Keeping some common sense in the midst of frustration

[jterrell]

There are understandably a lot of upset media and fans. We should fire every coach and cut every player. No loss stings worse than one that ruins a perfectly good holiday. And to the slime-colored Eagles? Yea it sucks!

BUT... everyone should have had a couple of days to decompress and it's time to be real.

This is a playoff team and playing better does not mean being stupid. Blitzing 8 men? Stupid football. Why? Because we only have 2 cover guys. That 3rd guy forced to cover a man WILL get beat. Would you really as an opposing coach challenge TNew on a blitz? Or instead hit the TE? Teams arent even using slot WRs versus us now. They just gave up on that and moved to other tactics. Tactics that involve our safeties man covering. Wanna blitz Roy? Great! Now you have a linebacker covering. Boy, thats a smart football move.

Our defense was a top 5 unit with Greg Ellis. We would have been a top 5 unit with Greg Ellis in the 4-3 as well. Ellis and Ware can simply play DE/OLB and stop the run while getting solid, consistent pressure. The other guys can not. Going to the 4-3 now? Unless we change personnel it won't matter. Scheme doesn't help you rush the passer if you have no pass rushers. Jason Taylor has been an NFL defensive player of the year candidate in both the 3-4 and 4-3. When you are good you are good and when you stink you stink. Scheme helps a few guys but it doesn't make you a pass rusher.

So what can we do?

How about move Jason Hatcher into a starting role? He can play Spears' End spot. He can be a 4-3 DE in times the use that formation or the 3-4 DE. Doesn't have to play every snap but let him start and get the majority. Thats improved pass rush right there by personnel.

And how about let Junior Glymph rush some? He's 6'6' and 270 plus. Sounds alot like a pass rushing OLB/DE to me. He may not be the greatest athlete ever but he's physically a challenge for TEs and running backs at least. And sense we are blowing assignments anyway what does lack of experience mean to me?

When we do rush 8 how about moving Henry to FS? Let Glenn and TNew cover the corners and RW blitz. We don't have to move Henry permanently to use him in that position on a particular defense or play. Henry plays the ball. He will go get it. Nice center fielder for that situation.

Our defense needs to get better. And it needs to do so with personnel changes.

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Offensively last week just boggles the mind. The eagles suck at stopping the run yet held us in check. Rivera was flat getting whopped. It happens to Kosier on occasion but at least he helps you in space/trap plays where his smaller size is an asset as opposed to a liabilty. Rivera is getting us killed all over. Still, the play-calling must be better. Brian Dawkins can't get interceptions and stops behind the line. That means the play calling is sucking bad. Not that hard to tell when a guy is 20 yards off the line or 7.

Not sure what we can do personnel wise on offense because I do not understand it as well but using less predictable stuff would be a good start. Last week if Julius would have tried a RB pass it would have been wide open. The safeties were charging like bulls. We have great deep receivers. Why not start Barber? Just to change things up some. Start out with power running then bring in Julius for the burst factor once the defense has been hit in the mouth for a copuple of series.


ALL of that said, the time to pull out all stops was not on Christmas Day. IT was not the time to show we have solustions for where teams will atack us in the playoffs. I sincerely hope we have that stuff ready for the playoffs though. If not it won't be a week of negative energy it will be an entire off-season.

So here's to a joyous 2007 for our Dallas Cowboys.

 

[BC IN DC]

When we do rush 8 how about moving Henry to FS? Let Glenn and TNew cover the corners and RW blitz. We don't have to move Henry permanently to use him in that position on a particular defense or play. Henry plays the ball. He will go get it. Nice center fielder for that situation.quote]

 

[MissionCoach]

We are using schemes from TWO Decades ago...

BP has said himself that he does not like the Blitz...

I am one of the biggest BP Fans...but it is obvious that Zimmer is under BP's control...

BP bought some very nice groceries....unfortunately it's time that we brought in a new cook, the team is tired of eating crow!

