3 Ups, 3 Downs - Week 11 @ WAS

[casmith07]

This one's been on hiatus a couple of weeks, and after a busy week last week being unable to bring it back...it's back! Give me your 3 Ups and 3 Downs for Week 11.

* * *

3 Ups

1. Tony Romo - clutch? Clutch. Romo got flattened four times today and still posted a QB rating over 100, and made big throws to Dez and Witten when it mattered. Romo likely seals the victory of Laurent Robinson can hang on to the back shoulder pass up the seam on 3rd and 6th in the 4th quarter, and the Cowboys head to the bus about an hour earlier than they did. Either way, Romo's on a tear right now, and with Miami coming to down on Thursday I bet it continues.

2. DeMarco Murray - even though he had a tough day today, he still put up 100+ all purpose yards and ran hard. We obviously are missing Fiammetta, but I think Murray is definitely our best running back in a long time, and is going to be a factor going into December for the playoff push...and the post-season.

3. Dez Bryant/Jason Witten - BIG catches in BIG situations. To start with Dez, he made DeAngelo Hall his personal errand boy out there, and looks to be getting a grasp on running crisper routes. I also really enjoy the passion he brings for playing football. And did anyone else notice when he got the audible from Romo on the big pass in the 4th to keep the chains moving? Tell me again he doesn't know the plays.

Witten is great as well. Just knows where to be and knows what to do, when to do it...all around amazing. I'm only giving him a few sentences, because I think all that needs to be said is his name: Jason Witten.

Honorable Mention - Dan Bailey. Commanders-killa!

3 Downs

1. Rob Ryan & The Defense - I think this is moreso on Rob Ryan than the players, but we just did not look at all prepared for Shanahan's stretch/playaction boot passes. We got fooled over and over and over again. And made no adjustments, which was frustrating. Only once, in overtime, did we finally snuff it out and it eventually ended in Gano's missed field goal. Not good...we need to tighten that up for Miami so we don't get surprised on Thursday.

2. Anthony Spencer - glad he showed up in the last 2 minutes of a game for a TFL. 58 minutes of invisibility, and 58 minutes of being the main culprit getting absolutely fooled on the play-action every single time. Again, he finally adjusted in overtime, but had he adjusted earlier he could've gotten on the plane tonight with 4 sacks to his name at a minimum. Just not good work at all, today. I think he is what he is.

3. Alan Ball - good but not great. But today, he was bad. One thing that he hasn't been very good at during the season has been covering routes to the sidelines. He got beat by Gaffney on this all day long...not his strong suit, and we need to get him either some help with this, coach him up better, or find someone a little better and possibly churn this position this off-season.

* * *

So there it is for me. Give me your 3 Ups and 3 Downs!

 

[RS12]

2 Downs: 1) O Line giving up 4 sacks. Cant happen in January.
2) 9 Penalties. No excuse, should never be more than 5.

2 Ups: 1) Hatcher, playing better.
2) Bailey, ice water.

 

[Galian Beast]

Not sure how the defense got a mention but the special teams got a reprieve. 14 of those points came after piss poor special teams.

MartyB should have an honorable mention. He had a great game.

 

[shockandroll]

This one's been on hiatus a couple of weeks, and after a busy week last week being unable to bring it back...it's back! Give me your 3 Ups and 3 Downs for Week 11.

* * *

3 Ups

1. Tony Romo - clutch? Clutch. Romo got flattened four times today and still posted a QB rating over 100, and made big throws to Dez and Witten when it mattered. Romo likely seals the victory of Laurent Robinson can hang on to the back shoulder pass up the seam on 3rd and 6th in the 4th quarter, and the Cowboys head to the bus about an hour earlier than they did. Either way, Romo's on a tear right now, and with Miami coming to down on Thursday I bet it continues.

