"The game is not that difficult" - Troy Aikman blasts Cowboys over CeeDee Lamb's role vs 49ers
The Dallas Cowboys have a lineage like no other in the annals of NFL history. Recently, one of their most respected players spoke out on how his former team utilized one of their best offensive options.
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, now an analyst with Fox Sports, vented his frustration at the Cowboys' minimal usage of receiver CeeDee Lamb in the 23-17 Wild Card loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Here's what Aikman had to say:
"There was a lot of single coverage on CeeDee Lamb. I hate going back to (when I was playing) because nobody cares, but what I see around the league—it's not just Dallas, I've seen it with a lot of teams, a lot of these offenses want to scheme things. The coordinators, it's all about scheme, rather than, 'This corner is playing soft. He's scared to death.' Just run the route tree. Run a comeback. Run a dig route. Run a curl. Run anything."
Aikman was clearly frustrated that the former first-round pick out of Oklahoma finished the game with one catch, he continued by saying.
"You're going to complete the pass whenever you want. (Michael Irvin) would've had 10 catches at halftime if they played us the way they played CeeDee Lamb in that game. The game is not that difficult. If I've got a great player at wide receiver and a corner is playing him in single coverage, throw him the ball. He's going to win most of the time."
Troy Aikman on @dfwticket on Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb only having one catch vs. the 49ers: https://t.co/sdIZD8dmpx
The Fox analyst obviously believes that by using Lamb more in the passing attack, the Cowboys would have given themselves a better opportunity to move the ball down the field, which is something they struggled to do against the 49ers.
Can the Cowboys win the Super Bowl with their current roster?
Dallas has the luxury of being one of the deepest teams in the league in terms of depth. Quarterback Dak Prescott is the unquestioned leader of the team.
Despite an NFC Wild Card game to forget, the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has shown that he is more than capable of putting up gaudy numbers while winning, as was made apparent by their league-leading average of 30.4 points per game during the 2021 regular-season.
The offense has weapons such as Ezekiel Elliott, Tony Pollard, Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb, to name just a few.
And this year, the defense made significant strides under first-year defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. The arrival of linebacker Micah Parsons and the emergence of second-year cornerback Trevon Diggs means the team will look to return with a chip on its shoulders next season.
The #DallasCowboys enter the offseason with several areas to improve, but HC Mike McCarthy outlines the No. 1 focus for 2022.
The roster is talented but that leaves something to be said about head coach Mike McCarthy and his ability to get the team playing as a cohesive unit.
For McCarthy's sake, hopefully next year is the year for Dallas or else they seem to already have two budding coaches waiting in the wings in Quinn and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. However, both are highly sought after around the league.
The Vikings interviewed both Cowboys coordinators today, chatting earlier with DC Dan Quinn and tonight with OC Kellen Moore.