DMN Blog: Archer's Observations from his sick bed

[WoodysGirl]

Checking in from the sick bed
11:23 AM Tue, Nov 10, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Todd Archer/Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips

The flu KO'd me Sunday and I was unable to get to the game so I watched it from the confines of my hotel room. Since you're asking, I'm fine now and it's just another thing Michael Jordan and I don't have in common.

But on to the Sunday observations, six of them for each win in the first half:

** If Wade Phillips made some of the decisions Andy Reid made Sunday we would still be talking about it. His decisions to challenge the spot of the ball twice made little sense but I might give him the first one. The second one? No dice. You lose that and you're out of challenges and out of timeouts. He lost and they lost. And what did kicking the field goal prove? If I had a timeout left, maybe I'd kick the field goal there. Without the field goal, I'd almost rather punt the ball and attempt to pin the Cowboys back and get the ball in good position than go for it. But kicking the field goal made no sense.

** Bradie James has said it time after time this year - the Cowboys don't have to win sexy. This was far from sexy but it was manly. The Cowboys made mistakes in all three phases but they didn't fold. That's a sign of progress. Too many times when it would get tough, this team would crack. They didn't crack Sunday, which is a sign of maturity and belief.

** Marion Barber as the closer. I don't care if he starts or not. That's not the point. The key is to keep him fresh to close. And he closed. He had five carries for 29 yards in the fourth quarter. That's when he is at his best.

** Tony Romo's interception-less streak ended when Sheldon Brown came down with a pass out of Jason Witten's reach. How did Romo react? He completed 7 of 8 passes for 114 yards, including the 49-yarder to Miles Austin to win the game. Nice answer.

** I'm a little worried about Nick Folk. I didn't like the way he hit a point after try and his 22-yarder just snuck inside the bar. His last attempt was a quality strike. When he's hitting the ball well, it's high and with just a little draw on it. That's what the last kick looked like.

** Mike Jenkins has answered any and all of his critics, I would assume. He's going to allow some passes, but all corners do. His interception of Donovan McNabb, however, was text book in how he went after the ball. That's what we didn't see last year from him. It was like he was timid in all facets. Not anymore. His level of play has helped Wade Phillips be more aggressive with his calls for the front seven.



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[JerryFan]

Checking in from the sick bed
11:23 AM Tue, Nov 10, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Todd Archer/Reporter Bio | E-mail | News tips

The flu KO'd me Sunday and I was unable to get to the game so I watched it from the confines of my hotel room. Since you're asking, I'm fine now and it's just another thing Michael Jordan and I don't have in common.

But on to the Sunday observations, six of them for each win in the first half:

** If Wade Phillips made some of the decisions Andy Reid made Sunday we would still be talking about it. His decisions to challenge the spot of the ball twice made little sense but I might give him the first one. The second one? No dice. You lose that and you're out of challenges and out of timeouts. He lost and they lost. And what did kicking the field goal prove? If I had a timeout left, maybe I'd kick the field goal there. Without the field goal, I'd almost rather punt the ball and attempt to pin the Cowboys back and get the ball in good position than go for it. But kicking the field goal made no sense.

** Bradie James has said it time after time this year - the Cowboys don't have to win sexy. This was far from sexy but it was manly. The Cowboys made mistakes in all three phases but they didn't fold. That's a sign of progress. Too many times when it would get tough, this team would crack. They didn't crack Sunday, which is a sign of maturity and belief.

** Marion Barber as the closer. I don't care if he starts or not. That's not the point. The key is to keep him fresh to close. And he closed. He had five carries for 29 yards in the fourth quarter. That's when he is at his best.

** Tony Romo's interception-less streak ended when Sheldon Brown came down with a pass out of Jason Witten's reach. How did Romo react? He completed 7 of 8 passes for 114 yards, including the 49-yarder to Miles Austin to win the game. Nice answer.

** I'm a little worried about Nick Folk. I didn't like the way he hit a point after try and his 22-yarder just snuck inside the bar. His last attempt was a quality strike. When he's hitting the ball well, it's high and with just a little draw on it. That's what the last kick looked like.

