Sturm: The Morning After: Chargers 30, Cowboys 21 (2-2)

[WoodysGirl]

Sometimes, despite our inclination to complicate things, football is not complicated. We want to talk about strategy and tactics and ideas. We want to point at the men who make decisions on the sidelines or in the executive boxes. We want answers for whoever decided that this plan was a good plan.

But, sometimes, like Sunday, it isn't complicated. It is a matter of players just catching a football that is thrown at them. It is a matter of one man tackling another when given the opportunity. Or, one man just being faster than the man asked to defend him. The higher powers in a football organization assemble the best talent for days like this, and sometimes the best talent that you have was not good enough to leave with a victory.

In other words, you guys got beat. And any effort to make it bigger than that, absolves highly-compensated and highly-celebrated athletes of their only real job. When the moment comes, the team is counting on you to make a play.

And on Sunday, in San Diego, the Cowboys lost because the players that they deployed to handle a Chargers side, that was certainly not highly regarded across the league, simply did not do their jobs.

Read the rest: http://sturminator.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-morning-after-chargers-30-cowboys.html

 

[mahoneybill]

Always an insightful read by Strum.

 

[Crown Royal]

Pretty much how I felt after watching it. I said it last week and I say it again now; if you are going to lose games (and you WILL lose games), this type and the KC type are the exact games you should lose. out of conference games on the road.

There are some strategic and tactical things I would prefer, but yesterday we just plain got beat by a team that was playing better and making some plays. I wish we had won and I'm not thrilled, but I'm not going to cancel the season over it either.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I have a hard time blaming the offense too much. I don't care how great the offense is, you're not going to win many games when your opposing QB goes 35-42, 401 yards and 3 TD's.

I'm not thrilled by the offense by any means. We really needed to score a TD when the game got to 21-20 (our favor). But the defense has to field something better than that. When we went up 21-10, we needed to shut them down to end the half and get them to punt away when they got the ball in the second half. That would put our offense in position to make the kill shot and go up 28-10.

Instead, we give up a FG before the half (and I was happy they didn't give up a TD). And they make a long march down the field in the second half to score a TD and put the score to 21-20. Those 2 drives changed the entire complexion of the game.

We only had 37 pass attempts and 17 run attempts. And we compiled a lot of those passes in the 4th quarter. We just didn't have the ball for long because the defense couldn't stop the Chargers.





YR

 

[Idgit]

Sturm always does a nice job, even when I don't agree with his take. He's right-on here.

 

[Everlastingxxx]

I think Sturm has been off the mark the last few weeks. The Chargers were not the better team. Worst defense in the league. JV O-line. You let Danny Woodhead torch you and a relic TE. Both had done little this season (I would know I have both on my fantasy team). They lost because of a number of reasons not just one that fits his agenda.

 

[AbeBeta]

Pretty much how I felt after watching it. I said it last week and I say it again now; if you are going to lose games (and you WILL lose games), this type and the KC type are the exact games you should lose. out of conference games on the road.

There are some strategic and tactical things I would prefer, but yesterday we just plain got beat by a team that was playing better and making some plays. I wish we had won and I'm not thrilled, but I'm not going to cancel the season over it either.

You are absolutely right about road games. You simply cannot expect to dominate on the road.

However, the formula for winning a division generally would break out to being .750 at home and .500 on the road (that's 10 wins). So while we should expect some road losses -- we are going to have to really amp it up over our next six road games to get those four road wins we'd need. I'm not seeing any easy games on the road at all -- people might point to our struggling division foes but we all know how tough those teams play us at home. Saints, Lions, and Bears at the other three.

I expect we'll know by the bye week if we have any shot at all.

 

[Hoov]

Pretty much how I felt after watching it. I said it last week and I say it again now; if you are going to lose games (and you WILL lose games), this type and the KC type are the exact games you should lose. out of conference games on the road.

There are some strategic and tactical things I would prefer, but yesterday we just plain got beat by a team that was playing better and making some plays. I wish we had won and I'm not thrilled, but I'm not going to cancel the season over it either.

