Do you think that when things start to go south in these games that players like Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb try too hard to compensate rather than trusting the system, playing within it and letting the game plan work?– Kim Walk/Shippensburg, PA**
Nick: I'm sorry but I can't buy that at all. Here's why - the game plan doesn't seem to be working. They've played seven games now and not one time has the offense taken the ball to start the game and scored a touchdown. On defense, the game plan to stop someone hasn't worked either because every single game, the opponents have taken the ball and scored every single time. And nothing changes when they have a "plan" coming out of the locker room in the third quarter. So you can say "trust the plan" but right now, it seems like the in-game adjustments are working a little better. Either way, the Cowboys have to figure out a way to start games faster than they have.
Patrik: Sorry Kim, but count me out on any notion that tries to sell me on Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb reverting to being pieces of a system versus simply going out and being star players that take over football games. And, to me, that's not the problem, anyway. The issue is that the two have been unable to consistently get on and stay on the same page over the course of four quarters, in any of their first seven games, because we've seen what they can do this season when they are. This was the most dynamic QB-WR tandem in the NFL in 2023 (post-bye) and it was the same scheme with the same play caller and the same coordinator. So to suddenly want them to tone down their aggressiveness is wild to me. I, for one, want more aggression to try and break through the wall they keep running into, but it has to be done intelligently — i.e., timely QB runs, more practice work on their timing in routes, more assertion in moving Lamb around pre-snap to create favorable matchups, etc. — and then you'll see more chunk plays that can result in touchdowns (something the Cowboys are desperate for) and red zone success (something else they're hungry for).
