Cowboys blueprint to defeating the Saints, Dallas victory 38-24

[Stash]

To belittle someones opinion is a good example of the word. I only explained why I said what I said. I demand nothing of someone that I cannot produce myself. The topic of the post was the Cowboys having a chance against the Saints, and I still believe they have a chance. It is not based on what I see from the Saints, it is what I see from the Cowboys. Dallas does have the ability to score at a quicker rate than they have shown. It is up to Dak, and his ability to process what he sees on the field versus what plays the OC is instructing him to run. The defense can be better if there is a consistent push up the middle, and the DB's play the receiver, but keep an eye out for the ball. The LB's must keep an eye out for all backs trickling out of the backfield since Brees is not that big of a threat to run the ball. Special teams is woeful and there seems to be no change in the near future.

Thank you for talking football.

Many of your points are good ones.

What I see is a good team in the Cowboys, getting things together and improving as the season moves along. And I see a Saints team putting it all together, with an improving defense and a Hall Of Fame quarterback playing at a league MVP level.

At some point, maybe the Cowboys will be on the current Saints level. I just don't think that Thursday is that day.

And I'm not setting myself up for any crushing disappointment if the Cowboys do lose. And I hope the team isn't either. I think they can very much rebound after this game and continue to make strides and try to win this weak division and get into the playoffs.

I just don't want to get my hopes up and then be shocked and crushed if theSaints end up winning big and then starting to blame and question everything that was working before. I've already been there once this season and I have no desire to return.

 

[JustChip]

And the Cowboys got torn to shreds by Marcus Mariota and the Titans three weeks ago, so there's that.

True, especially on 3rd and long. And that was an issue against Washington on Turkey Day. But both teams had a mobile quarterback which contributed to some of that. I don't see Brees scrambling for 15+ yards if he gets flushed. We also went zone in those 3rd and long situations and, if we do that against Brees, he'll eat us alive.

 

[Stash]

I hear you but the bright side to that is like I mentioned above, that their run defense ranking is skewed heavily by the fact that teams abandon it trying to play catch up to their offense. On the flip side of that, their pass defense is ranked near the bottom of the league due to teams having to throw, throw, throw to keep/catch up. The fact that they are overall ranked 15th is pretty much right where they should be.

Short version: Their run defense isn't the 2000 Ravens and their pass defense isn't the 2013 Cowboys either. Zeke can have success in this game, but he's going to need to hit that 200 yards from scrimmage in all likelihood if we are going to have a chance.

I put more stock in the yards per attempt they're giving up rather than the number of attempts that they're seeing. But that's just my opinion.

 

[Stash]

True, especially on 3rd and long. And that was an issue against Washington on Turkey Day. But both teams had a mobile quarterback which contributed to some of that. I don't see Brees scrambling for 15+ yards if he gets flushed. We also went zone in those 3rd and long situations and, if we do that against Brees, he'll eat us alive.

I just see a guy in Brees who is dropping it right in the bucket nearly every time he throws the ball. Even when defenders have good position, the passes are so accurate, there's little they can do about it.

I predict a whole lot of "hate" being directed at Awuzie and most of our secondary come Friday morning, and much of it won't be their fault, just that Brees is that good.

 

[JustChip]

And I'm not setting myself up for any crushing disappointment if the Cowboys do lose. And I hope the team isn't either. I think they can very much rebound after this game and continue to make strides and try to win this weak division and get into the playoffs.

I just don't want to get my hopes up and then be shocked and crushed if theSaints end up winning big and then starting to blame and question everything that was working before. I've already been there once this season and I have no desire to return.

That's a pragmatic, realistic position. I don't expect us to win; I hope we win. Mostly I hope I'm not sitting there Thursday night miserable because we're getting blown out and I'm surrounded by yappy, liquored up Who Dats. I want to be entertained by a competitive game for 60 minutes.

 

[JustChip]

I just see a guy in Brees who is dropping it right in the bucket nearly every time he throws the ball. Even when defenders have good position, the passes are so accurate, there's little they can do about it.

I predict a whole lot of "hate" being directed at Awuzie and most of our secondary come Friday morning, and much of it won't be their fault, just that Brees is that good.

Kinda like Stafford earlier - he was insane dropping balls in. And you're right - Brees is in the zone like a golfer gets on the greens.

 

[Stash]

That's a pragmatic, realistic position. I don't expect us to win; I hope we win. Mostly I hope I'm not sitting there Thursday night miserable because we're getting blown out and I'm surrounded by yappy, liquored up Who Dats. I want to be entertained by a competitive game for 60 minutes.

