Scout's Eye: Dominance In The Trenches, Byron's Coverage; More

[waving monkey]

FRISCO, Texas – It took a while, given the lateness of the game, but of course I found the time to break down the Cowboys’ win on tape.

I trust that you watched the game, so you’re aware that there was a lot of ugliness the Cowboys will want to clean up – from the penalties to a lackluster third quarter. But as always, the tape reveals just as many positives as negatives, and the positives always shine through after a win.

Anyway, here’s a few highlights that stood out to me when I re-watched the game.


It was a tremendous effort by Zack Martin, Travis Frederick and Ronald Leary to hold Gerald McCoy off the stat sheet Sunday night. There were several snaps where Martin and Leary were matched up one-on-one and he was unable to generate any significant pressure on Dak Prescott. Frederick was there in support, but he only had to work in McCoy’s direction when he felt it was necessary to give a shot to him to slow his rush down. The Buccaneers tried to free McCoy up on some twist stunts but each time they tried, the inside three were up to the task

link/http://www.dallascowboys.com/news/2016/12/19/scouts-eye-dominance-trenches-byrons-coverage-more

 

[Don Corleone]

Broaddus toting the company line here. Byron Jones had a roller coaster of a game. Not one of his better days. He was constantly out of position in the 3rd quarter.

 

[jazzcat22]

Broaddus toting the company line here. Byron Jones had a roller coaster of a game. Not one of his better days. He was constantly out of position in the 3rd quarter.

Maybe the fast paced no huddle that TB ran had something to do with that also. Give some credit to a decent TB team. Not all on Jones there. Fast paced, pass rush wasn't there.
In the 4th quarter, TB had 5 yards of offense.

Broaddus is not toting the company line there, not IMO. He actually does pretty good on these type of articles and reports. It is his evaluations and his love / hate for certain players that makes him seem like a nut job at times...LOL...

 

[Temo]

Byron's been fine. Not a star, but doing his share for now.

The pass defense as a whole has been really good ever since Barry Church came back. Wilcox was a disaster as a starter (again).

 

[GIFTS86]

I would like to see leary back but I highly doubt it

 

[ConceptCoop]

Broaddus toting the company line here. Byron Jones had a roller coaster of a game. Not one of his better days. He was constantly out of position in the 3rd quarter.

I disagree. He was more up than down and played a good game. When you play zone and the front four doesn't get home, the holes are going to be exposed.

 

[Sydla]

I disagree. He was more up than down and played a good game. When you play zone and the front four doesn't get home, the holes are going to be exposed.

Agreed.

Another random comment on Jones. I swear his body contorts in ways that I think he's just had a major injury and then next series, he's right back in there.

 

[xvendettax914]

I disagree. He was more up than down and played a good game. When you play zone and the front four doesn't get home, the holes are going to be exposed.

also not sure how discussing a positive play is "toting" a company line...

 

[Carson]

Byron's been fine. Not a star, but doing his share for now.

The pass defense as a whole has been really good ever since Barry Church came back. Wilcox was a disaster as a starter (again).

If he catches a few more picks that he's dropped he'd be considered a top safety in the league.

Him and Church are about as solid as we've had since Ken Hamlin or Roy Williams in his day.

 

[Don Corleone]

also not sure how discussing a positive play is "toting" a company line...

There was no mention of how he was out of position on two TD passes from Winston.

 

[tyke1doe]

I like Broaddus' insights. Gives you a glimpse into the game behind the play.

One of my favorite plays that Dallas runs is the toss sweep to Ezekiel Elliott. They hit one early in the game for a large gain and then came back to it late, running it to the short side of the field. What I do enjoy most about the play is when Jason Witten captures the edge, allowing Travis Frederick and Tyron Smith to pull around the corner. You can see the secondary start to get width instead of coming up to attack the ball. No defender wants to take on any of these offensive linemen, especially with their ability to stay on their feet and adjust to movement. It’s impressive to see Frederick running step-for-step with Elliott, looking for someone to block 15 yards down the field. It is this type of play that gives the offense the chance to run fakes like we saw last week to Terrance Williams, when he was all by himself off the play action to Elliott.

I'm glad they're using the sweep play again. It opens up so many possibilities, including Zeke taking it to the house.

Super smart play by Dak Prescott taking sack on that 3rd-and-4 play with 1:50 left in the game. He had a chance to hit Terrance Williams on the crossing route for the first down, but the motion didn’t fool Robert Ayers. If Ayers had chased the motion, it’s an easier throw. Ayers was so close to Prescott that trying to throw the ball over the top of him would have likely resulted in a turnover and a game-changing play. Prescott did the right thing by getting down and making the Buccaneers use their last time out, then punting the ball. It was a play that could have been a huge negative if he had handled it poorly. Instead, they punted and the defense was able to hold on down to end the game with an Orlando Scandrick interception.

I remember Bill Parcells saying sometimes a sack is good. I know a lot of fans were screaming at Dak when he took the sack. But they didn't see what he saw nor understood what he understood. He's building into his game the ability to decide when to take a risk and when not to, when to take a sack and when not to, when to run and win to throw.
His intelligence will carry him and this franchise a long way.

 

[khiladi]

OL is MVP...

 

[EPL0c0]

IMO, Ron Leary is the Oline MVP and has earned a shot at a healthy payday. He's a UDFA that was projected as a 4-6. The "weaknesses" in his draft profile are things that I don't see much of now. It's a credit to his coachability and work ethic. ( http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/ronald-leary?id=2533454 ).

He's worked hard on his game and deserves the pay day. I wish it was in Dallas, but he'll probably be more than Dallas can afford. I just hope Dallas can find a solid replacement in Collins or somebody else

 

[Titleist]

I remember Bill Parcells saying sometimes a sack is good. I know a lot of fans were screaming at Dak when he took the sack. But they didn't see what he saw nor understood what he understood. He's building into his game the ability to decide when to take a risk and when not to, when to take a sack and when not to, when to run and win to throw.
His intelligence will carry him and this franchise a long way.

Why not pull an Eli Manning and spike the ball into the ground? He seems to get away with grounding every time!

 

[Seven]

Sign Leary.................Don't screw this up.

 

[xwalker]

There was no mention of how he was out of position on two TD passes from Winston.

There is no way you can know his assignment on that first TD. The CB got beat on that play. It was single high Safety on that play which means that Jones can only cover part of the field.

On the 2nd TD the TE pushed off. Jones was playing a technique where he expected inside help. Church likely could have broken up the play by hitting the TE as he was catching the ball but Church didn't touch him for some reason.

 

[tyke1doe]

Why not pull an Eli Manning and spike the ball into the ground? He seems to get away with grounding every time!

Because that stops the clock, and Dak wanted to make the Bucs burn all their timeouts.

 

[bsbellomy]

That makes my heart happy to hear McCoy was held off the stat sheet, after his blowhard gas-baggy pregame speech.