DMN JJT Blog: Impressions from San Francisco 20, Dallas 13

[Alexander]

Yeah Mickey is very unbiased actually. At least he has common sense.

Wait a minute. Did I just read this?

The first and last time he showed much common sense and anything close to neutrality was when he was on Quincy Carter's case. Since then, he's toed the party line.

 

[speedkilz88]

See the Saints embarassing the Raiders after barely a half if you have any questions.

Like that happens all the time.

 

[adbutcher]

I could have written this article for Frenchie just by compiling what was posted here then focusing on 80% of the negative. Maybe, he waits until he reads all of the post and let his article write itself.

 

[DavidS]

Wait a minute. Did I just read this?

The first and last time he showed much common sense and anything close to neutrality was when he was on Quincy Carter's case. Since then, he's toed the party line.

Ahhh....yeaaah

Have you not heard from other team writers since the preseason has been going on? Mickey is not near as bad as them.

He does a excellent job in my opinion. But that's just my opinion. Sorry

 

[DavidS]

I could have written this article for Frenchie just by compiling what was posted here then focusing on 80% of the negative. Maybe, he waits until he reads all of the post and let his article write itself.

lol. Exactly. That's JJT for ya.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I take what JJT writes with a grain of salt.

Winner winner chicken dinner.

 

[Hoofbite]

First he says the Cowboys won't be able to have 80 to 90 yard drives. Then he says they had a nice 94 yard drive. Whatever JJT. I agree with most of it, but he has to throw in his usual negative nonsense. On thing I really agree with: the timing of the penalties is just awful.

He said the team won't be able to do it consistently. The fact that it happened once doesn't mean he is saying two different things.

Moreso than him just making the point, I think the whole reason for saying it is what he was trying to get across.

The Cowboys aren't going to be able to consistently drive the ball 80-90 yards against NFL defenses either because they make a mistake - penalty, dropped pass, missed assignment - or the defense makes a good play

His whole point is that Dallas shoots themselves in the foot too much to routinely walk down the field. He didn't say the team couldn't do it, just that mistakes will hold the team back from doing it regularly.

Is he correct? I dunno. IMO, the penalties thus far have been far more damaging in their timing than in their actual occurrence. I gotta believe that is going to change. I think the untimely penalties will die down with more play even though I think the penalties as a whole will be there just as they have been in the past.

because they make a mistake - penalty, dropped pass, missed assignment - or the defense makes a good play

Don't know why he felt the need to throw this part in though. Aside from mistakes, being outplayed on a down is the only reason a team wouldn't move the ball at will. Seems a little like he was just piling on to help his argument.

 

[justbob]

That summary is almost as good as the ones written by some of the board members minutes after the game.

ALMOST being the key word

 

[DFWJC]

See the Saints embarassing the Raiders after barely a half if you have any questions.

That was a whoppin'

Still, up until game three, the later in the preseason you go the more the performance of the starters becomes relevant. Also, there is still a giant difference between home and away games in preseason.

 

[casmith07]

That sounds a lot like how Wade Phillips would make it sound. In fact, that 31-16 tally equals an exhibition win I believe.

The only problem I have with this preseason in terms of the starters is that we've seemed to play down to the level of two inferior opponents (Oakland and SF). In spite of dominating them with some long drives, we only been ahead of either by seven points at intermission. I would have preferred more of a statement, but it is what it is. We did much better with Tennessee and I like the way we responded better in that game than the other two.

I just don't like the idea of letting teams hang around. Nice long drives that eat up almost a quarter of time are nice, but our defense has to be able to follow up those types of drives with shutout quality defense.

Are you serious? 31-16 PF/PA ratio and you say we've played down to their level.

Wait...wait for it...




....it's preseason.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

5:33 AM Mon, Aug 31, 2009 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Jean-Jacques Taylor/Columnist E-mail News tips

The best offenses gain yards in 30- and 40-yard cunks. Aside from Jones, who is going to deliver that for the Cowboys? I don't know because that player has not revealed himself in training camp.

Does he have any proof for this claim? Any rigorous statistical analysis that might corroborate his story?

I actually like JJT, but he has a habit of making sweeping claims without offering any substantiation.

 

[skinsscalper]

See the Saints embarassing the Raiders after barely a half if you have any questions.

You can add the beat down that the Packers put on the Cards to that list also.

 

[jazzcat22]

I like JJT, he tells it like it his in his own version and thoughts.

Now, do i agree with jjt all the time no. Just like he said crayton is a good punt returner, totally disagree with that. You never, never go backwards on the field of play because 9 times out of 10 you will lose yardage.

Plus, crayton doesnt have the speed to be a electrifying returner, but he is reliable as a punt returner.
Now what i do is this, i take all of the writers, JJT, brady tinker, smoaky, jenn engel, matt mosley, todd and others, lump them all together, along with what some of you say on this board, and come up with a combination of theories, etc and form my own thoughts.