I wasn't demoralized after watching this game either. It was one of those "almost" games, where there were a number of plays that almost got it done. If not for the fumble at the end it was going to come down to a stop and chance for a FG on the road.

 

[Crown Royal]

I have a hard time blaming the offense too much. I don't care how great the offense is, you're not going to win many games when your opposing QB goes 35-42, 401 yards and 3 TD's.

I'm not thrilled by the offense by any means. We really needed to score a TD when the game got to 21-20 (our favor). But the defense has to field something better than that. When we went up 21-10, we needed to shut them down to end the half and get them to punt away when they got the ball in the second half. That would put our offense in position to make the kill shot and go up 28-10.

Instead, we give up a FG before the half (and I was happy they didn't give up a TD). And they make a long march down the field in the second half to score a TD and put the score to 21-20. Those 2 drives changed the entire complexion of the game.

We only had 37 pass attempts and 17 run attempts. And we compiled a lot of those passes in the 4th quarter. We just didn't have the ball for long because the defense couldn't stop the Chargers.

YR

First, I have been meaning to PM you, but I'll call you out publicly. I miss your "YR's Meaningless Thoughts of the Week" Thread. I think you should bring it back. If you refuse, I vote that mods change your AV to Justin Beiber. Just saying.

Second; yes, the defense did not make a play. That's what you get with the Tampa 2. Against a brainy QB and good pass protection, you are going to struggle. It wasn't shocking; that's the way it is. It's a bit disappointing that Carter and Lee are not dominating the way we thought we would, but in all fairness, this is going to happen sometimes. My one concern is that while the first 3 weeks we DOMINATED in TOP, we did not seem to care as much about it this week and REALLY got away from the run early. And there is no excuse of "well it's not working" this time. The run game was working very, very well. The pass game was alright, but the run game should have been mixed in a little more even in the third quarter. Own the clock and keep the ball out of the hands of Phillip Rivers, who CLEARLY understood how to attack the defense as early as the second quarter.

These are minor things and I'm not sure that they would have resulted in a win, because again; I agree with Sturm. WE just lost to an opponent who played better this time. Usually coaching is needed to win games. Sometimes your players just didn't get it done. The latter happened yesterday.

 

[JD_KaPow]

I think Sturm has been off the mark the last few weeks. The Chargers were not the better team. Worst defense in the league. JV O-line. You let Danny Woodhead torch you and a relic TE. Both had done little this season (I would know I have both on my fantasy team). They lost because of a number of reasons not just one that fits his agenda.

I'm perplexed how one could watch that game and conclude that the Chargers were not the better team. I mean, we may have the potential to be the better team: the defense, in particular, is in its 4th game with a completely new system. And yeah, we didn't maintain drives on offense thanks largely to drops. But we're never all that good at maintaining long drives on offense. It's not one of the strengths of the team.

 

[kramskoi]

I have a hard time blaming the offense too much. I don't care how great the offense is, you're not going to win many games when your opposing QB goes 35-42, 401 yards and 3 TD's.

I'm not thrilled by the offense by any means. We really needed to score a TD when the game got to 21-20 (our favor). But the defense has to field something better than that. When we went up 21-10, we needed to shut them down to end the half and get them to punt away when they got the ball in the second half. That would put our offense in position to make the kill shot and go up 28-10.

Instead, we give up a FG before the half (and I was happy they didn't give up a TD). And they make a long march down the field in the second half to score a TD and put the score to 21-20. Those 2 drives changed the entire complexion of the game.

We only had 37 pass attempts and 17 run attempts. And we compiled a lot of those passes in the 4th quarter. We just didn't have the ball for long because the defense couldn't stop the Chargers.
YR

Nice observation but the offense has got put up more than 14 points on the road ... especially on the road, where the Cowboys have gotten themselves behind field position, down and distance, and one dimensional/conservative offense too many times. I agree with Sturm on most of his analyses but to completely absolve coaching is not correct here. Coaching sets a tone. It sure did in San Diego's case. It was a different team that emerged from that tunnel in the second half. From the moment Lee waltzed into the endzone with a pick-six the Cowboys harkened back to the 2007 divisional playoff against the Giants, where after bashing them on a 20 play drive, they let them score 7 points in under two minutes, allowing them right back into the game.

