Game Review: Cowboys vs Cardinals

[Corso]

I'm a huge fan of your posts and this one is no exception. Great stuff. You are more bullish on Bo than I am. I hope you are right and I'm wrong, but he doesn't make my 53 as if now.

Bo don't know...
I doubt he listens to Diddley.

 

[xwalker]

Interesting that you use Parnell's year before free agency for his sack number and use Free's from 2 years later. Cherry pick much?

IN 2014 Free gave up 3 in 2014 on the same team as Parnell and playing in more snaps.

In 2015, Free gave up 4 sacks, while Parnell gave up 3.5. That year Free collected 6m dollars between salary and signing bonus and started all 16 games. Parnell missed a game and collected 8m dollars that year.

In 2016, Free gave up 7 sacks according to this tweet from Machota. Parnell gave up 5. Free actually collected $4m that year according to Spotrac while Parnell pocketed 6.5m. It is significant that at the time Dallas was up against the sal cap.

https://www.12up.com/posts/4708873-this-obscure-stat-shows-how-much-the-cowboys-will-miss-doug-free

It isn't as clear cut as you want to believe it is.

As far as Dez....wow, you said he would be cut. I am pretty sure there were a lot of people that said that, especially if he didn't take a pay cut. He has been given contract offers and I do think he will end up with someone. Whether or not he is done is still up for debate but it isn't exactly like you were the only one saying Dez had declined.

Your sack numbers are wrong.

When I started on the Parnell issue, most people said he would never be a starter. Many said as late as training camp 2014 that he would be cut. Broaddus claimed that Weems would beat him out as the Swing Tackle for 2014.

I was one of the most vocal about Dez. There was a huge push back when I said he would be cut. A large numbers of posters said it would not happen. Many said he would get a pay raise if cut. Many also said he would have multiple big dollar offers immediiately.

Many "experts" are now saying that based a game footage review, Dez was indeed terrible in 2017.

 

[Verdict]

Your sack numbers are wrong.

When I started on the Parnell issue, most people said he would never be a starter. Many said as late as training camp 2014 that he would be cut. Broaddus claimed that Weems would beat him out as the Swing Tackle for 2014.

I was one of the most vocal about Dez. There was a huge push back when I said he would be cut. A large numbers of posters said it would not happen. Many said he would get a pay raise if cut. Many also said he would have multiple big dollar offers immediiately.

Many "experts" are now saying that based a game footage review, Dez was indeed terrible in 2017.

Preach it, bro! +1

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I was one of the most vocal about Dez. There was a huge push back when I said he would be cut. A large numbers of posters said it would not happen. Many said he would get a pay raise if cut. Many also said he would have multiple big dollar offers immediiately.

Many "experts" are now saying that based a game footage review, Dez was indeed terrible in 2017.

I was hoping that Dallas wasn't going to sign Bryant to that big contract... I just knew he was going to underwhelm.

Instead I was pushing for Dallas to trade him.

 

[xwalker]

I was hoping that Dallas wasn't going to sign Bryant to that big contract... I just knew he was going to underwhelm.

Instead I was pushing for Dallas to trade him.

Yes, never in Pro Sports was it more predictible that a player would tank after getting a huge contract.

I wanted to keep him on the Franchise Tag. If somebody had offered something decent in a trade I would have been good with that.

 

[Praxit]

I was hoping that Dallas wasn't going to sign Bryant to that big contract... I just knew he was going to underwhelm.

Instead I was pushing for Dallas to trade him.

Same here, man. I wasn't pushing to signing Murray either, but he was going to be a lot cheaper. It just seems these huge contract deals go wrong eventually. Cant wait to see OBJ....not play to the hype.

 

[Corso]

Yes, never in Pro Sports was it more predictible that a player would tank after getting a huge contract.

I wanted to keep him on the Franchise Tag. If somebody had offered something decent in a trade I would have been good with that.

He, and I'm not defending him, didn't tank - he worked on what he liked and what he was good at.
He never bothered to expand himself and his attitude was, to put it mildly, reticent for such ideas to be displayed upon him.

He needed to go. And he shouldn't be welcome back.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

Your sack numbers are wrong.

When I started on the Parnell issue, most people said he would never be a starter. Many said as late as training camp 2014 that he would be cut. Broaddus claimed that Weems would beat him out as the Swing Tackle for 2014.

