itsaboat
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My notes from the Thanksgiving game I talked about how we couldn't contain the run. The Eagles used playaction/option looks to attack the defense in the area behind the linebackers for big plays because they had to honor the run. Philadelphia got a big lead and we couldn't catch up. Their run defense was stout and we were forced to become one dimensional with the pass. We were stuck with a lot of 2nd/3rd and longs which gave their defensive front time to disrupt Romo.
Eagles, and some Cowboys, fans balked at the idea the short week was an advantage because both teams had to deal with it. I was one of those people that wasn't too worried about the performance after the game because I felt like the short week really affected us. This week, we had time to prepare and it showed. Romo's movement and arm strength was vastly improved. Our defense had time to practice and was able to execute their game plan.
I thought there were two keys to our victory on Sunday night:
Sunday night we saw Dallas send more routes into the middle of the field. We were able to convert key plays on those routes. Witten had two 3rd down conversions on Dallas' second drive that ended with Bryant's first TD.
When Philadelphia went on a 24-0 scoring run to take the lead we desperately needed a score. Bryant came up big. He had two catches, both for 22 yards, on a dig and then a post route.
We did a better job attacking holes in the defense. It seemed like Philadelphia knew what was coming on Thanksgiving. They had their defenders in the right spots. Sunday night we did a better job giving them different looks. Witten was a big part of it. He only had 2 targets in the first game but 9 in the rematch.
...
When LeSean McCoy gets going, Philadelphia is hard to stop. The Thanksgiving game was a perfect example. In the first quarter and a half of that game we could not do anything against the shotgun handoff. Kelly took advantage and rode that look for 17 quick points. We couldn't catch up. McCoy's line was: 25-159-1.
Dallas did a much better job on Sunday night. The ends did a good job setting the edge. Sometimes they had a safety helping. This forced the play inside. The linebackers did a good job stopping McCoy for a minimal gain. A couple of examples:
The backside defender played more disciplined and made sure to contain the play and not get sucked in. It wasn't perfect but we held McCoy to only 64 yards. Almost 100 yards less than the first game. Without the explosive run game, Sanchez was forced to make plays and that played to our advantage.
A FEW NOTES
Romo looked much better with the extra rest. There was some zip on his passes and his movement was on display with his patented spin move. He also looked more comfortable in the pocket than he did on Thanksgiving. It wasn't a perfect performance, missed Bryant on a slant and got away with a bad throw to Harris on a comeback, but he made plays and abused the Eagles whenever they decided to single cover Bryant.
Philadelphia's front seven, especially their three down lineman, are very good against the run. Murray had trouble finding any room to run. It was one of those ugly games you will have when you commit to the run. Ugly but effective. Murray was able to cash in two TDs from close range.
As I mentioned earlier, I liked how Dallas attacked the middle of the field more often. Witten and Beasley were able to convert key 3rd downs working inside. Bryant had the big game. To their credit, Philadelphia usually had a second defender on him but the few times he was singled against man coverage Bryant made them pay. When we ran an empty backfield formation, they would double Bryant on the outside and usually double Witten as he worked up the seam. That left Williams one-on-one for a handful of plays. Unfortunately, he didn't win those match ups.
Fletcher Cox gave Leary a lot of trouble in the first game and it wasn't much different in the rematch.
When Martin got injured you could see it really affected his play.
His movement was severely impaired and he wasn't able to get full power on that right foot.
The defense gave up some big plays but the front seven played well. Mincey and Crawford are fun to watch. There have been plays when Crawford crashes outside and Mincey loops around at the right time and gets pressure up the middle. It's a nice play that they usually execute a couple of times a game. As I've written before, Mincey seems to kick it up another gear late in the game when we need a play. He had that sack on 3rd down which killed a late 4th quarter drive.
It was unfortunate when they announced Brent wasn't going to play. Our run defense was better but I think he would have made his presence felt.
Carter and Crawford do a good job preventing the cutback with Church filling the other gap. R.McClain keeps him from bouncing outside. Hayden, per usual, gets moved by a single blocker. I feel like Brent would have held his ground and limited that run to a minimal gain instead of the 14 gained.
I've been critical with Wilcox's play for quite a few games so I'll acknowledge when he has a good performance. Wilcox has the ability to line up over a TE and run with them in coverage. The problem is he gives up a lot of size. He also can play deep but he hasn't made many (any?) plays excluding those big clean up hits. Well, Sunday he had a big game. The interception at the end of the 3rd quarter was a huge play because we just got the lead back after giving up 24 unanswered points. The fumble was another key turnover because we were able to kick a field goal to keep it a two score game. If Wilcox can make just a few more plays I could over look the poor angles and missed tackles because it would help this team so much as Sunday night showed.