2. DeMarco Murray - even though he had a tough day today, he still put up 100+ all purpose yards and ran hard. We obviously are missing Fiammetta, but I think Murray is definitely our best running back in a long time, and is going to be a factor going into December for the playoff push...and the post-season.

3. Dez Bryant/Jason Witten - BIG catches in BIG situations. To start with Dez, he made DeAngelo Hall his personal errand boy out there, and looks to be getting a grasp on running crisper routes. I also really enjoy the passion he brings for playing football. And did anyone else notice when he got the audible from Romo on the big pass in the 4th to keep the chains moving? Tell me again he doesn't know the plays.

Witten is great as well. Just knows where to be and knows what to do, when to do it...all around amazing. I'm only giving him a few sentences, because I think all that needs to be said is his name: Jason Witten.

Honorable Mention - Dan Bailey. Commanders-killa!

3 Downs

1. Rob Ryan & The Defense - I think this is moreso on Rob Ryan than the players, but we just did not look at all prepared for Shanahan's stretch/playaction boot passes. We got fooled over and over and over again. And made no adjustments, which was frustrating. Only once, in overtime, did we finally snuff it out and it eventually ended in Gano's missed field goal. Not good...we need to tighten that up for Miami so we don't get surprised on Thursday.

2. Anthony Spencer - glad he showed up in the last 2 minutes of a game for a TFL. 58 minutes of invisibility, and 58 minutes of being the main culprit getting absolutely fooled on the play-action every single time. Again, he finally adjusted in overtime, but had he adjusted earlier he could've gotten on the plane tonight with 4 sacks to his name at a minimum. Just not good work at all, today. I think he is what he is.

3. Alan Ball - good but not great. But today, he was bad. One thing that he hasn't been very good at during the season has been covering routes to the sidelines. He got beat by Gaffney on this all day long...not his strong suit, and we need to get him either some help with this, coach him up better, or find someone a little better and possibly churn this position this off-season.

* * *

So there it is for me. Give me your 3 Ups and 3 Downs!

Other than Ball, great post. You are judging him like a starter, he's not.

 

[Eskimo]

3 ups:

1. Tony Fiammetta: we now see how important he is to the running game.

2. Tony Romo: He carried us in this game in the second half when the OL was crumbling, the running game was non-existent and Robinson couldn't get his head into the game for whatever reason. He improvised the plays we needed to erase the deficit, then gain the lead and then win in overtime.

3. Jay Ratliff: He seemed to be quite dominant in the middle of the line today.


3 downs:

1. Rob Ryan: He has tremendous difficulty covering the middle of the field. His defense routinely leaves people wide open. He has to get through to the players or bring in new players because you can't leave people that open all game long.

2. Bradie/Booking: They are minimally effective against the run and an embarassment against the pass. We have to get them off the field ASAP. I think Ryan has to think about getting Carter out there all of the time on passing downs and start to work him in more on the base defense before the year is through. It may be easier to work on getting Carter in on the base and make Church the ILB in the nickel.

3. Costa: They gave up lots of pressure on passing downs and lots of penetration on running downs. Costa was the biggest offender.

 

[tomson75]

UP

Romo - best player on the field today.

Witten - best TE ever. His clutch catches this year are keeping us alive. I was giggling like a 12 year old girl when he ran that 59 yarder in today.

Bailey - I hate that we're relying on him so much, but love that we can.

DOWN

Rob Ryan - I used to like his bravado....but his inability to back up his big mouth is getting old.

Special teams - Awful outside of Bailey.

Our chiropractor - whoever is in charge of the backbone of this team needs some re-adjustment themselves. We were only able to score the W because of the Skin's ineptitude. We won't beat any good teams with that performance. We got lucky today....but I'll take it.

 

[RS12]

3. Costa: They gave up lots of pressure on passing downs and lots of penetration on running downs. Costa was the biggest offender.

Remember him getting rag dolled on one play in particular. Draft a guard early and make Nagy the center next year.

 

[tomson75]

Remember him getting rag dolled on one play in particular. Draft a guard early and make Nagy the center next year.