I was one of the most vocal about Dez. There was a huge push back when I said he would be cut. A large numbers of posters said it would not happen. Many said he would get a pay raise if cut. Many also said he would have multiple big dollar offers immediiately.

Many "experts" are now saying that based a game footage review, Dez was indeed terrible in 2017.

The numbers come from Machota and Stats Inc. They aren't my numbers. But it was disingenous of you to use Free's numbers from two years later to compare to Parnell's in 2014. I was never a Parnell hater. I would have been happy if we could have kept him, but I really don't put it as some huge mistake by the team. RT was not why we didn't win it all in either of those years.

You have been one of the most vocal on Dez, I agree with that. There were a fair number of people that agreed that the dollars didn't fit. He was among the highest paid WR's in the league and he hadn't produced on a top level since he got paid. Some of that was due to the quarterbacking.....between the time with Weeden, Cassel, et al and then a rookie QB it was not surprising the numbers weren't great. I still think in the right system Dez has a place. With an established vet in an innovative offense he could still put up decent numbers. It is a fact that he could have signed at least two deals and we don't know if there have been any other discussions with other teams. He should have taken the Ravens offer. I think he got really bad advice there or he is just a knucklehead. I understand about not signing with Cleveland. They have been bottom dwellers for so long it is gonna be hard to break that cycle.

 

[Verdict]

Yes, never in Pro Sports was it more predictible that a player would tank after getting a huge contract.

I wanted to keep him on the Franchise Tag. If somebody had offered something decent in a trade I would have been good with that.

True!

 

[Stash]

I watched the game a couple of times and then came here and saw all the comments. I then reviewed the game again to see why my take was so drastically different than the CZ comments but I still saw what I saw in the first reviews.

Offenses don't game plan in the preseason. The answer to the question 'Where is that new scheme that they promised?" is that you won't know until the real games start.

Notice that AZ's offense didn't do much either. Defenses are often ahead of offenses at this time of year.

AZ played their starters on defense for most of the 1st half. It was late in the 2nd quarter when Gallup had Patrick Peterson beaten but the throw was a little off.

Another sidenote: Players can't go on PUP if they didn't start training camp on PUP.

Why should a player's punt return ability affect their ability to make the team as a position player?

Lenoir returned most of the punts in the preseason last year but never touched one in the regular season since he was on the practice squad. He is either good enough to make the team at WR or not. He is unlikely to be active on gameday to start the season regardless.

We saw the same issue when they traded for Tavon Austin. People complained about his fumbling problems which were all on punt returns. The Cowboys traded for him because the OC wanted him, not because the ST coach wanted him.

Tight Ends
I didn't see a problem with the TEs. Jarwin had a fumble but otherwise they appeared to perform their jobs. They all did OK blocking. Jarwin blocked better than I expected.

There might be problems with the TEs BUT this game was not proof of it.

They didn't get a lot of pass targets but they were open several times when the ball didn't go to them.

They made Rico the primary read several times late in the game which is why he had more pass targets than the others.

Rico obviously has some talent; however, I've never seen anybody run some of the routes that he runs. Actually I have seen them but the players were in the 2nd grade.

Rico blocked OK but did end up blocking nobody on a couple of plays which likely means he made a mental error.

OLine
Fleming was a little shaky but the QBs held the ball too long on many snaps. Fleming looked good on many run plays.

They probably should have played Green at OG and let somebody else get reps at OT. I don't know if it's mental or physical but he is not the same player that started 2 games at LT in 2016 with no problems.

Edwards looked OK. He tends to help the RT too much even when La'el was playing which makes the gap between him and the Center vulnerable. Maybe the coaches have over-emphasized that with him.

Looney: OK
C-Will: OK

At one point I noticed that #67 was doing OK at as the 2nd team Center. Immediately after I had that thought, he got injured...

The 2nd/3rd string OLines looked ugly as a group but several of the players did some good things. I've definitely seen years where the bottom of the OLine roster players were worse.

I would give a guy like #63 Campos the snaps that Green has been getting.

Running Backs
DJackson looks good. His burst on runs and catches is nice. He does not have a lot of elusiveness but should be a good 3rd RB. In the long run he is probably more talented than Rod Smith.

