Not Finishing

[Idgit]

Yes he is HC they lose it is on him and they win it is on him. Game against GB Cowboys came out flat and made too many mistakes and forced to go to the air more than normal some would call it making adjustments give the situation you are in and in doing it were able to get things tied in the last min. I tip my hat to Rodgers on making a big play down field to put them into FG range to win it. But to simply answer your question yet it falls on Garrett.

We actually ran it just a bit more often than we did in a typical game against GB in the playoffs. That's with being down 21-3 early.

I know it's not the heart of your posting, but we didn't come out flat in GB in my opinion. We scored on the opening drive, were driving to score on the 2nd drive before the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Butler. We just weren't able to slow down a white-hot Aaron Rodgers on defense until it was almost halftime.



Other than letting Lee get singled up way downfield after biting on the double-move on a free play, that's pretty much our regular defense from last year. Rodgers was fitting the ball into tight windows even when the coverage was there. Because he's the best.

As to the OP and not finishing, I definitely agree on the first drive. We settled for a FG when we were in position for a TD. We should have scored two or three different ways there.

The other drives, those were just drives that ended in FG range. It's not a case of not finishing. It's a case of 'the other guys get paid, too.'

As far as the blame goes, fans will always, always blame the play calls and give a pass to execution errors. I don't know why that is, but it's almost always the case. Instead of "no way should Dak have missed on that slant" it's "why didn't we run the ball in that situation." Conversely, and for obvious reasons, you also never see fans complaining about play calling when the plays work. Witten's PA TD yesterday, for example. Same principle as the earlier series. A little farther out (13 yard line, and not the 3), but we had a down to give and a chance to run time off the clock before turning the ball back over to the Giants to end the half. A run would have made sense there, but we threw it instead. Nobody complains, though, because it worked.

I'd go so far as to say that, had Dak just thrown a catchable slant to Dez, this entire thread wouldn't exist.

 

[jobberone]

RZ% is always huge just like Sc%, TO Diff, and pass defense diff.

 

[visionary]

Yes he is HC they lose it is on him and they win it is on him. Game against GB Cowboys came out flat and made too many mistakes and forced to go to the air more than normal some would call it making adjustments give the situation you are in and in doing it were able to get things tied in the last min. I tip my hat to Rodgers on making a big play down field to put them into FG range to win it. But to simply answer your question yet it falls on Garrett.

That is how I look at it as well
If the team plays well and wins, the HC should absolutely get credit (and Garrett should) but this should also work in reverse

 

[Fletch]

You totally miss the point. The thread is not about winning this game. It is about winning other games. So, the question, Sherlock, is can we win against better opponents if we continue to settle for 3 points instead of knocking em in for six. Get it? Probably not. You are a simple person. So let's go over this again. Yes, we won against a division opponent. Rah, rah, rah for us. This opponent was without its best offensive player and sports a gawd awful offensive line. If we play the same way against better opponents who actually have good offensive lines and players who are not hurt and they actually score points will we be able to win with field goals. That is the purpose of the thread. You see, Mr. Simpleton, it is not lame to extrapolate this performance and the lack of touch downs based upon lousy play calling on future games and wonder if we don't need a bit of wake up call. But no, you want us all to bathe in the glow of a game we really played poorly on offense. We had great field position all game and managed one touchdown. That won't get it done, Skippy. Now you get it??

Gotta love your combative name-calling. Riddle me this tough guy, what did you expect from game 1? Perfection? Why not let a few games play out before casting doubt after the first game? Playing the "what if" card after soundly beating a team that swept us last year doesn't hold much water, regardless if OBJ was playing or not.

With fans like yourself, it won't matter who we play because all our W's will have an asterisk beside it, right?

It's more fun to be a fan than a critic!

 

[Pokes12]

Gotta love your combative name-calling. Riddle me this tough guy, what did you expect from game 1? Perfection? Why not let a few games play out before casting doubt after the first game? Playing the "what if" card after soundly beating a team that swept us last year doesn't hold much water, regardless if OBJ was playing or not.

With fans like yourself, it won't matter who we play because all our W's will have an asterisk beside it, right?

It's more fun to be a fan than a critic!

Hey, Fletch not for nothing but you started. I believe my analysis is neither critical or a sign of infidelity to my being a fan. Once again, I am not putting an asterisk on the win. It was a legitimate 16 point beat down of the Gints. My question is reasonable, will our inability to score TDs potentially hurt us in future games? Please relax. It is not un-fan like to question the offenses stalling around the red zone. If you had played football you might have known that teams try to improve performance over the course of the season. They do not rest on their laurels and bathe in the glow of one game. I guess we should follow your lead and let it go. Let the offense spend the rest of the year kicking field goals and trying to win with defense. Be real, man and get with the program. This is the NFL, get better or perish.

