I see a lot of us blaming a player or a play for the loss. For me, I think it’s quite obvious that this coaching staff does not play to who they are. Instead, they play to who they want to be.
Offensively:
-They have to know it is a run first team. They have to understand that we should be 45/55 pass vs run.
-They need to know that other than the top 2/3 elite QB’s, throwing 40+ passes consistently is a recipe for a .500 record. It’s not just Dak either, any QB who’s not top of the line elite needs to rely on a complete team to play to it’s strengths.
-They have to know their most dependable weapons either run the ball or play their best off of play action. This includes TE’s as well as Dak.
-They have to know that Dak is overwhelmingly more effective when the team runs at a high level. 25-35 pass attempts depending on game script, but we should want to stay in that 25-28 range.
Defensively:
-They have to know that their Achilles heel is run defense and therefore there should be an emphasis on fits. Not pass rush/coverage.
-They need to stop being so pressed on sacks and pass rush and need to emphasize stopping the run. This team is addicted to the flash of sacks and turnovers and the DC is at the head of that. It’s clear from watching All-22 this front 7 wants to play the pass a lot more than the run and they act accordingly. At this point, it’s being taught that way; it is not a personnel issue. We have the players to be at least average in that department.
-They need to understand that stopping the run forces teams to pass. You wanna rush the passer and jump routes? Play run defense first and you get your wish.
Both Moore and Quinn seem to call games for that they want the team to be, not what it is. This is where Mike must step in and hammer down on emphasizing these things. This team can be so complementary if it runs well, keeps the game in the QB’s wheelhouse, and allows the defense be on the field less with opposing offenses forced to pass due to TOP.
That’s the complimentary football we should be playing, not trying to run up the score in the passing game and relying on that to scare offenses into passing. If you try to score too fast with big plays you either score quick and allow the other team enough time to stay with the run or you take risks that can turn into TO’s. Coaches need to understand who we are and keep us there, any significant schematic variation severely cripples our chance of winning against the better teams in this league.
