3 Ups, 3 Downs - Week 8 @ PHI

[casmith07]

You know the drill - post your 3 good and 3 bad from Week 8.

3 Ups

1. DeMarco Murray - I think it's pretty safe to say we've got a good running back here. It's going to be hard to really gauge it going forward because of the musical chairs on the offensive line, but I would say he's for real. Let's hope we have more chances to get him the ball moving forward and don't only run something absurd like 13 plays in the first half.

2. Laurent Robinson - we've got a solid #3 receiver option here. The nice long TD catch as well as the circus catch that were overruled were great to see. He's athletic and fast. Glad to have him on the team.

3. DeMarcus Ware - 4 sacks and was chasing plays sideline to sideline faster than Keith Brooking and Bradie James. Not really a lot good out of this one, or on defense, but at least he showed up and played hard.

3 Downs

1. Rob Ryan and the Defense - huge step backwards. They just did not look prepared, or the scheme was very poor. One thing that I noticed that I didn't like is that this is the first game that our defensive front 7 was not active before the snap, shifting, moving around, making different calls, stunts, etc. We played like we were afraid of Vick running - we lined up, picked a line, and ran straight ahead. It made even less sense to me since Vick admitted this is the first year in his football life he's ever started to read defenses. Also, the few times we did move around, we caused chaos in the backfield, Ratliff came free, etc...hopefully we throw that game plan in the garbage can.

2. Martellus Bennett - game breaking blunder. First of all, he needs to catch the football when his number is called. He hasn't done that lately, from what I can remember. I don't care how well he blocks, when practice squad Tight End Martin Rucker had his number called last year, he caught the ball and made plays. I think we need to send this guy packing like we did Choice...who apparently was his boy. It's funny how the same guys in the Cult of Terrell Owens from years back have become goats on this team. There could be no connection there at all...but it's interesting nonetheless.

3. The offense/offensive game plan/offensive line - the offensive line was bad, but that's to be expected when you have guys shuffling around like crazy. The game plan was probably great on paper, but I'm worried about Coach Garrett's ability to adjust in-game. I saw one poster say that it looks like he just continues with his current plan no matter what is taking place on the field. I'm not sure if that's the case, but it appears that there's a problem there. Other teams have run all over that Wide 9 defense, but we didn't run...and when we did, Murray gained 70+ yards on single-digit carries. Great head coach and motivator, and probably even a great pre-game offensive coordinator...but we might need another set of eyes and ears out there for mid-game adjustments.


* * *


Have to give credit where credit is due - the Eagles showed up and kicked our butts. Hopefully this one stings with the players and the coaches and they're ready for the next meeting at home in a few weeks.

 

[VACowboy]

You can't run the ball when you're down 24 pts.

 

[Doomsday]

You can't run the ball when you're down 24 pts.

Why not? There was still over a half of football left and it would certainly slow down their pass rush some. We certainly could of ran a few draws here and there, its better than watching Romo check the ball down for 1 yard like he was forced to do all night.

 

[CCBoy]

1. A low tide mark has been struck, and with the sting at pride from this butt kicking, the team will be forced to learn from their OWN mistakes. AS long as they are learning from their own mistakes, they are still on the road to becoming winners!

2. The recent emergence of a valid running game. DeMarcus Murray is a strong runner...kind of reminds me of Calvin Hill. And when Felix Jones returns, he will add an additionaly dynamic that will add flash to the bang. I think that the Dallas running game will now have: Flash, and Bang. Tanner is a valid depth person, and adds in the passing game as well. It was good to see his catch in the 4th Quarter last night.

3. Demarcus Ware - I was joyous that he showed, despite the tempest and storm, that he could arise above even that, and dominate getting onto a very talented quarterback. Last night, he was 'Death and Awe.'



Cons

1. Upon being completely humiliated, the entire team didn't draw their sacrificial knives and commit hare kare. That given, they will have to go through self-doubts, but arrive at real solutions to their collective problems. I was discouraged that a whole half of not covering holes in their defense, continued into yet another half of frustrations, and almost historical levels of bad play. Despite Dallas starting out with NO professional levels of talent in the Cowboys very beginnings, the very worst a team has given up in a single game, was 33 first downs. The Eagles had 30 at the beginning of the 4th quarters. This means that this defense is not developed enough to identify problems, and without enough initiative to correct that by making it happen in a positive manner.

2. The offensive line can be dominated by a 'big boy' presence. That is very disappointing, as the problem won't up and go away now. And they don't seem able to just retain point of contact to allow skill players to do their thing. A quick delivery can't even be successful with Tony Romo, as he purely and simply, is dodging and not able to even look down field, when any relevant and transition point in a game is reached.

3. That consistency in execution is the dominating point in failure. That will not be remedied quickly, through the remaining season. Red Zone, even against a team struggling at just that, is still a major downfall.




As to giving credit, I'm sure the Cowboys will feel the same way, once stitches and bandages are removed following that butt kicking.

 

[Jenky]

You know the drill - post your 3 good and 3 bad from Week 8.