Seems like a reasonable approach to me.
For the record, I hope the Cowboys find a way to win on Thursday night, I just don't see how it happens against a team that's firing on all cylinders the way the Saints are.

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

Saints are basically the Cowboys with an elite QB and 2 Zeke's.

Their defense is much improved since the start of the season. They rank right in the middle of the pack thanks to extremes of ranking near to last in pass defense and 1st in run defense. Both of those extremes on defense are the result of an offense that puts up points so quickly that teams abandon the run and start just throwing it by halftime.

One thing they are terrible at is defending pass-catching running backs. They give up an average of 5.5 catches and 40 yards for 7.5 yards per catch. A back like Zeke could really do some damage against them in the short passing game.

That's the good news. The bad news is that Dallas has been hurt even worse by pass-catching backs (6 for 45 and 7.6) and they have Kamara who is even better in that aspect than Zeke. Then you factor in Ingram and the passing game and you have to wonder just how this defense will stay off its heels.

I really don't see either defense really excelling in this game. Hopefully we can get after Brees with Gregory, Lawrence and Jaylon. Maybe that will give us a shot.

As a Cowboys fan I hope they figure out a way to pull out the W. As a realist I would say the Saints win this contest 7 out of 10 times, so the odds are stacked against us.

sorry, then by your analogy, every team is just like every other team in the NFL.

Saint's aren't like the cowboys....they have an Elite QB...which changes everthing....our Defense is much better than theirs and our LBs are fantastic..... they have speed, speed speed. and we have a power running game.

and what I have seen from cowboys in the past 4 games, is screen passes to the RB. we have been running it every game since the titans gme. so I expect to see more of that...

their speed is hard to counter. containing kamara would be key for us.

 

[Stash]

Kinda like Stafford earlier - he was insane dropping balls in. And you're right - Brees is in the zone like a golfer gets on the greens.

League MVP if you ask me. Second place isn't close either.

I'm actually shocked that despite all of his success he's never win the award before. I think that changes this year.

 

[nate dizzle]

I put more stock in the yards per attempt they're giving up rather than the number of attempts that they're seeing. But that's just my opinion.

I know what you are saying, and you may be right, I just think that's more about them knowing that teams are coming in there with the same exact gameplan that was laid out in the OP as the magic pill for beating them, so right off the bat they are focusing on shutting down the run, confident that their offense will put up points early and the other team will have to abandon that strategy. Admittedly, I don't know where to find stats that break down rush attempts by quarter against a defense, so I'm going based on what I recall seeing and my gut feeling, so I may be way off on that assessment.

 

[Jake]

Look at me! Look at me! I'm a troll!

*stuffs troll in trash bin, head first*

 

[Starforever]

Thank you for talking football.

Many of your points are good ones.

What I see is a good team in the Cowboys, getting things together and improving as the season moves along. And I see a Saints team putting it all together, with an improving defense and a Hall Of Fame quarterback playing at a league MVP level.

At some point, maybe the Cowboys will be on the current Saints level. I just don't think that Thursday is that day.

And I'm not setting myself up for any crushing disappointment if the Cowboys do lose. And I hope the team isn't either. I think they can very much rebound after this game and continue to make strides and try to win this weak division and get into the playoffs.

I just don't want to get my hopes up and then be shocked and crushed if theSaints end up winning big and then starting to blame and question everything that was working before. I've already been there once this season and I have no desire to return.

Maybe it is the plight of being a Cowboy's fan. I can remember crying as a child when they lost a regular season game and my dad would tease me. The late 70's brought hope, and the 80's and 90's were good to great. Now it is my sons turn to deal with the nausea, headaches, sleepless nights, foreboding, and misery. I just try to be there for him, and enjoy whatever success the team will allow.

 

[Alweezy]

The goal for us should not be spending all week, trying to figure out the potion to stop Drew Brees, but instead look at limiting the Saints run game that sets up their pass game for easy pitch and catch third down conversions.

The Ravens showed the blueprint. It's out there already. You don't worry about Brees, at some point he's going to get a good chunk play and you live with that. But if you take out Kamara and Ingram's effectiveness on the early downs, and force Brees to make a long conversion on third down that can be successful. The Ravens gameplay was beautiful to watch from a defensive perspective and luckily for us, we have all the tools needed to recreate that type of struggle for their offense.

All this "Golden State of Football stuff" means nothing if Brees is not getting a 3rd and 3 slant route pass all night long. Back him up a couple of more yards, and the game becomes a whole new ballgame in terms of pass timing.

