Category Archives: 2023 NFL Preseason

Dak Prescott 2023 Preview- Next Year’s Champion *Reissue*

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Now that the dust has settled on the draft and free agent moves, there are a few things to address as we hurtle toward the 2023 NFL season. During my hiatus, a lot was brought to bear on the future of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. Mainly how former Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore was scapegoated for all shortcomings his former quarterback had. To many observers Cowboy fans never want to admit the flameouts we have chronicled here at Taylor Blitz for years now.
All of a sudden, Head Coach McCarthy will take over play calling duties when he hasn’t performed that duty in 5 years. This was back when he was let go in Green Bay for running too predictable an offense. Remember?? But before we go there…
  • Last year the Cowboys were chastised for not replacing Amari Cooper after being dealt to Cleveland. Giving Dak a built in excuse.
  • Kellen Moore, who has a bright football mind and led the Cowboys to #1 offensive rankings, became the reason they didnt succeed in postseason.
  • In 2020, Dallas had the worst defense in football. It wasn’t Dak’s fault. The team couldnt stop anyone.
  • Before that it was Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan’s fault. Then Head Coach Jason Garrett’s fault.

Now after losing two offensive coordinators and a head coach, Cowboys brass and coverage would have you believe this is “Next Year’s Champion” and Dak Prescott will show us once and for all. Seriously? We chronicled this in 2021 and in subsequent articles on “The Beta Quarterback” where we outlined Prescott’s damaged ‘fight or flight’ mechanism that causes him to short circuit in crucial minutes of important ball games.

One is to dissect the decisions made by #4 that caused Moore’s dismissal. Prescott was outplayed by a 3rd round “Mr Irrelevant” quarterback in Brock Purdy in the NFC Divisional out in San Francisco. The loss in The Chancellor of Football’s estimation fell square on the fight or flight psychosis of a jittery quarterback that isn’t it.

This crucial mistake late in the 3rd quarter illustrates the “real” problem for the Dallas quarterback:
OK Cowboy fans… The Kellen Moore v Dak Prescott problem… If an offensive coordinator draws a play up and it wins and you misread your keys, its Dak’s fault. Take a look at this play in the 3rd qtr of their playoff loss
I placed the blue dot on MLB Fred Warner as the 49ers bluffed a blitz and running a Tampa 2. (1st pic) He has to cover the deep middle and has to cover the 3 side receiver most inside threat.
In the 2nd pic Warner turns and runs with the inside receiver on the 3 receiver side. Moore drew up and called this play anticipating this defense at this spot on the field. Warner still has the blue dot.
The 3rd pic is when Dak should be releasing the ball. Warner (blue dot) is in the hip of the inside receiver on the 3 receiver side. TY Hilton (green bar) is streaking WIDE THE F OPEN on the opposing 30 and the 2 safeties with blue dots cant get there from their 2 deep landmarks. Warner isnt even facing TY Hilton to help if he wanted to.
Dak could hit him with a line drive pass and Dallas would have had a 1st down inside the 15 possibly 10. If Dak throws it and leads him Dallas has a TD and a late 3rd quarter lead and complete momentum.
Kellen Moore had the play call, play design, spot on the field, anticpated defense and Dak misread the most BASIC pass defense in football “Cover 2”. He throws it to the receiver with Warner all over him and the play is broken up and you punt… never to threaten again.
Yet blame Moore who was 4 for 4 on this play and Dak threw it to the 3 receiver side when the Tampa 2 principle is to have the Middle Linebacker crowd the inside receiver threatening the deep middle. Stop it… Dak sympathizers have more excuses than defending an accidental pregnancy.
This is 7 years in!! Losing to a 3rd string rookie QB where if everyone was healthy he’d be watching in street clothes? Teams can only dress 2 QBs.
Film study? Practice? Did they talk about this play? Keys to the play’s success?
You know they did…
At what point will Dak Prescott be held accountable for these issues as the Cowboys come up short against elite teams?? Especially when it keeps happening in the playoffs at the end of games the Cowboys should have won. Yet here we are again where Cowboys brass and day to day coverage has this team anointed “Next Year’s Champion’s” and will be led by their supposedly great quarterback who struggles to get the job done in money situations.
Now McCarthy who was fired at the end of his tenure in Green Bay for predictable offense is going to get it done. Well?? OK… at Taylor Blitz it’s always follow the psyche of the player in the arena. Its the greatest predictor to future events. The jury is in on Dak Prescott with The Chancellor of Football but you’re free to believe what you want to believe. Only this time…come back in January and let me know I was right.
Thanks for reading and please share the article.

