Cris Collinsworth on Norm Hitzges...JJT recap added Post#20

Maikeru-sama

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Norm: You have seen both teams, give me your opinion.

Collinsworth: I think it is going to be tougher than Philadelphia. The Eagles ran in the wheel house of the Cowboys, Philadelphia doesn't run and they were trying to block 7 guys and send 2 guys on routes. I think you are going to see a spread out look from the Vikings and throw the ball to the backs. The key to the game for Dallas is the Vikings running backs. When playing the Cowboys you have to get the ball out of your hands. Donovan McNabb holds the ball and Brett Favre won't do that. It is going to be a more of a coverage game. If I had to circle to somebody it will be Bobby Carpenter.

Norm: It scares cowboys fans that the game may hinge on Bobby Carpenter

Collinsworth: Yes. I have done a few Cowboys games and OCs mention Bobby Carpenter's name a lot. The Vikings lost EJ Henderson and they have not been the same so it balances.

Norm: At this stage in the year, there are results from September we can look at. Did we make a mistake a mistake of judging teams too early.

Collinsworth: A good friend of mine who works with horses and racing said never go back more than 2 races to judge a horse. It is true in the NFL. You want to know what they are doing in December. I think anybody can throw the ball in September and October. But the Cowboys are a football team that is playing well. Emergence of Jenkins and Spencer. 5 new starters on the Defense. Other shows I was on today talked about other Defenses and I told them that I have been watching a lot of Dallas Cowboys and this defense is dynamic. This is the marquee match up the weekend.

Saints/Cardinals

Collinsworth: Classic part is the one thing you cant do is blitz Kurt Warner, he invites the blitz. Greg Williams the DC of the Saints is a bltiz guy and does it alot. If you see that against Kurt Warner, it will be a high scoring game.

Colts/Ravens

Collinsworth: Can Indy overcome winning after a bye week. When they went to the Super Bowl they played on Wild Card weekend. For whatever reason, I think there is more pressure on the Colts because the way they handled the end of the Season.

***Wasn't able to get Jets/Chargers Thoughts***

Norm: Replacing John Madden?

Collinsworth: I had pressure on me because I thought it was the wrong decision. I told my boss that you set me up to fail. I thought I would be compared to John Madden a lot. It was a tough situation and luckily we have a good team at NBC and it is working out.

Norm: Comparisons are not easy to John because he is unique in his style

Collinsworth: I have seen more people fail trying to act like John Madden. You cannot do what John Madden does. You have to have your own style. If I would have tried to mimic John Madden it would have been a disaster.

Norm: Your son going to Notre Dame?

Collinsworth: I was not involved that much in the recruiting place. I was thrilled at the choice.
 

Maikeru-sama

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I believe Cris Collinsworth is the best NFL Analyst on TV right now.

I thought his work during the Eagles/Cowboys Playoff Game was great.
 

The Realist

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So what these OC's are saying is "they have no holes in their starting 11 on D. Our only shot is to get big plays to our RB's or TE's vs their nickel LB."

I'll take that and by the way you are weakening your protection doing that giving more room for Ware and Spencer.
 

Chocolate Lab

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Great recap, Mike. I caught that and you got it all. Nice job skipping around to all these stations and telling us what they're saying. :)

And yes, I've always liked Collinsworth... Seems like a lot of people don't. What I appreciate are the immediate diagramming of plays on the Telestrator. He's pretty Madden-like when it comes to that... He must watch the OL first the same way.
 

zrinkill

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I think it will be tougher than Philly as well .....

I doubt the Vikings let us jump 27 points on them early.

Still think we win pretty handily.
 

Maikeru-sama

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Chocolate Lab;3227395 said:
Great recap, Mike. I caught that and you got it all. Nice job skipping around to all these stations and telling us what they're saying. :)

And yes, I've always liked Collinsworth... Seems like a lot of people don't. What I appreciate are the immediate diagramming of plays on the Telestrator. He's pretty Madden-like when it comes to that... He must watch the OL first the same way.

