SD... 1st order of business for the young D... Gotta STOP Tomlinson!!

[SuspectCorner]

There is no stopping LT, we can only hope to contain him.

No question in my mind SD is going to test Ware and run cutbacks to his side. He has got caught a few times pinching inside and giving up some big plays, this is what I fear most.

The key to the game in my mind is turnovers. I really think we need to be plus 2 to win this game.

We have a lot of young guys out there who will be playing for the first time and making some mistakes.

Turnovers is the antidote.

I do agree though we have have to stack the line of scrimmage and rely on our improved secondary to play well. Containg LT is definetly the main priority, and hope he does not hurt us to bad.

The only problem here is LT is great at screens and slipping out on patterns, which can stop us real quick from getting to aggresive. LT is a bad man, and one hell of a nightmare.

Turnovers, Turnovers, Turnovers

good post. LT vs. Dallas LBs. this will be a stout early test for where the Cowboys stand at linebacker.

i'm nervous over that one.

 

[JDSmith]

Jax, New Orleans and Kansas City really shut down LT last year. Jax held him to 2.9 ypc, KC held him to 2.2 ypc and NO held him to a season low 2.1 ypc. So the guy can be more than contained, he can be flat out stopped. Last year on the season he only averaged 3.9 ypc. I understand he had a groin injury, but he struggled some last year any way you look at it.

Against KC he had 21 carries for 46 yards and 10 catches for 57 yards. On LT's 31 touches he was tackled by Fujita 6 times. Fujita also led KC in tackles that day with 10 solo, 1 assist and 1/2 sack.

Without Gates to throw to I'm also not convinced that Brees will look like he did last year. I think we'll pick him at least once.

For whatever reason this SD team doesn't really scare me much. I think we're finally going to open the season with a victory for the first time under Parcells. We've lost our opening game 5 straight years, the streak ends on September 11.

 

[SuspectCorner]

Jax, New Orleans and Kansas City really shut down LT last year. Jax held him to 2.9 ypc, KC held him to 2.2 ypc and NO held him to a season low 2.1 ypc. So the guy can be more than contained, he can be flat out stopped. Last year on the season he only averaged 3.9 ypc. I understand he had a groin injury, but he struggled some last year any way you look at it.

Against KC he had 21 carries for 46 yards and 10 catches for 57 yards. On LT's 31 touches he was tackled by Fujita 6 times. Fujita also led KC in tackles that day with 10 solo, 1 assist and 1/2 sack.

Without Gates to throw to I'm also not convinced that Brees will look like he did last year. I think we'll pick him at least once.

For whatever reason this SD team doesn't really scare me much. I think we're finally going to open the season with a victory for the first time under Parcells. We've lost our opening game 5 straight years, the streak ends on September 11.

Cowboys have had their troubles on the road in recent years. dating back to the 2000 season they've been a woeful 10-30 on the road (10-31 if you count their lone playoff appearance against Carolina during that stretch).

as the Chargers were a playoff team last season - winning in San Diego would buck a major trend.

i'm not banking on the upset.

 

[Teague31]

9 men in the box all day. with gates suspended they have no passing game.

 

[thor_01]

although i agree with most of the posts concerns and positives, i think we are ovelooking the most credible intangible of them all, last year for the first time in his career Big Bill was caught with his pants down, he thought he had something he did not and it embarrassed him, not that he hasn't had losing teams before, but he has always known what he had, last year was a shocker for him.................
i believe that is the key to this season as much as anything else, Tuna has to prove to himself and the rest of the world that he has not lost it, so expect the unexpected, and believe he will not go quiet into the night..............
i firmly believe Tuna will not only be ready for san diego, but already was game planning for them before the beginning of the draft, and certainly since before the start of the preseason, i believe he intends to make a statement from the get go.......

Dallas 24 San diego 21, if San Diego can stand up to their hype and big bills onslaught, other wise the score could be even worste for them.........

 

[JDSmith]

Cowboys have had their troubles on the road in recent years. dating back to the 2000 season they've been a woeful 10-30 on the road (10-31 if you count their lone playoff appearance against Carolina during that stretch).

as the Chargers were a playoff team last season - winning in San Diego would buck a major trend.

i'm not banking on the upset.

And the year before last SD was a 4 win team. They don't have any history of success, they could easily be just as bad as we were following our own 10 - 6 playoff season.

 

[smashmouth]

I think it would be a mistake for SD to start slinging that ball all over the place.

Our secondary should not be taken lightly--I know that Glover will start the game, but I can quickly see Spears and Ferguson dominating playing time in this one.

I would not stack the line--I would simply put my big boyz out there and have Fujita blow up anything that get's outside the LOS.

I would not let Brees feel at home at all in the pocket.

The play-action could kill us if LT continuously breaks 5 and 7 yards off.

