Good, Bad & Ugly, CowboyJoe's Analysis

cowboyjoe

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Let me first say that i am still ticked off, pissed or whatever you want to call it, but not as mad as i was early this morning. I gather that most of you too are disgusted, angry and upset about the way the Cowboys played in this game too. Now, that we have that out of the way, let's move on to the game, with the good.

Yes, there was some good in this game. First, with the defense, the cowboys held the Commanders (cant call them deadskins because we didnt beat them because we didnt play well, especially on offense some, thats on us as a team) to field goals. The skins didnt score a touchdown by their offense. So, again our defense deserves kudos. Especially the way Jenkins showed up last night at the goal line. Ware was his usual self as well as some of the other defenders Granted some defenders had some lapses like Ratliff (whom I love and respect, but Jay, you cant dive at a qb's legs) or Newman arm grabbing the WR's belly, you know better than that Newman, come on. The offense did move the ball, and I really like the way Holland played, Gurode and Bigg Leonard Davis. We might have to start calling Doug Free Mr Reliable, the way he goes about his business. Moving the ball, controlling the clock most of the night, with screens, off tackle plays and runs, mixed in with passes here and there, wasnt bad. We saw some screens, bubble passes, and some solid running till we got to the redzone area. Along with some good passing from Romo with time control of the clock and passes to Austin, Roy W and Dez Bryant.

Now, the bad, again, we could get in the redzone, but couldnt produce points when we needed too. I think that this team hasnt yet realized who they are yet, by either being named a passing team or a running team. Sometimes, it looks like Jason Garrett abandons the runnnng game, when he should keep running, while reverting to his old offensive habits being a QB and throwing. For example the throwing screen bubble passes to Dez Bryant, when they werent producing big yardage. In fact, we had to punt because of one of these poor offensive play calling and leaving the running game.

Next, we have the botched field goal attempt by Beuhler. Again, Beuhler pushed the ball, how many times does it take him to realize you cant push the ball. You cant miss those chip shots Beuhler. Our special teams coverage plays was down too, whether or not that had to do with losing Crayton on punt returns and Patrick Watkins had anything to do with our lackluster special teams or not at times, leaves me to thinking it did, because at times we didnt see the usual special teams play from Sam Hurd like we have in the past too.

Now the bad, as you all know and are frustrated at, the 4 second fiasco right before halftime. As most of you know, the Cowboys were going for a hail mary pass 2 plays before end of first half, but Barron got called for holding. This is where it really gets bad, and questionable play calling with coaching. Everyone knew, even the Cowboys that Barron's play in preseason was suspect. Even Bryan Broaddus had stated that Haslett former rams coach, knew that Barrons weakness was rushing a defender right at Barron with a strong inside push, and Barron would hold. Sure enough that happened with 3 holding calls, 2 of them killers for us. As stated above right before half, with Jason Garrett calling Hail Mary Pass, but called back because of holding, is where the coaching aspect gets suspect. Members of media have pointed out that Barron doesnt have a handpunch worth diddly winks, and Barron is a finese type player. So, strong inside pass rush, and Barron turns to swiss cheese. The cowboys knew this watching preseson games and practice.

Yet, on that hail mary we dont cover Barron up. Then either due to mix up or lack of focus by coaching staff, which involves Wade, we got pushed back 10 yards for holding. Now, with 4 seconds, no time really with 70 something yards to complete a successful hail mary because time will run out. In the confussion, the skins first dont accept the holding call, then they do. Wade looks confused on sidelines, so Jason Garrett sends in a play to hail mary again. This breaks down due to heavy pass rush, which Romo scrambles and shuttles pass to choice who later fumbles. Again, choice had time to run out of bounds or fall down, there would have been no time to run 70 something yards for a td, and Choice was hemmed in anyway. Yet, choice chooses to turn it up field and fumbles. The point i am trying to make here, again, confussion by coaching staff and delay on what to do or not to do.

So, question is, are the cowboys being taught in all situations what do to, when and how for certain situations as these by the coaching staff. And even is the coaching staff prepared like wade to know what to do, if a team first declines penalty then accepts holding call. Didnt look like it to me, but confussion. If your coaching staff is confused or hestitates, how do you expect the players to react and know what to do. Good question?

