Kellen Moore and his play calling will always be punchlines among Cowboys fans

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Kellen Moore and his play calling will always be punchlines among Cowboys fans

During weeks like this one that are hectic for every reason under the sun besides Cowboys football, I feel fortunate to know people that make it their business to keep me up to speed on the things that might escape my attention.

And this week, one of the clips that found its way into my DMs was from “The Final Word,” a popular YouTube show hosted by Cowboys content creator Boss Cowboy Sports along with other hosts.

They’ve had several amazing guests over the past couple of weeks.

And when Iisha Morrison, a host of the Dallas Cowboys produced show “Girls Talk, ‘Boys Talk” appeared as a guest, the topic of Kellen Moore came up during their conversation.

As Morrison described how fast the offense has looked as they were learning Mike McCarthy’s new system, the panelists began to laugh.

Always the professional, Morrison tried not to laugh at Boss’s comedic delivery. But the emojis in the live chat revealed what Boss’s audience of Dallas Cowboys fans thought about the crew’s evaluation of Kellen Moore.

Watch the clip below for full context.

Game film analyst DMV Fanatic summed it up when he said, “Of course it looks fast. They ain’t running four curl routes no more.”

THE LATEST EXAMPLE OF AN ONGOING TREND

Of course, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Even when Kellen Moore was still on the Dallas Cowboys’ coaching staff, he was the subject of a lot of criticism.

The term “boy wonder” went from being a compliment bestowed on the young coordinator to being an ironic jab commonly used when discussing what were obvious play-calling missteps to many fans.

A Twitter search reveals that the top tweets about Kellen Moore are mostly jokes and disapproving comments instead of headlines or even genuine discussion.

But what all the banter reveals is the answer to a question that was originally asked months ago:
“What does Mike McCarthy mean by a 20% – 30% change in the offense?”

Fans never received a specific answer, but when Kellen Moore “moved on,” for many fans, that was all the answer they needed.

A FEW NUMBERS TO THINK ABOUT

Counting the playoffs, over the past two seasons, the Cowboys have experienced 12 losses. Seven of those losses, including both playoff losses, were by seven points or less.

In other words, the trajectories of the last two seasons could have been potentially altered by just a few possessions – a handful of snaps.

So when Mike McCarthy says “20% – 30%,” most fans who have been paying attention nod their heads and think, “Yeah. That sounds about right.”

The fans that are paying attention do remember that 12-5 is a damn good record in the NFL.

They know that making it in to the playoffs is something many teams don’t do and should be celebrated. They know that having one of the most productive offenses in the league is something to be proud of.

But they also know that even with all that, somehow the Dallas Cowboys did not meet expectations.

And when they think about how that could possibly be the case, they think about receivers looking confused, practically running into each other on their routes.

They think about the game when Kellen Moore just about admitted that he simply forgot to get Michael Gallup involved.

They think about the lack of creativity that allowed the 49ers to interrupt passes as if they knew exactly where they were going and when.

They think about all of those curl routes.

Will Kellen Moore’s departure fix everything? No. But there is reason to believe that it can fix a handful of plays – enough to make the difference.

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36 Comments

  1. Fred Goodwin
    When you say Cowboy fans should celebrate the Cowboys' offensive production and back-to-back five-loss seasons, all I can say is, have fan expectations *really* fallen that far? There was a time when nothing less than a Super Bowl Championship would do. Now we're supposed to be happy with a 12-5 season and one-and-done in the playoffs? I call bullsh*t on that.
  2. Bobby Rogers
    Dick Huss, ok. The last 2 seasons they were 4th and 1st in scoring. Improvement always a good thing. The qb isn't the only thing that needs to improve. In 4 playoff losses, he's played well enough to win 2 of them. He wasn't on the field on 3rd and 20 against GB in '16 or against LA in '18 when the defense gave up a franchise playoff-record 273 yards rushing. As far as the 2 losses against SF, it looks like the 49ers are in his head.
  3. Olga Villescas
    Kellen Moore was not the problem .
  4. John Ballistrea
    COWCLOWNS
  5. Bobby Rogers
    Dick Huss, I'm pointing out that the qb ran an offense that finished in the top 6 in scoring 3x.
  6. Bobby Rogers
    Dick Huss, keep an eye on their points scored minus the season Dak missed 10 games with a broken leg in Moore's 4 seasons. 6th, 1st and 4th in points scored.
  7. William Slevenski
    I suppose in January when they get bounced out of the playoffs again they'll blame the head trainer for making their jock straps too tight...
  8. Wayne Shaw
    We will definitely see when the season starts!! I was very vocal about getting rid of him!! Now there can be no excuses!! GO COWBOYS!!
  9. Michael Godwin
    Lol what, Dak is the punchline.
  10. Gunner joe
    How stupid! Mc eat a mac carthy will run our team into the toilet! So funny how they say the fans say this media spin fools
  11. Channah Polis
    Jesse Pope these people like to talk shit when they don’t know what the hell they’re talking about. Maybe these people should watch all the games so they will know why us real fans don’t like moore’s play calling.
  12. Hussien Khafaji
    David Delgadillo actually top offense two years in a row, even with a depleted WRs core last year
  13. David Norton
    All yall hating on Dak I want you to defend Warren Moon
  14. Reginald Russell
    Dick Huss Up the gut every first down and reverse plays inside the 5 won’t be missed.Last play of both 49er playoff games won’t be missed also
  15. Rick McCurley
    Good riddance!!! I think this year Dak will shut all these haters up. The dude has already thrown more td’s than Aikman, and half his nit’s went off the hands of his own receivers. No doubt he cannot carry the team alone, there’s very few Tom Brady’s, Pat Mah, Aaron Rod, maybe Josh Allen in a year or two, but with all the talent they have, it’s on the coaching. Dak should never be forced to throw 40-50 x’s in a game with the backfield they’ve had for the last few seasons. Run the ball!!! and make him carry a few;)
    1. Forrest Davis
      Rick McCurley good luck what your theory
  16. Peter Welikonich
    We will see what Kellen can do this year with a real NFL QB. Dak is garbage, not even close to NFL caliber
  17. Demechie Taylor Sr.
    Who wak goin to blame this year when he cant get it done i guess mike will get fired hell ray charlas can see dak the problem
  18. Bob Nemec
    Kellen was not the problem!
  19. Robby Franks
    The same issue as with Romo can't close out close games Blew double digit leads vs Green Bay and Jacksonville.
  20. Hussien Khafaji
    Dick Huss yeah the Chargers are stuck with him, ad he had zero experience as an offensive coordinator and ran the same running play one very first down. Glad we and Dak now have someone with experience and changed the scheme. Should have been fired with Garrett.

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