Sturm: Marinelli Report - Kicked In the Teeth

[Doomsday101]

Wow! I missed the second half -- yes, I was shocked when I heard the final score -- so I missed all this. I hate to say it but they looked like quitters. There was some effort but, overall, it looked like they gave up mentally, physically and spiritually.

In my view that is the power of the run game and why it matters. Alt continued to pound the front and sooner or later that front will cave.

 

[xwalker]

Football is a pretty simple game when you boil it down to its roots. Sure, we see it present itself in new places with new names every new year, but the basic tenets of football reveal themselves every Sunday in the following way: Blocking and tackling. In other words, can my guys block better than your guys can tackle? Can my guys tackle better than your guys can block?

Well, on Sunday, everyone who followed football knew the Cowboys were going to have their hands full with Julio Jones. He is awesome and maybe the best in the business as of this moment. But, nobody in the world expected the Cowboys, who had just been praised for limiting the Eagles running game to 7 yards on 17 carries, to be beaten into a bloody pulp by Devonta Freeman. Freeman is a talented young player, but up until this day, in 2 seasons in the NFL, he had 87 career carries for 291 yards (3.3 per carry). So, who anticipated 30 carries for 141 (4.7)?

Welcome to the NFL, where you better bring it every Sunday.

Read the rest: http://beta.sportsdaydfw.com/dallas...marinelli-report-cowboys-defense-kicked-teeth

Great work.

IMO, Lawrence is getting to much blame. On the goal line play I can't blame him for almost making a great play while the middle of the line is wide open.

On the plays where he loops outside or crashes down inside and the run comes through that area, he is doing what they coached him to do, IMO. I've seen that over and over with multiple DE since Marinelli/Kiffin arrived. If they want more pass rush they give the DE the go to basically abandon the run lanes and go max pass rush. I'm fairly certain it is part of the defensive play call on when the DE stays home against the run or not.

I would like to have seen him make the tackle when the RB cut blocked him but he was going for the big play over playing it safe. There were plenty of LBs and DBs behind him such that going for the big play should have been OK (I think).

The LBs were off in this game. I thought Hitchens and Lee had been terrific in the 1st two games but they both seemed off in this game, especially Hitchens. Wilber got boxed out at times also. This is the 1st game where I thought RoMc would have been really helpful.

The Zone running got the DTs moving and then susceptible to the cutback or power runs. That's what the Cowboys were doing to defenses last year.

 

[JakeCamp12]

Because the backup QB actually did his job? Where most of the starters on defense did not?

How many first downs did the backup QB generate in the 2nd half when he had his unit on the field? How many long drive did he help develop to chew up some clock? I don't think anyone is solely blaming Weeden, but he is part of the problem. We lost because the defense stunk, the OLine played poorly, Weeden only threw check down passes and our coaches had their worst game in probably a year. Total team responsibility.

 

[LandryFan]

Again, why is it so hard for people to put blame on multiple areas?

Why are some of you so hell bent on trying to place majority of the blame on just one person or one group?

That loss falls at the feet of multiple areas - coaching, the crappy defense, the awful QB.

Why are people trying to make this out to be much harder than it is? The defense was brutal. But the offense, with that backup QB, managed 50 yards of offense over 30 minutes of football. That's horrid.

The above bolded statement is actually nearer the most accurate. There wasn't one element of the team that can honestly say they didn't play a role in that fiasco. There just seemed to be a lot of people trying to lay that loss at the feet of Weedon. While Weedon was, indeed, culpable in that loss, he wasn't as bad as some other parts, IMO. The offense was bad, the coaching was bad, and the defense was horrible. In reality, when you're missing as many vital players as the Cowboys were (and will be), I don't know that there should be a lot of finger pointing going on anywhere. I think we fans were expecting a better product than we had a reasonable right to expect given the circumstances, and the team as a whole performed far more poorly than they should have, even with a depleted roster. Put those two together, and you get the major knee jerk fan reaction/blame game that we witnessed here the last few days.

 

[Idgit]

How many first downs did the backup QB generate in the 2nd half when he had his unit on the field? How many long drive did he help develop to chew up some clock? I don't think anyone is solely blaming Weeden, but he is part of the problem. We lost because the defense stunk, the OLine played poorly, Weeden only threw check down passes and our coaches had their worst game in probably a year. Total team responsibility.

Go back and look at the penalties, sacks, negative runs, drops, and game situations on those four 2nd half possessions and get back to me.

But I didn't mean to derail the thread. This one is about our defense coughing up 40 at home when they were supposed to be supporting our hobbled offense.

 

[Doc50]

No, it was an accurate analysis...there was nothing "good" about it.

Accurate response.

 

[DCBoysfan]

Watching those Gif's were brutal. There were so many missed assignments it wasn't even funny.