 

[plasticman]

Not finishing?

They were playing last year's #2 defense.

Every single Cowboys drive ended up in Giants territory.

Every single Cowboys drive got at least one first down.

That will not happen to another Giants opponent this season.

 

[Pokes12]

Not finishing?

They were playing last year's #2 defense.

Every single Cowboys drive ended up in Giants territory.

Every single Cowboys drive got at least one first down.

That will not happen to another Giants opponent this season.

That is what you call finishing? They do not award any points for any of that. You do get the concept that winning requires scoring points?

 

[the_h0wey]

In the Giants game, our beloved Cowboys scored one touchdown and four field goals. The obvious negative in that scenario is that our offense is not finishing drives with 6s instead we are getting 3s. This will kill us when we play Green Bay, Seattle and the rest of the NFC East. We need to be more efficient once we get in the red zone and stop being Redball cute. He has always had a penchant for throwing the ball when he gets in the ten yard and in zone. Earth to Redball, we have a message for you. We have the best power back in the NFL. Use him. The fade route in the corner to Dez is not working. Their defenses know they are coming. Try running the ball. Here is another bulletin, Red. We also have the best O Line in the league. What part of that equation do you not get? Red, you have been a glaring impediment in every game we play. You are the worst, in game, coach the Cowboys have had. You need to step back and let smarter play callers run the offense. Please do not ruin this season and our run to the SB with your predilections to being too cute.

I couldn't agree more. If there is something to take out of this game and improve on its definitely our red zone efficiency. Run the ball 3 times in a row if you must when you are on the 5 or closer!!!!!

 

[Pokes12]

I couldn't agree more. If there is something to take out of this game and improve on its definitely our red zone efficiency. Run the ball 3 times in a row if you must when you are on the 5 or closer!!!!!

You are a gentleman and a scholar.

 

[Fletch]

Hey, Fletch not for nothing but you started. I believe my analysis is neither critical or a sign of infidelity to my being a fan. Once again, I am not putting an asterisk on the win. It was a legitimate 16 point beat down of the Gints. My question is reasonable, will our inability to score TDs potentially hurt us in future games? Please relax. It is not un-fan like to question the offenses stalling around the red zone. If you had played football you might have known that teams try to improve performance over the course of the season. They do not rest on their laurels and bathe in the glow of one game. I guess we should follow your lead and let it go. Let the offense spend the rest of the year kicking field goals and trying to win with defense. Be real, man and get with the program. This is the NFL, get better or perish.

I get it. I too believe we have a lot to work on. FGs mean you left points on the field. But I also believe the team will get better on both sides of the ball as the season rolls along. One game does not tell the entire story.

Patience.

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

That is what you call finishing? They do not award any points for any of that. You do get the concept that winning requires scoring points?

2nd to last Giants drive the Cowboys pick the ball off with near 8 minutes.
Our last drive we run the ball 8 times, get four first downs, make the Giants use 2 timeouts, get to the 2 minute warning, milk 6 minutes off the clock, and score putting us up 3 scores.

That is finishing a game.

 

[Risen Star]

It's hard to finish when your QB can't throw a 5 yard slant to a wide open receiver.

 

[Pokes12]

I get it. I too believe we have a lot to work on. FGs mean you left points on the field. But I also believe the team will get better on both sides of the ball as the season rolls along. One game does not tell the entire story.

Patience.

Agreed!! Peace, Brother.

 

[Pokes12]

2nd to last Giants drive the Cowboys pick the ball off with near 8 minutes.
Our last drive we run the ball 8 times, get four first downs, make the Giants use 2 timeouts, get to the 2 minute warning, milk 6 minutes off the clock, and score putting us up 3 scores.

That is finishing a game.

Totally agree. That was awesome. It was fun watching the blood run out of the life of the Giants as we marched down the field and sucked up the time and their timeouts. A thing of beauty.

 

[Pokes12]

It's hard to finish when your QB can't throw a 5 yard slant to a wide open receiver.

Ouch!!

 

[Shake_Tiller]

You totally miss the point. The thread is not about winning this game. It is about winning other games. So, the question, Sherlock, is can we win against better opponents if we continue to settle for 3 points instead of knocking em in for six. Get it? Probably not. You are a simple person. So let's go over this again. Yes, we won against a division opponent. Rah, rah, rah for us. This opponent was without its best offensive player and sports a gawd awful offensive line. If we play the same way against better opponents who actually have good offensive lines and players who are not hurt and they actually score points will we be able to win with field goals. That is the purpose of the thread. You see, Mr. Simpleton, it is not lame to extrapolate this performance and the lack of touch downs based upon lousy play calling on future games and wonder if we don't need a bit of wake up call. But no, you want us all to bathe in the glow of a game we really played poorly on offense. We had great field position all game and managed one touchdown. That won't get it done, Skippy. Now you get it??

