Impressions from the 2007 PO loss to NYG

[CoCo]

Watching that game again yesterday left the following impressions...

1. Our offense in that 1st half was all about the running game and specifically Marion Barber. I think I counted three 3rd and 1 or 2 and we picked them all up, on the ground, including 2 straight goalline handoffs to Barber who punched it in on the 2nd try. That is what some decent run-blocking can do for you and yes, with Garrett calling plays.
2. Barber was a different RB then but no better than what Murray is now IMO and certainly not the home run threat Murray is.
3. We talk about how Romo has to carry the team now. Not so in that 1st half. He was a bus driver.
4. 3 points in the 2nd half. "3 FREAKING POINTS"
5. Big play meltdown on D! Remember that long TD to Toomer where our DB's (and Greg Ellis) missed tackles and took each other out? Can you say cheap TD? The late TD vs Jacques Reeves looked "grind it out" by comparison. We've given up A LOT of those junk TD's.
6. Romo was efficient in the 1st half driving the bus. When we had to throw in the 2nd half his protection was weak and we never found a rhythm.
7. Fasano's goal line drop, Crayton's mid-field wide-open drop after Romo scramble & Crayton's slow down on the game's 2nd to the last play were all VERY big, costly mistakes.
8. For all his headiness on broken plays it seems ridiculous that Romo's head apparently goes all foggy when it comes to understanding when & how to throw the ball away. Not sure he's any better at it today.
9. TO, Glenn, Witten, Crayton & Austin (though admittedly a bit player) was quite the set of weapons!
10. Canty is not great value on that new contract, but he's a pretty decent player who does add something.
11. That 2007 team seemed to have a confidence that the 2011 team clearly does not have. Duh! 13-3. But still, I think many here consider us to be the same team as 2007. It's not even close. Romo and Witten are the ONLY common starters. Ware & Ratliff (maybe Spears) on defense. McBriar as punter.
12. The 2007 Giants were a very worthy opponent. As they went on to prove.
13. I noted Romo was not having to direct traffic on offense, pre-snap, hardly at all.
14. Flo had a false start, Ware & Ellis both called for offsides, and Gurode inexplicably late on multiple snaps were all part of the equation that day.
15. Giants had a big KO return to mid-field, and a punt return by McQuarters too. Bruce Read (aka Harry Dunn) was the ST's coach.

 

[Red Dragon]

I got the impression from watching the game that both teams were desperate in the 4th quarter. The Giants went into desperation mode, trying to throw everything at Romo, and the Cowboys threw multiple deep passes that just didn't succeed. The Cowboys were a meltdown in that quarter, though.


I wonder if it might have been wiser to simply two modest point gains instead of a touchdown: Try for one field goal first and a second one later. First one could have closed the gap to 21-20. Second one could have won it 23-21.

 

[elcowboi]

There were WAY too many mistakes to overcome.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

But still, I think many here consider us to be the same team as 2007. It's not even close.

And I think we're more talented now. Go down the roster and compare position-by-position and it's pretty obvious. Of course there are exceptions, but at many positions we're definitely better now.

Still say we got two of the worst calls I've ever seen in that 2007 game -- the intentional grounding when Romo wasn't even pressured, and the unnecessary roughness on Davis. Just awful, potentially game-changing second-half calls.

That team did play with tremendous confidence, though. That was the first team in years where I'd watch other supposed top teams play -- say, on a Sunday night -- and think, "Geez, we're better than these guys." To some degree, I think Romo and even Garrett didn't have any battle scars yet. As I recall, Romo had an insane 3rd and long conversion percentage that year... A number so high it was clearly unsustainable.

 

[CoCo]

And I think we're more talented now. Go down the roster and compare position-by-position and it's pretty obvious. Of course there are exceptions, but at many positions we're definitely better now.

Still say we got two of the worst calls I've ever seen in that 2007 game -- the intentional grounding when Romo wasn't even pressured, and the unnecessary roughness on Davis. Just awful, potentially game-changing second-half calls.

That team did play with tremendous confidence, though. That was the first team in years where I'd watch other supposed top teams play -- say, on a Sunday night -- and think, "Geez, we're better than these guys." To some degree, I think Romo and even Garrett didn't have any battle scars yet. As I recall, Romo had an insane 3rd and long conversion percentage that year... A number so high it was clearly unsustainable.

Agreed. Eli did the exact same thing earlier in the game but they blew it on Romo. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find another example of where grounding was called that was similar to that call on Romo.

Regarding Davis, same deal. I wish he'd have been a bit less enthusiastic in the hit but then again, when is that EVER, EVER called.

 

[CoCo]

And I think we're more talented now. Go down the roster and compare position-by-position and it's pretty obvious. Of course there are exceptions, but at many positions we're definitely better now.

I don't feel that way at all. I give the clear edge to the 2007 squad.

Largely I prefer the 2007 team for THAT year because many of the vets were still good even though they were ready to quickly decline. Our young guys now have exciting upside but still very inexperienced. That is the difference for me. Today's team a year from now might be a different story. But today, so many fingers crossed.

 

[johnny utah]

Even though the good guys lost that was a hell of a football game.

 

[CoCo]

Even though the good guys lost that was a hell of a football game.

I remain kind of stunned that we could look so offensively dominant in that 1st half and still lose the way we did.

 

[punchnjudy]

TO was playing with a high ankle sprain in that game that he suffered three weeks prior. I remember the Giants saying they realized at halftime that he couldn't take it to that second level like he normally could. They probably adjusted after that and took away the other areas where Dallas was having success.

Since Glenn missed practically the entire season, TO was a huge part of the offense that year. It was by far his best season as a Cowboy. Injuries are part of football, though.

