A preseason tale of two teams...

[silverbear]

Spent a little time over on NFL.com, checking out the preseason stats for our Cowboys and for the Skins... here's what I found:

Total Offense-- Cowboys 2nd, 409.3 yards per game... 6.3 yards per play... Skins 28th, 239.7 yards per game... 4.0 yards per play...

Passing Offense-- Cowboys 2nd, 273.7 yards per game... 10.3 yards per attempt... Skins 21st, 177.0 yards per game... 4.9 yards per attempt...

Rushing Offense-- Cowboys 4th, 135.7 yards per game... 3.6 yards per carry... Skins 31st, 62.7 yards per game... 3.0 yards per attempt...

Total Defense-- Cowboys 3rd, 225.0 yards per game allowed... 4.5 yards per play... Skins 29th, 357.7 yards per game allowed... 5.1 yards per play...

Passing Defense-- Cowboys 5th, 154.3 yards per game allowed... 5.7 yards per attempt... Skins 18th, 192.3 yards per game allowed... 5.9 yards per attempt...

Rushing Defense-- Cowboys 2nd, 70.7 yards per game allowed... 3.5 yards per carry... Skins 31st, 165.3 yards per game allowed... 4.6 yards per carry...

Scoring Offense-- Cowboys 9th, 20.0 points per game... Skins 32nd (last), 5.7 points per game...

Scoring Defense-- Cowboys 1st, 5.7 points per game allowed... Skins 32nd (last again), 29.0 points per game allowed...

Fewest Sacks Allowed-- Cowboys 2nd, 3 in 80 pass attempts (1/26.7 attempts)... Skins 25th, 10 in 107 pass attempts (1/10.7 attempts)...

Sacks-- Cowboys 10th, 9 in 81 pass attempts (1/9.0 attempts)... Skins 16th, 7 in 97 pass attempts (1/13.9 attempts)...

Turnover margin-- Cowboys plus 1, Skins minus 5...

Quite a comparison, eh?? The Cowboys are in the top 5 in the league in every major offensive and defensive category-- total offense, rushing offense, passing offense, total defense, rushing defense, passing defense... they lead the NFL in fewest points allowed... meanwhile, the Skins rank dead last in both scoring offense and scoring defense...

Note that nowhere have I mentioned both teams' preseason records...

I ask y'all, which team looks like it's ready for the regular season to begin, and which one does not??

 

[Clove]

We are looking pretty strong.. I pray that we carry those numbers over to the regular season, when they are scheming for us and the real bullets are flying.

 

[DMX690]

Those number are encouraging but its preseason. It only matter when Sept10 roll around

 

[Dale]

Those number are encouraging but its preseason. It only matter when Sept10 roll around

I agree. I LOVE seeing the Cowboys do so well statistically. But what matters more to me is how the starters look individually and as a whole, and how the backups perform individually (I don't think its necessarily fair to expect the backups to be playing like a gelled team).

Now, I think the 'Boys have passed with flying colors in all of the above categories. I actually think our preseason numbers are indicitive of how prepared this team is.

But I'm not prepared to discount the 'Skins because of some silly preseason results, only to be fooled when Springs and Portis return to start the season (assuming they do) as their team rolls.

Hell, I'm hopeful they're as bad as they look, because they look awful. I just don't want to get all excited and expect them to look like this during the regular season only to be disappointed.

 

[InmanRoshi]

The Commanders better hope that they're capable of 'turning on the switch', because you can't afford to have a slow start in this division. And they have early road games against the Boys and Giants too. If they lose both of those games, it will be interesting to see how Gibbs and his guys work with Saunders. This is the first time Gibbs has ever relinquished control of his offense, and I'm not so sure this CEO Head Coach stuff is going to work. Its a nice theory in the offseason, but we'll see when they're pinned down in the trenches and the bullets start flying.

 

[Billy Bullocks]

Its really a two straight that leads to the same destination. If you are good in the pre-seasn, its just the pre-season, and if you are bad, it's still just the preason.

HOWEVER, it is very encouraging to see your team be firing on all cylinders. And it can't be encouraging to see your team making fundamental mistakes.

 

[Garland powerplay]

It seems different this year. They look much better in the preseason this year than in preseason of the past.

 

[sago1]

I did go over to the Extremeskins board and they mostly believe Skins are just playing enough to prevent any further injuries. Also believe totally that Gibbs/Williams/Saunders haven't shown whole book and just waiting for season opener and then everything will be wonderful.

Understand either on Extremeskins (I didn't see it) that someone there or one of the Washington Post homer writers has said they see no reason why they can't be 4-1 five games into the season. I don't know their schedule but wonder which team they believe they might lose to cause they certainly believe they will beat the Giants and us.

