jday
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The following is most likely a retread of topics already discussed, but nevertheless, I need to get this out of my head.
Disclaimer: I am a realist with slight homer tendencies. For instance, I picked the Cowboys to win in Giants-embarrassing fashion, pointing to all of the opportunities for exploitation on both sides of the ball. Maybe I got a little carried away in my assessment, but nevertheless, at least I called the win. No big deal I know. But the reason I point all of that out is to also say I'm not blind. What we saw last night wasn't what I'd call a pretty win, though, there were some very pretty moments. The following, however, is a discussion of both the pretty and the ugly. So, if you can't handle reading criticism directed towards the Cowboys, this may not be the thread for you.
Yes, it wasn't the prettiest game, but you have to love the result. I think the most encouraging sign of the day was seeing Jason Garrett make a midhalf adjustment, throw his game plan out, and let Romo go to work on the Giants depleted secondary. I, too, felt that despite the Giants injury woes, the Cowboys should focus on the run. Admittedly, I wasn't crazy about the actual plays he was calling and felt like he missed on a few opportunities, particularly on his first attempts at a 4th down conversion; though I'm not sure if that was Garrett's fault for the play called or Romo's fault for not making an adjustment to the play, considering the defenses alignment. Either way, if you are going to try and do that, you may as well let Romo dive forward because the exchange from QB to fullback gave the Giants too much time to get penetration...and let's face it, in those types of situations with our for-the-moment make-shift OL versus the Giants DL, I pick the DL to win that battle, at least, 8 out of 10 times.
The obscure:
Kevin Ogletree. Obviously, his play stood out, but his play is not what stood out the most for me. Actually, it was his postgame interview. You know a player is spending alot of time with his QB when he starts using his mannerism's like, "you know" and "I think." If you were too busy high-fiving and taking shots to hear the interview, in short, when asked WHAT he attributed his performance to, the first words out of his mouth was, "Work!"
Dan Bailey. Okay, so he only contributed 3 points. But what stood out to me is the fact that I fast forwarded through all of the extra points and 3 point attempts with out thinking about it at first. The unconscious side of I my brain told my finger to push because it was convinced Bailey would not miss. It's been a long time since my finger and brain have had that conversation.
Tyron Smith. There is no easy way to say it; he got owned a few times last night by JPP. But what stood out to me is he never gives up on a play. Obviously, his hussle to bring down Boley saving what would have been a touchdown was clutch. But there was another instance that stood out to me. JPP had just swatted him out of the way, going to the outside, which actually put JPP out of play, considering the draw the was looked to be designed to go between the G and RT. Rather than sitting there looking confused as to what to do next, Tyrone showed excellent situational awareness by moving on to the next level, knowing that JPP would not be able to get to the tackle. Very heads up play.
Chris Jones. I admit it. I was a little worried about the guy during preseason. Granted, he needs to work on putting more height as opposed to distance in his punts, so he doesn't give returns room to work with, but still I came away feeling a little bit better about that whole operation.
Tony Romo. He was pretty clutch last night; nothing obscure about that. But the play that stood out the most to me is what he did to the outside rusher. Some might think he just felt the pressure and did his, now infamous, Romo spin, to avoid the big hit and create more time for his receivers to get open. I think Romo knew he was coming prior to taking the snap, audibled the line coverage to let him come free and after taking the snap timed his spin out perfectly. That is what separates Romo from other QB's; his ability to do things just like that.
Demarco Murray. Believe it or not, in my thread Travesties, Tragedies, and Trailer Trash, I predicted he would run for between 120 and 140 for an average of 4 to 6 yards per carry. I also set the over/under of interceptions of Eli Manning at 2, predicted a pick 6, and, as stated previously, felt the Cowboys would embarrass the Giants, so I'm not exactly clairvoyant. But what stood out to me is the fact that after running down the field for 48 yards, he just simply ran out of gas. It was a fantastic run and it is the play I point to that really opened up the running game. But had he not ran of gas, that probably would have been a touchdown. I'm not complaining; like I said that run was key to the Cowboys winnnig the game. I'm just wondering a little about his conditioning. I'll admit, it's a very small blemish on an otherwise great performance, so please save your Murray defense.