3 Ups

1. DeMarco Murray - I think it's pretty safe to say we've got a good running back here. It's going to be hard to really gauge it going forward because of the musical chairs on the offensive line, but I would say he's for real. Let's hope we have more chances to get him the ball moving forward and don't only run something absurd like 13 plays in the first half.

2. Laurent Robinson - we've got a solid #3 receiver option here. The nice long TD catch as well as the circus catch that were overruled were great to see. He's athletic and fast. Glad to have him on the team.

3. DeMarcus Ware - 4 sacks and was chasing plays sideline to sideline faster than Keith Brooking and Bradie James. Not really a lot good out of this one, or on defense, but at least he showed up and played hard.

ILLEGAL PROCEDURE! You are not allowed to crown Laurent Robinson. Please refer to this thread.

 

[VACowboy]

Why not? There was still over a half of football left and it would certainly slow down their pass rush some. We certainly could of ran a few draws here and there, its better than watching Romo check the ball down for 1 yard like he was forced to do all night.

You're right. I didn't say what I meant:

It's hard to run the ball when your opponent scores every possession. We got runs stuffed on a few first and/or second downs and ended up in third and long, didn't pick up the first and punted. Philly took the ball and scored. It looked like to me that Philly really clamped down on the run after Murray busted a couple early on, and that's when Garrett went away from it.

But I do agree: Red tends to give up on the ground game way too early.

 

[shockandroll]

I agree with everything you said. I can only think of one more down that really surprised me. Ratliff got pushed around and unable to get past what was supposedly a 280lb rookie center. I was really expecting him to be disruptive and he was anything but.

Can anyone shed any light as to why he was not able to do better?

 

[Jenky]

I agree with everything you said. I can only think of one more down that really surprised me. Ratliff got pushed around and unable to get past what was supposedly a 280lb rookie center. I was really expecting him to be disruptive and he was anything but.

Can anyone shed any light as to why he was not able to do better?

Cause there was about 38 instances of holding which weren't called.

 

[shockandroll]

You can't run the ball when you're down 24 pts.

We could have run more in the first half, no doubt about it. Murray was very close to breaking a few, we should have stuck with that since we could not pass protect.

 

[TheCount]

How many times has coaching showed up on these lists btw?

 

[TheCount]

You can't run the ball when you're down 24 pts.

Which is sad because it seemed like if we hadn't let them get a huge lead early, we could have had our way on the ground for a consecutive week.

It's not like going to passing when we were down 24 did a thing either, might as well have ran it.

 

[shockandroll]

Cause there was about 38 instances of holding which weren't called.

This is true a few times, it's not the reason though. He should of been able to bull rush him and did not.

 

[AbeBeta]

when practice squad Tight End Martin Rucker had his number called last year, he caught the ball and made plays.

Rucker caught the ball last year? Do tell...

 

[Jenky]

This is true a few times, it's not the reason though. He should of been able to bull rush him and did not.

He did. The guy held is jersey blatantly in the open field where the ref was observing.

Same thing with Dez in the end zone. The ref was 2 feet away.

 

[tyke1doe]

I agree with everything you said. I can only think of one more down that really surprised me. Ratliff got pushed around and unable to get past what was supposedly a 280lb rookie center. I was really expecting him to be disruptive and he was anything but.

Can anyone shed any light as to why he was not able to do better?

I think they played tentatively because of Vick's threat as a passer and a runner.
If you can just tee off on the passer, that's one thing. But when you have to consider the threat of the run from the passer and the off-tackle running by Shady McCoy, then that makes you more tentative.

At least that's the way I see it.

 

[VACowboy]

Which is sad because it seemed like if we hadn't let them get a huge lead early, we could have had our way on the ground for a consecutive week.

It's not like going to passing when we were down 24 did a thing either, might as well have ran it.

Yeah. Murray coulda had a monster game.

 

[Gaede]

Cause there was about 38 instances of holding which weren't called.

:laugh2: Thought I was the only one seeing this. It's amazing how many holds, trips, block in back, and hands to face that aren't called against the opponents. Simply amazing.

 

[CCBoy]

Which is sad because it seemed like if we hadn't let them get a huge lead early, we could have had our way on the ground for a consecutive week.

It's not like going to passing when we were down 24 did a thing either, might as well have ran it.

I guess they could take to wearing garlic around the neck...

 

[basstapp]

Why not? There was still over a half of football left and it would certainly slow down their pass rush some. We certainly could of ran a few draws here and there, its better than watching Romo check the ball down for 1 yard like he was forced to do all night.

You can run the ball when your down 14.... You can run the ball when you down 21..... Murray was averaging like 8 yards a carry... That is more effective then any pass play we were getting.

I am not to sure why people blame Romo when he is running for his life and hitting his receivers in stride in the hands. I think its time we look at our WR coach and say ***.

 

[shockandroll]

He did. The guy held is jersey blatantly in the open field where the ref was observing.

Same thing with Dez in the end zone. The ref was 2 feet away.

I saw the holds a few times, I don't think it's the only reason for it.