Eagles, and some Cowboys, fans balked at the idea the short week was an advantage because both teams had to deal with it. I was one of those people that wasn't too worried about the performance after the game because I felt like the short week really affected us. This week, we had time to prepare and it showed. Romo's movement and arm strength was vastly improved. Our defense had time to practice and was able to execute their game plan.
I thought there were two keys to our victory on Sunday night:
- We attacked the middle of the field on offense.
- The defense was able to contain McCoy.
Sunday night we saw Dallas send more routes into the middle of the field. We were able to convert key plays on those routes. Witten had two 3rd down conversions on Dallas' second drive that ended with Bryant's first TD.
When Philadelphia went on a 24-0 scoring run to take the lead we desperately needed a score. Bryant came up big. He had two catches, both for 22 yards, on a dig and then a post route.
We did a better job attacking holes in the defense. It seemed like Philadelphia knew what was coming on Thanksgiving. They had their defenders in the right spots. Sunday night we did a better job giving them different looks. Witten was a big part of it. He only had 2 targets in the first game but 9 in the rematch.
...
When LeSean McCoy gets going, Philadelphia is hard to stop. The Thanksgiving game was a perfect example. In the first quarter and a half of that game we could not do anything against the shotgun handoff. Kelly took advantage and rode that look for 17 quick points. We couldn't catch up. McCoy's line was: 25-159-1.
Dallas did a much better job on Sunday night. The ends did a good job setting the edge. Sometimes they had a safety helping. This forced the play inside. The linebackers did a good job stopping McCoy for a minimal gain. A couple of examples:
The backside defender played more disciplined and made sure to contain the play and not get sucked in. It wasn't perfect but we held McCoy to only 64 yards. Almost 100 yards less than the first game. Without the explosive run game, Sanchez was forced to make plays and that played to our advantage.
A FEW NOTES
Romo looked much better with the extra rest. There was some zip on his passes and his movement was on display with his patented spin move. He also looked more comfortable in the pocket than he did on Thanksgiving. It wasn't a perfect performance, missed Bryant on a slant and got away with a bad throw to Harris on a comeback, but he made plays and abused the Eagles whenever they decided to single cover Bryant.
Philadelphia's front seven, especially their three down lineman, are very good against the run. Murray had trouble finding any room to run. It was one of those ugly games you will have when you commit to the run. Ugly but effective. Murray was able to cash in two TDs from close range.
As I mentioned earlier, I liked how Dallas attacked the middle of the field more often. Witten and Beasley were able to convert key 3rd downs working inside. Bryant had the big game. To their credit, Philadelphia usually had a second defender on him but the few times he was singled against man coverage Bryant made them pay. When we ran an empty backfield formation, they would double Bryant on the outside and usually double Witten as he worked up the seam. That left Williams one-on-one for a handful of plays. Unfortunately, he didn't win those match ups.
Fletcher Cox gave Leary a lot of trouble in the first game and it wasn't much different in the rematch.
When Martin got injured you could see it really affected his play.
His movement was severely impaired and he wasn't able to get full power on that right foot.
The defense gave up some big plays but the front seven played well. Mincey and Crawford are fun to watch. There have been plays when Crawford crashes outside and Mincey loops around at the right time and gets pressure up the middle. It's a nice play that they usually execute a couple of times a game. As I've written before, Mincey seems to kick it up another gear late in the game when we need a play. He had that sack on 3rd down which killed a late 4th quarter drive.
It was unfortunate when they announced Brent wasn't going to play. Our run defense was better but I think he would have made his presence felt.
Carter and Crawford do a good job preventing the cutback with Church filling the other gap. R.McClain keeps him from bouncing outside. Hayden, per usual, gets moved by a single blocker. I feel like Brent would have held his ground and limited that run to a minimal gain instead of the 14 gained.
I've been critical with Wilcox's play for quite a few games so I'll acknowledge when he has a good performance. Wilcox has the ability to line up over a TE and run with them in coverage. The problem is he gives up a lot of size. He also can play deep but he hasn't made many (any?) plays excluding those big clean up hits. Well, Sunday he had a big game. The interception at the end of the 3rd quarter was a huge play because we just got the lead back after giving up 24 unanswered points. The fumble was another key turnover because we were able to kick a field goal to keep it a two score game. If Wilcox can make just a few more plays I could over look the poor angles and missed tackles because it would help this team so much as Sunday night showed.
