LarryCanadian
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Just wondered what everyone thought about Barber and Jones rotation for the season. Listening to the last Phillips PC he said the "rhythm" hadn't been determined yet and that he felt both guys could do a play and then rotate in and out. I liked hearing this, because I think going with 1 drive one guy, 1 drive the other, doesn't make the best use of the players. I realize they were only doing this because it was pre-season, but I would like Felix Jones to be sprinkled in there more often and be out there WITH Barber more often. Seeing Jones again make 43 yards look easy (man he doesn't even look like he's moving that fast until guys just whiff on the smoke puffing up behind him! - love it!), he just needs a lot of carries and to be on field even as decoy. Will drive defenses nuts even if he doesn't touch the ball!
The commentators did note (Aikman in particular) that Jones hasn't traditionally been used as a pass receiver and Aikman felt that if there was any part of the game that Felix could use work on that was it. Well, that dump off sure worked. Let him catch a lot of that short stuff like Barber did last year and do his speed surge. Just so misleadingly quick. I think the commentary had more to do with the thought of Felix lining up more like a WR or in slot etc. This guy has to get 15 touches minimum. Hope they don't go too conservative with Jones.
I thought Spencer stepped up in the game. Couple of nice pass rushes, and forced a quick throw by good pressure. Some nice tackles as well, and he was around the ball carrier a lot, in on group effort tackles and closing down his lanes.
Jenkins showed decent recover speed, but bit a bit. The long term ankle "bone spur" worries me and I wonder if cleaning it now is the better approach depending on how bad it is or could get. Guessing that has been analyzed viw MRI's.
Carpenter made a nice play in open field and continues to look effective at nickle backer. At the worst he doesn't look like a major drop off from Burnett in that role. Carpenter might not blast guys but he does bring his man down by good technique tackles. Ok, he isn't a human missile and his guy gets an extra yard, but they tend not to break his tackles at least. Did everyone notice the team congratulate Carpenter after he open-field tackled the QB on 3rd down. The whole team was pumped up for him and the important play of course. I though that was a good sign on a couple of levels. This team is rallying around all members of the team, not just the hot dogs as might have happened a bit last year. Also, shows players are in Carpenter's corner a bit and I think they are routing for him which shows he is doing something right too! That shows a bit of a different chemistry and attitude on the team, and I think might pay some dividends down the road despite all the "winning cures everything" and "finger pointing and strife only occur when losing" quotes we keep hearing.
We could really use a Punt Returner. Crayton is solid (usually doesn't drop any) and moves straight ahead, but I think that position/role has been a fiasco for years.
Ogletree looks pretty fast. He appears to have game speed. Did Stanback play much? Ogletree looks like a WR. Does anyone think this game was an indication that the coaches are starting to look past the experiment/grooming phase and want a more polished/experienced WR. We still need a bit of speed at WR, and despite all the claims, I don't think Stanback looks all that fast. He might be good YAC, but he isn't a sideline burner. Ogletree looks like he can get get down the field and run pretty decent routes. Intrigued there. Phillips said Ogletree "earned" the game time from as far back as OTA and mini-camp and now pre-season play, showing a consistent something.
I thought Free looked pretty good. Feeling much better about him. He seems to grow a bit each game. Holland looks the part of the guard, and is powerful but his balance is suspect. Took a penalty (didn't see it). Hope he can step up a bit.
Rogers looks good on special teams, but looked really lost to me in Oakland game as backup OLB. Didn't see much of him at OLB this game, but don't think he played as much as other one. Now with Williams out for year, Octavien probably gets a roster shot. He looked active, and pretty good - I knew nothing about the guy.
Romo did show that last weeks 2 hands on ball wasn't all talk. I saw him keep 2 hands on ball ALL GAME. That is gonna pay dividends.
Roy Williams, WR. This will likely be Roy Williams. 6 catches 58 yards type games. Move the chains. Anyone wanting him to consistently be a deep "big play" threat is going to be disappointed. He doesn't really stand a chance with the media, because he will constantly be compared to TO AND forever be known as the guy traded for "THREE draft picks - nobody mentions one of those was a 6th and a 7th came back as well) but I think this guy has stepped up with his handling the media and I respect the position he is in. I like that the coaching staff doesn't seem to be forcing RW into a role that isn't his bread and butter. Not to say he can't go down field for longer throws, but I think the short to midrange passing game will be a more Romo-friendly growth stage for this offense.
Check out the guns/pipes on the backup FB Crosslin. That guy has been eating his spinach. I think he was shocked catching passes but at least he corralled the ball and bulled forward. Blocking seems ok. He is practice squad at least. Bigger bi's than most of the oline!
M Bennett. That guy is probably second only to Felix in terms of getting you on edge of your seat when he has ball in his hands. He is a physical freak of nature in terms of talent. He just eats up yards, even when he is stumbling and has an uncanny sense of balance where he keeps moving forward when you think he is gonna fall over from much earlier contact.
Excited about the way the retooled offense plays. The penalties in key situations (4th and 1 this week, and the similar one last week) are still annoying and potentially costly trend (many seasons now), but 9 minute drives. Hello, that will just help the whole team!