Let alone, leaving a player like Barron uncovered, so he will hold and kill hail mary attempt. Old saying do it once, its ok, understandable, but 2nd time its on me. Well, if you all remember at end of game, again the cowboys coaching staff left Barron uncovered, after he already had 2 key holding calls, and he committed another killer holding call, downright lassoed the defender. And didnt OT Barron say this isnt my first rodeo? Then, why was Barron lassoing the defender instead of staying in front of his man, ready for inside bull rush and wrapping his arms around the defender for killer game ender? Again why zoners, why did the coaching staff let this happen not once, but twice on big plays?

Another bad play I saw, was the possibilty of the stubborness of offensive coordinator. On one particular play, and IM sure hostile or some of you can correct me if im wrong, but on a deep post play, the Cowboys had Roy Williams on a deep route, Roy doesnt have the deep speed for a play like that, why wasnt Austin or Ogletree used on that route who has superior speed to Roy W.?

Finally, we have the questionable called time out by coaching staff. AS I understand it, wade called time out, looked like barber had a step. My question is this, Romo was heard to say by reports time is running out, and he said, I know, I know, but rushing to get play off. I feel Romo did get the play off to barber right before wade called timeout. Why? Poor coaching again. Now, lets me bring up another play by Romo and playcalling. Which calls me to ponder about coaching. On one particular play, romo audibled and you could hear him audible. Romo took some time doing this, to long to my estimation, so thats why im asking my fellow zoners. You could see single coverage from what I could tell on our outside wrs, while inside was loaded up on TE and for backs, and possible blitz. Romo barked and barked, and barked, giving defense time to reset, then romo threw to a well covered Jason Witten for incompletion. My question is this, if you look at Peyton Manning, when he makes a audible out of a play called, its quick and fast, not giving defense time to recover. Why isnt the cowboys crisp on that? To me, if a team has 12 penalities, with 3 called back, making grand total of 15 for total of 91 yards or so with penalities that were accepted. That is very worrisome and to me, points to a very undisciplined possibly uncoached team by coaching staff. Either the play calling is too complicated for some of the players, or some of the players are dumb and just dont get it, but seems like a lack of discipline in some relation to attitude of team that needs to show some intensity and heart. I am not saying all players arent, but when a player that gets called for holding, and kills 2 big drives is seen after the game on the field laughing it up with some of the Commanders, then i question that players dedication, discipline, heart and discipline.
 
Dallas wants to be a balanced football team. That is our identity.

I don't see how nobody gets that and wants to just lable us one or the other.


But Dallas will never get a true chance to do good at both if we keep getting penalties that get us in 3rd and unmanageable because the only identity we have shown is that we're stupid.
 
Good synposis. The be all end all of the 2010 Cowboys is this:

1) Jason Garrett is not a good OC. He should have gone to Oakland, Baltimore or whoever wanted him years ago. Unless he gets some sort of epiphany about calling plays, he needs to not be invited back next year.

2) Hudson Houck should be immediately fired for fielding Barron. It is clear to everyone else in the world that Barron stinks, except for Houck. Putting a player who shows the lack of basic fundamental pass blocking is an embarrassment to my Cowboys.

3) Barron should not ever put on a Cowboys jersey again. You are only as good as your weakest link and he is terrible and will cost us more games. He has zero pride, zero technique and zero talent. Get someone in there who will put effort into his game. Anyone of us here with decent size could've blocked better than Barron did last night.

4) Wade Phillips will always be Wade and I stand behind my prediction years ago that we would never win a SB with him. He's lost and his post-game press conferences are embarrassing to watch.

/vent
 
CATCH17;3553441 said:
Dallas wants to be a balanced football team. That is our identity.

I don't see how nobody gets that and wants to just lable us one or the other.


But Dallas will never get a true chance to do good at both if we keep getting penalties that get us in 3rd and unmanageable because the only identity we have shown is that we're stupid.

WANTING to be a balanced team is not an identity. BEING a balanced team would be an identity.
 
CATCH17;3553441 said:
Dallas wants to be a balanced football team. That is our identity..

If 68% of the plays are passes is 'balanced', then we need to look at the term 'balanced.'




YR
 
Yakuza Rich;3553472 said:
If 68% of the plays are passes is 'balanced', then we need to look at the term 'balanced.'




YR

When you're down 10-0 and you keep getting penalties that keep you backed up its hard to run the ball. Unless you're just stupid and like running when its 2nd and 15.
 
Houck is not going to be fired....Barron was the best option we had or he would not have played.

