honyock
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I wanted to do the whole game but I’ve got to get to work, so here’s the first half on offense and on the OL and I hope to get to the second half later on. The Cliffs notes version: I thought the line, except for Doug Free, had a good first half. Romo had a bad game, some bad reads/decisions/throws that were costly. I want to see the second half again, but it looks like he's hearing footsteps and is rushing things. Free wasn’t good, he had two costly pressures in the first half and then more badness in the second half. The tight ends, especially Hanna, really hurt us.
The Cowboys came out in 12 personnel and stayed there for most of the half. They thought they could take advantage of the Saints poor run defense. For the most part, the line was effective in this, but the tight ends failed them on the first two possessions.
Firtst possession: Run left, the line blocked well, Murray had a seam between Smith and a pulling Berny, would have had positive yardage, possibly a nice gain if Murray could have slipped by or beat a linebacker. But Witten missed his block and his guy blew up the play for a loss. Second down, the Saints went nickel, pass to Hanna for a decent gain, third and four.
We went no huddle to catch NO in the nickel. They were confused and scrambling pre-snap. Run right. I had no problems with this call, we had a favorable matchup. But Hanna slid downfield and just totally missed a block on a corner. He slapped the guy on the chest with his hand as the cb flew by him. I’d like to see this on the coaches film…it looked like Murray easily had the first down but it looked like the cb brought him down behind the scrum. Three and out.
Second possesion, after the fumbled punt. Good run on first down. Nice play design on third and one, had the first down, but Hanna jumped just before the snap. Third and six. Free’s first of many pass pro problems, his guy flushed Romo, Leary also allowed a push up the middle. Field goal.
Third possession. The line and TE’s all blocked well and we ran it down their throats. The best line blocking since the St Louis game. Smith looked really good to this point, as did the interior of the line. Leary and Smith were really working effectively on the left side, Fred made some nice second level blocks. Free was okay too. TD
Fourth possession. They had us backed up at the 10. I put this possession on Romo, Free, and Rob Ryan. Second and eight, Romo threw a pass too low to Williams. Would have been third and 4, instead a third and 8.
Third down, the mad scientist showed up. The saints showed six near the LOS, no defender had their hand on the ground. They rushed four, and Free didn’t react fast enough. His guy made an inside move, flushed Romo which allowed Bern’s guy to release outside and chase Romo, who threw it away. Win Ryan.
Fourth possession. This one really hurt and completely turned the game around. We ditch the 12 personnel and go 5 wideouts.Nice first down completion, then on second and two, Romo made a bad read/decision. He had Beasley sitting down just beyond the first down marker with no one on him, and had Witten who had broken totally free towards the left sideline 15 yards downfield. Romo instead threw into tight coverage to Williams, ball tipped away. We thad that first down cold, Tony made a bad decision. So third and two. Romo to Beasley on a slant, the db made a nice break and tipped it away. From the network feed, I couldn’t tell if the pass was behind Beasley or if the db just made a nice play. But three and out. Second down was the killer there. Saints score just before halftime, 28-10.
Just a couple of thoughts on the 12 personnel. Despite the results, I thought the line run blocked well from the 12 in the first half. Hanna is killing us in this formation. This has shown up all year long. He just isn’t reliable as a blocker and costs too many plays/possessions. He doesn’t really stretch the field enough to deal with the blocking woes. At this point, I’m reduced to hoping we’ll start giving Escobar some more reps if we stick with the 12. I know he can’t block either, but at least he potentially offers some tougher match ups in coverage for defenses. It’s just not happening with Hanna on the field. We’ll have good drives but except for the St Louis game, can’t sustain anything consistently.
The Cowboys came out in 12 personnel and stayed there for most of the half. They thought they could take advantage of the Saints poor run defense. For the most part, the line was effective in this, but the tight ends failed them on the first two possessions.
Firtst possession: Run left, the line blocked well, Murray had a seam between Smith and a pulling Berny, would have had positive yardage, possibly a nice gain if Murray could have slipped by or beat a linebacker. But Witten missed his block and his guy blew up the play for a loss. Second down, the Saints went nickel, pass to Hanna for a decent gain, third and four.
We went no huddle to catch NO in the nickel. They were confused and scrambling pre-snap. Run right. I had no problems with this call, we had a favorable matchup. But Hanna slid downfield and just totally missed a block on a corner. He slapped the guy on the chest with his hand as the cb flew by him. I’d like to see this on the coaches film…it looked like Murray easily had the first down but it looked like the cb brought him down behind the scrum. Three and out.
Second possesion, after the fumbled punt. Good run on first down. Nice play design on third and one, had the first down, but Hanna jumped just before the snap. Third and six. Free’s first of many pass pro problems, his guy flushed Romo, Leary also allowed a push up the middle. Field goal.
Third possession. The line and TE’s all blocked well and we ran it down their throats. The best line blocking since the St Louis game. Smith looked really good to this point, as did the interior of the line. Leary and Smith were really working effectively on the left side, Fred made some nice second level blocks. Free was okay too. TD
Fourth possession. They had us backed up at the 10. I put this possession on Romo, Free, and Rob Ryan. Second and eight, Romo threw a pass too low to Williams. Would have been third and 4, instead a third and 8.
Third down, the mad scientist showed up. The saints showed six near the LOS, no defender had their hand on the ground. They rushed four, and Free didn’t react fast enough. His guy made an inside move, flushed Romo which allowed Bern’s guy to release outside and chase Romo, who threw it away. Win Ryan.
Fourth possession. This one really hurt and completely turned the game around. We ditch the 12 personnel and go 5 wideouts.Nice first down completion, then on second and two, Romo made a bad read/decision. He had Beasley sitting down just beyond the first down marker with no one on him, and had Witten who had broken totally free towards the left sideline 15 yards downfield. Romo instead threw into tight coverage to Williams, ball tipped away. We thad that first down cold, Tony made a bad decision. So third and two. Romo to Beasley on a slant, the db made a nice break and tipped it away. From the network feed, I couldn’t tell if the pass was behind Beasley or if the db just made a nice play. But three and out. Second down was the killer there. Saints score just before halftime, 28-10.
Just a couple of thoughts on the 12 personnel. Despite the results, I thought the line run blocked well from the 12 in the first half. Hanna is killing us in this formation. This has shown up all year long. He just isn’t reliable as a blocker and costs too many plays/possessions. He doesn’t really stretch the field enough to deal with the blocking woes. At this point, I’m reduced to hoping we’ll start giving Escobar some more reps if we stick with the 12. I know he can’t block either, but at least he potentially offers some tougher match ups in coverage for defenses. It’s just not happening with Hanna on the field. We’ll have good drives but except for the St Louis game, can’t sustain anything consistently.