I think Folk will get his groove back. The 49 yarder that hit the upright would have been good from 55/56 yards I think, so the strength is there, the accuracy is just taking a bit of time to return. Pretty significant surgery for a kicker, and it is purely repetition and confidence that will turn that around. Better to get the oopsies out during pre-season anyway.
LarryCanadian
The commentators did note (Aikman in particular) that Jones hasn't traditionally been used as a pass receiver and Aikman felt that if there was any part of the game that Felix could use work on that was it. Well, that dump off sure worked. Let him catch a lot of that short stuff like Barber did last year and do his speed surge. Just so misleadingly quick. I think the commentary had more to do with the thought of Felix lining up more like a WR or in slot etc. This guy has to get 15 touches minimum. Hope they don't go too conservative with Jones.
I thought Spencer stepped up in the game. Couple of nice pass rushes, and forced a quick throw by good pressure. Some nice tackles as well, and he was around the ball carrier a lot, in on group effort tackles and closing down his lanes.
Jenkins showed decent recover speed, but bit a bit. The long term ankle "bone spur" worries me and I wonder if cleaning it now is the better approach depending on how bad it is or could get. Guessing that has been analyzed viw MRI's.
Carpenter made a nice play in open field and continues to look effective at nickle backer. At the worst he doesn't look like a major drop off from Burnett in that role. Carpenter might not blast guys but he does bring his man down by good technique tackles. Ok, he isn't a human missile and his guy gets an extra yard, but they tend not to break his tackles at least. Did everyone notice the team congratulate Carpenter after he open-field tackled the QB on 3rd down. The whole team was pumped up for him and the important play of course. I though that was a good sign on a couple of levels. This team is rallying around all members of the team, not just the hot dogs as might have happened a bit last year. Also, shows players are in Carpenter's corner a bit and I think they are routing for him which shows he is doing something right too! That shows a bit of a different chemistry and attitude on the team, and I think might pay some dividends down the road despite all the "winning cures everything" and "finger pointing and strife only occur when losing" quotes we keep hearing.
We could really use a Punt Returner. Crayton is solid (usually doesn't drop any) and moves straight ahead, but I think that position/role has been a fiasco for years.
Ogletree looks pretty fast. He appears to have game speed. Did Stanback play much? Ogletree looks like a WR. Does anyone think this game was an indication that the coaches are starting to look past the experiment/grooming phase and want a more polished/experienced WR. We still need a bit of speed at WR, and despite all the claims, I don't think Stanback looks all that fast. He might be good YAC, but he isn't a sideline burner. Ogletree looks like he can get get down the field and run pretty decent routes. Intrigued there. Phillips said Ogletree "earned" the game time from as far back as OTA and mini-camp and now pre-season play, showing a consistent something.
I thought Free looked pretty good. Feeling much better about him. He seems to grow a bit each game. Holland looks the part of the guard, and is powerful but his balance is suspect. Took a penalty (didn't see it). Hope he can step up a bit.
Rogers looks good on special teams, but looked really lost to me in Oakland game as backup OLB. Didn't see much of him at OLB this game, but don't think he played as much as other one. Now with Williams out for year, Octavien probably gets a roster shot. He looked active, and pretty good - I knew nothing about the guy.
Romo did show that last weeks 2 hands on ball wasn't all talk. I saw him keep 2 hands on ball ALL GAME. That is gonna pay dividends.
Roy Williams, WR. This will likely be Roy Williams. 6 catches 58 yards type games. Move the chains. Anyone wanting him to consistently be a deep "big play" threat is going to be disappointed. He doesn't really stand a chance with the media, because he will constantly be compared to TO AND forever be known as the guy traded for "THREE draft picks - nobody mentions one of those was a 6th and a 7th came back as well) but I think this guy has stepped up with his handling the media and I respect the position he is in. I like that the coaching staff doesn't seem to be forcing RW into a role that isn't his bread and butter. Not to say he can't go down field for longer throws, but I think the short to midrange passing game will be a more Romo-friendly growth stage for this offense.
Check out the guns/pipes on the backup FB Crosslin. That guy has been eating his spinach. I think he was shocked catching passes but at least he corralled the ball and bulled forward. Blocking seems ok. He is practice squad at least. Bigger bi's than most of the oline!
M Bennett. That guy is probably second only to Felix in terms of getting you on edge of your seat when he has ball in his hands. He is a physical freak of nature in terms of talent. He just eats up yards, even when he is stumbling and has an uncanny sense of balance where he keeps moving forward when you think he is gonna fall over from much earlier contact.
Excited about the way the retooled offense plays. The penalties in key situations (4th and 1 this week, and the similar one last week) are still annoying and potentially costly trend (many seasons now), but 9 minute drives. Hello, that will just help the whole team!
I think Folk will get his groove back. The 49 yarder that hit the upright would have been good from 55/56 yards I think, so the strength is there, the accuracy is just taking a bit of time to return. Pretty significant surgery for a kicker, and it is purely repetition and confidence that will turn that around. Better to get the oopsies out during pre-season anyway.
LarryCanadian