Positive Stuff

[BIGDen]

Losing sucks, and I feel bad that Hos went to that game and had to suffer through that ending after what seemed to be a great comeback victory. But there were some good things that I'm going to choose to focus on this Christmas night:

• Jason Witten continues to give every Cowboys fan something to be proud of as he rewrites the record books and plays with toughness and heart.
  
• Ware continues to do the same as we watched him get a huge sack on that final drive. Unfortunately, we couldn't cover anybody after that play.
  
• McGee! The kid showed some ability and hit a great, clutch pass that put us ahead with little time left. Many of us hoped to see him play a little during this lost season and he didn't do that badly.
  
• Better draft position! If you don't want to think about it or hear about it then stop reading, but I see the positives in picking higher. With a good chance that we end up 5-11, we will likely have a top 10 pick. In a draft where some teams may be trying to jockey for position to get one of the big name QBs, the top spots become more valuable and can land other premium picks. There is never a guarantee that a highly rated player will pan out, but I like having a shot at a top player and not sitting there watching the top guys go off the board as we sit at 7-9 with a mid-first round pick. Someone may offer us a lot for our pick or we might just sit there and watch a great player fall into our laps as people pick QBs and WRs.

Believe me, I hate that we're not talking about the playoffs and that the draft is even a topic in December, but going 7-9 probably would have just frustrated me even more knowing how we just gave away some of those early games.

I had a good Christmas with my family today and I am thankful that this crazy loss didn't ruin it for me. We'll be back with a vengeance next year. I truly believe that.

 

[LucaBrasi]

I had a good Christmas with my family today and I am thankful that this crazy loss didn't ruin it for me. We'll be back with a vengeance next year. I truly believe that.

I did too and that's the absolute best way to look at it. I was so damn mad at the end, but I wish I had put it in proper perspective the way you did. The Cowboys have certainly had some terrible luck this year, much of it their own doing, but I figure the defense has nowhere to go but up, we can start rebuliding the o-line, and hopefully we'll get some breaks in 2011.

 

[Muhast]

Very pleased with witten ware mcgee and newman tonight

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Very pleased with witten ware mcgee and newman tonight

Yeah, good point -- that felt like Newman's best game of the year. Can't remember much of anything completed on him tonight. Kind of odd coming from a banged up player on a short week.

And I'm still amazed by Kitna, until he got hurt today, of course. He's played amazingly well IMO, not just with the accurate passes but with the leadership ability as well.

 

[BIGDen]

Very pleased with witten ware mcgee and newman tonight

Newman did have a nice game. Good point. See, one more thing to be positive about!

 

[hornitosmonster]

Zero positives tonight. Ware got a big sack but whiffed on others. Newman is part of the secondary and they get an "F". The offense? Highest grade goes to Miles and that is a "C+" at best. I can't give Witten a positive for running 2 yard routes.

 

[AdamJT13]

Zero positives tonight. Ware got a big sack but whiffed on others. Newman is part of the secondary and they get an "F". The offense? Highest grade goes to Miles and that is a "C+" at best. I can't give Witten a positive for running 2 yard routes.

I don't think you watch the game very closely.

 

[hornitosmonster]

I don't think you watch the game very closely.

I watched it all right. It wasn't very pretty and nothing to be positive about. Maybe this board has come down with some Wade-itis.

 

[CATCH17]

Im loving the draft position.


We have a chance to turn this season of chaos into a positive.

 

[Derinyar]

The defense had a decent night, but gave it up at the worst time possible. They basically strangled an offense they should have strangled. Jenkins gave up that TD almost single handedly. Ware is still one of the top pressure players in the NFL, its just that he gets almost no help from anyone else on the team right now.

McGee was adequate for a 2nd year QB from a gimicky college offense getting his first game action. He had some good throws, and actually perfromed acceptably. If he develops some more there is no reason that he can't be a long term backup QB in this league, and if a thing or two breaks right maybe a starter for someone. Austin had an uneven night. Witten is Witten. Columbo is horrid, just flat out horrid. Gronkowski is alright at run blocking but can't pass block to save his life it seems, hopefully that come with time.

 

[AdamJT13]

I watched it all right. It wasn't very pretty and nothing to be positive about. Maybe this board has come down with some Wade-itis.

You didn't watch it closely enough if you think there was nothing positive. Or you just have a defeatist attitude.

Any decent football coach would watch any game and find some positive things and some negative things that come out of it, no matter how well or how poorly the team played as a whole.

 

[cowboyeric8]

Ignorant statement. Witten does not have much control over the routes he runs.

 

[AdamJT13]

Ignorant statement. Witten does not have much control over the routes he runs.

Especially with McGee in the game.

 

[hornitosmonster]

Ignorant statement. Witten does not have much control over the routes he runs.

