A Touch of Hostility... Week 14

[Hostile]

Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm numb this morning. My heart doesn't believe what my eyes saw last night. I went from celebrating a 12 point lead with 6 minutes left and a belief we had just sown up the NFC East, to deja vu of the Lions and Jets.

Is it December? Are we just jinxed in this month? Overall in the month of December we are 93-82-1. By far our worst month of the four normal months of the season.

Is it the Giants in our new house? The are undefeated there and we had been 5-1 on the season.

Is it Sunday Night Football? We have now lost 6 straight games on SNF. Jason Garrett is 0-4.

Is it Prime Time games? We are 2-9 over the last 2 seasons when the game is a Prime Time game. Warning, this week we are on Prime Time again, Saturday vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

From where I sit the two QBs last night played about as brilliantly as anyone could expect. Hate to say this in case anyone doesn't know, but Eli hit 400 yards last night. Romo put up 4 TDs in a loss. I feel terrible for him today, he literally did all he could to win that game.

The QBs were great because for the most part the two Defenses failed to show up. Today on this forum and for the rest of this week the most hated man in Dallas is going to be Rob Ryan. NBC flashed a stat at the end that showed we had only lost 2 leads of 12 points or more in the 4th quarter in our History and this year we have lost 3.

I have been saying we were going to finish 11-5 and win the NFC East all year. 11-5 is officially gone. The NFC East is not, but the road to win it just got defined by this. We have to win our last 3 games. Period, point, blank. We can certainly do that, but if anyone believes it is set in stone, re-watch the last 2 Giants drives last night.

The season finale, an area where we have not done well (23-28 all time) is in the Giants house.

But make no mistake about it, that is the task before us. We have to win out to close the deal. The Giants remaining schedule is vs. the reeling Commanders, @ the rejuvenated Jets, and then we come to town. Could they lose to the Jets? Absolutely. I don't think we should count on it even though we should root for it. We simply need to take care of our business and we still win this thing.

Okay, not I do understand the drill, now we get all kinds of guarantees that we cannot take care of our own business. I don't agree. This team may be playing with our hearts, but they can win the rest of our games and finish 10-6. To do it, they need to quit talking to anyone. Go into the bunker and take an us against the world mentality. That's really the only way they overcome the last two weeks despite their 24 hour philosophy.

Note to every coach who plays us from now on, icing our Kicker works. I hate Kickers. That is all.

The biggest loss last night was the halt to a marvelous rookie campaign for DeMarco Murray. Back when the Horse Collar Tackle Rule was being enacted I called it stupid. I said then that the tackle they were outlawing was not the issue. I said if you land on a mans lower legs you were likely going to injure him. It has nothing to do with the style of the tackle. It has to do with a full grown, 200+ pound man landing on an exposed part of the lower body. How many Horse Collar Tackles have not injured someone? Hundreds of them throughout NFL History. Landing on a guy's legs, never a good thing. Ask Joe Theisman.

I hate that rule. I still say that Chop Blocking has permanently injured more players and yet they still allow versions of it.

Speaking of the rules, last night was one of the poorest jobs by a referee crew I have ever seen. Now, I am not blaming the loss on the refs. Please do not misunderstand me. I do not do that. I have simply rarely seen a job that bad by an entire crew. How do they change their minds on a facemask call? I even predicted they would and they did. Jason Garrett had to step on the field scream at them to get an Intentional Grounding call. On the Interference call on Jenkins that should have been on Sensabaugh, is there anyone out there who believes that ball was catchable? Holding right in front of the ref several times. And don't even get me started about the excessive celebration penalty non call on Jacobs air humping on National TV.

I mentioned Mike Jenkins. I want to say something good in this thread and he deserves some serious kudos for the way he manned up and played through what was obvious pain. Ware did as well, but Jenkins really stood out. Any time he went to the ground I thought he was done for the night and he kept coming back in and kept making plays. About the only guy in the secondary who did except Newman's near pick 6 early.

