My thoughts on the cowboys...

[George]

Just a few wondering thoughts.

As I see it we should go to the 4-3 on defense. We are giving up at least 2-3yards plus on every run play - likely 4-5 yards on every run play. We need to tie up the holes. We've been doing this for a long time now. How is it our coaches can't improve this problem?

Our ILB's suck. Why have 2 of them?

Flozell. What the heck happened here? Is he hurt. He plays like it. He's the major problem with the OL. How in the world can we use the talents of TO and RW when our QBs are being thrashed because of Flozell's crappy play? Even when Romo returns its going to be a problem. Our OL was the best thing we had last year. How is it our coaches haven't improved this weekly problem?

Bollinger is better looking than Brad. Brad should be sent packing. Put Bartel at #3 QB.

There is nothing wrong with MBIII.

 

[McCordsville Cowboy]

Yeah. Missed out on Wilfork, but still could have had Stephen Jackson.


I love me some MB3, but Jackson is an elite RB - when healthy.

Could have had Brady Quinn and last nights problems solved....

 

[links18]

I disagree - the signature play on our offense is:

The False Start.

That or Illegal motion on Witten. He needs to cut that out......

 

[Rack]

The D started off solid but BJ, Garrett, and company kept leaving them bad field position, eventually they just got tired. Not having a beast at the nose eventually results in teams running on us successfully. Maybe we should run a 4-3 prototype in the 2nd half because the line gets pushed back to much as the game wears on. We were bringing a lot of pressure early on and Eli was looking rattled, he even gave up the pick 6. Why did we stop blitzing?

We need to make some changes because trying the same ole same ole ain't cutting it. We keep losing the time of possession battle and this O hasn't be able to sustain many drives. Any defense will cave when gassed. Nope this all points back to Garrett. He brought in BJ and dropped Bartel. He's also unable to adjust and it's pathetically obvious the league has his number. Why won't he change it up? He's praying the return of our talent bails him out and so am I but this guy is below average....

They started the game with an 11 play, 75 yard TD drive that took up almost half the quarter. That's not on the offense.

I agree 100% on the defense...the front 7 is below average and has been for some time.

Ware is a good LB; Spencer looked good last night.

but we have a lot of draft selections who just aren't very good. Unfortunately, we can't replace that many players in one offseason.

I'm with you though...get a real NT, put Ratliff at DE replacing one of our two worthless starters at DE, and draft an inside LB this year....maybe two of them.

Agreed. I'd still like to see Carp get a shot first. A lot of people here hate him, but it's not his fault the coach won't put him in the game. The last game he started he played better then anyone else on defense for us. Give him a shot, I want to see him fail before we move on. If he were a QB he would have been thrown in there already regardless.

I don't want to hear "he's not aggressive enough". I saw maybe two players on defense last night that looked like they were aggressive enough. What could it hurt?

Agreed on Spencer though. I've been getting tired of him being hurt all the time, but he looked good last night. Of course he had some screwups, but nothing different than the others guys on defense had.

Just a few wondering thoughts.

As I see it we should go to the 4-3 on defense. We are giving up at least 2-3yards plus on every run play - likely 4-5 yards on every run play. We need to tie up the holes. We've been doing this for a long time now. How is it our coaches can't improve this problem?

Our ILB's suck. Why have 2 of them?

Flozell. What the heck happened here? Is he hurt. He plays like it. He's the major problem with the OL. How in the world can we use the talents of TO and RW when our QBs are being thrashed because of Flozell's crappy play? Even when Romo returns its going to be a problem. Our OL was the best thing we had last year. How is it our coaches haven't improved this weekly problem?

Bollinger is better looking than Brad. Brad should be sent packing. Put Bartel at #3 QB.

There is nothing wrong with MBIII.

We don't need to change the front. The front is NOT the problem.

Both our ILBs don't suck. Only James sucks. Zach Thomas isn't doing great, but he doesn't suck.

Flozell acually played really well... the first half. Then he quit along with the rest of the OL in the second half.

And yes, there is something wrong with MB3. Nobody is perfect. I pointed out one aspect of his game that he could improve that would really help him and the team. He winds up to deliver a blow sometimes when he should just burst through the crease (aka hole).

 

[links18]

They started the game with an 11 play, 75 yard TD drive that took up almost half the quarter. That's not on the offense.





Agreed. I'd still like to see Carp get a shot first. A lot of people here hate him, but it's not his fault the coach won't put him in the game. The last game he started he played better then anyone else on defense for us. Give him a shot, I want to see him fail before we move on. If he were a QB he would have been thrown in there already regardless.

