CFZ Some additional thoughts

[exciter]

To be honest we played into their hands in the first half. That 4th down was a complete and huge momentum shifter over practically nothing. I mean they corrected their own mistake with a stellar 2nd half but imo this was the dumbest and most unnecessary move by MM I have seen this season. You just can't disrespect a division rival with a winning record like this.

What I'm trying to say here is, like usual we were about to beat ourselves. I respect the Giants for what they have pulled off this season but it shouldn't have been that close in the first place. I'm just glad Dak and Kellen had their number from minute 31 to the finish line.

Eh, they did it a few times early last season, Giants did it in 3rd and it bit them in the _ss!

 

[Whirlwin]

Well if they learned from it then fine. Probably costs us the division win, but heck, ever since they're doing a good job all in all. To be honest I don't even think about that game anymore. The loss against Aaron Rogers, excuse me, Green Bay just stings and will continue to do so for quite some more time. But I guess it had to be that way. Would have rather beat them 40-3 and lost to the Vikings. But that's just me. Words just can't describe how much I despise this guy, lol.

For some reason this team always has that game. Two seasons ago it was the Jets game you’re supposed to kill the opponent we lose I don’t know why this franchise does that everybody wants to blame Dak Prescott LMAO.

 

[Creeper]

I went back and watched most of the game again.

The OL was not as bad as I had originally thought. For one thing the Giants lined up 5 defensive linemen a lot and blitzed a lot too. I didn't do the math but in the 3 quarters I watched I would say the Giants blitzed 40% of the time and ran 5 man lines much of the rest of the time. The rushed 4 guys just a handful of times and mostly with the Cowboys in the red zone. The Cowboys struggled with a few stunts but otherwise did a good job. Leonard Williams and Dexter Lawrence won some battles but they are both really good DT. Even Zack Martin had trouble with Williams a few times.

Dak burned the Giants on blitzes a bunch of times in the 2nd half. It didn't stop them but good on Dak for recognizing what was coming and making a play.

Thibodeaux game Tyler Smith some problems with his speed but mostly when the Giants rushed 5 or more. The Giants have to be happy with Thidodeaux. He looks like he is going to be a problem for offenses for a while. Very quick first step and he gets to full speed almost as quick. Schultz could not block him, but Schultz is awful blocking.

I don't understand how refs call illegal contact. Here is the rule:

"Beyond the five-yard zone, if the player who receives the snap remains in the pocket with the ball, a defender cannot initiate contact with a receiver who is attempting to evade him. A defender may use his hands or arms only to defend or protect himself against impending contact caused by a receiver.

Note: If a defender contacts a receiver within the five-yard zone and maintains contact with him, he must release the receiver as they exit the five-yard zone. If the defender maintains contact beyond five yards, it is illegal contact."

Go back and watch the game and count how many times the Giants defenders make contact with Cowboys receivers more than 5 yards downfield and don't get called for it. On the deep pass to Gallup that fell incomplete, the Giants player initiated contact multiple times with Gallup. I get hand fighting and all that but shoving the receiver 15 to 20 yards downfield, by rule is a penalty. It is never called, except sometimes. Weird.

On a similar note, lining up in the neutral zone is another mystery. I remember Fowler getting a penalty for lining up in the neutral zone because his down hand was in line with the ball. I saw multiple Giants do the same thing 3 times and it was not called once. Seems like an easy call to make because it is obvious when it happens. They should decide, either call it all the time, or only call it when the defender is actually moving forward. I have when rules are applied inconsistently.

The Cowboys got some big breaks from the Giants and the refs. Danny Dimes seems to have problems throwing short passes when he feel pressure and he was feeling pressure a lot. The refs called some bad penalties on the Giants. But they did the same to the Cowboys. The holding on Zack Martin was iffy, but since he and Williams went to the ground the refs called it. I could not see it from the TV angle but it looked like a clean block to me. The Giants had a TD taken away because an offensive lineman was 3 yards downfield and trying to get back. I have seen linemen further downfield many times without a call. I just think the refs are too inconsistent.

I thought Tyler Smith had a bad day, not horrible, but he has played better. I think Sam Williams had a off day too. Damone Clark made some good plays and some not so good plays but he looks like the real deal. As disappointed as I am with the play of Gallimore, I cannot believe how well Carlos Watkins is playing. He had a good game despite that holding penalty that frankly made no difference to the play. On that play the RB was tackled for a loss before LVE got anywhere near the tackle so holding the offensive linemen had no impact on the play. But it was a killer penalty.

I think the Cowboys played a "C" game. They can play much better than they played against the Giants. The two first half INT might have cut off scoring drive which would have turned the game into a blowout. Both were bad decisions by Dak.

 

[Streifenkarl]

They did play a C game. But they also played an A game when it comes to turn arounds. Interestingly enough I enjoyed that more than the blow out vs the Vikings.

 

[gimmesix]

Great post, always like to see what people think after they have watched the game. I would also like to add this…
I agree with your first half quick take, penalties are an indication of two things: a team is poorly coached or a team is really tired.
As fans we like to believe that these athletes that get paid millions shouldn’t get tired because this is what they do! So we tend to go with “poorly coached/unprepared team”. That’s lazy and unfair! Put yourself in their position, they just mollywhopped a better than average borderline elite football team in the Minnesota Vikings and with a quick turnaround played a rival divisional opponent that is built to beat 3 teams (Phili, Wash, and our Dallas Cowboys). Our guys beat the ish outta the Vikings and even though they made it look easy, they went hard **! to make it look easy. So they probably didn’t have much in the tank, coaches included (they put in over 80 hrs a week game planning, if not more). Our guys rebooted at halftime and did what they do best nowadays and that’s dominate as a team! I’m positive the Colts will be a tough game early on as well, but as long as the Cowboys keep it close I believe we stomp their ***** too.

We seemed to be twitchy/antsy/overeager with the false starts. Sometimes players just get overly amped up and lose their discipline. I don't think it's necessarily a sign of bad coaching. This was a big division game on Thanksgiving, so it's understandable if we may have been keyed up. Plus, once you have penalty problems, it can get in your head and it's hard to stop. (I think it also gets in officials' heads and they are more apt to call them on you.) It's kind of like a back that has fumbling problems. Sometimes you can fix it with more work or sometimes it gets in the back's head and it doesn't matter how much you coach it, he's got to work through it. Drops can be the same way for receivers.