone. And I think they have finally realized that, hence why Darnold runs so much down there. I mean it's gotten to the point where it has got to fall on the OC. And we just suck at throwing in the redzone.

I didn't have a problem with the contract, but IMO he's never been quite as good as people make him out to be. So to me, I wouldn't call his play disappointing so much as it just being up to his usual standards. With that said he's still clearly better than the other 4 guys. And I'd still consider him solid.

The upcoming QB draft class is absolutely garbage. We could be picking #1 and sticking with Darnold would still make the most sense.

Fair critique. I will allow it.

- DJ Moore is a stud - Darnold made some great plays today. I couldn't really tell what happened on the INTs, but those misses deep to Moore in the 1st and Anderson in the 3rd or 4th stung. He's gotta hit those in the future. And he will. The way he avoided pressure in the 1st half was beautiful to watch - Brian Burns looked as good as usual. - I thought the DBs played well. Donte got called for a BS PI. Henderson had good coverage on the TD. We shut-down CeeDee. Cowboys did a good job scheming guys open though. - Chuba had some good burst. His vision sucks though.

We had the lead at halftime despite a botched call 3rd quarter was a disaster, but we bounced back and made it a one possession game in the 4th vs a team that has beaten the Chargers and almost beat the Bucs Not sure how the takeaway is then "this isn't a winning-record team"

The interior defense wasn't too bad. Zeke was making some really good cuts. Best I've seen him run in awhile. Biggest problem is our defense vs the edge runs. That's gotta be fixed. I said in another thread that I think Gross-Matos' return will help tremendously. But DBs gotta step-up and play better too in that regard. Luckily for us... we don't play a team as good at running the ball as the Cowboys for awhile.

The biggest problem with the defense, especially late in the game, was our edge discipline. Tony Pollard made it look so easy vs us down the stretch because of how easily he was able to bounce it to the outside. That's gotta be fixed. Gross-Matos returning will help, but I felt like the DBs weren't stepping up and making an impact in the run game like they had Games 1-3. But like I said... Cowboys just played great. At the end of the day, we lost by one possession in a game where we can confidently say one possession shouldn't have happened for the Cowboys. Ish happens. And trust me, I was depressed as anyone seeing us lose, especially being surrounded by Cowboys fans. The biggest problem I saw for us today, by far, was the OL. It's that bad. There was one play our LT got absolutely turned around by a blitzing DB (or maybe it was a LB?). Absolutely embarrassing.

I thought we were getting okay pressure throughout the day. He only threw for 188 yards. Dallas came with a good game-plan though. They didn't give up on the run, which was gashing us and I think it made our pass rushers a little hesitant on attacking. Even when they threw, it was often off play-action. And when the pocket collapsed, Dak was just really, really good at getting the ball out. Sacks often can be very random. I'm not saying we couldn't have done things better, we absolutely could have. We have to be better at the point of attack on run defense. But I truly felt like Dallas just came with a great game-plan and were executing on offense very well. I didn't see us miss a lot of tackles. I didn't see our DBs get flat-out beat. Cowboys just played great. And I know that isn't something a lot of people always want to hear, but IMO it's the truth. Cowboys are a great team (Kellen Moore is 100% getting a HC job sooner than later). We are a good team. And I think that was the difference today.

I will say this - Yetur Gross-Matos is needed. I love Brian Burns and he played very well, and I like Reddick, but it really hurts our run defense having to rely on those two as our primary edge-setters. That just isn't what they do best.

This is going to be an unpopular opinion... But the defense really didn't play THAT bad. I just think people don't realize how good Dallas is on offense with Dak. They were doing this same stuff last year before he got hurt. Dak is really, really good. They have a great scheme. Great receivers. And a great RB duo. Yes, we should have played better, but the Cowboys are just a really good team, especially on offense.

He didn't play much. I thought the coverage on the Coop TD was fine... Coop is just that good. I will say one of the coaches did seem really PO'd after the score though. Not sure if it was directed at Henderson.