I don't want to hear "he's not aggressive enough". I saw maybe two players on defense last night that looked like they were aggressive enough. What could it hurt?

Agreed on Spencer though. I've been getting tired of him being hurt all the time, but he looked good last night. Of course he had some screwups, but nothing different than the others guys on defense had.



We don't need to change the front. The front is NOT the problem.

Both our ILBs don't suck. Only James sucks. Zach Thomas isn't doing great, but he doesn't suck.

Flozell acually played really well... the first half. Then he quit along with the rest of the OL in the second half.

And yes, there is something wrong with MB3. Nobody is perfect. I pointed out one aspect of his game that he could improve that would really help him and the team. He winds up to deliver a blow sometimes when he should just burst through the crease (aka hole).

Barber just needs to stop side stepping and hit the hole hard. If he is going to keep doing that, I suggest getting Choice more carries--but I don't think our coaching staff has the cajones to try to send a message to the Barbarian, who is about as close to an identity as this team has....

 

[Rack]

Barber just needs to stop side stepping and hit the hole hard. If he is going to keep doing that, I suggest getting Choice more carries--but I don't think our coaching staff has the cajones to try to send a message to the Barbarian, who is about as close to an identity as this team has....

That's what I'm talking about. He's a little too tentative hitting the hole. You could see the difference when Choice got in there.

Good to see someone willing to live in reality even if it means critiquing one of the better players on the team.

He is one of the best players on the team, but he can be better.

 

[George]

We don't need to change the front. The front is NOT the problem.

Both our ILBs don't suck. Only James sucks. Zach Thomas isn't doing great, but he doesn't suck.

Flozell acually played really well... the first half. Then he quit along with the rest of the OL in the second half.

And yes, there is something wrong with MB3. Nobody is perfect. I pointed out one aspect of his game that he could improve that would really help him and the team. He winds up to deliver a blow sometimes when he should just burst through the crease (aka hole).

The reason I see the need for 4-3 is because we don't have good ILBs and therefore we should put one man up on the line to stop the run at the line and not begin stopping the run 2-3 yards past the line, or in our case, not at all yesterday.

We were behind by 2 TD's at the half. Flozell knew that it was going to be fierce pass rush. Why do we pay him the big bucks to get beat? He used to stop everything. His big minus was procedure calls.

MBIII goes to the line and sees eight. Where is the hole you're seeing. I see MBIII hitting the wall. How is that MBIII's fault?

 

[links18]

The reason I see the need for 4-3 is because we don't have good ILBs and therefore we should put one man up on the line to stop the run at the line and not begin stopping the run 2-3 yards past the line, or in our case, not at all yesterday.

We were behind by 2 TD's at the half. Flozell knew that it was going to be fierce pass rush. Why do we pay him the big bucks to get beat? He used to stop everything. His big minus was procedure calls.

MBIII goes to the line and sees eight. Where is the hole you're seeing. I see MBIII hitting the wall. How is that MBIII's fault?

Barber needs to make positive yards, even if its 1 or 2, rather than dancing side to side and getting thrown for a loss. He does that too often and someone needs to send him a message. The poor OL blocking is not his fault, but he needs to take what they are giving him in those situations. He is feeling some of JuJo's pain right now.....

 

[cowboyed]

That's what I'm talking about. He's a little too tentative hitting the hole. You could see the difference when Choice got in there.

Good to see someone willing to live in reality even if it means critiquing one of the better players on the team.

He is one of the best players on the team, but he can be better.

Great overall thread Rack and here is something else to me that is a bit concerning. With all our recurring penalty issues and performance deficiencies including the injuries, we gear up against the Giants in one of the most pivotal games of the season by giving our players an extra day off.

Our defense positively plays as expected against the BUCS and the team gets an extra day off for a total of 2 days and its an upcoming road game against the Giants. Never mind that the offense struggled in that BUCS game or that the defense finally lived up to its billing in one complete game performance. JUST ONE THIS SEASON!

 

[percyhoward]

I think you're right about not being big enough up front in the middle, but JO's point was a good one. For the way this team is built, we're already better than average at stopping the run. The offense has to be able to control the ball for half the game. If the idea was for us to become a dominating run D above all else, that's where we would've been adding new talent, instead of defensive secondary/offense. We found a formula for success in not allowing teams to run over us--but it was based on the execution of our offense, and that's suffering right now for obvious reasons.

I totally disagree about Barber not hitting the hole enough. He's been hitting the hole too often, IMO. (Or at least, what's supposed to be a hole). Yesterday, he was dancing around a bit more than normal, but I think that's because he was looking at each run as more of an all-or-nothing proposition, where he had to make something happen because OL wasn't getting any push at all. IOW, he could sacrifice a no gain for the chance at a 10-yarder. That approach may not suit him as well as it does Felix, for example, but if Felix were playing, Barber probably wouldn't be running that way.