 

[johnny utah]

I remain kind of stunned that we could look so offensively dominant in that 1st half and still lose the way we did.

Well you have to give credit to that dline the gmen had. They brought it in the 2nd half.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I don't feel that way at all. I give the clear edge to the 2007 squad.

How about going down the line and comparing them, then?

QB now, same or better with more experience.
Pass rushers, same.
ILBs, much better now.
Corners, better now.
RBs, much better now.
TEs, probably same, maybe a little better then.
OTs, better now.
NT, a little worse with Rat's age.
DEs, probably same.
C, worse.
S, who knows. Probably worse, but that group wasn't good.
FB, much better now.

How was that team so much better? There was no Dez, no Murray, no Tyron Smith, no Sean Lee, no emerged Miles Austin, no Felix Jones. The only really good players we miss now are Leonard Davis and Gurode. And most claim Davis was never that good.

Total JAGs like Akin Ayodele and Patrick Crayton and Jacques Reeves started. Jacques Reeves!

 

[JohnsKey19]

To this day I'm still glad i was not able to watch that game. But i was not worried that i would miss it because i just knew we would win. I was shocked to get home late in the 4th quarter and see us down and in desperation mode.

 

[Picksix]

I remain kind of stunned that we could look so offensively dominant in that 1st half and still lose the way we did.

Well, Spags is a heck of a defensive coach, and they adjusted. We went into the game with a plan of running a power game, because TO was hurt, and Glenn was playing for the first time all year. It worked great in the first half, but a couple of big plays against the defense erased it all.

They committed to attacking the line of scrimmage and coming after Romo in the 2nd half. We threw it a lot in that half. Not sure if Garrett lost his nerve, or just decided that MBIII and OL were getting fatigued. Either way, he decided to put the ball in the hands of his best players. Would have worked fine if some of his receivers hadn't sorely let him down.

But what I remember about that game, was that a number of plays went the Giants' way (Ware's offside, Toomer's ridiculous TD, Fasano's drop, Crayton's drop, TO's drop, etc). If just one of those plays had gone our way, we most likely win the game. But that's how it goes sometimes.

 

[burmafrd]

a big factor was the Giants ability to platoon their D line; by the 4th our O line was gassed. We had a TEN MINUTE DRIVE in the first half.

All the breaks went the other way in the 2nd half we could not catch a break at all.

 

[Red Dragon]

I think the first half of that game also showed that the value of ball control and time of possession is overrated.

The Cowboys strung together a long, 95-yard possession that took a lot of time off the clock and ended in a touchdown. They later followed it up with an even more time-consuming drive: 20 plays, 90 yards, that took up an even greater amount of time and ended in a touchdown.


What did the Giants do? They struck quickly on two very short, quick drives, that ended with touchdown passes by Manning. The score at halftime: Tied, 14-14.


A time-consuming, ball control offense (Dallas) didn't have a single more point to show on the scoreboard for their efforts than a quick-strike offense (the Giants) did.

 

[xwalker]

Here is a comparison of the 2007 roster and my projected 2012 roster:
(double click to enlarge)

 

[CoCo]

How about going down the line and comparing them, then?

QB now, same or better with more experience. Edge 2012, experience
Pass rushers, same. Edge 2007, Ellis vs Spencer.
ILBs, much better now. Edge 2012, due to Lee
Corners, better now. Edge 2012. but MC's a rookie, Jenkins signif surgery.
RBs, much better now. Edge 2012 for Felix vs Julius.
TEs, probably same, maybe a little better then. Edge 2007. Younger Witten.
OTs, better now. Edge 2007 - Flo & Columbo were very good at that point.
NT, a little worse with Rat's age. Edge 2007. Younger Rat.
DEs, probably same. Edge 2007 - Canty vs Hatcher
C, worse. Edge 2007.
S, who knows. Probably worse, but that group wasn't good. Edge 2007.
FB, much better now. Edge 2012.
OG, Edge 2007. Davis/Kosier vs Livings/Bern
WR, Edge 2007. TO, Glenn, Crayton, still raw Miles vs Dez, Miles, ?
Punter, Edge 2007. McBriar vs ?
Kicker, Push.

How was that team so much better? There was no Dez, no Murray, no Tyron Smith, no Sean Lee, no emerged Miles Austin, no Felix Jones. The only really good players we miss now are Leonard Davis and Gurode. And most claim Davis was never that good.

Total JAGs like Akin Ayodele and Patrick Crayton and Jacques Reeves started. Jacques Reeves!

I am excited about 2012 upside because so many are very young while several 2012 were ready to fall off. But many 2012 are not yet established. Dez/Miles may surpass TO/Glenn, but it has not happened yet IMO.

 

[Red Dragon]

Here is a comparison of the 2007 roster and my projected 2012 roster:
(double click to enlarge)

http://www.walker-texas.com/compare-2007-2012.jpg

The 2012 team is stronger than the 2007 team in terms of: Quarterback, running back, and cornerback.

It seems to be weaker than the 2007 team in almost every other area, though.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

The 2012 team is stronger than the 2007 team in terms of: Quarterback, running back, and cornerback.

It seems to be weaker than the 2007 team in almost every other area, though.

LOL, okay.

And Terry Glenn didn't even play all year. If Jason Witten doesn't play all year due to a degenerative knee, that would obviously change things.

 

[DallasEast]

My most impactful impression of that game is the same today as it was then (and have posted on since). The defensive collapse before the half, showcased by all-universe Jacques Reeves , still haunts me to this day. Allowing the Giants to drive practically the entire field virtually moments before the second quarter ended is incredulous to say the least. But it happened. Add all the other stuff that happened together and simply subtract that single New York score.

Dallas win.

It's enough to make you...

I'm signing off.