 

[burmafrd]

did anyone really excel on Sunday? Usually we have a couple or three players that really put it out there each game. This one- meh. Everyone was slightly off one way or another.

 

[perrykemp]

Looking at Lee and Hitchens in those GIFs, it makes me wonder if either of those guys are even 230 lbs. They both look very thin.

I see Lee's weight reported as being between 228 - 238.

Anybody got an idea of what these guys weigh this year?

 

[Sydla]

Because the backup QB actually did his job? Where most of the starters on defense did not?

He did his job? A water cooler might have been more effective than him in the 2nd half when the team could have used a few sustained drives.

Too many of you are hanging on this 28 points thing and it's fool's gold. When the team was reeling a bit in the 2nd half and could have used one or two long drives, he crapped the bed.

That game on Sunday was a total team loss from the coaching staff down through the vaunted OL, the defense and the backup QB who was horrid in the 2nd half.

 

[Sydla]

Because some have realistic views on a backup QB. He is not going to carry the team. Dallas scored we expect the defense to do their jobs. Offense has injuries as well yet put up 28 and the defense can't make a stop? Damn right Defense deserves a lot of heat

Who said the defense doesn't deserve heat? Again, why are some of you so hell bent on just blaming one person/group for the loss?

And no one said the backup needs to carry the team. But he sure as **** has to do better than manage an offense that gets 50 yards of offense in a half.

In no logical world would an offense or a QB get a pass managing such an anemic performance as we saw in the 2nd half.

 

[Doomsday101]

Who said the defense doesn't deserve heat? Again, why are some of you so hell bent on just blaming one person/group for the loss?

And no one said the backup needs to carry the team. But he sure as **** has to do better than manage an offense that gets 50 yards of offense in a half.

In no logical world would an offense or a QB get a pass managing such an anemic performance as we saw in the 2nd half.

and again it is a backup QB hell most of you did not even expect the offense to put up 20 points let alone 28. We knew going in the defense would have to play well they didn't. They forced 1 punt the entire 2nd half of the game. I would like to see coaches be a bit more aggressive with Weeden after all he is not going to have as much leeway as Romo to change things up. Seems to me many want to lay it at the feet of Weeden and started that right after the game so spare me the blaming one group When Weeden has take the brunt of it.

 

[LocimusPrime]

did anyone really excel on Sunday? Usually we have a couple or three players that really put it out there each game. This one- meh. Everyone was slightly off one way or another.

Lance dunbar excelled. He had 100 yards receiving - so thats not bad

 

[Doomsay]

Anybody still want to make the case that the real problem was the backup QB completing 85% of his passes on mostly check downs?

Defense was terrible, however Weeden and or the 2nd half game plan was a big factor for sure. Achieving only 3 second half offensive first downs (including one by penalty and one in garbage time) would gas any defense. Our depleted defense was getting banged up as the game progressed, no way were they going to be able to survive that kind of 2nd half offensive ineptitude.

A bad defensive performance doesn't absolve an offensive non-adjustment 0 in the 2nd half.

 

[Bungarian]

Ouch

 

[Doomsay]

Because the backup QB actually did his job? Where most of the starters on defense did not?

He did his job in the first half and took what the defense was giving him.
He didn't adjust in the 2nd half achieving 0 points and 2 first downs (excluding garbage time). That's no doing one's job.

If he keeps "doing his job" in upcoming games where defenses play him like they did in the 2nd half of the Atlanta game, he won't win a single game even if the defense were to play at top 5 levels.

 

[Bleu Star]

Wow! I missed the second half -- yes, I was shocked when I heard the final score -- so I missed all this. I hate to say it but they looked like quitters. There was some effort but, overall, it looked like the coaches gave up mentally, physically and spiritually.

There. Fify.

 

[Bleu Star]

Zero inspiration from the coaching staff in that second half. Lotta clapping though.

 

[PA Cowboy Fan]

It wouldn't have mattered how well Weeden played ( and he didn't play that bad). If you can't make a stop and you can't get off the field, you have no chance. This loss was on the defense. I never thought the offense would ever score 28 points.

 

[Kevinicus]

He did his job? A water cooler might have been more effective than him in the 2nd half when the team could have used a few sustained drives.

Too many of you are hanging on this 28 points thing and it's fool's gold. When the team was reeling a bit in the 2nd half and could have used one or two long drives, he crapped the bed.

That game on Sunday was a total team loss from the coaching staff down through the vaunted OL, the defense and the backup QB who was horrid in the 2nd half.

Actually, he did not. All these checkdowns people are complaining about? There were about 2 or 3 before the final drive (when it was pretty much too late). 2nd and 26, 3rd and 23, and a 6 yard pass to Beasely to set up a 3rd and short. OUTRAGEOUS! Cut him now!

His bad play in the 2nd half (before the game was basically over) boils down to his one missed pass to Witten. His play is so minuscule compared to the other factors in the loss.