A Commander Fan's Take

[Kevin]

First things first, congratulations on your victory. I didn't come here to make petty excuses, or tell you how you're in for a beating next time. I just came to give a Commander's fan view of the game, which believe it or not is slightly more elaborate than, "Wow, we sucked."

Personally, I don't think either team played too well. Obviously the Commanders were far worse off, primarily on offense, but the Cowboys have some kinks to work out as well. The dropped passes and penalties are going to be a problem for you guys, but luckily you went up against a team that was so obviously unprepared it didn't even matter.

There were 3 people that are ultimately responsible for the loss the Commanders took tonight.

1. Mark Brunell - Mark, have you forgotten that you are actually capable of being a good Quarterback? This guy proved last year that he still had it in him, but I think he's proving that he's not capable of operating a new offense. What the hell is with the dropping back? When you drop back 15 freaking yards, you're going to have to throw the ball 25 yards to get a 10 yard game. Simple math, yet you continue to drop back marathons.

Brunell's doesn't have the strongest arm. He keep choosing to throw these sideline routes where it seems like the ball takes two seconds to get to his target. If this guy wants success he needs to start working the seams- the sideline crap isn't cutting it.

Find a happy medium- he's either holding onto the ball way too long, or letting go way too early. The guy will throw the ball away when he's still got a few seconds to look for something developing, yet he'll hold onto the ball when it's obvious there is nothin' doin'.

Brunell was bad out there. Real bad. I've been a Brunell supporter this entire offseason and all last year, but he proved to me tonight that the lights are dimming.

2. Al Saunders - What the hell? We've got a stellar recieving core in Moss, Lloyd and Randle El, not to mention Cooley, yet every other play was a dump off to Ladell Betts. What is with the run on first and second down philosophy? One would think that after we have like 65 bloody 3rd and longs we'd throw the ball. I'm still willing to see how this guy's playcalling developes, but he was just straight up dumb tonight.

Of course we can attribute some of the lack of offense to a great performance by the Cowboys secondary, but I think it was primarily terrible playcalling by Saunders, which put us in horriblely obvious situations, and Brunell's straight up abysmal performance.

It's a very, very primitive concept. Get the ball in the hands of your playmaker. Santana Moss is our playmaker. Last week we ran like six wide reciever screens. This week, until that last meaningless drive, Moss touched the ball twice. He had the medium gain catch, and thirty yard or so reverse. Why wouldn't either give him a screen, or take a shot downfield at least once? It is how we beat this team last year, afterall.

3. Gregg Williams - Where are the blitz packages? For someone who's so famed for having such efficient blitz setups, he sure was entirely too conservative tonight. Especially with the lack of pressure from our front four.
Some other observations:

Of course I'm sure the Roy Williams vs Sean Taylor debate is hot as ever, as both of them made cases for 'who is the better safety.' Both played well tonight, Taylor with a few big hits and the forced fumble, and Williams with the 3rd and 1 stop and the Interception. (The TD to Glenn was not Taylor's fault. He was trying to cover for whoever blew that coverage.)

I still stand by what I said awhile ago about these two: Commanders fans will always think Taylor is better, and the same goes for Cowboys fans and Williams. No matter how they play, those ideas will always be engraved in my mind. I will say however, that anyone who said Sean Taylor can't put on a big hit (believe me, some people on here have said it) have been quieted. Then again, everyone who said the Skins would win were also quieted.

It's so hard to remember some times that it's the beginning of the season. We're 0-2, you are 1-1. Both of those starts are dissapointing considering the esteem we hold our teams in. This loss was demoralizing in every way, but even so, we're only one game out of the 3 way tie. There's a lot of football to be played.

Overall I think the Commanders beat themselves moreso than the Cowboys did. The pass interference on the 5 yardline really helped you guys out in the momentum game, and you hardly looked back after that. Even the kickoff return wasn't enough to really make an impact.

It will be interesting to see how this season plays out. Hopefully the refs will be a little less quick to their flags and let the players play a bit. There were entirely too many flags for both teams tonight.

Congratulations once again. You guys wrote this chapter of our rivalries book, and there's no denying you outplayed us. I can only hope the next chapter plays out a bit differently. Good luck to you all.

