couchscout
Active Member
- Messages
- 733
- Reaction score
- 248
I was considering doing a "thoughts" post after each game this season, but the coach in me doesn't like to do play by play, or game by game analysis because it will just drive you crazy. Add to that the fact that we already have several good posters here who already to thoughts posts, I decided to do a quarterly analysis, with a little more in depth look at the specifics. I don't claim to know it all when it comes to this sport, but I do coach it, and I've studied it my whole life. So take this information for what it's worth.
Wade Phillips: There are reasons to love Wade, and reasons to really question his credibility. The number 1 thing to love about Wade, is he does not try to force players to fit his scheme. He adapts his schemes to the players he has. For instance we were primarily a zone team when the corners were Newman and Henry, because Henry couldn't hold up in man coverage. But once Scandrick and Jenkins showed up, we started transitioning to more of a man team because those guys can do it. Wade leaves a lot to be desired in terms of his game management, and leadership skills. I'm not one of those people that think he needs to be all "in your face" like Gruden or Singletary, because I'm well aware all different types of personalities can succeed as a coach. But over the years here, I've seen things that lead me to believe he isn't a strong leader. Wade is a guy that could potentially win a championship, but I almost think he would need a team with less talent, a "try hard" team. Because a team as talented as this one will tend to try to get by on their talent and Wade doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to make them go the extra mile. He seems this season to be feeling the pressure, as his play calling has been very tentative, which has cost us 2 games this season in my opinion (Chicago, Tennessee)
Romo: I love him. I think he's taken his game to a different level this season. When he's been given time, he has absolutely shredded defenses. His one big weakness in my eyes, really has very little to do with football. This man is a slave to habit, whatever has worked for him in the past, he gets used to it and repeats it over and over and over with little regard to how uneffective it has become. For instance his breaking the pocket and making big plays early in his career. Once teams figured that out and started containing him better, he spent the rest of that season trying really really hard to get outside so he could make plays. He came back with a fresh perspective the next season and improved dramatically. It seems it really takes an entire off season for him to kick whatever bad habits he had acquired during the previous season. You could also say his affinity for celebrity blondes is another example of his slavery to habit. Regardless, the list of QB's I would rather have than him is really really small.
Barber/Felix/Choice: This whole thing has turned into a giant mess, it really has. Here is what I see. When the play has been blocked well enough to get 4 yards, Barber will most likely get you 4, but he might get you 12. Felix might get you 60, or he might get you 0, Choice will get you 4 every time. I think that really is the way it breaks down on its most fundamental level. Barber hasn't been bad this season, but I definitely think it's time to hand the reins to Felix. It looked like that transition started to take effect last week, and I hope it continues. Felix has a special ability to "slip" tackles, what I mean by that is make the guy miss but Felix himself doesn't lose much forward momentum. He's done this several times already this season, and did it a lot last season. I think given a full load we could have something special here. Choice is a nice complementary piece. Barber still has a few miles left, but I think he's winding down.
ROY!!: Hahaha, I've been so hard on this guy. I made a post in the offseason about him, talking about him basically only having 3 routes. And we all know Drew Pearson came out and said the same thing. He's definitely improved his game, and his hands. But this is the thing I want you take note of. What have his big plays come on? Slant routes and go routes. Thats it, thats what this man does. Garrett spent all of last season trying to jam a square peg into a round hole, having Roy run comebacks and square-ins all season. Let this guy run a few slants to set his man up, then beat him over the top. Thats all you have to do. If you have Roy do that all game long, he will kill his guy and you'll have to double cover him, which we all know you can't do because then Witten, Austin, and Bryant will kill you. Somewhere along the way Garrett figured this out, Romo got his timing down, and Roy found his hands. He's not elite, and he most likely never will be, but if they keep consistently asking him to do the things he does best, he'll be successful here.
Austin: The most unorthodox receiver I've ever seen at any level. He doesn't do ANYTHING like a "real" receiver does. He runs routes awkward. he catches the ball awkward, he goes up for the ball at awkward angles, etc. Defenses have no idea how to defend him because he doesn't do things like receivers are taught their whole lives to do them. Best RAC receiver in the NFL right now and it's not close.
