Review Offense: Preseason Cowboys at 49ers

McKDaddy · Aug 12, 2019

Cowboy4ever said:
And on 2nd and 1, he takes the ball and stops behind the LOS to look for a hole and it ends up being 3rd and 2.

There was no where for him to go. When the line is being pushed back, i can't blame the back.

Cowboy4ever · Aug 12, 2019

McKDaddy said:
There was no where for him to go. When the line is being pushed back, i can't blame the back.

You take the ball, lower the shoulder and hit the hole, period. You don't dance around looking in short yardage plays. He is not Barry or Zeke. He should know better, he is trying to make the team, do your job and not try to be a hero. It cost the team.

McKDaddy · Aug 12, 2019

Cowboy4ever said:
You take the ball, lower the shoulder and hit the hole, period. You don't dance around looking in short yardage plays. He is not Barry or Zeke. He should know better, he is trying to make the team, do your job and not try to be a hero. It cost the team.

I get what you are saying but in this case I just don't think there was a hole to hit. I thought he was right that a crease might be opening to the left but they got on him before it could. In a meaningful game, I would lean a little more toward your viewpoint. Different viewpoints, that's fair.

xwalker · Aug 12, 2019

Cowboy4ever said:
I disagree. I would have cut Jackson after the game. He has been in the league for what 4 years now? And on 2nd and 1, he takes the ball and stops behind the LOS to look for a hole and it ends up being 3rd and 2. No excuse for that. Short yardage, you hit the hole and get positive yards or neutral but you do not LOSE yards in that situation. If a rookie does that, it's a teachable moment, but a veteran, no excuses. That play alone warrants him being cut.

McKDaddy said:
There was no where for him to go. When the line is being pushed back, i can't blame the back.

There was no "hole" to hit on that play.

When the defender broke into the backfield at the intended "hole", Jackson had to take a step to one side.

He took a step to the left. The only possible way to get gain yards at that point would be to attempt to bounce it all the way outside. There was an unblocked defender at the end of the line which made it unlikely that Jackson could bounce outside.

He might have had something if he had initially stepped to the right; however, that would have required WR Reggie Davis (6-0, 170) to maintain his block on a Safety which is not a high probability of happening.

MrPhil · Aug 12, 2019

DasSchnitzel said:
I dont know why we watched Jackson play so much and Pollard play so little.

My guess is that the team is being cautious in case Pollard is our starter Week 1 due to Elliott's holdout.

CooterBrown · Aug 12, 2019

xwalker said:
There was no "hole" to hit on that play.

When the defender broke into the backfield at the intended "hole", Jackson had to take a step to one side.

He took a step to the left. The only possible way to get gain yards at that point would be to attempt to bounce it all the way outside. There was an unblocked defender at the end of the line which made it unlikely that Jackson could bounce outside.

He might have had something if he had initially stepped to the right; however, that would have required WR Reggie Davis (6-0, 170) to maintain his block on a Safety which is not a high probability of happening.

The thing about this play that struck me was the OL movement. As the ball was snapped the linemen's body motion was up, not forward. They didn't "fire out" of their stances and hit the guy in front of them. Watch it in slow motion. Where they should be driving hard and low they stood up and sumo wrestled with the guys across from them. Hard to get any line movement that way. This play was not the running back's fault. He had nowhere to go.

Oz-of-Cowboy-Country · Aug 12, 2019

jazzcat22 said:
And where is this guy now?
Was he drafted, was he signed by any team?
Maybe he did not want to come here to play.
Redmond was already signed, and he did play decently when he filled in last year. Campos was on the PS all year, so he was invited back, all teams do this with their PS players if they can right after the season ends.
Hyatt, everyone was supposedly after him, and he was this years UDFA HOF TC fan favorite on here. But I will give you that one, as I said from the start PS at best for him.
Maybe you are just looking for something else to whine about.

Hey. Campos didn't even touch the guy he was suppose to be blocking three times in that game. I'm not whining, I'm crying. Screaming for help. I'm the new born that won't shut up. Three times untouched. What the hell? Heck yeah I'm gone cry when we out there whiff-blocking.

Cowboy4ever · Aug 12, 2019

xwalker said:
There was no "hole" to hit on that play.

When the defender broke into the backfield at the intended "hole", Jackson had to take a step to one side.

