Monday's Good, Bad, and Ugly

[dr_hefley]

It's about time my good ledger had more points than my bad and ugly!!

The Good: A lot!
*Finally, some energy. A steady offensive performance (any 3 and outs?). People playing like they wanted to be there.
*Hoyte is a powerful blocker.
*TO getting involved on the first play instead of in the 3rd quarter.
*RB's ran hard. JJones still gets several carries a game that go for 9+yards. Imagine how good he could be with a complete line.
*Speaking of RB's, how'd you like to try and tackle MBIII? 7 yards to a TD dragging 3 Panthers!
*Special teams coverage was aggressive. Monster hits, fumbles....
*Steve Smith more or less held in check. Hello, Newman.
*25 4th quarter points. New Cowboys record.
*Converting big (9+ yards) third downs.
*Witten looks like a force to be reckoned with. Where was he the first 6 games? Oh, yeah. He was blocking.
*270 yards passing, about 150 yards rushing, and 40 minutes time of possession. This is the Parcells offense we've been told about.
*Romo's mobility. Could the two point conversion fake QB draw have worked with Bledsoe? No.
*Parcells finally shows some emotion.

The Bad:
*Romo's interception. It takes him a little time to calm down and get in the flow of the game.
*Vanderjagt doinks his first FG. Later this year, I fear his yips will come back to haunt the Cowboys.
*Still not much pass rush. Everyone gets there a split second too late.
*Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I heard Parcells say that Thompson broke his ankle.
*Michaels and Madden; Could they be any less entertaining. At least now I know how to cook a juicy porkchop!

The Ugly:
*Penalties. 9 flags for 89 yards. In Parcell's terms, that's nearly a touchdown for the other team.
*Carolinas special teams. Yikes!!


The Bottom Line:
Still around .500, but the energy and effort from last night suggests there might be something to look forward to now. I hope they don't get too confident after one win and tank against the Commanders.

 

[Unforgiven]

On the interception, it almost looked like his arm was hit, the way the ball flew. Anyone have the game tivoed, and can check on that?

Either way, find me a QB who does not throw an interception in most games. One, I can certainly live with. That would be 16 a year which is not terrible.

 

[Hostile]

I hate kickers and missed FGs, but to his defense, it was 48 yards. I can accept that easier than I can the 26 yard "mental holiday" variety.

 

[dbair1967]

I hate kickers and missed FGs, but to his defense, it was 48 yards. I can accept that easier than I can the 26 yard "mental holiday" variety.

totally agree...at least the 30-40 yarders now look like possibilities, instead of the adventures they used to be

David

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Thompson did break his ankle according to Bill. That's really bad. Especially because it happened so far out of bounds and on a hit that was way late. That just sucks. I really hope the league fines the crap out of that guy. Broken ankles and RBs don't fair well in the NFL. Depending on where the break is, Thompson could be done.

For us, it means we need to find another kick returner and another RB capable of coming in and playing big minutes if needed. We don't use just JJ or MB3 exclusively in our running game. If one of them goes down, the 3rd RB would have to be able to produce in game situations. This could be a tough find at this point in the season.

Really pisses me off that it came on the kind of play that it did.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

Still not much pass rush. Everyone gets there a split second too late.

Yep, still no pass rush.

- Mike G.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Still not much pass rush. Everyone gets there a split second too late.

We have got to fix this situation.....Great post!

 

[ghst187]

The Bad:
*Romo's interception. It takes him a little time to calm down and get in the flow of the game.
*Vanderjagt doinks his first FG. Later this year, I fear his yips will come back to haunt the Cowboys.
*Still not much pass rush. Everyone gets there a split second too late.
*Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I heard Parcells say that Thompson broke his ankle.
*Michaels and Madden; Could they be any less entertaining. At least now I know how to cook a juicy porkchop!

The Ugly:
*Penalties. 9 flags for 89 yards. In Parcell's terms, that's nearly a touchdown for the other team.
*Carolinas special teams. Yikes!!
.

Vandershank scares me, he's an upgrade, but not much of one. His kickoffs still SUCK!
No passrush, even when we blitz, its pathetic.
The coverage last night was refreshing after the monday night broadcast. I actually got to watch the game instead of having to watch dancing with the stars and Kornhole call TO the devil.

Yes, too many penalties. It was amazing how many times we were able to overcome them last night. That never happened with Bledsoe. A holding call was the end of our drives with DB.

