parchy
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Just some random thoughts on today's game -
I'm honestly beginning to worry about Bledsoe. Before I say anything, you must understand that I have been and always will be the last person to point fingers at Mr. Bledsoe. When he balked at the game-tying TD in Philly, I held my tongue because I've always known what he does well and what he doesn't do well... and it was evident from early on that day that Philly had his number. So I let it slide, for the most part, giving him that one "give up game" a year that we all should... because his name is 'Bledsoe' and that was basically written into his contract. Last year it was Seattle, this year it's Philly. So I moved on...
The problem I see this year is what has changed since last season. Drew did his best stonehenge impression last year as well, and it appears nothing has changed since then. But of course... I wasn't expecting him to sprout working legs in one off-season in his 30's. He still pats the ball, still has happy feet and still holds the ball for too long. Like I said, none of that has changed, and that isn't necessarily a terrible thing.
My issue with all of this is that, unlike last year, he seems to be missing throws he shouldn't be missing. He is overthrowing open receivers on fly routes (good money says he hits Glenn on both of the deep balls he missed today last year). He is gimp-arming throws that seemed routine last year. And this has me worried. Take a pass to Jason Witten he missed in the second half. He threw a TD pass to Owens later that drive (it might have even been the next play) in which Owens made a great swim move to get to it, so people may have forgotten about the poor throw from Bledsoe. Witten was breaking wiiide open in the middle of the field for the walk-in touchdown and Drew just flat out missed him. Lead him about four yards too long. There is no way he misses that throw last year, and I can't figure exactly what has changed other than another candle on the cake. And that may be making the difference.
Look, if you didn't realize what Drew was before he was brought here, I'm sorry for you - you must have some crushed hopes at the moment. But I knew - I knew he was accident prone, that he has molten lead in his shoes and that he can make a frustrating ill-timed throw or five. So I'm not really surprised by those. But this new development, that he's missing windows he didn't miss last year - that worries me. And it's been pretty constant this year.
I'm not saying we look to Romo in all of this, either. He threw a nice pass to Hurd off his back foot that could have been picked against a better defense, and a nice touch pass to TO... which was, rather surprisingly, pretty darn athletic. I won't lie - I did grin a bit (a little like BP after TO's third TD catch) after Romo completed his first ever regular season pass for a 33-yard gain. I'd like to think that's the beginning of an auspicious career. Let's hope we never get to see it start while Bledsoe is here.
Skylar Green looked like... well, like he'd just been activated for the first time all season. I think Parcells was right in the first place - we might be waiting a very long time for this guy to shake the rust off from his stellar college career. I know it's tough to say that about a rookie, but he hasn't really shown us anything since he was drafted. Maybe if he keeps hammering away at it, it'll click. Lucky for him, there really isn't another option at kick/punt returner aside from Newman, who is one awkward tackle away from being sidelined for a very long time. Abram Elam has looked bad and Thompson will never be an option on punts. And as much as I like Crayton, I can't see him ever making a punt return exciting. Green may have the Tyson Thompson disease of woeful predictability, but at least it doesn't mean jack if he ends up on IR (harsh but true).
I was listening to Sham and the Cowboys post-game on the radio on my way back up to Waco on Sunday, and they interviewed Colombo. Good to see the guy is getting some recognition. He has impressed the heck out of me, and I'm sure Parcells after he sat the former 1st rounder through all of Pettiti's struggles late last year. He did miss a few blocks, but that's a welcome trade-off at a position we're not talking a whole lot about anymore. Let's keep it that way, eh?
I've never seen Julius Jones run like this. I mean, I've seen it, just not over this kind of lengthy period. He is taking that Carolina performance from last year and that Seattle performance from his rookie year and rolling it into a more concise and malleable package. He is finally working at a pace that behooves a 16-game season. He is fluid and quick, but the thing that we're finally seeing with consistency is how hard and fast he hits the hole. I can't really blame him for being tenative in his first two years - the Cowboys' offensive line basically forced that issue. It's a little like David Carr - when your line lets you down four times out of five, I'd probably be trying to pick my way through the line instead of bursting through too.
So long as he clears of his injury issues, I don't see why he can't keep his 100+ yards streak up. The Giants destroyed Vick today, but their pass rush and front seven hasn't been consistent enough to scare me. And MBIII continues to look like one of the most consistent backs in the entire league. I don't care how the line is blocking, Marion will give you the same effort and the same chunks of yardage in just about every contest.