He took a step to the left. The only possible way to get gain yards at that point would be to attempt to bounce it all the way outside. There was an unblocked defender at the end of the line which made it unlikely that Jackson could bounce outside.

He might have had something if he had initially stepped to the right; however, that would have required WR Reggie Davis (6-0, 170) to maintain his block on a Safety which is not a high probability of happening.

Not arguing about the line, they didn't do their jobs. My concern is the back. In short yardage situations, the first rule is, you don't stop your feet. You get the ball and you go. if its not there, you get low and drive and get all you can get, but under no circumstances is it ok to stop your feet and "dance" in the backfield on a short yardage play. You can make up all the This was wrong, or that wrong, or the line didn't do this and that.. most of which I would agree with but that doesn't make the fact that he stopped his feet ok. Get what you can get, hit the hole (whether it's there or not) Hard and drive until you can't. That's short yardage.

I don't fault him for not getting the first down, the line failed as you and other pointed out, but that doesn't mean he gets off the hook for poor situational awareness, imo.

jazzcat22 · Aug 12, 2019

Oz-of-Cowboy-Country said:
Hey. Campos didn't even touch the guy he was suppose to be blocking three times in that game. I'm not whining, I'm crying. Screaming for help. I'm the new born that won't shut up. Three times untouched. What the hell? Heck yeah I'm gone cry when we out there whiff-blocking.

I was not saying he was any good in the game. I was stating why they kept and / or signed the players they did.
Campos is another PS guy again at best, but right now he is ahead of Hyatt.

xwalker · Aug 12, 2019

CooterBrown said:
The thing about this play that struck me was the OL movement. As the ball was snapped the linemen's body motion was up, not forward. They didn't "fire out" of their stances and hit the guy in front of them. Watch it in slow motion. Where they should be driving hard and low they stood up and sumo wrestled with the guys across from them. Hard to get any line movement that way. This play was not the running back's fault. He had nowhere to go.

Good observation.

The RG was the only OL that really stayed low.

The Center stood up attempting to get to a LB.

The RT blocked down and was trying to get over to a spot which caused him to stand up more.

The play appears to have been intended to go just outside of the down block by the RT.

The outside TE failed to block the DE which is the primary reason the play failed.

It's possible that the play was intended to have the RB go to the backside of that TE; however, if that was the plan it's odd have have 170 pound WR Reggie Davis blocking the Safety on that side instead of a bigger WR.

Considering that it was 2nd down, I think they might have been trying to get a big gain more than focusing on getting the 1st down.

xwalker · Aug 12, 2019

Cowboy4ever said:
Not arguing about the line, they didn't do their jobs. My concern is the back. In short yardage situations, the first rule is, you don't stop your feet. You get the ball and you go. if its not there, you get low and drive and get all you can get, but under no circumstances is it ok to stop your feet and "dance" in the backfield on a short yardage play. You can make up all the This was wrong, or that wrong, or the line didn't do this and that.. most of which I would agree with but that doesn't make the fact that he stopped his feet ok. Get what you can get, hit the hole (whether it's there or not) Hard and drive until you can't. That's short yardage.

I don't fault him for not getting the first down, the line failed as you and other pointed out, but that doesn't mean he gets off the hook for poor situational awareness, imo.

Actually, after reviewing it a few more times, I think the play was designed for Jackson to go to the outside of the TE Jarwin.
- Jarwin was aligned outside of the DE and would have been required to make a reach block if the run was inside of his block.
- Jarwin is not a good option to make a reach block and it does not appear that he was attempting to make one.
- It's odd that they used 170 pound WR Reggie Davis to block the Safety but I'm not sure how closely they monitor personnel relative to specific plays in the preseason.

DasSchnitzel · Aug 12, 2019

MrPhil said:
My guess is that the team is being cautious in case Pollard is our starter Week 1 due to Elliott's holdout.

If we were talking about someone who was a known commodity, like Zeke or Morris or Jackson, then that's one thing.

This guy is a 4th round rookie with 0 professional snaps. I think he needs the work, and if he can't handle more than 4 carries in a preseason game then we're screwed already.

He basically just got handed his role with the 1st team and didnt even have to prove he could run better than say Weber. Weber didn't look great at times, maybe Pollard would have looked better, we'll never know because the 4th round rookie is already penciled into the depth chart.

xwalker · Aug 12, 2019

DasSchnitzel said:
If we were talking about someone who was a known commodity, like Zeke or Morris or Jackson, then that's one thing.

