That sure was exciting. There’s a lot to dig into, but here are the biggest things we learned in today’s win over the Cowboys:
On The Value of Wide Receivers
I’ve often harped on how Wide Receiver is the most overrated position in football and the least important on offense. The Packers were missing their only true proven weapon and the Cowboys had stars go off for huge days. And you know what? It didn’t matter. The Packers offense moved up and down the field with relative ease. The Cowboys clung to big plays from their receivers because it was all they had. The biggest factors were things like the Cowboys missing their left tackle and the Packers cornerbacks making huge plays – those are positions where you use first round picks.
Aaron Jones
This game showed us what he is capable of as both a runner and a receiver. Wow. The total package when he’s at his best. But let’s not forget that he can be the centerpiece of the offensive gameplan and still turn in performances like last week against Philadelphia. I love the guy, he’s super talented, but let’s not pretend that if we give him the ball 30 times a game we’re gonna go undefeated. He’s a crucial chess piece in Matt LaFleur’s offense.
Good Roster Management
Tra Carson’s stat line was unimpressive, but I thought his ten touches were tough plays that took some heat off Aaron Jones. A good use of a guy moved up from the practice squad this week because Jamaal Williams was out.
Crazy Stat
Aaron Rodgers improved to 5-0 at AT&T Stadium despite not throwing or rushing for a score and throwing for more than 200 yards less than Dak Prescott. I would not have believed that before the game. Matt LaFleur’s offense is different than what we’re used to, and it’s just getting started.
Defensive Unit
This squad got burned for some big pass plays, but I’ll give the Cowboys receivers credit, those were some good individual efforts. It would have been nice to see the DBs break those up, but the defense did a lot today. Missing guys and losing guys in-game, they kept coming back, kept coming through. It’s a gritty bunch that held a great back in check and made the plays they needed to make to win by double digits on the road against a good team.
The Refs Are Brutal
I’m not going to recount every terrible piece of nonsense from this game, because it would take way too long, but I will say this: the refs this year are brutal on both sides. The rules are changing too much, it’s just nonsense. Please make it stop.
We also learned that Cowboys playcalling is AWFUL. Who abandons the run when averaging 5.2 yards per carry? And that’s not a 5.2 average, skewed by a single 80 yard run and a bunch of 2 yard runs. No, Zeke’s long was only 14, and the Zeke carried the ball a staggering….TWELVE times. Even Aikman was saying out loud, if you continue to put this in Dak’s hands, this isn’t going to end well(and he said that during a game where A.Cooper was having a HOF resume building performance).
We (or perhaps just I) also ‘learned’ that Dak CAN throw a little bit, because he does get credit for the 11 catches for 226 yards and 1 td by A. Cooper…..He was so open, a college qb could have hit him, so I really really really don’t want to give credit to Dak on this – as I like to find ways I can be correct. If I’m Bruce however, and am forced to count Cooper’s stats which I certainly am, I give myself a 0.0 on that prediction. If you take away Cooper and his 10 yard cushion at each catch, and look only at contested plays he went 16/34 for 237, 1td, 3 int. Just as I’m forced to give a 0.0 on this and give full credit for Dak’s stats, you can bet in contract negotiations with Jerrah, Jerrah will be reminded of Dak’s 27/44, 463y, 2 td stat line. I may get a 0.0 here, but I remain optimistic that paying this guy is going to do severe damage to the cowboys cap on an undeserving player. Despite my 0.0, Jerrah is going to overpay for those stats. So I still got that going for me, which is nice.
Since Zeke averaged over 5 ypc, but the Cowboys totally abandoned the run, I still do not know if our poor run-D is a result of Pettine’s deliberate choice to (kind of) ignore the run, or just because we suck at run-D. I was hoping that question would be answered this weekend, but you can yet again leave that as an ‘incomplete’ on Bruce’s report card. Zeke ran for 5+, but they took the ball out of his hands. No answers here.