Decoding McCarthy - Down Goes Prescott
The offense moves ahead without its QB and the recipe is different now from last time.
Tuesdays – since about 2008 – have been my day to evaluate the offense in this space. We have called it “Decoding” over those years and then the name behind the decoding is the man with the play-sheet calling the plays and hopefully putting them in an order to attack that week’s opponent. This is where the football nerd in me gets to figure out the tactical and strategic plot-lines of the game and get a feel for how well it worked out for that side of the ball. For those of you new here, two things: 1) ask questions of anything you don’t quite understand and 2) be aware that we do defense on Wednesdays.
Our Decoding objectives today:
The Offensive Overview moving forward without Dak
Mistakes Aplenty in Atlanta
3rd and 4th downs sunk the ship
Rico Dowdle appears to be a real productive RB
A real confusing Fake Punt idea.
Let’s get busy:
The Offensive Overview moving forward without Dak
Given that Dak Prescott will be out for several weeks with a hamstring injury, this offensive examination will feel a little different. I tend to roll my eyes at how optimistic the Cowboys' language is about players returning, only to find out that DaRon Bland and Micah Parsons still haven’t come back. It gives me flashbacks to the old days when Tony Romo would break his collarbone on Thanksgiving Day, and Jerry Jones would go on his unnecessary radio show to say Romo could return for the Super Bowl.
I have no idea how long Prescott will be out, but I’m planning on it being “a while,” which is probably a death blow to the Cowboys’ 2024 season.
While it's true he was playing some very poor football by his standards, his body of work shows a considerable gap between what he can do, both physically and mentally, and what those behind him on the depth chart cannot.
However, we are reminded that Cooper Rush helped this Cowboys team play winning football at the start of 2022, and we wonder if it can be done again in these dire days for Cowboys football. Mike McCarthy, obviously, had an attacking defense to rely on, knowing that if Rush avoided turnovers (which he did until the final game), the defense could do the rest by getting sacks and takeaways.
The Dan Quinn defense was able to get 22 sacks in those five starts for Rush and won the turnover battle in three of the four wins. The other win was a six-sack barrage on Joe Burrow and the Bengals.
The Cowboys then ran the ball masterfully in those games, with 642 yards in five games at 4.4 yards per carry. They controlled the clock as best they could, and there were times when Rush had to make throws—and he delivered. More than anything, it was the finest example of Mike McCarthy’s complementary football.
Protect the QB, play simple football, run the rock, and ask your defense to be dominant.
I’m not sure that exists here anymore.