I'm not one to complain about play calling... BUT...

[khiladi]

How do you reign in Romo when the majority of your passing routes are deep? Opposing defenses don't drop safeties back in coverage without reason? It is the same thing as last year and everybody knew that Jason had to start running the ball to force teams up. It is up to Jason to run the ball consistently.

I wasn't actually that disappointed in him this game because of the emphasis on the run and I put it more on Romo.Garrett did revert to his old self some, but not enough to warrant blasting.

BTW, Houck is back to his old self. Everybody was hating on him last year, but the OL is looking the part of beast...

 

[jay cee]

if we had passed 29 times and run 10 times, you'd have a valid point

but it was basically 50/50, as it was in the first game

That is my point, it does not have to be 50-50 all the time. Sometimes you should take what the defense is giving you. IMO, in this game the ratio should have been at least 60-40 run/pass.

The cowboys were killing them with the run, and the passing game was struggling.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Of course, the problem with that approach is your defense has shown it can stop the Giants. So let's say you score quickly. The Cowboys are up by 11. The Cowboys use little time off the clock. The Giants defense isn't put in a position where it's sucking even more air. Instead, a quick strike gives the ball back to the offense and allows the Giants defense to rest.

It's all about strategy.

You pound the Giants, take time off the clock then jump ahead by 11 points. With less time, the Giants start pressing and, maybe, you get a turnover because they know they have to score, hold the Cowboys, then score again.

Garrett/Romo got too smart for their own bridges. And now the Cowboys are 1-1 instead of 2-0.

I can think of two games out of the last 6 where the Cowboy defense was doing a terrific job at keeping the opposition under control until late in the game-- Pittsburgh and Baltimore-- then WHAM!

You know what happened then.

As a matter of fact it was going to happen this game too.

The Giants held the ball for 10 minutes in the fourth quarter.

You take points when you can get them.

It wasn't the play call. It was the execution. The ball should never have been thrown to Hurd.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

That is my point, it does not have to be 50-50 all the time. Sometimes you should take what the defense is giving you. IMO, in this game the ratio should have been at least 60-40 run/pass.

The cowboys were killing them with the run, and the passing game was struggling.

You can't set the protocal for an entire game based on a single (bad) quarter.

Who's to say the Giants don't start loading up the line of scrimmage at some point to stop the run? That stuff happens all the time.

That being said the Cowboys did EXACTLY as you suggested in the second half... There were 24 plays that were either passes or runs. 60% is 14. And that's how many rushing attempts there were in the second half.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

How do you reign in Romo when the majority of your passing routes are deep? Opposing defenses don't drop safeties back in coverage without reason? It is the same thing as last year and everybody knew that Jason had to start running the ball to force teams up. It is up to Jason to run the ball consistently.

I wasn't actually that disappointed in him this game because of the emphasis on the run and I put it more on Romo.Garrett did revert to his old self some, but not enough to warrant blasting.

BTW, Houck is back to his old self. Everybody was hating on him last year, but the OL is looking the part of beast...

Exactly.

The play calling was excellent.

You don't put up 31 points and have a chance to win while being strangled by a 0-4 turnover ratio unless you're calling some pretty damn good plays.

 

[dbair1967]

Do you really think that Norv would have called that? I don't remember too many times where he had Aikman going deep right away.....he was all about the run.

This always amazes me when I see stuff like this. People have no recollection of how things really were. We took as many, if not more deep shots than any team in football when Norv Turner was OC. Irvin and Harper both had a number of long plays on go's or deep posts.

I would think that IF Aikman had struggled that he (Turner)would have let Emmitt and the line take over.....Especially if it were a game like last week where the Giants showed that they couldn't handle the run.

Its just being over critical of one play. If Romo throws the ball away or dumps it off, nobody says anything. But he didnt, he threw a horrible ball into coverage, and its a mistake that he makes over and over. Its not the fault of the play caller. If Barber runs the ball and fumbles, are you also going to criticize that and blame the playcaller?

 

[dbair1967]

If Felix Jones gets 12-15 carries in that game, does Dallas win?

I say, YES!

Heck, 10 might have won it.

