Why Mike McCarthy playcalling is a downgrade in Dallas | Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast

In the Yahoo Fantasy Football Forecast, Matt Harmon and Frank Schwab examine the change in playcalling duties and how it could affect players like Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb

Video Transcript

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FRANK SCHWAB: You just hear the name Brian Schottenheimer, and you're like, ugh, I guess. Really, that's the hire? There's all these creative offensive minds out there. And Brian Schottenheimer is just-- he's just not.

He's fine. He's not terrible, I don't think. But he's not really taking this offense into a new generation, let's put it that way, neither is Mike McCarthy. So I think it's a bit of a step-down, I do. I think Moore was better for this offense than the McCarthy-Schottenheimer combo.

They could still make it work. They're going to run the ball a lot. It probably downgrades Dak to me. It probably downgrades even CeeDee Lamb because they're-- they are-- they're going to just-- they're goign to establish the heck out of it, as some of our friends like to talk about. So I don't love this offense as far as like upgrades go. I just don't see this offense being better with that combination.

MATT HARMON: Exactly. That's why it's like-- it doesn't move the needle for me because I think McCarthy's stuff is so stale. I know that-- I think there is a temptation with what-- when things were bad with Dallas last year, it was-- or even the last two years, it was easy to be like, well, whatever's bad is definitely McCarthy, and whatever good is Kellen Moore.

I'm not 100% sure I buy that. And that's kind of why I have a little bit of skepticism about Kellen Moore. But it's just like, what's inspiring about McCarthy taking over playcalling duties? Do you really want more on Mike McCarthy's plate?

This better also come with a game management specialist, like a Jerry Rosburg type for Nathaniel Hackett last year. Mike McCarthy wasn't good in those situations.

FRANK SCHWAB: No, I know.

MATT HARMON: Now he's going to have more on his plate? I don't know if I love that. Yeah, it just feels very like-- this team, more than any of the others, is like, tell me who's going to be at the skill position spots, and I'll tell you if I'm excited about this offense or not because McCarthy's offenses put a lot on the quarterback, and it puts a lot on the receivers. It doesn't do a lot to get guys open, get layups and stuff like that.

When they had mega-talented players in Green Bay, good offense. When they didn't, not so much. So if they don't get more around CeeDee Lamb, if they don't get a better season out of Michael Gallup, if they're running a random tight end out there, like the Dallas Cowboys have always done in the post-Jason Witten era, I don't know. If it's Zeke and a rookie running back instead of Tony Pollard and a rookie running back, I don't know. Again, a lot of it's going to come down to the skill position group guys to me.