CFZ Dallas OL vs. Broncos DL (drive analysis)

[gimmesix]

Fifth drive

1st-and-10 Dallas 20 -- Rush play fake, rolls left and throws to Ferguson for 19 yards (Denver five-man front; Dallas two tight ends on left: OLB drops so only a four-man rush; Ferguson single-blocks the DT, holding him up effectively before releasing into his route; the other players are carrying out the play-fake to the right; Ball comes across and helps Smith push the NT to the right; Farniok rides the other DT that direction in what wouldn't have been a good block if we were actually running the ball; it looked like McGovern was going to help block the other OLB, but he didn't get to him as the OLB tried to go outside on Collins, which made it easy to ride him into the backfield, where he actually tackled Davis)

1st-and-10 Dallas 39 -- Davis 12-yard run behind left guard, but holding on Smith (Broncos five-man front; Dallas again with tight end on right: Ball knocks the OLB to the left, but doesn't maintain the block even though it's enough to keep the OLB out of the play; Smith also drives the DE to the left, but when the DE tries to shed him to move back to the right and make the play, he can't get loose even though the DE tries to use an arm-over move; Farniok releases to the second level and pins a LB to the left; McGovern drives the NT hard to the left and completely out of the play, had him on skates after Collins gave him a little pop to get him moving before peeling to wall off a LB; secondary forced to make the tackle; I thought there was a replay of Smith's block that showed the DE's hands going to his face, but I couldn't find the replay or see whether he held, even though the DE's reaction suggested that he did)

1st-and-20 Dallas 29 -- Rush quick pass in the flat to Davis for 6 yards (Broncos four-man front, blitz LB vs. five-man line: DE comes in unblocked as Ball picks up blitzing LB instead with help from Smith, leading to the hot read by Rush; Farniok and McGovern stop a DT from getting anywhere; Collins allows a little penetration by the other DT, but not much; the other DE dropped into coverage; so essentially they fooled us on who was coming on the four-man rush)

2nd-and-14 Dallas 35 -- Davis up middle for 6 yards (Denver four-man front vs. five-man line: Ball kicks out the DE; Smith stands up the DT; McGovern and Farniok initially knock the other DT back a couple of yards, but he works back against McGovern to make the tackle; Farniok peels but whiffs on blocking a LB; Collins keeps the other DE to the right enough to not be a factor)

3rd-and-8 Dallas 41 -- Rush incomplete on batted pass (Broncos four-man line with three grouped to the left of center, blitzes fifth off right side; Dallas five-man front: Ball whiffs on blocking DE, who bats down pass; blitzer gets jammed up on Smith and Farniok; DT gets caught up in the jam with the three interior linemen, while other DT is attempting to loop around it to the right but has a long way to go; other DE also gets in on the jam as he goes inside Collins, who gives him a slight push that direction; the interior line got pushed back some, but there was still plenty of room for Rush to throw if Ball hadn't immediately been beaten)

 

[gimmesix]

Sixth drive

1st-and-10 Dallas 20 -- Davis no gain up middle (Broncos five-man rush; Dallas two tight ends on left: McKeon motions into backfield to block a LB on right side; Ferguson stalemates DE on left side; Ball teams with Farniok to double a DT and knock him back several yards; Smith pulls to get the other DE, but is unable to drive him out of the middle and he actually works past Smith to his left and makes the tackle along with a S who comes up and might have been able to make the play without the DE's help; McGovern and Collins double the other DT and drive him back a few yards)

2nd-and-10 Dallas 20 -- Rush pass over middle to Ferguson for 8 yards (Broncos four-man front; single-tight end left: Ball pushes DE past pocket; Smith gets jolted back but sets his base to stop the DT with room for Rush; the other DT doesn't get very far against Farniok with a temporary assist from McGovern, who then helps Collins knock the DE to the ground as he tries to rush past Collins)

3rd-and-2 Dallas 28 -- Rush passes to Tolbert as he breaks left for 6 yards (Broncos four-man front with blitzing LB vs. five-man line: Ball stands up the DE; Smith ends up being passed a DT by Farniok and locks him in place while the DT in front of Smith tries to loop around Farniok, who comes off his initial block to chuck him back and to the right; blitzing LB runs straight into McGovern and does gain much ground; Collins keeps the other DE wide)