Morris Claiborne. For what he was asked to do last night, he did a fantastic job. But he is still playing reactionary, and there were a few instances where the game very well could have gone alot differently if Eli had thrown an accurate pass. Now, rather or not that was Claiborne's fault or the Safeties, I can't say because I don't know enough about defenses to say exactly what type of coverage they were playing. But if I see Claiborne a few steps behind and the Safety cheating towards the middle, that tells me Claiborne was likely at fault. But, I still say, he played alot better than what I expected and, furthermore, I expect as the season progresses so will his ability to read offenses and be proactive in his play.
Ryan Cook. I was very impressed with Cook last night. While I did not watch him exclusively, there were a few instances where he seemed as though he was doing a better job of holding up the walls of Romo's pocket than anyone. There was one particular play, where the Giants even tried to pick on him with JPP and JPP got stopped cold. That coupled with no botched snaps, made for a great overall performance.
The Secondary. I can't really point to just one person. Everyone back there had good and bad moments. But, as Ware pointed out in his postgame interview, you could tell Eli was getting extremely frustrated with what Rob Ryan was throwing at him. I think there were only a few occasions where Eli was able to go to his 1st read. The majority of the game, he was really having to shuffle around in the pocket to give himself time to get to his 3rd and 4th option. That is a very good sign for this defense.
Penalties. The presnap penalties while ugly, I can kind of understand in the environment. The crowd was doing an excellent job of making things difficult for Romo to communicate. The penalty against Hatcher was debatable, but either way, I'm glad Hatcher pushed him down. In boxing, working the gut pay's dividends later in the match, because you take away your opponents legs and ability to put power behind their punches. In football, I'd say it is equally important to hit the opposing QB, even if it doesn't result in an interception or sack. The constant picking himself up of the turf will pay dividends late in the game both in his physical ability to mount a come back and, I think more importantly, it will have significant impact on his psyche and confidents to do so.
Alright, my lunch is over, so that's all I have time for now. Please discuss and I will check in periodically.
Disclaimer: I am a realist with slight homer tendencies. For instance, I picked the Cowboys to win in Giants-embarrassing fashion, pointing to all of the opportunities for exploitation on both sides of the ball. Maybe I got a little carried away in my assessment, but nevertheless, at least I called the win. No big deal I know. But the reason I point all of that out is to also say I'm not blind. What we saw last night wasn't what I'd call a pretty win, though, there were some very pretty moments. The following, however, is a discussion of both the pretty and the ugly. So, if you can't handle reading criticism directed towards the Cowboys, this may not be the thread for you.
Yes, it wasn't the prettiest game, but you have to love the result. I think the most encouraging sign of the day was seeing Jason Garrett make a midhalf adjustment, throw his game plan out, and let Romo go to work on the Giants depleted secondary. I, too, felt that despite the Giants injury woes, the Cowboys should focus on the run. Admittedly, I wasn't crazy about the actual plays he was calling and felt like he missed on a few opportunities, particularly on his first attempts at a 4th down conversion; though I'm not sure if that was Garrett's fault for the play called or Romo's fault for not making an adjustment to the play, considering the defenses alignment. Either way, if you are going to try and do that, you may as well let Romo dive forward because the exchange from QB to fullback gave the Giants too much time to get penetration...and let's face it, in those types of situations with our for-the-moment make-shift OL versus the Giants DL, I pick the DL to win that battle, at least, 8 out of 10 times.
The obscure:
Kevin Ogletree. Obviously, his play stood out, but his play is not what stood out the most for me. Actually, it was his postgame interview. You know a player is spending alot of time with his QB when he starts using his mannerism's like, "you know" and "I think." If you were too busy high-fiving and taking shots to hear the interview, in short, when asked WHAT he attributed his performance to, the first words out of his mouth was, "Work!"
Dan Bailey. Okay, so he only contributed 3 points. But what stood out to me is the fact that I fast forwarded through all of the extra points and 3 point attempts with out thinking about it at first. The unconscious side of I my brain told my finger to push because it was convinced Bailey would not miss. It's been a long time since my finger and brain have had that conversation.