Kevin

 

[LaTunaNostra]

Kevin, it seems that Brunell avoids throwing to the middle of the field.

Is this just my part-time observation? Or is a 'trend', or by the HC's and OC's design?

PS. Maybe the reason Williams and Brunell didn't put the ball into the hands of your best offensive player (Moss) is that Newman absolutely smothered him.

 

[Kevin]

Kevin, it seems that Brunell avoids throwing to the middle of the field.

Is this just my part-time observation? Or is a 'trend', or by the HC's and OC's design?

Brunell's doesn't have the strongest arm. He keep choosing to throw these sideline routes where it seems like the ball takes two seconds to get to his target. If this guy wants success he needs to start working the seams- the sideline crap isn't cutting it.

 

[Cowboys&Caps]

First things first, congratulations on your victory. I didn't come here to make petty excuses, or tell you how you're in for a beating next time. I just came to give a Commander's fan view of the game, which believe it or not is slightly more elaborate than, "Wow, we sucked."

Personally, I don't think either team played too well. Obviously the Commanders were far worse off, primarily on offense, but the Cowboys have some kinks to work out as well. The dropped passes and penalties are going to be a problem for you guys, but luckily you went up against a team that was so obviously unprepared it didn't even matter.

There were 3 people that are ultimately responsible for the loss the Commanders took tonight.

1. Mark Brunell - Mark, have you forgotten that you are actually capable of being a good Quarterback? This guy proved last year that he still had it in him, but I think he's proving that he's not capable of operating a new offense. What the hell is with the dropping back? When you drop back 15 freaking yards, you're going to have to throw the ball 25 yards to get a 10 yard game. Simple math, yet you continue to drop back marathons.

Brunell's doesn't have the strongest arm. He keep choosing to throw these sideline routes where it seems like the ball takes two seconds to get to his target. If this guy wants success he needs to start working the seams- the sideline crap isn't cutting it.

Find a happy medium- he's either holding onto the ball way too long, or letting go way too early. The guy will throw the ball away when he's still got a few seconds to look for something developing, yet he'll hold onto the ball when it's obvious there is nothin' doin'.

Brunell was bad out there. Real bad. I've been a Brunell supporter this entire offseason and all last year, but he proved to me tonight that the lights are dimming.

2. Al Saunders - What the hell? We've got a stellar recieving core in Moss, Lloyd and Randle El, not to mention Cooley, yet every other play was a dump off to Ladell Betts. What is with the run on first and second down philosophy? One would think that after we have like 65 bloody 3rd and longs we'd throw the ball. I'm still willing to see how this guy's playcalling developes, but he was just straight up dumb tonight.

Of course we can attribute some of the lack of offense to a great performance by the Cowboys secondary, but I think it was primarily terrible playcalling by Saunders, which put us in horriblely obvious situations, and Brunell's straight up abysmal performance.

It's a very, very primitive concept. Get the ball in the hands of your playmaker. Santana Moss is our playmaker. Last week we ran like six wide reciever screens. This week, until that last meaningless drive, Moss touched the ball twice. He had the medium gain catch, and thirty yard or so reverse. Why wouldn't either give him a screen, or take a shot downfield at least once? It is how we beat this team last year, afterall.

3. Gregg Williams - Where are the blitz packages? For someone who's so famed for having such efficient blitz setups, he sure was entirely too conservative tonight. Especially with the lack of pressure from our front four.
Some other observations:

Of course I'm sure the Roy Williams vs Sean Taylor debate is hot as ever, as both of them made cases for 'who is the better safety.' Both played well tonight, Taylor with a few big hits and the forced fumble, and Williams with the 3rd and 1 stop and the Interception. (The TD to Glenn was not Taylor's fault. He was trying to cover for whoever blew that coverage.)

I still stand by what I said awhile ago about these two: Commanders fans will always think Taylor is better, and the same goes for Cowboys fans and Williams. No matter how they play, those ideas will always be engraved in my mind. I will say however, that anyone who said Sean Taylor can't put on a big hit (believe me, some people on here have said it) have been quieted. Then again, everyone who said the Skins would win were also quieted.

