General thoughts going into week 4

Galian Beast

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In general I would say we would probably lose this game against Chicago. They're a really great defense and they've had a lot of success. At the same time who have they played? An under-performing Green Bay and Indianapolis and St. Louis. That is going to inflate anyone's numbers.

That being said, we have one of the worst offenses in the nfl right now. Think about that one for a minute, and let it sink in. That is a really bitter taste.

Garrett needs to get these penalties under control. The team performs decently enough when it doesn't have to worry about penalties killing drives. But we also need Jason Witten to putting it plainly, stop sucking.

The guy is absolutely not pulling his weight. And all the respect to Witten for all he has done for this team, but he is going to start costing us games, he was certainly part of that loss to the Seahawks. 8 receptions on 21 targets... If Witten doesn't come out strong against the Bears, we need to replace him with guys like Hanna, Beasley, and Phillips.

On defense, I am really impressed with what we're doing. Each group I think is playing at a really high level. That being said, we need Jay Ratliff to come back and help this defense out.

Our teams journalist don't ask the right questions. They try to get way too cute sometimes. Why is no one interviewing the offensive line and asking them what the hell is going on? This is the first time I heard someone ask Jason Witten what the hell was with him, but even then they didn't ask about his penalties. That isn't a new trait to him, only the drops are. His blocking is also getting a lot worse.

The second biggest goat on this team right now should be Joe D. We can't punt block, and we have no blocking on punt returns or kick returns. The only thing that is good is our skill position players. I'm convinced if Felix had an opportunity, he would show us what he can do. You have to ask yourself, why are guys right in Felix's face on the 10 yard line... It's not just this year either. The last couple years it's been like this.

Third biggest goat is a tie between Free and Garrett. I'll start with Garrett. This guy needs to start adapting better, and becoming more flexible. When a guy isn't performing, you need to replace him with someone else and see if someone else can do better. This has been the story with this entire team, but specifically the offense. Murray didn't get a shot til Jones got hurt, Jones didn't get a shot til Barber got hurt. Austin didn't get a shot til Williams got hurt. Free didn't get a shot til Columbo got hurt. Sometimes you need to bench players. And his gameplan/play call is awful. I watched the game a second time, and he was obsessed with running in down the middle after Cook proved inadequate in the task.

Free is the next guy that is a huge disappointment. I would not mind seeing Parnell, so we can at least send a message across the team, it doesn't matter how much you're getting paid if you aren't willing to do your job.

Next it's Jerry/many fans. How many of us were preaching that we needed to strengthen our offensive line? And how many of us we're labeled for doing so. We continue to see the direct results of not spending money or draft picks on offensive line. We've got 3 backups and a guy who probably should be a backup starting on our line... All the money we spend on skill players... well they can't do anything without time and blocking. Speaking of blocking, what happened to Vickers.... oh man...

At the end of the year if this Offense doesn't pick it up. I'd be completely in favor of letting go of Garrett and promoting Rob Ryan. Probably promote Callahan to offensive coordinator. Spend whatever we can spend on an offensive linemen, and maybe trade up to get an offensive linemen high like we did with Claiborne.

I love how Spencer is playing, but is he so much better than Victor Butler that he deserved that franchise tag, preventing us from getting an offensive linemen like Nicks? Love Claiborne, but was he worth both picks preventing us from getting an offensive linemen like DeCastro (who I know is hurt, and I know struggled early, that is neither here nor there honestly) and maybe a corner somewhere in the second?

Again, I love the defense, and think it'll get even better with Ratliff when he comes back, but this offensive line needed attention, and we gave it none.
 
Agree with pretty much all of that.

Only thing is Felix Jones. I dont think it matters what kind of blocking he gets. He looks slow and out of shape. Not the same Felix from a few years ago. That Felix had a burst, explosion, a 2nd gear higher than most.

The Offensive line is in trouble, mainly the right side of the line. I would like to send a message and bench Free also.