Rod Smith
He makes the most of his ability. His blocking is way ahead of the other backups. He is likely at his peak whereas the DJackson and Bo might have more long term upside.

The cause of his fumble might be the easiest fix ever for coaches.
Coach: Rod, come look in this mirror.
RS: OK.
Coach: Do you see Zeke when you look in the mirror?
RS: No.
Coach: Look in this mirror everyday. If you don't see Zeke, then don't hurdle defenders.
RS: OK.

Bo
I feel like he has more talent than what shows up. His receiving has been good and he runs well for his size; however, he runs to high and hesitates too much to be considered a power back. He had a big whiff on a block but that happens with rookies. He has made a couple of good blocks in the previous games. His issues seem like something that could be drastically improved with coaching. Yes, he had great coaching in college but college coaches generally don't try to change an already good player's style.

Olawale
Do they need a FB? He is more of a runner/receiver than most FBs and they already have big RBs.

QBs
I was OK with Rush. He obviously had some issues but he didn't seem rattled and kept trying to make a play instead of just dumping it off for 2 yards like many young QBs do once they've had adversity in a game.

I hate that out route to the sideline. It's high risk for a short gain. I definitely don't like it with a small WR. It's not really the same route that we often see Beasley run. Above all else, I hate that route with Patrick Peterson as the CB. The fault was on the WR (and OC) not the QB, IMO. Often QBs are late on that throw but Rush threw it early, the WR just over-ran it a bit and didn't box out.

The over-throw to Beasley was a miss by the QB. I think he threw it as if Beasley was just running a clean go route instead of the fake that Beasley used to get by the CB. With no delay in the route for the fake, the ball is likely on target. The QB is still at fault but just pointing out why I think he was off on the throw.

Both Rush and White had some good throws into traffic.

On the INT in the endzone, I think Gallup was too vertical in his route. If he goes more horizontal it is a catch.

White is still interesting to me. His head is just spinning as a rookie. He is missing throws he made in college. He is a QB that needs good blocking and the 3rd team OL of any team in preseason games rarely provides great pass protection. He does hold the ball too long.


WRs
Many WRs vary their speed, but most do it by limiting their speed before their break and then exploding out of the break. Gallup does it when running straight. It is subtle and hard to describe. He manages to create extra separation just before the ball arrives. He has 4.45 speed but plays even faster due to nuanced route running.

Hurns is a veteran. Don't worry about what he does in preseason games. He has been good in practice.

The stop and go by Beasley was awesome. That route used his best skill of stop-start quickness to make him a deep threat despite just average deep speed. They'll pick and choose when to call the deeper routes for him. The primary goal is to keep defenses from sitting on his bread and butter short routes.

I said just last week that part of the reason the Cowboys have not used more pick plays is because the WRs they've had were not good at executing them. I had specifucally mentioned that TWill struggled to execute them in the past. We saw that happen in this game with TWill getting penalized after a terrible attempt at a pick play.

On the flip-side we saw a great avoidance of getting picked by CB Lewis (more on that later).

Without game planning it's difficult to judge WRs. We won't really know about guys like Tavon Austin until the real games start.

DE
Gregory awesome. Anybody that thinks he can't play the run didn't watch him in college. On a pound for pound basis he was as good of a run defender in college as you'll ever see. Of the top tier outside pass rushers in his draft class, he was the best run defender.

Think about how a lightweight weight chair or small 2x4 can be wedged under a door knob making it very difficult to force that door open. The force required to open the door is large relative to the weight of the chair or 2x4. That's basically how Randy Gregory was able to be a strong run defender in college against OTs that outweighed him by 75 to 100 pounds. It a similar concept on his ability to bull rush OTs.

Having said the above, in Marinelli's scheme, DLinemen will look silly on occasion against the run. When the DE has the "go" to abandon run contain and shoot the inside gap as a pass rusher, they tend to get blown up if it turns out to be a run play. Gregory's light weight may exacerbate that issue; however, on those plays the LBs have responsibility to cover for the DE in regards to run contain. It is a very key issue in the Marinelli scheme. If they get gashed by a run just inside or outside the OT, it is usually due to a miscommunication on this issue.

Taco looked good and was strong against the run.

Armstrong had good effort to play the run. He looked a bit tired to me which is not uncommon at this point in training camp.