I think the Cowboys might actually have too many options for Bledsoe on offense. I'm not sure if Parcells/Sparano/Palmer are having a rough time incorporating everything, or if it's just Bledsoe's poor decision making, but Jason Witten is absolutely dying in this offense. While Witten isn't perfect (he goes down awful fast for a tight end), he is probably one of the five best in the game.
So you've got the best wide out in the league, maybe the fastest wide out in the league and one of the best tight ends in the league all vying for the ball. And add Crayton to the mix, who has some of the best hands I've ever seen, and you've got one helluva offense. Unless you can't decide which guy to throw to. I think what we're seeing is these guys figuring out who does what with TO now in the mix. That's a pretty big shift in personnel they're having to deal with. The thing about Owens is that you can force him the ball and it's almost never a poor decision - see his first two touchdowns. That means that Bledsoe may be checking off "his" guys too quickly before forcing it to Owens or just flat out throwing it away.
And as a quick sidenote - why are you throwing one-on-one routes to Glenn... as the only receiver on the field... in crucial short-yardage situations on 3rd and 4th downs? Boils my kettle...
Some quick random thoughts - Roy Williams rebounded in a BIG way. Dear sweet baby of Zeus, the guy was everywhere... Greg Ellis is as good as he has ever been. Slap me silly for ever doubting the guy... Mat McBriar is amazing (I really can't say anything else about the guy - words don't really do that performance justice)... Ware finally seems to be developing some moves for tackles. He has this nasty habit of locking in bull rush situations with OTs, which only works with a couple tackles - if it isn't working, he is in for a long day because he typically doesn't have any moves to complement his straight ahead style. But he appears to have incorporated a pretty effective spin move and actually sidestepped a blocker a few times - progress!... for everyone shouting for Watkins to be benched last week, I hope you watched him closely today - he did about as well as you could have hoped coming off a game like that - guy looked amazing on special teams.
Feels odd that my last thought should be of a kicker, but it seems Suisham has become expendable. Aside from that squibber that may or may not have been planned, I think Vandy is doing just as well (if not better) than 'the Sweeze' on kickoffs. There's BP's roster spot he's been longing for. Maybe he can finally get Carpenter on the damn field.
I'm honestly beginning to worry about Bledsoe. Before I say anything, you must understand that I have been and always will be the last person to point fingers at Mr. Bledsoe. When he balked at the game-tying TD in Philly, I held my tongue because I've always known what he does well and what he doesn't do well... and it was evident from early on that day that Philly had his number. So I let it slide, for the most part, giving him that one "give up game" a year that we all should... because his name is 'Bledsoe' and that was basically written into his contract. Last year it was Seattle, this year it's Philly. So I moved on...
The problem I see this year is what has changed since last season. Drew did his best stonehenge impression last year as well, and it appears nothing has changed since then. But of course... I wasn't expecting him to sprout working legs in one off-season in his 30's. He still pats the ball, still has happy feet and still holds the ball for too long. Like I said, none of that has changed, and that isn't necessarily a terrible thing.
My issue with all of this is that, unlike last year, he seems to be missing throws he shouldn't be missing. He is overthrowing open receivers on fly routes (good money says he hits Glenn on both of the deep balls he missed today last year). He is gimp-arming throws that seemed routine last year. And this has me worried. Take a pass to Jason Witten he missed in the second half. He threw a TD pass to Owens later that drive (it might have even been the next play) in which Owens made a great swim move to get to it, so people may have forgotten about the poor throw from Bledsoe. Witten was breaking wiiide open in the middle of the field for the walk-in touchdown and Drew just flat out missed him. Lead him about four yards too long. There is no way he misses that throw last year, and I can't figure exactly what has changed other than another candle on the cake. And that may be making the difference.
Look, if you didn't realize what Drew was before he was brought here, I'm sorry for you - you must have some crushed hopes at the moment. But I knew - I knew he was accident prone, that he has molten lead in his shoes and that he can make a frustrating ill-timed throw or five. So I'm not really surprised by those. But this new development, that he's missing windows he didn't miss last year - that worries me. And it's been pretty constant this year.
I'm not saying we look to Romo in all of this, either. He threw a nice pass to Hurd off his back foot that could have been picked against a better defense, and a nice touch pass to TO... which was, rather surprisingly, pretty darn athletic. I won't lie - I did grin a bit (a little like BP after TO's third TD catch) after Romo completed his first ever regular season pass for a 33-yard gain. I'd like to think that's the beginning of an auspicious career. Let's hope we never get to see it start while Bledsoe is here.
