After two games: What we know and don’t know

[blueblood70]

I rewatched the game at 5am this morning. Pathetic I know but I was up early so what the hell. Here is my take...

The OL was terrible in the 1st but really stepped up. It’s remarkable how well the tackles played given who they are. Long term that’s good for Dallas.

CeeDee reminds me of Michael Thomas. Not a blazer but a shifty guy with great route running. He is also tough after the catch. I think he can put on 10 pounds and that will only help.

The WRs as a whole were excellent. They all made big plays. People here rip on Cooper. That catch was amazing. The guy can play.

Zeke has no burst. He is no longer a home run hitter but he is a bull. They need to be careful that he doesn’t hurt himself with that punishing style.

I have been real hard on Schultz. He shut me up. Fumble was bad but he played well. Maybe he just needed a chance.

The fake punts didn’t bother me on further review. Both plays should have worked. I think having the threat to fake a punt will help them down the road.

Dak is a star QB. Period. She is not Pat Mahomes but who is? Dak is a winner. He played a great game despite taking a few shots.

you can keep saying that about zeke but he has plenty of burst for back his size , theres a huge difference from home run speed back and burst.. i saw it ton at the end of last year on cut backs etc and this year hes looked great, sorry to inform you hes still an elite back , he stay healthy , he blocks , hes on the field more then any rb in the league and keeps producing..

stop the bs narrative..you seem to make sure you copy and post that same thing on every thread that tries to praise zeke..Zekes not just better then Pollard and leaps and bounds better , my eyes tell me that weekly..pollard is not starter, i can see that now..if you can tell the difference and only use shifty speed as barometer , you have issues..

hes still top 3 back at worse top 5 and best thing is like a ton of starting backs cant do, zekes available every game and plays the snaps of 2 or more backs do on most teams in todays NFL..

 

[TheSkaven]

Mike McCarthy seems to be trying too hard to make a statement- I like a HC who takes risks, but there’s a difference between risk and stupid. The decision to go for two with 4 min left and down 9 yesterday was incredibly foolish. He got rescued by Dak’s playmaking and poise late along with the mindlessly stupid falcon special team players who apparently didn’t understand you have to recover an onside kick, lol. Relax Coach Mac. Don’t try too hard.

I agree with much of what you write, but I am absolutely in favor of going for 2 there. In fact, I’ve been wondering for years why other coaches don’t do it.

Here’s the deal, you are down by 9 with 3 minutes left. As coach, I want to know if I’m going to make it or not now not later. He tried and failed then employed a two score strategy the rest of the game. If he kicks the extra point there, he takes his time on the next drive and plays for OT, only to miss the second 2 pointer and lose the game.

Guys, he made the right move.

I also like the aggressiveness on the fake punts though I’m not crazy about the play call. Chris Jones clearly didn’t have the arm to throw it that far and you don’t try to run on 4th and 6. But he gave opponents something to think about.

What I didn’t like about him is how conservative he was after the Cowboys recuperated the onside kick. Once he got into range he played for the field goal. We should have been playing more aggressive to make that kick as short as possible.

 

[glimmerman]

O-Line was not that good in the first quarter. They got in a groove. We will get back to being dominant.

But our Defense is not very good. When the game opened up mat was dropping back and we never got any pressure on him..

ST looks better than last year.

 

[Whyjerry]

you can keep saying that about zeke but he has plenty of burst for back his size , theres a huge difference from home run speed back and burst.. i saw it ton at the end of last year on cut backs etc and this year hes looked great, sorry to inform you hes still an elite back , he stay healthy , he blocks , hes on the field more then any rb in the league and keeps producing..

stop the bs narrative..you seem to make sure you copy and post that same thing on every thread that tries to praise zeke..Zekes not just better then Pollard and leaps and bounds better , my eyes tell me that weekly..pollard is not starter, i can see that now..if you can tell the difference and only use shifty speed as barometer , you have issues..

hes still top 3 back at worse top 5 and best thing is like a ton of starting backs cant do, zekes available every game and plays the snaps of 2 or more backs do on most teams in todays NFL..

