NFLRT 1/19/2024

The questions and discussion…

1) Prior to the Dallas Cowboys being down to the Green Bay Packers 48-16 in the fourth quarter QB Dak Prescott was 24 of 39 for 193 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions (61.2 rating), including two poor interceptions (one a pick six) that led to 14 Green Bay points. After that point… in what is usually called “garbage time”… Prescott went 17 of 21 for 210 yards with two touchdowns and a 140.1 passer rating finishing the game with an overall rating of 89.8.

On top of his performance in this game in his nine seasons in the NFL his 2-5 record in the postseason is tied for the worst record in NFL history for any quarterback with a minimum of five playoff starts.

Despite his usually stellar numbers in the regular season…

What should the Cowboys do with their “underachieving” playoff quarterback? Should the Cowboys move on from Prescott or double down and sign him to an extension? Why or why not?

I think Dallas needs to extend Dak Prescott and keep him as their quarterback.

As everybody saw this season, it’s hard to find a quarterback that can lead a team to victory. It’s hard to find a franchise quarterback. It’s hard to find a top quarterback to lead your team.

The Falcons needed a quarterback this season to take them to the playoffs. The Saints had their problems with Derek Carr. The Raiders need a quarterback. Patriots struggled mightily on offense without a quarterback. Look at the difference between Kirk Cousins and what was behind him. The Browns couldn’t find a good quarterback until they called Flacco up off his couch.

Sign Dak to an extension. They’ve had three consecutive seasons of 12-win seasons. It’s not time to go back to the drawing board at quarterback when they’re this close to fine-tuning their organization to get to the next step. 

Joe: Dak Prescott for a large part of the season was my number two, and at times number one, choice for MVP this season. That is how good of a year I thought he was having as the QB of the Cowboys.

Now its true the Cowboys had problems beating teams with winning records this season and their record with Dak in the playoffs, is frankly, abysmal; I don’t put all the blame on Dak’s shoulders for those outcomes. Many people, if not most, have the propensity to insist the NFL is a QB league, and while to an extent that’s true,  it’s still a team sport. And whether a team wins or loses is due to the total team’s efforts and execution of the game plan for their opponent as well as countering the opponent’s game plan both defensively and offensively.

In games that the Cowboys lost how often did the line fail to give Prescott needed protection to find receivers and get off throws? How often did the running game fail to produce? How often did their highly rated defense fail to perform up to expectations and stop the other team’s offense?  

Taking all those questions into consideration and discovering the answers I’ll bet that during those Cowboys losses it will be food that those losses were more due t oa break down in the execution of the game plan b the team as whole more than just Prescott’s sole performance during the game. And lastly and maybe, most impotently a lot of the onus for those losses has to fall upon the coaches’ failures to adapt to what the other team was doing on the field and call the needed corrective plays both on defense and on offense.  

This is all to say if the cowboys can get their coaching act together and instill i nth team a discipline in getting the team to execute their game plan properly, efficiently and effectively then the Cowboys efforts not only against teams with winning records but also in the playoffs might be a very different story in the next season as well as beyond with Dak Prescott as the QB.

Extend him. Franchise QBs of his type that play at his high level are not that easy to come by.  

2) Staying with the Cowboys…

Bill Belichick is available as a head coach, as such if Cowboys owner and default GM wants to win in the postseason and get to a Super Bowl during the  Dak Prescott era should Jerry Jones do whatever he can to hire Belichick? Why or why not?  

Dallas should go after Bill Belichick.

Yes, he might not be the best “long-term” option, but for the near future, I think he’s a better option.

He’s a big winner. He knows how to win. He knows how to take a team to the next level. And after three consecutive seasons with 12 wins and no Super Bowls or Conference Championship Game appearances to their name, it’s time to change the coaching staff and see if they can get that push they need to get them to the Super Bowl.

There’s none greater at delivering championships than Belichick. And Jerry Jones doesn’t have much time left to see a Super Bowl brought to his organization. Give Belichick a chance. He has a team that’s completely ready. He has a team that has one of the best defenses in the league, a quarterback to lead, and an offense that can deliver big blows to any team in the league.

Go with Belichick and chase a Super Bowl that’s easily in arm’s reach. 

This is kind of a moot question and answer now since Jerry Jones has come out and said that Mike McCarthy will be the team’s HC in the 2024/2025 season.

However, If I were Jones my inclination would have been to fire McCarthy and go after Belichick and not spare the expense to get him to be the Cowboys next HC. With that team as presently comprised and Prescott as the QB I think Belichick would take the Cowboys deep into the playoffs if not lead them to the Super Bowl and ultimately win the NFL’s penultimate game.

The real question would be would Belichick want to work for Jones.

Belichick is known for keeping things close to the vest and undercover and not publicly open .Jones, in many ways, is the complete opposite. And Belichick is known as a coach who has his hands in the total makeup of the team, and he wants that  power to determine who is on the team and who plays. Joens is known for being an owner/GM who has his own opinions on what his team need personnel wise as well as what it needs to do on the field and is not shy about making those opinions known to his HC and all too often those opinions, often to the detriment of the team, are very different from what his coach wants to do. It should not be lost on anyone ay one that twice Joens had the right head coach in house and fired one.. Jimmy Johnson… and was meddlesome enough to get the other to quit… Bill Parcells.  

And maybe, who knows what transpires behind the scenes, but maybe Jones had put out feelers about Belichick and found out the interest for Belichick, partly due to Jones’ tendency to do things his way, was not here. And maybe that’s why he… Jones… decided to give McCarthy a kind of “You got one more year to prove to me you are the guy for this team” deal.