I completely concur with you on the events following the pick-six but I have seen this so many times before and not just in football. You do something spectacular, feel good about yourself, get distracted for second, letdown and undo everything good that just happened. Human nature really. The sense of danger should have been MOST urgent after Lee's interception. A team has to learn that type of thing and the Cowboys have not. I always remember how Irvin would exhort his teammates ESPECIALLY after they had done something good. There was a hunger, a sense of urgency, danger ... a desire to do the worse to an opponent until the gun went off. It didn't always work but more times than not, it did. Man, I can hear the echoes of Facenda..."Roman appetite...without the Spartan will"

 

[kramskoi]

I'm perplexed how one could watch that game and conclude that the Chargers were not the better team. I mean, we may have the potential to be the better team: the defense, in particular, is in its 4th game with a completely new system. And yeah, we didn't maintain drives on offense thanks largely to drops. But we're never all that good at maintaining long drives on offense. It's not one of the strengths of the team.

Chargers had a much higher rated offense than the Cowboys did going in. By far! This is what Jimmy Johnson was talking about, and I apologize to go ad nauseum with it but this suzie sunshine crap has got to cease around Dallas. The bad Charger o-line was the talk of the town but to quote Facenda again, Dallas might have been out there thinking about winning but the Chargers were thinking about football.

 

[Crown Royal]

Nice observation but the offense has got put up more than 14 points on the road ... especially on the road, where the Cowboys have gotten themselves behind field position, down and distance, and one dimensional/conservative offense too many times. I agree with Sturm on most of his analyses but to completely absolve coaching is not correct here. Coaching sets a tone. It sure did in San Diego's case. It was a different team that emerged from that tunnel in the second half. From the moment Lee waltzed into the endzone with a pick-six the Cowboys harkened back to the 2007 divisional playoff against the Giants, where after bashing them on a 20 play drive, they let them score 7 points in under two minutes, allowing them right back into the game.

I completely concur with you on the events following the pick-six but I have seen this so many times before and not just in football. You do something spectacular, feel good about yourself, get distracted for second, letdown and undo everything good that just happened. Human nature really. The sense of danger should have been MOST urgent after Lee's interception. A team has to learn that type of thing and the Cowboys have not. I always remember how Irvin would exhort his teammates ESPECIALLY after they had done something good. There was a hunger, a sense of urgency, danger ... a desire to do the worse to an opponent until the gun went off. It didn't always work but more times than not, it did. Man, I can hear the echoes of Facenda..."Roman appetite...without the Spartan will"

To be fair, the comments from Garrett, via Siragusa, at the beginning of the 3rd quarter were very much confirming the things you said right here. He wanted a good defensive stop and effort, and had said that he wanted to see that. I think that the tone and strategy were fine; they just didn't execute. You can lay that at everyone's feet; the team knew what it needed to do, they just failed at it. The only thing I can say I wish I had seen more of is the running game. It was being VERY effective and would have assisted with both drives and TOP, but we just didn't commit. Ever. I don't care whose fault it is; Garrett, Callahan, Romo, whatever. You can't run as well as we were and say that you stopped because it wasn't effective. That's just a bold faced lie. 17 runs in that game, 5 yard average. Unreal.

 

[Everlastingxxx]

I'm perplexed how one could watch that game and conclude that the Chargers were not the better team. I mean, we may have the potential to be the better team: the defense, in particular, is in its 4th game with a completely new system. And yeah, we didn't maintain drives on offense thanks largely to drops. But we're never all that good at maintaining long drives on offense. It's not one of the strengths of the team.

I am perplexed how anyone could watch that game and not see that the Cowboys were completely out coached. Carter covering Woodhead one on one is an embarrassment. I would have fired Kiffen after the second Woodhead TD. Then you put Lee on Gates one on one down the seam. On offense, no throws to Dez Bryant in the redzone? Really, how dumb can you be?

 

[JD_KaPow]

I am perplexed how anyone could watch that game and not see that the Cowboys were completely out coached. Carter covering Woodhead one on one is an embarrassment. I would have fired Kiffen after the second Woodhead TD. Then you put Lee on Gates one on one down the seam. On offense, no throws to Dez Bryant in the redzone? Really, how dumb can you be?