Tacitly Different Negotiations – The Topic of Black Running Back Contract Negotiations

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Lets take you back… the Cowboys had just won Super Bowl XXVII and Emmitt Smith had led the NFL in rushing the last 2 seasons. He had to holdout, miss the preseason, the Cowboys started 0-2 and only after Charles Haley threw his helmet into the wall in Jerry Jones direction did they sign Smith to a $13 million contract.
Seven weeks later with no holdout, no tension in the media, no negative press to sway public attention about the greedy athlete “who should be grateful”… Troy Aikman gets his $50 million extension. Yup…right in the middle of the season!
Same team…both 1st round draft picks…same champion…same management…tacitly different negotiation tactics.
Didnt running backs get hurt and have inconsistent seasons later in their career then too?? Emmitt was going into year 4 and the avg career for a running back is 4 years. Didn’t Emmitt take a lot of hits?? So kill that noise about being scared the running back will get hurt. Emmitt led the league in rushing 2 of the next 3 seasons after signing this contract and they won 2 more Super Bowls.
Yet I keep hearing all these b.s. armchair GMs trying to justify this on television and social media but I know where the bodies have been buried. Keep your eye on the reasons why you keep hearing “Running backs devalued” over and over by corporate controlled media and the propaganda peppering of “Its a passing game” shoved down your throat. Think about what Kwame Brown was saying was the role of Stephen A Smith and to a degree what I think Emmanuel Acho is doing.
This is nefarious…and it runs deeper than you think….I love the x’s and o’s of football, the players, stories and life lessons. Its the business and racial /political dynamics that bring you back to reality and let you know its not “just a game”

Dak Prescott 2023 Preview- Next Year’s Champion

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Now that the dust has settled on the draft and free agent moves, there are a few things to address as we hurtle toward the 2023 NFL season. During my hiatus, a lot was brought to bear on the future of Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. Mainly how former Offensive Coordinator Kellen Moore was scapegoated for all shortcomings his former quarterback had. To many observers Cowboy fans never want to admit the flameouts we have chronicled here at Taylor Blitz for years now.
All of a sudden, Head Coach McCarthy will take over play calling duties when he hasn’t performed that duty in 5 years. This was back when he was let go in Green Bay for running too predictable an offense. Remember?? But before we go there…
  • Last year the Cowboys were chastised for not replacing Amari Cooper after being dealt to Cleveland. Giving Dak a built in excuse.
  • Kellen Moore, who has a bright football mind and led the Cowboys to #1 offensive rankings, became the reason they didnt succeed in postseason.
  • In 2020, Dallas had the worst defense in football. It wasn’t Dak’s fault. The team couldnt stop anyone.
  • Before that it was Offensive Coordinator Scott Linehan’s fault. Then Head Coach Jason Garrett’s fault.

Now after losing two offensive coordinators and a head coach, Cowboys brass and coverage would have you believe this is “Next Year’s Champion” and Dak Prescott will show us once and for all. Seriously? We chronicled this in 2021 and in subsequent articles on “The Beta Quarterback” where we outlined Prescott’s damaged ‘fight or flight’ mechanism that causes him to short circuit in crucial minutes of important ball games.

One is to dissect the decisions made by #4 that caused Moore’s dismissal. Prescott was outplayed by a 3rd round “Mr Irrelevant” quarterback in Brock Purdy in the NFC Divisional out in San Francisco. The loss in The Chancellor of Football’s estimation fell square on the fight or flight psychosis of a jittery quarterback that isn’t it.

