2023 Season | Week 6 | Gameday Chatter Thread | Cowboys @ Chargers | 10/15/2023
- Thread starter boozeman
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I hadn't even noticed that.
data
Forbes #1
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Now that you do, does it irk you?
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Nah, not really.
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Forgot where I read it but I saw where it was suggested that his contract would not be reworked. Surely that cant be true but if so Im guessing that is a statement that they are done with him?
bbgun
every dur is a stab in the heart
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Eat the money and be done with him once and for all. Jeesh.
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Genghis Khan
The worst version of myself
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dpf1123
DCC 4Life
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Cowboys Pregame Three Thoughts for Week 6
A Monday night must-win against an old friend who would love to settle a score....
BOB STURM
OCT 15, 2023
Let’s get ready for the Cowboys Monday night game in an effort to distract us from World Series dreams.
Hard to fully believe but the Cowboys might be facing one of those “not a must-win, but pretty darn close to a must-win” games against a playoff team with issues of their own, the Los Angeles Chargers. Being 4-2 at the bye week, will feel amazing compared to 3-3 and having to deal with a premature funeral, if you don’t get this one, with America looking on to see what you are made of.
With that, let’s offer three of my pregame thoughts for Cowboys-Chargers.
Here we go:
– The biggest battle the Dallas Cowboys have to play right now is the one between their own ears. I don’t want to disrespect the Chargers or anything about Justin Herbert’s side. I don’t want to underplay the importance of this game or anything about the matchups that could decide this one. But, I really, think this game might be a bit more simple than that if we can use some Dallas-based myopia.
The key to this battle is as simple as finding out what this thing is made out of and what sort of character this team has. I joined the comments section a bit this week and on Tuesday in our Decoding McCarthy piece, I had to jump in with this old and tested cliche:
Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it.
I have always loved that one, because I see it clearly. Getting your tires pumped up with promise and praise then follow it up by getting hit by a truck in Arizona, and called out by those same voices, is where it starts. You start to see the wall of noise no longer on your side, but enraged that you are allowing this narrative to grow again. It is the 10,000 days that adds to the doubters and the mockers and then you get a chance to show them that they were all wrong. You will do that in San Francisco. You will shut up the haters by destroying your bitter rival. It won’t be loud when you leave because you are going to silence it. They will see. You are going to show everyone what you are really made of.
Except, you lose by five touchdowns.
Humiliated. Destroyed.
Now, what do we see on the field? Do we see unity and bonds being formed? Or do we see independent contractors trying to secure their personal fortunes and escape the blame? Do we see a circling of the wagons in bold defiance or the individual eyeing of the life rafts as the ship sinks?
Monday will tell an enormous tale. I want to see a team that believes 2023 is worth fighting for. Again, I cannot believe it is Week 6 and we are already discussing whether some of the players are wondering who their next coach is going to be, but it crosses your mind way too often.
My first thought is the biggest one. I just want to know that this team has championship character. Do they only have fight and resolve when things are easy and they get to play the Giants and Jets? Or do they show the heart of a champion which forces you to take a loss personally and rise up and stop the negative vibes immediately if not sooner.
Are they chomping at the bit to get off the airplane and show the world that they aren’t as soft mentally as they looked in Santa Clara? Are they taking this so personally that the Chargers are just unfortunate to have stepped into the path of a freight train? Or will they benefit because they are playing a team of front runners with weak character?
It is a wonderful chance – going into a bye week – to show us what you are made of. We look forward to your response, Cowboys.
– Here we go with another important chance for this Mike McCarthy offense to show they have a clue how to attack with what we thought was a very impressive group of receivers.
When you are frustrated as an offense, it is easy to get carried away with how bad things are, but this is pretty ridiculous. Entering Week 6, there are six different receivers who have 500 yards receiving. Dallas has CeeDee Lamb at 358 yards so far and while he might be leading the league in bad-body language, he is not very close to the top 10 right now where he belongs. But, at least he is in the general vicinity.
Michael Gallup is at 180 (almost exactly half of Lamb’s production) and looks like a guy who is a shell of his former self. We are 20 months or so from Gallups’s knee injury and while the reports were rosy in training camp, I think it is pretty clear that he cannot get off coverage at this point and I am tempted to type “anymore” in this matter. We keep waiting – and given the ridiculous five-year contract he was given, I am not sure there is much choice – but the way he was being challenged vs the 49ers and provided nothing is quite depressing.
Then, with just 73 yards and ranked 163rd in receiving is Brandin Cooks. I believed a month ago that this was a brilliant solution to their problems and much like the scheme, to call this a massive disappointment may not be strong enough. Heck, he is just 2 yards better than Jalen Tolbert and they don’t even play him. I don’t believe Cooks is washed, so I am going to suggest they don’t know how best to use him. This is depressing because every team that has ever had him has known how to use him, including the Houston Texans – one of the worst offenses in NFL history – had Cooks working, so yeah, it is time to get this group going.