I think on offense, we start out with the "air" attack, bombing then like "Star Wars".

After we loosen them up a bit, we start sending in the ground troops and destroying everything on the ground with JJ.

 

[SuspectCorner]

And the year before last SD was a 4 win team. They don't have any history of success, they could easily be just as bad as we were following our own 10 - 6 playoff season.

but they were 7-1 at home (7-2 including playoffs) dropping only their "home opener" (and the wildcard game) to the playoff-bound jets. (and both losses were in tight games)

having posted a 12-4 record last season, weak schedule and all, the chargers have proven more to this point than our cowboys.

they also beat a tough indy team on the road late in the season.

i see this game as one of several bumps dallas will hit "on the road" to improvement this season.

 

[Next_years_Champs]

Roy Williams will play a HUGE factor in the running game.

I wonder if TCUs (Tomlinson's alma mater) upset victory over Oklahoma this weekend will put a little extra fire in Roy Williams belly?

My guess is as big a fan as RW is of Sooner football he'll want to lay a little punishment on TCUs most famous alumi........

 

[DallasEast]

but they were 7-1 at home (7-2 including playoffs) dropping only their "home opener" (and the wildcard game) to the playoff-bound jets. (and both losses were in tight games)

Great points. NYJ owned the Chargers last season. For that reason, Parcells is probably critiquing those two games in particular. The recaps for those two games make interesting reading, particularly in relation to how the Jets managed LaDainian Tomlinson. Here are the links to both recaps:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20040919_NYJ@SD

http://www.superbowl.com/gamecenter/recap/NFL_20050108_NYJ@SD

 

[ravidubey]

SD played with confidence last year. This year is another story. Brees will realize that he actually isn't very good and come back to Earth with a thud. It's one thing to finally prove yourself, but it's another thing entirely to keep doing it year after year.

LT is the real deal for sure, but without Antonio Gates how does Brees take the pressure off? Dallas needs to attack early on-- all it will take is a few early missed passes or drops and Brees will go deer-in-the-headlights.

 

[Hollywood Henderson]

The key to me is getting up early...
Dictate the whole game on both offense & defense!

We get up by 7-10 points and all too often teams give up too early on the running game...We do that and we take away their best player...

I think we MUST always pressure the LOS...Never let LT get untracked and pressure "Cool" Breez up the middle...Being a somewhat short QB, we can't allow him to follow through on his passes...We do that and we get at least 2 picks... They will be game planning for Ware, thats when other LBers & Roy must be knocking the crap out of him as well...

I would play ALOT of bump & run to distupt the SD timing...By the time routes are rerouted, our pass rush should be there!

I think one thing we will see much more of is Ware doing stunts...
Ellis going wide & taking a OT with him while Ware comes hard up the middle...

One thing is for sure, we must let Ware do what he does best...PRESSURE the LOS! If I see him in coverage too much I will be PISSED!

I think James also plays a HUGE role with interior blitzes & bone jarring hits!!

Dallas 28-SD 17!
The start of a very special season!

 

[smashmouth]

The key to me is getting up early...
Dictate the whole game on both offense & defense!

We get up by 7-10 points and all too often teams give up too early on the running game...We do that and we take away their best player...

I think we MUST always pressure the LOS...Never let LT get untracked and pressure "Cool" Breez up the middle...Being a somewhat short QB, we can't allow him to follow through on his passes...We do that and we get at least 2 picks... They will be game planning for Ware, thats when other LBers & Roy must be knocking the crap out of him as well...

Great point! Jump on them quick offensively like we used to do in the early nineties.

We have to be aggressive on offense - On our first 2 to 3 drives, we cannot have careless false starts, holding, fumbled snaps, and just things like that which causes 2nd and 3's to become 2nd and 13's.

We have to open it up on offense to get atleast a 30 to 35 yard pass play down field, on a deep in or something to knock off chuncks of yardage.

When we get inside the red zone, we have to pound that ball, and get Witten involved, along with some screens.

 

[LaTunaNostra]

And the year before last SD was a 4 win team. They don't have any history of success, they could easily be just as bad as we were following our own 10 - 6 playoff season.

JD, I think their 12-4 record last year was considerably less smoke and mirrors than our 10-6 one in 03. But they did benefit from a fairly easy schedule, fattening up on the Chiefs and Raiders struggling Ds, and getting to play the Panthers early on, when they were reeling with injuries. They also got to play a few unfortunates, like the Titans and Browns.

What impressed me more about them then their home record was the second half of the season string of victories and the sheer un-Marty-like number of points they scored up. Schottenheimer, with that 8 game turn around over 03, deserved Coach of the Year honors every bit as much as Brees merited 'Comeback Player' honors.

