The good, the bad, the ugly, and next week

[CoachD]

-The Good
*The Cowboys continue to play hard each week
*This is the best non playoff team the Cowboys have ever had (if there is such a thing) with a ton of good players on IR
*Cooper Rush opened things up and went down the field early
*CD Lamb is one tough dude and is playing through shoulder pain but is still very productive
*The Cowboys' defense started getting after it and got plenty of pressure on Mayfield and got a couple of turnovers
*Great start to the game by the Cowboys putting up 23 points
*Awesome pick by Lewis and a great strip of the football by Bland to seal the game
*Guess who makes this list again for like the tenth time Brandon Aubrey, yup 1st team all pro again
-The Bad
*I continued to say throughout the second half "we're going to lose this game"
*Rush stopped throwing it down the field in the second half
*Which resulted in all of 3 points
*Can we please do away with the none yard pass when the first down marker is six yards away on 3rd down, enough McCarthy
*The Cowboys run game was nonexistent because Vita Vea is the man
-The Ugly
*The Bucs went right down the field to get the game within two and got the ball back with plenty of time to go down the field and win the game, very nerve racking
-Next Week
*The Cowboys play the Eagles in a game that doesn't mean much as far as playoff position but the Eagles better be prepared because the Cowboys are playing to win
*Merry Christmas everyone Coach D

 

[Whirlwin]

I love heart attack games. I love that. The team is playing with heart. I’m actually enjoying this winning out.

 

[Creeper]

I agree, the good was definitely the way they played. No Kendricks, no Overshown, no Diggs, No Lawrence, and yet they were playing as hard as I have seen them play in a long time on defense. The way they were digging at the football all night was great to watch.

I am still not a Rush fan. He made some nice throws, but he was lucky a few of his passes were not picked off. Late in the game he threw one across his body right into the belly of a Bucs defender who dropped it. That could have and should have been a pick 6. It's weird, but Rush can play really smart for a long time then make a boneheaded decision like that and make me scratch my head.

On the bad side, I did not like the way the Cowboys were rushing Mayfield when he dropped back. Parsons was racing 5 yards behind Mayfield leaving him a lot of room to escape the pocket. There was no discipline at all. The Cowboys desperately need more pressure up the middle. Joseph had a great play once. That was pretty much it.

We saw what happened to the running game when the Cowboys faced a better defense. I like Rico, but I think he leaves meat on the bone. A guy like Irving could have run for 100 yards last night even behind the Cowboys offensive line because he has better vision and he is more elusive - not to mention quicker.

Ugly? Ryan Flournoy getting bowled over as he was trying to block on a running play. He makes his block and the play goes for 10 yards or more but his guy made the tackled as Flournoy was on his behind.

It will be interesting to see the PFF grades for this game. I think Mazi Smith will wind up in the 30s again. He was awful. He is holding his ground better, and even getting some push, but he is slow shedding blockers and RBs race by him before he can get an arm on them to make a stop at the LOS.

Like others I was pretty sure that after the Bucs narrowed the lead to 2 points and the Cowboys could not get a 1st down, the Bucs were going to come back and kick a game winning last second FG. Kudos to Balnd for stripping that ball.

 

[TwentyOne]

-The Good
*The Cowboys continue to play hard each week
*This is the best non playoff team the Cowboys have ever had (if there is such a thing) with a ton of good players on IR
*Cooper Rush opened things up and went down the field early
*CD Lamb is one tough dude and is playing through shoulder pain but is still very productive
*The Cowboys' defense started getting after it and got plenty of pressure on Mayfield and got a couple of turnovers
*Great start to the game by the Cowboys putting up 23 points
*Awesome pick by Lewis and a great strip of the football by Bland to seal the game
*Guess who makes this list again for like the tenth time Brandon Aubrey, yup 1st team all pro again
-The Bad
*I continued to say throughout the second half "we're going to lose this game"
*Rush stopped throwing it down the field in the second half
*Which resulted in all of 3 points
*Can we please do away with the none yard pass when the first down marker is six yards away on 3rd down, enough McCarthy
*The Cowboys run game was nonexistent because Vita Vea is the man
-The Ugly
*The Bucs went right down the field to get the game within two and got the ball back with plenty of time to go down the field and win the game, very nerve racking
-Next Week
*The Cowboys play the Eagles in a game that doesn't mean much as far as playoff position but the Eagles better be prepared because the Cowboys are playing to win
*Merry Christmas everyone Coach D

Thanks for your work.