** Mike Jenkins has answered any and all of his critics, I would assume. He's going to allow some passes, but all corners do. His interception of Donovan McNabb, however, was text book in how he went after the ball. That's what we didn't see last year from him. It was like he was timid in all facets. Not anymore. His level of play has helped Wade Phillips be more aggressive with his calls for the front seven.



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I wonder if Jenkins has pushed T-New a little. T-New shoulda had a pic on the first series of the game and jumped that route nice. He's also been laying some wood out there like we haven't saw from him in the past. Scandrick has played well also. A couple tough completions on him in consecutive weeks, but he had good coverage both times. Our DB's as a unit has stepped it up big time.

 

[Pottsville Maroons]

I wonder if Jenkins has pushed T-New a little. T-New shoulda had a pic on the first series of the game and jumped that route nice. He's also been laying some wood out there like we haven't saw from him in the past. Scandrick has played well also. A couple tough completions on him in consecutive weeks, but he had good coverage both times. Our DB's as a unit has stepped it up big time.

Good point. I've been wondering if Newman's confidence in the Safeties has allowed him to be more aggressive, but competition from the other CB position could easily have the same effect.

 

[Hoofbite]

** If Wade Phillips made some of the decisions Andy Reid made Sunday we would still be talking about it. His decisions to challenge the spot of the ball twice made little sense but I might give him the first one. The second one? No dice. You lose that and you're out of challenges and out of timeouts. He lost and they lost. And what did kicking the field goal prove? If I had a timeout left, maybe I'd kick the field goal there. Without the field goal, I'd almost rather punt the ball and attempt to pin the Cowboys back and get the ball in good position than go for it. But kicking the field goal made no sense.

The Eagles got a bad spot on the 4th down player were McNabb rode the pile. It was a good challenge by Reid but didn't go his way.

 

[CanadianCowboysFan]

The Eagles got a bad spot on the 4th down player were McNabb rode the pile. It was a good challenge by Reid but didn't go his way.

it was an atrocious challenge, it cost him his last timeout and there is no way they can move the ball on the visual evidence that there was

 

[skinsscalper]

Good point. I've been wondering if Newman's confidence in the Safeties has allowed him to be more aggressive, but competition from the other CB position could easily have the same effect.

You would have to think it would have an effect. I haven't seen Newman play this aggressive, I don't think, ever.

I think we are seeing the Newman we always wanted to see because he no longer worries about the guys behind him.

 

[Hoofbite]

it was an atrocious challenge, it cost him his last timeout and there is no way they can move the ball on the visual evidence that there was

I think they could have. Collinsworth was right in saying that McNabb slid down the pile. The ball should have been moved but it wouldn't have been enough for a 1st.

 

[CowboyMike]

** I'm a little worried about Nick Folk. I didn't like the way he hit a point after try and his 22-yarder just snuck inside the bar. His last attempt was a quality strike. When he's hitting the ball well, it's high and with just a little draw on it. That's what the last kick looked like.

I have a feeling that has more to do with McBriar as the holder. Also, Folk's short yardage kicks have always kind of hooked, I've noticed.

 

[CowboyMike]

The Eagles got a bad spot on the 4th down player were McNabb rode the pile. It was a good challenge by Reid but didn't go his way.

The fact was that the whistle actually blew when McNabb's forward progress was stopped, not when he slid down the pile.

Are you sure you're a Cowboys fan?

 

[TNCowboy]

The Eagles got a bad spot on the 4th down player were McNabb rode the pile. It was a good challenge by Reid but didn't go his way.

The spot was bad by a few inches. Losing that challenge would be crippling to his team and he had to know that. Looking at the replay, if they had spotted it where they should have, it would have been very close. There's no way anyone could watch that replay and say it was an obvious first down. And since it was a change of possession, the Eagles had plenty of time to look at that play multiple times.

That's exactly why teams should, in many cases, take the delay of game penalty over blowing a timeout. That 5 yards is not going to be as valuable as the 40 seconds a timeout saves you (plus having a timeout in your arsenal will affect how the other team calls plays plus the additional options it gives you with your own playcalling). It should also be a reminder to coaches to not use a challenge on a spot that early in the game (the first one), or any call that isn't obviously in their favor. Even if he wins, so what? You still are using a challenge, and even if you win, it wasn't like they were in scoring range.