So the blame goes squarely on Garrett, because it is his playbook and all. And I will repeat, there are no positives in losing to a 10 loss team.

 

[AdamJT13]

So the blame goes squarely on Garrett, because it is his playbook and all. And I will repeat, there are no positives in losing to a 10 loss team.

And you'll be wrong again. No matter how many times you say it, you'll always be wrong.

There are positives and negatives in every game. To think otherwise is asinine.

 

[Nirvana]

Just saw a mock with 5 qbs in top 10. we could trade down a couple picks and get extra second round pick and still get a playmaker
on D in top 8 or so.

 

[chuffly]

I love the binary thinking where a loss means that nothing went right and a win means nothing went wrong. Can't we get a little beyond that line of thinking?

 

[Kangaroo]

I love the binary thinking where a loss means that nothing went right and a win means nothing went wrong. Can't we get a little beyond that line of thinking?

With most fans no

 

[28 Joker]

Felix Jones carried 16 times for 77 yards and finished with 88 total yards. He only caught one pass for 11 yards. Jones looked really good tonight. I sure would have liked for him to catch more than 1 pass. He's simply too dangerous to catch 1 ball and too good of a receiver. Coming into the game, Jones was averaging 47.6 receiving yards per game under Garrett and was catching 3.6 passes per game. Jones needs 46 receiving yards to reach 500.

Right now, Jones is averaging 102 total yards per game under Garrett; furthermore, Jones has accrued 60.8% of his total yards in the last 7 games. In 6 of the first 8 games (under Phillips), Jones only averaged 40 total yards per game and had single digit carries and only had 9 touches per game (54 touches).

Jones has carried the football 101 times for 417 yards and 1 TD during the last seven games. Jones has 7 straight double digit carry games during this time span and has tallied 58% of his total rushing yardage and 58% of his total carries during this time span.

With all the media focus on promoting Choice and running Barber out of town, Jones is quietly taking care of his business and producing very good and consistent numbers, especially when you consider the state of the offensive line. Jones needs 127 total yards to reach 1300 total yards this season, and he needs 81 rushing yards to reach 800. Through the first 8 games, Jones totaled 302 rushing yards.

It will be tough to get that 127 total yards against the Eagles with the state of the Cowboys team, but it's within reach.

Marion Barber had a good game tonight. I wish Jones could have run the ball on Barber's first long run, because that is the type of space that you want to get Jones into for sure. It was the best hole of the night.

Felix Jones has quietly showed the Dallas Cowboys that he is a potential 1,000 yard rusher and 500 yard receiver. You just have to give him the opportunities and run him and throw it to him and get him in space. Jones is averaging 17.7 touches per game under Garrett. (Touches Under Garrett: 124-714-2 5.75 YPT). Jones has the longest TD pass of the season, a 71 yard bomb where he easily out ran the Giants defense to the end zone. Jones' tough 83 yards against the Colts (between the tackles/22 carries) showed his toughness inside, and it flew under the radar. Chris Johnson totaled 111 rushing yards on 22 carries. The only difference between Jones' and Johnson's game was basically 1 run. You are talking about 28 yards, and Dallas couldn't block the Colts on the edge. One time Dallas tried to get Jones to the right edge on a counter, but he had no shot due to poor blocking and was tackled for a 5 yard loss.

I've really enjoyed watching Jones get the football like he deserves to get it. Jones was the best running back on the team the day that he was drafted, imso.

This offensive line should be rebuilt around Jones' running and receiving skills. If the Cowboys upgrade their offensive line, I'm very confident that Felix Jones is going to deliver big time. Jones has played very good, and he's been consistent. Jones has showed the Cowboys that he can be a 1500 total yards player.

One day, he will get his respect in Dallas. Marshall Faulk really likes him.

Mark my words.

Right now, some in the Dallas media are too wrapped up into their own "soap opera" (As Choice and Baber Turns) to recognize Jones' consistent, good production.

With the state of the team this year and the inconsistent, (at times terrible) old offensive line, 1300 total yards for Felix Jones would be a great accomplishment.

 

[AdamJT13]

Felix Jones carried 16 times for 77 yards and finished with 88 total yards. He only caught one pass for 11 yards. Jones looked really good tonight. I sure would have liked for him to catch more than 1 pass. He's simply too dangerous to catch 1 ball and too good of a receiver. Coming into the game, Jones was averaging 47.6 receiving yards per game under Garrett and was catching 3.6 passes per game. Jones needs 46 receiving yards to reach 500.

The one criticism I have of Garrett's playcalling tonight is the lack of screens or dumpoff passes after McGee came into the game. When you have an inexperienced quarterback and the defense is blitzing him hard, you can get some easy yards by throwing passes to the running backs, and it helps build his confidence. But McGee attempted only one pass to the running backs.