But the Chargers are not among the elite teams of the AFC. They are fortunate to have all 22 starters returning , and unfortunate that some of those starters include players as limited as Wilson and Parker. Their D, until Merriman and Castillo can get it going, still lacks a pass rush, and their secondary personnel is, as everyone knows, suspect. On the 'intangible' end, it is still being said that the defensive leadership that went out the door with Seau and Harrison has still not been replaced.

What exactly they are we shall soon see. But without the security of Gates, I suspect Brees will be given a test he finds difficult to pass. That Schottenheimer finally discovered that the pass can actually open up the run was a eureka discovery for him, but at least it came before he retired again. In the playoff crunch last year, he reverted to Marty Ball and blew it, and his lack of serious upgrading to the receiver corps this offseason hints that his basic philosophy still remains.

Sure, they are a good team, and some players like their nose Jamal Williams will outmatch us, but most of the individual battles I think are in our favor, particularly our receivers vs their secondary, and their receivers vs ours.

This opening day match-up is imo considerably more advantageous to us than last year's v Minny.

 

[DallasEast]

This opening day match-up is imo considerably more advantageous to us than last year's v Minny.

Having Anthony Henry at right cornerback instead of Pete Hunter on opening day sure does make me feel a LOT more comfortable.

 

[LaTunaNostra]

Having Anthony Henry at right cornerback instead of Pete Hunter on opening day sure does make me feel a LOT more comfortable.

Facing McCardell (no diss on the old warrior) rather than Moss in opening day doesn't hurt either

PS DE, neither of the Jets wins over SD felt anything like 'ownership' to me. Both were too close and featured too many circus like mistakes (on both sides) for comfort. But even tho LT averaged 4 yds per carry in game 1, that was a down day for him. Really, I thought the defensive player who played best against SD last year was Ferguson.

 

[smashmouth]

JD, I think their 12-4 record last year was considerably less smoke and mirrors than our 10-6 one in 03. But they did benefit from a fairly easy schedule, fattening up on the Chiefs and Raiders struggling Ds, and getting to play the Panthers early on, when they were reeling with injuries. They also got to play a few unfortunates, like the Titans and Browns.

What impressed me more about them then their home record was the second half of the season string of victories and the sheer un-Marty-like number of points they scored up. Schottenheimer, with that 8 game turn around over 03, deserved Coach of the Year honors every bit as much as Brees merited 'Comeback Player' honors.

But the Chargers are not among the elite teams of the AFC. They are fortunate to have all 22 starters returning , and unfortunate that some of those starters include players as limited as Wilson and Parker. Their D, until Merriman and Castillo can get it going, still lacks a pass rush, and their secondary personnel is, as everyone knows, suspect. On the 'intangible' end, it is still being said that the defensive leadership that went out the door with Seau and Harrison has still not been replaced.

What exactly they are we shall soon see. But without the security of Gates, I suspect Brees will be given a test he finds difficult to pass. That Schottenheimer finally discovered that the pass can actually open up the run was a eureka discovery for him, but at least it came before he retired again. In the playoff crunch last year, he reverted to Marty Ball and blew it, and his lack of serious upgrading to the receiver corps this offseason hints that his basic philosophy still remains.

Sure, they are a good team, and some players like their nose Jamal Williams will outmatch us, but most of the individual battles I think are in our favor, particularly our receivers vs their secondary, and their receivers vs ours.

This opening day match-up is imo considerably more advantageous to us than last year's v Minny.

I have to say that reading your posts are priceless.

You must be a PHD or something, shooting out them big phrases, that's just awesome.

One thing I will say--if you want to be or become the best, you have to face and beat the better teams in the league.

You have to go straight at them and not back down (Oklahoma/TCU) -- And that's why I think BP's wanted to win those pre-season games.

He likes to get his team used to winning anytime a game is played.

I also think that is why he is not getting rid of people like Keyshawn Joshnson like some people think he should do.

It's called depth. We were so lost last season when Glenn went down, and JJ went down--but this year if guys go down (hopefully not Bledsoe) I think we can keep this ship above water, and still get where we need to go.

Just take a look around the board on our team. I won't point it out position by position, but you get the idea. Not only do we have great starters, but solid backups at nearly every position.

 

[DallasEast]

Facing McCardell (no diss on the old warrior) rather than Moss in opening day doesn't hurt either

PS DE, neither of the Jets wins over SD felt anything like 'ownership' to me. Both were too close and featured too many circus like mistakes (on both sides) for comfort. But even tho LT averaged 4 yds per carry in game 1, that was a down day for him. Really, I thought the defensive player who played best against SD last year was Ferguson.

Yeah, 'owned' was a poor choice of words, but both outcomes probably had a negative psychological effect on the Bolts. Here's hoping that seeing Ferguson across the LOS will give them bad flashbacks!