Did I rip Zeke? I said he lost burst but is a bull. He is a great player but I worry about the hits building up. I want him to be here a while. Where did I say Pollard is better? Why don’t you read for content or get some coffee in you.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

Seems like last season all over again. Inconsistent but powerful offense, objectionable defense, crappy punter.

 

[MikeB80]

The only thing we really know is Players are getting injured at an alarming rate around the league.

The nfc east is so bad 7-9 might win the division.

Also looks like san francisco can be next in a long line of teams that lose a close super bowl and then have all kinds of troubles going forward.

 

[blueblood70]

O-Line was not that good in the first quarter. They got in a groove. We will get back to being dominant.

But our Defense is not very good. When the game opened up mat was dropping back and we never got any pressure on him..

ST looks better than last year.

they need to blitz more but are scared if they dont play coverage the backend will get burned. Pick your poison hopefully Nolan calls more blitzes but not at the risk of giving up huge plays

 

[conner01]

Injuries may take a significant role with practically every team this season.

They do many times but the numbers and quality of players out after two weeks across the league this year is scary

 

[MikeB80]

They do many times but the numbers and quality of players out after two weeks across the league this year is scary

its interesting what is happening at met life in ny. San francisco is apparently blaming the field for the torn acl's yesterday and the bears complained last week....SF has to play there again next week too.

 

[blueblood70]

Did I rip Zeke? I said he lost burst but is a bull. He is a great player but I worry about the hits building up. I want him to be here a while. Where did I say Pollard is better? Why don’t you read for content or get some coffee in you.

its gets old he has burst the long game truly never was his game, he occasionally had it when the Ol in 16 was absolutely the best in football and the hole opened up fast and huge,. he trusted that and hit it hard and speed ie home run speed are very different. Like ES, Zeke has plenty of burst and cutback for big back..if we dont go down 20-0 Zeke gets 150 in this game. hes playing very well as matter of fact the last 6-7 games last year in the first half Zeke looked exactly like his old self, KM play calling ruined his bigger game stats line but i saw cut back, short yard bursts and all things EE is truly known for..

the last 2 seasons and off season Pollards name kept being brought up and stupid narratives that any back can run behind this line with the same carries, absolute nonsense , what OL its been in disarray and moving parts Injuries etc

 

[Sydla]

Simply put it seems preseason prognostications were accurate.

The offense can be scary good and explosive.

The defense will be a headache all year.

 

[TheSkaven]

No that isn’t the right call with 4 min left. By not making it, you were going to have to score twice in 4 min to win. Which they did in spite of the decision.

I wrote a response to this before I read your response but let me try to lay it out in more detail @Bobhaze

1) If you go for 1, you’re down 8. Typically when that happens, you get the ball back and you drive methodically down the field to tie the game and try to leave no time on the clock so your opponent can’t come back and win.

However if you miss that final two point conversion, you lose the game, there’s no chance for an onside kick.

2) By going for the 2 points now, you know how to play the rest of the game. If you make it, you play for the tie on the next drive and OT. If you don’t make it, you know that you need to move fast because you’ll need an onside kick too.

Does this help?

 

[blueblood70]

Seems like last season all over again. Inconsistent but powerful offense, objectionable defense, crappy punter.

way to early to say that lets play ALL 16 then make a comparison,..

knee jerk reaction running rampant after 2 games,, smh

 

[CowboyRoy]

We know this defense absolutely sucks.

Yep...…...we know the defense sucks, coaching matters, special teams matter, the kicker matters.

 

[MikeB80]

I would also like to add that after two weeks it looks like all the teams who have Bellichick people in there organization are performing horribly.

Detroit
Atlanta
New York
Houston.

all of the Bellichick patriots staff. Matt Patricia is going to get fired for sure and maybe bill O'Brien.

Demetrof in atlanta probably stays as GM since the team has a ton of talent...they just dont win. Maybe he goes too.

