3 Ups, 3 Downs - Week 13 @ Arizona

[casmith07]

Give me your 3 ups and 3 downs from the game on Sunday.

Ups

1. Tony Romo - any questions on whether Romo is elite or not are ridiculous. Statistically it wasn't a great game, but Romo made some ridicuous throws in tight windows and made great decisions, despite looking at the roof for much of the game.

2. Mat McBriar - Did a great job of keeping Patrick Peterson off of the stat sheet. McBriar's punts were nasty good.

3. DeMarcus Ware - missed one snap due to a stinger and still went bananas out there. Guys can only block him if they hold him by his jersey and pull him down or outright tackle him. The best defensive player in the NFL made his presence felt on every snap.

Downs

1. Offense - scoring only 13 points against the 27th ranked defense in the NFL is just not going to cut it. A big part of the problem was the offensive line. I am not sold on Costa for the future and I think Kosier's running on fumes.

2. Anthony Spencer - one of his worst games. He's just a guy. Not a very good SOLB...we need to upgrade this position going forward or we'll be in for a long day with screen and play action passes designed to his side of the field.

3. Terence Newman - didn't start out too bad, but turned in a bad 2nd half and a really bad overtime period. It's possible the mileage is starting to wear on the body. We need to get younger in the draft, but we might wait a year or so before we select our next guy (Mathieu?) I would say CB would be our Round 1 priority if the interior of the offensive line wasn't so putrid.

For all of the DBs' woes, too, the defense only surrendered 13 points on the road against a jacked up Arizona team in regulation. If your Top 5 offense shows up like it's supposed to (like they did against Buffalo and St. Louis) you should win in convincing fashion. We didn't.

 

[The30YardSlant]

Any down list that doesnt include Garrett isnt legitimate after yesterday IMO. His stock plummeted.

 

[casmith07]

Any down list that doesnt include Garrett isnt legitimate after yesterday IMO. His stock plummeted.

Thanks for sticking with the premise of the thread.

 

[CATCH17]

Ups

1.Romo

2.Dez

3.Felix

Downs

1.Garrett

2.Garrett

3.Garrett

 

[The30YardSlant]

I'd keep the list the same except replace Spencer with Garrett. Spencer is a known commodity, his stock isnt going down simply because nobody thinks much of him anyway. According to many here, Garrett invented the game of football and yet he spent four quarters yesterday trying to stick a fork in the electrical outlet and finally succeed at around the 30 second mark of the fourth.

 

[casmith07]

I'd keep the list the same except replace Spencer with Garrett. Spencer is a known commodity, his stock isnt going down simply because nobody thinks much of him anyway. According to many here, Garrett invented the game of football and yet he spent four quarters yesterday trying to stick a fork in the electrical outlet and finally succeed at around the 30 second mark of the fourth.

It's not really a stock up/down thread, more of a three good/three bad (maybe I can change the name?) but thanks for participating. Participation keeps me making it each week.

 

[Outlaw Heroes]

Ups

1. McBriar: he essentially neutralized their most dangerous weapon. An outstanding performance.

2. The D-line: this unit has been much maligned this season, but I thought they did a very nice job yesterday of creating pressure. Based on his play yesterday, it would be nice to see Lissemore get a few more snaps.

3. Dez Bryant: I thought he was more involved in the offense (especially in the second half) than he has been so far. 8 catches and a TD, not to mention the clutch grab that set us up for what should have been a game-winning field goal. And most of that was working against a guy that can match his unreal physical skills.

Downs

1. Garrett: no explanation required.

2. Newman: see explanation for Garrett.

3. Cowboys fandom: I understand being furious with the loss. But the loss of perspective was disappointing. And the hysteria is always unbecoming, no matter how often we see it.

 

[LucaBrasi]

Ups

McBriar - was a real factor yesterday. Completely negated the dangerous Peterson.

Felix Jones - 6 yards per carry, 69 yard kickoff return. First time he's looked good since return from injury.

Sean Lissemore - Made an imapct with limited snaps.

honorable mention: I didn't include Romo basically because his job is to produce points and 13 isnt enough. But he is in a stretch of about 6-7 games of extremely solid football. good decision making with just enough improvisation that makes him real good, and I've never been a big fan. He's overcoming the shortcomings of others and giving us a real chance.

Downs

Coaching staff - the timeout prior to the kick makes me less angry than the debacle of not calling one with :23 left. Rob Ryan doesn't get a pass either. Whisenhunt adjusted in the 2nd half and Ryan failed to counter. S/T was a mixed bag.

Terence Newman - Couldn't cover Andre Roberts, then took another stupid penalty on 2nd and 19. Compounded it by saying they were confused on the deciding td.

O-line - Manhandled at times. Too many negative runs, especially for Murray. Romo probably held the ball way too long on 2 sacks, but he negates their defeiciencies far more often than vice versa.

 

[Mattb_25]

Up
1. Romo - Pretty self explanatory.
2. Mcbriar - Was good to see him have a good punting day, holding Peterson to only one return I believe.
3. Dez/Felix - Both played good. Felix didn't get many chances, but produced with what he was given. Dez played good minus the two drops early.

Down
1. Garret - He just doesn't seem to learn from his mistakes. It feels like he's just dumbfounded when it comes to making late decisions. If he can't figure it out, he won't be successful as a HC imo. And he still calls a bad offense I feel.
2. Ryan - 3rd game in a row that his defense has made the opposing average QBs look elite. But what baffles me is that the defense plays awesome in the first half, but when the other teams offense makes adjustments at halftime, Ryan seems to not have any way to stop the offense from moving the ball at will in the second half of games.
3. Tnew - Absolutely horrible game. This guy played below what Alan Ball normally plays. I'm disappointed in how he's been playing after what seemed to be a pro bowl year for him.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

Give me your 3 ups and 3 downs from the game on Sunday.

Ups

1. Tony Romo - any questions on whether Romo is elite or not are ridiculous. Statistically it wasn't a great game, but Romo made some ridicuous throws in tight windows and made great decisions, despite looking at the roof for much of the game.

2. Mat McBriar - Did a great job of keeping Patrick Peterson off of the stat sheet. McBriar's punts were nasty good.

3. DeMarcus Ware - missed one snap due to a stinger and still went bananas out there. Guys can only block him if they hold him by his jersey and pull him down or outright tackle him. The best defensive player in the NFL made his presence felt on every snap.

Downs

1. Offense - scoring only 13 points against the 27th ranked defense in the NFL is just not going to cut it. A big part of the problem was the offensive line. I am not sold on Costa for the future and I think Kosier's running on fumes.

2. Anthony Spencer - one of his worst games. He's just a guy. Not a very good SOLB...we need to upgrade this position going forward or we'll be in for a long day with screen and play action passes designed to his side of the field.

3. Terence Newman - didn't start out too bad, but turned in a bad 2nd half and a really bad overtime period. It's possible the mileage is starting to wear on the body. We need to get younger in the draft, but we might wait a year or so before we select our next guy (Mathieu?) I would say CB would be our Round 1 priority if the interior of the offensive line wasn't so putrid.

For all of the DBs' woes, too, the defense only surrendered 13 points on the road against a jacked up Arizona team in regulation. If your Top 5 offense shows up like it's supposed to (like they did against Buffalo and St. Louis) you should win in convincing fashion. We didn't.

The offensive line did not play well but you could tell the AZ defense was playing their SB. Watch them give up 30 next week to SF.


On another note: Kudos to the Cardinals for finding Sam "Bless You" Acho in the 4th round.