Last night I was watching Sean Lee as he was reading Eli's drops and eyes. He was moving in the direction Eli was throwing all night. He had him read perfectly. So I predicted he was going to pick Eli off. Now you may think I am patting myself on the back. Quite the opposite, and you will soon see why. On his INT it was not what I was expecting where I believed he would simply read a break and a read and step in front of the ball. Instead he caught it off a tip as it fell from the sky. He was still in the right place, and he made the play. He has a great nose for the football.

His play counter acted on a huge fumble by Felix in their scoring territory. In deference to the brutal beating the Defense is going to take this week, I was thrilled we held them to a FG in that instance. Combined with the Safety it was 5 points we could not afford to give up and were huge differences in the game.

Self destructive football is a killer. We seem to be the Kings of it. It is a Kingdom I would like to relinquish. I know it happens to every team, but to our team it just seems to be suicidal. However, I think it is only fair to point out that if you look at the stats we did indeed get beaten. It wasn't just the dumb plays. They beat us.

In yards they put up over 500 last night. They held the football for over 34 minutes to our 25. They had more 1st downs. 3 sacks to 0. They outplayed us. We had more penalties, but they gave up more penalty yardage. They converted a crucial 4th down to keep their hopes alive.

There were 9 lead changes in the game. If you like exciting football it was an absolutely magnificent game. Probably the best game of the weekend in the entire NFL. But it is one we will hate for a long time for the way we lost once again.

It is amazing how football does that. Rob Ryan will go from the next great Head Coach in the NFL and a guy we are going to miss, to a guy who most are ready to hang in effigy. Welcome to the Dallas Cowboys Universe. Right smack dab in the middle of the country between New York and Los Angeles and somehow always right smack dab in the middle of controversy and intrigue as well.

You signed up for this when you became a fan of America's Team. So did I. Knowing that doesn't make losses like that one any easier to take. I'd rather get kicked in the fellas than to lose like that, and I gotta tell you I really hate getting kicked in the fellas.

How do we rebound from it? The only way is to move on to the next game and take care of business. Saturday is coming real fast. I can't come fast enough for me. I need to get the taste of bile out of my throat.

 

[CATCH17]

Self destructive football is a killer. We seem to be the Kings of it. It is a Kingdom I would like to relinquish. I know it happens to every team, but to our team it just seems to be suicidal. However, I think it is only fair to point out that if you look at the stats we did indeed get beaten. It wasn't just the dumb plays. They beat us.

Yeah that's what I pretty much told you earlier in the season and you pretty much acted like what happens to us happens to all teams.'


http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=218018&page=10


Pretty much all through that thread I was told I was just imagining things.

 

[Hostile]

Yeah that's what I pretty much told you earlier in the season and you pretty much acted like what happens to us happens to all teams.

It does. Watch other games. You think Giants fans weren't saying the same when Lee picked off Eli?

Don't be delusional.

 

[Eskimo]

Interesting write up Hos.

One open question I have is why doesn't Bruce Carter play more? He was supposed to be a guy who can help in pass defense early and yet he never sees the field even in the nickel when it is 3rd and long. I know he missed TC but he is a college Sr and is supposed to be intelligent. Why hasn't he picked up the defense well enough to be in some of the packages?

My second point is that while I once thought Center and OLB were big needs they pale in comparison to CB. I think Jenkins is a good #1 CB and Oscan is an okay #3 but TNew is an abomination at #2 and #4/5 are terrible players with no upside. If we can we should raid someone's PS for a couple of CBs and release Walker and Loper.

 

[lcharles]

I believe this team is kicking Jerry in the fellas now. :laugh1:

 

[burmafrd]

So who are you blaming, Hoss?

 

[visionary]

I believe this team is kicking Jerry in the fellas now. :laugh1:

after what JJ has put us through in the last 15 years, he more than deserves to be kicked in the fellas :laugh1:

 

[Hostile]

So who are you blaming, Hoss?

I never assign individual blame. Nor do I single out one person for full credit. That is why so few people think I criticize this team when I do it every single one of these threads.

