Wow. That was just embarassing. On both sides of the ball, all kinds of mistakes were made. I've been saying for weeks that the Cowboys are not playing like a Super Bowl team. Now, they aren't even playing like a playoff team.
Roy Williams (safety) and Anthony Henry kept pointing at each other everytime a pass was completed at one of the guys they were covering. If you can't take responsibility for your mistakes, get off of the field.
I realize that we were without our starting QB, but our problems go far beyond that. There's no control. There's no discipline. The only pro bowlers I see on this team are Witten and Ware. There were lazy tackles, mental mistakes and unnecessary penalties.
Offense:
Brad Johnson, uh, yeah. The Rams played him, pretty much giving Brad Johnson anything deep. They knew he wouldn't (and couldn't) throw it deep. He didn't. His longest past was a 36 yarder, but credit some of that to YAC yardage.
It wouldn't have mattered even if Johnson could throw deep. He was missing his targets all day. He threw them short, he threw them wide, he threw them to the Rams. He had a good opening drive, but that was about it. It was downhill from there. Total, Johnson was 17 for 34 with 234 yards with 1 TD and 3 INTs. He fumbled it once and had another near fumble. We have a backup quarterback that we simply cannot rely on and I wouldn't be surprised to see Romo return early, possibly even next week. Even with these weapons, Brad Johnson wasn't getting it done.
Witten was the reception "champ" for the Cowboys this game, catching 6 passes for 44 yards. Bennett had the most yardage, 2 catches for 67. He also had the lone reception TD.
Marion Barber is the clear offensive mvp "by default". He had 18 rushes for 100 yards and a rushing TD. It wasn't really a spectacular performance, but really is the only performance that was average-above average. Unfortunately MB3 also fumbled yet again. If MB3 doesn't get control of the football, he should fear losing his starting job. It's kinda weird to be saying this about the offensive mvp for yesterday's game.
Roy Williams (who IS #11, I received inaccuarate information apparently) didn't have a catch, but also didn't play every down either. This will probably be taken way out of proportion by the media this week. He's probably still learning the play calling system.
Defense:
Demarcus Ware.
There, that's it. I'm done on defense. DeMarcus Ware was the only player we had playing defense. Sure, James and Ellis also had a sack (Ware had 3). However, keep in mind that the Rams are sporting one of the weakest offensive lines in the NFL. Jenkins, the rookie CB starting in place of Pacman, looked absolutely lost. I know exactly where I'd throw it if I was an opposing QB. Jenkins will probably get more reps in practice this week.
Run defense wasn't very good either. All you have to do is not run in Ware's direction and you're probably going to get a good gain. Ellis has clearly lost a step. Stephen Jackson ran all over us.
All in all, we were playing as if this game didn't matter, similar to how we lost against the Redskins late last year. You could clearly see only a half effort look on most of the players. There is something else on their minds. Was it that the Rams weren't good and the Cowboys thought they could get an "easy win"? Was it that they are so used to relying on Romo to make a play for them? Was it that they were thinking about Pacman? I don't have the answer, but the football game did not have the Players attention.
The good news: Last year, if you would have picked the NY Giants to win it all after week 7, you would have been laughed at. They rebounded well. These next two weeks will be "do or die" for the Cowboys. They've been humbled. One of two things will happen after a humbling, either you realize you've got work to do and you work hard or you point fingers and go down playing the blame game, possibly even missing the playoffs.
This is a roster full of pro bowlers. The majority of the problems I see are simply an issue of laziness. Bad tackling (using arms instead of body) and penalties (our many false starts and illegal motions) were the majority of our problems against the Rams. If we simply use our brains a bit more, we'd see huge improvements.
Since the start of the season, the Cowboys have gradually gotten worse and worse. However, the good news is that I don't think that will happen next week. Our performance was at an all-time low this season. There's nowhere to go but up **knocks on wood**.
It doesn't get any easier, Bucs next week, then the Giants. It will only get harder.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Cowboys News
Yesterday was a very eventful day for America's team. I realize that since I'm a day behind on this post, everybody and their grandparents know, but:
Adam Jones has been suspended
and
Roy Williams was acquired at the trade deadline
First Pacman:
Yes, it's a big blow. A secondary that is already missing Terence Newman and [the other] Roy Williams certainly needs someone to step up. My guess was that it would be Pacman...which HE DID step up, but not in the direction I had in mind.
