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

[fivetwos]

Mahomes is supposedly the standard, and the guy uses his legs a lot.

Prescott is capable of this but chooses not to.

This offense could be much more effective in keeping drives alive and the defense on the sidelines, but I guess he was coached into not doing that.

 

[SlammedZero]

• 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.

Great post and I 100% with this one. I said something very similar in a thread around here somewhere. I'm hoping he relaxes a bit as the season unwinds.

 

[Sydla]

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.

History shows that Belicheck disciples aren't very good HCs. O'Brien is blah. Patricia is not good. The douchey OC was terrible in Denver. Crennel wasn't very good. Weis bombed out at ND and was dreadful at Kansas (granted, it is Kansas).

 

[FortyFiveYearFan]

History shows that Belicheck disciples aren't very good HCs. O'Brien is blah. Patricia is not good. The douchey OC was terrible in Denver. Crennel wasn't very good. Weis bombed out at ND and was dreadful at Kansas (granted, it is Kansas).

Belichek's disciples are proof you can't teach genius.

 

[Aven8]

This team offensively can go toe to toe with anyone in this league. I expect the same next Sunday against Russell. He will be hard to stop but so will we.

Shout out to Joe Thomas. He played really well!

 

[Future]

I think we don't know what the defense is yet.

That's two really tough opponents to start with for a defense with a bunch of new starters, injuries, and a new coaching staff. And, when the offense didn't put them in a huge hole, they were mostly fine against ATL, and they only gave up 23 against LA.

 

[MikeB80]

Belichek's disciples are proof you can't teach genius.

it also emphasizes "dont hire copycats or impersonators"

that went on forever in this league with the bill walsh tree. Anyone who had ever shook the guys hand was dubbed a west coast genius and put in some special group. the whole late 80s and most of the 90s was littered with all these guys getting head coaching jobs and they were all average or below.

it just repeated itself with the patriots. I will say romeo crenel is a very good coach imo. He is a coordinator though and much like steve spagnuolo in kansas city. He is an excellent coordinator and a terrible head coach.

 

[ChronicCowboy]

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

knee jerk reaction running rampant after 2 games,, smh

You do realize the point of the thread was to offer opinions after two games, don’t you?

Maybe you should’ve sat this one out.

 

[glimmerman]

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

Well if we don’t have pressure then they are going to pick our secondary apart anyways. So may as well go for it. With the front 4 we have I was hoping they would be able to get pressure. Aldon didn’t have the game I was hoping and D-Law not getting home either.

 

[blueblood70]

Well if we don’t have pressure then they are going to pick our secondary apart anyways. So may as well go for it. With the front 4 we have I was hoping they would be able to get pressure. Aldon didn’t have the game I was hoping and D-Law not getting home either.

i realize that but Nolan is trying to find the balance and will take some games this defense is nearly ALL new staff and players and coaches and players are adjusting..i look around the league and seeing defenses get torched, offense is bit ahead given the offseason etc and teams like us that had huge turnover and new staff need time..

 

[blueblood70]

You do realize the point of the thread was to offer opinions after two games, don’t you?

Maybe you should’ve sat this one out.

maybe you should not tell people to sit out...ill post replies to every post i se git in the manner i see fit..

i say far to small a sample size to make that judgment..next

 

[MikeB80]

Well if we don’t have pressure then they are going to pick our secondary apart anyways. So may as well go for it. With the front 4 we have I was hoping they would be able to get pressure. Aldon didn’t have the game I was hoping and D-Law not getting home either.

i figured smith is going to have some ups and downs. Just from the physical standpoint of not going through an nfl game and recovery in so long.

I am actually encouraged by the secondary. they are jumping in front of passes...sooner or later they are going to catch them.

lawrence was injured in the second quarter yesterday and was not in the game much from that point on.

 

[Rajveer]

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

Jaylon Smith is terrible. I don’t care what the stats say. Even on the blitzes he is not close to getting home. Late in the 3 Q he flat out gave up on a big play to Hurst. He just stopped running. The coaches have to see that. Guy needs to be a healthy scratch for a couple weeks and find some humility.

Biggest play in the game, late 3rd down. Griffen makes a coverage sack. No Tank. No Tank a lot of the game. I need to check the stats but he got a little more than half the snaps. Not what you pay 105 million for. Even when he was in he would get stood up at the line and often carried out of the play. If he is not hurt he also needs to be a healthy scratch when Gregory is ready. Tank and Smith are going to be salary cap albatrosses.

Chido is the worst CB on the team. By far. That guy has no dawg in him at all and is easily defeated. Diggs on the other hand has gotten beat the first 2 weeks but you can tell he is a special player. Got beat and came right back to make a nice play. While Chido looks gassed to me late, Diggs looks like a Bama player. Still strong late in a wild game.

Aldon Smith looked like a guy that needs a couple more weeks to get in game shape. It’s a shame that Dallas has had to rely on him heavily early on. Lawrence’s lack of any production hurts this team.

Poe had very limited impact. Very. We all wanted a run stuffer DT. He is no longer that. Hill was again the best interior defender. If he can check his attitude he might become something special.

The on sides kick was one of the best I have seen. It was so good it seemed to bedazzle the Falcons.

Garrett does not win that game,

Not saying there is anything wrong in your analysis, but you got a like for the last line.

 

[glimmerman]

i figured smith is going to have some ups and downs. Just from the physical standpoint of not going through an nfl game and recovery in so long.

I am actually encouraged by the secondary. they are jumping in front of passes...sooner or later they are going to catch them.

lawrence was injured in the second quarter yesterday and was not in the game much from that point on.

I didn’t realize he was hurt.

 

[FortyFiveYearFan]

Well if we don’t have pressure then they are going to pick our secondary apart anyways. So may as well go for it. With the front 4 we have I was hoping they would be able to get pressure. Aldon didn’t have the game I was hoping and D-Law not getting home either.

I'm a little disappointed in our pass rush as well. They are doing okay defending the run, so I'll give them that, but you can't count on guys like Julio Jones getting open deep and dropping balls every game. We should be getting in the QB's face more than we are.

 

[MikeB80]

I didn’t realize he was hurt.

yea a lot of the second half he was standing on the sideline holding his helmet. Kristi kept reporting on him during the game.

 

[glimmerman]

I'm a little disappointed in our pass rush as well. They are doing okay defending the run, so I'll give them that, but you can't count on guys like Julio Jones getting open deep and dropping balls every game. We should be getting in the QB's face more than we are.

Yeah I think we only had 1 sack. And there line wasn’t that great. I was counting that pass rush and we never got one. And yes if julio catches that ball we would have never came back.

 

[TheSkaven]

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.

I just laid out clearly why you go for 2 there. Your response is it is dumb and Football 101. OK, school me professor, given what I wrote, why would I go for 1 and play for a tie at best and loss at worst?

 

[GMO415]

DLaw becomes a ghost after the coin toss.

 

[CouchCoach]

I know 4 things.

1. The defense is not as good as last year's mediocre defense.
2. The HC has made questionable decisions in back to back games.
3. This team will be more dependent on luck than skill.
4. The luckiest part is that they play in the NFC East, the worst division in the NFL.