The most important thing is that we are actually exciting to watch again.

 

[YosemiteSam]

The Ugly:
*Penalties. 9 flags for 89 yards. In Parcell's terms, that's nearly a touchdown for the other team.
*Carolinas special teams. Yikes!!

You forgot Parcells kissing everyone! uke:

 

[THUMPER]

While this was a great win for us and overall we played very well there were still a few areas we need help in:

1. Passrush - I am convinced, and have been for 10 years, that Zimmer doesn't have a clue how to design an effective blitz or how to rush the QB. We have a ton of talent yet we STILL can't find a way to put consistent pressure on a QB. Every guy we face seems to have all day to throw. Until this is fixed (C-Ya Zimrod!) we will never have a truly dominant defense.

2. Penalties - Parcells' teams are supposed to be disciplined but we continue to make stupid mistakes and dumb penalties that rob us of big plays every week. Someone needs to break Owens' finger again if he gets caught grabbing a guy's jersey when he is supposed to be blocking him. He nullified a 3rd down conversion because of it on one play and should have been flagged on another one shortly afterwards but got away with it. The dude is big enough that he should be able to block a DB without grabbing. To me that falls to the coaching. That was just one guy who cost us big plays with dumb penalties, there were plenty more.

3. Not playing the ball - Newman has fallen back into the old habit of playing the receiver rather than the ball. The pass hit him in the butt and he should have been flagged for interference on the play. Had he been looking for the ball it would have been an easy INT rather than what should have been a penalty.

4. Not capitalizing on potential turnovers - How many times will our defensive players drop easy INTs? How many times will a ball come loose and our guys fail to recover it? These are the plays that win games and the teams that convert them usually go far in the playoffs.

5. No return game - Our longest punt retun this year is 20 yards but we have given up a 45-yarder. Our longest kickoff return is 41 yards but we have given up a 100-yarder for a TD. We haven't had a punt or kickoff returned for a TD in years. In fact the last one was Randall Williams vs the Eagles on their onside attempt. We haven't broke a long one since Woody Dantzler's sideline miracle several years ago. Crayton stinks at it and the best we seem to be able to hope for is that they won't fumble it.

Other than those things I think we are on track to having a very good season now that Romo is at the helm.

 

[conner01]

i don't care about style points. the bottom line on vandy's k.o.'s was they worked well. they did'nt get any good returns, and he kicks a ball that seems to be hard to get a handle on. missing a 48 yd fg is not a big deal to me.he did'nt do that right hook that seemed to plague him during the pre season so i'm not too concerned with vandy. thompson will hurt but if it's a clean break he could be back for a the last couple of games

 

[Maikeru-sama]

1. Passrush - I am convinced, and have been for 10 years, that Zimmer doesn't have a clue how to design an effective blitz or how to rush the QB. We have a ton of talent yet we STILL can't find a way to put consistent pressure on a QB. Every guy we face seems to have all day to throw. Until this is fixed (C-Ya Zimrod!) we will never have a truly dominant defense.

Yeah, see we will get 1-3 sacks in a game and therefore the Statistics are very very misleading.

For the most part, Jake Delhomme had alot of time to throw the ball. There was not consistent pressure on him throughout the course of the ball game. And defenders *cough*cough* Roy are still getting stuck in the middle of the Offensive Line when they blitz up the middle.

- Mike G.

 

[dr_hefley]

Thompson did break his ankle according to Bill. That's really bad. Especially because it happened so far out of bounds and on a hit that was way late. That just sucks. I really hope the league fines the crap out of that guy. Broken ankles and RBs don't fair well in the NFL. Depending on where the break is, Thompson could be done.

For us, it means we need to find another kick returner and another RB capable of coming in and playing big minutes if needed. We don't use just JJ or MB3 exclusively in our running game. If one of them goes down, the 3rd RB would have to be able to produce in game situations. This could be a tough find at this point in the season.

Really pisses me off that it came on the kind of play that it did.

Do you think that's gonna open up Skyler Green to contribute more? He scares the bejeezus out of me every time he gets near a kick.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Do you think that's gonna open up Skyler Green to contribute more? He scares the bejeezus out of me every time he gets near a kick.

I don't know that we will use him in the kick return game but I suspect he will definatly get a shot at the 3rd RB, change up spot. Would really help if he could be a kick return guy as well but I guess we will see.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Man I have Vanderjerk in my fantasy league and he gave me a migrane with the miss! In the playoffs you have to make that kick on the road....

