Scandrick decides on his own to take Garcon in the 4th

[jobberone]

OK, i apologize if it came across as a call out

i am just looking to see if you know examples that i am missing because i have not heard of this happening and i cannot imagine it happens on any good team

remember that this is not an in-play adjustment (which is the example you are giving above), this is a player deciding to change his assignment with another player for a whole quarter without bothering to even let the coaches know this

if he feels he 'matches up better' with a certain player, should he not communicate that to the coaches and should the coaches not know that to begin with?

to me these things all point to an incompetent coaching staff that does not know the strengths and weaknesses of its players

You had said that "good players do this at times" that made it sound like it is fairly common and is not a big deal
i am just asking for 2-3 examples of this having happened in the course of the whole season with 32 teams playing 16 games each

OR perhaps it is a big deal and does not happen

Well, it could be a big thing if the coach chews you out and tells you to never do that again. As a Mike I would move all over the place although if I blew an assignment from being out of position then I'd be very hard on myself. I'd just get the look. In the NFL I'm not on the field with these guys but I've played non-NFL football with one NFL player well known. I know he had the freedom to blitz when he thought it wise. You will see safeties and CBs move around esp as the FS (generally) makes calls and some will move on their own based on the offensive formation. Some of that is going to be as discussed in the film room and with the coaches from the DC to a position coach. Some is going to come from being around awhile and having a feel for what you need to do. As for a player deciding on his own to switch positions with another player I expect that is not as common as other presnap adjustments. If it works then the coach is most likely going to either pull you aside, chew you out anyway, or most likely gather the DBs together and get everyone on the same page. That's not really the issue here though as they're both DBs. Generally you aren't going to man up on one guy and the rest play zone (which I don't even know if that is what happened). It's not uncommon for one DB to try to stay on one guy though but you just aren't going to always be able to do that. There's just way too many answers for this as there are many different ways to cover in Zone. You can play a cover one and put DBs on specific receivers and one over the top. You can invert deep cover schemes and do that but you couldn't get away with that for long maybe not at all. You could play a cover 3 or 4 esp in variants with special packages and do that. Obviously in a cover 0 you have guys manned up on a specific guy. There are ways for an offense to bust that up and create busted plays and we aren't experienced enough to do that. We get burned enough just trying to keep everything in front of us.

I don't know how good this secondary is or isn't because it doesn't have the pressure to say with any certainty from a fan's standpoint. The coaches know and likely our opponents. It's easy to say they are terrible and I suspect that's partly true at times but any secondary gets exposed after the QB has x time to pick it apart and coverages to break down. I say this because you have so many different formations that I know I can't tell what the DBs are doing esp when they roll and invert coverage or send a DB and drop a LB or DL. And you have some many 4 and 5 receivers sets especially the spread and stacked ones that I can't tell you what the assignments for the DBs are. There are times they obviously don't know either. It's just too complicated for me to understand well much less explain.

The front seven are going to move around a lot and some formations they can even all stand up and rush with limited lane responsibilities. Some of them have the skins to ad lib and they do at times. They just need to not get burned too much.

If you're asking for proof then I can't give you any answer other than watch the film or question the players, coaches or scouts.

 

[TroyEmmittAndMichael]

Can Scandrick play backup QB, too?

 

[casmith07]

I was just going to mention that play in I believe the '93 NFC title game. Like you said it happens. Having said that though, I don't like the coaching staff! The DL coach and the special team coach seem to know what they are doing considering what they have player wise, but other than that…..

I couldn't let this post pass without also mentioning what an outstanding job Jerome Henderson has done with our secondary. Some of the players aren't quite ready to start, and that happens on every team in the league, but Orlando Scandrick's entire fundamental technique has changed since we finally put Dave Campo out to pasture and hired Henderson. These guys aren't holding opponents to 3/32 passing for 94 yards and 0 TDs and 8 INTs every game like the fans want, but the technique is there and the fundamentals are sound. We just aren't getting the pressure we need to get up front.

 

[Roadtrip635]

Move him to the bench! Watching the game yesterday he remind me of Shante Carver: a guy who was afraid of physical contact. He almost looked like he was dancing with Williams!

Drew Pearson said the same thing the week before. He said it looked like Ware was out there dancing with the OT and not trying to get around him. He said you don't dance with him, you go around him or push him out of the way. He also said that it doesn't appear that Ware is out there giving 100% and it was a bad example to set for the younger guys.