Skippy??? Skippy???

 

[waving monkey]

Gotta love your combative name-calling. Riddle me this tough guy, what did you expect from game 1? Perfection? Why not let a few games play out before casting doubt after the first game? Playing the "what if" card after soundly beating a team that swept us last year doesn't hold much water, regardless if OBJ was playing or not.

With fans like yourself, it won't matter who we play because all our W's will have an asterisk beside it, right?

It's more fun to be a fan than a critic!

[It's more fun to be a fan than a critic!] should be a Zone motto

 

[plasticman]

That is what you call finishing? They do not award any points for any of that. You do get the concept that winning requires scoring points?

Actually yes, I am familiar with that.

However, you seem to have a problem understanding the relationship between scoring and winning.

Let me fill you in:

There is not a specific scoring goal that has been set prior to the game, say for example, 40 points.

You only have to score more points than your opponent.

Here is the important part:

Let us say that the circumstances dictate a conservative gameplan. Perhaps you are playing a difficult division opponent. Or perhaps it is openig day and you recognize the fact that you have a young team with good, but new changes. The circumstances might even involve some outside distraction requiring more focus on execution without getting cute.

Hey, you never know, it could even involve all three of these type circumstances.

So, anyway, in addition to this conservative plan, you have discovered that your defense isn't half bad so long as you can control the clock and add incremental points. One additional requirement is that you don't get behind. Let's suppose that you're a pretty intelligent coach so you know everything can be turned upside down with some ill-timed turnovers.

Really, all you want to do is get out of that stadium with any kind of a win. you can work on quality as the season progresses.

So you do the right thing. You don't put any of the really cool but riskier plays in the gameplan. You don't have to. You tell your qb to go for those boring low risk plays. They might not get you consistantly in the endzone but, hey, you got the most accurate kicker in the league. Why risk it?

You tell your qb, if it isn't there , dont do it. Even if it is there, err on the side of caution, the first priority isn't scoring TD's, it's avoiding crippling turnovers. If you just methodically and consistently move the ball, you could score, but at the very least they can't as the clock ticks the game away.

You claim the Cowboys had trouble finishing but the Giants had two drives that started in the 4th quarter, the first one lasted 38 seconds on the clock, the 2nd one lasted a minute and 55 seconds producing zero points. The Cowboys countered with two 4th quarter drives that combined for more than ten minutes and enough points to insure that even two TD's with 2 point conversions wouldn't be enough to give the Giants victory. How in the world is that not finishing a game?

Pay attention, this is the punch line:

That particular gameplan doesn't mean your qb can't win the game for you by producing big plays if needed. In fact, Dak has demonstrated that he is one of the few guys that can do it. But why risk it? Save his heroics for a game when you will need all that he is and don't worry....he will produce when he has to....just lke he did all of last season, every time the experts were waiting for a game to be too big for him. They are still waiting.

One more thing:

You don't have to "finish" something your opponent could never start.

The Cowboys won because they deprived the Giants of opportunity by eating the clock. They did that by consistently driving the ball down the field, hence my reference to the end of each drive and the first downs They did not give away any of those signature cheap TD's that typically give new life to an opponent. .

Not giving away cheap TD's is far better than scoring to even up the cheap TD you gave away.

 

[SilverStarCowboy]

Other teams don't have Snacks Harrison at DT. Fred and Martin struggle with Snacks in the run game more than any other player.

They struggle with the size of DLs more than the quickness....IMhumbleO

 

[robbieruff]

In the Giants game, our beloved Cowboys scored one touchdown and four field goals. The obvious negative in that scenario is that our offense is not finishing drives with 6s instead we are getting 3s. This will kill us when we play Green Bay, Seattle and the rest of the NFC East. We need to be more efficient once we get in the red zone and stop being Redball cute. He has always had a penchant for throwing the ball when he gets in the ten yard and in zone. Earth to Redball, we have a message for you. We have the best power back in the NFL. Use him. The fade route in the corner to Dez is not working. Their defenses know they are coming. Try running the ball. Here is another bulletin, Red. We also have the best O Line in the league. What part of that equation do you not get? Red, you have been a glaring impediment in every game we play. You are the worst, in game, coach the Cowboys have had. You need to step back and let smarter play callers run the offense. Please do not ruin this season and our run to the SB with your predilections to being too cute.

Our redzone efficiency was among the best in the league last year...we missed some easy pitch and catch opportunities to score TD's yesterday that was all on us and had nothing to do with the Giants' defense...I like the odds of us improving in this area in the weeks ahead given the dominance of our Oline. At this point, this isn't a worry for me.