Positives and Negatives by Qwickdraw

Qwickdraw

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Just some positive and negative observations on my part.
Everyone else is doing it...
Why can't I?

NEGATIVES:

1. Bledsoe's short passing IS poor:
He throws behind receivers alot. Keyshawn has had to reach back to catch the ball behind him too many times. Likewise for Witten and others. He seems to throw it almost sidearmed often.

2. Julius is NOT a good receiver:
I made this statement months ago and got reamed for it. I still see it as true. He made a great grab last game but he never looks comfortable receiving and seems to jump to catch the ball in his chest because he is not confident in his hands. Therefor, he never catches in stride and ends up going nowhere when he does make the grab.

3. Newman is an EXCELLENT CB but his hands are suspect as well:
This one is sure to ruffle some feathers but I speaking based upon watching him closely his entire career, NOT just last game. He drops some very catchable picks on a regular basis. It's not all bad because he may have this tendency as a direct result of being such a good cover guy. Meaning, he watches his WR so closely and moves so quickly to keep pace that when an interceptable ball is there, he doesn't become aware of it until too late. I just wish he were a little more of a ballhawk because he is BLAZING fast and a threat to return it house when he does catch it.

4. Our LBers are the defensive weakness:
The real passrush should be coming from this position and either the scheme or lack of ability at this position is hindering it. Maybe a little of both. By and large, teams have not been successful shooting downfield on us but they seem to be able to move the ball very well when throwing underneath to TEs and WRs on short routes.

5. Our O-Line is the offensive weakness:
It's not the scheme. It's not the RBs. It's not the receivers. It's the O-line. I think our O-line is better than it has been in recent years and would be sufficient for some teams but with a heavy running load and a big pocket passer at the helm, this team needs an exceptional line to be successful. Bledsoe is deadly when he has time and JJ is extremely dangerous when given an initial hole.

6. Tyson Thompson has ONE move:
Full speed ahead.
Thankfully, it's a very, very speedy full speed but it's so damn fast that it inhibits his abilty to make any lateral movement whatsoever. He is a good returner and will always ensure good field position but he will never make a play on his own. This isn't so negative because I am pleased with his play and will continue to be until we have a better option. But man does he hit a wall. Everytime.

POSITIVES:

1. Roy Williams is the REAL deal:
Coverage skills or not, this guy is a missle everywhere on the field. What he lacks in pass coverage he more than makes up for with tackles, forced fumbles, punishing hits, threatening presence, pursuit ability and backfield charging. I wonder how many guys' jobs he has saved on this team by coming up to make the hit when someone is out of position or just plain beat.

2. Our Secondary is EXCELLENT:
Possibly the biggest weakness on our team last season has become one of our biggest strengths. When Henry, Newman, Glenn, Williams, and Davis are on the field I think you'd be hardpressed to find a better Secondary in the league. Henry was money very well spent. Davis may be considered the weakest link by many but I think he is improving every game and will become an excellent FS if given the opportunity to continue playing. He has yet to become comfortable enough to showcase his ballhawking ability, which I know he has. It will surface if given time.

3. We may have the BEST hands in the league:
Keyshawn, Glenn, Crayton and Witten have some of the best hands in the league. Together, I think they form the most able group of hands on any team in the league.

4. Bill Parcells:
Many disagree but BP has shown me the ability to change with the times, learn from his mistakes, squeeze life out of dying vets and an incredible ability at scouting talent. Not to mention a relentless passion for the game and winning as well as amazing leadership. Last and most importantly, his emphasis on character. And that, more than anything IMO, is what builds championship teams.

5. Youth, youth, youth:
And talent as well. This team is very young, very hungry, and very fresh. It can only go up from here. While many teams have hit their peak, we are still climbing. The only question is... how high is our peak? The sky is the limit.

6. Character:
By far the most positive aspect of our team IMO. Character is what gets you through the tough losses and back into winning without missing a beat. I am proud to be a Dallas Cowboys fan because of this reason more so than anything else. Regardless of the record or the stats, this team seems to be comprised predominantly with genuinely good guys who posess intelligence and positivity. That is something you can't coach or buy. And that is something I think will ultimately place this team on top.
 

Rack

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Good post. Agree with most of it.

I was noticing Bledsoe's short passing game as well. Even when he completed them, the RB, TE, or WR had to go low or make some acrobatic move to catch it. I saw two he threw to JuJo that would of resulted in about 10 or more yards, but since he had to jump behind him to catch the ball, the defense had time to react.


I agree JuJo isn't a "Good" reciever, but I don't think he's bad. I think he's average at this point. And that's not bad at all. He'll get better. He'll never be a Brian Westbrook, but he'll be solid.


