New OC Kellen Moore Receiving Rave Reviews Early On

p1_

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May 31, 2019
By Kevin Brady


The Cowboys took a chance this Spring. First, they fired the man who'd been their offensive coordinator since 2015, and had been involved with their offense since 2014. Then, they hired Kellen Moore as the new offensive coordinator. An unproven, untested coach who had only spent one year as the team's quarterbacks coach the season prior.

Kellen Moore has long been called a "future coach" in the NFL, heralded for his football IQ and ability to breakdown film and defensive schemes. Still, though, the question can be asked if they made this move too early into his coaching career.

Though they are far from having played a game in 2019, Kellen Moore is receiving rave reviews during his tenure as Cowboys offensive coordinator already. And, according to his former teammate Dan Orlovsky, Cowboys fans should be very excited to see what a Kellen Moore-coached offense looks like.

Orlovsky joined ESPN's Mina Kimes' podcast (highly recommend, by the way) and was asked about what we can expect from the Dak Prescott and Kellen Moore marriage going forward. What Orlovsky said made me want to run through the bus I was commuting in on in excitement, to be honest.
"This is going to be an offense that is constantly moving where Dak is throwing the ball from...I also expect to see some really unique pre-snap motions...always constantly changing the dress-up of it" - Dan Orlovsky​

These are the aspects of modern offense that Cowboys fans have been screaming for the past two seasons. While offenses like the Chiefs and the Rams make it look easy most Sunday's, everything the Cowboys do offensively always feels so difficult. Like they are slopping through the mud or running through quick-sand at times.

It sounds, and seems, like Kellen Moore will do everything he can as a play-designer to make things easier on Prescott and the offense as a whole going forward. By "dressing up" their usual play calls with creativity pre-snap, the Cowboys offense could reach new heights in 2019.

The best laid plans of Mice and Men often go awry, of course, but it is nonetheless exciting to consistently hear and read such praise/expectations for Kellen Moore from smart people around the NFL.

The Cowboys took a risk in hiring Kellen Moore as such a young coordinator, but I expect this risk to pay dividends rather quickly for their offense.
 

Chocolate Lab

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Moore may be great, who knows. But it is funny that he was a total spare who was only brought in as a backup by Linehan because he knew the offense so well, and now he's the next genius coach.
 

Cotton

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Moore may be great, who knows. But it is funny that he was a total spare who was only brought in as a backup by Linehan because he knew the offense so well, and now he's the next genius coach.
Until I see this new-found genius translate its way to the field, I'm not buying it.
 

L.T. Fan

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I would expect most to be skeptical about Moore because of his inexperience but but his knowledge about offenses and schemes , if he is given free rein , I believe will pay dividends right away. Button line for me is he has a far greater upside than the schemes he is replacing.
 

p1_

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I would expect most to be skeptical about Moore because of his inexperience but but his knowledge about offenses and schemes , if he is given free rein , I believe will pay dividends right away. Button line for me is he has a far greater upside than the schemes he is replacing.
He no doubt is very knowledgeable about schemes, but how well will he devise a game plan and execute that game plan? How well will he call a game? Things we won't know until September.
 

boozeman

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He no doubt is very knowledgeable about schemes, but how well will he devise a game plan and execute that game plan? How well will he call a game? Things we won't know until September.
Correct.
 

skidadl

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I've got a lot of high hopes for this to work out. At the very least we might end up with more imagination than before.
 

Cowboysrock55

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He no doubt is very knowledgeable about schemes, but how well will he devise a game plan and execute that game plan? How well will he call a game? Things we won't know until September.
Yeah I have no doubt that the schemes will be more advanced this year. Just sort of comes down to his play call ability. I'm pretty confident the passing game will be more dynamic but I hope he doesn't forget about the run either. The one thing Linehan brought to us as a play caller was a desire to stick to the run. Despite some of the complaints of the fans the Cowboys under Linehan worked really hard to stick to the run and be one of the best running teams in the NFL. The line should be really good this year so hopefully he doesn't forget to run the ball.