This team relies more on the skills and athleticism of a few key players than on winning the battle at the LOS.

 

[Rack]

The reason I see the need for 4-3 is because we don't have good ILBs and therefore we should put one man up on the line to stop the run at the line and not begin stopping the run 2-3 yards past the line, or in our case, not at all yesterday.

We were behind by 2 TD's at the half. Flozell knew that it was going to be fierce pass rush. Why do we pay him the big bucks to get beat? He used to stop everything. His big minus was procedure calls.

MBIII goes to the line and sees eight. Where is the hole you're seeing. I see MBIII hitting the wall. How is that MBIII's fault?

If we went to a 4-3 we'd still need a MLB (since you think we have no good ILBs) and we'd still need a good run stuffing DT.

Again, the FRONT isn't the problem.

And there absolutely were opportunities for MB3 to gain 2-4 yards at times but he didn't hit the hole hard and got stuffed. Not saying EVERY time, but at times.

Great overall thread Rack and here is something else to me that is a bit concerning. With all our recurring penalty issues and performance deficiencies including the injuries, we gear up against the Giants in one of the most pivotal games of the season by giving our players an extra day off.

Our defense positively plays as expected against the BUCS and the team gets an extra day off for a total of 2 days and its an upcoming road game against the Giants. Never mind that the offense struggled in that BUCS game or that the defense finally lived up to its billing in one complete game performance. JUST ONE THIS SEASON!

Agreed. If you treat the team soft, they'll play soft.

 

[links18]

I think you're right about not being big enough up front in the middle, but JO's point was a good one. For the way this team is built, we're already better than average at stopping the run. The offense has to be able to control the ball for half the game. If the idea was for us to become a dominating run D above all else, that's where we would've been adding new talent, instead of defensive secondary/offense. We found a formula for success in not allowing teams to run over us--but it was based on the execution of our offense, and that's suffering right now for obvious reasons.

I totally disagree about Barber not hitting the hole enough. He's been hitting the hole too often, IMO. (Or at least, what's supposed to be a hole). Yesterday, he was dancing around a bit more than normal, but I think that's because he was looking at each run as more of an all-or-nothing proposition, where he had to make something happen because OL wasn't getting any push at all. IOW, he could sacrifice a no gain for the chance at a 10-yarder. That approach may not suit him as well as it does Felix, for example, but if Felix were playing, Barber probably wouldn't be running that way.

This team relies more on the skills and athleticism of a few key players than on winning the battle at the LOS.

A team that fails to win the battle at the line of scrimmage is more likely than not the team that loses. If we are not built to control the line of scrimmage than we are in very serious trouble for years to come......

 

[Rack]

I think you're right about not being big enough up front in the middle, but JO's point was a good one. For the way this team is built, we're already better than average at stopping the run. The offense has to be able to control the ball for half the game. If the idea was for us to become a dominating run D above all else, that's where we would've been adding new talent, instead of defensive secondary/offense. We found a formula for success in not allowing teams to run over us--but it was based on the execution of our offense, and that's suffering right now for obvious reasons.

I totally disagree about Barber not hitting the hole enough. He's been hitting the hole too often, IMO. (Or at least, what's supposed to be a hole). Yesterday, he was dancing around a bit more than normal, but I think that's because he was looking at each run as more of an all-or-nothing proposition, where he had to make something happen because OL wasn't getting any push at all. IOW, he could sacrifice a no gain for the chance at a 10-yarder. That approach may not suit him as well as it does Felix, for example, but if Felix were playing, Barber probably wouldn't be running that way.

This team relies more on the skills and athleticism of a few key players than on winning the battle at the LOS.

What? You've got to be kidding.

What's your definition of "Average"?

We're currently ranked 17th against the run (19th in yards given up per carry).


Vs Giants: We gave up 200 yards rushing

Vs Rams: 190 yards rushing

Vs Skins: 161 yards rushing

That's not "Better than average". Better than average teams don't give up huge rushing games like that, and the season is just past the halfway point.

 

[dware94]

2. Bradie James flat out sucks. He occasionally makes a play in the running game and he occassionally gets a sack, but he consistently gets blocked and he doesn't get off blocks. And, obviously, he can't cover for ****. He's one of the worst coverage backers I've ever seen. Really, I don't see how giving Carp a shot at that position can be such a bad thing. What, we might suck against the run with him in there? Newsflash: We suck against the run with James in there. We wasted a 1st round pick on Carp and have given absolutely NO SHOT to play on the field. QBs get drafted in the first and are thrown into the wolves before they should be, don't see why it would be so bad to play a 3rd year former 1st round pick who actually EXCELLED In the last game he started.