Tapper looked OK. For a speed guy he still has good size and can play the run. He does not have the bend that Armstrong has displayed but his speed offsets that to an extent.

DT
Woods is solid.

Price can hold his ground against double teams. He just can't gain ground against a double like Woods can do on occasion. Price does move really well for a 1tech and gets out wide or down field which is a big requirement for Marinelli.

Ealy played primarily DT. He looks huge for a guy that signed as a DE. He looks like he weighs about 300. He is definitely bigger than Crawford. Ealy got good push rushing from the DT spot and held up OK against the run. I don't see much quickness at his current size. He has ability if he were in peak condition but I think he is lazy.

Jihad Ward - What happened? He barely played. I thought he might be injured but he came back out late in the game after just playing a few snaps earlier. Early in camp he looked good, especially in the 1-on-1 drills. He looked decent in PS game 1. He has interesting physical ability. He is listed at 6-5, 290 but he moves around in the open field like a LB.

#68 has played a lot of snaps. He was the second 3tech after Crawford in this game. He is a very high effort player but I'll be shocked if he makes the team. He is not overly quick and gets blown up by single blocking in the run game. In the 1-on-1 drills that I've seen he gives great effort but has not been close to winning against an OLineman that will make the 53.

Linebackers
Somebody really posted that they think Hitchens was better than Vander Esch. Come on people...

I was a fan of Hitchens from day 1 and he was a great 4th round pick. They would have been in bad shape without him some years. Having said that, Hitchens was a limited player. They never seemed comfortable with him in coverage. In 2016 they often used Justin Durant in coverage situations over Hitchens.

Joe Thomas - Speaking of Hitchens, I find the NFL to be a bit fickle in regards to the fate of players. Thomas is better in coverage than Hitchens. I'll give Hitchens a slight edge as a run defender but the difference is small. In free agency Hitchens got 9M per year and Thomas got less than 2M per.

Jaylon still looks a bit awkward on some movements. On one play he was coming towards the line and needed to stop and get back downfield. It looked awkward. Fortunately I think he can avoid the movements that are awkward for him on most snaps. He is big and fast. His understanding of playing LB in the NFL is light years ahead of the early part of last season. He does still appear to make some mental mistakes but nothing extreme.

March-Lillard might be having the best training camp of any backup type player. He has been all over the place (in a good way). He is not big but that has not been a significant issue for him.

Covington was injured for a while but played some last week and more this week. He looks decent. He has good size and his speed running down field looked really good. He was running right with some Safeties. I would like to see him make the roster.

Cornerback
Awuzie is great.

Byron Jones looks really good at CB. The Kris Richard scheme/technique is a perfect fit for him.

Lewis looked really good. Like we saw last year, he is a great tackler. His coverage was very good. He managed to avoid a pick play without losing a step. He loved playing a trail technique in college and that lends itself to playing against pick plays. He basically uses the WR to shield him from the pick. On the flip-side, that same play where he avoided the pick also showed why Kris Richard likes CBs with more length. Lewis had tight coverage and stopped the WR for a short gain but he couldn't make a play to prevent the catch because he lacks the length to reach around. We've seen Byron Jones reach around and bat the ball away on similar plays.

Brown didn't draw any flags. It has been common for CBs that came to Seattle to take some time to adjust to the Kris Richard kick-step technique. I think that both Brown and Lewis have needed time to adjust to it.

Duke Thomas is smallish but again looked decent.

White still lacks consistency. He'll look good here and there but terrible at other times.

Safety
Frazier looked decent until he got injured.

Heath was OK.

#23 Robinson played SS. He played FS in college. He is big but he didn't play with much umpf. Some LBs were out-running him when they were all chasing a RB downfield.

#20 The veteran Huff took some terrible angles from the FS position.

#40 Had several good plays but a couple of bad ones. I need to review him again.

The biggest enigmas for me are Jihad Ward and Rico.

I thought Ward would play a lot of snaps regardless of his status but he didn't play much. They can keep up to 4 players on the practice squad that have 2 accrued NFL seasons. I can't imagine that they think Ward would clear waivers. Some team will sign a player just because he was a 2nd round pick two years ago.

Great stuff X, thanks for sharing this.

Key line for me was this one:

"I would give a guy like #63 Campos the snaps that Green has been getting."