....or give him a chance to improve? The guy is a rookie for chrissakes.

 

[jblaze2004]

3 ups:

1. Tony Fiammetta: we now see how important he is to the running game.

2. Tony Romo: He carried us in this game in the second half when the OL was crumbling, the running game was non-existent and Robinson couldn't get his head into the game for whatever reason. He improvised the plays we needed to erase the deficit, then gain the lead and then win in overtime.

3. Jay Ratliff: He seemed to be quite dominant in the middle of the line today.


3 downs:

1. Rob Ryan: He has tremendous difficulty covering the middle of the field. His defense routinely leaves people wide open. He has to get through to the players or bring in new players because you can't leave people that open all game long.

2. Bradie/Booking: They are minimally effective against the run and an embarassment against the pass. We have to get them off the field ASAP. I think Ryan has to think about getting Carter out there all of the time on passing downs and start to work him in more on the base defense before the year is through. It may be easier to work on getting Carter in on the base and make Church the ILB in the nickel.

3. Costa: They gave up lots of pressure on passing downs and lots of penetration on running downs. Costa was the biggest offender.

did bruce carter play on defense today? I seen him make a picture perfect game saving tackle on special teams.

 

[RS12]

2. Bradie/Booking: They are minimally effective against the run and an embarassment against the pass. We have to get them off the field ASAP. I think Ryan has to think about getting Carter out there all of the time on passing downs and start to work him in more on the base defense before the year is through. It may be easier to work on getting Carter in on the base and make Church the ILB in the nickel.

Yes, agree 1000 percent.

 

[jblaze2004]

....or give him a chance to improve? The guy is a rookie for chrissakes.

no he is not a rookie.

 

[tomson75]

no he is not a rookie.

Your'e right....my b

 

[RS12]

....or give him a chance to improve? The guy is a rookie for chrissakes.

Costa is a 2nd year guy and with parts of two years in an NFL weight room has journeyman written all over him.

 

[hutch1254]

3 Ups

1. Romo - kept the ship steady, made some things happen when they weren't there.
2. Run D - bottled up the running game and the Mike Vick autograph seeker.
3. Witten / Dez - Witten for outrunning Meangelo and Dez for spinning off Meangelo for the catch to setup the game winning FG.

3 Downs

1. The return game. I'm done with the AOA experiment. He has no "it" that people talk about.
2. Pass rush - where was it?
3. Secondary - exposed in the middle and in the flats but I think that was more of a byproduct due to the lack of pass rush pressure.

 

[Eskimo]

....or give him a chance to improve? The guy is a rookie for chrissakes.

The other thing is that Costa is very physically mature. I think he held all kinds of weightlifting records at Maryland. So he probably isn't going to get much stronger.

I think he's about as good as he is going to get and I don't think he is going to be good enough to be a reliable Center.

This is the biggest weakness on our roster and it is somewhat of a fatal flaw to be weak there. I really think if there is value in the draft, that's where our first rounder should go. If someone makes more sense to take in the middle of the second round then trade down and get an extra 3rd rounder. If the draft fails, then get a good FA Center. However, don't go into next year with this guy at Center. I actually have higher hopes for Kowalski since he can benefit from a year out of college and a summer of lifting weights with Woicik. He is apparently very quick. Ultimately, I think he is probably best fit for NFL journeyman status, too.

 

[BHendri5]

This one's been on hiatus a couple of weeks, and after a busy week last week being unable to bring it back...it's back! Give me your 3 Ups and 3 Downs for Week 11.

* * *

3 Ups

1. Tony Romo - clutch? Clutch. Romo got flattened four times today and still posted a QB rating over 100, and made big throws to Dez and Witten when it mattered. Romo likely seals the victory of Laurent Robinson can hang on to the back shoulder pass up the seam on 3rd and 6th in the 4th quarter, and the Cowboys head to the bus about an hour earlier than they did. Either way, Romo's on a tear right now, and with Miami coming to down on Thursday I bet it continues.

