Dak: Year Two - Expectations?

[Dirk Gently]

He looked even better than I thought he would. Absolute command. Looked like a seasoned vet. Big boy throws with velocity, accuracy, and touch all over the field.

Yes, it's just preseason. We said that last year, too.

It was fun to watch.

[Dallas94Ware]

I disagree we will "open up the playbook" because by midseason last year, that playbook was wide open.

I didn't see any routes missing. I didn't see any combinations missing. All the common options for this offense were there. He was making all of the reads, all of the throws, and still minimized his mistakes.

I know 4 INts is unlikely, but I'm pretty sure his turnover count will still stay low - thats the kind of player he is at the position. 

[plan9misfit]

8 hours ago, Dallas94Ware said:

I disagree we will "open up the playbook" because by midseason last year, that playbook was wide open.

I didn't see any routes missing. I didn't see any combinations missing. All the common options for this offense were there. He was making all of the reads, all of the throws, and still minimized his mistakes.

I know 4 INts is unlikely, but I'm pretty sure his turnover count will still stay low - thats the kind of player he is at the position. 

I don't know what offense you were watching, but the playbook was not open, and Dak was not making all of the throws. He had a relatively poor completion percentage on his deep throws (which is to be expected because he was a rookie and based on the scheme he played under in college), and did not take many shots down field because those plays weren't called. Our offense was very vanilla and not terribly sophisticated, and that was brought up regularly during the season by commentators and analysts and after the season as well.

[Dallasfan1313]

I know a lot was made of this last year with the playbook but I don't think that is what we should be looking for this year.  Yes it was dumbed down at first for our rookie QB.  By midseason more was added and i'm sure they were running most if not all of it by the end of last season.  So I don't think we should expect it to be "opened up." However, the playbook Dak was running last year was tailored to Romo and this is where I think we should be looking for the changes.  Linehan had the whole offseason to tailor the playbook for this year to his new QB's strengths and install it over OTA's and TC.  Now i'm not saying they are throwing the old one out and totally starting over because of the QB change, but everything may be impacted slightly.  Routes on certain plays could be different, plays run out of the shotgun could change to under center, etc. Small changes like these to better highlight Dak's abilities vs Romo's.  On top of that i'm sure we'll get some new designed runs for Dak and option plays to enhance that wrinkle that was added to the offense last year when Dak went in.  

[quiller]

Last year from what I saw.  The cowboys practically ignored the middle of the field past 15 yards down field.  Unless it was too Witten. Throws that veteran QB thrive on but are risky   Romo had a lot of those in his career here.     One throw I did see from Dak that we barely saw executed well was that back shoulder throw for the TD.  That is a real good sign.   Dak with up routes and the like did okay with comebacks and crossing routes in the 7-12 yard range.    Dak also struggled with the touch in his dump offs.  The also limited him a lot to one side ir the other with the roll outs.  Making his reads easier. From what I saw in Indy there was a lot more pocket throws with the middle of the field and both sides being utilized.  His timing on his throws was also perfect

[Dirk Gently]

On 8/21/2017 at 1:31 AM, plan9misfit said:

I don't know what offense you were watching, but the playbook was not open, and Dak was not making all of the throws. He had a relatively poor completion percentage on his deep throws (which is to be expected because he was a rookie and based on the scheme he played under in college), and did not take many shots down field because those plays weren't called. Our offense was very vanilla and not terribly sophisticated, and that was brought up regularly during the season by commentators and analysts and after the season as well.

I don't think that was play calling, but Dak being a rookie and being less confident with certain throws and certain receivers (Dez).  That changed over the course of the season and by the Green Bay playoff game we saw a very effective, true NFL QB.

What we saw earlier this week was night and day from what we were seeing early last season. There may be some play calling differences (and I seriously doubt we ever go 5 wide the first play of the game from the 5 yd line in regular season) but I would bet that 95-98% of the difference is Dak becoming comfortable with the Dallas offense and NFL QBing as a whole. His confidence, decisiveness and accuracy, particularly on the two throws to Dez, was as good as it gets. For him to be there one year after taking his first snaps under center is just unreal.

[Dallas94Ware]

As Dirk pointed out, @plan9misfit

The playcalling was wide open for the most part. The lower completion percentage and lack of deeper throws was more on Dak's comfort level with those throws. The routes were there. The options available. He chose the safer and more comfortable options.

But when it mattered, when he absolutely needed to, he made those down field throws. 

And Dez's drops on long opportunities (3big time drops @NYG alone) certainly didnt help the percentages.