 

[dr_hefley]

I don't know that we will use him in the kick return game but I suspect he will definatly get a shot at the 3rd RB, change up spot. Would really help if he could be a kick return guy as well but I guess we will see.

I know Dallas passed up several O-line prospects to take Green in the 4th to shore up their return game. Wasn't Max Jean-Gilles available in the 4th? I could be wrong.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

I know Dallas passed up several O-line prospects to take Green in the 4th to shore up their return game. Wasn't Max Jean-Gilles available in the 4th? I could be wrong.

No, I think Jean-Gilles was taken earlier in the 4th round. Either way, I don't think he was the kind of player Parcells was looking for. I think he likes his interior lineman to be a bit more mobile. I don't know for sure but that's what I suspect. Either way, I think you ellude to a good point in that Green was a 4th round pick and needs to produce for us. Not asking for starting production but at least STs and maybe role playing production on the offensive side of the ball.

 

[juck]

That Romo pick was a bad throw but wasnt an int,he was out,horrid call ,there.

 

[Stautner]

While this was a great win for us and overall we played very well there were still a few areas we need help in:

1. Passrush - I am convinced, and have been for 10 years, that Zimmer doesn't have a clue how to design an effective blitz or how to rush the QB. We have a ton of talent yet we STILL can't find a way to put consistent pressure on a QB. Every guy we face seems to have all day to throw. Until this is fixed (C-Ya Zimrod!) we will never have a truly dominant defense.

2. Penalties - Parcells' teams are supposed to be disciplined but we continue to make stupid mistakes and dumb penalties that rob us of big plays every week. Someone needs to break Owens' finger again if he gets caught grabbing a guy's jersey when he is supposed to be blocking him. He nullified a 3rd down conversion because of it on one play and should have been flagged on another one shortly afterwards but got away with it. The dude is big enough that he should be able to block a DB without grabbing. To me that falls to the coaching. That was just one guy who cost us big plays with dumb penalties, there were plenty more.

3. Not playing the ball - Newman has fallen back into the old habit of playing the receiver rather than the ball. The pass hit him in the butt and he should have been flagged for interference on the play. Had he been looking for the ball it would have been an easy INT rather than what should have been a penalty.

4. Not capitalizing on potential turnovers - How many times will our defensive players drop easy INTs? How many times will a ball come loose and our guys fail to recover it? These are the plays that win games and the teams that convert them usually go far in the playoffs.

5. No return game - Our longest punt retun this year is 20 yards but we have given up a 45-yarder. Our longest kickoff return is 41 yards but we have given up a 100-yarder for a TD. We haven't had a punt or kickoff returned for a TD in years. In fact the last one was Randall Williams vs the Eagles on their onside attempt. We haven't broke a long one since Woody Dantzler's sideline miracle several years ago. Crayton stinks at it and the best we seem to be able to hope for is that they won't fumble it.

Other than those things I think we are on track to having a very good season now that Romo is at the helm.

1. Pass Rush - Who is all this ton of talent we have? Ware is the only notably better pass rusher than we had 3 years ago, and he is very inconsistent and his impact is offset to a large degree by losing Glover's inside rush.

Zimmer probably can do some things to help, but people are only assuming we have a wealth of pass rushing talent when the fact is there is no evidence of that.

2. Penalties - I have to agree with you here - for a "disciplined" Parcells team we are shooting ourselves in the foot way too often.

3. Not playing the ball - Your comments are a huge oversimplification. Had Newman turned to the ball he would have lost momentum and never got to the receiver in time to stop the play. And it was not pass interference for the simple reason that the ball hit Newman BEFORE he made contact with the receiver. Once the ball hits someone, regardless of which team, pass interference is no longer possible under the rules.

4. Not capitalizing on potential turnovers - We did drop some possible INT's last week and screwed up trying to recover a fumble this week. The INT's I'm not so worried about because even though it is a missed opportunity, it's not the result of a dumb play. Failing to recover a fumble because a player tries to pick it up and run rather than fall on it is a stupid play, and that bothers me.

5. No return game - I partially agree with you. We have no punt return game. I think that will improve if we will use Newman more, although he didn't do much last night. On the other hand, the kickoff return team has done well. Thompson was averaging about 26 yards per kickoff return and was having a very good game in that regard last night before getting hurt.