Tyron Smith. There is no easy way to say it; he got owned a few times last night by JPP. But what stood out to me is he never gives up on a play. Obviously, his hussle to bring down Boley saving what would have been a touchdown was clutch. But there was another instance that stood out to me. JPP had just swatted him out of the way, going to the outside, which actually put JPP out of play, considering the draw the was looked to be designed to go between the G and RT. Rather than sitting there looking confused as to what to do next, Tyrone showed excellent situational awareness by moving on to the next level, knowing that JPP would not be able to get to the tackle. Very heads up play.
Chris Jones. I admit it. I was a little worried about the guy during preseason. Granted, he needs to work on putting more height as opposed to distance in his punts, so he doesn't give returns room to work with, but still I came away feeling a little bit better about that whole operation.
Tony Romo. He was pretty clutch last night; nothing obscure about that. But the play that stood out the most to me is what he did to the outside rusher. Some might think he just felt the pressure and did his, now infamous, Romo spin, to avoid the big hit and create more time for his receivers to get open. I think Romo knew he was coming prior to taking the snap, audibled the line coverage to let him come free and after taking the snap timed his spin out perfectly. That is what separates Romo from other QB's; his ability to do things just like that.
Demarco Murray. Believe it or not, in my thread Travesties, Tragedies, and Trailer Trash, I predicted he would run for between 120 and 140 for an average of 4 to 6 yards per carry. I also set the over/under of interceptions of Eli Manning at 2, predicted a pick 6, and, as stated previously, felt the Cowboys would embarrass the Giants, so I'm not exactly clairvoyant. But what stood out to me is the fact that after running down the field for 48 yards, he just simply ran out of gas. It was a fantastic run and it is the play I point to that really opened up the running game. But had he not ran of gas, that probably would have been a touchdown. I'm not complaining; like I said that run was key to the Cowboys winnnig the game. I'm just wondering a little about his conditioning. I'll admit, it's a very small blemish on an otherwise great performance, so please save your Murray defense.
Morris Claiborne. For what he was asked to do last night, he did a fantastic job. But he is still playing reactionary, and there were a few instances where the game very well could have gone alot differently if Eli had thrown an accurate pass. Now, rather or not that was Claiborne's fault or the Safeties, I can't say because I don't know enough about defenses to say exactly what type of coverage they were playing. But if I see Claiborne a few steps behind and the Safety cheating towards the middle, that tells me Claiborne was likely at fault. But, I still say, he played alot better than what I expected and, furthermore, I expect as the season progresses so will his ability to read offenses and be proactive in his play.
Ryan Cook. I was very impressed with Cook last night. While I did not watch him exclusively, there were a few instances where he seemed as though he was doing a better job of holding up the walls of Romo's pocket than anyone. There was one particular play, where the Giants even tried to pick on him with JPP and JPP got stopped cold. That coupled with no botched snaps, made for a great overall performance.
The Secondary. I can't really point to just one person. Everyone back there had good and bad moments. But, as Ware pointed out in his postgame interview, you could tell Eli was getting extremely frustrated with what Rob Ryan was throwing at him. I think there were only a few occasions where Eli was able to go to his 1st read. The majority of the game, he was really having to shuffle around in the pocket to give himself time to get to his 3rd and 4th option. That is a very good sign for this defense.
Penalties. The presnap penalties while ugly, I can kind of understand in the environment. The crowd was doing an excellent job of making things difficult for Romo to communicate. The penalty against Hatcher was debatable, but either way, I'm glad Hatcher pushed him down. In boxing, working the gut pay's dividends later in the match, because you take away your opponents legs and ability to put power behind their punches. In football, I'd say it is equally important to hit the opposing QB, even if it doesn't result in an interception or sack. The constant picking himself up of the turf will pay dividends late in the game both in his physical ability to mount a come back and, I think more importantly, it will have significant impact on his psyche and confidents to do so.
Alright, my lunch is over, so that's all I have time for now. Please discuss and I will check in periodically.
