NewyScruggs: Cowboys-Chargers Thoughts

[WoodysGirl]

Published August 11, 2008

Here’s my quick take on the Cowboys 31-17 loss to San Diego to open the preseason.

*Bruce Read’s special teams coverage is trash. I wonder how he kept his job after last year’s suspect performance.

Wade Phillips and Jerry Jones are blasting him.

This stat comes from the Star-T: Last year, the punt coverage unit ranked 29th in the NFL as it allowed 11.6 yards per return and one touchdown. The kickoff coverage unit allowed one touchdown and an average of 23 yards per return, the highest by a Cowboys’ team since 1983.

*The 1st team offense looks darn good. Tony Romo is going to have another big year if he can stay healthy.

*The offensive line is dominant again. Tony Sparano has left the Cowboys for the Dolphins, but Hudson Houck is just fine as the new/old offensive line coach.

*Great call by Jason Garrett to give Deon Anderson a goal line carry for a score. Teams have to know they better be ready for everything when they face the Cowboys offense in the red zone.

*Jason Witten, don’t laugh, has Hall of Fame potential. He is entering his prime and if he can stay healthy, he will have another All Pro season. He can block, catch, the kid is the ultimate tight end right now. Sorry Antonio Gates, you don’t block like Witten.

*Felix Jones is good. The rookie has a great change of pace that can keep defenses on their heels. He ripped off a 19-yard run on the second play and also had a 28-yard reception.

*Not worried about Pacman Jones. This is the NFL. You can not miss a year of time and expect to cover pro receivers out of the shoot. Chris Chambers beat him on a slant, but if you remember, Chambers is pretty good.

*Bobby Carpenter is still not playing like a first rounder. All that talk about his great camp didn’t show up. Sorry.

*Tashard Choice is a heck of a 4th round pick. This rookie from Georgia Tech is a good player. The Cowboys have their deepest backfield since the 1980’s.

*Danny Amendola has to realize this is the show. He has to protect the ball on punt returns, this ain’t Texas Tech.

*Kevin Burnett is solid. The linebacker is going to be a big player on 3rd downs because of his speed. He is better than Carpenter, but Burnett was not happy with his play.

*Patrick Crayton will make a lot of plays. He had a very good 2007, but people only remember is drop and failure to finish a route in the playoff loss to the Giants.

*Tank Johnson will have a good season along with Chris Canty. The Dallas D-Line has to stop the run and these are two of the main cogs.

 

[Stash]

Again?

How does Burnett somehow get a free pass for his lousy performance from some people?

 

[joseephuss]

*Jason Witten, don’t laugh, has Hall of Fame potential. He is entering his prime and if he can stay healthy, he will have another All Pro season. He can block, catch, the kid is the ultimate tight end right now. Sorry Antonio Gates, you don’t block like Witten.

Why would anyone laugh at that? It is obvious that Witten has the potential to be a HoFamer. He just has to keep playing at the same level for several more years. His yards per reception has gone up every single year he has been in the league. He also already owns the Cowboys' records for receptions and yards in a single season and for a career as a tight end. The next records are for TD receptions by a tight end.

Gates is on that same path to the HoF if he continues to play at the level he has been playing at the last few years.

 

[cowboys2233]

Again?

How does Burnett somehow get a free pass for his lousy performance from some people?

Anyone named Newy Scruggs has much bigger things to worry about.

 

[joseephuss]

Again?

How does Burnett somehow get a free pass for his lousy performance from some people?

Because he is not being judged solely on what he did on Saturday. He played well as a nickel linebacker last season. You have to consider that when you think about Burnett. That is his role. I think the coaches would be concerned if he had to be a full time linebacker, but they know he will do well in his role on the team. There are other players that did not do well on Saturday and unlike Burnett have not shown they can even fill a small role. Although in today's NFL, a nickel package LB is not a small role.

 

[Rampage]

that 28 yard reception by felix was great. the stupid homer charger commentator says "and he has nowhere to go" right when felix caught it than watched him run 28 yards right through the middle of the chargers D.

 

[AdamJT13]

Again?

How does Burnett somehow get a free pass for his lousy performance from some people?

He did have some good plays.