 

[jobberone]

I couldn't let this post pass without also mentioning what an outstanding job Jerome Henderson has done with our secondary. Some of the players aren't quite ready to start, and that happens on every team in the league, but Orlando Scandrick's entire fundamental technique has changed since we finally put Dave Campo out to pasture and hired Henderson. These guys aren't holding opponents to 3/32 passing for 94 yards and 0 TDs and 8 INTs every game like the fans want, but the technique is there and the fundamentals are sound. We just aren't getting the pressure we need to get up front.

Marinelli and Henderson are definitely getting the bang for the buck with most of these guys. And some appear to really be improving esp Heath. This is tough to watch this year but some will add depth to the team next year and maybe push some starters. And there is no quit in these guys.

 

[jobberone]

Drew Pearson said the same thing the week before. He said it looked like Ware was out there dancing with the OT and not trying to get around him. He said you don't dance with him, you go around him or push him out of the way. He also said that it doesn't appear that Ware is out there giving 100% and it was a bad example to set for the younger guys.

I don't know what he's doing but screwing around has come to mind. Perhaps he has enough motor weakness in one or both upper extremities he can't function. If so then I feel for him. I hope this isn't the end for him.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

Drew Pearson said the same thing the week before. He said it looked like Ware was out there dancing with the OT and not trying to get around him. He said you don't dance with him, you go around him or push him out of the way. He also said that it doesn't appear that Ware is out there giving 100% and it was a bad example to set for the younger guys.

Drew said this? Was he on a local Dallas sports show?

I try not to be too critical of Ware because of his history in Dallas but he just did not look like he was determined to get to the QB. I truly hope he is giving 100% and not dogging it because he does not want to risk injury. I think he just does not have the power and explosion any more. It happens.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

I don't know what he's doing but screwing around has come to mind. Perhaps he has enough motor weakness in one or both upper extremities he can't function. If so then I feel for him. I hope this isn't the end for him.

I hope so, too. Jim Jeffcoat was a major contributor as a designated pass rusher when he could no long her play every down. I think Ware can do this as well as long as he takes the pay cut.

 

[Roadtrip635]

Drew said this? Was he on a local Dallas sports show?

I try not to be too critical of Ware because of his history in Dallas but he just did not look like he was determined to get to the QB. I truly hope he is giving 100% and not dogging it because her does not want to risk injury. I think he just does not have the power and explosion any more. It happens.

It was an interview on one of the Local San Antonio Sports shows, the week before the Army/Navy game. He did not pull any punches about what he had observed with Ware. Drew said that Demarcus may say that he is giving 100% but that deep down he himself knows he isn't and it wasn't a good example for the young guys. I posted a link to the interview, I'll see if I can find it again.

 

[Zimmy Lives]

It was an interview on one of the Local San Antonio Sports shows, the week before the Army/Navy game. He did not pull any punches about what he had observed with Ware. Drew said that Demarcus may say that he is giving 100% but that deep down he himself knows he isn't and it wasn't a good example for the young guys. I posted a link to the interview, I'll see if I can find it again.

This I can believe. I don't think there are many older guys on the team that have the "eye of the tiger" anymore. Witten may be the lone exception -- even Tony looks like he is not 100% focused sometimes.

 

[Roadtrip635]

Drew said this? Was he on a local Dallas sports show?

I try not to be too critical of Ware because of his history in Dallas but he just did not look like he was determined to get to the QB. I truly hope he is giving 100% and not dogging it because he does not want to risk injury. I think he just does not have the power and explosion any more. It happens.

Here is the link to the Drew Pearson interview on 12/13.

http://www.espnsa.com/topic/play_window.php?audioType=Episode&audioId=6630385

Drew was questioning the effort and used Ware as the example. He knows the talent isn't there because of all the injuries etc. but that means you have to play with passion and give 100% effort to try to make up for some of that, but he doesn't see that especially with Ware.