Now could you give me your thoughts on Henry?

 

[Rack]

Now could you give me your thoughts on Henry?

Henry isn't terrible. He's average. People say he's lost a step. No, he hasn't. He never had that step to begin with.


My problem with Henry is he gets hurt every dang season.

 

[tyke1doe]

As for running the ball, I think the core problem there is that we're a pass-first team that uses the passing game to set up the run. People like to hype our offense as some big, mauling group that can run over people. But they only do that -- 9 times out of 10 -- when the pass has already been established and the defense is playing off. We're not one of those get-down-and-dirty organizations that loves to roll up our sleeves and pound on people. We want to finesse our way to the win, and then use Barber's pounding style as the change of pace. But without Romo, there's no chance of getting that passing game going.

And bingo was his name-o!

Good analysis, Rack, especially on point No. 1. I wondered whether anyone else noticed that. The Cowboys don't have a true NT to push the pocket and occupy blockers.

 

[percyhoward]

What? You've got to be kidding.

What's your definition of "Average"?

We're currently ranked 17th against the run (19th in yards given up per carry).


Vs Giants: We gave up 200 yards rushing

Vs Rams: 190 yards rushing

Vs Skins: 161 yards rushing

That's not "Better than average". Better than average teams don't give up huge rushing games like that, and the season is just past the halfway point.

Parcells wanted to build a team that controlled both sides of the LOS. It didn't happen. Think about the actual strengths of this team. Where are we the strongest? It isn't OL or DL. But having a strong DL isn't the only way to stop opposing offenses from running on you.

NFL RANK
Rush Yards Allowed
2007: 6th
2008:
(thru 6 games) 7th
(thru 9 games) 17th

Over the first 6 games, same performance this year as last year. What happened in the last 3 games? No key injuries on DL or at LB that would suddenly allow teams to run on us. It was the injury to Romo that took away our ability to control the ball offensively that made our run D look so bad. The truth is, the run D was never as good as it seemed, and it definitely isn't as bad as it seems now.

Same with our own running game on offense.

Romo made this team what it was last year, and the year before too.

 

[Rack]

Parcells wanted to build a team that controlled both sides of the LOS. It didn't happen.

Parcells?


Did Parcells trade away our best run stuffer?

No, he traded FOR our best run stuffer (Ferguson).


Don't act like that front 7 is Parcells' doing. The DEs, Ware, and Brady are his doing. That's it. Thomas, the NG, and Spencer/Ellis aren't on him.

Parcells has been gone 2 years now. It's time to blame the coaches that are screwing up. Might as well blame Jimmy Johnson and Tom Landry if you're gonna blame Parcells.



Really though, Ferguson was a Parcells guy and we're missing him more than anyone right now on defense. Ratliff would be playing a position better suited for him and we'd be stronger in the middle vs the run. Jerrah is a moron for trading Ferguson.

 

[percyhoward]

Don't act like that front 7 is Parcells' doing. The DEs, Ware, and Brady are his doing. That's it. Thomas, the NG, and Spencer/Ellis aren't on him.

I'm not bashing Parcells, I just mention him because you're looking at this from a Parcells-like perspective. You want us to be able to win the battle at the LOS, just like Parcells did. He didn't want to build a team that had to rely on the athleticism of a few key players. But as it turned out, that's exactly what we have. Blame whomever you want, but this team's fortunes are tied directly to Romo, Ware, Newman, and Owens.

Any team relies on its stars, but this team moreso. We can't sustain injuries as well as a team built the Parcells way--strong on offensive and defensive lines--would be able to. The important parts we have are not as interchangeable as they would be if DL and OL were strengths.

Anyway, Romo being out is why our run D suddenly looks so bad.

 

[JPM]

Parcells?


Did Parcells trade away our best run stuffer?

No, he traded FOR our best run stuffer (Ferguson).


Don't act like that front 7 is Parcells' doing. The DEs, Ware, and Brady are his doing. That's it. Thomas, the NG, and Spencer/Ellis aren't on him.

Parcells has been gone 2 years now. It's time to blame the coaches that are screwing up. Might as well blame Jimmy Johnson and Tom Landry if you're gonna blame Parcells.



Really though, Ferguson was a Parcells guy and we're missing him more than anyone right now on defense. Ratliff would be playing a position better suited for him and we'd be stronger in the middle vs the run. Jerrah is a moron for trading Ferguson.

And Tank Johnson is NOT a 3-4 DT, no way in hell.