I sometimes think we have too many "stars" on offense for us to have an identity. We seem to try at various times of any given game to get the ball to this player or that player to keep him happy or justify his salary, instead of just doing something until the other teams stops us. This may sound funny since everyone knows you cannot have too many stars, right?

Not to bash Jason G., but we seem to try to be too smart for our own good instead of doing what's working at any given time. We should have ran the ball more last night, if for no other reason that to hide Barron and Holland in pass protection.
 
CATCH17;3553486 said:
When you're down 10-0 and you keep getting penalties that keep you backed up its hard to run the ball. Unless you're just stupid and like running when its 2nd and 15.


They were down 10-0 with an entire half to go, which is easily enough time to establish a running game, and it's hard to pass the ball when the defense doesn't respect your running game.
 
Stautner;3553510 said:
They were down 10-0 with an entire half to go, which is easily enough time to establish a running game, and it's hard to pass the ball when the defense doesn't respect your running game.

There were just to many unmanageable downs to run the ball imo.

The stat line doesn't tell the whole story. If it was closer to being a more balanced offense the game would've been over 15 minutes earlier with us never having a chance to score at the end imo.
 
CATCH17;3553520 said:
There were just to many unmanageable downs to run the ball imo.

The stat line doesn't tell the whole story. If it was closer to being a more balanced offense the game would've been over 15 minutes earlier with us never having a chance to score at the end imo.

Where do unmanageable downs come from? Is it a 4 yard gain on 1st down, or an incomplete pass on 1st down? And how do you slow a pass rush? Is it continuing to just throw where the defense has little to no concern with the running game, or is it when the defense has to play run as much as play the pass?
 
GOOD: The Defense is gonna be top 3 this season. They didn't get all the pressure they wanted, but Jenks is the real deal and they held the opposition to only 6 points. They didn't lose the game for the team and kept them in the game.

BAD: Mistakes, Mistakes, MISTAKES!!!! Penalties upon penalties and horrible play call at the end of the half. These are all correctable mistakes and mistakes that are best discovered at the beginning of the season. These mistakes and miscues can be fixed through practice and proper planning, but they REALLY REALLY need to fix these things.

UGLY: We NEED NEED NEED to fix our O-line. The injuries and the lack of depth have shown the team improperly planned for this. Barron single-handedly lost that game for us and the real & perceived weakness on that line has killed whatever game plan the Cowboys ever started with. The offense cannot run the game plan they want, when they're worrying about protecting Romo and holding in extra blockers. They had to run quick passes to their WRs and RBs and everything underneath to keep Romo alive and that was against everything the offense is built on. They weren't able to go over the top with all their weapons but still had a chance in the end thanks to their D (referring back to the good).

Fix the line (ie. get healthy) and reduce the mental mistakes and they win a majority of their games from here on out.
 
Gzus;3553557 said:
GOOD: The Defense is gonna be top 3 this season. They didn't get all the pressure they wanted, but Jenks is the real deal and they held the opposition to only 6 points. They didn't lose the game for the team and kept them in the game.

BAD: Mistakes, Mistakes, MISTAKES!!!! Penalties upon penalties and horrible play call at the end of the half. These are all correctable mistakes and mistakes that are best discovered at the beginning of the season. These mistakes and miscues can be fixed through practice and proper planning, but they REALLY REALLY need to fix these things.

UGLY: We NEED NEED NEED to fix our O-line. The injuries and the lack of depth have shown the team improperly planned for this. Barron single-handedly lost that game for us and the real & perceived weakness on that line has killed whatever game plan the Cowboys ever started with. The offense cannot run the game plan they want, when they're worrying about protecting Romo and holding in extra blockers. They had to run quick passes to their WRs and RBs and everything underneath to keep Romo alive and that was against everything the offense is built on. They weren't able to go over the top with all their weapons but still had a chance in the end thanks to their D (referring back to the good).

Fix the line (ie. get healthy) and reduce the mental mistakes and they win a majority of their games from here on out.

I agree with most of this, but the defense still has to convince me. I'm sure I'm a rarity, but I am actually less high on the defense than I was before the game. There were a number of completely, left alone, wide open receivers, and we got an incredible amount of help from the Commanders inept receivers who dropped a number of balls without even being covered. I also thought that all in all the Skins did a pretty good job handling blitzes where we brought the house.
 
canters;3553507 said:
Houck is not going to be fired....Barron was the best option we had or he would not have played.

