I'm not an offensive system expert but it seems passing games are predicated on reads and progressions. Almost all plays are designed to highlight what your best players do and get the ball into your best players hands consistently. Then if said player is covered you move to read 2, read 3 etc etc. Prescott does better when he can throw immediately to his 1st or 2nd read. When he starts trying to get off those reads, he struggles. And our pass protection dictates he HAS to get rid of it quickly, because quite frankly it sux (especially the right side)
Lamb should get the ball more and the last two games the offense has moved the ball much better because of it. He is a legit #1 target and should be the featured guy every week until opponents show they can stop it. The Chargers couldnt stop him and neither could the Eagles. Until someone proves otherwise, you take it over and over and over.
You mention Aikman and the 90's Cowboys. Michael Irvin WAS the goto guy. Plays were designed to get him the ball and even though teams knew he'd get the ball they could rarely stop him. I doubt Aikman had many (if any) games where he threw the ball more to Alvin Harper than Michael Irvin. Novacek was always pretty much the 2nd leading receiver. Harper and KMart (and then Kevin Williams) were complimentary guys. In fact most years the RB's caught more passes than the 2nd and 3rd WR's for us. Alvin Harper's career high in receptions for us was 36 I believe. Kevin Williams took over the primary #2 role in 1995 and didnt score a receiving TD until the final game of the season.
In our offense right now 6 guys have at least 10 receptions, 7 guys have at least one TD. If I look at a team that has been very explosive throwing the ball like Miami what do I see? 6 guys with 10+ receptions and 8 guys with at least 1 TD reception. And they've run probably 30 or so more pass plays than we have.
The play might have been designed to get Irvin the ball, but what I'm saying is that if Troy saw Harper wide open he'd throw him the ball.
Case in point, the famous play in the Niners game that went to Harper. Irvin famously switched with Harper because the play was designed to go to Harper. But Aikman saw that Harper was open and Harper got it. Aikman didn't say, "well golly, the play is supposed to go to the player on that side (Irvin), so..."
That's what having a quick release is all about-making quick and correct decisions. Sure, Dak was under pressure. No doubt. And Dak had a good game even so. BUT, I'm talking about the difference between good and great.
A QB, like Romo, for example, could predict who would be open just from the defensive alignment. It's not as if they have to wait and see like we do when we are playing in the playground.
This is why Romo would let the play clock go to almost zero. It allowed him to see the final positioning of the defense.
And Romo played with far worse of a scrub OL (in what should have been his prime years) than what Dak has right now.
A QB looks at the matchups. Looks at where the safety is, where the MLB is, and he should know that, on this play, so and so should be open. It might not be a fool proof way, but it's how slow-footed guys like Brady are going into the HOF.
Unless you're saying Dak sucks, which brings me back to my point.
