Over-reacting

[Chuck 54]

Injuries happen. We played with a rookie at SLB, and he did very little till the second half. We played most of the game without our NT...Ratliff showed more movement, more penetration, made plays, but NY found running room...he may have run himself out of some plays that Ferguson would have been sitting around waiting for. We played without our best CB, and Reeves made some plays, got us 7 on an INT, had a couple more breakups, and overall played better than our other starter, Henry, and he wasn't sitting there with the luxury of deep help either.

I really don't know what to say about Roy Williams...he missed tackles, didn't get close despite several blitzes, he looked awful in coverage and tentative tackling...I still can't believe how he played that sideline reception by Sharkey and then got run over by a Shockey stiff-arm...it happens, but I can't remember seeing it against Roy. He will come up and lay the wood on receivers, but he continues to love diving at the feet of RB's...he seldom meets a RB in the hole up high with a crushing hit...don't blame him against Jacobs, but he was also knee diving against the backup. Yet he made 8 tackles, and I'm guessing he'll still make a few game changing plays down the road. Still, he worries me.

Bottom Line: we're over-reacting a little after the first game with a new head coach and two new coordinators. We won the game, and if not for Romo's unfortunate INT late, we'd have won it without any sweat in the final minutes. Consider that if the defense had played great and we'd won 13-10, we'd be sitting here lamenting our sorry offense and what's wrong with Jason Garrett, being glad we didn't sign Romo yet and wondering if Glenn's absence is going to make struggling to score a year long thing.

I know we have the players on defense, and I now know that Reeves can play and probably gained a lot of confidence, and probably a game ball, last night. I also know that Ratliff is not going to be a big liability at NT...he's going to improve our pass rush. I'm expecting Greg Ellis and TNew to eventually get back on the field which will make Reeves and Spencer more effective in more limited roles. If one side of the ball had to struggle early, I have more confidence that the defense will be okay than if the offense had struggled mightily.

We won against a powerful offensive opponent in our division. Let's be happy and not totally freak out about the defense...yet. The way Miami looked against the Skins yesterday lets me know they will be a good barometer for the state of our defense. If the defense holds Miami to 17 or less next week, we'll all feel a lot better.

 

[burmafrd]

We cannot afford to give up rush yds and plays to the O. Or teams that can do it pretty good like the Skins will own us. Reeves was OK- not as good as you paint him. I frankly think Glenn would have at least done as well if not better. Ratlif will help against the pass but will be a liability against the run. We need someone who can be a plug- and he is not it.

 

[Kangaroo]

Funnt new d corrdinator same results; zimmer and Bill gone bring in a more aggressive d and we look the same as the 2nd half of last year

 

[dbair1967]

I'm still stunned at how bad the D was...I knew we wouldnt be the 85 Bears (especially with 3 starters gone) but I also didnt expect what we saw against a Giants team that I really belive will be lucky to win 5 or 6 games

when you score 45 pts and roll up almost 500 yds in a home game, it should be a blowout

David

 

[TNCowboy]

That was not a great offense the Cowboys were playing last night. They weren't even facing a legitimate NFL starting RB, and yet the Giants ran almost at will.

Last night was just more of last December. It's not as if last night was an isolated incident. The D has to prove it's not terrible, and they did nothing to dispel that notion last night.

The worst thing about Ratliff starting at NT is that he is bar none the best interior pass rusher. We'll undoubtedly lose that. He can't play every play.

First game in a new defense or not, Bradie James is just too slow and uninstinctive to play LB. He just can't do it. First game or not, Jason Ferguson is our best run defender and he's probably out for the year. First game or not, Roy Williams plays like a guy who doesn't want to get hurt, and is still dreadful in coverage. First game or not, Marcus Spears continues to get manhandled. First game or not, Chris Canty is just a guy.

It's going to be a long year for the defense. Perhaps the only positive from that would be that the Cowboys will realize that the current D just isn't good enough. A housecleaning is sorely needed on that side of the ball.

 

[junk]

I really don't know what to say about Roy Williams...he missed tackles, didn't get close despite several blitzes, he looked awful in coverage and tentative tackling...I still can't believe how he played that sideline reception by Sharkey and then got run over by a Shockey stiff-arm...it happens, but I can't remember seeing it against Roy. He will come up and lay the wood on receivers, but he continues to love diving at the feet of RB's...he seldom meets a RB in the hole up high with a crushing hit...don't blame him against Jacobs, but he was also knee diving against the backup. Yet he made 8 tackles, and I'm guessing he'll still make a few game changing plays down the road. Still, he worries me.

He appears to have forgotten that you can use your arms to tackle. He looked pretty awful last night. I'm sure the coverage lapses were not his fault. He was likely covering for someone else again.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I think the heat/humidity had a great deal to do with how bad both defenses played.