Personally, as much of a Cowboys fan as I am, I'm kind of glad that this happened. Jerry Jones needed to be humbled. I don't like his strategy of collecting thugs. I figured something like this needed to happen for Jerry to start looking at character. We'll see what happens.
As far as punishment, I tend to want to be harsher on punisments than most people, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I don't really consider myself hard-nosed, but I believe discipline should not be taken lightly, regardless of what your job or position is.
I'm probably going to be shunned for saying this, yes, I'm a Dallas fan, but I'd be fine if Jones was suspended the rest of the season. Does that seem harsh? Possibly, but how many more "second chances" are you going to give Pacman? Has the guy truly repented of his ways? Apparently not. Didn't he write a letter to the Titans organization saying how sorry he was? What happened to that Pacman? If Goodell wants to clean up the image of the NFL and make a statement, this is his chance. What kind of statement will he be making if he lets Pacman back in after a month?
The Pacman gamble did not pay off, we lost a draft pick on this guy. If I was Jerry, I'd just accept the loss and move on.
The secondary continues to be a problem, even after being addressed in the draft. Until Newman returns, Anthony Henry and Mike Jenkins will man the perimeter. Jenkins, the first round draft pick in April has a good balance of speed, smarts, and agility but is only 5'10'' and will have to prove he is tough enough to play every down. If I was an offensive coordinator, I would point most of my running plays in his direction. I'd also spend about 1/3 of my passing plays testing Jenkins, mixing up the routes and receivers and see if Jenkins can respond. But I'd also throw to my #1 receiver often, because Henry is no #1 corner. This is going to be an interesting defense to watch. Jenkins is going to have to step up.
This really limits our flexibility because we can no longer use our single safety, 3 cornerback package that we often use against a 2 tight end set, or a 3rd and short. Honestly, the best thing I see happening that would help this defense is to step up the pass rush. If guys like Tank Johnson, Marcus Spears, and Greg Ellis were to get to the QB more, it would take a lot of pressure off of this undermanned, unproven secondary that we'll see until Roy and Newman return.
Now, onto Roy Williams (uh..the NEW one. Man this is gonna get confusing):
No doubt he was expensive. He costs a 1st, 3rd and 6th pick in the 2009 draft, and a seventh in 2010. But at the same time, we were able to extend his contract and he is going to be a Cowboy for the next 5 years.
One of those picks that we traded away, was no doubt going to be used to get a WR. It was though that we would get one in the mid-late rounds of the previous draft, but that never happened. Instead, we continued to address the secondary (with good reason). And the odds are that we would not have drafted a WR that was as good or proven as Roy Williams 11 (is that the best way to differentiate between the two?). But yes, he was indeed expensive. Lions fans everywhere are thanking the Cowboys for so many extra picks to rebuild. Too bad the Lions canned Millen or I'd say the Cowboys traded one WR for 4 WRs. But since Millen is no longer employed by the Lions I'm going to assume they'll draft a different position occasionally. I suppose I should actually talk about the Roy Williams trade and discontinue making fun of the Lions.
------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: I just learned that Roy Williams will be wearing #83 as a Cowboy. So apparently the Roy Williams 11 thing won't work. Of course, giving him jersey #83 only makes perfect sense because Roy Williams the safety wears jersey #38. Sheesh. You'd think they'd at least try and make this easy for me.
------------------------------------------------
The biggest impact that the trade had was this - "The Player" will not be double teamed as much. That alone helps this team out greater than having one extra body. Roy Williams will move to the 2 slot slipping Crayton to the slot, where he is much better suited. I've always though Crayton was a bit overrated and I like him much better as a #3 receiver. He doesn't match up well against a lot of cornerbacks, I've never seen Crayton dominate a corner the way I see many top receivers dominate. Crayton's numbers have very visibly dropped since moving to #2 and I think a move back to the slot will help him.
All in all, I think this trade was necessary, although expensive. It is clear that we are going to have to rely more on our offense this year, due to an injured and underperforming defense. This trade will also make Brad Johnson's time behind center a bit more bearable, since he has so many weapons to help him while we wait on Romo's pinkie to heal. (There are talks about Romo taking the advice of Favre and playing though it, I hope that is just speculation. Romo is being paid a lot of money for a lot of years, I wouldn't risk permanently messing with his throwing hand over 4 games.)
