It's been a doom and gloom this week for the Dallas Cowboys, and for good reason.
A ripe 42-10 blowout at the hands of a team that already knocked you out of the playoffs not once but twice can create a dark cloud over the metroplex.
Add on the fact that your quarterback didn't play very well, and your offensive and defensive “veteran” coaches were out-schemed by their counterparts.
Lastly, the injury bug hit Dallas like a bag of nickels with Leighton Vander Esch and C.J. Goodwin losses.
Nevertheless, we'll focus on the good within this team.
Dallas continues to find ways to replenish the cupboard with similar, if not better, talent.
While we can debate whether or not their utilization is sufficient, the players on this list are ballers and have been more than adequate replacements in the early season.
Replacing Dalton Schultz: How Jake Ferguson is bringing new energy to the team
I read somewhere that one of the most significant issues this team has encountered was replacing the production of Houston Texans Tight End Dalton Schultz.
Technically, it was more about his ability to be a safety blanket for Quarterback Dak Prescott.
I hear what they say, but I'll raise them a Jake Ferguson.
Ferguson has as much talent and probably more athleticism at this point of his career than Schultz.
That's not a dig at Dalton by any means.
However, anyone can see with the naked eye that Fergie has some wheels and plays with unassuming strength for his position.
Jake Ferguson vs Fred Warner on 3rd down #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/YsQV4UQbq3
— ★★★★★ (@TSV__1) October 9, 2023
According to Pro Football Focus, he ranks number 7 in his position with a 75.9% overall grade.
His stats don't wow you, but he has collected 20 of his 27 targets. Against the 49ers, Dak looked his way only three times. Dak, that's not enough.
The defense presented to Dallas periodically had the middle of the field open, but we should have taken advantage of it.
Mike McCarthy, that part is on you.
However, Ferguson has been more than an adequate replacement for Dalton. Schultz's best season was arguably 2021 with Dallas.
Granted, it was Kellen Moore's offense, but in his first five games, he recorded 30 targets, so Jake is hanging in there neck and neck.
The team drafted Luke Schoonmaker, but I don't see a future where Ferguson isn't the number one tight end this year or next.
The cherry on top for the first-year starter is that he likes to block and is good at it.
This replacement has been more than satisfactory.
Tony Pollard: OUTPRODUCING his predecessor despite a slow start to the season
Technically, Tony Pollard's role stayed the same.
However, he moved up the depth chart when Ezekiel Elliott exited stage right.
So far this season, he's been up and down at best. Depending on who you believe, Tony is right where McCarthy expected him to be after five games. He has 81 total carries and 19 receptions, averaging over 20 touches per game.
Tony has accumulated 436 yards from scrimmage. That's 87.5 yards per game.
You want to know something interesting: his current average of 87.5 is higher than his season average of 81.05 last year.
The primary back, Ezekiel Elliott, accounted for 332 yards on 86 total touches last season.
TP20 is getting more touches and gaining more yards as a result of it.
Cowboys RB Tony Pollard: “Guys are not panicking, not trying to do too much, not going haywire and things like that. Locking in and focusing up, blocking out the distractions and just getting ready for this week.” pic.twitter.com/OV9I81GGoK
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 12, 2023
What could the problem be? Dallas should have factored in how good Tony and Zeke were as a committee. We're getting a different production from the second back in this offense.
Here's the verdict – Pollard is still figuring things out as the primary runner, but McCarthy needs more consistency from the backup.
It took this team a longer time than one would have expected to get to this run by committee with Pollard and Elliott. Not many teams could stop it last year.
If Dallas can recreate that group, that's the recipe for success.
