Couchscouts quarterly analysis (long)

[CATCH17]

I don't know if you've noticed but Roy has ran some nice double move routes this year.

He hasn't been entirely a 1 trick pony in his route running.




I agree with you about Austin too. I've actually started a thread calling him the most unique receiver in the league.

 

[MapleLeaf]

...the problem with Witten is the toll of the injuries.

He hasn't gotten a good start to the season and it looks like he hasn't gotten into a rhythm.

Barber needs the right situation to play this game.

Ball is just holding the towel right now.

I can't see Brooking being the starter next year.

Bradie James is in his contract year and hasn't done the grocery line dance. Odd because players typically step it up when it's time to get more grocery dollars. It is his eighth season. Maybe he's got other interests now.

Scandrick is basically a half step behind right now...on every play.

Choice for some reason is the forgotten man??? Is his blitz pick up that bad???

The best players in my mind, in terms of their roles, are McBriar and Newman.

The position this team is in right now is going to prove to us whether Wade Phillips and his staff can really do some "team" coaching. The talent is there and the situation is ripe for a career coaching job and possibly the chance for Wade to get into the Hall of Fame.

If he can go from 1-3 to the SuperBowl in the new Cowboys Stadium it may cement his walk to the hall and silence all the critics of his past. As a coach you have to relish this opportunity.

 

[CATCH17]

...the problem with Witten is the toll of the injuries.

He hasn't gotten a good start to the season and it looks like he hasn't gotten into a rhythm.

Barber needs the right situation to play this game.
Ball is just holding the towel right now.

I can't see Brooking being the starter next year.

Bradie James is in his contract year and hasn't done the grocery line dance. Odd because players typically step it up when it's time to get more grocery dollars. It is his eighth season. Maybe he's got other interests now.

Scandrick is basically a half step behind right now...on every play.

Choice for some reason is the forgotten man??? Is his blitz pick up that bad???

The best players in my mind, in terms of their roles, are McBriar and Newman.

The position this team is in right now is going to prove to us whether Wade Phillips and his staff can really do some "team" coaching. The talent is there and the situation is ripe for a career coaching job and possibly the chance for Wade to get into the Hall of Fame.

If he can go from 1-3 to the SuperBowl in the new Cowboys Stadium it may cement his walk to the hall and silence all the critics of his past. As a coach you have to relish this opportunity.

Agree. To get the best out of Barber you need the lead and a slightly worn down defense.

If you have a long drive and you bring this guy in is when he plays elite.

 

[DallasEast]

I'm not one of those people that sees a guy struggling, develops a hatred for that player and decides I never want to see him succeed just so I can be "right".

Outstanding opening post. I have been taking Witten for granted, but each game virtually proves that he plays very tentatively now. His strength was great route running and finding the soft spots in the defensive coverage, especially within five-to-ten yards of the line of scrimmage.

Now, his pattern breaks seem more hesitant as if he's feeling a defender is bearing down on him. The potential for injury could be what's making him a step slower on some downs. You can see that he has been attempting to compensate due to his false start penalties. I do not really get it, but I'm hoping that he improves as the season wears on.

 

[RCowboyFan]

I thought about leaving my comments on him, but I thought I might get told to "tap my brakes"

Unlike Austin, Dez does things exactly as receivers are taught their whole lives to do them. But unlike almost every other receiver in the NFL right now, Dez has all the physical gifts, the body control, the hands, and the natural "receiving" skill to do them all. He's not a great route runner, and if he's not careful he's gonna pick up some offensive pass interference calls because he likes to Michael Irvin...errr I mean push off. I've heard rumors that he doesn't do much playbook or film study, and is really pretty far behind on play knowledge. I've been told its his immense physical gifts that are getting him on the field right now. I think he has top 5 hands, and top 2 body control in the league right now. He tracks the ball well from every angle and so far has been a handful to try to tackle. I think there is little question that he doesn't know the difference between hurt and injured. He comes out of every game dinged up, and seemingly misses practices every week. There is a player on my team right now that is this way, he's by far the best athlete on the team, and the most naturally gifted "football player". However, he'll make any excuse he can to get to skip a practice, he's ALWAYS dinged up, but ALWAYS finds a way to play on game day. I see some of that in Bryant. It's very clear from what I've seen that he thinks he doesn't need to do the little things to be successful and will be able to get by on natural talent. Which is quite true, he will. The problem is, we want him to be great, not get by. I'm hoping something will snap him out of it, because he has all the skills to be one of the all time greats.

You are correct there have been rumors, but I have this funny feeling that they were put out deilibrately. Because it only come from one source, Randy Galloway. Randy has sollid sources and insider knowlege, when he comes out with news tidbits, so Cowboys front office/coaches really trust Randy when it comes to that. Now other hands, most of his opinions stink, but thats another topic.

Anyway, call me skeptical about those rumors, since everything else reported about that guy is that he goes hard in Practices. So your theory about him not being a good practice guy or goes by on talent doesn't compute. Now since no one knows how hard he studies playbook or watches Tape, we can't be certain that he is lazy in that department, so there might be a point to that.

I think with all the hype from OTAs on, we have come to expect way too much out of Bryant, forgetting he is a rookie and he is not going to be perfect or on top of playbook so soon. On top of it he has had nagging injuries, none of them seem like are minor for him to practice on. So that doesn't compute to me about him trying skip practices either, not that theory might be totally off base, but I have hard time believing that based on all the other evidence.

 

[couchscout]

You are correct there have been rumors, but I have this funny feeling that they were put out deilibrately. Because it only come from one source, Randy Galloway. Randy has sollid sources and insider knowlege, when he comes out with news tidbits, so Cowboys front office/coaches really trust Randy when it comes to that. Now other hands, most of his opinions stink, but thats another topic.

