Day after thoughts

[EPL0c0]

IMO...

The Good:
Ball Placement: How about Romo and Kitna putting passes where really only the receiver could make a play on the ball. The two best passes were Romo to Witten (inside the 10) and Kitna to Ogletree (TD). Those passes, if not caught, were in no danger of being INT'd or even defended by the cover man.

Tackling: IMO, this is the best I've seen the Cowboys defense tackle in a long, long time. There are a few exceptions, but for the most part, guys are getting to the ball and not just trying to make a big hit. They're getting to a guy, wrapping up and at minimum holding him until others can get there to help finish him off. Very impressive in this game.

The Not-As-Good:
The Pass Rush: ...or lack there of. I realize it's pre-season and that blitz packages are going to be pretty vanilla, but the Dline + OLBs don't seem to be putting any more pressure on the QB than what we saw last year. Sacks are good, but I think consistant pressure on the QB shakes their focus, rushes passes and leads to more mistakes. Plus, it can help the 2ndary a lot. Dunno how much Ware was getting doubled. Ratliff had a couple of good plays, but Spencer? Olshansky? Spears? They need to put up better/consistant pressure on the passer (not necessarily sacks).

Punt/Kick Coverage: Another weak point from the last couple of years, the coverage teams looked so-so last week and so-so this week. So far they're giving up (on average) more than last season, but it does appear to be a more disciplined group. I am curious to see how the 2-man wedge rule effects the league overall.

The Videoboard: Ok, so that was more funny than anything. But hey, if McBriar can boom his punts and not hit it, then it's not because he can't, it's because other punters just suck

 

[Biggems]

Tennessee scored, cause of Dallas mental errors.

We let Ringer break free on the KO return, when we had him dead to rights around the 20 or deeper. Then Sensabaugh gets a late hit out of bound penalty. This gives Tennessee field possession starting in FG range. The Dallas defense holds.....Tennessee gets a FG. Our poor ST tackling and the stupid penalty result in 3 pts for the Titans.

On the only quality drive in the first half for the Titans, it was started by a stupid penalty by Watkins. Tennessee committed a penalty on the play, but so did Watkins, who was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for not trying to get back inbounds faster on the punt coverage. If Watkins doesn't go stupid on the play, Tennessee is pinned deep in their own territory. Instead, we have to punt again, and Tennessee starts at around their own 30. On first down, Collins fumbles, but LenDale White recovers.....at the Tennessee about the 26. It should have been 2nd and 15, but Brookings was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty....giving Tennessee a 1st and 10 at their 44. Ringer has a very nice drive. We have some poor tackling, but props to Ringer for making us look foolish. Then on 2nd and 5, Tennessee gets the ball just to the goal line....but there was offensive holding. It should have been 2nd and 15, but Hamlin committed a stupid face mask penalty. So it was 2nd and 5 again. On the very next play, Jenkins and Hamlin get toasted by Collins and Gage for a TD.

If we don't help out Tennessee with stupid penalties, I have a feeling that they do not score last night.......that is how dominant we were.

 

[Idgit]

Good post, dbair. I'd add that Romo was an absolute machine last night. Quick reads and an unbelievable release. If that guy has time, he just picks a defense apart.

I wasn't thrilled with ST coverage teams, but expect that to be a work in progress. I do think those teams seem to be getting better, at least.

The offensive penalties were probably my biggest concern from the game last night. Hard to say what's preseason sloppiness and what's a chronic problem, but missing out on 3 points--and a chance at 7--for a false start will lose us a close game against a good team.

 

[EPL0c0]

Good post, dbair. I'd add that Romo was an absolute machine last night. Quick reads and an unbelievable release. If that guy has time, he just picks a defense apart.

I wasn't thrilled with ST coverage teams, but expect that to be a work in progress. I do think those teams seem to be getting better, at least.

The offensive penalties were probably my biggest concern from the game last night. Hard to say what's preseason sloppiness and what's a chronic problem, but missing out on 3 points--and a chance at 7--for a false start will lose us a close game against a good team.

Btw...I just saw the video highlights on nfl.com On the pass to Witten where Romo moves up in the pocket...notice where he had the ball...looked like two hands and up against his chest. not out by his side w/ one hand.

THAT is change I can believe in!!

 

[dmq]

Last night was the first I have seen McGee and I was pleasantly surprised by him.
I can't say I was missing Canty much last night. People can say Olshansky isn't as good a pass rusher as Canty, but Olshansky can collapse the pocket much better than Canty. I can see that already. He is a much better fit for our defense for sure.