Witten: Just not the same guy anymore. I still can't pinpoint whats wrong, he changed somewhere during last season and has not returned to form. From what I can tell from the TV cameras, he's not being doubled all that much. Still a great positional blocker though.
The OL: Free is really good, he's gonna have a "bad game" or two, like the one he had last week over the next couple seasons, but that is to be expected. He's gonna be a good one, and like Witten, he's a dominant positional blocker. He can get to reach blocks better than any lineman on the team right now, and consistently turns his man out of the play on runs toward him. Kosier is steady Eddie. Just gets the job done. I don't understand the hatred for Gurode, he's fine. He's not the best center that ever played, but he's pretty good. Consistency is the key for him, something I believe he will always struggle with. I still can't believe they allowed Davis to go out and lay stink bomb after stink bomb as long as they did before pulling him. He was atrocious through all 4 games this season, they say he was better after coming back from being benched, I say "better" still wasn't very dang good. Colombo needs help, pretty much every play. He doesn't have it anymore, he's good in little spurts, and he's still a decent run blocker. But he shouldn't be pass protecting one on one very much at all. Time to find his replacement.
DL: It's so hard to judge defensive lineman with TV cameras and without knowing the play calls. They could be twisting, stunting, dropping into coverage, etc. You really have no clue what their responsibility is on a given play, so you have no way of knowing if they played it correctly. I'll say this, Spears has been almost unblockable in the run game, and Igor has been exceptionally hard to move. Rat hasn't quite been the Rat of the past few years, but he's still giving C's and G's fits. Hatcher and Bowen both add quite a bit to the pass rush when they are brought in. And Brent definitely looks like he belongs when he is out there. We might have another steal in him. He's quick, and uses his hands very well.
OLB: Ummmm, they are both very very good. Oh, and Butler has been pretty unblockable on the pass rush when I've seen him in the game.
ILB: Another position that is just a mess. Brooking has been fine in the run game, and below average as a pass defender. It's an odd sentence to say, but Brooking just can't compare with Bobby Carpenter defending the pass. Overall, he's fine and not the problem. James has been pretty below average this season. I've seen him blown out of the hole on a few occasions and he's missed some tackles too. He's not playing to his usual level. It kind of makes me wonder if he is one of the players that is not taking it seriously enough. Lee has played a little and much like Brent, looks like he belongs. He might need this rookie season to figure it all out, but this guy is gonna be a player for us. He stacks and sheds very well, takes good angles, rarely takes false steps, and tackles well. Those Williams guys are just that....guys.
CB: Newman has played at an elite level this season. Nobody is throwing at him. He doesn't seem to be affected with Balls' ineffectiveness as Jenkins is. He's probably playing better than any corner in the NFC right now. Jenkins on the other hand is struggling, and the way he's holding receivers tells me he's deathly afraid of being beaten over the top. A fear that should be alleviated by knowing Ball has over the top coverage. Scandrick has a complete lack of ball skills, this is not a secret. The big knock on him coming out of college was his lack of ball skills and there has not been a big improvement since then. You could do far worse as far as nickel corners go, personally I think we should go back to Newman in the slot, especially on 3rd downs, but Scandrick is ok for what we ask him to do.
S: We all know Ball is below average, his coverage this season really hasn't been that bad. He's made a few mistakes here and there but for the most part he's been where he's supposed to be. One thing he does leaps and bounds better than Hamlin did was getting off the hash. Way too many times in my film study last season, a pass was completed in front of Hamlin, who never moved his feet for the duration of the play. Ball has been breaking on passes, leading me to believe he'll eventually catch a few of them. The problem is when the receiver catches it, Ball can't be counted on to tackle the guy. Sensy is a solid player who does the things the coaches ask him to do. He almost never makes mental mistakes and is another one of those guys that is most definitely not the problem here. If he has a big weakness, it's that his presence as the 8th guy in the box doesn't seem to affect opposing teams' running games. We walk him into the box several times a game, yet he rarely gets in on the tackle. I have not yet diagnosed the specifics of why that is, but its one of the things I'll be on the lookout for.