 

[jterrell]

We are using schemes from TWO Decades ago...

BP has said himself that he does not like the Blitz...

I am one of the biggest BP Fans...but it is obvious that Zimmer is under BP's control...

BP bought some very nice groceries....unfortunately it's time that we brought in a new cook, the team is tired of eating crow!

Blitzing doesn't fit the personnel.

It is really that simple. We have not drafted guys to play that style of football. We have no free safety types. We use massive players meant to go through you and tackle you, not run around you or cover you.

EVERY scheme is decades old. Your moniker is about a guy who used a scheme that was decades old and won season after season untilt he talent went to pot. It is about executing the scheme with the players you have.

If we would have had Darren Howard and gave the Eagles' Marcus Spears who do you think would have rushed the passer better last week?


The groceries have not been all that grand. Spears and Canty are getting no pressure. For Canty thats fine. He's a second day guy. Spears was a first rounder drafted not all that far from Howard was selected.

This scheme was fine when we were ranked top 5 in defense. Now it sucks. We have a little different personnel with Ellis out and that makes the difference. The real issue is why we have no one behind Greg Ellis. The answer is the draft hasn't produced, at least yet. Carpenter is no where near the pass rusher Ellis is. He may very well be in 2 years but that doesn't help us week 1 of the playoffs. BP alluded to the heavy play time of both Ware and Ellis and my guess is he saw soemthing like this coming. The guy is right, you are what you are.

 

[LaTunaNostra]

BUT... everyone should have had a couple of days to decompress and it's time to be real.

You're a breath of fresh air if ever there was one, jt.

The Hatcher Device sounds intriguing.

SOMETHING resembling pressure has to come off those 'dead'ends.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

I know this is an extremely overused Cliche', but this team and the coaching staff, is what it is.

I dont think you can completely overahaul your scheme and play calling at the end of the seasons.

Moving players around, changing the defensive play calling, c'mon folks, there is some evidence that our players may not be smart enough to execute simple blitz packages and understand basic assignments like covering the Fullback.

Nah, even though it is painful, I would not start chaning too much, our players' heads may start exploding.

 

[LaTunaNostra]

I know this is an extremely overused Cliche', but this team and the coaching staff, is what it is.

I dont think you can completely overahaul your scheme and play calling at the end of the seasons.

Moving players around, changing the defensive play calling, c'mon folks, there is some evidence that our players may not be smart enough to execute simple blitz packages and understand basic assignments like covering the Fullback.

Nah, even though it is painful, I would not start chaning too much, our players' heads may start exploding.

Based on Tnews' Tuesday comments on the radio re defensive 'over-thinking', methinks perhaps the boys would benefit from some simple new pass rush options to not mull over, just execute.

Of course, 'simple' implies simply countered by any decent OC, but I for one have given up pondering just what the cognitive load these guys can handle is. (tho I suspect it lies somewhere between Play Station II and 'graphic novels').

They're as apt to overthink the already known and screw up the executiin on the well rehearsed for me to overly fear what the new will do to them.

Just get a pass rush!

I can just see Jerry screaming: "A pass rush! A pass rush! My Kingdom for a Pass Rush!!"

 

[Maikeru-sama]

Based on Tnews' Tuesday comments on the radio re defensive 'over-thinking', methinks perhaps the boys would benefit from some simple new pass rush options to not mull over, just execute.

Of course, 'simple' implies simply countered by any decent OC, but I for one have given up pondering just what the cognitive load these guys can handle is. (tho I suspect it lies somewhere between Play Station II and 'graphic novels').

They're as apt to overthink the already known and screw up the executiin on the well rehearsed for me to overly fear what the new will do to them.

Just get a pass rush!

I can just see Jerry screaming: "A pass rush! A pass rush! My Kingdom for a Pass Rush!!"

Good points.

I believe it was 2004, when the Defensive was struggling that Roy Williams had a comment in one of the papers that talked about they were having to think too much and constantly switching between 3-4 and 4-3 was kind of a problem for them and they needed to go back to the basics and the underlying message kind of meant, choose a defensive formation.