I'd go a step further and say just give him Green's roster spot.

They're looking for another tackle option and Campos played well among a lot of poor performances. He might be worth a spot.

 

[Dre11]

I watched the game a couple of times and then came here and saw all the comments. I then reviewed the game again to see why my take was so drastically different than the CZ comments but I still saw what I saw in the first reviews.

Offenses don't game plan in the preseason. The answer to the question 'Where is that new scheme that they promised?" is that you won't know until the real games start.

Notice that AZ's offense didn't do much either. Defenses are often ahead of offenses at this time of year.

AZ played their starters on defense for most of the 1st half. It was late in the 2nd quarter when Gallup had Patrick Peterson beaten but the throw was a little off.

Another sidenote: Players can't go on PUP if they didn't start training camp on PUP.

Why should a player's punt return ability affect their ability to make the team as a position player?

Lenoir returned most of the punts in the preseason last year but never touched one in the regular season since he was on the practice squad. He is either good enough to make the team at WR or not. He is unlikely to be active on gameday to start the season regardless.

We saw the same issue when they traded for Tavon Austin. People complained about his fumbling problems which were all on punt returns. The Cowboys traded for him because the OC wanted him, not because the ST coach wanted him.

Tight Ends
I didn't see a problem with the TEs. Jarwin had a fumble but otherwise they appeared to perform their jobs. They all did OK blocking. Jarwin blocked better than I expected.

There might be problems with the TEs BUT this game was not proof of it.

They didn't get a lot of pass targets but they were open several times when the ball didn't go to them.

They made Rico the primary read several times late in the game which is why he had more pass targets than the others.

Rico obviously has some talent; however, I've never seen anybody run some of the routes that he runs. Actually I have seen them but the players were in the 2nd grade.

Rico blocked OK but did end up blocking nobody on a couple of plays which likely means he made a mental error.

OLine
Fleming was a little shaky but the QBs held the ball too long on many snaps. Fleming looked good on many run plays.

They probably should have played Green at OG and let somebody else get reps at OT. I don't know if it's mental or physical but he is not the same player that started 2 games at LT in 2016 with no problems.

Edwards looked OK. He tends to help the RT too much even when La'el was playing which makes the gap between him and the Center vulnerable. Maybe the coaches have over-emphasized that with him.

Looney: OK
C-Will: OK

At one point I noticed that #67 was doing OK at as the 2nd team Center. Immediately after I had that thought, he got injured...

The 2nd/3rd string OLines looked ugly as a group but several of the players did some good things. I've definitely seen years where the bottom of the OLine roster players were worse.

I would give a guy like #63 Campos the snaps that Green has been getting.

Running Backs
DJackson looks good. His burst on runs and catches is nice. He does not have a lot of elusiveness but should be a good 3rd RB. In the long run he is probably more talented than Rod Smith.

Rod Smith
He makes the most of his ability. His blocking is way ahead of the other backups. He is likely at his peak whereas the DJackson and Bo might have more long term upside.

The cause of his fumble might be the easiest fix ever for coaches.
Coach: Rod, come look in this mirror.
RS: OK.
Coach: Do you see Zeke when you look in the mirror?
RS: No.
Coach: Look in this mirror everyday. If you don't see Zeke, then don't hurdle defenders.
RS: OK.

Bo
I feel like he has more talent than what shows up. His receiving has been good and he runs well for his size; however, he runs to high and hesitates too much to be considered a power back. He had a big whiff on a block but that happens with rookies. He has made a couple of good blocks in the previous games. His issues seem like something that could be drastically improved with coaching. Yes, he had great coaching in college but college coaches generally don't try to change an already good player's style.

Olawale
Do they need a FB? He is more of a runner/receiver than most FBs and they already have big RBs.

QBs
I was OK with Rush. He obviously had some issues but he didn't seem rattled and kept trying to make a play instead of just dumping it off for 2 yards like many young QBs do once they've had adversity in a game.

I hate that out route to the sideline. It's high risk for a short gain. I definitely don't like it with a small WR. It's not really the same route that we often see Beasley run. Above all else, I hate that route with Patrick Peterson as the CB. The fault was on the WR (and OC) not the QB, IMO. Often QBs are late on that throw but Rush threw it early, the WR just over-ran it a bit and didn't box out.