1st-and-10 Dallas 36 -- Davis behind right guard for 6 (Broncos four-man front; Dallas single-tight end left: Ferguson again locks up the DE and keeps him out of the play: Smith powerful chucks a DT, almost turning him around, whom Ball was supposed to then pick up, but Ball doesn't get in front of him to cut him off, but the DT misses when he tries to get in on the tackle; Smith goes to the second level and pins a LB to his left; Farniok and McGovern push the other DT to the right, but when Farniok peels to get a LB, the DT rips back inside McGovern to make the tackle; Collins kicks out the other DE)

2nd-and-3 Dallas 42 -- Rush screen pass to Ferguson for 2 yards (Broncos four-man front but rush five; Dallas two tight ends right: Collins is out in front of Ferguson to the right, but doesn't get in front of the LB who cuts back inside of him to make the tackle; McGovern is the other OL out in front of the play and shoves another LB slightly to the left and then waits on someone else to block; Farniok gets shoved back by a DT before stopping him short of Rush; Ball and Smith double the DE and he goes nowhere; the outside blitzer is unblocked by the RB, who sets up left for the fake screen that way; the other DE is blocked by Ferguson, who then lets him go to take the screen pass)

3rd-and-1 Dallas 44 -- Shampklin 3 yards up middle (Broncos four-man front vs. Dallas line plus single-TE right: Ball walls off DE; Smith and Farniok initially push DT slightly to the left where Smith holds him in place; Farniok peels to effectively pick up a LB; McGovern guides the other DT left and Collins pins the DE to his right to open the hole; McKeon comes across to bump a LB to the left, leaving it up to a DB to make the tackle)

1st-and-10 Dallas 47 -- False start on Farniok

1st-and-15 Dallas 42 -- Shampklin behind left guard for 11 (Broncos four-man line vs. Dallas line plush single-TE right: Ball's DE tries to rush around him to the left, making it easy to keep him outside; Smith and Farniok push the DT back a couple of yards before Smith peels to lock up a LB, creating the seam; McGovern and Collins shove the other DT back a few yards before Collins peels to chuck a LB trying to run past him; McKeon locks out the other DE as the DBs have to make the play)

2nd-and-3 Denver 47 -- Rush quick slant to Fehoko for 5 yards (Broncos four-man rush vs. Dallas line: DE absorbed easily by Ball trying to go around outside; Smith and Farniok briefly doubles DT before Farniok pushes him upfield; McGovern mirrors other DT who doesn't really try to rush after initially move didn't work; Collins sets deep and absorbs the DE's bull rush)

1st-and-10 Denver 42 -- Rush has pass batted down by DT who got hand up (Broncos four-man rush vs. Dallas line: Ball absorbs DE; Smith and Farniok push DT to left to form wall with Ball; McGovern gets shoved back by DT who bats ball; DE also pushes Collins back but can't get loose as Rush had time to check out of initial read but the DT was just too close for the dump pass Rush was trying to throw)

2nd-and-10 Denver 42 -- Rush sacked for 11-yard loss (Broncos four-man rush vs. Dallas line: Ball is beaten quickly by spin move by DE; Smith absorbs DT's rush and locks him in place: Farniok and McGovern double other DT who goes nowhere; other DE avoids chip-block by jumping back inside which gets him by Collins, but Collins recovers to knock him past Rush to the inside)

3rd-and-21 Dallas 46 -- Rush pass batted down (Broncos four-man rush vs. Dallas line: Ball picked off his block by Smith's DT bull-rushing and the DE looping back inside of the two OL before Smith comes off his block to pick up the DE who gets close enough to Rush; the DT is able to slide by Ball and bat the pass after Smith peels to get the DE since he had the inside track on Ball; the other DT is held up by Farniok and pushed away from the play when he tries to go right; the DE runs to the inside of Collins, who gets help from McGovern to stop him in his tracks)

The last play was a fairly well-run stunt by Denver. When Smith peeled to get the DE, Ball was left to the outside of the DT and didn't have a chance to cut off the pressure. Ferguson seemed to be blocking extremely well, whether he was taking on an OLB, DE or even DT. Ball really had fewer bad blocks than I thought, but a couple of them were really bad. Farniok was very solid at center. Rush made the line look worse than it was, and a couple of penalties set us back, although I think at least one shouldn't have been called.

