Silver linings...

[silverbear]

We all know that Romo had a very bad game on Sunday night, IMO all quarterbacks have games like that once or twice a season... but it was a very bad effort on his part, no doubt about it...

And we all know our defense, in particular our pass defense, has been atrocious thus far this season...

Another thing that has hurt badly this year is a -4 turnover ratio... that has to improve...

HOWEVER, I see some things I like with this team:

1) The offensive line is kicking some serious butt... I mean, 250 yards rushing against the Giants' D?? Get outta here...

You can win a lot of games with that kind of run blocking... and Romo has been sacked once in 57 attempts, 4th best in the league after 2 games... which is why the Boys rank 2nd in the NFL in total offense (even with Romo's nightmare night) at this point...

I am quite excited by the run blocking I have seen this year, I could have gained ten yards through some of the holes I saw Monday night...

OK, maybe not...

2) What an improvement we're seeing in our special teams from last year... I think I have a man-crush on Joe DeCamillis... maybe the special teams won't cost us a loss this season...

3) The penalty situation seems to be improving, though at this point it's a small sampling size... so far in 2 games, the Boys have committed 8 penalties for 91 yards... at this point, none of those penalties has given the opponents a first down... that's acceptable, I think...

I also want to compliment Roy Williams on a coupla blocks he threw downfield in the last game... I love seeing that from a wide receiver...

Just a few positives to dwell on after a disappointing loss...

 

[Disturbed]

Nice comments.

I think that is part of why everyone is so frustrated. We see the potential at times, but too often we get the lack of focus and/or performance by players and coaches.

I believe the offense will work itself out and improve on the number of mistakes.

I am not so confident in the defense which has shown nothing but failure so far this year.

And I totally agree with you on DeCamillis -- wow, what a difference a real good coach can make.

 

[texbumthelife]

Really good post, thanks.

I pretty much feel the same about all our problems right now -- It is week 3. I honestly couldn't care less what happens in September. Hell, we have been perennial Sept, October and November champions. I would rather have a battle tested team who has fought through adversity and already addressed their issues when December rolls around; Even at the sake of a few heart breaking losses. This team will make their own destiny this year and no one will be able to escape their role.

That is my silver lining.

 

[GOLDENCHILD1688]

i have been very impressed with the play from the o-line

i knew they could passs block but the run blocking has been superb

we will only get better as a team as the season goes along. we gave that game away and im sure romo will cut down on mistakes

i see more positive then negative moving forward

 

[texbumthelife]

i have been very impressed with the play from the o-line

i knew they could passs block but the run blocking has been superb

we will only get better as a team as the season goes along. we gave that game away and im sure romo will cut down on mistakes

i see more positive then negative moving forward

You speak with wisdom beyond my years.

 

[silverbear]

Nice comments.

I think that is part of why everyone is so frustrated.

Oh, I think that's just because we ALWAYS hate losses, and this one was particularly bitter...

We see the potential at times, but too often we get the lack of focus and/or performance by players and coaches.

I really haven't see a lack of focus in these first two games... for example, I don't think any of Romo's 3 ints were the result of the same old, "dumb" throws he made too often in years past... rather, I think he just threw three really bad balls... Witten was open, the pass was behind him, and it bounced off his heel into the defender's arms... Crayton was open down the deep middle (but he probably would have gotten creamed by the deep safety who ended up with the int), Romo just overthrew him badly...

I don't know what was wrong with Tony Sunday night, but it wasn't his decision making process... it was more like he wasn't throwing the ball well, which is unlike him...

I believe the offense will work itself out and improve on the number of mistakes.

I do too, or at least I sure hope so...

I am not so confident in the defense which has shown nothing but failure so far this year.

I don't think we've got a particularly good defense, but I still don't think it's quite as bad as it's shown so far... I know we're capable of a better pass rush than we've seen... and I thought our run D against the Giants was MUCH better than it was against the Bucs (which is curious, given that the Giants' running game is the more effective one)...

Simply put, we lost a tough game to a very tough team... that doesn't mean we suck, or anything... we have a very, very good offense (at least, when healthy) and some issues on defense, and our special teams are much improved...

This still looks like a 10-12 win team to me... even with the secondary woes... I think we're gonna score a lot of points this year...

As always, so long as the injury bug doesn't bite too often, or too hard...


Thanks for your thoughts, Disturbed...

 

[silverbear]

i have been very impressed with the play from the o-line

i knew they could passs block but the run blocking has been superb

Which surprises me because we really didn't see that last year, or in the preseason...

i see more positive then negative moving forward

Yeah, I'm still bullish on the Boys...

 

[kramskoi]

Oh, I think that's just because we ALWAYS hate losses, and this one was particularly bitter...