Skylar Green looked like... well, like he'd just been activated for the first time all season. I think Parcells was right in the first place - we might be waiting a very long time for this guy to shake the rust off from his stellar college career. I know it's tough to say that about a rookie, but he hasn't really shown us anything since he was drafted. Maybe if he keeps hammering away at it, it'll click. Lucky for him, there really isn't another option at kick/punt returner aside from Newman, who is one awkward tackle away from being sidelined for a very long time. Abram Elam has looked bad and Thompson will never be an option on punts. And as much as I like Crayton, I can't see him ever making a punt return exciting. Green may have the Tyson Thompson disease of woeful predictability, but at least it doesn't mean jack if he ends up on IR (harsh but true).
I was listening to Sham and the Cowboys post-game on the radio on my way back up to Waco on Sunday, and they interviewed Colombo. Good to see the guy is getting some recognition. He has impressed the heck out of me, and I'm sure Parcells after he sat the former 1st rounder through all of Pettiti's struggles late last year. He did miss a few blocks, but that's a welcome trade-off at a position we're not talking a whole lot about anymore. Let's keep it that way, eh?
I've never seen Julius Jones run like this. I mean, I've seen it, just not over this kind of lengthy period. He is taking that Carolina performance from last year and that Seattle performance from his rookie year and rolling it into a more concise and malleable package. He is finally working at a pace that behooves a 16-game season. He is fluid and quick, but the thing that we're finally seeing with consistency is how hard and fast he hits the hole. I can't really blame him for being tenative in his first two years - the Cowboys' offensive line basically forced that issue. It's a little like David Carr - when your line lets you down four times out of five, I'd probably be trying to pick my way through the line instead of bursting through too.
So long as he clears of his injury issues, I don't see why he can't keep his 100+ yards streak up. The Giants destroyed Vick today, but their pass rush and front seven hasn't been consistent enough to scare me. And MBIII continues to look like one of the most consistent backs in the entire league. I don't care how the line is blocking, Marion will give you the same effort and the same chunks of yardage in just about every contest.
I think the Cowboys might actually have too many options for Bledsoe on offense. I'm not sure if Parcells/Sparano/Palmer are having a rough time incorporating everything, or if it's just Bledsoe's poor decision making, but Jason Witten is absolutely dying in this offense. While Witten isn't perfect (he goes down awful fast for a tight end), he is probably one of the five best in the game.
So you've got the best wide out in the league, maybe the fastest wide out in the league and one of the best tight ends in the league all vying for the ball. And add Crayton to the mix, who has some of the best hands I've ever seen, and you've got one helluva offense. Unless you can't decide which guy to throw to. I think what we're seeing is these guys figuring out who does what with TO now in the mix. That's a pretty big shift in personnel they're having to deal with. The thing about Owens is that you can force him the ball and it's almost never a poor decision - see his first two touchdowns. That means that Bledsoe may be checking off "his" guys too quickly before forcing it to Owens or just flat out throwing it away.
And as a quick sidenote - why are you throwing one-on-one routes to Glenn... as the only receiver on the field... in crucial short-yardage situations on 3rd and 4th downs? Boils my kettle...
Some quick random thoughts - Roy Williams rebounded in a BIG way. Dear sweet baby of Zeus, the guy was everywhere... Greg Ellis is as good as he has ever been. Slap me silly for ever doubting the guy... Mat McBriar is amazing (I really can't say anything else about the guy - words don't really do that performance justice)... Ware finally seems to be developing some moves for tackles. He has this nasty habit of locking in bull rush situations with OTs, which only works with a couple tackles - if it isn't working, he is in for a long day because he typically doesn't have any moves to complement his straight ahead style. But he appears to have incorporated a pretty effective spin move and actually sidestepped a blocker a few times - progress!... for everyone shouting for Watkins to be benched last week, I hope you watched him closely today - he did about as well as you could have hoped coming off a game like that - guy looked amazing on special teams.
Feels odd that my last thought should be of a kicker, but it seems Suisham has become expendable. Aside from that squibber that may or may not have been planned, I think Vandy is doing just as well (if not better) than 'the Sweeze' on kickoffs. There's BP's roster spot he's been longing for. Maybe he can finally get Carpenter on the damn field.
