BulletBob
The Godfather
- Messages
- 2,597
- Reaction score
- 1,279
· Romo was impressive. If you watched his post-game presser, Tony explained that the Giants defense threw a curve-ball at him by keeping everything in front of them (safeties back) and forcing him to throw mostly underneath routes (nothing vertical). He had never seen this type of defensive scheme from the Giants his entire career. They also took away Dez by double-teaming him all night. Tony remained patient, took what the defense gave him, and above all, protected the football. Knowing that a +5 turnover ratio will almost always result in a win, Romo was aware that all he had to do was avoid mistakes and be patient. That is the sign of a VERY mature, heady quarterback. Caveat: What I don’t understand is why the OC didn’t send in more plays for the TEs over the middle. Yes, we did score two touchdowns this way, but with that subpar linebacking core of the Giants, why weren’t all 3 TEs catching passes down the seam?
· Several players who are being demonized on the boards actually made game-changing plays. DeMarco Murray’s hustle tackling Mundy on the 1-yard line after his interception was an early key (he also had 125 combined yards from scrimmage). Gavin Escobar recovered Tanner’s fumble – if he doesn’t, the entire game probably changes. Will Allen intercepted a ball and stopped a key 3rd and 1 Giants running play late in the game. If these guys were given less playing time (or benched) as some have suggested, we probably lose this game.
· Terrance Williams played like a ….. ROOKIE. Imagine it’s your first game as a rookie, you have to start against the Giants, ON NATIONAL TV, Sunday night. Ugh! How about we give this kid a few games before we run him outta town on a rail? Did he cause an interception and drop a potentially long gain? Yes. But he also caught a few tough throws over the middle in traffic. If other teams try to copy the Giants blueprint from last night (taking away Dez), this kid will see plenty of single-coverage, and will get plenty of opportunity. But he’s still a rookie. There will be ups and downs – the only way to evaluate this player is over the course of the year to see if he trends upward rather than downward.
· We needed 6 turnovers to win by 5 points (but it’s Cowboys/Giants ). This one really bothered me. We didn’t seem to take advantage of the turnovers for the most part. Great teams make opposing teams pay dearly for turnovers. It should have been a complete blowout. However, it seems that whenever these two teams play, the game almost always goes down to the wire and the conditions are often bizarre. Was it poor play by the offense, or a case of these teams knowing each other really well, and almost always keeping things close? Time will tell.
· Monte Kiffin may be making a difference. It’s certainly too soon to tell, but it seemed to me that this defense played with a lot more passion last night than they have played with in years. There seemed to be attempts to fly to the ball and strip it on almost every play. Props to Selvie, Hayden, and Hatcher (I thought our DLine was going to be awful last night). On the flip side, our Achilles heel continues to be giving up the big play (especially to Eli and Cruz). 450+ yards passing! Our corners played really soft all night and when we didn't get pressure, Eli shredded our secondary! I was on the edge of my seat all night waiting for the next big play to be gashed on our defense. And there were several, but you know what? Our defense tightened up when it counted and didn’t blow it in the 4th quarter. Take-aways were the difference as they always are. Keep spreading the Mojo, Monte!
· It’s only game one, so nobody on this board knows what kind of team we have (yet). We don’t know if the Giants are a good team (they were certainly a hurt team), the Cowboys were a lucky team (every ball did bounce our way over the course of the entire game), or where any of these teams will end up at the end of the year. We simply don’t have enough information at this point to form an educated guess. With all that said, a win in the NFL is a very difficult achievement, a division win is critical, and I’d certainly rather be a Cowboys Fan than a Giants Fan this beautiful Monday morning!
· Several players who are being demonized on the boards actually made game-changing plays. DeMarco Murray’s hustle tackling Mundy on the 1-yard line after his interception was an early key (he also had 125 combined yards from scrimmage). Gavin Escobar recovered Tanner’s fumble – if he doesn’t, the entire game probably changes. Will Allen intercepted a ball and stopped a key 3rd and 1 Giants running play late in the game. If these guys were given less playing time (or benched) as some have suggested, we probably lose this game.
· Terrance Williams played like a ….. ROOKIE. Imagine it’s your first game as a rookie, you have to start against the Giants, ON NATIONAL TV, Sunday night. Ugh! How about we give this kid a few games before we run him outta town on a rail? Did he cause an interception and drop a potentially long gain? Yes. But he also caught a few tough throws over the middle in traffic. If other teams try to copy the Giants blueprint from last night (taking away Dez), this kid will see plenty of single-coverage, and will get plenty of opportunity. But he’s still a rookie. There will be ups and downs – the only way to evaluate this player is over the course of the year to see if he trends upward rather than downward.
· We needed 6 turnovers to win by 5 points (but it’s Cowboys/Giants ). This one really bothered me. We didn’t seem to take advantage of the turnovers for the most part. Great teams make opposing teams pay dearly for turnovers. It should have been a complete blowout. However, it seems that whenever these two teams play, the game almost always goes down to the wire and the conditions are often bizarre. Was it poor play by the offense, or a case of these teams knowing each other really well, and almost always keeping things close? Time will tell.
· Monte Kiffin may be making a difference. It’s certainly too soon to tell, but it seemed to me that this defense played with a lot more passion last night than they have played with in years. There seemed to be attempts to fly to the ball and strip it on almost every play. Props to Selvie, Hayden, and Hatcher (I thought our DLine was going to be awful last night). On the flip side, our Achilles heel continues to be giving up the big play (especially to Eli and Cruz). 450+ yards passing! Our corners played really soft all night and when we didn't get pressure, Eli shredded our secondary! I was on the edge of my seat all night waiting for the next big play to be gashed on our defense. And there were several, but you know what? Our defense tightened up when it counted and didn’t blow it in the 4th quarter. Take-aways were the difference as they always are. Keep spreading the Mojo, Monte!
· It’s only game one, so nobody on this board knows what kind of team we have (yet). We don’t know if the Giants are a good team (they were certainly a hurt team), the Cowboys were a lucky team (every ball did bounce our way over the course of the entire game), or where any of these teams will end up at the end of the year. We simply don’t have enough information at this point to form an educated guess. With all that said, a win in the NFL is a very difficult achievement, a division win is critical, and I’d certainly rather be a Cowboys Fan than a Giants Fan this beautiful Monday morning!