About Thompson, I hope in the offseason he works on controlling his speed. I'd like to see him run about 3/4 speed on his returns, and when he sees a hole THEN explode through it.



I agree the LBs are the defensive weakness, but I don't consider them weak. I just consider the DL and DBs to be good or great. I wouldn't mind seeing more aggressiveness in the pass rush from our OLBs. Ware seems to have hit the wall... hard. He's Ekubaning his way to the QB almost every time now. At least earlier in the year he tried different moves. Now he's just running wide every time. Even if the moves don't work, I want to see him try them. Do something different so you don't become predictable.

Ware needs to get tape of LT and Derrick Thomas and pay close attention not only to their moves/technique, but mostly to their relentlessness. They had great moves, but the biggest reason they got to QBs is cuz they REALLY wanted to get to the QB. Ware has to believe he is unblockable. That's the best trait a pass rusher can have.



About our OL, yes it's terrible. We have one player playing "Good" (Allen), 1 playing consistently average (Rivera), one playing average but isn't consistent (Johnson), and both our tackles are playing poorly (for the most part). And those tackles are the biggest reason for our conservative playcalling. So the next time someone doesn't like a play called, think of WHY that play was called. If we had Adams and Ogden as our tackles we'd be able to air it out all game, 4 or 5 recievers in a route every time. But we don't, and we have to keep people in to help them out. When you do that, it limits your playcalling and effects your offensive performance. Personally, I think the offense has played well considering the fact they aren't able to open up the playbook much.
 

Martice

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It would also help if Drew would throw it to JJ and not make him jump high to get it. He is going to get JJ killed.

T. Thompson is looking more and more like a kick off special teams player to me. He has had many opportunities to break one and he seems to crave the contact more than the endzone. He runs straight at the tackler as opposed to avoiding them. Sounds like a person that want's to hit more than avoid being hit.
 

Natedawg44

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Great Summary
Just some positive and negative observations on my part.
Everyone else is doing it...
Why can't I?

NEGATIVES:

1. Bledsoe's short passing IS poor:
He throws behind receivers alot. Keyshawn has had to reach back to catch the ball behind him too many times. Likewise for Witten and others. He seems to throw it almost sidearmed often.
He doesn't look natural throwing short routes. If he hasn't learned by now he never will.
2. Julius is NOT a good receiver:
I made this statement months ago and got reamed for it. I still see it as true. He made a great grab last game but he never looks comfortable receiving and seems to jump to catch the ball in his chest because he is not confident in his hands. Therefor, he never catches in stride and ends up going nowhere when he does make the grab.
It always looks like an adventure when he catches the ball. He never looks fluid like Barber does
3. Newman is an EXCELLENT CB but his hands are suspect as well:
This one is sure to ruffle some feathers but I speaking based upon watching him closely his entire career, NOT just last game. He drops some very catchable picks on a regular basis. It's not all bad because he may have this tendency as a direct result of being such a good cover guy. Meaning, he watches his WR so closely and moves so quickly to keep pace that when an interceptable ball is there, he doesn't become aware of it until too late. I just wish he were a little more of a ballhawk because he is BLAZING fast and a threat to return it house when he does catch it.
There's a reason he's a DB otherwise he'd be another Santana Moss or Steve Smith
4. Our LBers are the defensive weakness:
The real passrush should be coming from this position and either the scheme or lack of ability at this position is hindering it. Maybe a little of both. By and large, teams have not been successful shooting downfield on us but they seem to be able to move the ball very well when throwing underneath to TEs and WRs on short routes.
Fujita hasn't made the impact I thought he would. We need one more player here whether its through the draft or FA (LaVar Arrington or Kalimba Edwards)
5. Our O-Line is the offensive weakness:
It's not the scheme. It's not the RBs. It's not the receivers. It's the O-line. I think our O-line is better than it has been in recent years and would be sufficient for some teams but with a heavy running load and a big pocket passer at the helm, this team needs an exceptional line to be successful. Bledsoe is deadly when he has time and JJ is extremely dangerous when given an initial hole.
Unfortunately we lost the most important guy on the line for what we like to do. I really think that at 11 games in with Bledsoe and a healthy Flo this offense would be much better than it is.
6. Tyson Thompson has ONE move:
Full speed ahead.
Thankfully, it's a very, very speedy full speed but it's so damn fast that it inhibits his abilty to make any lateral movement whatsoever. He is a good returner and will always ensure good field position but he will never make a play on his own. This isn't so negative because I am pleased with his play and will continue to be until we have a better option. But man does he hit a wall. Everytime.
I agree with Rack I'd like to see him run at 3/4 speed and find a hole just to see what happens
POSITIVES:

1. Roy Williams is the REAL deal:
Coverage skills or not, this guy is a missle everywhere on the field. What he lacks in pass coverage he more than makes up for with tackles, forced fumbles, punishing hits, threatening presence, pursuit ability and backfield charging. I wonder how many guys' jobs he has saved on this team by coming up to make the hit when someone is out of position or just plain beat.
I still hope we get another true FS in here so we never have to experiment with what we did last year. Roy destroys in the Box. I was wishing we would have send him a few times on a blitz in the Denver game. It should be manditory that he blitzes a few times every game. Heck he's probably our second best pass rusher.