This guy is a 4th round rookie with 0 professional snaps. I think he needs the work, and if he can't handle more than 4 carries in a preseason game then we're screwed already.

He basically just got handed his role with the 1st team and didnt even have to prove he could run better than say Weber. Weber didn't look great at times, maybe Pollard would have looked better, we'll never know because the 4th round rookie is already penciled into the depth chart.

Issue 1:
They were not going to learn anything about Pollard that they didn't already know by playing him with the 2nd/3rd string OLinemen.
- The starting offense will play more in the next 2 PS games. Pollard will likely get all of the snaps with the starting OL.

Issue 2:
The Cowboys likely want Pollard to look as good as possible in the PS games to give the impression that they are not totally dependent on Zeke.
- Playing him with the 2nd/3rd string OL and 2nd/3rd string QBs would not make him look good.

MrPhil · Aug 12, 2019

DasSchnitzel said:
If we were talking about someone who was a known commodity, like Zeke or Morris or Jackson, then that's one thing.

This guy is a 4th round rookie with 0 professional snaps. I think he needs the work, and if he can't handle more than 4 carries in a preseason game then we're screwed already.

He basically just got handed his role with the 1st team and didnt even have to prove he could run better than say Weber. Weber didn't look great at times, maybe Pollard would have looked better, we'll never know because the 4th round rookie is already penciled into the depth chart.

I hear you but in my opinion, it is a delicate balancing act between seeing what Pollard has (getting him pro reps) and over using him, increasing risk for injury. Without Zeke and Pollard, the RB position is butterfly wing thin.

DasSchnitzel · Aug 12, 2019

xwalker said:
Issue 1:
They were not going to learn anything about Pollard that they didn't already know by playing him with the 2nd/3rd string OLinemen.
- The starting offense will play more in the next 2 PS games. Pollard will likely get all of the snaps with the starting OL.

Issue 2:
The Cowboys likely want Pollard to look as good as possible in the PS games to give the impression that they are not totally dependent on Zeke.
- Playing him with the 2nd/3rd string OL and 2nd/3rd string QBs would not make him look good.

What if we had alternated Weber and Pollard, and saw Weber doing much better? It would tell us that Pollard might not be our best option. We didnt get that opportunity.

In general, rookies need reps. Give the coaches some film to coach on, even if it is a 2nd team OL. Also, that 2nd team OL had a lot of guys who started last year.

It's a matter of opinion but to me, 8 reps for a rookie 4th rounder is always better than 4, especially in this situation.

darthseinfeld · Aug 12, 2019

jazzcat22 said:
And where is this guy now?
Was he drafted, was he signed by any team?
Maybe he did not want to come here to play.
Redmond was already signed, and he did play decently when he filled in last year. Campos was on the PS all year, so he was invited back, all teams do this with their PS players if they can right after the season ends.
Hyatt, everyone was supposedly after him, and he was this years UDFA HOF TC fan favorite on here. But I will give you that one, as I said from the start PS at best for him.
Maybe you are just looking for something else to whine about.

Sometimes Longhorn have over inflated views of Longhorn players.

jazzcat22 · Aug 12, 2019

darthseinfeld said:
Sometimes Longhorn have over inflated views of Longhorn players.

Oh I know as I put up with a lot of UT homers.

Seven · Aug 13, 2019

Cowboy4ever said:
You take the ball, lower the shoulder and hit the hole, period. You don't dance around looking in short yardage plays. He is not Barry or Zeke. He should know better, he is trying to make the team, do your job and not try to be a hero. It cost the team.

.... Ok Bo.....

xwalker · Aug 14, 2019

jazzcat22 said:
I was not saying he was any good in the game. I was stating why they kept and / or signed the players they did.
Campos is another PS guy again at best, but right now he is ahead of Hyatt.

I noticed they had Campos at LG today.

Review Offense: Preseason Cowboys at 49ers

McKDaddy

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Cowboy4ever

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McKDaddy

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xwalker

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MrPhil

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CooterBrown

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Oz-of-Cowboy-Country

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Cowboy4ever

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jazzcat22

xwalker

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xwalker

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DasSchnitzel

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xwalker

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MrPhil

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DasSchnitzel

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darthseinfeld

Groupthink Guru

jazzcat22

Seven

Messenger to the football Gods

xwalker

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