No choice, it is a very unique situation.

Seriously, I don't plan on getting a lot of work done while the Cowboys are making a Super Bowl run.

Now it helps that my supervisor is a member of this forum :cool: .
 

Vtwin

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Screens and quick passes are the Vikings only chance against our defense. If they can effectively slow down our rush using those tactics then they may be able to get something down the field... where Jenkins/Newman can then pick it off. ;)

I'm not a koolaid drinker and I always focus on what needs improvement before I savor the things that are right. Having said that...I will be very surprised if we lose this game.
 

DFWJC

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Maikeru-sama;3227377 said:
Norm: It scares cowboys fans that the game may hinge on Bobby Carpenter

Collinsworth: Yes. I have done a few Cowboys games and OCs mention Bobby Carpenter's name a lot. The Vikings lost EJ Henderson and they have not been the same so it balances.
.
:lmao2: :lmao2: Ouch. Sounds like Barbie is still considered a weak link by other teams.

Hope he has a great game.
 

theogt

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Maikeru-sama;3227380 said:
I believe Cris Collinsworth is the best NFL Analyst on TV right now.

I thought his work during the Eagles/Cowboys Playoff Game was great.
100% agreed.
 

adbutcher

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Maikeru-sama;3227380 said:
I believe Cris Collinsworth is the best NFL Analyst on TV right now.

I thought his work during the Eagles/Cowboys Playoff Game was great.

No arguments from me. He has great stuff and his timing is also impeccable.
 

Maikeru-sama

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Not only does Cris Collinsworth know the game of Football, he does a great job of explaining it to those who are not as informed.

During the Eagles game, he just did a great job of informing the audience on how each team was trying to attack each other.

When Keith Brooking was asked about the "incident" in practice, I believe he wondered out loud about how Cris Collinsworth knew about it.
 

jterrell

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Maikeru-sama;3227380 said:
I believe Cris Collinsworth is the best NFL Analyst on TV right now.

I thought his work during the Eagles/Cowboys Playoff Game was great.

He's passionate but not biased. He's intelligent and not scared to offer contrary opinions but very far from just tossing out shtick.

I wouldn't call him the best but I do like him.

As a note AP is a very mediocre receiver out of the backfield. Wade may very well be able to key off the back in the game where the passes are going.
 

DFWJC

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Maikeru-sama;3227380 said:
I believe Cris Collinsworth is the best NFL Analyst on TV right now.

I thought his work during the Eagles/Cowboys Playoff Game was great.
He's excellent.

Nice note on the Saints' blitz vs Warner's desire for them to do just that. I also agree that the Cowboys/Vikes game should be special.
 

sonnyboy

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Collingsworth is probably my favorite color guy right now.

Very objective. He's had Cowboy comments I've liked and disliked, but I could never question his objectivity or see a clear agenda.
He really calls like he sees it, and does that very well.

I like Aikman, but I find him to often be the master of the obvious/Mr Cliche. He commands respect in the booth and does a great job. But that he seldom offers a strong opinion.

Collingsworth tells it like it is, or at least like he honestly sees it.
 

sonnyboy

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DFWJC;3227449 said:
He's excellent.

Nice note on the Saints' blitz vs Warner's desire for them to do just that. I also agree that the Cowboys/Vikes game should be special.


That caught my eye too. Good stuff. You listen to Aikman do interviews on the upcoming games or perhaps the one he's doing, and you never get stuff like that.

He's like a robot. Sometimes I wonder if he really loves it.
 

CATCH17

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Maikeru-sama;3227380 said:
I believe Cris Collinsworth is the best NFL Analyst on TV right now.

I thought his work during the Eagles/Cowboys Playoff Game was great.

He is so terrible.
 

Gaede

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Maikeru-sama;3227439 said:
Not only does Cris Collinsworth know the game of Football, he does a great job of explaining it to those who are not as informed.

:hammer:

I love when he does the Boys games
 

NextGenBoys

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Maikeru-sama;3227380 said:
I believe Cris Collinsworth is the best NFL Analyst on TV right now.

