Only two things concern me

[Biggems]

1. INJURIES....Our TEs and OL are dropping like flies. Most of our rookies have been hurt. Spears is hurt. I hate em....aside from Phillips none of them look too serious, thank goodness. Hopefully we will be almost 100% come Week 1.

2. NO RUNNING GAME....I know the offense is vanilla, but that is no excuse for such a horrid running game. Our OL is weak. There is no excuse for not being able to fire of the ball and merely put a block on your man, since the defense is vanilla as well. If anything, there should be a ton of holes to run through since the games don't count. The rushing game is more about attitude than anything.....and our OL blocks like they are at an English afternoon tea party, instead of like they are in the middle of a football game. If they continue to block like a bunch of female dogs, it is going to be a very long season.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

1. INJURIES....Our TEs and OL are dropping like flies. Most of our rookies have been hurt. Spears is hurt. I hate em....aside from Phillips none of them look too serious, thank goodness. Hopefully we will be almost 100% come Week 1.

2. NO RUNNING GAME....I know the offense is vanilla, but that is no excuse for such a horrid running game. Our OL is weak. There is no excuse for not being able to fire of the ball and merely put a block on your man, since the defense is vanilla as well. If anything, there should be a ton of holes to run through since the games don't count. The rushing game is more about attitude than anything.....and our OL blocks like they are at an English afternoon tea party, instead of like they are in the middle of a football game. If they continue to block like a bunch of female dogs, it is going to be a very long season.

Just because OUR team has been very vanilla, it doesn't mean the other teams are vanilla. San Diego and Houston brought 5 and 6 rushers multiple times. The TD route that Jacoby Jones caught should never have been run....that is the kind of play you keep for the regular season.

 

[KJJ]

Only two things concern me the offense and the defense.

 

[KJJ]

I wonder if Wade keeping everything very vanilla has anything to do with his diet?

 

[Galian Beast]

we've hardly even run the ball... we're 29th in the league in rushing attempts per game...

 

[KJJ]

we've hardly even run the ball... we're 29th in the league in rushing attempts per game...

We're hardly running it because our backs are having trouble gaining positive yardage. Barber has been taking a loss almost every other carry which puts us in a hole forcing us to throw. MB's averaging 1.9 this preseason. He can't get anything between the tackles and when we toss out to him he gets stopped for a loss because he can't get to the outside. Our OL is getting mauled from all angles. Felix hasn't faired much better. Romo won't last the season if he has to put the ball up 30-plus times every week. From what I've seen this preseason he's going to suffer a number of strip sacks if our OL doesn't start stepping up.

 

[chuffly]

We're hardly running it because our backs are having trouble gaining positive yardage. Barber has been taking a loss almost every other carry which puts us in a hole forcing us to throw. MB's averaging 1.9 this preseason. He can't get anything between the tackles and when we toss out to him he gets stopped for a loss because he can't get to the outside. Our OL is getting mauled from all angles. Felix hasn't faired much better. Romo won't last the season if he has to put the ball up 30-plus times every week. From what I've seen this preseason he's going to suffer a number of strip sacks if our OL doesn't start stepping up.

Yeah, I get the feeling our running game is a sign of just how bad the line has been.

 

[Idgit]

We're hardly running it because our backs are having trouble gaining positive yardage. Barber has been taking a loss almost every other carry which puts us in a hole forcing us to throw. MB's averaging 1.9 this preseason. He can't get anything between the tackles and when we toss out to him he gets stopped for a loss because he can't get to the outside. Our OL is getting mauled from all angles. Felix hasn't faired much better. Romo won't last the season if he has to put the ball up 30-plus times every week. From what I've seen this preseason he's going to suffer a number of strip sacks if our OL doesn't start stepping up.

Is the regular season just like opening a new Christmas present for you every year, or what?

 

[KJJ]

Is the regular season just like opening a new Christmas present for you every year, or what?

The regular season is like opening a Christmas present for every football fan we all look forward to it but there's no point trying to act optimistic after what we've been seeing this preseason. This team is suppose to be a SB contender and they've looked anything but especially in what was suppose to be a dress rehearsal Saturday night. The Cowboys have gotten worse every week since the HOF game. Even jolly old Wade admitted he was concerned after Saturday nights dreadful performance and the ever optimistic Jerry didn't exactly sound beaming with confidence himself over what he's been seeing from the OL and running game the entire preseason. You could see it in Romo's eyes after the game the concern he's feeling.

He's going to have no chance of being successful if the OL doesn't start protecting him and opening up some lanes for our RB's. The Cowboys are looking so out of synch they're going to have to risk Dez and our starters Thursday to try and get something going to gain some confidence heading into Washington. Even you would have to admit if the team continues to play this way and the OL doesn't perform alot better than what we've been seeing we're probably not going to enjoy the present we're going to receive opening day.

 

[TheCount]

Nah. We're not run blocking on purpose, its the preseason. We are saving the run blocking for the regular season.