 

[BulletBob]

*The 1st team offense looks darn good. Tony Romo is going to have another big year if he can stay healthy.

*Jason Witten, don’t laugh, has Hall of Fame potential. He is entering his prime and if he can stay healthy, he will have another All Pro season. He can block, catch, the kid is the ultimate tight end right now. Sorry Antonio Gates, you don’t block like Witten.

Why on earth does any sports writer have to throw out qualifiers like this?

Aren't these clauses a rhetorical given?

What is Scruggs afraid of? If one of these guys gets hurt, is someone going to point to this article and say, "Hey, Newey, you stated in black-and-white that this guy was going to have a monster year, heh-heh"?

So, now he can point to his qualifiers and look like a genius?

Sorry, I'm in an inquisitive mood today.

 

[BAT]

Published August 11, 2008

*Bruce Read’s special teams coverage is trash. I wonder how he kept his job after last year’s suspect performance.

Wade Phillips and Jerry Jones are blasting him.

They are almost acting surprised. Many fans pointed to ST as the area that needed a COACHING upgrade at the end of last season, even when all the new coaches were being brought in. As I recall, Jerry mentioned many times that this coaching staff was all star calibre. For his sake, I hope he, or the coaches, didn't really believe that.

This stat comes from the Star-T: Last year, the punt coverage unit ranked 29th in the NFL as it allowed 11.6 yards per return and one touchdown. The kickoff coverage unit allowed one touchdown and an average of 23 yards per return, the highest by a Cowboys’ team since 1983.

The most damning evidence against Read.

*The offensive line is dominant again. Tony Sparano has left the Cowboys for the Dolphins, but Hudson Houck is just fine as the new/old offensive line coach.

All Dallas needs is another Houck type swing player and this OL has the potential to be as good the one's in the early 90's. There is not even ONE good swing OL on the depth chart. Free is not versatile enough right now (really can only play LT), Dallas needs another guy who can play ANY of the interior positions as well as the current starters. If Dallas can bring in a starting caliber OG, Kosier could be that swing_he would just need to work on his center skills. There was a time that the Dallas OL were almost required to play multiple positions, w/out missing a beat (Gesek, Gogan, Newton, Kennard, LA, etc.).


If Flo goes down, I can see Free handling LT, maybe. But if Columbo goes down, then either Bigg or Flo will have to move over. Berger, not Proctor, could probably fill for either Kosier or Gurode, short time. If Bigg goes down, there will be trouble.

 

[dbair1967]

Again?

How does Burnett somehow get a free pass for his lousy performance from some people?

he had a couple of good plays too...Burnett is a good player, he just needs to stay healthy for an entire season...he will probably get a big money deal after this season somewhere (maybe here)

David

 

[Stash]

Because he is not being judged solely on what he did on Saturday. He played well as a nickel linebacker last season. You have to consider that when you think about Burnett. That is his role. I think the coaches would be concerned if he had to be a full time linebacker, but they know he will do well in his role on the team. There are other players that did not do well on Saturday and unlike Burnett have not shown they can even fill a small role. Although in today's NFL, a nickel package LB is not a small role.

Huh?

The title of the article is "my quick take on the Cowboys 31-17 loss to San Diego to open the preseason"

Why would Burnett not be judged solely on what he did on Saturday?

It seems acceptable to bash Carpenter, but Burnett gets to slide?

Not to me.

In fact Carp played a better game than Burnett did and cleaned up several of his mistakes.

And if limited playing time is Burnett's 'excuse', how come the same limited playing time apparently holds no weight for Carpenter?

Looks to me to be one of two things, a bias against Carpenter or the guy didn't actually watch the game.

 

[joseephuss]

Huh?

The title of the article is "my quick take on the Cowboys 31-17 loss to San Diego to open the preseason"

Why would Burnett not be judged solely on what he did on Saturday?

It seems acceptable to bash Carpenter, but Burnett gets to slide?

Not to me.

In fact Carp played a better game than Burnett did and cleaned up several of his mistakes.

And if limited playing time is Burnett's 'excuse', how come the same limited playing time apparently holds no weight for Carpenter?

Looks to me to be one of two things, a bias against Carpenter or the guy didn't actually watch the game.

I didn't say anything about limited playing time.