We ran four plays in the red zone all day. The first was a run: aren't we supposed to be running more in the red zone? The second was a TD pass to Dez. The last two were at the end, and the Chargers had two guys on Dez for those.

And I'd love to see the defense where you're never covering the RB with your OLB.

 

[BAT]

I have a hard time blaming the offense too much. I don't care how great the offense is, you're not going to win many games when your opposing QB goes 35-42, 401 yards and 3 TD's.

I'm not thrilled by the offense by any means. We really needed to score a TD when the game got to 21-20 (our favor). But the defense has to field something better than that. When we went up 21-10, we needed to shut them down to end the half and get them to punt away when they got the ball in the second half. That would put our offense in position to make the kill shot and go up 28-10.

Instead, we give up a FG before the half (and I was happy they didn't give up a TD). And they make a long march down the field in the second half to score a TD and put the score to 21-20. Those 2 drives changed the entire complexion of the game.

We only had 37 pass attempts and 17 run attempts. And we compiled a lot of those passes in the 4th quarter. We just didn't have the ball for long because the defense couldn't stop the Chargers.





YR

Cowboys went for a long field goal and gave the Chargers a short field, which ended up 3 points. Those 3 points were crucial in this game. If TW does not brainfart in the redzone, Cowboys punch it in and those 3 points gifted to the Chargers is a game changer.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

It's not that I'm disagreeing although I'm not too down on Williams (the play was set up for him to try and make a play and score). It's just the fact remains...you're not winning too many games when you give up 35-42 passing for 401 yards and 3 TD's.

That's 83.3% completion rate at 9.5 yards per attempt.

It's basically saying that if they threw it 3 times in a row...the were likely to complete 2 of those passes for 19 yards.





YR

 

[Future]

We were winning by 11, averaging like 5 ypc, and completely abandoned the run. Made a terrible decision on the FG before the half. 5 drops, 4 of which came on third down. We fumbled on the goalline. Ware jumped offsides on 3rd and 3.

I'm not of the crowd who thinks the Chargers just played better. They played well, but it still came down to Dallas failing to do the fundamental things right and being completely inept when it comes to playing 60 minutes of focused, intense football. After watching that, I dont understand how people can be optimistic that this team can be more than 9-7 and then just get murdered in the first round. Would anybody feel confident playing the 49ers, Packers, Bears, or Falcons in the first round...even if it is at home?

 

[dupree89]

thank you Woodys Girl for all you do.

 

[JD_KaPow]

We were winning by 11, averaging like 5 ypc, and completely abandoned the run. Made a terrible decision on the FG before the half. 5 drops, 4 of which came on third down. We fumbled on the goalline. Ware jumped offsides on 3rd and 3.

All those things are true except that we "completely abandoned the run." Here are our third-quarter plays, all of them:

1-10 Run for 3
2-7 False Start
2-12 Pass for 9
3-3 Pass for 5
1-10 Run for 4 [+ 15 roughness penalty]
1-10 Run for -1
2-11 Pass incomplete
3-11 Pass incomplete

We ran on every 1st down. We passed on later downs when we had more than 10 yards to go. And yes, we passed (successfully) on one 3rd-and-3 play. What exactly are you criticizing here? On the next drive, we started with 2 runs in the first 3 plays. After that, we got a bit pass-happy, but we did not "completely abandon the run" until late in the 4th quarter.

I'm not of the crowd who thinks the Chargers just played better. They played well, but it still came down to Dallas failing to do the fundamental things right and being completely inept when it comes to playing 60 minutes of focused, intense football.

They played well, we didn't. Isn't that kind of the definition of "they just played better?"

After watching that, I dont understand how people can be optimistic that this team can be more than 9-7 and then just get murdered in the first round. Would anybody feel confident playing the 49ers, Packers, Bears, or Falcons in the first round...even if it is at home?

Of course not. And they shouldn't. Anybody who thought we were going to be some juggernaut capable of rolling through the playoffs this season was deluding themselves. There's a reason most folks predicted us to go 8-8 or 9-7.