 

[newlander]

why do you have to be so..........RIGHT? Our drafting is apparently horrible after all. No playmakers on defense, except for Newman. Even Ware couldn't perform against solo blocking. Just brutal.:bang2:

 

[dbair1967]

I think the heat/humidity had a great deal to do with how bad both defenses played.

there's been far worse ehat/humidity...

it was hot & humid in alot of places yesterday, but between us and NYG that was by far the worst defense of anybody so far this week...New Orleans can join the argument too I suppose

David

 

[dbair1967]

why do you have to be so..........RIGHT? Our drafting is apparently horrible after all. No playmakers on defense, except for Newman. Even Ware couldn't perform against solo blocking. Just brutal.:bang2:

Ware had a good game and as usual, was our only pass rusher...he was close to a couple of sacks and was clearly held 3 or 4 times to prevent sacks...

he had two blockers assigned to him alot of the night...wasnt nec two OL's, but alot of times it was somebody who would chip him, kinda like teams use to do Haley

David

 

[Chuck 54]

That was not a great offense the Cowboys were playing last night. They weren't even facing a legitimate NFL starting RB, and yet the Giants ran almost at will.

Wow...difference of opinion then...I think the Giants have one of the best offenses in the NFC, certainly better than the offense in Washington or Philly, imo.

 

[windward]

The Giants have one of the top passing games in the conference with Burress Toomer and Shockey. They also have a decent running game. The fact that they played well against an undermanned Cowboy defense is hardly shocking. It's their D that will be their undoing.

 

[LittleBoyBlue]

I'm still stunned at how bad the D was...I knew we wouldnt be the 85 Bears (especially with 3 starters gone) but I also didnt expect what we saw against a Giants team that I really belive will be lucky to win 5 or 6 games

when you score 45 pts and roll up almost 500 yds in a home game, it should be a blowout

David

Yeah.... but David... its not the WR's or Romo's fault that when they catch the ball that their YAC/RAC is straight to the endzone.... :laugh2:

 

[Doomsday101]

The Giants have one of the top passing games in the conference with Burress Toomer and Shockey. They also have a decent running game. The fact that they played well against an undermanned Cowboy defense is hardly shocking. It's their D that will be their undoing.

What bothered me the most was the poor tackling. If your going to lay off of your man then I do expect a defender to come up and hit him as soon as he gets the ball. What I saw was a lot of diving at the ball carries and very little swarming to the ball by others. I do agree the Giants offense has some talent but there is no excuse for the way this defense tackled. This was just 1 game and so I think it is way too early to consider this defense a failure but I do expect a lot better even without Newman in the lineup.

 

[TNCowboy]

Wow...difference of opinion then...I think the Giants have one of the best offenses in the NFC, certainly better than the offense in Washington or Philly, imo.

You may be right, Wayne, but IMO, the Giants' OL is average, their RBs are clearly below average, and their QB is consistently inconsistent (though clearly talented).

When I look at the Giants' offense (their whole team, in fact), the only place I see them as being above average is their receivers. If we put a performance like that out there against a really good offense, like NE, I shudder to think how many points they'll score against us.

 

[windward]

You may be right, Wayne, but IMO, the Giants' OL is average, their RBs are clearly below average, and their QB is consistently inconsistent (though clearly talented).

When I look at the Giants' offense (their whole team, in fact), the only place I see them as being above average is their receivers. If we put a performance like that out there against a really good offense, like NE, I shudder to think how many points they'll score against us.

At that point, we have to hope that health issues like Newman's and hopefully Ellis' are resolved. That and familiarity with Wade's scheme allows us to be competitive with the Pats. At the very least, I expect our defense to be improved enough by the end of the year so that we at least win our divisiona and one playoff game.

 

[BigBlacKahuna]

Doom And Gloom.........

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Good post, Wayne. The D won't play like that every game, or even close to it. They'll gradually improve as they get more comfortable with the new scheme -- Wade pointed out that they had several mental busts last night -- and Ellis and Newman come back.

The way I see it, when you can play poorly and still win, that's a good sign. Every game we can fight through and win early in the season while we're hurt and learning new schemes is a huge positive.

 

[GimmeTheBall!]

What all due respect, Wayne, the defense was just there.
Weak arm tackles to the torso, slow reactions in the secondary.
I hope the players and their DC did not read the clippings of how great they'd be. They weren't.
The offense flat-out won the game.
That defensive performance should concern every Cowboy fan.
If it does not improve next game, I would suspect it is not just first-game jitters and youth not grasping the scheme but being underprepared.

But you brought up some very fine points.

Newman was missed.
Old man Ellis would have just gotten in the way.

 

[diehard2294]

my concerns are that we gave the NFL a good tape that shows how to attack this defense,I know Wade will make some adjustments, and hopefully Newman can get back.