Burnett is not a full time linebacker. He has been in Dallas for years now and shown that he is not a full time player. He is a specialty player. Those can be useful and productive. He has shown he can play well in the role of a nickel linebacker. He did that part well on Saturday night against the Chargers. He didn't do well when he played as an every down linebacker. I didn't expect him to play well when he has to play every down.

So, Burnett is fine if he only has to do what the Cowboys ask and expect of him. He won't do well if there are injuries and he has to play full time. It is pretty straight forward. He has limitations that we all knew about before Saturday night, but he also does well as a nickel LB. That is his niche. Carpenter has not found a niche yet. See the difference.

 

[Hoofbite]

*Jason Witten, don’t laugh, has Hall of Fame potential. He is entering his prime and if he can stay healthy, he will have another All Pro season. He can block, catch, the kid is the ultimate tight end right now. Sorry Antonio Gates, you don’t block like Witten.

Why would anyone laugh at that? It is obvious that Witten has the potential to be a HoFamer.

I'm wondering the same thing. As far as complete TEs go, Witten is 2nd only to Gonzo. I don't put Gates or Winslow ahead of Witten in terms of a pure TE because they don't block like Jason. Those other two are damn good players but they are just WRs for all intents and purposes.

I think if you were to give GMs around the league their choice of any TE in the league, Witten would have his name picked a lot. When your TE can block like a lineman, it does so much for the entire offense that it isn't even funny and the man has great hands and runs great routes.

Probably one of Bill's best picks. He may have sucked at picking linemen but he nailed some skill positions dead on.

I am not laughing at the possibility of Witten going to the HOF. He just turned 26. The only thing he needs is to maintain his level of play and health for another 6 or 7 years and hes in.

I feel the same way for Gates. If he can stay on the field and keep his play up, he will go in too.

*Bruce Read’s special teams coverage is trash. I wonder how he kept his job after last year’s suspect performance.

Wade Phillips and Jerry Jones are blasting him.

This stat comes from the Star-T: Last year, the punt coverage unit ranked 29th in the NFL as it allowed 11.6 yards per return and one touchdown. The kickoff coverage unit allowed one touchdown and an average of 23 yards per return, the highest by a Cowboys’ team since 1983.

I didn't realize things were that bad. People were all riled up when KD left but is there really much further to fall? I realize that roster spots are being determined by special teams performance but I would have liked to see Pac returning a punt or two and Felix returning a kick or two.

Heres my solution to the Special Teams problems. Kick Bruce to the curb and bring in Joe Avezzano and Bill Bates. If that combo couldn't get it done, nothing would.

*Felix Jones is good. The rookie has a great change of pace that can keep defenses on their heels. He ripped off a 19-yard run on the second play and also had a 28-yard reception.

*Tashard Choice is a heck of a 4th round pick. This rookie from Georgia Tech is a good player. The Cowboys have their deepest backfield since the 1980’s.

The RB situation right now almost has me wetting my pants. It is so much better than last years that it isn't even funny. I believe that if Dallas would have only been able to take Choice that he would provide more than Julius did last year. It is going to be awesome to watch teams take a pummeling from Barber to start the game, chase Felix for a little while and then just go back to getting smacked in the mouth by Barber again before Choice comes in and finishes them off.

*Not worried about Pacman Jones. This is the NFL. You can not miss a year of time and expect to cover pro receivers out of the shoot. Chris Chambers beat him on a slant, but if you remember, Chambers is pretty good.

You can't miss a year of time and then expect to do anything on par with everyone else. Mike Williams is out of the league because he missed a year. I don't expect to see Pacman in full stride until a good number of games has passed.

*Bobby Carpenter is still not playing like a first rounder. All that talk about his great camp didn’t show up. Sorry.

I've lost hope of Bobby playing up to his draft status. Not really a big deal. You win some, you lose some. Only thing that pisses me off is the nature of the pick as it seemed like a emotional decision more than anything else. If Bobby proves me wrong, so be it, I'll eat the crow but I just don't expect much out of the guy. As much as he has been moved around and as much as he has been just a warm body out there, I can't see him ever being anything more than a reserve player.

*Danny Amendola has to realize this is the show. He has to protect the ball on punt returns, this ain’t Texas Tech.