The fact that Moore sucked as a QB to me is meaningless. There is no translation between being a great NFL QB and a great NFL coordinator. Moore just didn't have the physical tools for the NFL. But I think what he did in college where those physical skills aren't as important is pretty telling. He was special in college.
 

L.T. Fan

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He no doubt is very knowledgeable about schemes, but how well will he devise a game plan and execute that game plan? How well will he call a game? Things we won't know until September.
Obviously, and at this point no one can say one way or the other how that will turn out..
 

boozeman

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Well, it looks like we will just to have to wait and see. ~ack~
 

Simpleton

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It all comes down to whether or not Garrett maintains influence over the offensive design/play-calling, and to what extent.

I don't care what anybody says, Linehan was the play-caller but the offense was still heavily influenced by Garrett, and if that's still the case I think you'll see similar results. You'll probably get a handful of wrinkles thrown in over a few plays a game that will feel shoehorned into the same old play-calling patterns.

If Moore has indeed been granted nearly complete autonomy I'm sure the offense will benefit from being freshened up a bit.
 

Rev

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Dont need to wait. It will be just as it always is. Good for a year but never amount to anything.
 

Cowboysrock55

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Dont need to wait. It will be just as it always is. Good for a year but never amount to anything.
Shit I'll take good for another year as opposed to this really good then miss the playoffs rollercoaster we have been on since the Romo days.
 

deadrise

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It all comes down to whether or not Garrett maintains influence over the offensive design/play-calling, and to what extent.

I don't care what anybody says, Linehan was the play-caller but the offense was still heavily influenced by Garrett, and if that's still the case I think you'll see similar results. You'll probably get a handful of wrinkles thrown in over a few plays a game that will feel shoehorned into the same old play-calling patterns.

If Moore has indeed been granted nearly complete autonomy I'm sure the offense will benefit from being freshened up a bit.

Garrett's job is on the line. I can imagine Moore being on a very tight leash. Garrett could trust Linehan because they were clones in terms of lacking imagination and balls.

Cowboys' ball, first and ten after a change of possession. They take the field. Out comes the run-heavy personnel package. Everyone watching on TV, sitting in the stands, and the other team's DC knows Elliott gets the ball. For Garrett, it's always been the safe call. Now it'll be even worse.
 

lostxn

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Garrett's job is on the line. I can imagine Moore being on a very tight leash. Garrett could trust Linehan because they were clones in terms of lacking imagination and balls.

Cowboys' ball, first and ten after a change of possession. They take the field. Out comes the run-heavy personnel package. Everyone watching on TV, sitting in the stands, and the other team's DC knows Elliott gets the ball. For Garrett, it's always been the safe call. Now it'll be even worse.
I think that's not right. Moore will be given enough rope to hang himself. Obviously they won't let him completely tank the team. Abject failure will lead to a diminution of his responsibilities but you would always expect that.

My real worry is the team grasping all the motion and calls. That takes a relatively smart team. I do think the loss of Bryant and Williams likely added about 10 points to the average IQ of the offense. The only dumb one left is Zeke - and maybe Collins. Wonder if they will motion out Zeke much.
 

deadrise

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I think that's not right. Moore will be given enough rope to hang himself. Obviously they won't let him completely tank the team. Abject failure will lead to a diminution of his responsibilities but you would always expect that.

My real worry is the team grasping all the motion and calls. That takes a relatively smart team. I do think the loss of Bryant and Williams likely added about 10 points to the average IQ of the offense. The only dumb one left is Zeke - and maybe Collins. Wonder if they will motion out Zeke much.

How do so many other teams manage the intricacies of the motions and calls? Even college offenses feature more motion and movement than Garrett's.

If Moore fails, someone's accountable. And it won't be Jerry.
 

L.T. Fan

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Since the Romo days? My God, how low has the bar been set?
I spite of all the negative circumstances the team has performed above average comparatively, and their personnel roster is improving. There is the prospect that further improvements could occur this season with the impending changes. For now I am optimistic about the season unless things take a turn for the worse.
 
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