I really haven't see a lack of focus in these first two games... for example, I don't think any of Romo's 3 ints were the result of the same old, "dumb" throws he made too often in years past... rather, I think he just threw three really bad balls... Witten was open, the pass was behind him, and it bounced off his heel into the defender's arms... Crayton was open down the deep middle (but he probably would have gotten creamed by the deep safety who ended up with the int), Romo just overthrew him badly...

I don't know what was wrong with Tony Sunday night, but it wasn't his decision making process

...interceptions 1 and 3 were bad decisions...the first, Antonio Pierce checked out of man coverage to zone and Tony did'nt have time to change the play...he tried to force a pass and was'nt even close...the third one he did'nt see the safety but let it fly...it's his job to find the safety else he can't throw that deep ball to Hurd..he did the same thing against Baltimore last year and Ed Reed, who knew he just needed to wait for Romo to overreach, got the pick...he knows those two were really on him...as for the second, he threw behind Witten and had the unfortunate luck of a bad bounce...

...Romo has to learn what guys like Roethlisberger and Manning have learned...how to drive the bus and let others around you share the load...he can't repeatedly hand over momentum like he did sunday night and hope to beat a team like the Giants, no matter how good the offense is...

 

[Yeagermeister]

Bear sorry to burst your bubble but Carp's holding penalty and Newman's PI gave the Giants a first down.

 

[JohnsKey19]

I'm not sure if it has been mentioned here but Deon Anderson played what had to be his best game as a Cowboy. It's hard to imagine a FB making better blocks than he did Sunday night. So along with the O-LIne having a grat game., you have to include Deon Anderson

 

[silverbear]

...interceptions 1 and 3 were bad decisions...the first, Antonio Pierce checked out of man coverage to zone and Tony did'nt have time to change the play...he tried to force a pass and was'nt even close...

But absolutely no Cowboys receiver was in the area... this suggests to me that either he overthrew an underneath receiver, or maybe he expected a receiver to run a different route... it looked to me like he was throwing something on timing, and the receiver wasn't where he expected him to be...

the third one he did'nt see the safety but let it fly...

I strenuously disagree there... the deep safety was not in position to make a play on that ball if Romo doesn't overthrow Hurd badly... Hurd was open on that play, if the pass was thrown well... BTW, you're right that it was Hurd on that play, don't know why I said it was Crayton at first...

it's his job to find the safety else he can't throw that deep ball to Hurd..he did the same thing against Baltimore last year and Ed Reed, who knew he just needed to wait for Romo to overreach, got the pick...he knows those two were really on him...

I really didn't see either one of them as boneheaded decisions at the time, I saw them as bad throws, period... and I'm not just trying to defend Romo here, that's how I saw it...

Sorry, I watched those plays closely, and I just don't see them as mental mistakes, but rather physical ones... and the truth be told, Tony had some really bad throws against the Bucs, too... missed open receivers, badly...

 

[silverbear]

Bear sorry to burst your bubble but Carp's holding penalty and Newman's PI gave the Giants a first down.

Y'know, now that you mention it, you're right... I was going off of NFL.com's GameCenter stats, which were obviously wrong... they had the Giants with 0 first downs via penalty...

 

[dstew60105]

We all know that Romo had a very bad game on Sunday night, IMO all quarterbacks have games like that once or twice a season... but it was a very bad effort on his part, no doubt about it...

And we all know our defense, in particular our pass defense, has been atrocious thus far this season...

Another thing that has hurt badly this year is a -4 turnover ratio... that has to improve...

HOWEVER, I see some things I like with this team:

1) The offensive line is kicking some serious butt... I mean, 250 yards rushing against the Giants' D?? Get outta here...

You can win a lot of games with that kind of run blocking... and Romo has been sacked once in 57 attempts, 4th best in the league after 2 games... which is why the Boys rank 2nd in the NFL in total offense (even with Romo's nightmare night) at this point...

I am quite excited by the run blocking I have seen this year, I could have gained ten yards through some of the holes I saw Monday night...

OK, maybe not...

2) What an improvement we're seeing in our special teams from last year... I think I have a man-crush on Joe DeCamillis... maybe the special teams won't cost us a loss this season...

3) The penalty situation seems to be improving, though at this point it's a small sampling size... so far in 2 games, the Boys have committed 8 penalties for 91 yards... at this point, none of those penalties has given the opponents a first down... that's acceptable, I think...

I also want to compliment Roy Williams on a coupla blocks he threw downfield in the last game... I love seeing that from a wide receiver...

Just a few positives to dwell on after a disappointing loss...

Actually Carpenter had a pretty lame defensive holding call Sunday night that gave the G-Men a first down. But I do agree it's a better trend then usual. Go Cowboys!