If Romo doesnt throw 3 picks, does Dallas win?

I say YES!

 

[dbair1967]

Of course, the problem with that approach is your defense has shown it can stop the Giants. So let's say you score quickly. The Cowboys are up by 11. The Cowboys use little time off the clock. The Giants defense isn't put in a position where it's sucking even more air. Instead, a quick strike gives the ball back to the offense and allows the Giants defense to rest.

It's all about strategy.

You pound the Giants, take time off the clock then jump ahead by 11 points. With less time, the Giants start pressing and, maybe, you get a turnover because they know they have to score, hold the Cowboys, then score again.

Garrett/Romo got too smart for their own bridges. And now the Cowboys are 1-1 instead of 2-0.

And like many, I think you are way over analyzing with this.

The Giants drove the length of the field and even overcame 1st and 20 and 2nd and 18. How long did that take them? How long did their 73 yd TD drive take after Romo's last pick?

Unless you had some illusion of Dallas running off the last 16-17 minutes of the game.

 

[jay cee]

You can't set the protocal for an entire game based on a single (bad) quarter.

I'm not setting the protocal based on a single quarter. I'm saying that the Giants seemed to be playing to stop the pass from the start. If that is indeed the case, at no point in the game should they have had more pass attempts than rushing attempts.

I mean if you have Peyton Manning or Tom Brady at qb, i could see it, but Romo is not that at that level.

Who's to say the Giants don't start loading up the line of scrimmage at some point to stop the run? That stuff happens all the time.

That's when you should start opening up your passing attack.

That being said the Cowboys did EXACTLY as you suggested in the second half... There were 24 plays that were either passes or runs. 60% is 14. And that's how many rushing attempts there were in the second half.

IMO, it took Garrett too long to come to this realization. I think they be better if they used their running game to set up the pass in the 1st place

 

[TNCowboy]

I don't really fault the playcalling. If the OC can't trust the QB enough to throw the ball any better than he did Sunday night, the team is doomed in the long-run anyway.

It's up to Romo to execute.

The offense did a lot of good things Sunday. Just not enough to offset Romo's stupidity.

 

[dbair1967]

That is my point, it does not have to be 50-50 all the time. Sometimes you should take what the defense is giving you. IMO, in this game the ratio should have been at least 60-40 run/pass.

The cowboys were killing them with the run, and the passing game was struggling.

So in the 2nd half when we ran 58.3% of the time, that wasnt enough?

I believe its been pointed out that we had 24 plays in the 2nd half, 14 of them were runs.

 

[Doomsay]

I can think of two games out of the last 6 where the Cowboy defense was doing a terrific job at keeping the opposition under control until late in the game-- Pittsburgh and Baltimore-- then WHAM!

You know what happened then.

As a matter of fact it was going to happen this game too.

The Giants held the ball for 10 minutes in the fourth quarter.

You take points when you can get them.

It wasn't the play call. It was the execution. The ball should never have been thrown to Hurd.

Exactly, and some people think that it's idiotic to notice a trend from last year. "This is a new season and it's only two games in..totally different team.."

ST coverage is different + better.

Romo is making the same punt-like passes, pick 6's that he did last year. No change. Although he had a good break-away 2nd half against a clueless TB 2ndary his overall passing has been off-the-mark this year.

The o-line play is better so far. I think primarily because they are healthy for once, but their run blocking seems to be a step-up.

Running backs are doing what we thought they could when healthy (damn).

Receivers are a work in progress - Tony was missing sure handed Hurd + Witten, so I'm not sure if it's just a receiver problem or a combo at this point.

The D-line seems to be much less effective - must be personnel based, what else changed?

Watching Barbie get playing time is painful - especially when he rushes the passer.

2ndary is still a train wreck, but with new faces.

I've never seen a more passive coach on the sidelines, does he ever command anybody to do anything or talk with players directly. Seems like his sole purpose is to throw out the red hankie occasionally.

2009 doesn't seem that different to me other than the circus is starting earlier. Shame to waste so much talent.

 

[dbair1967]

I've never seen a more passive coach on the sidelines, does he ever command anybody to do anything or talk with players directly. Seems like his sole purpose is to throw out the red hankie occasionally.

