Crown Royal
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DEFENSE
I'll get it out of the way. The defense didn't look great. I know it, you know it, the Giants know it, Wade knows it, Jerry knows it, Danny Snyder is touching himself with the knowledge of it, Trent Green is thinking maybe he can move the ball next week, etc. Great.
What shocks me is that everyone is shocked by this. Read this thread I made a few weeks ago: http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93438
This team will be passed on this season - it's BOUND TO HAPPEN. This is a pressure team, and we didn't pressure well to begin with. Ferguson was in only a handful of plays, and is gone for the year. He was our best lineman. Canty will never be a pass rusher. Spears was benched. But it got a little better after a while - Hatcher came in and Ratliff actually played well in one gap.
Also - consider who we were playing. Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer are VERY GOOD PLAYERS. This is the second best WR tandem in the NFC East, and one of the better ones in the NFC. The giants OL is VERY solid and has been getting better ever since coughlin arrived. Eli always starts the season well. I think that the Giant offense is their strength.
Reeves didn't look great, but all things considered, I think I see why we dropped Aaron glenn. He has good speed and plays the ball better than I've seen any of our DBs do in a while. Unfortunately, he doesn't read routes well or get good position, especially on the mismatch tonight. But I am encouraged that he can play in this league - I don't think we see WRs this dangerous again until we play NE.
Roy - didn't look good. I'll leave it at that, but he is a pro and I expect he will take it upon himself to play better. Ken Hamlin - guy has fire. He messes up some, but he wants to play. I like that. Henry just needs to keep doing what he does. I think we all know what we are getting there, and understand that not everyone is shut down.
LBers - Ware looked OK, I expect more next week against a worse OL. Spencer actually looked pretty good. And I think we have figured out how to hide James as a liability.
I also want everyone to consider one more thing - when is the last time we played the NYFG and shockey DIDN'T Burn us?
OFFENSE
Last year I complained that we had all the tools you could possibly want, but that our scheme was uncreative and lacking. This game I saw an offense that changed it's philosophy to suit the players, and it paid off. It doesn't hurt we played a poor defense, but still - that was a clinic.
QB - Romo is showing that he is an NFL QB, and actually one of the better ones. I think we need to get used to the fact that he starts games off a little slow/rusty, but gets into a rhythm and stays there. His footwork is excellent, he feels the pressure and he READS defense exceptionally well. The INT wasn't a messup in a read - he just reacted too late - the safety had time to correct the fact that he bit on play action. In short - Romo gets paid this year.
RB - I'm not going to discuss the differences between the two - but I think we know who is going to get us the yards when it counts. Good game by both, but special game by the stocky one.
OL - Gurode seemed to have had the jitters to start, and Flo is still deaf as my granny, but they looked solid. Pass protection was really good and run blocking adequate. I expect this unit to get better and better too - even with Uminyora, that wasn't a bad DL.
WR - Glenn is a good dynamic to have, and we will miss him, but those guys looked good. Owens did what he does, and will probably keep doing. Even had some nice blocking on some runs. Crayton - same. Guy just gets open and catches the ball, and breaks the first tackle. Hurd looked good, but I think everyone was a little over impressed by a WR who just got inside on a short CB that had no safety help. I think he will be good and deserves it, but I don't think he was any better than crayton that game.
TE - Kiwanuka gave us a gift by trying to cover Witten. Shame on Coughlin for taking a gifted passrusher and asking him to play in space. That was embarrassing, and saved us the game. Witten showed both the giants and Parcells how to use a TE in the passing game. Great, great player we have there. Fasano seemed to run good routes, but he is always going to have Owens, Witten, Crayton and sometimes hurd as the options ahead of him.
Special Teams
Folk - Nice kickoffs. Great placekicking. Hos - you found us a winner.
MacBriar - He will win us football games with the yardage he saves.
All in all, I think too much doom and gloom on our defense. We played against a very good offensive team, and we are ailing. I don't think we are all world, but I think it gets better over the season as we heal and gel. Fun game to watch, all kinds of emotions. I enjoyed the heck out of it.
