I was talking with a friend at work who happens to be a Cowboys fan. He was livid after their game last weekend, for good reason, obviously. But what he said struck me: He said three guys need to be gone before next season:
Mike McCarthy. This one was a no-brainer, with which even I agreed. That was awful coaching, especially at the end of the game. The fact McCarthy is still trying to defend this stupid play tells you all you need to know.
Dak Prescott: This one surprised me, but upon further review…Interesting stat: After 6 years, Dak has a 1-3 playoff record. That was the exact same playoff record Tony Romo had after 6 years. Romo was the ultimate choker, IMO. I’m not suggesting getting rid of Dak from your fantasy teams, or never drafting him. But in the real world, there is some legitimate concern about what Dak can do for the Cowboys going forward.
Even in fantasy, Dak has had some injury issues the last 2 years. And IF the Cowboys decide to replace McCarthy, that makes Dak’s situation a bit murky, although I tend to doubt they would abandon the passing game, especially with all the pretty passing toys they have now.
Ezekiel Elliot: The tread on Zeke’s tires is wearing thin. By the end of the season, he was just a participant in the Cowboys RBBC. Pollard is becoming the guy, period. Zeke may have had 1000 yards and 10 td’s, but his floor is starting to get lower and lower (9 carries for 16 yards against Arizona on January 2nd). For fantasy purposes, Zeke is at best an RB2, but that projection is falling fast. Avoid in redraft, and sell in dynasty.
Overall, I tend to favor replacing McCarthy and Zeke, and see what happens next with Dak. I get the feeling Dak was just a victim of poor coaching, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
No questions about McCarthy and Zeke. Dak is indeed an interesting thought, though.
There is no doubt that he is a very competent passer. But to become a great NFL QB, it takes more than that. You need leadership qualities and the ability to perform under huge pressure.
The final drive of the embarrassing loss to the 49ers indeed raises some questions in this regard. Dak obviously lost track of his surroundings and then played a role in the o-line blocking the referee from touching the ball, which lead to the premature end of all Cowboys’ hope.
I never really thought about whether Dak had what it takes to win a title. It is an interesting question, though. And maybe one we should ask about Kyler Murray as well.
Murray is an interesting question in himself. Honestly, his passing skills don’t match the better pocket passers. He generally gets his lame duck passes to the right spot, but tight spirals aren’t seen much from him. Once he loses his running skills, what then? He becomes another Daunte Culpepper at the end.
Not just that. When a receiver drops a catchable pass, he gets visibly upset. He rarely talks to his team mates on the bench. And when he gets under pressure… well, we all saw that horrible pick 6 against the Rams.
Makes you wonder if he may have become a limiting factor for his team.