In one day our team strategy completely changed and we're going to have to take the "just try and stop our offense" approach. Roy Williams was expensive, but necessary. Sometimes when you need it bad enough, the price is justifiable.
HELP NEEDED! I'm trying to look at the overall picture of the Pacman trade. If I remember correctly (which it's quite possible that I don't) when we acquired Pacman from the Titans there were other stipulations such as (a) if he gets significant playing time the Cowboys give another pick to the Titans and (b) if he gets suspended and/or doesn't get reinstated the Titans give a pick back to the Cowboys. Can somebody help me/update me on how the Pacman suspension impacts that trade?
Adam Jones has been suspended
and
Roy Williams was acquired at the trade deadline
First Pacman:
Yes, it's a big blow. A secondary that is already missing Terence Newman and [the other] Roy Williams certainly needs someone to step up. My guess was that it would be Pacman...which HE DID step up, but not in the direction I had in mind.
Personally, as much of a Cowboys fan as I am, I'm kind of glad that this happened. Jerry Jones needed to be humbled. I don't like his strategy of collecting thugs. I figured something like this needed to happen for Jerry to start looking at character. We'll see what happens.
As far as punishment, I tend to want to be harsher on punisments than most people, so take what I say with a grain of salt. I don't really consider myself hard-nosed, but I believe discipline should not be taken lightly, regardless of what your job or position is.
I'm probably going to be shunned for saying this, yes, I'm a Dallas fan, but I'd be fine if Jones was suspended the rest of the season. Does that seem harsh? Possibly, but how many more "second chances" are you going to give Pacman? Has the guy truly repented of his ways? Apparently not. Didn't he write a letter to the Titans organization saying how sorry he was? What happened to that Pacman? If Goodell wants to clean up the image of the NFL and make a statement, this is his chance. What kind of statement will he be making if he lets Pacman back in after a month?
The Pacman gamble did not pay off, we lost a draft pick on this guy. If I was Jerry, I'd just accept the loss and move on.
The secondary continues to be a problem, even after being addressed in the draft. Until Newman returns, Anthony Henry and Mike Jenkins will man the perimeter. Jenkins, the first round draft pick in April has a good balance of speed, smarts, and agility but is only 5'10'' and will have to prove he is tough enough to play every down. If I was an offensive coordinator, I would point most of my running plays in his direction. I'd also spend about 1/3 of my passing plays testing Jenkins, mixing up the routes and receivers and see if Jenkins can respond. But I'd also throw to my #1 receiver often, because Henry is no #1 corner. This is going to be an interesting defense to watch. Jenkins is going to have to step up.
This really limits our flexibility because we can no longer use our single safety, 3 cornerback package that we often use against a 2 tight end set, or a 3rd and short. Honestly, the best thing I see happening that would help this defense is to step up the pass rush. If guys like Tank Johnson, Marcus Spears, and Greg Ellis were to get to the QB more, it would take a lot of pressure off of this undermanned, unproven secondary that we'll see until Roy and Newman return.
Now, onto Roy Williams (uh..the NEW one. Man this is gonna get confusing):
No doubt he was expensive. He costs a 1st, 3rd and 6th pick in the 2009 draft, and a seventh in 2010. But at the same time, we were able to extend his contract and he is going to be a Cowboy for the next 5 years.
One of those picks that we traded away, was no doubt going to be used to get a WR. It was though that we would get one in the mid-late rounds of the previous draft, but that never happened. Instead, we continued to address the secondary (with good reason). And the odds are that we would not have drafted a WR that was as good or proven as Roy Williams 11 (is that the best way to differentiate between the two?). But yes, he was indeed expensive. Lions fans everywhere are thanking the Cowboys for so many extra picks to rebuild. Too bad the Lions canned Millen or I'd say the Cowboys traded one WR for 4 WRs. But since Millen is no longer employed by the Lions I'm going to assume they'll draft a different position occasionally. I suppose I should actually talk about the Roy Williams trade and discontinue making fun of the Lions.