This crucial mistake late in the 3rd quarter illustrates the “real” problem for the Dallas quarterback:
OK Cowboy fans… The Kellen Moore v Dak Prescott problem… If an offensive coordinator draws a play up and it wins and you misread your keys, its Dak’s fault. Take a look at this play in the 3rd qtr of their playoff loss
I placed the blue dot on MLB Fred Warner as the 49ers bluffed a blitz and running a Tampa 2. (1st pic) He has to cover the deep middle and has to cover the 3 side receiver most inside threat.
In the 2nd pic Warner turns and runs with the inside receiver on the 3 receiver side. Moore drew up and called this play anticipating this defense at this spot on the field. Warner still has the blue dot.
The 3rd pic is when Dak should be releasing the ball. Warner (blue dot) is in the hip of the inside receiver on the 3 receiver side. TY Hilton (green bar) is streaking WIDE THE F OPEN on the opposing 30 and the 2 safeties with blue dots cant get there from their 2 deep landmarks. Warner isnt even facing TY Hilton to help if he wanted to.
Dak could hit him with a line drive pass and Dallas would have had a 1st down inside the 15 possibly 10. If Dak throws it and leads him Dallas has a TD and a late 3rd quarter lead and complete momentum.
Kellen Moore had the play call, play design, spot on the field, anticpated defense and Dak misread the most BASIC pass defense in football “Cover 2”. He throws it to the receiver with Warner all over him and the play is broken up and you punt… never to threaten again.
Yet blame Moore who was 4 for 4 on this play and Dak threw it to the 3 receiver side when the Tampa 2 principle is to have the Middle Linebacker crowd the inside receiver threatening the deep middle. Stop it… Dak sympathizers have more excuses than defending an accidental pregnancy.
This is 7 years in!! Losing to a 3rd string rookie QB where if everyone was healthy he’d be watching in street clothes? Teams can only dress 2 QBs.
Film study? Practice? Did they talk about this play? Keys to the play’s success?
You know they did…
At what point will Dak Prescott be held accountable for these issues as the Cowboys come up short against elite teams?? Especially when it keeps happening in the playoffs at the end of games the Cowboys should have won. Yet here we are again where Cowboys brass and day to day coverage has this team anointed “Next Year’s Champion’s” and will be led by their supposedly great quarterback who struggles to get the job done in money situations.
Now McCarthy who was fired at the end of his tenure in Green Bay for predictable offense is going to get it done. Well?? OK… at Taylor Blitz it’s always follow the psyche of the player in the arena. Its the greatest predictor to future events. The jury is in on Dak Prescott with The Chancellor of Football but you’re free to believe what you want to believe. Only this time…come back in January and let me know I was right.
Thanks for reading and please share the article.

Answer To Cam Newton’s Comment on His Hair Keeping Him From An NFL Job

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I hate listening to people take shots at Cam Newton. Of course everyone has an opinion but to do so with rancor has become a disturbing trend by fans over the last few years. Lets dissect form a football perspective…
Truth of the matter is he depended on throwing low trajectory balls…drilling it between zoned defenders. He never accurately threw the array of touch passes to get over linebackers and under the over coverage enough to “throw receivers open”.
He was always in “The Pistol” and could have benefitted from learning a series of “West Coast” style plays…steps with route combination timing. Would have benefitted greatly to his maturation in how he could play today with not as strong an arm. He would still be at a starter level had that been honed in and taught.
Go back and look at his interceptions even when he was playing great… defenders would undercut his throws. You can’t gun the ball in on every play. This is the number one reason he hasnt evolved like Randall Cunningham once he got older. 1989 Randall was way different then 1998 Randall leading the 15-1 Vikings to an NFL record 556 points.
This is the true “X’s” & “O’s” reason Cam is no longer a starter

The San Francisco 49ers Should Sign Derek Carr

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With most of the national media centered in New York, the majority of the teams Derek Carr should go to are in the east or the south. The Jets, Saints, Falcons, or the Bucs have been destinations repeated over and over on television. The team that can change the trajectory of his career and he can silence all his doubters is the San Francisco 49ers.

We have witnessed one of the NFL’s most complete roster over the last 5 years fail to win the Super Bowl due to a short circuit at the quarterback position. Even the last sojourn with 3rd stringer Brock Purdy was another set back. While yes he filled in admirably and played well enough to compete for the starting job, we saw the cracks in his play that led to him lasting until the 7th round in the playoffs.