 

[Daudr]

The bottom line is, despite the poor play on several fronts on Sunday, we almost won the game. The Giants are no slouch and I think we have a good shot this year.

 

[THUMPER]

...Romo has to learn what guys like Roethlisberger and Manning have learned...how to drive the bus and let others around you share the load...he can't repeatedly hand over momentum like he did sunday night and hope to beat a team like the Giants, no matter how good the offense is...

How in the world does Roethlisberger get a pass all the time? People just have no idea about the guy, they just assume that because the Stealers have won 2 SBs he must be a great QB

Here is a FACT: Prior to this past week, Ben's turnover rate (INTs + Fumbles lost / pass attempts) was higher than Romo's.

Yes, that is correct, Ben's turnover % was HIGHER than "Turnover Tony".

I guess perception is reality for most people though.

 

[casmith07]

Roy Williams is deceptively good. I think a lot of posters will be pleasantly surprised with what will likely turn out to be a quietly effective and efficient season from Roy.

As for penalties, as far as I know, we have yet to be penalized for a false start, illegal shift, or illegal formation. Flozell's still got 1 bonehead penalty each game, but at least it isn't a false start :

 

[kmd24]

But absolutely no Cowboys receiver was in the area... this suggests to me that either he overthrew an underneath receiver, or maybe he expected a receiver to run a different route... it looked to me like he was throwing something on timing, and the receiver wasn't where he expected him to be...

Crayton was running an out behind the short zone. He was the intended receiver but the pass was low enough that #25 could jump up and catch it.

[youtube]tJnbWAY8JpI[/youtube]

 

[silverbear]

Crayton was running an out behind the short zone. He was the intended receiver but the pass was low enough that #25 could jump up and catch it.

[youtube]tJnbWAY8JpI[/youtube]

I see that from the video you provided... that ball was obviously underthrown...

Thanks, man... I guess I was too pissed to really watch the replay... it looked to me like Crayton would have been open if the pass had been on-target, so we're back to Romo making bad throws more than bad decisions... one pick was underthrown, one was overthrown, one was behind the receiver... all three could have been completed, IMO...

Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't like the play call on the int that was intended for Hurd and was overthrown... like some others on this board, I thought that was the time to grind the ball down the Giants' throats, not go for the quick kill (but I figure that was Garrett's call, and other than that play I really didn't have a problem with his playcalling; he just tried to get greedy there, and it hurt the team)...

 

[Doomsay]

We all know that Romo had a very bad game on Sunday night, IMO all quarterbacks have games like that once or twice a season... but it was a very bad effort on his part, no doubt about it...

And we all know our defense, in particular our pass defense, has been atrocious thus far this season...

Another thing that has hurt badly this year is a -4 turnover ratio... that has to improve...

HOWEVER, I see some things I like with this team:

1) The offensive line is kicking some serious butt... I mean, 250 yards rushing against the Giants' D?? Get outta here...

You can win a lot of games with that kind of run blocking... and Romo has been sacked once in 57 attempts, 4th best in the league after 2 games... which is why the Boys rank 2nd in the NFL in total offense (even with Romo's nightmare night) at this point...

I am quite excited by the run blocking I have seen this year, I could have gained ten yards through some of the holes I saw Monday night...

OK, maybe not...

2) What an improvement we're seeing in our special teams from last year... I think I have a man-crush on Joe DeCamillis... maybe the special teams won't cost us a loss this season...

3) The penalty situation seems to be improving, though at this point it's a small sampling size... so far in 2 games, the Boys have committed 8 penalties for 91 yards... at this point, none of those penalties has given the opponents a first down... that's acceptable, I think...

I also want to compliment Roy Williams on a coupla blocks he threw downfield in the last game... I love seeing that from a wide receiver...

Just a few positives to dwell on after a disappointing loss...

Great points. Hopefully the receivers actually get better as the season progresses. There is hope for that given the relative lack of collective game experience this receiving corp has with it's QB. the 2ndary can go nowhere but up, which I think is a good thing.

 

[Future]

...interceptions 1 and 3 were bad decisions...the first, Antonio Pierce checked out of man coverage to zone and Tony did'nt have time to change the play...he tried to force a pass and was'nt even close...the third one he did'nt see the safety but let it fly...it's his job to find the safety else he can't throw that deep ball to Hurd..he did the same thing against Baltimore last year and Ed Reed, who knew he just needed to wait for Romo to overreach, got the pick...he knows those two were really on him...as for the second, he threw behind Witten and had the unfortunate luck of a bad bounce...

I'm not really defending Tony here, because he played awful...BUT on that first pick Crayton was WIDE open on that out route. Tony just underthrew him. Just because Pierce made a lot of noise and things went well for the Gints doesn't mean he did anything special. It was a poor throw, nothing more, nothing less.