I also wanted to highlight Terence Steele. He appears to be struggling and I don’t know if it’s health related. We have always known he is a run blocker first and a pass protector second. He just “does the best he can” against those premier pass rushers, but like so many Cowboys, once you pay him the big money, you really want better than the clinic Nick Bosa gave him. And, yes, we are way past the time where this offense can afford to protect this well-compensated, highly-drafted offensive line. If the whole point to building this line was to maul people with it, could we see a week where the group looks like it isn’t the reason the offense is a mess? Run the ball and protect your QB long enough to see if the offense is this bad.
Its like they tell us how good the offensive line is, but then they never trust it enough in tough situations. That’s the most frustrating thing about the 49ers, by the way. They have invested almost nothing in their offensive line besides Trent Williams at left tackle. Take a look at the rest of their offensive line and what they pay them and you will be quite annoyed.
– This is the opportunity for Kellen Moore to send a love letter to Mike McCarthy. Kellen Moore is at his new location and he is a hero there. Now, that could change before long, but they needed someone who knew how to drive their Ferrari QB to the highest possible level. The Chargers could not believe the Cowboys would be so dense as to let his genius get away.
Moore probably thought he was in line to become the Cowboys head coach some day. He probably saw the odd relationship as an issue for McCarthy and therefore in any “Game of Thrones” scenario, that meant one thing for the threat to the crown. He must be eliminated.
Now, I don’t wish to re-litigate this entire case, but if you want to review it as I laid out the reasons it was over in Dallas last spring at The Athletic, here is the link.
His successor is not making everyone forget him, but in my mind, that should not be confused with losing something great. Moore was here, he did his best, but he needed to move on.
Of course, we know how proud these men are and how annoyed he might be that he was blamed for the sins of McCarthy and Dak Prescott. He may be happier in Los Angeles, but he also may be part of a staff that is not secured in its spot right if 2023 goes poorly.
But, this Dallas defense is bruised and battered and Moore will have more than a few ideas to attack a defense that he has seen in practice for a few years. Dallas has been exposed for its predictability by Kyle Shanahan and now the Cowboys limp into town with some major questions at linebacker where Micah Parsons will have to fill in for Leighton Vander Esch quite a bit.
If Dan Quinn needed a bounce back game, this is it. But, Kellen Moore off a bye week with Justin Herbert attacking the verticals should make great theater.
Its a “show me” game. I would like to trust Dallas to show up big here, but I think at this point, they will need to “show me” before I believe it in a spot like this.
A Monday night must-win against an old friend who would love to settle a score....
BOB STURM
OCT 15, 2023
Let’s get ready for the Cowboys Monday night game in an effort to distract us from World Series dreams.
Hard to fully believe but the Cowboys might be facing one of those “not a must-win, but pretty darn close to a must-win” games against a playoff team with issues of their own, the Los Angeles Chargers. Being 4-2 at the bye week, will feel amazing compared to 3-3 and having to deal with a premature funeral, if you don’t get this one, with America looking on to see what you are made of.
With that, let’s offer three of my pregame thoughts for Cowboys-Chargers.
Here we go:
– The biggest battle the Dallas Cowboys have to play right now is the one between their own ears. I don’t want to disrespect the Chargers or anything about Justin Herbert’s side. I don’t want to underplay the importance of this game or anything about the matchups that could decide this one. But, I really, think this game might be a bit more simple than that if we can use some Dallas-based myopia.
The key to this battle is as simple as finding out what this thing is made out of and what sort of character this team has. I joined the comments section a bit this week and on Tuesday in our Decoding McCarthy piece, I had to jump in with this old and tested cliche:
Adversity doesn't build character, it reveals it.
I have always loved that one, because I see it clearly. Getting your tires pumped up with promise and praise then follow it up by getting hit by a truck in Arizona, and called out by those same voices, is where it starts. You start to see the wall of noise no longer on your side, but enraged that you are allowing this narrative to grow again. It is the 10,000 days that adds to the doubters and the mockers and then you get a chance to show them that they were all wrong. You will do that in San Francisco. You will shut up the haters by destroying your bitter rival. It won’t be loud when you leave because you are going to silence it. They will see. You are going to show everyone what you are really made of.
Except, you lose by five touchdowns.
Humiliated. Destroyed.
Now, what do we see on the field? Do we see unity and bonds being formed? Or do we see independent contractors trying to secure their personal fortunes and escape the blame? Do we see a circling of the wagons in bold defiance or the individual eyeing of the life rafts as the ship sinks?
Monday will tell an enormous tale. I want to see a team that believes 2023 is worth fighting for. Again, I cannot believe it is Week 6 and we are already discussing whether some of the players are wondering who their next coach is going to be, but it crosses your mind way too often.
My first thought is the biggest one. I just want to know that this team has championship character. Do they only have fight and resolve when things are easy and they get to play the Giants and Jets? Or do they show the heart of a champion which forces you to take a loss personally and rise up and stop the negative vibes immediately if not sooner.
Are they chomping at the bit to get off the airplane and show the world that they aren’t as soft mentally as they looked in Santa Clara? Are they taking this so personally that the Chargers are just unfortunate to have stepped into the path of a freight train? Or will they benefit because they are playing a team of front runners with weak character?