The defense looks great. Our linebackers are playing great. Lee/Carter duo in the middle will be great
 
Galian Beast;4753089 said:
I love how Spencer is playing, but is he so much better than Victor Butler that he deserved that franchise tag, preventing us from getting an offensive linemen like Nicks? Love Claiborne, but was he worth both picks preventing us from getting an offensive linemen like DeCastro (who I know is hurt, and I know struggled early, that is neither here nor there honestly) and maybe a corner somewhere in the second?

Again, I love the defense, and think it'll get even better with Ratliff when he comes back, but this offensive line needed attention, and we gave it none.

That for me was key to the last draft. We already had Jenkins (whom we traded up for in the 08 draft) and just spent $50 m on Carr.

We could have picked DeCastro and picked a DB in the second (in a draft that was considered to be deep at cornerback).

That way we could have upgraded both sides of the ball.
 
I agree the OL is a disaster. But to say we did nothing is inaccurate. What we did has not worked to this point. And I know what we attempted to do was a crap shoot...so in hindsight you are correct

To say a CB in the 2nd is also a dicey proposition. How is Jenkins from North Alabama playing? How is Kilpatrick from Alabama playing? We needed someone to come in and start day one. Could either have done that?

The key to all of this is HOW the defense will play. It APPEARS that side of the ball has been fixed. And if it plays this way all year....we should compete for a playoff spot. To actually win a playoff game the OL has to get better. I am confident Tyron Smith can get better. The C position cannot get worse...he has only been here one month. The LG is good enough to win with. The RG is an unknown. And that brings me to Doug Free. Maybe he is still dealing with heavy legs from training camp? Maybe the early bye is just what the doctor ordered for him? If he does not get better....we cannot compete with the elite teams.
 
IrishAnto;4753129 said:
That for me was key to the last draft. We already had Jenkins (whom we traded up for in the 08 draft) and just spent $50 m on Carr.

We could have picked DeCastro and picked a DB in the second (in a draft that was considered to be deep at cornerback).

That way we could have upgraded both sides of the ball.

ridiculous to jump to conclusions after 3 games
more ridiculous to rue the Mo pick no matter who wlse we got
 
I will take a shutdown corner then potential O-lineman who has struggled.
 
Man I dont usually agree with alot of your stuff but most of this is spot on.
Garrett, Witten, Joe D and the Oline need to be called out. You did a good job of that without going overboard. Having said that I think the O clicks this week and things will look better going into the break.
Things that could be fixed immediatly are the pennalties and the droped passes. Fix just that and the O could start clicking.

Nice write up GB.
 
bbailey423;4753132 said:
I agree the OL is a disaster. But to say we did nothing is inaccurate. What we did has not worked to this point. And I know what we attempted to do was a crap shoot...so in hindsight you are correct

To say a CB in the 2nd is also a dicey proposition. How is Jenkins from North Alabama playing? How is Kilpatrick from Alabama playing? We needed someone to come in and start day one. Could either have done that?

The key to all of this is HOW the defense will play. It APPEARS that side of the ball has been fixed. And if it plays this way all year....we should compete for a playoff spot. To actually win a playoff game the OL has to get better. I am confident Tyron Smith can get better. The C position cannot get worse...he has only been here one month. The LG is good enough to win with. The RG is an unknown. And that brings me to Doug Free. Maybe he is still dealing with heavy legs from training camp? Maybe the early bye is just what the doctor ordered for him? If he does not get better....we cannot compete with the elite teams.

If taking a CB in the 2nd is a dicey proposition, then what would you call not drafting OL at all?
 
There is a reason why a guy like Carr gets way more money than a guy like Nicks, its cause CB is a premium position, and guard isn't. With Mo, this team has a chance to have 2 of the top CBs in the league by as early as next year as Mo improves. Thats a weapon that not many teams can match.

Two of our big worries are Free and Spencer, but of course for different reasons. Free just has to improve for us to be successful or he needs to be replaced, whereas Spencer is playing well enough for an extension but can we really trust him at this point cause its an obvious playing for a contract move.

