Other than a few roster moves, the Dallas Cowboys have maintained the same personnel on offense from last season. The biggest change has been on the sideline, firing Scott Linehan and promoting Kellen Moore to Offensive Coordinator. By keeping most of the same talent in place, Dallas has reaffirmed their confidence in Moore to improve performance.
Consider wide receiver, where Dallas allowed a trusted target in Cole Beasley to leave in free agency. The replacement signing of Randall Cobb was a strong move but didn’t really move the needle from what Beasley offered. The Cowboys also re-signed Tavon Austin and kept Allen Hurns; the same basic cast returns from 2018.
Or how about tight end? Jason Witten’s back but Geoff Swaim’s gone, and some could argue that it’s a net-zero exchange at this point in Witten’s resurrected career. Dallas seems to be banking on the development of Blake Jarwin and Dalton Schultz, which is bold to hand over such inexperienced players to a neophyte coach like Kellen.
The same can be said at running back, where at least so far the Cowboys have not added any established talent behind Ezekiel Elliott. Even Rod Smith, who was average at best, would be a possible upgrade over the guys they have now. If something happens to Zeke, or even if he just needs a breather here and there, Dallas has almost zero experience elsewhere on the RB depth chart.
On the offensive line, Dallas used a third-round pick on Connor McGovern and he ideally won’t play at all this season. Their biggest talent addition from 2018 comes from getting Travis Frederick back, but will that ripple effect be enough?
We can even look at fullback, of all places, for some further evidence. Jamize Olawale was a non-factor last year but still got re-signed to a three-year contract in March. You almost have to assume that Kellen Moore was behind that, promising he would be able to get more out of Olawale’s proven offensive skills than Linehan ever attempted to.
Clearly, Dallas thinks that the switch at offensive coordinator will do what no roster move could. They are putting a lot of eggs in the Kellen Moore basket, trusting in a fresh and youthful perspective to improve on Scott Linehan’s work.
With the draft over and free agency drying up, the Cowboys better hope they were right.
I think for the most part, people see Cobb as an upgrade over Beasely and for you say that losing Swaim and gaining Witten is a net zero effect at this point in his career. Swaim has been injury prone and has done little until last year when he had 26 catches for 242 yards. In Wittens last season he had 63 catches for almost 600 yards. The 63 was his lowest total since his rookie season and it’s still 2.5x more than Swaim has done and yes, I do believe there is high confidence in Jarwin and Schultz. And besides, Swaim has been injury prone in the 4 years as a Cowboy. And don’t underestimate the addition of Pollard and Weber which you failed to mention. Lastly, don’t forget they have a new QB coach in Kitna, a full camp of Coop, and I believe we will see a much different looking offense this year.
Yep I think uou’re right
Expecting this offense to look or perform dramatically different than the last two seasons is purely wishful thinking. The problem with this outdated and overly conservative offense has always been and remains Jason Garrett. Plunking down a new OC under him will change effectively NOTHING. Remember…it’s still the same old Garrett playbook and the idiot carrot will still be intimately involved in putting the game plan together every single week. Just because Moore’s voice will be the one in Dak’s earpiece this year instead of Linehan changes almost nothing. It simply gives Garrett another loyal stooge to throw under the bus to save his own pink ass.
Until a real HC is hired and a new offense and offensive philosophy comes in with him, the pathetic mediocrity that now defines this team will not appreciably change, and Cowboy fans worldwide will continue to suffer while Eagles fans grin ear-to-ear.
WOW, all that typing and you never said a single fact. It’s been said time and time again, it’s Moores offense to run, but somehow, YOU know different. Shut the phuck up. All you need to say is “I have no clue”, then stop.
You may actually be the dumbest person on this site. Are you like 12 years old? No…more likely you’re about 35 and living in your parents’ basement getting stoned and playing video games all day between trolling websites showing off your giant 3rd grade educated brain. F U blowhard. Go get a job…
Time to freshen up the offense since all the pieces are in place. I like the choice of Kellen Moore a young offensive mind to call the signals. Cowboys won’t be predictable this year they have a lot of weapons at their disposal !