It's a curious decision that's now been made, but it's been a curious season for the -- to say the least. On the heels of seeing fourth-string quarterback be one throw away from shocking the world and upsetting the undefeated in Week 9, the
Paul Coffey Jersey Cowboys front office remains completely committed to as their starter. They wasted no time double stamping Dalton as QB1 coming out of their Week 10 bye, with both owner Jerry Jones and VP of Player Personnel Stephen Jones taking to the airwaves to rub Dalton's back, after the veteran mi sed two consecutive weeks with injury.The first absence came in Week 8 after he suffered a concu sion during an , and then in Week 9 -- the latter clearing the way for Gilbert to land his first start. Gilbert made one fatal mistake against the Steelers, namely a red zone interception to safety , but wildly outplayed expectations as well as future Hall of Fame quarterback .Sources tell CBS Sports to not rule out the po sibility of Gilbert as starter in Week 11 against the for a variety of reasons, despite team comments to the contrary, and that's where this all could get quite interesting; but we'll get to why in a moment.First, when asked who'll be starter when the Cowboys take on the Minnesota Vikings, the elder Jones pounded the proverbial table. "Andy is," he told 105.3FM the Fan on Tuesday. "When we signed Andy, I really thought we had arguably the best backup quarterback that I've ever been a sociated with, and we've had some good ones with Jason Garrett and I don't want to go over guys like that -- Bernie Kosar -- which are names that are from
Connor McDavid Jersey the past. But still, to have Andy Dalton as your backup quarterback when in fact Andy is, in my mind, a very legitimate starter."What does Andy bring? Andy brings the things that we were talking about with Gilbert -- his calmne s, his ability to get you checked into the right way to approach how that defense is lining up, then to execute it with some quick reads. What you saw in Gilbert, that's what Andy Dalton is and has been for many years and has made the Pro Bowl doing it. He's the guy."Again, it's unbelievable we haven't been able to get him out there for a little part of the first time that he came in for Dak. We haven't had him for the last three ballgames and it's made a big difference." NO QB #14 CMP%61.2YDs452TD1INT3YD/Att5.32 But this is where the science derails perception, even if the Cowboys refuse to acknowledge the reality of football climate change.Gilbert wasn't simply (and arguably more) poised than Dalton was as starter in Week 7 and Week 8, but the escapability of Gilbert is something Dalton lacks in a big way, and it's one reason the latter has been sacked seven times since attempting to take over for an injured . Adding rookie seventh-round pick to this argument to drive home the point, both Dalton and DiNucci were sacked a total of 14 times over the course of three combined starts. Against a visceral Steelers front that faced the same porous o-line from weeks prior, and one that was expected to rack up sacks in Week 9, Gilbert was sacked only twice -- escaping what would've been at least two others to make big plays.At the half, he led both teams in rushing yards, but also had a higher pa ser rating than Roethlisberger, and his aforementioned interception was his only giveaway. For comparison, Dalton has three interceptions and two fumbles but, to be fair, let's quantify this mathematically, considering Dalton has more than double the number of dropbacks as does Gilbert. Dalton, who has 84 total dropbacks in the post-Prescott era, is averaging one interception or fumble every 17 pa s attempts. Gilbert is averaging one every 38 pa s attempts and, in a vacuum, that paces out to 2.2 INTs/fumbles if awarded the same
Grant Fuhr Jersey 84 dropbacks as Dalton. Gilbert has also already matched Dalton's touchdown tally for the season (1) in le s than half the attempts (38), and while one of the QBs was reduced to skewering the o-line on national television -- albeit justifiably so -- the other simply made lemons out of lemonade with the same group. Andy Dalton yelling at his O-Line on the sidelines Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) The science is staring the Cowboys right in the face, and with sungla ses on, so what's the real i sue here?Quiet as it's kept, a large reason for the Cowboys vehemence regarding Dalton is not simply the fact he has a longer resume -- negated by the "hot hand" theory now attached to Gilbert -- but also because the team signed Dalton this offseason to a one-year deal that included a $2 million signing bonus and $3
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Jersey million in total guarantees. He has the ability to more than double that payout to $7 million if he makes a playoff run and then wins the , and considering both are unlikely to happen in 2020 for the Cowboys, that's still a $3 million check already cut to Dalton that they can't take back. Gilbert hits the cap this year for only $529,412, making an easier financial pill for the hyper-frugal Cowboys to swallow when justifying who sits. It also needs to be said that if Dalton can somehow show he's worth a deal elsewhere in 2021, the Cowboys would potentially land a compensatory pick in 2022. That's some admirable che s, but it's not worth rocking the table to make the pieces move into place, knowing they very well and likely will not.Spin it however they like, but this is a reality when trying to discern the Cowboys pa sion on an unimpre sive Dalton. The front office simply doesn't want to have him healthy and on the bench with a pocket full of unearned millions, if they can help it. That, of course, won't be the PR framing, but instead an insistence on Dalton's ability, even in the face of the the opposite being true this season.So while they readily admit Gilbert looked great, their stance is Dalton has looked similarly great he got to Dallas. "The good things that you saw Gilbert do, you say, 'Is there a lot more of that with Andy?' " said Jerry Jones. "And there is. There just is. You take that last drive, Andy Dalton has taken that last drive before and taken it and gotten you a score." Garrett Gilbert evades the sack! : on CBS: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: NFL (@NFL) Jones is, of course, alluding to Dalton spelling Prescott, post-injury, against the and making two key pa ses downfield to to set up kicker for the game-winning field goal. Although,
Leon Draisaitl Jersey as Jones then admits, there's no guarantee the required touchdown to beat the Steelers would've happened with Dalton under center or that -- given Dalton's giveaway ratio and lack of escapability -- that the Cowboys would have even been in the position for the game to matter with four seconds remaining in regulation.Nonethele s: doublespeak."That's not anything against Gilbert, and Andy could have been in the same spot and not scored," Jones furthered. "We all know that. But the bottom line is that it is clear, and just look at your experience, look at your numb