This was a team loss. You can pin the loss on a lot of factors. In fact, if you re-read the OP, I did just that. I do it every time.

 

[TNCowboy]

Interesting write up Hos.

One open question I have is why doesn't Bruce Carter play more? He was supposed to be a guy who can help in pass defense early and yet he never sees the field even in the nickel when it is 3rd and long. I know he missed TC but he is a college Sr and is supposed to be intelligent. Why hasn't he picked up the defense well enough to be in some of the packages?

My second point is that while I once thought Center and OLB were big needs they pale in comparison to CB. I think Jenkins is a good #1 CB and Oscan is an okay #2 but TNew is an abomination at #2 and #4/5 are terrible players with no upside. If we can we should raid someone's PS for a couple of CBs and release Walker and Loper.

We had almost no pass rush most of the night. The DBs are awful, but many times, they didn't have a chance.

 

[Eskimo]

We had almost no pass rush most of the night. The DBs are awful, but many times, they didn't have a chance.

The pass rush actually wasn't that bad. It was all the open receivers that allowed Eli to release the ball quickly. We need to upgrade the secondary more than we need to upgrade the pass rush, IMO.

TNew, Ball and Walker have bullseye's on their chests for opposing QBs.

 

[THUMPER]

Good writeup as usual Hos.

From a football fan's point of view it was a great game to watch. From a Cowboys fan's point of view, it sucked!

As Al Pacino said, "Football is a game of inches". Here are some of the "inches" we missed out on:

1. Newman's drop of a sure INT and probable pick-six.

2. Felix's fumble (leading to a FG)

3. Romo's miss to a wide-open Austin on a key third down, which would have at least given us a first and likely a TD, essentially ending the game.

4. Ware's offsides in their final drive on a play where the center snapped the ball high and wide and we would have had them in a long situation but instead it gave them a first down.

The worst part is that these are some of our best players making bad plays/mistakes.

Newman and Ware were HUGE disappointments last night. I can give Ware a bit of a pass because he was obviously hurting but Newman just sucked all night.

Romo and Felix Jones played very well for the most part so their gaffs were not the norm.

I love Sean Lee! I can't wait to see him healthy again.

I put this loss right at the feet of Rob Ryan, for the third time this season. Our defense stunk all night. We had a few nice stops but overall, when it mattered most, they folded, as usual!

Our defense rarely looks like they know what to do, where to line up, or who to cover. We didn't get to Eli a single time last night despite a makeshift O-Line and a lot of blitzing.

I can say without a doubt that Rob Ryan is my biggest disappointment of the season. I had such high hopes that our defense was FINALLY going to be good again but it isn't. We aren't stopping people down the stretch, we aren't forcing turnovers, we aren't getting to the QB, and we don't scare anyone.

We either win out or we are home for the playoffs, and I don't have a lot of confidence that we can/will do it. Not with this coaching staff or with some of these players.

Bummer about Murray, it sucks to lose him like that. I wonder who we will bring in at RB for the rest of the season.

Oh well, bring on the Bucs! :starspin

 

[Derinyar]

The problem with our pass rush is I think Ware makes the rest of them lazy. DeMarcus will generate our rush. Now that he is injured and not taking 95% of the snaps in the game our rush usually vanishes.

This team is frustrating. It felt like in the 4th Quarter that any positive play we made I knew there was going to be a yellow flag somewhere negating it. I really think the state of officiating in the NFL is at an all time low. The blown TD replay in the 4th quarter is emblematic of it, something that any moron who could see the jumbo tron could call right, and the official can't see it.

A depressing depressing football game.

 

[Smith22]

This was a team loss. You can pin the loss on a lot of factors. In fact, if you re-read the OP, I did just that. I do it every time.

If by team you mean the defense & special teams, then I agree with you. The offense had little to do with this loss. Bad play calling by our DC and lack of execution by the defense. The defense couldn't stop the run or the pass. They were handed a 12 point lead to protect with 6 minutes left, and they crumbled yet again..........