The over-throw to Beasley was a miss by the QB. I think he threw it as if Beasley was just running a clean go route instead of the fake that Beasley used to get by the CB. With no delay in the route for the fake, the ball is likely on target. The QB is still at fault but just pointing out why I think he was off on the throw.

Both Rush and White had some good throws into traffic.

On the INT in the endzone, I think Gallup was too vertical in his route. If he goes more horizontal it is a catch.

White is still interesting to me. His head is just spinning as a rookie. He is missing throws he made in college. He is a QB that needs good blocking and the 3rd team OL of any team in preseason games rarely provides great pass protection. He does hold the ball too long.


WRs
Many WRs vary their speed, but most do it by limiting their speed before their break and then exploding out of the break. Gallup does it when running straight. It is subtle and hard to describe. He manages to create extra separation just before the ball arrives. He has 4.45 speed but plays even faster due to nuanced route running.

Hurns is a veteran. Don't worry about what he does in preseason games. He has been good in practice.

The stop and go by Beasley was awesome. That route used his best skill of stop-start quickness to make him a deep threat despite just average deep speed. They'll pick and choose when to call the deeper routes for him. The primary goal is to keep defenses from sitting on his bread and butter short routes.

I said just last week that part of the reason the Cowboys have not used more pick plays is because the WRs they've had were not good at executing them. I had specifucally mentioned that TWill struggled to execute them in the past. We saw that happen in this game with TWill getting penalized after a terrible attempt at a pick play.

On the flip-side we saw a great avoidance of getting picked by CB Lewis (more on that later).

Without game planning it's difficult to judge WRs. We won't really know about guys like Tavon Austin until the real games start.

DE
Gregory awesome. Anybody that thinks he can't play the run didn't watch him in college. On a pound for pound basis he was as good of a run defender in college as you'll ever see. Of the top tier outside pass rushers in his draft class, he was the best run defender.

Think about how a lightweight weight chair or small 2x4 can be wedged under a door knob making it very difficult to force that door open. The force required to open the door is large relative to the weight of the chair or 2x4. That's basically how Randy Gregory was able to be a strong run defender in college against OTs that outweighed him by 75 to 100 pounds. It a similar concept on his ability to bull rush OTs.

Having said the above, in Marinelli's scheme, DLinemen will look silly on occasion against the run. When the DE has the "go" to abandon run contain and shoot the inside gap as a pass rusher, they tend to get blown up if it turns out to be a run play. Gregory's light weight may exacerbate that issue; however, on those plays the LBs have responsibility to cover for the DE in regards to run contain. It is a very key issue in the Marinelli scheme. If they get gashed by a run just inside or outside the OT, it is usually due to a miscommunication on this issue.

Taco looked good and was strong against the run.

Armstrong had good effort to play the run. He looked a bit tired to me which is not uncommon at this point in training camp.

Tapper looked OK. For a speed guy he still has good size and can play the run. He does not have the bend that Armstrong has displayed but his speed offsets that to an extent.

DT
Woods is solid.

Price can hold his ground against double teams. He just can't gain ground against a double like Woods can do on occasion. Price does move really well for a 1tech and gets out wide or down field which is a big requirement for Marinelli.

Ealy played primarily DT. He looks huge for a guy that signed as a DE. He looks like he weighs about 300. He is definitely bigger than Crawford. Ealy got good push rushing from the DT spot and held up OK against the run. I don't see much quickness at his current size. He has ability if he were in peak condition but I think he is lazy.

Jihad Ward - What happened? He barely played. I thought he might be injured but he came back out late in the game after just playing a few snaps earlier. Early in camp he looked good, especially in the 1-on-1 drills. He looked decent in PS game 1. He has interesting physical ability. He is listed at 6-5, 290 but he moves around in the open field like a LB.

#68 has played a lot of snaps. He was the second 3tech after Crawford in this game. He is a very high effort player but I'll be shocked if he makes the team. He is not overly quick and gets blown up by single blocking in the run game. In the 1-on-1 drills that I've seen he gives great effort but has not been close to winning against an OLineman that will make the 53.

Linebackers
Somebody really posted that they think Hitchens was better than Vander Esch. Come on people...