Why is it a set back in The Chancellor’s eyes?

Its made the logjam worse with a soon to depart Jimmy G, an injured underwhelming Trey Lance, and a surgically repaired limited Brock Purdy.

Please keep in mind Purdy will undergo surgery Feb. 22 for the torn ligament in his elbow. Keep in mind a similar hit altered Bernie Kosar’s ability to throw when he suffered a similar hit and injury in the ’88 opener when he was hit by Lloyd Burruss. Pinning the upper arm right when each were beginning their throwing motion.

Kosar came back and had a successful career but his elbow was a source of problems the rest of his career. Torn ligaments in the elbow is also what knocked John Unitas from the 1968 season when he missed the season leading to Super Bowl III. Not only was he not the same after, the injury atrophied and he lost use of his right hand later in life. Even to the point he had to velcro his hand to his golf clubs just to play. *See HBO’s Unitas documentary -1999*

Sports Illustated cover featuring Johnny U.

Of course sports medicine has advanced since then but keep in mind Purdy was slight and physically limited to begin with. The 49ers can’t roll the dice he will come back and be better than the 7th round quarterback he is or try to run it back with a pedestrian passing game. They need to make a move.

Enter Derek Carr…

Do you realize in 9 years with the Raiders, Carr had to endure 7 Head Coaches? In a decade of stormy weather he was the one lighthouse this franchise could count on which included the move from Oakland to Las Vegas. He led the team to the playoffs with an interim coach, lost his receiver Henry Ruggs in a felony car accident that led to a fatality. Carr was the only constant as his offense changed five times since his 2016 season. Do you remember what happened in 2016?

Carr in 2016 was Taylor Blitz Times offensive player of the year as he led Oakland to a 12-4 record even though he broke his leg in the 15th game. At the time they were 12-3 and chasing New England, he had thrown for 3,937 yards 28 TDs with just 6 interceptions. The Raiders were 6-1 on the road and Carr had led 8 wins in the 4th quarter or overtime. Eight in one season! They were 6-1 on the road and a legitimate threat to the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots.

It was one of the few times he had the same offense and offensive coordinator during his career and he was growing. We’ll get back to what his injury meant for the franchise in full but this illustrates what Carr can do with the right pieces around him. Well we watched the 49ers nearly reach Super Bowl champion status over the last 4 years but were deficient at quarterback. GM John Lynch can wait to see if Trey Lance or a Brock Purdy can come back from injury and hope they’re adequate enough.

Or he can put on his selling shoes and woo Carr to sign with the 49ers knowing a Super Bowl championship will validate this group of 49ers and Derek Carr’s career in full. Much like Matthew Staffford’s trajectory just 2 years ago.

Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch your mission should you choose to accept it…

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Is it the Arizona or Apartheid Cardinals

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Tell The Truth Tuesday –

Cardinals

So let me ask you this Arizona Cardinals: Chief OC Eric Bienemy swallowed Eagle DC Gannon in the 2nd half of Super Bowl LVII and scored on every possession and that convinced you to hire Gannon? Check

You hired Patrick Mahomes college coach Kliff Kingsbury who couldnt produce a winning record in the Big XII. Check

Sooooo the OC that coached Patrick Mahomes to the 1st 50 TD season as a starter, most yards in a season 2 MVPs and 2 Super Bowl championships and should have been 4 Super Bowl appearances in the last 5 years isnt good enough or considered?

And you have a broken quarterback to fix in Kyler Murray??

After bypassing Asst GM Adrian Wilson for a GM from the outside? Check… Check…Check…

When you had Steve Wilks as a coach, you fired him in one year and he had no chance to build? Check Yet you gave Kingsbury several to “grow into” his position? Check

Sounds like and definitely looks like some racism/placism to me. No black men in positions of authority no matter the relationship with the organization or resume…. Got it!!

Now it’s being “leaked” Brian Flores was offered the Head Coaching position. Really? Thats news sitting here listening to 98.7 FM on a daily basis and your flagship station where Cardinals Coach gives his obligatory press conference. Interesting…

May you lose 17 games a season until you sell the team! Henceforth we’re changing the name – The Apartheid Cardinals.

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