 

[Stautner]

Just because OUR team has been very vanilla, it doesn't mean the other teams are vanilla. San Diego and Houston brought 5 and 6 rushers multiple times. The TD route that Jacoby Jones caught should never have been run....that is the kind of play you keep for the regular season.

Oh? You think that is a super secret route that Jones ran, and one of just a couple of super secret plays the Texans have in their pockets?

Come on folks. Every team has the plays you see in preseason, whether the vanilla ones, or a little more intricate patterns. Hell, the Texans may not use that particular pattern again until Week 4, and the fact they ran it Saturday will be a distant memory. Or they may run it in Week 1 when they see a tendency in the opposing defense that would make it an effecitive call.

I don't get how people seem to think so much hinges on these plays that must be kept secret from the world, and that without these secret plays it renders our offense powerless to run the basic plays that will have to be relied on most of the time.

 

[YosemiteSam]

The only thing that really concerns me right now are the three spots in the middle of the offensive line. (Holland, Gurode, Davis)

If some how they can stabilize those three positions, I think the Cowboys will be back on track and win a lot of games.

 

[Idgit]

The regular season is like opening a Christmas present for every football fan we all look forward to it but there's no point trying to act optimistic after what we've been seeing this preseason. This team is suppose to be a SB contender and they've looked anything but especially in what was suppose to be a dress rehearsal Saturday night. The Cowboys have gotten worse every week since the HOF game. Even jolly old Wade admitted he was concerned after Saturday nights dreadful performance and the ever optimistic Jerry didn't exactly sound beaming with confidence himself over what he's been seeing from the OL and running game the entire preseason. You could see it in Romo's eyes after the game the concern he's feeling.

He's going to have no chance of being successful if the OL doesn't start protecting him and opening up some lanes for our RB's. The Cowboys are looking so out of synch they're going to have to risk Dez and our starters Thursday to try and get something going to gain some confidence heading into Washington. Even you would have to admit if the team continues to play this way and the OL doesn't perform alot better than what we've been seeing we're probably not going to enjoy the present we're going to receive opening day.

Sure, I'd admit it. I've also seen enough preseasons come and go to realize that the way we're playing now is not an indication of how we'll play in the regular season. It's not an indication of anything. Good play in the preseason can mean good or bad play in the regular season. Bad play in the preseason can mean good or bad play in the regular season. There's just not any connection between how a team plays when the games don't count and how they play when they do.

If you watched the HOU game, it was screamingly obvious that we weren't running any risks of exposing *anything* prior to the regular season meeting. Who cares about the gaffes? Whatever Cowboy fans may think, this is a fairly well-coached team. There won't be problems with RBs missing pitches when the bullets start flying.

 

[Stautner]

Sure, I'd admit it. I've also seen enough preseasons come and go to realize that the way we're playing now is not an indication of how we'll play in the regular season. It's not an indication of anything. Good play in the preseason can mean good or bad play in the regular season. Bad play in the preseason can mean good or bad play in the regular season. There's just not any connection between how a team plays when the games don't count and how they play when they do.

If you watched the HOU game, it was screamingly obvious that we weren't running any risks of exposing *anything* prior to the regular season meeting. Who cares about the gaffes? Whatever Cowboy fans may think, this is a fairly well-coached team. There won't be problems with RBs missing pitches when the bullets start flying.

I'm not concerned about the missed pitch. but I am concerned that there have been almost no signs of life. Sure we shouldn't expect too much in the preseason, but we normally will at least see some sparks and some hints of what positive things might be coming, especially in the game that was supposed to be the "dress rehearsal" for the offense. Why expose your starters to possible injury over most of 3 quarters if the idea wasn't to see them start to gel?

 

[Idgit]

I'm not concerned about the missed pitch. but I am concerned that there have been almost no signs of life. Sure we shouldn't expect too much in the preseason, but we normally will at least see some sparks and some hints of what positive things might be coming, especially in the game that was supposed to be the "dress rehearsal" for the offense. Why expose your starters to possible injury over most of 3 quarters if the idea wasn't to see them start to gel?

Really? It's just that it happens every off season. Fans get upset at how bad their teams look, and then week one comes along and things look incredibly different. Not just with the Cowboys. Betting games in week one is the hardest week betting in the year, because there are always 3-4 teams who are much better than people expected them to be, and 3-4 who are much worse, and the preseason isn't any helpful indicator of who's good or who's bad.

I have concerns about the Cowboys, sure. But preseason doesn't color my opinions one way or another.

Coaches play their players to get them used to game tempo, and, sure, they'd like to see them play well, but when you're playing a single coverage all night, barely blitzing and trying not to show anything for a week 3 rematch, you're playing with a hand tied behind your back. It shouldn't be surprising that they got spanked. Personally, I think Wade should have played the starters longer last week and then rested them against the Texans, but playing them and sandbagging it is ok with me, too.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

There's a reason why rookies always say they're surprised at the speed of the NFL game in preseason... And then surprised again when they see the speed of a real game.