.

Come on, didnt you see that intensity on that missed FG?

 

[Doomsday101]

Exactly.

The play calling was excellent.

You don't put up 31 points and have a chance to win while being strangled by a 0-4 turnover ratio unless you're calling some pretty damn good plays.

Old habits are just hard to break. People have been harping on Garrett last year and all off season so as soon as Dallas loses Garrett becomes an idiot in their eyes. As you said when you put up 31 despite 3 ints and a fumbled kick return you must have been doing something right. The big one for many seems to be the long pass to Hurd which was int. but as many have said there are more than 1 option on pass plays and it is up to the QB to determine where to go with the ball. Looking to attack the Giants was not a bad call the execution was.

 

[Doomsday101]

Come on, didnt you see that intensity on that missed FG?

How about stone cold Tom Landry? Tom was never ranting and raving on the sidelines hell the look on his face was pretty much the same win or lose. I think way to much is made of Wade demeanor on the sidelines.

 

[Juke99]

Old habits are just hard to break. People have been harping on Garrett last year and all off season so as soon as Dallas loses Garrett becomes an idiot in their eyes. As you said when you put up 31 despite 3 ints and a fumbled kick return you must have been doing something right. The big one for many seems to be the long pass to Hurd which was int. but as many have said there are more than 1 option on pass plays and it is up to the QB to determine where to go with the ball. Looking to attack the Giants was not a bad call the execution was.

??

I'm not sure why people insist on just citing the fact that the team put up 31 points but ignore the fact that the offense was responsible for giving UP a ton of poins because of turnovers.

It's like an NBA team that puts up great numbers but in doing so, give up more points by turning the ball over constantly.

Successful offensive production isn't only about scoring points. It's also about controlling the game and limiting the chances for the opposition to get turnovers and score easy points off of them.

 

[jay cee]

So in the 2nd half when we ran 58.3% of the time, that wasnt enough?

I believe its been pointed out that we had 24 plays in the 2nd half, 14 of them were runs.

IMO, that is why the offense performed better in the second half. There was a group of us watching the game and we were screaming the entire 1st half to run the ball down the Giants throat.

For the 1st half I believe they had 15 rushing plays and 19 pass attempts. IMO that is the main reason they were down 20 to 17 at halftime.

Like I said, if they had Peyton Manning or Tom Brady at qb I could understand the play calling, but I don't think Romo is at that level.

IMO, this team should allow the run to set up the pass.

 

[Doomsday101]

??

I'm not sure why people insist on just citing the fact that the team put up 31 points but ignore the fact that the offense was responsible for giving UP a ton of poins because of turnovers.

It's like an NBA team that puts up great numbers but in doing so, give up more points by turning the ball over constantly.

Successful offensive production isn't only about scoring points. It's also about controlling the game and limiting the chances for the opposition to get turnovers and score easy points off of them.

I'm not forgetting that the offense turned the ball over 3 times yet were still in a position to win the game vs a quality team? I don't get why people can't understand how hard it is to go the length of the field despite not getting any turnovers and put up 31 points or how an offensive unit can go 4 for 4 in the redzone? Yes Romo made some bad mistakes and that is on Romo not Garrett, coaches do not call plays and tell the QB throw behind Witten or chunk it down field without looking to see where the safety is.

 

[jay cee]

??

I'm not sure why people insist on just citing the fact that the team put up 31 points but ignore the fact that the offense was responsible for giving UP a ton of poins because of turnovers.

It's like an NBA team that puts up great numbers but in doing so, give up more points by turning the ball over constantly.

Successful offensive production isn't only about scoring points. It's also about controlling the game and limiting the chances for the opposition to get turnovers and score easy points off of them.

Thank you, I have been trying to come up with a decent analogy, but was unable to do so.

Just letting you know I'll be using yours.:

 

[Doomsay]

How about stone cold Tom Landry? Tom was never ranting and raving on the sidelines hell the look on his face was pretty much the same win or lose. I think way to much is made of Wade demeanor on the sidelines.

Please don't ever use those two coaches (/coordinator) in the same sentence. Players feared and respected Landry, Wade is a jolly joke.