3) Miami Dolphins’ QB Tua Tagovailoa stayed healthy for a full season playing in 95.1% of the Dolphins offensive snaps, completing 69.3% of his passes and led the NFL with 4,624 passing yards. Still with Tagovailoa having a $23.2 million fully guaranteed fifth-year option for 2024 and the way the season ended… with the number 1 AFC ranking on the line they got blown out by the Ravens 56-19 and then with the AFC East title on the line in their final game against the Bills the team blew a halftime lead and eventually lost to the Bills and then did little on offense in losing to the Chiefs 26-7 in the Wild Card game… what do the Dolphins do with their “franchise” QB? Extend him, let him play out his option or trade him for what would most likely be a load of draft picks and/or an infusion of younger ready to perform NFL players? Why?  

Miami should stick with Tua. As what I mentioned in the Dak Prescott question, it’s hard for teams to find reliable quarterbacks. Tua is that reliable quarterback. He only has a couple more seasons of Tyreek Hill. He still has Waddle. He has a great rushing attack. Keep Tua. He can keep it slinging.

They had some problems on defense with injuries. They looked flat. But give him time. He delivered a fully healthy season and reliability this year. He looked fantastic for most of the season with a lot of changed play from the past couple of seasons. They need to extend him and make sure he’s kept as their quarterback for the future. Miami can succeed and win with him there.

It’s hard to find someone else that would be at his level. Miami is on their way to competing for a title. They just need to fix and tweak their problem areas and deliver in bigger games. Which is going to come.

I’d extend Tua, but I’d give him a lot less money than I’d give other quarterbacks in the league. Or give him a one-year, prove-it deal on a path to a much bigger contract. If he shows they have to move on after a couple of seasons, or next season is just a landfill spill disaster, then they’ll have their clear path.

Everything that I said about Dak Prescott and the Cowboys above more or less goes for Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins here.

So rather than rehash and repeat those words with the necessary edits let me just say…

The Dolphins should extend Tua’s contract  and if not give him an extension then at least give him a “prove it” year and see if he can do for another year what he accomplished this year with better results in the playoffs. 

4) According to a ESPN report “In the aftermath of Philly’s NFC wild-card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night, Jason Kelce told teammates in the postgame locker room that he is retiring.”

If true, how will you remember Jason Kelce’s career? Why? Is he a future Hall of Fame selectee? Why or why not?  

I think Jason Kelce will be best remembered for not only being Travis Kelce’s brother, but also for his leadership and devotion to the game. How much heart he put out there.

He was a very memorable and liked player for years in his career. He was a six-time All-Pro, seven-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl Champion. Only four other centers have matched that All-Pro total, and all four are in the Hall of Fame (Jim Otto, Bulldog Turner, Dermontti Dawson and Jim Ringo). He’s regarded as one of the best ever to play his position. He played 13 seasons, 193 games all for Philadelphia, after starting as a rookie back in 2011. He only had 61 penalties in his entire career against him.

He was a leader on the field and in the locker room. He will be seeing his plaque revealed in Canton in year one or two of eligibility. Congrats on a great career, and best wishes on his future after playing football.

In his final season, including the Eagles playoff loss, Kelce allowed two sacks, one quarterback hit, and 11 quarterback hurries in 697 pass-blocking reps. His blocking against during the running game was equally impressive. This is a snap shot of who Kelce was as a player and what he did over his entire NFL career.

Kelce is a six-time first-team All-Pro center. No other center has picked up that honor in the history of the league. Kelce had been tied with Hall of Famer centers Dermontti Dawson and Mike Webster for the most with five first team selections.

He is the fifth center in NFL history with at least six All-Pro honors, joining him with centers Jim Otto, Clyde Douglas Turner, Dermotti Dawson and Jim Ringo who are all enshrined in Canton.

Overall he is a seven-time Pro Bowler, which is one Pro Bowl more than Hall of Famer Jim Langer.

Kelce was a Day One starter after being selected in the sixth round (191st pick overall) out of the University of Cincinnati. Despite his supposedly lack of size, his abilities as a football player… his mobility and durability… more than made up for it. And regarding his durability… Kelce ends his career having started the final 156 games of his career which is an Eagles’ team record.

Personally I’ll be more than a little surprised if, when he is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he is not  a first ballot selectee.

5) In the upcoming Kansas City vs Buffalo Divisional Playoff Game which QB between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen will come out on top and lead his team to victory? Why?

I think Buffalo Bills are going to win. They’ve won against Kansas City once before. Patrick Mahomes has never played in a road playoff game before. And it’s going to be cold and playoff football in Buffalo. While Kansas City is used to that, especially after just beating the Miami Dolphins in weather that was -30 with the windchill. 0 degrees at kickoff. The Chiefs looked very good Saturday. Sneed locked up Hill for most of the game. The Bills have been on fire.

Buffalo completely turned their season around to not only make it to the playoffs but took the AFC East title. They did have some injuries in yesterday’s game. But Josh Allen showed he’s a freight train, including a 52-yard scamper for a touchdown where he powered his way through. The Bills have a ton of weapons, including two tight ends (Kincaid and Knox), and multiple weapons at receiver (Diggs, Davis – if he can go – Shakir).

I think the lack of receivers for Kansas City comes to a head this week in a huge match-up, and Buffalo advances to face the winner of the Texans-Ravens game.  

In my opinion this game… depending on the weather and whether it snows or not… should be a shootout with both QBs in Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes having big games . The end result will be which team limits their mistakes will probably come down to who has the ball last.  

In fact, I’m going with KC to have that ball last and win it with a TD pass with the clock winding down with just seconds to spare in the game.