Headline on ESPN NFL - Why dallASS is overrated

[Sect 236]

If Luck went to Oregon, scouts would "question" if he was a system QB. It's what happens to Oregon players.

I can't watch Mariota play and see anything other than a franchise QB, not with his smarts, size, athleticism, accuracy and ability

[The Ref]

If Luck went to Oregon, scouts would "question" if he was a system QB. It's what happens to Oregon players.

I can't watch Mariota play and see anything other than a franchise QB, not with his smarts, size, athleticism, accuracy and ability

You should be working as an NFL scout, or better yet General Manager. Wasting your time here sharing your genius with internet trolls.

[#48]

The full (Dallas overrated) article

The Dallas Cowboys have won six straight games and now have the NFL's best record at 6-1. They made their first big statement a month ago by routing New Orleans in prime time.

Last week, they went into Seattle and became only the second road team in the past two years to win at CenturyLink Field. This week, they easily took out the New York Giants in their first NFC East matchup of the season. DeMarco Murray broke an NFL record with his seventh straight 100-yard game and Tony Romo leads the NFL in completion rate (69.2 percent) and has 97.5 QBR on third downs.

It finally seems like the glory days have returned for America's Team after three straight years of 8-8. The ESPN Power Rankings currently have Dallas as the No. 2 team in the league, trailing only the Denver Broncos.

However, a look at their performance over the season to date suggests that the Cowboys aren't quite that good. Dallas is very good, but not great. According to the Football Outsiders DVOA ratings, the Cowboys aren't even one of the top-five teams in the NFL, trailing Denver, Baltimore, Green Bay and Indianapolis. They even trail Seattle, which has played the toughest schedule in the NFL this year, although obviously the Cowboys deserve credit for giving the Seahawks their worst loss of the season. (DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average, is explained further here. You can find the numbers through Week 7 here.)

Let's get this out of the way first: Murray is not overrated. Dez Bryant is not overrated. The Cowboys' offensive line is not overrated. And Romo, longtime punching bag of the football commentariat, is definitely not overrated. DVOA ranks the Cowboys' offense third, trailing only Denver and Green Bay.

Nonetheless, there are three main units on a football team, and the other two units really haven't been very good. The defense has certainly been better than last year, and better than everyone expected before the season, but that doesn't mean it's been good. And on special teams, except for kicker Dan Bailey, they have been decidedly below average.
On a per-play basis, that Cowboys defense that looks so much improved has actually been almost as bad as it was a year ago. Dallas is allowing the same average of 6.1 yards per play, with roughly the same frequency of turnovers. The biggest difference for the defense is actually the offense, which is keeping the defense off the field with those extended, run-heavy drives. Only two defenses have been on the field for a shorter time per game. Less time on the field means less yardage and scoring allowed.

How Dallas' defense measures up Category 2013 2014 Yds per play 6.1 6.1 Net Yds per pass 7.0 6.8 Pass DVOA rank 27 11 Yds per carry 4.7 4.9 Run DVOA rank 28 26 TO per game 1.75 1.71 Opp TOP rank 24 3
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The Cowboys' defense is also better this season because of the distribution of the yardage it has given up. The Cowboys have been better than last season on both first and second down, which means they can give up a little bit more yardage on third down and not be hurt by it. The Cowboys have given up 6.90 yards per play on third or fourth downs in 2014, compared to 6.36 yards per play in 2013. However, they've allowed the same 44 percent conversion rate that they did a year ago.

As for special teams, Bailey has been the most valuable kicker in the league on field goals this season, going 14-of-15, with his only miss coming from 53 yards. He's also been above average on kickoffs. However, the Cowboys rank 18th in our ratings for kick returns, 29th for punts and 30th for punt returns. Though Dwayne Harris has been good in the past, he has muffed or fumbled four different punts this year, and he doesn't have a kickoff return of over 30 yards.

The Cowboys look better than they really have been in part because we are judging them based on how good we thought their opponents were when the Cowboys played them, not based on how good those teams really are this season. For instance:

-- When the Cowboys dismantled Tennessee in Week 2, we all thought that was a big deal because the Titans had played so well in Week 1 -- a game that now looks like a complete fluke.

-- San Francisco and Seattle are clearly not the juggernauts they were a year ago.

-- And as for scoring 38 points on this season's New Orleans Saints ... gee, get in line.
Furthermore, our ratings have the Cowboys lower than conventional wisdom because we are measuring all seven games this season, not just the last six. The Cowboys certainly no longer look like the team that lost 28-17 to San Francisco on the first Sunday of the season. If we measure just the six games in their winning streak, the Cowboys' DVOA goes from 14 percent better than average to 26 percent better than average.
But if you are going to only consider the Cowboys' record since Week 2, then you have to extend the same privilege to the rest of the league. And it just so happens that a number of this season's top teams have overcome bad games in Week 1. Baltimore lost in Week 1. So did Green Bay, Indianapolis, San Diego and New England. So if we remove Week 1 from consideration, not only does Dallas look better, but all those teams look better as well. If we only look at DVOA for Week 2 onward, the Cowboys still trail Denver, Baltimore and Green Bay. Their defense is still just 14th, their special teams 21st.
None of this is to say that the Cowboys are about to collapse, of course. Being the fifth- or seventh-best team in the NFL is still pretty good, and the Cowboys have an average remaining schedule. Our playoff odds simulation currently gives them a 90 percent chance of making the playoffs, and a 38 percent chance of getting a first-round bye. However, Jerry Jones shouldn't start measuring his finger for a fourth Super Bowl ring quite yet. What's the difference between Dallas and a truly great team? Well, Dallas through Week 7 is tied as the sixth-best team of 2014. Denver through Week 7 is the sixth-best team of the entire last 25 years. Not quite the same thing.

[Sect 236]

You should be working as an NFL scout, or better yet General Manager. Wasting your time here sharing your genius with internet trolls.

Coming from the guy who lives on a high horse and feels the need to tell everyone how wrong they are and how right you are.

You're a joke. Stop posting.