My own brother, a Skins fan, even had the nerve to ask me how Cowboys will feel when we open the season and go 02 (losing to Jags & Skins). In the past I've played down all the Cowboy constant wins against the Skins but this year it's going to be far different. He's been ragging me this year about how good Skins will be will I'm going to rag him back real hard--so I'm hoping Skins fall flat on their faces--no Mr. Nice Guy anymore.

 

[Bungarian]

But didn't you hear that the skins were hiding the gameplan and losing on purpose?

 

[SultanOfSix]

The problem with many 'Skins fans are they tend to be oxymoronic:

If their pre-season stats weren't as bad as silverbear outlined, and they were halfway decent, they would be saying "we're right on track." But since they aren't, they'll say pre-season doesn't mean anything and that the coaching staff isn't showing anything.

This is what is called "blind homerism" disease.

Although my medical education is lacking, I think it's a side effect of the voodoo curse that the Native Americans inflicted on them.

 

[ravidubey]

The Washington statistical comparison is kind of silly given the makeup of the teams.

On defense Washington schemes to get the most out of their players-- they are not built to win individual matchups which is what rules in preseason. Dallas' defense is built to do just that-- take on the other team one-on-one, sometimes even one-on-many.

On offense Washington is missing their stud, the guy their entire offense revolves around, Portis.

What's hugely encouraging is how well Dallas is playing without scheming at all. The O-linemen are both winning individual battles and the offense as a whole is playing well together; this despite arguably their two best players, Flozell Adams and Terrell Owens, being dinged.

We've discovered we have depth at QB, RB, WR, DL, LB, and TE. That ain't bad. We've discovered we need more stamina in our secondary bench that isn't good but it's good to know.

Beyond just the statistics, can Washington say they know much about their own team? There's the real comparison.

 

[bobtheflob]

Lucky for the Skins the beginning of their schedule is the easy part as the play the Vikings at home, at Dallas, at Houston, and Jacksonville at home. If they don't come out of that 3-1, then they're going to have serious issues through the brutal middle of their schedule. They really need to figure out what's going on very soon because if they play like they are now they'll be 0-4.

 

[Danny White]

You're forgetting one crucial fact, Silverbear... the Jets ran a lot of trick plays against them, which wasn't fair.

:suxskins:

 

[bobtheflob]

The Washington statistical comparison is kind of silly given the makeup of the teams.



On defense Washington schemes to get the most out of their players-- they are not built to win individual matchups which is what rules in preseason. Dallas' defense is built to do just that-- take on the other team one-on-one, sometimes even one-on-many.



On offense Washington is missing their stud, the guy their entire offense revolves around, Portis.



What's hugely encouraging is how well Dallas is playing without scheming at all. The O-linemen are both winning individual battles and the offense as a whole is playing well together; this despite arguably their two best players, Flozell Adams and Terrell Owens, being dinged.



We've discovered we have depth at QB, RB, WR, DL, LB, and TE. That ain't bad. We've discovered we need more stamina in our secondary bench that isn't good but it's good to know.



Beyond just the statistics, can Washington say they know much about their own team? There's the real comparison.

The thing is, from what I've seen the Commanders have done more scheming on defense than just about any other team this preseason. It may be a relative thing because they scheme more than other teams in the regular season, but their defense has shown a lot more blitz packages than ours has. Plus they're only facing mostly vanilla offenses (contrary to what they've been complaining about). If their coverage is as bad as it's looked, they're going to have to get a whoe lot of pressure on the quarterback every play to keep from getting burned, especially by tight ends.

 

[InmanRoshi]

I've always felt that Greg Williams ran the defensive equivalent of the run and shoot, and teams will eventually find a way to adjust and beat it. There was a time when the corner blitz was an unexpected and effective tactical move, but when you're using it 10 times a half in a preaseason game it kind of loses the element of surprise. I think the trend to the 2 TE set, and adding 1 more potential blocker to the perimeter, has been a counter adjustment to these en vogue blitz schemes.

 

[silverbear]

You're forgetting one crucial fact, Silverbear... the Jets ran a lot of trick plays against them, which wasn't fair.

:suxskins:

Yeaah, I was outraged by that, too...

 

[Danny White]

Seriously, though, I do have a complaint about this thread.

These stats don't show just how putrid the Redsk*ns special teams have been.

So in the interest of full disclosure, they're stinking across the board!

 

[cobra]

It must be hard to be a Commanders fan. For one thing, the team that you hate the most owns your team. Secondly, your owner goes out and spends money like a mad man with the only result being that your fellow Skins fans get hopes that all these overpaid spares are truly great and the answer to finally win another trophy. Finally, you are forced to make up pathetic excuses instead of admitting that your management doesn't have a clue on how to build a team.