Judge in New York is in for an extremely long season. getting caught with only two active running backs yesterday with the second being a role player in lewis seemed really dumb yesterday. I don't know which game the giants can win although there defense looks really improved to me. When you look at their schedule they look like they only have 3 potential wins on the schedule, both washington games and the bengals....but I think even that is hopeful at best.

The giants might go 1-15.

 

[CowboyRoy]

I wrote a response to this before I read your response but let me try to lay it out in more detail @Bobhaze

1) If you go for 1, you’re down 8. Typically when that happens, you get the ball back and you drive methodically down the field to tie the game and try to leave no time on the clock so your opponent can’t come back and win.

However if you miss that final two point conversion, you lose the game, there’s no chance for an onside kick.

2) By going for the 2 points now, you know how to play the rest of the game. If you make it, you play for the tie on the next drive and OT. If you don’t make it, you know that you need to move fast because you’ll need an onside kick too.

Does this help?

There is absolutely NO debate whatsoever. You kick the FG and keep yourself in the game. MM's answer to why he did it was the dumbest thing I have heard and you obviously bought it hook, line, and sinker.

All MM did was put the game on the line with one play when that kind of risk wasn't necessary. Dumb dumb call. Football 101.

 

[Whyjerry]

its gets old he has burst the long game truly never was his game, he occasionally had it when the Ol in 16 was absolutely the best in football and the hole opened up fast and huge,. he trusted that and hit it hard and speed ie home run speed are very different. Like ES, Zeke has plenty of burst and cutback for big back..if we dont go down 20-0 Zeke gets 150 in this game. hes playing very well as matter of fact the last 6-7 games last year in the first half Zeke looked exactly like his old self, KM play calling ruined his bigger game stats line but i saw cut back, short yard bursts and all things EE is truly known for..

the last 2 seasons and off season Pollards name kept being brought up and stupid narratives that any back can run behind this line with the same carries, absolute nonsense , what OL its been in disarray and moving parts Injuries etc

Are you having a moment? I think 95 pct of this board thinks Zeke is far and away the best back on the team. Pollard is a nice 8-12 touch compliment. Very, very few think he can replace Zeke. The data is very clear if you look at the number of long runs Zeke has. It has gone down every year. His rookie year he could run past people. He doesn’t do that anymore. It’s not that he sucks he just has become more of a power guy. Still great. Still effective. Problem is power guys typically don’t last long. What wrong with being conscious of his touches and not getting him beat up? Calm down.

 

[FortyFiveYearFan]

I guess there are worse things than being 1 - 1, but I find it hard to take comfort in the way we did it. We can't count on teams to absolutely mess the bed like the Falcon's did on Sunday. I watched Seattle play last night and that was a professional football team firing on all cylinders. How we look against them next week will give us a better idea of what we really got.

 

[Diehardblues]

I think we know this isn’t a contender.

 

[blueblood70]

Are you having a moment? I think 95 pct of this board thinks Zeke is far and away the best back on the team. Pollard is a nice 8-12 touch compliment. Very, very few think he can replace Zeke. The data is very clear if you look at the number of long runs Zeke has. It has gone down every year. His rookie year he could run past people. He doesn’t do that anymore. It’s not that he sucks he just has become more of a power guy. Still great. Still effective. Problem is power guys typically don’t last long. What wrong with being conscious of his touches and not getting him beat up? Calm down.

but pollard has Homerun speed quicker and shiftier and it still doesnt make him a better back.. see my point..NOW!?

Barkley hes poor mans Barry but most likely NEVER get to that comp fast and shifty HURT again stats are erratic

CMC great year last year very quick and shifty great back but one out of 3 good season gets paid starts 2020 poorly and now has an ankle..yes as great as he was in 2019 only 30yards better then zeke..

cook always hurt

etc etc

my point as an NFL Back hes true prototype for a big back, you can have either but trying to downgrade him by saying he has no burst when he actually DOES, he lacks the quick home run hitting speed but as big back he has plenty of burst in short space..