------------------------------------------------
UPDATE: I just learned that Roy Williams will be wearing #83 as a Cowboy. So apparently the Roy Williams 11 thing won't work. Of course, giving him jersey #83 only makes perfect sense because Roy Williams the safety wears jersey #38. Sheesh. You'd think they'd at least try and make this easy for me.
------------------------------------------------
The biggest impact that the trade had was this - "The Player" will not be double teamed as much. That alone helps this team out greater than having one extra body. Roy Williams will move to the 2 slot slipping Crayton to the slot, where he is much better suited. I've always though Crayton was a bit overrated and I like him much better as a #3 receiver. He doesn't match up well against a lot of cornerbacks, I've never seen Crayton dominate a corner the way I see many top receivers dominate. Crayton's numbers have very visibly dropped since moving to #2 and I think a move back to the slot will help him.
All in all, I think this trade was necessary, although expensive. It is clear that we are going to have to rely more on our offense this year, due to an injured and underperforming defense. This trade will also make Brad Johnson's time behind center a bit more bearable, since he has so many weapons to help him while we wait on Romo's pinkie to heal. (There are talks about Romo taking the advice of Favre and playing though it, I hope that is just speculation. Romo is being paid a lot of money for a lot of years, I wouldn't risk permanently messing with his throwing hand over 4 games.)
In one day our team strategy completely changed and we're going to have to take the "just try and stop our offense" approach. Roy Williams was expensive, but necessary. Sometimes when you need it bad enough, the price is justifiable.
HELP NEEDED! I'm trying to look at the overall picture of the Pacman trade. If I remember correctly (which it's quite possible that I don't) when we acquired Pacman from the Titans there were other stipulations such as (a) if he gets significant playing time the Cowboys give another pick to the Titans and (b) if he gets suspended and/or doesn't get reinstated the Titans give a pick back to the Cowboys. Can somebody help me/update me on how the Pacman suspension impacts that trade?
Monday, October 13, 2008
Week 6 Analysis: 4-2
Over the past few weeks you might have heard phrases from this blog such as "The NFC East is just that tough" (in reference to the Redskins loss) or "one of those classic fell asleep and woke up scenarios" (in reference to the Bengals 'close call').
But let's make no mistake about it. Those cheesy cliche' phrases that justify a poor performance are no longer valid. This team is clearly performing below it's capabilities.
Plus, we lost Romo for about a month. While at first the thought of the Cowboys without Romo scared me, I read (and loved) this view of the team without Romo.
After all, last February - March the UNC Tar Heels mens basketball team improved all around without Ty Lawson in their lineup. Sometimes teams need a reality check. It worked well for the Tar Heels, we'll see about these Cowboys.
Offense:
Well, Romo didn't throw an INT...but he fumbled 3 times. The passing game was unlike any Dallas air attack we've seen. Romo couldn't get anything done downfield to Witten or the player, so close to half of the team's receptions were on those desperation swing routes to the running back, often a QB's last choice. Marion Barber led the team in receptions and yards with 11 for 128 including a 70 yard catch-and-run TD in the 4th quarter. Crayton had 3 for 84 with a TD, Witten had 4 for 55, the player had 4 for 36, and was thrown to WAAAAY more than 4 times (I don't have the numbers, but it seems like close to 60% of the incompletions were thrown towards the player).
All in all, Romo had 321 yards, 3 TDs, and *gasp* no INTs. We still need to get those fumbles under control. Romo can usually be counted on to have a multi TD game, but he still gets a little too turnover happy. The Cowboys WILL NOT be the team to beat in the NFC (NFL?) until Romo can decrease his turnovers, of any type.
As far as rushing, Marion Barber had 17 for 45 yards. Felix Jones had 3 for 22 yards. You can't say we didn't try with the run. We had plenty of opportunities, our O-line just didn't execute.
In fact, the Arizone D-Line dominated the cowboys offense, rattling Romo all night long. This is the most pressure that Romo has seen this year. The O line, especially Flozell Adams, got pushed around like older brothers dominating their little sisters.
Defense:
Quite frankly, someone is going to have to step up on defense besides Demarcus Ware. Newman is out, Romo is now out...so players on both sides of the ball can no longer rely on one of their teammates to do the work. This is a TEAM game.
Ken Hamlin had an INT, so it's nice that a defensive player not named Ware or Ratliff can make plays. Demarcus Ware led the team with 6 tackles. Adam Jones was next with 5.