It's so hard to remember some times that it's the beginning of the season. We're 0-2, you are 1-1. Both of those starts are dissapointing considering the esteem we hold our teams in. This loss was demoralizing in every way, but even so, we're only one game out of the 3 way tie. There's a lot of football to be played.

Overall I think the Commanders beat themselves moreso than the Cowboys did. The pass interference on the 5 yardline really helped you guys out in the momentum game, and you hardly looked back after that. Even the kickoff return wasn't enough to really make an impact.

It will be interesting to see how this season plays out. Hopefully the refs will be a little less quick to their flags and let the players play a bit. There were entirely too many flags for both teams tonight.

Congratulations once again. You guys wrote this chapter of our rivalries book, and there's no denying you outplayed us. I can only hope the next chapter plays out a bit differently. Good luck to you all.

Kevin

your loss was a combination of these five things

Bad Playcalling by your "best coordinators" in the game

Good & aggressive playcalling by both Zimmer, and Parcells

Injuries to some key players on your team, and the inability for the other guys to pick it up (this is no doubt due to your team overspending on guys like lloyd, Randle el, and Carter because it doesn't provide good funds for solid back-up players) but thats a diffrent story

Very good play by some cowboys defenders, we are starting to show that building a very young, big, fast defense through the draft is the way to go.

Our offensive line stymied any attempt (however rare) by your defense to pressure Bledsoe

 

[Eddie]

I think the loss of Clinton Portis was bigger than we could have known. The Cowboys played primarily with only 7 men up front, and 4 DB's ... double covering both Commanders WR's. This took away the deep ball which is Moss' strength.

Even still, I think the Skins should have heaved a few deep. Moss beat double coverage before, no reason to think he won't be able to again.

But without Portis, the Cowboys didn't have to worry about the running game, cuz there basically was none. Betts and Duckette aren't capable of making defenses cheat up on them.

Had Portis been playing, we would have had to commit one Safety (RW) near the LOS to stop the run. This would have opened up things downfield for Moss and Randle El.

As for the elaborate blitz schemes which didn't materialize ... it's simple. Without Springs back there, Gregg Williams didn't trust his 2ndary to hold up in a blitz situation. Just like the difference between the Cowboy defenses of 2003 and 2004. 2003 ranked #1 in the NFL and Zimmer employed numerous blitz packages. But things fell apart in 2004 when the RCB was held down by 5 different players. The confidence just wasn't there and the blitz schemes disappeared.

Plus, the Skins needed to keep TO and Terry Glenn in check, so they employed a Cover 2 package ... double covering both WR's. Because of TO's presense, Williams didn't trust his DB's back there alone. So he made sure to give them plenty of help.

I don't know what's up with Brunnell ... other than he's playing his age. It's a young man's sport, and age doesn't pay. Few can be John Elway. Not even Troy Aikman.

Bledsoe played decent, but his age is showing as well.

 

[AdamJT13]

Overall I think the Commanders beat themselves moreso than the Cowboys did.

On the contrary, it was the Cowboys who let the Commanders stay in the game. Without the dropped passes and penalties (several of which wiped out huge plays), Dallas would have won by four touchdowns or more.

It wasn't like the Commanders' offense moved the ball all game and missed on scoring chances. They did NOTHING all game until garbage time. In their first 11 possessions, they went three-and-out six times and gained one first down three more times. Their second-best drive was four meaningless plays at the end of the first half. Their only field goal was aided by two 15-yard penalties against Dallas -- both of which were ticky-tack. Their offense had NO yardage gained that was wiped out by penalties. In fact, one of their penalties saved a turnover. The Commanders' offense got completely dominated. And it wasn't because of the playcalling.

Face it, the Commanders were lucky even to be in the game at any point of the second half.

 

[superpunk]

Personally, I don't think either team played too well.

Definitely not. We should have beat you by 30.

Of course we can attribute some of the lack of offense to a great performance by the Cowboys secondary, but I think it was primarily terrible playcalling by Saunders, which put us in horriblely obvious situations, and Brunell's straight up abysmal performance.

Gimme a break, Kevin. Your WRs have been so completely overwhelmed by the two secondaries you've faced so far, they almost feel like giving their exorbitant salaries back. If they had been open, they would have gotten the ball.