We have alot to consider this offseason, and high among them is what to do with Spencer, Jenkins, and Felix. Spencer is probably the scariest of them cause he seems to be the type to play up for a contract then disappear. As for a linemen, I hope there is someone in free agency worth it if the Free thing doesn't work out cause we don't have time to wait and see if a rookie will succeed, the position needs help right now with someone we can trust if Free can't turn it around.
 
Decastro wouldve done nothing for us. we would still have all the penalties, injuries, and all the problems at center, not to mention that Free isnt playing hard now that he has got paid.
 
the team liked kevin zeitler over decastro. zeitler is already starting in cincy and doing really well.

we could have traded down, added another pick. drafted zeitler. then still had our 2nd round pick and an additional pick. this is what the team should have done imo. so far i've seen very little difference btw claiborne and later round picks like casey hayward, jayron hosley, and janoris jenkins.
 
basstapp;4753143 said:
I will take a shutdown corner then potential O-lineman who has struggled.

I like Claiborne but calling him a shutdown corner after three games is jumping the gun.

Likewise assuming DeCastro wouldn't be a good/great player based on his first offseason and one pre-season game is jumping the gun
 
Deep_Freeze;4753160 said:
There is a reason why a guy like Carr gets way more money than a guy like Nicks, its cause CB is a premium position, and guard isn't.
Carr got 5 yrs/50M, Nicks got 5 yrs/48M...not that much of a difference.
 
I wonder if Joe D is on a short leash now with all of the disastrous ST play? I would surmise that his job could be in jeopardy if a couple more key problems occur in the next week or two.
 
Zordon;4753164 said:
Carr got 5 yrs/50M, Nicks got 5 yrs/48M...not that much of a difference.

True, but your comparing probably a top 3 guard in the league to a top 15-20 CB......a top 3 CB would cost much much more than a guard.
 
Deep_Freeze;4753169 said:
True, but your comparing probably a top 3 guard in the league to a top 15-20 CB......a top 3 CB would cost much much more than a guard.
as were you, re-read your post.

Deep_Freeze;4753160 said:
There is a reason why a guy like Carr gets way more money than a guy like Nicks
 
Zordon;4753170 said:
as were you, re-read your post.

Yeah it was a bad comparison, shoot me.....knew I should've gotten some sleep last night.

Nicks at his position and Carr at his position aren't really close, but its easy to see that the paychecks of a top 5 CB and a top 5 guard don't match up at all.
 
Galian Beast;4753089 said:
In general I would say we would probably lose this game against Chicago. They're a really great defense and they've had a lot of success. At the same time who have they played? An under-performing Green Bay and Indianapolis and St. Louis. That is going to inflate anyone's numbers.

That being said, we have one of the worst offenses in the nfl right now. Think about that one for a minute, and let it sink in. That is a really bitter taste.

Garrett needs to get these penalties under control. The team performs decently enough when it doesn't have to worry about penalties killing drives. But we also need Jason Witten to putting it plainly, stop sucking.

The guy is absolutely not pulling his weight. And all the respect to Witten for all he has done for this team, but he is going to start costing us games, he was certainly part of that loss to the Seahawks. 8 receptions on 21 targets... If Witten doesn't come out strong against the Bears, we need to replace him with guys like Hanna, Beasley, and Phillips.

On defense, I am really impressed with what we're doing. Each group I think is playing at a really high level. That being said, we need Jay Ratliff to come back and help this defense out.

Our teams journalist don't ask the right questions. They try to get way too cute sometimes. Why is no one interviewing the offensive line and asking them what the hell is going on? This is the first time I heard someone ask Jason Witten what the hell was with him, but even then they didn't ask about his penalties. That isn't a new trait to him, only the drops are. His blocking is also getting a lot worse.

The second biggest goat on this team right now should be Joe D. We can't punt block, and we have no blocking on punt returns or kick returns. The only thing that is good is our skill position players. I'm convinced if Felix had an opportunity, he would show us what he can do. You have to ask yourself, why are guys right in Felix's face on the 10 yard line... It's not just this year either. The last couple years it's been like this.

