2022 Season | Divisional Round Gameday Chatter Thread | Cowboys @ 49ers | 1/22/23

[Simpleton]

Realistically Dak isn’t going anywhere next season.

What should be done is turning to a run first, defense oriented team. This “Dak must be aggressive” bullshit has to go.

Replace Elliott w a runner who is more dynamic and can shoulder some of the load for Pollard, who can get like 15 carries and be used more in the short passing game. Shore up the OL with more depth. Use multiple TEs more. This is the only path forward. Build around the defense which is strong and tough.

This is the only way forward

This is really the only path forward if we're trying to win with what we got until an opportunity presents itself at QB. The problem is that Stephen refuses to add legitimate talent through FA and probably won't even consider drafting a QB high (let alone trading up for one) until Dak is physically off the roster.

 

[Texas Ace]

To be fair, I agree...he did seem to have a decent plan, especially last week.

Dak needs the rug swept out from underneath him, though, he is too lazy and comfortable in this system.

Better coaching can help, sure. But the problem is that no one can be out there with the guy when it's crunch time.

And when the pressure is on, the guy freezes up or makes bad reads or misses open guys, etc.

It's always SOMETHING.

I don't think that can be fixed. That's the mental aspect of it and you either have it or don't, and I think it's painfully obvious at this point that he doesn't have it.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Guys were open last night. For example the play where about five of us pointed out Hilton wide open possibly for a TD but Dak chose to throw into coverage on a low percentage pass instead.

Dak has to get better at finding open guys and he's rightfully criticized for it.

Not to mention the missed open throws like the one downfield to a wide open Gallup late. Or the dumb throw INTs.

A better QB performance wins a very winnable game last night. That's the fact.

Absolutely. I think Dak needs to push the ball down the field more. He gets into this funk of relying too heavily on the short game. This was the perfect game were a few big down field passes would have won it. Slow methodical drives against the best defense in football wasn't going to cut it.

I've said repeatedly, if you throw a pick trying to throw a 30 or 40 yard pass I can stomach it. Throwing a pick on a 4 yard pass is inexcusable. The 49ers corners were their biggest weakness and we barely tested them deep.

 

[mcnuttz]

Better coaching can help, sure. But the problem is that no one can be out there with the guy when it's crunch time.

And when the pressure is on, the guy freezes up or makes bad reads or misses open guys, etc.

It's always SOMETHING.

I don't think that can be fixed. That's the mental aspect of it and you either have it or don't, and I think it's painfully obvious at this point that he doesn't have it.

Agreed, but the team is stuck with him.

I don't think he can be fixed either, but a change in offensive philosophy may bring out better aspects of his game.

He's treading water in this system.

 

[Simpleton]

Just throwing this out there. I think that along with a QB's skill sets and instincts, and where he was drafted, success in the NFL depends as much on the system and the coaching. Is Mahomes' success due in part to Andy Reid's system? Mahomes got hurt, Henne takes them the length of the field for a score.

Stafford languishes in Detroit, goes to LA, wins a SB under McVay. Pedersen wins a SB in Philly with a backup QB. Lawrence was floundering in Jax. Now under Pedersen suddenly he's pretty damn good. Purdy's a case in point in SF. Brady, 6th round, a case in point in NE. Is Joe Burrow a product of Zac Taylor's system?

The other thing teams like SF, KC and LA have in common -- someone else mentioned this in a previous post -- is the intelligent use trades and free agency to pick up key players. Something the inbred rednecks never do.

Who knows if Dak would be better under in a proven, successful system? But one thing is for sure: under Jerry, Dallas is a QB graveyard, no matter where they were drafted.

This is exactly right, every team left either has an elite QB or a tailored, layered attempt that builds on itself (49ers, Eagles), we have neither.

And no I don't think Mahomes would be Mahomes if we went to Chicago or whatever. He has amazing natural talent but got lucky to have it nurtured in a perfect situation with Reid where he could sit for a year behind Smith.

We could pull off something similar here when the opportunity presents itself but there's approximately a 0.0% chance Stephen and Jerry are forward thinking enough to do something like that.

 

[mcnuttz]

Yeah, those lazy outs for INTs are as mind-boggling as the missed XPs.

WTF is he throwing those?