....

If the coaches always knew the best options, we wouldn't have found out about Free or Austin via them being forced onto the field, replacing injured players.

I doubt this is on Houck's head though....
 
Stautner;3553552 said:
Where do unmanageable downs come from? Is it a 4 yard gain on 1st down, or an incomplete pass on 1st down? And how do you slow a pass rush? Is it continuing to just throw where the defense has little to no concern with the running game, or is it when the defense has to play run as much as play the pass?

Penalties.
 
Look, I'm all for passing the football because it's generally the way to win football games in today's NFL. However, our passing offense played like it was absolutely petrified to hold onto the ball for more than two seconds for fear of a sack, and it led to a mere 6 yards per attempt. When you've got the running game working fairly well, it's time to shift your play distribution a little.
 
Stautner;3553643 said:
I agree with most of this, but the defense still has to convince me. I'm sure I'm a rarity, but I am actually less high on the defense than I was before the game. There were a number of completely, left alone, wide open receivers, and we got an incredible amount of help from the Commanders inept receivers who dropped a number of balls without even being covered. I also thought that all in all the Skins did a pretty good job handling blitzes where we brought the house.

I am sold on defense, only thing i worry about on defense is just having 3 cbs.

Offensive line is what i worry about and proper coaching with discipline to teach the players. Again, that comes with being in pads some,not in shorts.. You just dont get good work in shorts. Has to be sinking in on some of you now, about the practicing in shorts more than in pads, the offensive side isnt getting it. Especially at OT with Baron, yet we heard repeadetly from wade, how good Barron was, but behind closed doors, we heard of rumors cowboys were scared,with barron at ROT< and planned to move him to LOT and Free at ROT. Even if on left side, Barron is a liability with a bull rush inside move. We heard that from bryan broaddus and randy galloway who said a coach told him how scared if columbo was done, and what they would do at OT.

Yet, nothing was done or planned or prepared properly, and that starts with Jerry Jones then to wade,then to jason garrett, and finally hudson houck.
 
Stautner;3553643 said:
I agree with most of this, but the defense still has to convince me. I'm sure I'm a rarity, but I am actually less high on the defense than I was before the game. There were a number of completely, left alone, wide open receivers, and we got an incredible amount of help from the Commanders inept receivers who dropped a number of balls without even being covered. I also thought that all in all the Skins did a pretty good job handling blitzes where we brought the house.

I agree on the defensive showing last night. I think the stats lead one to believe that all is well. However, I think that an anemic Washington offense contributed more to the defensive stat line than a dominate defensive effort did.

Craig
 
CATCH17;3553700 said:
Penalties.

So, it's your contention that penalties are much more likely on runnign plays, therefore necessitating passing so much?

I think you should rewatch the game.

cowboyjoe;3553729 said:
I am sold on defense, only thing i worry about on defense is just having 3 cbs.

Offensive line is what i worry about and proper coaching with discipline to teach the players. Again, that comes with being in pads some,not in shorts.. You just dont get good work in shorts. Has to be sinking in on some of you now, about the practicing in shorts more than in pads, the offensive side isnt getting it. Especially at OT with Baron, yet we heard repeadetly from wade, how good Barron was, but behind closed doors, we heard of rumors cowboys were scared,with barron at ROT< and planned to move him to LOT and Free at ROT. Even if on left side, Barron is a liability with a bull rush inside move. We heard that from bryan broaddus and randy galloway who said a coach told him how scared if columbo was done, and what they would do at OT.

Yet, nothing was done or planned or prepared properly, and that starts with Jerry Jones then to wade,then to jason garrett, and finally hudson houck.

I'm not that worried about the defense, I'm just saying that it really wasn't as good an effort as some think. They got a lot of help from inept Commander receivers, and of course, had the Skins not blown an easy chip shot FG attempt the game would not have been within reach at the end.

Still, I think the defense will be fine.
 
I thought one of the worst plays last nite was during our second to last possesion.

It was 3rd down and short.....I think 3-4 yards...

We break huddle and their is mass confusion......Bryant doesnt know where to line up and lines up to the left but then they correct him and line him on the right side

It seemed so rushed for a 3rd down play.....we run left and get stuffed badly....it was like the Skins were heavy on that side .....It was a pitch running play

We lose yards and have to punt.

I just thought it was a bad play to begin with and second......Why didnt Romo call a timeout on such a critical down?
 

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