Third biggest goat is a tie between Free and Garrett. I'll start with Garrett. This guy needs to start adapting better, and becoming more flexible. When a guy isn't performing, you need to replace him with someone else and see if someone else can do better. This has been the story with this entire team, but specifically the offense. Murray didn't get a shot til Jones got hurt, Jones didn't get a shot til Barber got hurt. Austin didn't get a shot til Williams got hurt. Free didn't get a shot til Columbo got hurt. Sometimes you need to bench players. And his gameplan/play call is awful. I watched the game a second time, and he was obsessed with running in down the middle after Cook proved inadequate in the task.

Free is the next guy that is a huge disappointment. I would not mind seeing Parnell, so we can at least send a message across the team, it doesn't matter how much you're getting paid if you aren't willing to do your job.

Next it's Jerry/many fans. How many of us were preaching that we needed to strengthen our offensive line? And how many of us we're labeled for doing so. We continue to see the direct results of not spending money or draft picks on offensive line. We've got 3 backups and a guy who probably should be a backup starting on our line... All the money we spend on skill players... well they can't do anything without time and blocking. Speaking of blocking, what happened to Vickers.... oh man...

At the end of the year if this Offense doesn't pick it up. I'd be completely in favor of letting go of Garrett and promoting Rob Ryan. Probably promote Callahan to offensive coordinator. Spend whatever we can spend on an offensive linemen, and maybe trade up to get an offensive linemen high like we did with Claiborne.

I love how Spencer is playing, but is he so much better than Victor Butler that he deserved that franchise tag, preventing us from getting an offensive linemen like Nicks? Love Claiborne, but was he worth both picks preventing us from getting an offensive linemen like DeCastro (who I know is hurt, and I know struggled early, that is neither here nor there honestly) and maybe a corner somewhere in the second?

Again, I love the defense, and think it'll get even better with Ratliff when he comes back, but this offensive line needed attention, and we gave it none.

I completely agree on the Oline with everything you said. But on the other side of the coin, we need to give Jerry full props for fixing the D in one year. He chose the D over the line. You can only fix one big thing a year if you are lucky. Free has been the biggest issue. Signing him to 8 million per year prevented us from spending anything big on the line. Plenty of good centers in FA this year. Ouside of Car, that FA haul was pretty much a whiff. I do like the backup QB however. But he is not mobile and if he has to play behind this Oline, he is toast.

I didnt think we would fix everything in one year and I never thought this team would be able to make a big dent in the playoffs anyway. If Jerry can go out and do to the line what he did to the defense this year, it would be a nice two year turnaround there. Then all we will have to deal with is Garrett. Not sure how we overcome that one.
 
Deep_Freeze;4753177 said:
Yeah it was a bad comparison, shoot me.....knew I should've gotten some sleep last night.

Nicks at his position and Carr at his position aren't really close, but its easy to see that the paychecks of a top 5 CB and a top 5 guard don't match up at all.
I get your overall point. I just think we should have made a better effort to address both position groups. claiborne is good, but give me zeitler+another pick+cornerback and then put jenkins on the other side of carr for now. people underestimate jenkins abilities.
 
Deep_Freeze;4753160 said:
There is a reason why a guy like Carr gets way more money than a guy like Nicks, its cause CB is a premium position, and guard isn't. With Mo, this team has a chance to have 2 of the top CBs in the league by as early as next year as Mo improves. Thats a weapon that not many teams can match.

Two of our big worries are Free and Spencer, but of course for different reasons. Free just has to improve for us to be successful or he needs to be replaced, whereas Spencer is playing well enough for an extension but can we really trust him at this point cause its an obvious playing for a contract move.

We have alot to consider this offseason, and high among them is what to do with Spencer, Jenkins, and Felix. Spencer is probably the scariest of them cause he seems to be the type to play up for a contract then disappear. As for a linemen, I hope there is someone in free agency worth it if the Free thing doesn't work out cause we don't have time to wait and see if a rookie will succeed, the position needs help right now with someone we can trust if Free can't turn it around.

But how many 1st round draft picks/high priced free agent CBs does this team need at the expense of all the other positions?
 

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