500+ yards an ZERO sacks.

 

[TNCowboy]

The pass rush actually wasn't that bad. It was all the open receivers that allowed Eli to release the ball quickly. We need to upgrade the secondary more than we need to upgrade the pass rush, IMO.

TNew, Ball and Walker have bullseye's on their chests for opposing QBs.

Yes, actually, it was that bad. Much of the night it was non-existent.

People are ripping Newman, and some of it is deserved, but there were times when he had decent coverage but couldn't hold up because Manning had all day and/or made a perfect throw.

 

[ufcrules1]

The pass rush actually wasn't that bad. It was all the open receivers that allowed Eli to release the ball quickly. We need to upgrade the secondary more than we need to upgrade the pass rush, IMO.

TNew, Ball and Walker have bullseye's on their chests for opposing QBs.

Agreed. But the pass rush certainly is a glaring problem too. This loss is actually good for the team. It will help to push out the players that don't belong here ]who are dragging this team down. Even the biggest of homers on this forum can see the light. This game was certainly lost by our secondary. Our offense played lights out and JG did a great job with the play calling for once. Thanks for the screen passes JG... wish we could have used some of those to beat the Cardinals.

 

[ufcrules1]

Yes, actually, it was that bad. Much of the night it was non-existent.

People are ripping Newman, and some of it is deserved, but there were times when he had decent coverage but couldn't hold up because Manning had all day and/or made a perfect throw.

Ok, I usually agree with you, but not here. Newman looked HORRIBLE last night. I'm RIPPING him hard, and I rip him hard every single week, because he 100% deserves it. He needs to get cut badly. There were several times when Eli literally just threw the ball up towards the receiver... SIFTED it up in the air right before he got hit by someone on our defensive line and the receivers would come down with the ball almost every time, due to not being covered properly by Newman...or ball. We did put pressure on Eli several times and every single time he found an open man. This happens week in and week out.

 

[Everson24]

Other than 2009, Our defense has gotten softer and softer as the season wears on. What is the cause of this? This is one of the worst tackling teams I have seen in 41 years of Cowboys football. We should be more comfortable now in this scheme and we look lost. I expected this early in the season but not now. What bothers me is that many of the same players that quit on Wade Phillips are still starting on this defense.

Oh how I wanted us to hire a Steeler defensive guru instead of Ryan. I really wanted Ray Horton and we tried to get him but only as our secondary coach. He has turned Arizona into a tough, physical defense while we are still as soft as putty.

 

[pancakeman]

The pass rush actually wasn't that bad. It was all the open receivers that allowed Eli to release the ball quickly. We need to upgrade the secondary more than we need to upgrade the pass rush, IMO.

TNew, Ball and Walker have bullseye's on their chests for opposing QBs.

I agree. Eli was good at getting the ball out quickly to avoid sacks, but the rush kept decent pressure on him all night. I would guess that average time from snap to release for the Giants was quite low. (Far lower, for example, than Romo, who had much more time to scan the field.) It's just that the Giant receivers were wide open most of the time.

Of course, sending in cover men on blitzes worsens that lack of coverage.

It's just that you often hear after poor pass defense that the rush can't allow the receivers that much time to get open--that secondary can only cover for so long. That wasn't the case last night, IMO.

 

[CowboysFaninBaltimore]

Can someone end Brandon Jacobs career? ***** ****** that guy goes from awful to having 101 yards against us. How does Elisha Nelson Manning even throw for 400 yards against our secondary? Oh yeah thats right......

 

[Brooksey]

It was a great football game, tough to be on the losing side of the game holding a 12 point lead with 4 minutes. I thought for sure it was over . This one really hurts. Watching Eli throw those "off his back foot rainbow passes" for 35- 40yards literally made me sick to my stomach. When they scored fast to pull within 4 , I started to get that "were gonna blow this" feeling.

When that feeling goes away and we can actually feel confident with a shut down defense... When that happens Hos we will be able to compete for a title. Until then this is heartbreaking stuff.