This was not a game where the "Commanders beat themselves moreso than the Cowboys did." This is a game where the Cowboys attempted to hold themselves back, but were so much better than their opponents that they still beat them by 17. The score doesn;t even come close to indicating how lopsided that game was.

 

[jman]

Kevin, it seems that Brunell avoids throwing to the middle of the field.

Is this just my part-time observation? Or is a 'trend', or by the HC's and OC's design?

PS. Maybe the reason Williams and Brunell didn't put the ball into the hands of your best offensive player (Moss) is that Newman absolutely smothered him.

It was briefly explained and an obersevation made by Madden during the game.

He said early in Brunells career, he was rolled out a lot, and it still shows as something he is the most comfortable with.

They threw out some stat that from the numbers out to the sidelines, Brunell had the most attempts by any QB in the league last year (with a minimum of 275 attempts) and the same for throwing between the numbers as being the lowest numeber of attempts of any QB last year.

 

[peplaw06]

Overall I think the Commanders beat themselves moreso than the Cowboys did. The pass interference on the 5 yardline really helped you guys out in the momentum game, and you hardly looked back after that. Even the kickoff return wasn't enough to really make an impact.

Look, it takes a lot of cajones to come in here and hold your head high on a rival board after a loss, and I salute you for that... That said, this paragraph in particular is dead wrong. If WE had lost -- and we all know there was some doubt before Roy's pick -- THEN you could have said we beat ourselves. In BP's presser today, he said we left 150 yards on the field... which in his mind equates to about 10 points. And that's just from our dumb penalties!!

Throw in the dropped passes, and I firmly believe we should have hung about 17 extra points on you. After all that, we still had 40 more rushing yards and 70 more passing yards. We beat you all over the field... the Skins DID NOT beat themselves.

 

[superpunk]

It was briefly explained and an obersevation made by Madden during the game.

He said early in Brunells career, he was rolled out a lot, and it still shows as something he is the most comfortable with.

They threw out some stat that from the numbers out to the sidelines, Brunell had the most attempts by any QB in the league last year (with a minimum of 275 attempts) and the same for throwing between the numbers as being the lowest numeber of attempts of any QB last year.

Probably can be explained alot by the WR and h-back screens they ran so much last year, padding Brunell's pct. and stats. Unfortunately, the brilliant braintrust has decided that those just don't work anymore.

:laugh2:

 

[Yakuza Rich]

2. Al Saunders - What the hell? We've got a stellar recieving core in Moss, Lloyd and Randle El, not to mention Cooley, yet every other play was a dump off to Ladell Betts. What is with the run on first and second down philosophy? One would think that after we have like 65 bloody 3rd and longs we'd throw the ball. I'm still willing to see how this guy's playcalling developes, but he was just straight up dumb tonight

Part of the problem was that Brunnell was awful and Betts doesn't fit his scheme. Betts is more of an up the middle runner instead of running out on the perimeter. Brunnell looks like he's afraid to get hit again. Saunders should do a better job of using Duckett and Betts, but when Brunnell is this bad, it's hard to be too aggressive in the playcalling.

3. Gregg Williams - Where are the blitz packages? For someone who's so famed for having such efficient blitz setups, he sure was entirely too conservative tonight. Especially with the lack of pressure from our front four.

I've watched the first half over again, just focusing on the O-Line play of Dallas. The thing is that Williams did blitz early on usually sending 5 guys to rush Bledsoe. But, Dallas' O-Line didn't have much problems picking it up and when Bledsoe was throwing deep, the WR's were getting great seperation on the Washington CB's. Thus, if he kept on blitzing, the game would probably have been out of reach much more quickly.

Of course I'm sure the Roy Williams vs Sean Taylor debate is hot as ever, as both of them made cases for 'who is the better safety.' Both played well tonight, Taylor with a few big hits and the forced fumble, and Williams with the 3rd and 1 stop and the Interception. (The TD to Glenn was not Taylor's fault. He was trying to cover for whoever blew that coverage.)

Uh, the Glenn TD was Taylor's responsibility. It's a defensive package that Williams runs often, having Marshall (a former college safety with good speed) be responsible for the short zone coverage on the slot WR on that side. Taylor has deep responsibility there. In some ways, it's like Roy's position in last year's game as both were caught between a rock and a hard place. The big difference was that Roy's main responsibility was man to man coverage on the WR over the middle. Taylor's main responsiblity was the deep coverage, but the Cowboys made a great playcall and put Taylor in a serious disadvantage.