 

[Stautner]

Really? It's just that it happens every off season. Fans get upset at how bad their teams look, and then week one comes along and things look incredibly different. Not just with the Cowboys. Betting games in week one is the hardest week betting in the year, because there are always 3-4 teams who are much better than people expected them to be, and 3-4 who are much worse, and the preseason isn't any helpful indicator of who's good or who's bad.

I have concerns about the Cowboys, sure. But preseason doesn't color my opinions one way or another.

Coaches play their players to get them used to game tempo, and, sure, they'd like to see them play well, but when you're playing a single coverage all night, barely blitzing and trying not to show anything for a week 3 rematch, you're playing with a hand tied behind your back. It shouldn't be surprising that they got spanked. Personally, I think Wade should have played the starters longer last week and then rested them against the Texans, but playing them and sandbagging it is ok with me, too.

Preseason doesn't normally color my thoughts either, but we usually see some signs of life. Our 1st team QB usually has si=ome time to throw. Typically over the course of 4 preseason games some of our RB's make a showing.

Like I said, this one wasn't supposed to be the typical 2 series and out preseason game. Typically when playing starters the bulk of a preseason game there are at least some signs of life. I wasn't looking for them to steamroll anyone, but at least some vague hint of a running game. This game was intended to e the one where things started to gel a bit, and there wasn't even a remote hint of that.

 

[Idgit]

Preseason doesn't normally color my thoughts either, but we usually see some signs of life. Our 1st team QB usually has si=ome time to throw. Typically over the course of 4 preseason games some of our RB's make a showing.

Like I said, this one wasn't supposed to be the typical 2 series and out preseason game. Typically when playing starters the bulk of a preseason game there are at least some signs of life. I wasn't looking for them to steamroll anyone, but at least some vague hint of a running game. This game was intended to e the one where things started to gel a bit, and there wasn't even a remote hint of that.

Maybe. We played our 1's a lot, no doubt about it. And we looked horrible.
I think it was a weird game to have for a dress rehearsal because we're playing the Texans again so soon. We really looked more like we were srimmaging out there.

I could have lived without the gaffe's and miscues, but I still don't think it's going to matter at all come WAS. Let's hope I'm right.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

Oh? You think that is a super secret route that Jones ran, and one of just a couple of super secret plays the Texans have in their pockets?

Come on folks. Every team has the plays you see in preseason, whether the vanilla ones, or a little more intricate patterns. Hell, the Texans may not use that particular pattern again until Week 4, and the fact they ran it Saturday will be a distant memory. Or they may run it in Week 1 when they see a tendency in the opposing defense that would make it an effecitive call.

I don't get how people seem to think so much hinges on these plays that must be kept secret from the world, and that without these secret plays it renders our offense powerless to run the basic plays that will have to be relied on most of the time.

Is it a super secret route? No. But that IS a route combo that you don't see very often. Without seeing that on game tape, that play would work about 95% of the time. Even Simms talked about it...how no one runs that because you are throwing all the way back across the field. It is very similar to the play we used to run where we would roll the QB right, have every receiver dragging across the field to the right and then have the TE on the left side block down or even fall and then get up and run a route to the left. It worked almost every time we ran it because it is such misdirection. But it takes a long time to develop.

Basic plays are just that....basic plays. They rely on execution, which I think all of us agree has been our biggest weakness. Fact is, we moved the ball on several drives against the Texans, only to give them the ball due to unpressured mistakes. We were again our most significant enemy.

The delayed draw was our biggest single run play last year. I think I have seen it maybe 3 times in preseason. I bet we will see it a lot more once the season starts. We haven't thrown a single bubble screen to Austin this preseason, and I guarantee it will opened up. No misdirection, no slants, no double moves.

I have seen this same basic offense be very effective. I don't buy the idea that from January to August they have all lost their ability.

 

[Fla Cowpoke]

Preseason doesn't normally color my thoughts either, but we usually see some signs of life. Our 1st team QB usually has si=ome time to throw. Typically over the course of 4 preseason games some of our RB's make a showing.

Like I said, this one wasn't supposed to be the typical 2 series and out preseason game. Typically when playing starters the bulk of a preseason game there are at least some signs of life. I wasn't looking for them to steamroll anyone, but at least some vague hint of a running game. This game was intended to e the one where things started to gel a bit, and there wasn't even a remote hint of that.

The coaches are disappointed with our execution and I completely understand that....but there is no way we were going to show our hand and specifically target anything given the fact that we play these guys for real in a few weeks.

Go back and watch the tape and tell me how many times we dropped out of Cover 1 or brought more than the three down linemen and one outside LB for pressure. And then count how many times the Texans brought at least 5. It's obvious if you really watch the game that there were two different agendas in that game.