Challenges and timeouts are precious. Reid used them like they were cheap, and it calls into question his judgment. Not that Philly would've won anyway. Romo and Co looked like they had the Eagles figured out on that last drive.

 

[Dough Boy]

The Eagles got a bad spot on the 4th down player were McNabb rode the pile. It was a good challenge by Reid but didn't go his way.

I understand your point. But considering what was at stake, it was the wrong time to challange. It was not a clear cut case. Was his left arm down? Did the ref rule foward progress was stopped? When they did rule forward progress stopped, where was the ball. Spotting the ball is an inexact science. Based on all the above, he should not have challanged. See the forest not the trees. Reid was farily desperate all night. That was the one thing that gave me confidence in our team was Reid felt the need to 'reach' for help as if he didn't trust his team to beat us.

 

[Hoofbite]

The spot was bad by a few inches. Losing that challenge would be crippling to his team and he had to know that. Looking at the replay, if they had spotted it where they should have, it would have been very close. There's no way anyone could watch that replay and say it was an obvious first down. And since it was a change of possession, the Eagles had plenty of time to look at that play multiple times.

That's exactly why teams should, in many cases, take the delay of game penalty over blowing a timeout. That 5 yards is not going to be as valuable as the 40 seconds a timeout saves you (plus having a timeout in your arsenal will affect how the other team calls plays plus the additional options it gives you with your own playcalling). It should also be a reminder to coaches to not use a challenge on a spot that early in the game (the first one), or any call that isn't obviously in their favor. Even if he wins, so what? You still are using a challenge, and even if you win, it wasn't like they were in scoring range.

Challenges and timeouts are precious. Reid used them like they were cheap, and it calls into question his judgment. Not that Philly would've won anyway. Romo and Co looked like they had the Eagles figured out on that last drive.

It wasn't a challenge of possession was it? I thought it was a challenge of spot. They can move the ball without changing possession. He should have won the challenge but lost possession.

 

[tecolote]

The Eagles got a bad spot on the 4th down player were McNabb rode the pile. It was a good challenge by Reid but didn't go his way.

I rewatched the game yesterday, and while the ball was spotted a couple of inches short of where Mcnabb's elbow touched the ground, it was also clear that the ball never reached the first down marker, judging by the measurement they made.

 

[mldardy]

The fact was that the whistle actually blew when McNabb's forward progress was stopped, not when he slid down the pile.

Are you sure you're a Cowboys fan?

I am glad someone finally said this. The whistle did blow before all that sliding McNabb did. When I was watching this live I kept wondering why the announcers never mentioned the whistle being blown and instead were going off of the replays.

 

[casmith07]

I think they could have. Collinsworth was right in saying that McNabb slid down the pile. The ball should have been moved but it wouldn't have been enough for a 1st.

Dude...

 

[Muhast]

The Eagles got a bad spot on the 4th down player were McNabb rode the pile. It was a good challenge by Reid but didn't go his way.

Its almost always a waste to challenge the spot on the field. It is rarely reversed, b/c the visual evidence has to be so overwhelmingly obvious and due to piles it's to hard to have a good reference of what body part is down and at what point.

General rule of thumb: Dont challenge spot on the field.

 

[skinsscalper]

Its almost always a waste to challenge the spot on the field. It is rarely reversed, b/c the visual evidence has to be so overwhelmingly obvious and due to piles it's to hard to have a good reference of what body part is down and at what point.

General rule of thumb: Dont challenge spot on the field.

Actually, it would be interesting to see the success rate of spot challenges. Adam................................?

 

[kmd24]

It wasn't a challenge of possession was it? I thought it was a challenge of spot. They can move the ball without changing possession. He should have won the challenge but lost possession.

They don't let you challenge the spot in that situation. You have to challenge whether it was a first down or not.

 

[Jon88]

I like the way Newman is playing, but he really needs to quit dropping interceptions. He's got like a .150 average.

 

[BAT]

I like the way Newman is playing, but he really needs to quit dropping interceptions. He's got like a .150 average.

He isn't dropping as many as Hamlin. Ken Hamlin is batting a .1000 in dropped INTs. Sensabaugh makes a diving INT with a broken hand in a cast. Hamlin tries to make a similar diving INT and all he comes up with is a groin pull.