Merry Christmas to you too.

 

[CCBoy]

Counting their MLB out, the team was missing 7 starters.

 

[big dog cowboy]

-The Bad
*Rush stopped throwing it down the field in the second half
*Which resulted in all of 3 points
*Can we please do away with the none yard pass when the first down marker is six yards away on 3rd down, enough McCarthy

 

[Aven8]

Nice post. Shout out to the secondary. Hitting and inspired play all over. The season is so long and has so many ups and downs it’s a tale of two seasons.

 

[buybuydandavis]

-The Ugly
*The Bucs went right down the field to get the game within two and got the ball back with plenty of time to go down the field and win the game, very nerve racking

The Ugly, the Great, and the Good.

The Ugly - we were going to lose otherwise without those two simply steals by Lewis and Bland.

The Great - just two great plays by two DBs thinking and executing faster than most players.

The Good - I felt like I saw that a lot with the back 7. Having the presence of mind to go after the ball, and making good plays on it. Lewis and Bland got the turnovers on those two plays, but you could see other chances earlier in the game that just didn't quite get there.

Also some real hitting. Haven't seen that in a while. Used to get that from Wilson years ago. But I have to go back to Heath to remember more. Just not a part of our game. But Liufau and Wilson, maybe others, were showing some old school hitting. Liked it.

 

[maryquality]

Also some real hitting. Haven't seen that in a while. Used to get that from Wilson years ago. But I have to go back to Heath to remember more. Just not a part of our game. But Liufau and Wilson, maybe others, were showing some old school hitting. Liked it.

I think guys are afraid to hit that hard because nowadays, the refs are quick to throw a flag!! Glad to see the refs let them play on Sunday.

 

[buybuydandavis]

I think guys are afraid to hit that hard because nowadays, the refs are quick to throw a flag!! Glad to see the refs let them play on Sunday.

Yeah, there were hits where I wondered if a flag would come.
Looked like good football to be, but it hasn't seemed like the refs have let them play good football for a long time.

 

[cowboyec]

☆ceedee lamb's toughness on full display
☆jourdan lewis is one helluva player...year in/year out.
he has a knack for showing up at just the right moment.
☆daron bland...his instincts for the ball reminds me of everson walls.
☆donovan wilson was flyin' around like a throwback to some of coach landry's best safeties.
he continues to show he's been our best safety since roy williams.
one of the best draft picks under garrett.
☆coach mccarthy had his team ready to play....4-1 over the last 5 games.
good job by him and his staff.

BEAT☆PHILLY.

 

[beware_d-ware]

The aggression on defense definitely stood out. We've seen these players ball hawk before in Dan Quinn's scheme, but usually when they got a big lead, and they didn't do well when punched in the mouth. These guys got punched in the mouth and then threw back.

The bad is that the Buccaneers were basically able to rush on them at will. The front seven had the fight to stop them, but just not enough talent.

I'm also concerned how Tampa Bay was able to beat our defense on a couple third and longs with screen passes. They defeated Zimmer's man blitzes with ease.

On offense, how can the good not be Cooper Rush and his 290 passing yards with a skeleton crew offense. The bad is definitely our OL folding in run blocking, and our lack of any weapons on offense outside of CeeDee. Once Lamb hurt his shoulder, our passing offense just evaporated. But Lamb and Rush did enough early to get the W.