I still stand by what I said awhile ago about these two: Commanders fans will always think Taylor is better, and the same goes for Cowboys fans and Williams. No matter how they play, those ideas will always be engraved in my mind.

Well, Roy hasn't given up a TD yet and hasn't cost Dallas a game. Who's better? You don't have to make big arguments right now.

It's so hard to remember some times that it's the beginning of the season. We're 0-2, you are 1-1. Both of those starts are dissapointing considering the esteem we hold our teams in. This loss was demoralizing in every way, but even so, we're only one game out of the 3 way tie. There's a lot of football to be played.

I just looked it at like it was any 2 game losing streak. You can get away with one 2 game losing streak in a season and perhaps two 2 game losing streaks in a season (although you're pushing it). It's those 3 game losing streaks that are killers.

Even still, Washington doesn't look like the Washington we've seen lately. The defense seems only stingy on occasion, but doesn't have that suffocating feel to it. Brunnell looks like he's afraid of getting hit again. Jansen looks god awful. Archuleta is non-existent. Carter has his picture on the back of a milk carton.

Overall I think the Commanders beat themselves moreso than the Cowboys did. The pass interference on the 5 yardline really helped you guys out in the momentum game, and you hardly looked back after that. Even the kickoff return wasn't enough to really make an impact.

I think both teams made too many mistakes. 9 drops is usually hard to overcome and we had our fair share of penalties as well. And probably the only reason why Hall gets a FG was on the crappiness of the hit to the helmet rule on Ware and Ayodele giving them another 15 yards.

It will be interesting to see how this season plays out. Hopefully the refs will be a little less quick to their flags and let the players play a bit. There were entirely too many flags for both teams tonight.

I didn't think they were too bad. At first, they were a bit rough, especially on the Colombo trip. But the defensive holding calls on Washington were completely legit.


YAKUZA

 

[lspain1]

Overall I think the Commanders beat themselves moreso than the Cowboys did. The pass interference on the 5 yardline really helped you guys out in the momentum game, and you hardly looked back after that. Even the kickoff return wasn't enough to really make an impact.

Kevin, not a bad post but I'm going to disagree. Regardless of Portis' absence, your OL was both unable to open up any consistent running lanes and keep the pressure from Brunell. You hit one on special teams and that was your offense basically for the night. It wasn't just Brunell that was causing problems on offense.

I think your lack of depth is going to hurt you all season long. My guess right now is that you have a long disappointing season ahead. We'll see.

 

[LaTunaNostra]

It was briefly explained and an obersevation made by Madden during the game.

He said early in Brunells career, he was rolled out a lot, and it still shows as something he is the most comfortable with.

They threw out some stat that from the numbers out to the sidelines, Brunell had the most attempts by any QB in the league last year (with a minimum of 275 attempts) and the same for throwing between the numbers as being the lowest numeber of attempts of any QB last year.

I missed that stat. Now I wonder how happy Saunders will be laboring under such a limitation.

 

[xsamhainx_999]

First things first, congratulations on your victory. I didn't come here to make petty excuses, or tell you how you're in for a beating next time. I just came to give a Commander's fan view of the game, which believe it or not is slightly more elaborate than, "Wow, we sucked."

Personally, I don't think either team played too well. Obviously the Commanders were far worse off, primarily on offense, but the Cowboys have some kinks to work out as well. The dropped passes and penalties are going to be a problem for you guys, but luckily you went up against a team that was so obviously unprepared it didn't even matter.

There were 3 people that are ultimately responsible for the loss the Commanders took tonight.

1. Mark Brunell - Mark, have you forgotten that you are actually capable of being a good Quarterback? This guy proved last year that he still had it in him, but I think he's proving that he's not capable of operating a new offense. What the hell is with the dropping back? When you drop back 15 freaking yards, you're going to have to throw the ball 25 yards to get a 10 yard game. Simple math, yet you continue to drop back marathons.

Brunell's doesn't have the strongest arm. He keep choosing to throw these sideline routes where it seems like the ball takes two seconds to get to his target. If this guy wants success he needs to start working the seams- the sideline crap isn't cutting it.

