Dallas Cowboys: The three biggest ongoing concerns in Cowboys Camp
By Reid Hanson
Training camp for the Dallas Cowboys has officially begun and with it comes both high expectations and serious concerns – here are the top-3 concerns of Cowboys Camp
The Dallas Cowboys have a lot to be excited about. Not only are they returning one of their most talented teams in the past decade, but they upgraded along the way. Making improvements to the roster as well as the coaching ranks, the Dallas Cowboys enter the 2019 season with lofty expectations.
But with those expectations come concerns. If the Cowboys want to take the next step as a team, they’re going to need to get some previously unseen results from a few key parts. We dive into those key parts today and name our three biggest concerns here in Cowboys Camp
No. 1: Play-calling
To the delight of many, the Dallas Cowboys cut ties with Scott Linehan at season’s end. Replacing him as offensive coordinator and play-caller is the completely unproven Kellen Moore. Moore, labeled a genius by many who know him, brings with him excitement and possibilities. He also brings some massive question marks.
There’s no time for learning on the job. He’s going to have to hit the ground running here in 2019. The window is open right now and Dallas needs an injection of creativity and deception if they want to progress in the playoffs.
Among other things, transparency was an issue for the offense last season. The Dallas Cowboys appeared to telegraph their intentions and rarely caught opponents off guard. Even if Moore doesn’t add plays, he can make a significant difference if he just injects pre-snap motion and a little deception in his strategy.
Calling more passes on first and second down would be considerable improvement as well. The past few seasons Dallas has ignored all the data that suggest passing is the optimal attack on early downs.
How often each team in 2018 passes on 1st and 10 vs. how often they succeed on series.
— Lee Sharpe (@LeeSharpeNFL) July 10, 2019
Preemptive apologies to Seahawks twitter for posting this. pic.twitter.com/EWuyix1d3o
As a result, they’ve put Dak Prescott in far too many 3rd down scenarios. And as we’ve discussed in the past, playing for manageable third downs is a loser’s strategy. The key to long drives is avoid third downs altogether.
Which brings us to our next concern…