Anyway, call me skeptical about those rumors, since everything else reported about that guy is that he goes hard in Practices. So your theory about him not being a good practice guy or goes by on talent doesn't compute. Now since no one knows how hard he studies playbook or watches Tape, we can't be certain that he is lazy in that department, so there might be a point to that.

I think with all the hype from OTAs on, we have come to expect way too much out of Bryant, forgetting he is a rookie and he is not going to be perfect or on top of playbook so soon. On top of it he has had nagging injuries, none of them seem like are minor for him to practice on. So that doesn't compute to me about him trying skip practices either, not that theory might be totally off base, but I have hard time believing that based on all the other evidence.

I don't listen to ESPN Radio, or watch a single second of ESPN on TV unless the Cowboys are playing on it. I will not support that company. So I would have no idea what that moron Randy Galloway would have to say. I've been told by a former colleague who now has close ties with the Cowboys organization that Bryant doesn't do much playbook study, and still has to be told what route to run on a lot of plays, and is really far behind in terms of hot route knowledge. He's just too physically gifted and naturally good at the game to keep off of the field.

 

[RCowboyFan]

I don't listen to ESPN Radio, or watch a single second of ESPN on TV unless the Cowboys are playing on it. I will not support that company. So I would have no idea what that moron Randy Galloway would have to say. I've been told by a former colleague who now has close ties with the Cowboys organization that Bryant doesn't do much playbook study, and still has to be told what route to run on a lot of plays, and is really far behind in terms of hot route knowledge. He's just too physically gifted and naturally good at the game to keep off of the field.

Good enough. But like I said, I don't know about his playbook issues or studying tape, since other than you I guess now, none of the other media types have come out with his studying habit issues, but like I said, I have hard time believing he doesn't like to practice or go hard at practice or takes injuries as excuse.

 

[theogt]

Austin looks a whole heckuva lot more like a "real" receiver than he did his first few years. He looked so awkward in his first two seasons, I had lost hope he would ever become a quality receiver. His body control is really through the roof at this point.

 

[percyhoward]

Felix on the other hand still will read the blocking wrong a few times a game lose yardage because of it. I think he more than makes up for that with the rest of his runs though.

There are people who will ignore your second statement while they challenge you on the first one, but you're right.

 

[theogt]

There are people who will ignore your second statement while they challenge you on the first one, but you're right.

For some perspective, Felix Jones only has 569 rushes through both college and the NFL. Most big name college backs have that in a couple college seasons. Felix is basically still a baby at the position.

 

[dbair1967]

Not really sure I agree with him on Witten. Witten's numbers are a tad down, but he's still on pace for 80 catches, almost 900 yds and 4ds, while averaging just under 11.0 yds per catch.

His per 16 game average for his career:

75 catches, 860 yds, 11.4 yds per catch, 3 tds

He's taken a tremendous beating the last couple yrs, but he's still the best overall TE in the game IMO. And if he isnt, he's certainly in the discussion.

 

[theogt]

Not really sure I agree with him on Witten. Witten's numbers are a tad down, but he's still on pace for 80 catches, almost 900 yds and 4ds, while averaging just under 11.0 yds per catch.

His per 16 game average for his career:

75 catches, 860 yds, 11.4 yds per catch, 3 tds

He's taken a tremendous beating the last couple yrs, but he's still the best overall TE in the game IMO. And if he isnt, he's certainly in the discussion.

The only thing we're not seeing from Witten is the seam route. I had just assumed this was due to him being required to block more often. That seam route is really his only route where he's ever on the move, so he probably just looks slower running only these curl routes, etc.

 

[percyhoward]

For some perspective, Felix Jones only has 569 rushes through both college and the NFL. Most big name college backs have that in a couple college seasons. Felix is basically still a baby at the position.

I don't even think there's anything inherently wrong with Felix's vision on the field. I just think he seems to trust his instincts less and second-guess himself more when he knows he won't get that many opportunities.

 

[couchscout]

Not really sure I agree with him on Witten. Witten's numbers are a tad down, but he's still on pace for 80 catches, almost 900 yds and 4ds, while averaging just under 11.0 yds per catch.

His per 16 game average for his career:

75 catches, 860 yds, 11.4 yds per catch, 3 tds

He's taken a tremendous beating the last couple yrs, but he's still the best overall TE in the game IMO. And if he isnt, he's certainly in the discussion.

Heh, I didn't say he's turned into a bad player, just that he's not the same guy. And I'm talking about more things than just his numbers. He's not having his same effect on defenses and just looks slower and more tentative. It may be injuries, it may be that he's just lost a step, it may be nothing but my eyes deceiving me. Like someone else said in this thread, Witten is my second favorite player in the league, so I don't point out this stuff to help propel some strange agenda.

 

[theogt]

I don't even think there's anything inherently wrong with Felix's vision on the field. I just think he seems to trust his instincts less and second-guess himself more when he knows he won't get that many opportunities.

Well, I think he gets confused or at least is hesitant sometimes. Repetitions will remedy that.

 

[RS12]

Not really sure I agree with him on Witten. Witten's numbers are a tad down, but he's still on pace for 80 catches, almost 900 yds and 4ds, while averaging just under 11.0 yds per catch.

His per 16 game average for his career:

75 catches, 860 yds, 11.4 yds per catch, 3 tds

He's taken a tremendous beating the last couple yrs, but he's still the best overall TE in the game IMO. And if he isnt, he's certainly in the discussion.

Agree with this post, still one of the best, the hits have accumulated over the years. People forget he is 8 years in, thats a major toll on the body. BTW Witten is in the Weekly Target flyer in your Sunday paper, doing Big and Tall add.