 

[PoetTree]

4) Felix Jones and Martellus Bennett are going to be bigtime NFL stars. Jones is the closest thing we've had to Tony Dorsett since his prime.

Here's the amazing thing for me:

I think Felix may be even faster and more elusive than Tony. And that is said with the utmost respect for Superglide, as I'm one of the biggest Tony D fans there is & have been since I was a kid. But I gotta call it like I see it, and Felix has an acceleration maybe unlike I've ever seen.

Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww_6Z6VJpWU

Notice on the 42 yard reception before halftime, the middle highlight, when Felix catches the ball and turns upfield he doesn't even really make a move on the first two defenders who miss him. He simply... accelerates, and leaves both of them grasping for air. Then he makes an unbelievable move on the safety and is racing down the sideline. But that quickness is unheard of!

It appears to be an example of what Jerry said the other day about how Felix makes defenders with good angles look like they have bad angles. We just witnessed that in action last night, and it's pretty! I love me some Tony D. Always will. But we have got a generational talent on our roster, I think; and I can hardly wait for more, More, MORE!!!


Get here, season. Get here...

:starspin

 

[dmq]

Here's the amazing thing for me:

I think Felix may be even faster and more elusive than Tony. And that is said with the utmost respect for Superglide, as I'm one of the biggest Tony D fans there is & have been since I was a kid. But I gotta call it like I see it, and Felix has an acceleration maybe unlike I've ever seen.

Watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww_6Z6VJpWU

Notice on the 42 yard reception before halftime, the middle highlight, when Felix catches the ball and turns upfield he doesn't even really make a move on the first two defenders who miss him. He simply... accelerates, and leaves both of them grasping for air. Then he makes an unbelievable move on the safety and is racing down the sideline. But that quickness is unheard of!

It appears to be an example of what Jerry said the other day about how Felix makes defenders with good angles look like they have bad angles. We just witnessed that in action last night, and it's pretty! I love me some Tony D. Always will. But we have got a generational talent on our roster, I think; and I can hardly wait for more, More, MORE!!!


Get here, season. Get here...

:starspin

Even that td run is amazing. He just made it look easy. I have already seen enough of this guy to know that barring injuries he is going to have one heck of an NFL career. The best part here is that our offense has so many weapons that he will always have the space underneath to really exploit a defense.

 

[kmd24]

The Pass Rush: ...or lack there of. I realize it's pre-season and that blitz packages are going to be pretty vanilla, but the Dline + OLBs don't seem to be putting any more pressure on the QB than what we saw last year. Sacks are good, but I think consistant pressure on the QB shakes their focus, rushes passes and leads to more mistakes. Plus, it can help the 2ndary a lot. Dunno how much Ware was getting doubled. Ratliff had a couple of good plays, but Spencer? Olshansky? Spears? They need to put up better/consistant pressure on the passer (not necessarily sacks).

Strictly talking about the first half, the pressure was OK. Tennessee only threw 11 passes, and there were at least three plays with three step drops, including the TD to Gage.

The fifth pass, Collins threw it away under pressure from Spencer. There were a couple of other plays where we were close, but Collins got the ball away quickly - one on an incompletion to Scaife when Bowen nearly got there, another on a sideline route to Gage where Ware had pushed the LT into Collins, gotten him off balance, and was starting a spin move. Collins released the ball only a split second after hitting his drop.

The only play that looked really bad (wrt pressure) to me was the second play of the game, a seven step drop incompletion to Nate Washington. Spencer and Spears were each handled one-on-one by the RT and RG, and Ratliff and Ware were each handled one-on-one by the LT and Crumpler. Olshansky ran a stunt with Ratliff and got some penetration, but really wasn't a factor as the C and LG had him sealed off. Other than that, the passes were either coming out too fast or we got some pressure.

I think Tennessee showed a good strategy with Collins in there - get the ball out fast and make the Cowboys tackle. We just did a good job of tackling on the first three series, not so much on the fourth.

 

[kmd24]

Notice on the 42 yard reception before halftime, the middle highlight, when Felix catches the ball and turns upfield he doesn't even really make a move on the first two defenders who miss him. He simply... accelerates, and leaves both of them grasping for air. Then he makes an unbelievable move on the safety and is racing down the sideline. But that quickness is unheard of!

FJ's economy of motion making the cut on Harris (#26) was unbelievable. He executed a quick weight shift entirely with his lower body, and then accelerated into the open field. The decisiveness of the cut was remarkable.

He was already setting up Harris while the other two were missing their tackle.

 

[adbutcher]

Unk is a monster and barring injuries he will have a stellar year.