Not a whole lot else to say, it was a typical Cowboys defense where they are getting beat at their own game. They stop the run pretty well but opponents pass all over them.
The Key:
I haven't mentioned this, but really the difference in the game was special teams. We let them return a kickoff for a TD to begin the game, and they blocked a kick and returned it for a TD in overtime. Our special teams allowed 2 scores, which was more than the difference in the game.
I realize I end nearly all of these with the same phrase, but it becomes truer and truer each week: We've got work to do.
But let's make no mistake about it. Those cheesy cliche' phrases that justify a poor performance are no longer valid. This team is clearly performing below it's capabilities.
Plus, we lost Romo for about a month. While at first the thought of the Cowboys without Romo scared me, I read (and loved) this view of the team without Romo.
After all, last February - March the UNC Tar Heels mens basketball team improved all around without Ty Lawson in their lineup. Sometimes teams need a reality check. It worked well for the Tar Heels, we'll see about these Cowboys.
Offense:
Well, Romo didn't throw an INT...but he fumbled 3 times. The passing game was unlike any Dallas air attack we've seen. Romo couldn't get anything done downfield to Witten or the player, so close to half of the team's receptions were on those desperation swing routes to the running back, often a QB's last choice. Marion Barber led the team in receptions and yards with 11 for 128 including a 70 yard catch-and-run TD in the 4th quarter. Crayton had 3 for 84 with a TD, Witten had 4 for 55, the player had 4 for 36, and was thrown to WAAAAY more than 4 times (I don't have the numbers, but it seems like close to 60% of the incompletions were thrown towards the player).
All in all, Romo had 321 yards, 3 TDs, and *gasp* no INTs. We still need to get those fumbles under control. Romo can usually be counted on to have a multi TD game, but he still gets a little too turnover happy. The Cowboys WILL NOT be the team to beat in the NFC (NFL?) until Romo can decrease his turnovers, of any type.
As far as rushing, Marion Barber had 17 for 45 yards. Felix Jones had 3 for 22 yards. You can't say we didn't try with the run. We had plenty of opportunities, our O-line just didn't execute.
In fact, the Arizone D-Line dominated the cowboys offense, rattling Romo all night long. This is the most pressure that Romo has seen this year. The O line, especially Flozell Adams, got pushed around like older brothers dominating their little sisters.
Defense:
Quite frankly, someone is going to have to step up on defense besides Demarcus Ware. Newman is out, Romo is now out...so players on both sides of the ball can no longer rely on one of their teammates to do the work. This is a TEAM game.
Ken Hamlin had an INT, so it's nice that a defensive player not named Ware or Ratliff can make plays. Demarcus Ware led the team with 6 tackles. Adam Jones was next with 5.
Not a whole lot else to say, it was a typical Cowboys defense where they are getting beat at their own game. They stop the run pretty well but opponents pass all over them.
The Key:
I haven't mentioned this, but really the difference in the game was special teams. We let them return a kickoff for a TD to begin the game, and they blocked a kick and returned it for a TD in overtime. Our special teams allowed 2 scores, which was more than the difference in the game.
I realize I end nearly all of these with the same phrase, but it becomes truer and truer each week: We've got work to do.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Cowboys are easy targets...
There's been a lot of negative talk about the Cowboys this week.
Right now we are easy targets. We let a winless Bengals team get back in the game after jumping off to a 17-0 lead. That's all it is, we are just easy targets.
Here's my question...
Dallas beat Cinci by 9 points.
The Giants beat Cinci by 3 points in overtime.
Why didn't we hear this about the Giants?
Right now we are easy targets. We let a winless Bengals team get back in the game after jumping off to a 17-0 lead. That's all it is, we are just easy targets.
Here's my question...
Dallas beat Cinci by 9 points.
The Giants beat Cinci by 3 points in overtime.
Why didn't we hear this about the Giants?
Monday, October 6, 2008
Week 5 Analysis: 4-1
Even before I begin with the stat breakdown, what we all really care about, is that Ocho Cinco didn't score a touchdown and didn't kiss the star.
Now that we got that out of the way:
Offense:
Romo threw yet another pick. Do you think maybe he'll go a game without throwing an INT? He did throw 3 TD passes though.