Overall, we are a finesse team through and through. Offensively and defensively. Finesse teams can win in this league (2000 Rams), but we have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot.
I know not everything in here was all that in depth, but there is a lot of it that can give you some insight into the way a coach watches the game.
Wade Phillips: There are reasons to love Wade, and reasons to really question his credibility. The number 1 thing to love about Wade, is he does not try to force players to fit his scheme. He adapts his schemes to the players he has. For instance we were primarily a zone team when the corners were Newman and Henry, because Henry couldn't hold up in man coverage. But once Scandrick and Jenkins showed up, we started transitioning to more of a man team because those guys can do it. Wade leaves a lot to be desired in terms of his game management, and leadership skills. I'm not one of those people that think he needs to be all "in your face" like Gruden or Singletary, because I'm well aware all different types of personalities can succeed as a coach. But over the years here, I've seen things that lead me to believe he isn't a strong leader. Wade is a guy that could potentially win a championship, but I almost think he would need a team with less talent, a "try hard" team. Because a team as talented as this one will tend to try to get by on their talent and Wade doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to make them go the extra mile. He seems this season to be feeling the pressure, as his play calling has been very tentative, which has cost us 2 games this season in my opinion (Chicago, Tennessee)
Romo: I love him. I think he's taken his game to a different level this season. When he's been given time, he has absolutely shredded defenses. His one big weakness in my eyes, really has very little to do with football. This man is a slave to habit, whatever has worked for him in the past, he gets used to it and repeats it over and over and over with little regard to how uneffective it has become. For instance his breaking the pocket and making big plays early in his career. Once teams figured that out and started containing him better, he spent the rest of that season trying really really hard to get outside so he could make plays. He came back with a fresh perspective the next season and improved dramatically. It seems it really takes an entire off season for him to kick whatever bad habits he had acquired during the previous season. You could also say his affinity for celebrity blondes is another example of his slavery to habit. Regardless, the list of QB's I would rather have than him is really really small.
Barber/Felix/Choice: This whole thing has turned into a giant mess, it really has. Here is what I see. When the play has been blocked well enough to get 4 yards, Barber will most likely get you 4, but he might get you 12. Felix might get you 60, or he might get you 0, Choice will get you 4 every time. I think that really is the way it breaks down on its most fundamental level. Barber hasn't been bad this season, but I definitely think it's time to hand the reins to Felix. It looked like that transition started to take effect last week, and I hope it continues. Felix has a special ability to "slip" tackles, what I mean by that is make the guy miss but Felix himself doesn't lose much forward momentum. He's done this several times already this season, and did it a lot last season. I think given a full load we could have something special here. Choice is a nice complementary piece. Barber still has a few miles left, but I think he's winding down.
ROY!!: Hahaha, I've been so hard on this guy. I made a post in the offseason about him, talking about him basically only having 3 routes. And we all know Drew Pearson came out and said the same thing. He's definitely improved his game, and his hands. But this is the thing I want you take note of. What have his big plays come on? Slant routes and go routes. Thats it, thats what this man does. Garrett spent all of last season trying to jam a square peg into a round hole, having Roy run comebacks and square-ins all season. Let this guy run a few slants to set his man up, then beat him over the top. Thats all you have to do. If you have Roy do that all game long, he will kill his guy and you'll have to double cover him, which we all know you can't do because then Witten, Austin, and Bryant will kill you. Somewhere along the way Garrett figured this out, Romo got his timing down, and Roy found his hands. He's not elite, and he most likely never will be, but if they keep consistently asking him to do the things he does best, he'll be successful here.
Austin: The most unorthodox receiver I've ever seen at any level. He doesn't do ANYTHING like a "real" receiver does. He runs routes awkward. he catches the ball awkward, he goes up for the ball at awkward angles, etc. Defenses have no idea how to defend him because he doesn't do things like receivers are taught their whole lives to do them. Best RAC receiver in the NFL right now and it's not close.
Witten: Just not the same guy anymore. I still can't pinpoint whats wrong, he changed somewhere during last season and has not returned to form. From what I can tell from the TV cameras, he's not being doubled all that much. Still a great positional blocker though.