 

[Ashwynn]

Apparently, the defensive adjustment to put Scandrick on Garcon was made by....Scandrick. I had hoped that our defensive coaches had made the decision. It's disappointing that our coaches can't make these in game adjustments and it speaks poorly of the staff as a whole. Oh well, I'm just glad that he had the courage to make the change as Carr was getting abused.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4721935/scandrick-makes-smart-adjustment-big-play

This sounds like my old school days yard ball. Drawing plays on your hand or someone's back. Everyone picked his man on D and you played. When you were outmanned you told someone else to cover your guy, you cant hang. It happened, but we never got payed millions to play the game. The pros should not have to be doing this. Man, where is the coaching, the game plans, schemes, the adjustments. We got none of that. This is pathetic. Game management is absolutely atrocious, There are no adjustments except quit running the ball so effectively??? I seen better game plans in high school ball, and clock management. I mean I dont know crap about NFL Management, but I am absolutely 100% sure I could call a better game offensively and manage the clock in the waning minutes. Sheesh, this aint rocket science, we grew up knowing you run the ball and eat clock since age 4. His dads a coach??? Man, theres gunna be some questions asked around dinner table wednesday night, like "*** are you doing, Son?" <Back Slap>.

I hope theres a long term plan there not telling anyone about, cause this product is stale and embarrassing. Its totally on the coaches for not having the team ready to play ball, not making any adjustments in the game, clock management, crappy game plan offensively.

I dont know if I can fault the defense with so many injuries to the D line and LBers. But the O did not help with so many 3 and outs. Both sides played the worst ball I have seen since I have been watching football, around 1972. I am glad Landry is gone, hate for him to see this crap. Players under performed to a degree, thats debatable. but the coaching is the biggest problem, I dont know if its just too much for Red, or he just does not have it, or is not compatible 100% with Jerry's other coaches. But thats the problem and changing coaches wont bring anything different I fear. Bringing us to the underlying cause of the rot in Dallas. Jerry Jones. Meddling with Coaches, players and jock straps. You cant have that. GM should hire the coach and get buy the coaches groceries and let the coaches coach. Jones wont do that. EVER AGAIN! Get used to this or worse as the talent leaves and quality of play becomes akin the the Houston Astros of MLB notoriety. That sucks, ask me, I know, I'm an Astros fan. I cant even expect mediocre ball till 2015 from my Astros. Lets hope Jerry can keep it at 500 ball for a while, until he learns or sells the team.

 

[sideon]

Drew said this? Was he on a local Dallas sports show?

I try not to be too critical of Ware because of his history in Dallas but he just did not look like he was determined to get to the QB. I truly hope he is giving 100% and not dogging it because he does not want to risk injury. I think he just does not have the power and explosion any more. It happens.

I would believe he's injured over him dogging it because he's never had that mentality, i love Drew but he tends to get dramatic when the Cowboys are discussed. I remember him always bringing up receivers not calling him back for advice when he would give them his business card, i think that's why he was/is so critical of Dez.

 

[casmith07]

Marinelli and Henderson are definitely getting the bang for the buck with most of these guys. And some appear to really be improving esp Heath. This is tough to watch this year but some will add depth to the team next year and maybe push some starters. And there is no quit in these guys.

I'm still down on Jeff Heath, but he's a good tackler. He has definitely improved, too, from earlier this year where he was clearly lost.

 

[casmith07]

I would believe he's injured over him dogging it because he's never had that mentality, i love Drew but he tends to get dramatic when the Cowboys are discussed. I remember him always bringing up receivers not calling him back for advice when he would give them his business card, i think that's why he was/is so critical of Dez.

DeMarcus Ware is absolutely hurt. Make no mistake about it, the man is not 100%.

He rushed mostly from the 3-4 OLB stance in order to compensate from not being able to really fire off that injured quad.

 

[sideon]

I'm still down on Jeff Heath, but he's a good tackler. He has definitely improved, too, from earlier this year where he was clearly lost.

Yeah when you try to tackle AD all by yourself you're clearly lost. HA

 

[jobberone]

I'm still down on Jeff Heath, but he's a good tackler. He has definitely improved, too, from earlier this year where he was clearly lost.

Mostly what I was referring to. I think he's got a chance to be better than a backup but I'm only intrigued not convinced.

 

[visionary]

If you're asking for proof then I can't give you any answer other than talk to coaches......

So not one single example of something you said good players do at times implying it is not uncommon

I thought so

 

[jobberone]

So not one single example of something you said good players do at times implying it is not uncommon

I thought so

If that's what you got out of it then I don't know what to constructively say.

You can't prove it doesn't happen and I've admitted I don't know of a way to guide you to it without your understanding football and looking at film. So we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[casmith07]

Mostly what I was referring to. I think he's got a chance to be better than a backup but I'm only intrigued not convinced.

He definitely would be a great special teams player as well.