It was kind of a reverse problem of last week. Last week everyone (myself included)was screaming that our running game was non existant, only giving The Barbarian 8 attempts and Felix Jones not receiving a single touch. This week, we ran and ran and ran while Romo only threw the ball 23 times (14 completions)
The reception leader was Jason Witten, who had 8 for 79 yards and a TD. "The player" only had 2 catches for 67, one of them a TD catch. He was doubled up all night but probably lays awake at night wanting to know why we don't throw it at him while he's in double coverage (or, as is the case last week, wonders why we didn't throw it at him when we threw it at him 20 times).
Even though it limits the damage he can do on the field, I still don't mind him being double-teamed. Why? Well, if you take away those 3 players ("the player" plus the 2 players defending him" then we have an advantage by playing 10 on 9 football. Make sense?
Now to the running game. Marion Barber had 23 touches for 84 yards. Felix Jones had 9 touches for 96 yards and 2 TDs.
Throughout much of the past few seasons, Cowboy fans (or even non-Cowboy fans) were claiming that although Julius Jones was starting, Marion Barber was the better back. I wonder when the same thing is going to be said about Felix Jones. I haven't heard too many people mention it yet, but it's coming. Look at the numbers. Felix Jones is averaging 9 yards/carry (27 attempts - 244 yards). In those 27 touches he hasn't fumbled the ball. Marion has fumbled 3 times in his 93 attempts while "only" averaging 4.2 yards/carry.
OK, obviously Felix won't keep up 9 yards/carry if he's getting 25 chances each game and there is nothing wrong with a back who averages 4.2 yards/carry. It's just something interesting to keep an eye on. I wonder when the mumbling will start.
Defense
Make no mistake about it, we won't be a Super Bowl team if our defense continues to play at this level. We are week at coverage from our Strong Safety. We are weak at the pass rush (at least 5 of our front seven players are.) Ware and Ratliff each had a sack in this game. Besides Ratliff, none of the other linemen can be counted on to get to the quarterback.
On the season our linebackers are outsacking our lineman...not that that is absolutely horrible, but our linebackers don't get quite as many chances. Greg Ellis, formerly a DE but now a LB has 2, Zach Thomas has 1, Demarcus Ware has 5. However across the line, we know Ratliff can sack, Chris Canty has one but we dont' have any from Tank Johnson or Marcus Spears.
As far as the rest of our defense goes on the game, Adam Jones led the team with 5 tackles. Greg Ellis had an interception. No Newman.
Other comments:
Well, it's hard to say exactly if you call this a close call or not. True, we almost let a 17 point lead get away from us, but we did win by 2 scores. I'll chalk this up to one of those cases where you come back from halftime and fall asleep because (you think) it's in the bag. I'm hesitant to say that "we got away with this one" although that's what a lot are saying. Some also are saying that this was a "less than impressive win". So exactly how do you beat a team that's 0-5 and still impress people? Maybe I took that a big too far, we shouldn't have let them come back like that.
As each week passes we are showing more and more signs of weakness. We continue to slip in the power rankings. We have the Cardinals next week, let's see if we can straighten a few things out.
Now that we got that out of the way:
Offense:
Romo threw yet another pick. Do you think maybe he'll go a game without throwing an INT? He did throw 3 TD passes though.
It was kind of a reverse problem of last week. Last week everyone (myself included)was screaming that our running game was non existant, only giving The Barbarian 8 attempts and Felix Jones not receiving a single touch. This week, we ran and ran and ran while Romo only threw the ball 23 times (14 completions)
The reception leader was Jason Witten, who had 8 for 79 yards and a TD. "The player" only had 2 catches for 67, one of them a TD catch. He was doubled up all night but probably lays awake at night wanting to know why we don't throw it at him while he's in double coverage (or, as is the case last week, wonders why we didn't throw it at him when we threw it at him 20 times).
Even though it limits the damage he can do on the field, I still don't mind him being double-teamed. Why? Well, if you take away those 3 players ("the player" plus the 2 players defending him" then we have an advantage by playing 10 on 9 football. Make sense?
Now to the running game. Marion Barber had 23 touches for 84 yards. Felix Jones had 9 touches for 96 yards and 2 TDs.