That is what I got from it.

I just think moving guys around, over here, over there and everywhere in-between right before the playoffs is going to cause more problems.

I think mixing some 4-3 in with 3-4 is gonna cause problems too as Bill Parcells likes to always say "Said players is trying to keep his own house from burning".

 

[MissionCoach]

Blitzing doesn't fit the personnel.

It is really that simple. We have not drafted guys to play that style of football. We have no free safety types. We use massive players meant to go through you and tackle you, not run around you or cover you.

EVERY scheme is decades old. Your moniker is about a guy who used a scheme that was decades old and won season after season untilt he talent went to pot. It is about executing the scheme with the players you have.

If we would have had Darren Howard and gave the Eagles' Marcus Spears who do you think would have rushed the passer better last week?


The groceries have not been all that grand. Spears and Canty are getting no pressure. For Canty thats fine. He's a second day guy. Spears was a first rounder drafted not all that far from Howard was selected.

This scheme was fine when we were ranked top 5 in defense. Now it sucks. We have a little different personnel with Ellis out and that makes the difference. The real issue is why we have no one behind Greg Ellis. The answer is the draft hasn't produced, at least yet. Carpenter is no where near the pass rusher Ellis is. He may very well be in 2 years but that doesn't help us week 1 of the playoffs. BP alluded to the heavy play time of both Ware and Ellis and my guess is he saw soemthing like this coming. The guy is right, you are what you are.

Parcells believes in his defense winning one on one matchups.

He doesn't like stunts or zone blitzes either.
.
JMO, but I beleive if we used some of the Pittsburgh style zone blitz schemes...that might work for us. We are already giving up huge plays... there is no reason for us to remain so vanilla on D...that's on the Coaching staff.

 

[Woods]

I think we definitely need to use Hatcher better.

I think in passing downs it probably makes sense to mix in a 4-3 using Hatcher and Ware.

But the bottom line is that we just don't have enough defensive players who can get to the QB.

This should be our number 1 priority next season, esp. if Ellis isn't fulled rehabbed. But even with Ellis, and given the serious nature of his injury, we really have to have at least 1 more pass rusher to complement Ware.

And, of course, we need a more creative DC who can take advantage of the players.

 

[jterrell]

Parcells believes in his defense winning one on one matchups.

He doesn't like stunts or zone blitzes either.
.
JMO, but I beleive if we used some of the Pittsburgh style zone blitz schemes...that might work for us. We are already giving up huge plays... there is no reason for us to remain so vanilla on D...that's on the Coaching staff.

You win games by winning one on one matchups. Thats football. From pee wee to the Super Bowl.

The eagles blitzed us alot but they also won the one on one matchups to get to Romo. They also won the one to one matchups outside to allow the blitzing.

You can't blitz if you can't win straight up.

Blitzing is not a cure all. Bad defenses that blitz just get beat faster.

By any chance have you seen us blitz? Its not pretty. We should never blitz again with this group of defensive players. They are awful at it. We send 8 and they block 8 with 5 then complete a 62 yard pass to a damn average tight end.

 

[MissionCoach]

You win games by winning one on one matchups. Thats football. From pee wee to the Super Bowl.

The eagles blitzed us alot but they also won the one on one matchups to get to Romo. They also won the one to one matchups outside to allow the blitzing.

You can't blitz if you can't win straight up.

Blitzing is not a cure all. Bad defenses that blitz just get beat faster.

By any chance have you seen us blitz? Its not pretty. We should never blitz again with this group of defensive players. They are awful at it. We send 8 and they block 8 with 5 then complete a 62 yard pass to a damn average tight end.

I can't believe we can't adjust the blitz scheme so we don't show up 5 minutes before the ball is snapped. Of course when the QB has THAT much time to make adjustments our blitz packagage is the sux.

Or HEAVEN FORBID we disguise a blitz package.