That's the end of the first half. Don't know if I'll try to do the second half, but I do want to see how Alarcon did at LT.

 

[gimmesix]

Let me add on Ferguson that he clearly did better as a blocker than Jeremy Sprinkle in the first half and offered more as a receiver as well. If Ferguson takes that blocking role away from Sprinkle, then it's very likely we keep one of the two younger TEs, McKeon or Hendershot, as the third TE. That may have always been the case because Sprinkle certainly wasn't a lock, but I feel like he kind of played himself off the roster with his blocking mistakes against the Broncos while Ferguson put on a clinic for how you block as a second TE.

 

[xwalker]

Thanks. It's a bit labor-intensive, and my wife thinks I'm crazy for doing it. I just think we get these ideas in our heads about how a player performed when sometimes the evidence doesn't really fit. I mean, during the game, there's a lot to take in on each play and most of us are paying the most attention to the result of the play. I know I don't have the mental capacity to catch everything the first time around.

I wanted to go back and watch for myself. I admit this is a lot more work as I have to watch the play over and over again to break down how each lineman does, which is why it is taking me so much time.

Tell her your other option is to go drink beer at the bar down the street and hit on barfly type chicks...

 

[xwalker]

2nd-and-10 Denver 42 -- Rush sacked for 11-yard loss (Broncos four-man rush vs. Dallas line: Ball is beaten quickly by spin move by DE; Smith absorbs DT's rush and locks him in place: Farniok and McGovern double other DT who goes nowhere; other DE avoids chip-block by jumping back inside which gets him by Collins, but Collins recovers to knock him past Rush to the inside)

I was disappointed with the performance of Josh Ball.
- I thought he was decent in run blocking.
- Pass blocking vs inside moves appears to be a big problem.
- On one of the plays were he was beaten inside, I'm not certain that he even overset outside.
- He just whiffed with his hands and didn't counter step to the inside.

 

[gimmesix]

I was disappointed with the performance of Josh Ball.
- I thought he was decent in run blocking.
- Pass blocking vs inside moves appears to be a big problem.
- On one of the plays were he was beaten inside, I'm not certain that he even overset outside.
- He just whiffed with his hands and didn't counter step to the inside.

His first half performance wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was when I watched the game live. But rarely did the Broncos attack him with an inside pass rush during that half. I'm interested in seeing this week what he does to counter his problems with inside pressure, if anything. I'm not as down on him after rewatching the first half as I was initially, but I do still want to go back and review Alarcon based on positive comments about his play at LT.

 

[gimmesix]

Just finished watching the remainder of Ball's time at LT. (Stopped watching the others with Smith no longer out there.) I've got to say that it wasn't near as bad as what I initially thought. He did have a couple more bad plays, and he shouldn't be relied upon as the swing tackle right now, but it looks to me like he can be developed into that role at least. He locks out real well on speed rushers trying to take the edge and actually uses his hands pretty well in pass blocking and run blocking. His oversets hurt him at times when defenders give him an outside-in move. That's correctable because his feet aren't bad and his strength is at least adequate.

About to watch Alarcon, but I think I'll put him in another thread so it doesn't get lost here.

 

[Kwmike22]

WOW! Did you ever think about being an NFL analyst?! Had to give you likes for a well published book on Dallas's 2022 first pre-season game even though it was too much to read personally. Paragraph is the limit at this end.

You are a jerk. You are what this forum does not need. You think you are better than everyone else. Get a life.

 

[Creeper]

I finally had a chance to catch the 1st quarter of the Cowboys Broncos game. I watched Biadasz, Tyler Smith and Ball more closely. Early in the game Ball held his own stoning Browning on a few plays. The guy who messed up on both end was TE Jeremy Sprinkle. For a pretty good size TE, he needs to block better.

Tyler Smith is strong, but I worry about his holding. They should tied a rope around him about mid bicep level to keep him from getting his hands outside and high. If he keep his hands in front of him he is an immovable object. If he gets his hands up and out he is a holding machine.

Biadasz looks okay. I don't think he is a threat to make the pro-bowl but if he avoid the mental errors he will be okay. The Cowboys offensive line pushed the Denver DL backwards on most running plays. If the TE get their blocks the running game is very successful.