 

[Stash]

Maybe it is the plight of being a Cowboy's fan. I can remember crying as a child when they lost a regular season game and my dad would tease me. The late 70's brought hope, and the 80's and 90's were good to great. Now it is my sons turn to deal with the nausea, headaches, sleepless nights, foreboding, and misery. I just try to be there for him, and enjoy whatever success the team will allow.

You sound like a good Dad. Other than the fact that you cursed your son to share our frustration and heartache! That might be considered child abuse!

 

[Starforever]

Atlanta had a good game plan against New Orleans, but the redzone turnovers, and self destructive play did them in. Did the Saints do just enough to win, or did the Falcons blow the game by making too many mistakes? The third and fourth quarters showed both teams scoring the same.

 

[Starforever]

You sound like a good Dad. Other than the fact that you cursed your son to share our frustration and heartache! That might be considered child abuse!

Would not have it any other way. The oldest could not be pried away from his video games and anime.

 

[nate dizzle]

sorry, then by your analogy, every team is just like every other team in the NFL.

Saint's aren't like the cowboys....they have an Elite QB...which changes everthing....our Defense is much better than theirs and our LBs are fantastic..... they have speed, speed speed. and we have a power running game.

and what I have seen from cowboys in the past 4 games, is screen passes to the RB. we have been running it every game since the titans gme. so I expect to see more of that...

their speed is hard to counter. containing kamara would be key for us.

Forgetting about Ingram and assuming they don't have a power rushing attack is a mistake a lot of teams make. I don't know why you felt that my analogy made it look like every teams is like every other team?

Their defense isn't as good as ours but it's not far off. They've given up about 300 yards and an average of about a FG more per game, have more turnovers and 1 fewer sack than us.

Their offensive line is ranked 10th, ours 6th...so no huge gap there.

WR's are close but I'd give them a slight edge with Smith over Gallup

TE's they have Watson who I would put on about the same level as Swaim, maybe a notch above. (Of course now we lost Swaim so there's that.)

So really, we are pretty even across the board until you get to the QB position where they have the biggest advantage.

We have Zeke, they have Kamara and Ingram (or like I said, basically they have 2 Zekes)

In other words, I don't think we disagree on much, I think we match up well with them until you get to Brees and our defense is better than theirs, but not by leaps and bounds, and our defense will surely be more challenged than theirs come Thursday.

 

[silvrNblue]

Ok, so I have finally come to my "gut" feel for this game. I called the last 2 , to a tee. By 3 against the failbirds, and was so on the skins with Coop going off, Zeke with over 100 on the ground and us scoring 30+. I have stayed OFF this game, because the Saints are no slouch team. Their record speaks for itself. Dallas can beat them, were home, and on some much needed rest, but they also played Thanksgiving, so both teams share in that respect. My honest thought's on this one are we lose, but my gut tells me different. Cowboys beat NO, again we go for 30+ but the game is decided by turn overs. Brees is going to give us 3 picks...I may be 1 off on that, it may be 2, and a fumble, but 3 is what I believe the majic # is. Dak stays clean and doesn't give any foolish TO's to them. I'm calling the score to be 35 -33 in favor of the boy's. And yes, I know I can be wrong on my numbers here, but my gut feeling is we win. And yes I will come back and eat crow if I am off the mark. I just think the boys are on that "roll" after the skins game. And the Saints are primed to look past us.

 

[dfense]

Score, score, score and then score. Wins every time.

 

[CCBoy]

Thank you for talking football.

Many of your points are good ones.

What I see is a good team in the Cowboys, getting things together and improving as the season moves along. And I see a Saints team putting it all together, with an improving defense and a Hall Of Fame quarterback playing at a league MVP level.

At some point, maybe the Cowboys will be on the current Saints level. I just don't think that Thursday is that day.

And I'm not setting myself up for any crushing disappointment if the Cowboys do lose. And I hope the team isn't either. I think they can very much rebound after this game and continue to make strides and try to win this weak division and get into the playoffs.

I just don't want to get my hopes up and then be shocked and crushed if theSaints end up winning big and then starting to blame and question everything that was working before. I've already been there once this season and I have no desire to return.

Speaking of good on both sides of the ball, the Cowboys finally have some balance with the addition of Amari Cooper joining the offense. As our pal K.D. Drummond pointed out, if you were to evaluate the Cowboys offense based solely on the four games with Cooper, they would also finish in the top 10 in points scored and points allowed. If the Cowboys offense can start firing, they could stay atop the East and be right in the playoff mix.

https://www.bloggingtheboys.com/201...currently-fourth-seed-would-host-playoff-game