Throughout much of the past few seasons, Cowboy fans (or even non-Cowboy fans) were claiming that although Julius Jones was starting, Marion Barber was the better back. I wonder when the same thing is going to be said about Felix Jones. I haven't heard too many people mention it yet, but it's coming. Look at the numbers. Felix Jones is averaging 9 yards/carry (27 attempts - 244 yards). In those 27 touches he hasn't fumbled the ball. Marion has fumbled 3 times in his 93 attempts while "only" averaging 4.2 yards/carry.
OK, obviously Felix won't keep up 9 yards/carry if he's getting 25 chances each game and there is nothing wrong with a back who averages 4.2 yards/carry. It's just something interesting to keep an eye on. I wonder when the mumbling will start.
Defense
Make no mistake about it, we won't be a Super Bowl team if our defense continues to play at this level. We are week at coverage from our Strong Safety. We are weak at the pass rush (at least 5 of our front seven players are.) Ware and Ratliff each had a sack in this game. Besides Ratliff, none of the other linemen can be counted on to get to the quarterback.
On the season our linebackers are outsacking our lineman...not that that is absolutely horrible, but our linebackers don't get quite as many chances. Greg Ellis, formerly a DE but now a LB has 2, Zach Thomas has 1, Demarcus Ware has 5. However across the line, we know Ratliff can sack, Chris Canty has one but we dont' have any from Tank Johnson or Marcus Spears.
As far as the rest of our defense goes on the game, Adam Jones led the team with 5 tackles. Greg Ellis had an interception. No Newman.
Other comments:
Well, it's hard to say exactly if you call this a close call or not. True, we almost let a 17 point lead get away from us, but we did win by 2 scores. I'll chalk this up to one of those cases where you come back from halftime and fall asleep because (you think) it's in the bag. I'm hesitant to say that "we got away with this one" although that's what a lot are saying. Some also are saying that this was a "less than impressive win". So exactly how do you beat a team that's 0-5 and still impress people? Maybe I took that a big too far, we shouldn't have let them come back like that.
As each week passes we are showing more and more signs of weakness. We continue to slip in the power rankings. We have the Cardinals next week, let's see if we can straighten a few things out.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Back to "The Player"
Well, it was fun while it lasted, but I will now return to the old ways of referring to Terrell Owens as "the player", coined from the nickname originated by Bill Parcells.
This decision is based on remarks made from the player after the loss to the Redskins. He has "apologized" (or really...he just made an excuse) in a way that doesn't convince me he is truly regretful for what he said.
Here are a few quotes from the player...
"It's not going to be the last time you hear me say I need the ball..."
"Everybody recognized that I wasn't really getting the ball in the first half. ... I'm pretty sure everybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it."
And this next one is my favorite...
"I am not going to be able to catch every ball thrown my way. Every pass was not a valid catchable pass."
OK, sorry, but now this is a bit ridiculous. He had the ball go right through his hands on a pass that could have won the game! Now he's saying that he can't catch every ball thrown his way. Duh!
Look, the player, The Redskins were double covering you all night long. You should take it as a compliment that you are being double covered. That means the other team thinks you are a threat. You had seven catches for 71 yards as it is. If you are wanting Romo to throw it to you while you are being doubled up, then you aren't much of a team player (well, that was a given).
I referred to you by name longer than I thought I would, so enjoy the return of your nickname.
This decision is based on remarks made from the player after the loss to the Redskins. He has "apologized" (or really...he just made an excuse) in a way that doesn't convince me he is truly regretful for what he said.
Here are a few quotes from the player...
"It's not going to be the last time you hear me say I need the ball..."
"Everybody recognized that I wasn't really getting the ball in the first half. ... I'm pretty sure everybody watching the game recognized it, people in the stands recognized it. I think my team recognized it."
And this next one is my favorite...
"I am not going to be able to catch every ball thrown my way. Every pass was not a valid catchable pass."
OK, sorry, but now this is a bit ridiculous. He had the ball go right through his hands on a pass that could have won the game! Now he's saying that he can't catch every ball thrown his way. Duh!
Look, the player, The Redskins were double covering you all night long. You should take it as a compliment that you are being double covered. That means the other team thinks you are a threat. You had seven catches for 71 yards as it is. If you are wanting Romo to throw it to you while you are being doubled up, then you aren't much of a team player (well, that was a given).
I referred to you by name longer than I thought I would, so enjoy the return of your nickname.
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