I hate to call it a moral victory but that is exactly what it feels like for the Dallas Cowboys opening night loss in Tampa. No need for an interlude so let’s just jump right into it. I am in the belief that Tampa receiver Chris Godwin pushed off on cornerback Jourdan Lewis. If the referee calls it like most of us saw it, the outcome is quite possibly much different.
Special teams could have secured a victory
Speaking of much different, Dak Prescott is a different quarterback. If you cannot see that Dak Prescott is an elite franchise quarterback then you might just simply just hate the man. I cannot stress how vital Dak Prescott is to his team.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott is getting flak for supposedly not showing up last night but Zeke did the dirty work most runningbacks of his stature often shy away from. The team obviously didn’t see much value in running the ball consistently against the reigning best run defense in the NFL and you cannot fault Elliott for that.
The special teams of the Dallas Cowboys lost a winnable game in Week 1
The three-headed monster at wide receiver is going to be fun to watch this season. I have to go back and rewatch the game but it appeared when Tampa tried to roll coverage over to a wideout to stop the bleeding, Dallas simply went the other way.
Sometimes simplicity in a game plan can be exactly what a team needs. The game plan did show this offense in a different light. I have always watched Tom Brady and saw how deliberate he was when he threw the football. When I compared Prescott to Brady before the season, I always thought there was too much player preference when he dropped back.
Thursday night in Tampa showed a Dallas quarterback who quickly got the ball to his players. The offensive line failed to provide any real push upfront which is something I expected but they should be credited for keeping Dak Prescott clean for the majority of the night. A healthy Zack Martin should help with that but I wonder if the line will have changes moving forward.
I actually thought Connor McGovern handled himself better than starting left guard Connor Williams. I wonder if the team will give McGovern a chance on the left side to prepare him and the team for a possible Williams departure in the offseason.
Defensive line stepped up
Center Tyler Biadasz got manhandled by Tampa nose guard Vita Vea a couple of times and had some snapping issues. I would like Biadasz to snap the ball once defenders cross the line of scrimmage in an attempt to get a free play for the offense.
The defensive line looked better than I thought they would have. I expected the Tampa offensive line to get a significant push on these guys and it simply didn’t happen. Tampa did keep Tom Brady clean for most of the night but there were some times the pressure forced Brady into throwing the ball before he wanted to.
The linebacker rotation was a telling sign of where the team is probably going to go in the future. Parsons and Neal getting more snaps than linebackers Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch isn’t surprising but really weird to see.
There was a play where linebacker Jaylon Smith had a perfect view of Brady handing the ball off yet Smith was so late with the read that he assisted with the tackle well beyond the line of scrimmage. It might be an unpopular opinion but I think Jaylon Smith is an unplayable option moving forward for this defense.
Anthony Brown is getting a large portion of blame this morning and rightfully so. The Dallas Cowboys cornerback struggled mightily and showed the team once again that cornerback is still a need for this team.
The opposite can be said for cornerback Trevon Diggs as he recorded an interception and had a critical fourth-quarter pass breakup. Diggs looks the part but consistency will be key for his continued NFL growth.
Jourdan Lewis is another guy who I continue to scratch my head about. The team gave him a three-year deal in the offseason yet does not fit the mold of what this team was looking for in the draft. I assume the front office kept Jaylon Smith, Jourdan Lewis, and Anthony Brown as insurance or because of the fear of the unknown.
Greg Zuerlein not the answer
I understand it’s early but I would imagine the team will move on from all three of these guys before their contracts run out. Speaking of contracts, I wish Blake Jarwin was the impending free agent and Dalton Schultz was the tight end on this roster with a contract that doesn’t run out after this season.
Even with all of these issues, my biggest concern has to be special teams. The Dallas Cowboys brought in John Fassel last season who subsequently brought his guys with him from Los Angeles to fortify the group as a whole. “Bones” Fassel has done some very creative things to get people to pay attention to special team fakes but it is time to get back to the basics in Dallas.
From missed field goals to subpar special teams coverage, the Dallas Cowboys special teams should carry the majority of the blame for this loss. If coach Fassel continues to joke around like he has been portrayed in HBO’s Hard Knock series, he could become this year’s version of former defensive coordinator Mike Nolan.
Like many, my opinion can change once I rewatch the game. Collecting data to support or debunk what I see on the field can change in an instant. It was probably fun for the entire NFL to make fun of an injured Dallas Cowboys team last season. One thing that is abundantly clear, the Dallas Cowboys just put the entire NFL specifically the NFC East on notice. I hope the jokes were worth it.