I thought his work during the Eagles/Cowboys Playoff Game was great.

Hands down.
 

InmanRoshi

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I added part of JJTs recap to mine...although I missed a part of it.

CC

I think the Vikes will be a tougher matchup than Philly, because with Philly you don’t have to worry about the run to keep you honest. And the Eagles were playing the Cowboys leaving 7 guys in to block and only sending 2 WRs. Minnesota is going to try to get the ball to their backs and TEs more, and really the key player for the Cowboys is going to be Bobby Carpenter covering backs and TEs out of the nickel defense. I know that makes Cowboy fans nervous, and I’ve televised a lot of games and I know his name gets brought up a lot by the other coaches in our pre game interviews as someone who can be exploited, but some of that is because Dallas system puts a lot of responsibility on him with all of their blitz packages. But I think he’s a key.

I don’t put any stock what happened in September or October into these games. I want to know what you’ve done the last 3-4 weeks, and there is no question the Cowboys defense is completely different with the emergence of Spencer and Jenkins and the 5 new starters coming together. This is a dominant defense. I get interviewed around the country and I get asked about whether the Jets or Ravens have the best defense in the NFL, and I say from what I’ve seen the last 3-4 weeks the Cowboys have the most dominant defense in the NFL. And the Vikings have an offense that can do it all … they can run the ball, they can throw it to their RBs and TEs, they can throw it up top. So to me this really is the premiere matchup of this weekend.

The Saints-Cardinals … the one thing you don’t want to do to Kurt Warner is blitz him, because he will kill you for it. And New Orleans DC Gregg Williams loves the blitz … so if he blitzes Warner there is no telling how many points this game is going to put up.

I actually think the Jets have a very good matchup against the Chargers, because the Chargers weakness is run defense. The Jets love to put in 6 offensive linemen and a blocking TE, essentially giving them an 7 man line, and run it with their two runningbacks. I really think they have a chance.

The thing about the Colts is that the only time they’ve made to the Superbowl is when they played the wildcard round. For whatever reason they just have not come out of these bye weeks strong.

JJT

People talk about the home field advantage for the Vikes. But I know that that dome wont’ be any tougher than the Superdome, the Link in Philly or Mile High in Denver when the Broncos were undefeated. So I think the Cowboys find a way to win. It might be close, like 24-21, but they’ll find a way.

Do you think with the playoff win that was so long coming, do you think they’re going to be satisfied and have a let down or free of the baggage and revigorated?

No question latter. Players and teams evolve. Players and teams change after events. That New Orleans game changed this team. There wasn’t any more pressure to win a game as there was coming into New Orleans. Or winning the NFC East title against Philly. Or winning their first playoff game in 14 years. So now they’re free for the first time to just let loose and do what they wanna do, whatever that is. I would be shocked if they don’t play well. They may not win, but I’ll be shocked if they don’t play well.

Why shouldn’t we look at this as this as a Superbowl caliber team?

Well, when you’ve been through as much grief as the Cowboys have the last 13 years, you can always be leary. Just like down the stretch everyone was waiting for Romo to have a bad game and for the other shoe to drop. But I think this is a good team for 3 reasons … #1 Tony Romo still makes the great plays and has removed the dumb plays. Every QB is allowed to make a bad throw or bad read every once in a while, but Tony really hasn’t even been doing that. #2 The emergence of Jenkins and Spencer gives them 3 or 4 playmakers on their defense. The 3-4 is cool when you have good pass rush from one side, but when you got it coming from both sides then it’s a whole other thing . #3, you have Miles Austin emerging as a big time playmaker. And the thing about Miles Austin is you can’t take him away, because he runs every route … outside, inside, slants, gos. He can take any route for a TD, so you can’t just take away what he does best.

Also Ratliff is one of the only nosetackles in the NFL that provides middle pressure, and QBs hate pressure in their face. There was a sack last week where at the end of the play Ware, Ratliff and Spencer were all laying on him … that’s the epitome of this defense.
 
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