Find a happy medium- he's either holding onto the ball way too long, or letting go way too early. The guy will throw the ball away when he's still got a few seconds to look for something developing, yet he'll hold onto the ball when it's obvious there is nothin' doin'.

Brunell was bad out there. Real bad. I've been a Brunell supporter this entire offseason and all last year, but he proved to me tonight that the lights are dimming.

2. Al Saunders - What the hell? We've got a stellar recieving core in Moss, Lloyd and Randle El, not to mention Cooley, yet every other play was a dump off to Ladell Betts. What is with the run on first and second down philosophy? One would think that after we have like 65 bloody 3rd and longs we'd throw the ball. I'm still willing to see how this guy's playcalling developes, but he was just straight up dumb tonight.

Of course we can attribute some of the lack of offense to a great performance by the Cowboys secondary, but I think it was primarily terrible playcalling by Saunders, which put us in horriblely obvious situations, and Brunell's straight up abysmal performance.

It's a very, very primitive concept. Get the ball in the hands of your playmaker. Santana Moss is our playmaker. Last week we ran like six wide reciever screens. This week, until that last meaningless drive, Moss touched the ball twice. He had the medium gain catch, and thirty yard or so reverse. Why wouldn't either give him a screen, or take a shot downfield at least once? It is how we beat this team last year, afterall.

3. Gregg Williams - Where are the blitz packages? For someone who's so famed for having such efficient blitz setups, he sure was entirely too conservative tonight. Especially with the lack of pressure from our front four.
Some other observations:

Of course I'm sure the Roy Williams vs Sean Taylor debate is hot as ever, as both of them made cases for 'who is the better safety.' Both played well tonight, Taylor with a few big hits and the forced fumble, and Williams with the 3rd and 1 stop and the Interception. (The TD to Glenn was not Taylor's fault. He was trying to cover for whoever blew that coverage.)

I still stand by what I said awhile ago about these two: Commanders fans will always think Taylor is better, and the same goes for Cowboys fans and Williams. No matter how they play, those ideas will always be engraved in my mind. I will say however, that anyone who said Sean Taylor can't put on a big hit (believe me, some people on here have said it) have been quieted. Then again, everyone who said the Skins would win were also quieted.

It's so hard to remember some times that it's the beginning of the season. We're 0-2, you are 1-1. Both of those starts are dissapointing considering the esteem we hold our teams in. This loss was demoralizing in every way, but even so, we're only one game out of the 3 way tie. There's a lot of football to be played.

Overall I think the Commanders beat themselves moreso than the Cowboys did. The pass interference on the 5 yardline really helped you guys out in the momentum game, and you hardly looked back after that. Even the kickoff return wasn't enough to really make an impact.

It will be interesting to see how this season plays out. Hopefully the refs will be a little less quick to their flags and let the players play a bit. There were entirely too many flags for both teams tonight.

Congratulations once again. You guys wrote this chapter of our rivalries book, and there's no denying you outplayed us. I can only hope the next chapter plays out a bit differently. Good luck to you all.

Kevin

You answered #2 when you wrote #1. The receivers would come open on some plays but Brunell can't get the ball to them. The plays were fine. It was Brunell's who couldn't complete those plays.

There were no blitz packages because we couldn't afford to bring extra men up. Without Springs back there we had to baby Rogers because Owens would've went crazy without help on defense.

 

[superpunk]

Uh, the Glenn TD was Taylor's responsibility. It's a defensive package that Williams runs often, having Marshall (a former college safety with good speed) be responsible for the short zone coverage on the slot WR on that side. Taylor has deep responsibility there. In some ways, it's like Roy's position in last year's game as both were caught between a rock and a hard place. The big difference was that Roy's main responsibility was man to man coverage on the WR over the middle. Taylor's main responsiblity was the deep coverage, but the Cowboys made a great playcall and put Taylor in a serious disadvantage.

I haven't rewatched it, but I really don't think this is the case. If it is, that means Glenn's man released him to the deep safety. The ONLY safety deep was Taylor. Was he designed to cover the entire field? That makes no sense to me, rich. GW isn't THAT stupid.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I haven't rewatched it, but I really don't think this is the case. If it is, that means Glenn's man released him to the deep safety. The ONLY safety deep was Taylor. Was he designed to cover the entire field? That makes no sense to me, rich. GW isn't THAT stupid.

