king significant moves:The general consensus is Dallas Cheap Josh Rosen Jersey , Philadelphia and Washington all improved their 2018 chances, but long-term events will decide the value of these trades. ESPN named each a trade dealine “winner” (with the Giants a loser): Based upon Twitter and the comments on our own BTB site many Cowboys fans don’t share the same optimism regarding the acquisition of Pro Bowl wide-out Amari Cooper.After, all, they’ve seen this play before and past outcomes have left many with legitimate concerns. There’s also, however, legitimate reason for optimism. A look at how the Cowboys’ passing game has performed in 2018 - and how Cooper could fit in - shows there was logic in the front-office’s decision-making. The following bubble chart of the team’s top receiving targets shows three data points:Horizontal axis shows receiving yards. Vertical axis shows yards per attempt.Bubble size indicates number of targets.In general, this is an ugly chart. Only Beasley and “others” occupy the area you want to occupy. The others either suffer from a poor yards per target number (one of the best measurements of a passing attack) or their receiving yards are minuscule. When your second most prolific receiver in terms of yards gained is on pace for less than 500 yards - and your top receiver is pace for 800 yards - there are major problems. That’s where Cooper could - and should - come in. Let’s add his 2018 numbers to the chart:This looks a little better. You don’t have to squint too hard to see the makings of a legitimate NFL receiving corps: Beasley, Cooper, Gallup, Swaim. I’ll be surprised if this doesn’t become the consistent group in terms of snaps and targets. This makes sense if you look at targets (volume) and yards per attempt (efficiency):This clearly shows how Beasley, Swaim and Gallup have been productive and the rest of the team not so much. These problems also show up:Elliott is getting far too many targets. The schemed throws to Elliott are fine (think the screens that have proven deadly and the late game catch against the Lions). However Cheap Christian Kirk Jersey , Elliott is frequently targeted as a last-ditch outlet on third-and-long, getting the ball near the line of scrimmage and asked to make 8-15 yards. These are killing his efficiency numbers. Allen Hurns has been a complete bust and shouldn’t be on the field much moving forward. The “others” benefit from a few big plays by Tavon Auston and Rico Gathers but there’s been no consistency from any of the individual players. Let’s look at the same chart, with Cooper added:Here we see how Cooper slots in well with the Cowboys’ other productive targets. Cooper has been averaging less than five targets per game with the Raiders. Considering his elite route-running skills, Cooper is likely to average more with the Cowboys. Those targets should come at the expense of Hurns and Elliott. Specifically, Hurns isn’t going to be on the field. But more importantly, the expectation is that Cooper will provide the open receiver on those long third down plays where Dak Prescott is currently dropping the ball off to Elliott. If that happens, Elliott’s targets should decline and his efficiency should improve. Again, it’s not hard to envision the Beasley/Cooper/Gallup/Swaim/Elliott group being much, much more effective on third downs. This would be a huge improvement as Dallas currently ranks 29th in the NFL with a third-down conversion rate of only 31.2%. This is a huge drop from 2016 when the team ranked ninth at 43%. If Cooper can help them team convert one more third down out of every ten attempts, suddenly the team is back in that top ten level. That doesn’t seem an outrageous expectation. Let’s put all this in perspective by looking at Dak Prescott’s numbers.Here’s his performance for 2016, 2017 and 2018 compared to the NFL’s 2018 average:One thing that’s hard to see is that Dak’s bubbles are just smaller than the NFL average. In 2018 www.dallascowboysteamonline.com , Dak is averaging 29 attempts per game, seven less than the NFL average (36). At seven yards per attempt that means we would expect Dak to be throwing for 50 yards less per game than the NFL average. And that’s right where Dak stands (208 yards per game versus 253 yards per game). That’s because Dak’s yards per attempt is almost identical to the league average (6.8 versus 7.0). You can also see Dak’s 2018 is about the same as his 2017, but significantly worse than his 2016. Again, you don’t have to squint too hard to imagine Dak’s 2018 number migrating towards that 2016 mark with the addition of Cooper. Convert a few more first downs per game to keep a few drives alive and much of what ails this Cowboys offense would be fixed. That’s the hope anyway. It may not prove successful. But when you look at all the various parts and where there’s room for improvement, Cooper sure seems like a well-thought out solution to the Cowboys’ offensive problems. Cowboys fans are in mourning as it feels like their 2018 playoff chances flat-lined after an embarrassing 28-14 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. Of course, there is plenty of football left to play as we are only at the midway point, but it’s the kind of football this team has been playing over the first half of the season that has us fans up in arms. Critics are lining up at the door and they have plenty to say about this Cowboys football team. On Tuesday morning, one of the critics was former Cowboys quarterback and Hall of Famer, Troy Aikman.Aikman has never shies away from telling us how he feels. As a broadcaster, that’s his job. Some fans think he’s lacking in the loyalty department or that he’s trying too hard to not come across as bias, but Aikman just calls things as he sees them and right now - he’s not very pleased with what’s going on in Dallas. On Tuesday Dallas Cowboys T-Shirt , Aikman let his feelings be known...Complete overhaul of the entire organization? That’s not a slight change here or there like the Cowboys have done in the past, but rather like watching a cymbal-clanging monkey hit the reset button.So this would be the end of the Jason Garrett era. Aikman was teammates with Garrett in the ‘90s, but that’s never kept him from voicing his opinion about how the team is coached. But whether it’s Aikman, former coach Jimmy Johnson, or thousands of disgruntled fans, Garrett is oblivious to the outside noise and always has the same answer ready whenever people question his coaching.Cowboys fans will concur that over the years, this organization has come up empty as they try to recapture the greatness of the ‘90s Super Bowl teams. Several coaches have come and gone, including legendary coach Bill Parcells, but no one has been able to get this team past the divisional round of the playoffs. Aikman said it hasn’t always mattered who the head coach been so maybe his criticism is more directed at the fella who put him in the ring of honor, Jerry Jones.The front office has tried all types of approaches, from wild gambles in big trades to the slow Dallas Cowboys Hats , patience of building the team “the right way.” The team prides itself on always trying to get better, but are they? Monday night’s game was the epitome of all smoke and no fire when it comes to promises of a revamped performance. And Aikman points out out that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has plenty to sell, but never anything to show for it?I’m sure Cowboys fans would love the idea that someone other than Jerry was in control of the team, but to his credit, he’s really backed off in recent years. His son Stephen Jones manages the team’s salary cap and they are gradually improving in that department. Will McClay has done a great job bringing in talent as the team has drafted well in recent years. Are the Cowboys really not running the organization that well?This Cowboys team has problems. We all know that. But pinpointing it hasn’t been easy as we’re all over the place where we feel the blame should go. Maybe the answer lies with some new people making decisions in Dallas. This could mean Scott Linehan being relieved of his play-calling responsibilities. Or maybe it’s time for the removal of Garrett as we search for a new process. Or just maybe, it goes even higher than that? Troy Aikman seems to think so and after Monday’s performance, he is not alone. Custom Washington Redskins Jerseys