I'll get it out of the way. The defense didn't look great. I know it, you know it, the Giants know it, Wade knows it, Jerry knows it, Danny Snyder is touching himself with the knowledge of it, Trent Green is thinking maybe he can move the ball next week, etc. Great.
What shocks me is that everyone is shocked by this. Read this thread I made a few weeks ago: http://cowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=93438
This team will be passed on this season - it's BOUND TO HAPPEN. This is a pressure team, and we didn't pressure well to begin with. Ferguson was in only a handful of plays, and is gone for the year. He was our best lineman. Canty will never be a pass rusher. Spears was benched. But it got a little better after a while - Hatcher came in and Ratliff actually played well in one gap.
Also - consider who we were playing. Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer are VERY GOOD PLAYERS. This is the second best WR tandem in the NFC East, and one of the better ones in the NFC. The giants OL is VERY solid and has been getting better ever since coughlin arrived. Eli always starts the season well. I think that the Giant offense is their strength.
Reeves didn't look great, but all things considered, I think I see why we dropped Aaron glenn. He has good speed and plays the ball better than I've seen any of our DBs do in a while. Unfortunately, he doesn't read routes well or get good position, especially on the mismatch tonight. But I am encouraged that he can play in this league - I don't think we see WRs this dangerous again until we play NE.
Roy - didn't look good. I'll leave it at that, but he is a pro and I expect he will take it upon himself to play better. Ken Hamlin - guy has fire. He messes up some, but he wants to play. I like that. Henry just needs to keep doing what he does. I think we all know what we are getting there, and understand that not everyone is shut down.
LBers - Ware looked OK, I expect more next week against a worse OL. Spencer actually looked pretty good. And I think we have figured out how to hide James as a liability.
I also want everyone to consider one more thing - when is the last time we played the NYFG and shockey DIDN'T Burn us?
OFFENSE
Last year I complained that we had all the tools you could possibly want, but that our scheme was uncreative and lacking. This game I saw an offense that changed it's philosophy to suit the players, and it paid off. It doesn't hurt we played a poor defense, but still - that was a clinic.
QB - Romo is showing that he is an NFL QB, and actually one of the better ones. I think we need to get used to the fact that he starts games off a little slow/rusty, but gets into a rhythm and stays there. His footwork is excellent, he feels the pressure and he READS defense exceptionally well. The INT wasn't a messup in a read - he just reacted too late - the safety had time to correct the fact that he bit on play action. In short - Romo gets paid this year.
RB - I'm not going to discuss the differences between the two - but I think we know who is going to get us the yards when it counts. Good game by both, but special game by the stocky one.
OL - Gurode seemed to have had the jitters to start, and Flo is still deaf as my granny, but they looked solid. Pass protection was really good and run blocking adequate. I expect this unit to get better and better too - even with Uminyora, that wasn't a bad DL.
WR - Glenn is a good dynamic to have, and we will miss him, but those guys looked good. Owens did what he does, and will probably keep doing. Even had some nice blocking on some runs. Crayton - same. Guy just gets open and catches the ball, and breaks the first tackle. Hurd looked good, but I think everyone was a little over impressed by a WR who just got inside on a short CB that had no safety help. I think he will be good and deserves it, but I don't think he was any better than crayton that game.
TE - Kiwanuka gave us a gift by trying to cover Witten. Shame on Coughlin for taking a gifted passrusher and asking him to play in space. That was embarrassing, and saved us the game. Witten showed both the giants and Parcells how to use a TE in the passing game. Great, great player we have there. Fasano seemed to run good routes, but he is always going to have Owens, Witten, Crayton and sometimes hurd as the options ahead of him.
Special Teams
Folk - Nice kickoffs. Great placekicking. Hos - you found us a winner.
MacBriar - He will win us football games with the yardage he saves.
All in all, I think too much doom and gloom on our defense. We played against a very good offensive team, and we are ailing. I don't think we are all world, but I think it gets better over the season as we heal and gel. Fun game to watch, all kinds of emotions. I enjoyed the heck out of it.