I think Danny still gets the 6th WR spot. Unless he screws up each and every preseason game, I think hes in. Hes a good route runner and hard worker. There is a spot for him as long as he learns from his mistakes. I think he tried to do to much and it cost him. Smart kid, hard worker, he'll learn and move on.

*Kevin Burnett is solid. The linebacker is going to be a big player on 3rd downs because of his speed. He is better than Carpenter, but Burnett was not happy with his play.

I didn't get to pay attention to much of the game outside of the 1st part but I read his blog and am really appreciative a guy who owns up to his mistakes. I think that is a key part to not making them again. Once you admit that you are playing like crap, its really hard to just sit back and let it happen. I think KB will bounce back soon.

*Patrick Crayton will make a lot of plays. He had a very good 2007, but people only remember is drop and failure to finish a route in the playoff loss to the Giants.

His little stutter route was a beauty. I didn't get a chance to say it during the game because I got busy but that play showed me a lot about Garrett. I remember watching some of the Pats plays last season and just thinking that the timing, design and execution of a couple (actually a lot) of their plays left the opposing defenses with absolutely no choice but to leave someone uncovered. That play was one of those plays. Just as Crayton paused, the RB was coming out of the backfield and drew the LB towards the sideline before Crayton continued on his route. It was so perfectly timed and executed that the LB had no chance. That is a play I want to see again and will be looking for when I watch the replay on my DVR.

 

[Rack]

He did have some good plays.

Not too long ago when I started playing semi-pro ball locally, the coach stuck me at OL (cuz we were really thin there). My first play in practice they had me trapping (from the LT spot) and I absolutely blew up the DT that came through.


I had no freakin' idea who I was supposed to block and even if I did I probably wouldn't of been able to find him. He just happened to run out in front of me and get blocked... on accident.


The sun shines on every dog's arse sometimes.



Kevin Burnett had a horrible game, despite having "some good plays".

 

[Stash]

I didn't say anything about limited playing time.

Sure sounds like it. Especially when you again say that this:

Burnett is not a full time linebacker.

He has been in Dallas for years now and shown that he is not a full time player. He is a specialty player. Those can be useful and productive. He has shown he can play well in the role of a nickel linebacker. He did that part well on Saturday night against the Chargers. He didn't do well when he played as an every down linebacker. I didn't expect him to play well when he has to play every down.

Carpenter isn't a full-time linebacker either. But he doesn't get the 'free pass' from some people that Burnett apparently does. The fact is that this was a post about Saturday's game - not a career retrospective and not about someone's 'role'. Burnett had a lousy night and deserves to be criticized. To see him get praise while Carp gets trashed shows blindness, bias, or both.

So, Burnett is fine if he only has to do what the Cowboys ask and expect of him. He won't do well if there are injuries and he has to play full time. It is pretty straight forward. He has limitations that we all knew about before Saturday night, but he also does well as a nickel LB. That is his niche. Carpenter has not found a niche yet. See the difference.

Sorry, I don't.

Again, this is about Saturday night's game.

So 'niches' aren't a factor.

 

[theogt]

Again?

How does Burnett somehow get a free pass for his lousy performance from some people?

No idea. Bobby outperformed him (though obviously his performance wasn't good either) and he gets ripped to shreds.

 

[Stash]

No idea. Bobby outperformed him (though obviously his performance wasn't good either) and he gets ripped to shreds.

That's exactly what I saw.

Neither guy was great, but it amazes me how only one guy seems to be getting ripped by Scruggs while the other guy somehow draws praise.

 

[Xy_Oldone]

I was reading somewhere that Carpenter led the team in takles Sat.

I do not know what everyone is complaining about. Scruggs probably did not watch the game too well. There was a lot more problems than Carp. Besides this was only one game and a pre-season game at that. No big deal.

 

[burmafrd]

You are wrong about carpenter being an emotional pick. At the time it was thought we needed another OLB and Carpenter was picked by most scouts to be the most ready LB left by our pick to play in the NFL. They were wrong but that happens. Bottom line is that it was a very logical pick.

 

[burmafrd]

In both Burnetts and Carpenters defense the D line playing in front of them stank it up bad.