I was a fan of Hitchens from day 1 and he was a great 4th round pick. They would have been in bad shape without him some years. Having said that, Hitchens was a limited player. They never seemed comfortable with him in coverage. In 2016 they often used Justin Durant in coverage situations over Hitchens.

Joe Thomas - Speaking of Hitchens, I find the NFL to be a bit fickle in regards to the fate of players. Thomas is better in coverage than Hitchens. I'll give Hitchens a slight edge as a run defender but the difference is small. In free agency Hitchens got 9M per year and Thomas got less than 2M per.

Jaylon still looks a bit awkward on some movements. On one play he was coming towards the line and needed to stop and get back downfield. It looked awkward. Fortunately I think he can avoid the movements that are awkward for him on most snaps. He is big and fast. His understanding of playing LB in the NFL is light years ahead of the early part of last season. He does still appear to make some mental mistakes but nothing extreme.

March-Lillard might be having the best training camp of any backup type player. He has been all over the place (in a good way). He is not big but that has not been a significant issue for him.

Covington was injured for a while but played some last week and more this week. He looks decent. He has good size and his speed running down field looked really good. He was running right with some Safeties. I would like to see him make the roster.

Cornerback
Awuzie is great.

Byron Jones looks really good at CB. The Kris Richard scheme/technique is a perfect fit for him.

Lewis looked really good. Like we saw last year, he is a great tackler. His coverage was very good. He managed to avoid a pick play without losing a step. He loved playing a trail technique in college and that lends itself to playing against pick plays. He basically uses the WR to shield him from the pick. On the flip-side, that same play where he avoided the pick also showed why Kris Richard likes CBs with more length. Lewis had tight coverage and stopped the WR for a short gain but he couldn't make a play to prevent the catch because he lacks the length to reach around. We've seen Byron Jones reach around and bat the ball away on similar plays.

Brown didn't draw any flags. It has been common for CBs that came to Seattle to take some time to adjust to the Kris Richard kick-step technique. I think that both Brown and Lewis have needed time to adjust to it.

Duke Thomas is smallish but again looked decent.

White still lacks consistency. He'll look good here and there but terrible at other times.

Safety
Frazier looked decent until he got injured.

Heath was OK.

#23 Robinson played SS. He played FS in college. He is big but he didn't play with much umpf. Some LBs were out-running him when they were all chasing a RB downfield.

#20 The veteran Huff took some terrible angles from the FS position.

#40 Had several good plays but a couple of bad ones. I need to review him again.

The biggest enigmas for me are Jihad Ward and Rico.

I thought Ward would play a lot of snaps regardless of his status but he didn't play much. They can keep up to 4 players on the practice squad that have 2 accrued NFL seasons. I can't imagine that they think Ward would clear waivers. Some team will sign a player just because he was a 2nd round pick two years ago.

This is probably one of your better write ups on a game, I agree with most here. Especially the pick issue we have, I said the same thing here to Sydia ,we just don't have guys that run the concept well. We didn't with the last wr coach, and not the other night with Lal. That tells me it's the players.

 

[xwalker]

This is probably one of your better write ups on a game, I agree with most here. Especially the pick issue we have, I said the same thing here to Sydia ,we just don't have guys that run the concept well. We didn't with the last wr coach, and not the other night with Lal. That tells me it's the players.

Hopefully the young players learn how to run the pick routes; although right now they just need to learn the basics.

 

[xwalker]

Bo don't know...
I doubt he listens to Diddley.

Diddley >> Scarbrough

 

[xwalker]

The numbers come from Machota and Stats Inc. They aren't my numbers. But it was disingenous of you to use Free's numbers from two years later to compare to Parnell's in 2014. I was never a Parnell hater. I would have been happy if we could have kept him, but I really don't put it as some huge mistake by the team. RT was not why we didn't win it all in either of those years.

You have been one of the most vocal on Dez, I agree with that. There were a fair number of people that agreed that the dollars didn't fit. He was among the highest paid WR's in the league and he hadn't produced on a top level since he got paid. Some of that was due to the quarterbacking.....between the time with Weeden, Cassel, et al and then a rookie QB it was not surprising the numbers weren't great. I still think in the right system Dez has a place. With an established vet in an innovative offense he could still put up decent numbers. It is a fact that he could have signed at least two deals and we don't know if there have been any other discussions with other teams. He should have taken the Ravens offer. I think he got really bad advice there or he is just a knucklehead. I understand about not signing with Cleveland. They have been bottom dwellers for so long it is gonna be hard to break that cycle.