 

[SkinsHokieFan]

It must be hard to be a Commanders fan. For one thing, the team that you hate the most owns your team. Secondly, your owner goes out and spends money like a mad man with the only result being that your fellow Skins fans get hopes that all these overpaid spares are truly great and the answer to finally win another trophy. Finally, you are forced to make up pathetic excuses instead of admitting that your management doesn't have a clue on how to build a team.

Why? My team has won a playoff game this century and doesn't have a constant soap opera about a hamstring

In all seriousness preseason hasn't meant anything for me ever.

Like I said, when the Commanders were clicking in 2002 in preseason, I was told by my favorite Cowboy fans that it meant nothing, and you were right

Likewise gentlemen, it means nothing once again

I'll look at a few encouraging things. Against Cinci, our starting D held that starting O to minus 19 yards. The first team O drove the ball on its one possesion

Didn't see the Jets game, nor any replay so I can't comment on that. The one improvement between the Jets game and Patriots game though was the fact that anytime the Pats tried running the ball, it was stuffed. Nice to see

Against the Pats however the bltiz was ineffective, and the DB's were playing a zone D, which made it incredibly easy for a very good QB like Tom Brady to hit an open man in the middle of the zone.

The line play, simply no excuses for it. The o-line should be better, and the WR's should catch the ball when it hits them in the hands

Is everything where I, as a fan would like it to be? No not even close. I would have liked to have seen the starting O put up points and block effectively. I would have loved to have seen CP not get injured on play 8. I would have liked to have seen a team that can make the basic plays, but is what it is

But the sky certainly is not falling, its the same old song and dance with a Joe Gibbs preseason team. The year before Superbowl 26, the freakin Jets shutout the Commanders 13-0 in game 3, the "tuneup game" We all know how it worked out that year

Only one guy ever cared how his team looked in preseason, and that was Steve Spurrier. In week 15 he was still saying things like "I wish we could play like we were in preseason" Hello mcfly!

I just pray your coaches and players are writing us off as your fan base is. For some reason, I think the coaching staff and players you have are far smarter then that

 

[cobra]

In all seriousness preseason hasn't meant anything for me ever.

Of course it doesn't mean anything with respect to the playoffs. But when your team consistently looks like one of the worst teams in the league, that does mean something. Skins fans keep whining and saying the team isn't running their full packages, but that is complete nonsense on stilts. They are losing the battle of the Line on both sides of the ball. That has nothing to do with the playbook. The quarterback looks like the trash he is even running the dumbed down playbook. The WRs are looking like the spares we all knew they were even running dumbed down routes.

Yeah, you offense may have some more dynamic things it intends on running, but right now, it can't even run the simple things without looking like chumps.

And the defense is running a lot of their package. They are blitzing and trying much more than other teams in preseason, and they still look like junk. So what does it mean when the team is trying hard and still looking bad?

It's not a good sign.

Does it mean anything record-wise? No. Is it a clear sign that the team is looking bad? Yes.

The Moron Skins fans have been talking all off-season about how they are going to destroy everyone with the newly acquired crew of spares.

The preseason shows that the player evaluation is as horrible as their management's.

I'll look at a few encouraging things. Against Cinci, our starting D held that starting O to minus 19 yards. The first team O drove the ball on its one possesion

If you can look at that performance and see hope and ignore how putrid team has looked on other occasions, then you are only seeing what you want to see.

Against the Pats however the bltiz was ineffective, and the DB's were playing a zone D, which made it incredibly easy for a very good QB like Tom Brady to hit an open man in the middle of the zone.

So, despite blitzing... that is, TRYING TO GET PRESSURE AND PLAY TOUGH DEFENSE...... the defense still looked like trash.

The line play, simply no excuses for it. The o-line should be better, and the WR's should catch the ball when it hits them in the hands

Things which have nothing to do with the stupid excuses about schemes and such. Those are fundamentals.

I would have liked to have seen a team that can make the basic plays, but is what it is

If that doesn't lay bare exactly what I am saying, then I won't get through to you.

Commanders fans should be pissed. Every year they get sold a bill of used trash. The owner overpays of garbage and tells the fans that this year, this spare will be the difference to bring us to the promise land. Any every year, the fans lap it up like unthinking troglodytes and start screaming how this is the year they will win it all.

Archuleta! Ranldle El! Brunell! Coles! Springs! Campbell! Carter! Gibbs! Williams! Saunders! etc. etc. etc.

Year after year the fans eat up these people as if they are the answer instead of seeing that the management couldn't evaluate talent if their life depended on it.