The OL: Free is really good, he's gonna have a "bad game" or two, like the one he had last week over the next couple seasons, but that is to be expected. He's gonna be a good one, and like Witten, he's a dominant positional blocker. He can get to reach blocks better than any lineman on the team right now, and consistently turns his man out of the play on runs toward him. Kosier is steady Eddie. Just gets the job done. I don't understand the hatred for Gurode, he's fine. He's not the best center that ever played, but he's pretty good. Consistency is the key for him, something I believe he will always struggle with. I still can't believe they allowed Davis to go out and lay stink bomb after stink bomb as long as they did before pulling him. He was atrocious through all 4 games this season, they say he was better after coming back from being benched, I say "better" still wasn't very dang good. Colombo needs help, pretty much every play. He doesn't have it anymore, he's good in little spurts, and he's still a decent run blocker. But he shouldn't be pass protecting one on one very much at all. Time to find his replacement.
DL: It's so hard to judge defensive lineman with TV cameras and without knowing the play calls. They could be twisting, stunting, dropping into coverage, etc. You really have no clue what their responsibility is on a given play, so you have no way of knowing if they played it correctly. I'll say this, Spears has been almost unblockable in the run game, and Igor has been exceptionally hard to move. Rat hasn't quite been the Rat of the past few years, but he's still giving C's and G's fits. Hatcher and Bowen both add quite a bit to the pass rush when they are brought in. And Brent definitely looks like he belongs when he is out there. We might have another steal in him. He's quick, and uses his hands very well.
OLB: Ummmm, they are both very very good. Oh, and Butler has been pretty unblockable on the pass rush when I've seen him in the game.
ILB: Another position that is just a mess. Brooking has been fine in the run game, and below average as a pass defender. It's an odd sentence to say, but Brooking just can't compare with Bobby Carpenter defending the pass. Overall, he's fine and not the problem. James has been pretty below average this season. I've seen him blown out of the hole on a few occasions and he's missed some tackles too. He's not playing to his usual level. It kind of makes me wonder if he is one of the players that is not taking it seriously enough. Lee has played a little and much like Brent, looks like he belongs. He might need this rookie season to figure it all out, but this guy is gonna be a player for us. He stacks and sheds very well, takes good angles, rarely takes false steps, and tackles well. Those Williams guys are just that....guys.
CB: Newman has played at an elite level this season. Nobody is throwing at him. He doesn't seem to be affected with Balls' ineffectiveness as Jenkins is. He's probably playing better than any corner in the NFC right now. Jenkins on the other hand is struggling, and the way he's holding receivers tells me he's deathly afraid of being beaten over the top. A fear that should be alleviated by knowing Ball has over the top coverage. Scandrick has a complete lack of ball skills, this is not a secret. The big knock on him coming out of college was his lack of ball skills and there has not been a big improvement since then. You could do far worse as far as nickel corners go, personally I think we should go back to Newman in the slot, especially on 3rd downs, but Scandrick is ok for what we ask him to do.
S: We all know Ball is below average, his coverage this season really hasn't been that bad. He's made a few mistakes here and there but for the most part he's been where he's supposed to be. One thing he does leaps and bounds better than Hamlin did was getting off the hash. Way too many times in my film study last season, a pass was completed in front of Hamlin, who never moved his feet for the duration of the play. Ball has been breaking on passes, leading me to believe he'll eventually catch a few of them. The problem is when the receiver catches it, Ball can't be counted on to tackle the guy. Sensy is a solid player who does the things the coaches ask him to do. He almost never makes mental mistakes and is another one of those guys that is most definitely not the problem here. If he has a big weakness, it's that his presence as the 8th guy in the box doesn't seem to affect opposing teams' running games. We walk him into the box several times a game, yet he rarely gets in on the tackle. I have not yet diagnosed the specifics of why that is, but its one of the things I'll be on the lookout for.
Overall, we are a finesse team through and through. Offensively and defensively. Finesse teams can win in this league (2000 Rams), but we have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot.
I know not everything in here was all that in depth, but there is a lot of it that can give you some insight into the way a coach watches the game.