It is a wonderful chance – going into a bye week – to show us what you are made of. We look forward to your response, Cowboys.
– Here we go with another important chance for this Mike McCarthy offense to show they have a clue how to attack with what we thought was a very impressive group of receivers.
When you are frustrated as an offense, it is easy to get carried away with how bad things are, but this is pretty ridiculous. Entering Week 6, there are six different receivers who have 500 yards receiving. Dallas has CeeDee Lamb at 358 yards so far and while he might be leading the league in bad-body language, he is not very close to the top 10 right now where he belongs. But, at least he is in the general vicinity.
Michael Gallup is at 180 (almost exactly half of Lamb’s production) and looks like a guy who is a shell of his former self. We are 20 months or so from Gallups’s knee injury and while the reports were rosy in training camp, I think it is pretty clear that he cannot get off coverage at this point and I am tempted to type “anymore” in this matter. We keep waiting – and given the ridiculous five-year contract he was given, I am not sure there is much choice – but the way he was being challenged vs the 49ers and provided nothing is quite depressing.
Then, with just 73 yards and ranked 163rd in receiving is Brandin Cooks. I believed a month ago that this was a brilliant solution to their problems and much like the scheme, to call this a massive disappointment may not be strong enough. Heck, he is just 2 yards better than Jalen Tolbert and they don’t even play him. I don’t believe Cooks is washed, so I am going to suggest they don’t know how best to use him. This is depressing because every team that has ever had him has known how to use him, including the Houston Texans – one of the worst offenses in NFL history – had Cooks working, so yeah, it is time to get this group going.
I also wanted to highlight Terence Steele. He appears to be struggling and I don’t know if it’s health related. We have always known he is a run blocker first and a pass protector second. He just “does the best he can” against those premier pass rushers, but like so many Cowboys, once you pay him the big money, you really want better than the clinic Nick Bosa gave him. And, yes, we are way past the time where this offense can afford to protect this well-compensated, highly-drafted offensive line. If the whole point to building this line was to maul people with it, could we see a week where the group looks like it isn’t the reason the offense is a mess? Run the ball and protect your QB long enough to see if the offense is this bad.
Its like they tell us how good the offensive line is, but then they never trust it enough in tough situations. That’s the most frustrating thing about the 49ers, by the way. They have invested almost nothing in their offensive line besides Trent Williams at left tackle. Take a look at the rest of their offensive line and what they pay them and you will be quite annoyed.
– This is the opportunity for Kellen Moore to send a love letter to Mike McCarthy. Kellen Moore is at his new location and he is a hero there. Now, that could change before long, but they needed someone who knew how to drive their Ferrari QB to the highest possible level. The Chargers could not believe the Cowboys would be so dense as to let his genius get away.
Moore probably thought he was in line to become the Cowboys head coach some day. He probably saw the odd relationship as an issue for McCarthy and therefore in any “Game of Thrones” scenario, that meant one thing for the threat to the crown. He must be eliminated.
Now, I don’t wish to re-litigate this entire case, but if you want to review it as I laid out the reasons it was over in Dallas last spring at The Athletic, here is the link.
His successor is not making everyone forget him, but in my mind, that should not be confused with losing something great. Moore was here, he did his best, but he needed to move on.
Of course, we know how proud these men are and how annoyed he might be that he was blamed for the sins of McCarthy and Dak Prescott. He may be happier in Los Angeles, but he also may be part of a staff that is not secured in its spot right if 2023 goes poorly.
But, this Dallas defense is bruised and battered and Moore will have more than a few ideas to attack a defense that he has seen in practice for a few years. Dallas has been exposed for its predictability by Kyle Shanahan and now the Cowboys limp into town with some major questions at linebacker where Micah Parsons will have to fill in for Leighton Vander Esch quite a bit.
If Dan Quinn needed a bounce back game, this is it. But, Kellen Moore off a bye week with Justin Herbert attacking the verticals should make great theater.
Its a “show me” game. I would like to trust Dallas to show up big here, but I think at this point, they will need to “show me” before I believe it in a spot like this.
Chocolate Lab
Kuato Lives
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First, I can't imagine that's already been stated (by anyone who would know)... But second, I don't know if we could even absorb a 60 mil cap hit. I think they 100% intended to extend him from the start. I'm not sure how you move on even if you wanted to. Maybe a post June 1 helps some, not sure of the numbers on that.
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Forbes #1
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That seems so far off the table
bbgun
every dur is a stab in the heart
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He'd want $50M per even after an extension, so what's the difference? The Raiders moved on from Carr. The Vikes will soon do so with Cousins. It can be done.
Chocolate Lab
Kuato Lives
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But the cap hit would be far less than what he's being paid.
And I don't think those other QBs had that kind of number at the end of the deal. No idea why the stupid Joneses did that.
bbgun
every dur is a stab in the heart
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For like what? One year? Okay, it would mean not paying him $60M in 2024, but he's not gonna want an annual salary in the $40's, either. Every dollar you pay him means less of a team you can put around him.
We can't double down on a mistake just because Dak's agent outsmarted the yokels. The problem is Jerry thinks every year is a potential SB year, so he won't cut the cord.