There is speculation that his agent sent a contract request/proposal to the Ravens and then claimed they made the offer.

 

[jterrell]

Completely disagree about special teams play not being a factor on who makes the team as a position player. Good grief.
Absolutely it does.

If two WRs, for example, are close to the same as position players, but o e is great on special teams while the other is not.
Thats the easist decision you could ask for. Special teams contributor all the way!
Come on

To me it is more than that.
If you are DAL playing WR6 in a game for more than a couple snaps you will be signing a new WR the next week unless it is tank season.
So WR5 and WR6 are really ST positions that need to know an actual offensive or defensive position not position players first.

On any given roster you are going to give the ST coach a few spots.
Final WR is almost always among them.

The practice squad however is for position players with high upside.
You promote them to active when an injury means you need a position player.

 

[DFWJC]

To me it is more than that.
If you are DAL playing WR6 in a game for more than a couple snaps you will be signing a new WR the next week unless it is tank season.
So WR5 and WR6 are really ST positions that need to know an actual offensive or defensive position not position players first.

On any given roster you are going to give the ST coach a few spots.
Final WR is almost always among them.

The practice squad however is for position players with high upside.
You promote them to active when an injury means you need a position player.

Dwayne Harris, for example
And I agree

 

[jterrell]

Your sack numbers are wrong.

When I started on the Parnell issue, most people said he would never be a starter. Many said as late as training camp 2014 that he would be cut. Broaddus claimed that Weems would beat him out as the Swing Tackle for 2014.

I was one of the most vocal about Dez. There was a huge push back when I said he would be cut. A large numbers of posters said it would not happen. Many said he would get a pay raise if cut. Many also said he would have multiple big dollar offers immediiately.

Many "experts" are now saying that based a game footage review, Dez was indeed terrible in 2017.

Gonna give you 1 out of 2 here with a smart nod to your overall credibility. You are not a goofball lookin for arguments or seeking attention, you just talk football.

1. You were 100% accurate on Dez and coming from a very unlikely and unpopular position. He played last year like he was hurt... but he wasn't, so that means he has just fallen off badly. He's still a serious TD threat as his TD numbers show and he has had NFL offers though there is zero doubt his agent is overplaying them.

I appreciate Dez a lot as a Cowboy-loving player who moved here pre-draft and didn't wanna see him leave like that but it is what it is and my bias may color even future takes. I can live with that. Same as I can live with saying Emmitt Smith was a better all-around and winning running back than Barry Sanders and ESPN highlight fans can bite me.
Dez best bet has always been to wait out an offer from a contender with a starting hole due to injury. End up somewhere like GB, NO or NE as the 2nd WR and focus on scoring TDs and rehab to image and game.

2. You were the first 'Parnell guy' to be sure but you underestimated his desire to test the market which he did and he was in fact overpaid by Jax by a good bit. Well beyond your suggested totals for him. You also underestimated the value of Doug Free to this team as a leader on that OL, see last year. Parnell was a great job of development here who provided us valuable cheap snaps but he was never going to be a long-term starter here and when he was capable of seeking starter money he did.

 

[jterrell]

Dwayne Harris, for example
And I agree

long list but yup, Harris
Sam Hurd
Miles Austin
Jesse Holley
Crayton

Depth WR have to earn their pay on ST first and then work their way into the 1-3 WR rotation.

 

[Ring6]

Tight Ends Missing Blocks Badly.

 

[Kaiser]

In 2016, Free gave up 7 sacks according to this tweet from Machota. Parnell gave up 5. Free actually collected $4m that year according to Spotrac while Parnell pocketed 6.5m. It is significant that at the time Dallas was up against the sal cap.

The salary difference between Free and Parnell is huge. You are listing the 2016 cap hit but Parnell was given a 5MM roster bonus the year before when both guys signed their deals. For 2015 and 2106, Parnell had a cap hit of 14.5MM while Free's was 10MM. Parnell had guaranteed money for 14.5MM while Free had 6MM.

Parnell was overpaid, but that proves XWalker's point. IMO if the money was the same they would have keep Parnell.