2. DeMarco Murray - even though he had a tough day today, he still put up 100+ all purpose yards and ran hard. We obviously are missing Fiammetta, but I think Murray is definitely our best running back in a long time, and is going to be a factor going into December for the playoff push...and the post-season.

3. Dez Bryant/Jason Witten - BIG catches in BIG situations. To start with Dez, he made DeAngelo Hall his personal errand boy out there, and looks to be getting a grasp on running crisper routes. I also really enjoy the passion he brings for playing football. And did anyone else notice when he got the audible from Romo on the big pass in the 4th to keep the chains moving? Tell me again he doesn't know the plays.

Witten is great as well. Just knows where to be and knows what to do, when to do it...all around amazing. I'm only giving him a few sentences, because I think all that needs to be said is his name: Jason Witten.

Honorable Mention - Dan Bailey. Commanders-killa!

3 Downs

1. Rob Ryan & The Defense - I think this is moreso on Rob Ryan than the players, but we just did not look at all prepared for Shanahan's stretch/playaction boot passes. We got fooled over and over and over again. And made no adjustments, which was frustrating. Only once, in overtime, did we finally snuff it out and it eventually ended in Gano's missed field goal. Not good...we need to tighten that up for Miami so we don't get surprised on Thursday.

2. Anthony Spencer - glad he showed up in the last 2 minutes of a game for a TFL. 58 minutes of invisibility, and 58 minutes of being the main culprit getting absolutely fooled on the play-action every single time. Again, he finally adjusted in overtime, but had he adjusted earlier he could've gotten on the plane tonight with 4 sacks to his name at a minimum. Just not good work at all, today. I think he is what he is.

3. Alan Ball - good but not great. But today, he was bad. One thing that he hasn't been very good at during the season has been covering routes to the sidelines. He got beat by Gaffney on this all day long...not his strong suit, and we need to get him either some help with this, coach him up better, or find someone a little better and possibly churn this position this off-season.

* * *

So there it is for me. Give me your 3 Ups and 3 Downs!

I have said for a few years now that they should move Spencer to one of the ILB spots he's big, fast, can stop the run and he is good in covering TE's and RBs. Find another player in the draft or FA, to pair with D.Ware.

Another thing that you weem to be the only person that has recognized that Ball has a problem with sideline routes, or routes into the boundary. When we go into our nickel and dime packages they need to have Ball covering the slot and Scandrick on the outside. Scandrick is better playing the outside.

There was a time that Newman use to cover the slot and he did a very good job at it, somewhere during Parcells tenure he stopped covering the slot.

 

[Tabascocat]

My non-obvious ups and downs.

Ups
1. Bennett-played solid with clutch catches
2. Run defense
3. Dez -showed the ability to find the open spot a couple of times on his own

Downs
1. Def line-pass rush, not the run part
2. Special teams
3. No Giamiatta (however ya spell it)


I would say the secondary, but IMO, it comes from no pass rush. They have played well overall

 

[Everlastingxxx]

UPS
• Bennett (Actually did something)
• Romo (Made something out of nothing)
• Bailey (Guy is money)

DOWNS
• Newman (Plays too soft)
• Coaching staff (I thought they were all out coached a little)
• McBriar (Shank changed the momentum)

 

[tomson75]

UPS
• Bennett (Actually did something)
• Romo (Made something out of nothing)
• Bailey (Guy is money)

DOWNS
• Newman (Plays too soft)
• Coaching staff (I thought they were all out coached a little)
• McBriar (Shank changed the momentum)

Newman plays anything but soft. He certainly wasn't the main problem in our secondary today.

Mcbriar's shank hurt, but the momentum had already been shifted, and his tackle in the second half saved our *****.

 

[casmith07]

I told Bennett to ball out when I talked to him at the team hotel yesterday