2. Our Secondary is EXCELLENT:
Possibly the biggest weakness on our team last season has become one of our biggest strengths. When Henry, Newman, Glenn, Williams, and Davis are on the field I think you'd be hardpressed to find a better Secondary in the league. Henry was money very well spent. Davis may be considered the weakest link by many but I think he is improving every game and will become an excellent FS if given the opportunity to continue playing. He has yet to become comfortable enough to showcase his ballhawking ability, which I know he has. It will surface if given time.
I hope your right on Davis. The rest is right on.
3. We may have the BEST hands in the league:
Keyshawn, Glenn, Crayton and Witten have some of the best hands in the league. Together, I think they form the most able group of hands on any team in the league.
Agreed makes it nice for Bledsoe. If he just had more time, he doesn't need a whole lot of space to put it in there. That rollout pass to Glenn where he threw it about 50 yards completely across the field was a thing of beauty
4. Bill Parcells:
Many disagree but BP has shown me the ability to change with the times, learn from his mistakes, squeeze life out of dying vets and an incredible ability at scouting talent. Not to mention a relentless passion for the game and winning as well as amazing leadership. Last and most importantly, his emphasis on character. And that, more than anything IMO, is what builds championship teams.
4 more years, 4 more years, 4 more years
5. Youth, youth, youth:
And talent as well. This team is very young, very hungry, and very fresh. It can only go up from here. While many teams have hit their peak, we are still climbing. The only question is... how high is our peak? The sky is the limit.
You can't say enough about Ireland. I just hope we address Oline with the same type of fervor we did with our front 7.

6. Character:
By far the most positive aspect of our team IMO. Character is what gets you through the tough losses and back into winning without missing a beat. I am proud to be a Dallas Cowboys fan because of this reason more so than anything else. Regardless of the record or the stats, this team seems to be comprised predominantly with genuinely good guys who posess intelligence and positivity. That is something you can't coach or buy. And that is something I think will ultimately place this team on top.
Ireland and Parcells what a difference. Character and Talent. No way. No more Antontio Bryants or Derek Rosses
 

BlueWave

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Martice said:
It would also help if Drew would throw it to JJ and not make him jump high to get it. He is going to get JJ killed.

T. Thompson is looking more and more like a kick off special teams player to me. He has had many opportunities to break one and he seems to crave the contact more than the endzone. He runs straight at the tackler as opposed to avoiding them. Sounds like a person that want's to hit more than avoid being hit.

How do you know JJ wasn't supposed to continue his route. It seems like he stops and turns his body towards the QB. I don't think that is the way it is designed. No other RB in the NFL does that on a dump pass. I think JJ is supposed to continue moving away and is failing to do so.
 

Maikeru-sama

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I totally disagree with your comment about the Linebackers.

The weakness on our defense is a guy that doesnt play, but calls the plays.

Zimmer is extremely suspect in so many ways.

For instance, did you guys see how Denver's defensive coordinator came our Bledsoe in other ways besides blitzing? Denver's very creative Defensive Coordinator put in a lot of diverse and "keep you guessing" type defenses along with blitzing the hell out of Bledsoe. He also made Cowboys think blitz and then turned around and didnt blitz at all, which is very "Bill Belichek".

Zimmer's probably is he doesnt know how to be creative with some of the talent he has on defense, maybe because he is not use to having extremely talented guys like Ware on the field.

Im also throwing out a caveat that if we are in a dog fight and have a 3 point lead or greater, Zimmer will go back to his Prevent Style defensive play calling in the wanning minutes of the 4th Quarter. Go look at the Washington and Giants game. We shut the opposing QB down, but in the late minutes of the ball game, Zimmer started being conservative and calling too many zone plays.

I wish we would have gone after Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders.

Besides that, some of your comments are correct. If we can get a guy that is very innovative and knows how to go after the quarterback besides doing full house blitzes where we dont even sniff the QB, I will be very happy.

- Mike G.
 

Fletch

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And to think, after all our faults on this team, after all of our "armchair QB" critiquing, we're 7-4 and will most likely find ourselves back in 1st place on Monday morning. :thumbup:
 
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