 

[Cowboysrock55]

I think the most frustrating thing about yesterdays game is that we should have won it. I never felt like the 49ers were better than us. We just didn't get it done on offense. And it felt more like a lack of trying on offense than us actually being stopped.

 

[1bigfan13]

I hate to be this guy but you have to look at what the Eagles have done. They drafted a QB in the second round when they still had their last franchise QB on the roster when they saw he was breaking down but before they cut bait. Then they traded him when the league still thought he had value, as the league probably thinks about Dak. The eagles are constantly swindling people out of extra high draft picks in other deals too, like they would absolutely capitalize on moving a player like Diggs before giving him a massive contract and as a result the Eagles are flush with extra draft capital despite being a 1 seed.

We need to take notes. Their way is smart and ours is dumb.

8 months ago I pointed out how they were putting together a great roster but most Cowboys fans are so blinded by their hate of the Eagles that they refused to acknowledge that what the Eagles were doing is what other recent Super Bowl winners have been doing. That method is going all in to maximize your window of opportunity.

They filled their roster weak spots with proven veterans while the Cowboys chose to roll the dice with unproven rookies. It sure would have been nice to have a proven 3rd WR out there instead of watching Tolbert ride the inactive list practically from wire to wire.

It is what it is. They won't change their approach because the fans and Dallas media never demand more.

 

[Simpleton]

To be fair to him, I thought he was actually quite good the last 2 weeks.

My only gripe with him yesterday, and it's a big one, was going shotgun on 2nd and 2 where Dak threw the pick.

Not only did we need to score, but we also needed to manage the clock so that the 49ers wouldn't have time to do anything before the half. So the right call on 2nd and 2 in that situation was to run.

But of course, KM trusted Dak way too damn much in that situation and called a shotgun pass and that to me was the play that lost us the game.

We were in full control right there and had all the momentum on our side and the game never felt like that again.

Dak mentally checked out of the game after that pick too. After that, he was done and so were we.

Had the exact same thought on going 5-wide there, really bad decision formationally on 2nd and 2.

But yea, Dak was pretty decent up until that point but then horrendous from there on out basically.

 

[Texas Ace]

Yeah, those lazy outs for INTs are as mind-boggling as the missed XPs.

WTF is he throwing those?

Because it's the easy read and that's what he defaults to when he's not confident.

 

[Simpleton]

Agreed, but the team is stuck with him.

I don't think he can be fixed either, but a change in offensive philosophy may bring out better aspects of his game.

He's treading water in this system.

He has 2 years left on his deal, we aren't stuck with him for any other reason than the FO seemingly refuses to consider that he isn't the guy.

 

[boozeman]

 

[boozeman]

 

[Bipo]

And we have a teflon HC who just lost a playoff game to Mr. Irrelevant.

 

[1bigfan13]

I think the most frustrating thing about yesterdays game is that we should have won it. I never felt like the 49ers were better than us. We just didn't get it done on offense. And it felt more like a lack of trying on offense than us actually being stopped.

One of my main take aways is once again Kellen Moore was exposed as being a fraud. He can hold his own vs average defensive coordinators, but when it's time to match wits with the best of the best, he fails practically every time.

They probably won't fire him coming off a season where the offense scored so many points. So it'll probably be up to some other team hiring him away from the Cowboys,

 

[Bipo]

If nothing else....Zeke has to be cut. The guy can't play anymore. He's worse at this point than Eddie George was here.

 

[Bipo]

The OC wasn't throwing braindead INTs. That is why we lost.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I'm not even mad. By eye test, recent record, and advanced stats like DVOA, the Niners were the better team. The best chance for an upset was our experienced highly paid QB outplaying a rookie, and obviously that didn't happen yesterday.

The defense showed up and the team overall wasn't bullied like last year. They didn't shrink like sometimes in past years. They seemed well coached and prepared. The other team was just better. Sucks, but that's what it is.

 

[1bigfan13]

I said the same thing watching it live. If he bounces that to the outside, he probably scores easily.

 

[mcnuttz]

He has 2 years left on his deal, we aren't stuck with him for any other reason than the FO seemingly refuses to consider that he isn't the guy.

Well yeah...so us, as fans, are stuck with him.