Taylor is supposed to be the backup for the slot WR (Glenn). Glenn ran a deep crossing route and Taylor just didn't pick him up. To Taylor's credit, he's put in a tough situation because they have both Glenn and Owens over there, so he has to quickly recognize the play and then figure out what receiver he's supposed to help out on.

It's a risky defensive package that Williams runs quite often and you will see teams from time to time capitalize on it like we did. The other problem is that I'm pretty sure Marshall was supposed to get a bump on Glenn, but didn't. You'd be shocked on how many big plays happen when the LB doesn't get a bump on the WR.


YAKUZA

 

[superpunk]

Taylor is supposed to be the backup for the slot WR (Glenn). Glenn ran a deep crossing route and Taylor just didn't pick him up. To Taylor's credit, he's put in a tough situation because they have both Glenn and Owens over there, so he has to quickly recognize the play and then figure out what receiver he's supposed to help out on.

I see what you're saying. It just seems foolish to me. Forcing your safety to not only decide who to cover, but decide which way he's headed. If you've seen it many times, you've probably got a better grasp than me. Good playcall by us, I guess. Having those two on the same side must be maddening for opposing DC's, even with a ecret broken hand.

It's a risky defensive package that Williams runs quite often and you will see teams from time to time capitalize on it like we did. The other problem is that I'm pretty sure Marshall was supposed to get a bump on Glenn, but didn't. You'd be shocked on how many big plays happen when the LB doesn't get a bump on the WR.


YAKUZA

I've seen it on our team. Randy Moss last year, when Ware whiffed on his bump. That is crucial to give your safety that extra second to make his decision.

 

[kmd24]

I haven't rewatched it, but I really don't think this is the case. If it is, that means Glenn's man released him to the deep safety. The ONLY safety deep was Taylor. Was he designed to cover the entire field? That makes no sense to me, rich. GW isn't THAT stupid.

Someone blew something. Taylor was the only deep safety when they showed the overhead angle, but he wasn't really racing towards Glenn until the ball was in the air. If it wasn't 21's responsibility, my guess is that Archuleta bit on the playaction and let Glenn get behind him.

 

[Stash]

If anything, it was Cowboys mistakes which allowed the Commanders to ever be in the game.

What exactly did the Commanders do for themselves?

Good luck counting on 100 yard kick returns every week.

And the field goal was the result of two 15-yard penalties (the first on Ware was a joke by the way)

The Cowboys robbed themselves of 150 yards of offensive production due to penalties. If that didn't happen, they would have won by about 31 points instead of 17.

Seems to me like two things are really hurting the Commanders:

1) Lack of solid depth due to overpaying their starters. The Shawn Springs injury is crippling Gregg Williams scheme. He just can't play the same way when he doesn't have a reliable corner (say hello to your next draft pick - whenever that will be).

2) The change in offensive scheme has resulted in growing pains for the offense. No way of telling how long that may last. By the time things get straightened out, the season may be lost. The Commanders suffer from a lack of patience in my opinion, and seldom "stay the course". This change may cost them more than it helps them.

 

[bobtheflob]

I think a lot of the disparity was due to our respective secondaries. With Springs out, the Cowboys have 3 guys (at least) who are much better than your second corner, and arguably better than Rogers at this point in his career. Plus AA has shown that he's a liability in coverage whereas Watkins for us has stepped up big.

Because we trusted our secondary, we could come at Brunell with a lot more blitzed without real fear of being burned. On passing downs we seemed to rush at least 5 and often more every time and never saw any negative repercussions in our coverage.

Washington had two decent cover guys, Rogers and Taylor. That's not enough against TO, Glenn, and Witten for Greg Williams to feel secure. He was rarely able to blitz much because he was very scared of a big play down the field if he left corners (or worse) on an island covering any of those receivers. They Commanders pass rush has never been very effective and has relied on scheming to generate pressure and that deficiency was exposed last night. With a healthy Springs maybe things might be different. Your biggest worry should be that you don't get in too big of a hole early on.