I do agree that the penalties have to stop, they are killing drives, and allowing drives to continue at bad moments in the game. That will come back to bite you if you dont correct it.

I feel the same, JJT not all that bad, tells it like it is. Does he come up with some really stupid stuff sometimes, yes. But he is ok at times too.

I think what he means by Crayton being a good PR. He is reliable to catch the ball. Knows when to return it, when to fair catch and when to leave it go. He's not a threat to return it but he's not going to turn the ball over either.

 

[TNCowboy]

JJT mentioned the throw behind Austin, and left it at that. It was a good catch. But it was also an excellent throw. When they showed that play from the endzone view, Romo threw it the only place that he could.

One thing JJT is right about is that teams can't make a living on the 15 play 80 yard drive. You've got to have a few big plays from somewhere. If the Cowboys offense is on the field for a dozen plays or more, odds are that they'll committ some mistake - which we've seen repeatedly over the last several years - which will kill the drive, or turn a TD drive into a FG. Not that I don't think they can make big plays. I'm confident the Cowboys have the players to make some big plays, and that they're not overly concerned with showing it in preseason, but I think anybody who thinks the Cowboys will consistently make a living converting half a dozen third-downs on a single drive is kidding themself. Once the season starts, we're going to need a lot of 20+ yard plays.

 

[TellerMorrow34]

Lets see....

Raiders - Starters got 2 series, basically, and led 7-3 after that point. What the score was at halftime doesn't make a difference, at all, since the starters weren't in there for pretty much the entire second quarter.

Titans - Starters played a half and were leading 14-10 when they left the game. 21-13 at that point for two games. That isn't too terrible, IMO, for barely over a half of play.

49ers - 10-3 when the starters left the game. Really should have been, at the very least, 13-0 (i hated that we gave up that 3 in the 2 minute drill) but still not devastating either.

So the 31-16 isn't bad, at all, considering that they haven't let our starters play beyond (with the exception of the defense getting a little bit into the 3rd quarter against the Niners) play in the second half.

The thing I look at is this. With the way the offense has controlled the ball, thus far, in the first half when the starters have been in makes a HUGE difference late in the 3rd and into the 4th quarters if the starters are still in.

I mean think about it. The starters on offense stay in and take a 10-3 or 14-3 or something halftime lead with that time of possession. In the games that matter, in the second half, our offense will have them wore down and we'll likely widen games out by the late 3rd and into the 4th quarters.

I'm not opposed, at all, to us winning the majority of our games 24-10 or something to that effect.

 

[adbutcher]

JJT mentioned the throw behind Austin, and left it at that. It was a good catch. But it was also an excellent throw. When they showed that play from the endzone view, Romo threw it the only place that he could.

One thing JJT is right about is that teams can't make a living on the 15 play 80 yard drive. You've got to have a few big plays from somewhere. If the Cowboys offense is on the field for a dozen plays or more, odds are that they'll committ some mistake - which we've seen repeatedly over the last several years - which will kill the drive, or turn a TD drive into a FG. Not that I don't think they can make big plays. I'm confident the Cowboys have the players to make some big plays, and that they're not overly concerned with showing it in preseason, but I think anybody who thinks the Cowboys will consistently make a living converting half a dozen third-downs on a single drive is kidding themself. Once the season starts, we're going to need a lot of 20+ yard plays.

JJT never let the facts get in the way of a perfectly good negative slanted article.

 

[Primetime42]

Why do we have to get yards in chunks of 30-40 every other play?

I for one happen to like the direction this offense is taking.

 

[ScipioCowboy]

Why do we have to get yards in chunks of 30-40 every other play?

I for one happen to like the direction this offense is taking.

JJT seems to be worried that the Cowboys offense lacks the discipline (not necessarily the talent) to go on long, time-consuming drives without making drive-killing mistakes -- a concern that is perfectly valid, in my opinion.

However, I think his argument about good offenses needing an abundance of 30 or 40 yard plays is based on his perception rather than reality.

 

[Doomsday101]

Last year people complained Dallas threw the ball down field to much we need to run more underneath and this pre-season the Cowboys have ran a lot of it. I think when the reg season comes Dallas will take their fair share of shots down field in the meantime we are seeing more passes underneath and showing an ability to put together long drives via the short passes and running the ball.

 

[adbutcher]

Last year people complained Dallas threw the ball down field to much we need to run more underneath and this pre-season the Cowboys have ran a lot of it. I think when the reg season comes Dallas will take their fair share of shots down field in the meantime we are seeing more passes underneath and showing an ability to put together long drives via the short passes and running the ball.

I hope you like your day job because you could never be a sport's journalist. First you lack the ability for hyperbole. Second, you don't have a penchant for twisting truths into negative agenda driven articles. Third, you use far too much common sense. However, if you are willing to work on your shortcomings DMN will be awaiting your application.