The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Bottom Line

[dr_hefley]

The Good: Not much
*Julius Jones rolling off 7-9 yards a run. Impressive.
*Ware's interception return for a touchdown. Great concentration, pretty good wheels.


The Bad:
*Let's see. Bledsoe hates pressure up the middle. Well for goodness sake lets not block anybody coming up the middle. Good job there Pasqualoni (or whoever the o-line coach is)!! What was it? 7 sacks and three turnovers?
*No pass rush. Why is it that every team in the NFL can generate a pass rush except the Cowboys? Is the Defense overrated, or are they not playing up to their potential?

The Ugly:Everything else.
*Was McBriar geeked or what? How does a professional not handle that snap?
*Eagles with a 3rd and 18. Hey, lets rush two people and not cover anybody with the secondary!!
*Being fully unprepared for the blitz. How can you not know that's going to happen?
*Being completely flat. The Eagles knew this was an important game (TO or not). It was a division game, a real test of their team. They responded. The Cowboys looked like it was a pre-season game as far as emotion goes. None whatsoever (with the exception of TO and Terry Glen). Nobody else seemed like they wanted to win.
*Where did Bledsoe think that ball was going to end up when he threw it straight to Sheperd?
*And finally, it's becoming more and more obvious that Parcells has pet players who can do no wrong. Watkins get benched (rightfully so) for allowing two TD's. Parcells goes out of his way to make sure to stare him down, belittle him and make him feel worse than he already does.Bledsoe throws one right into Sheperds hands, who in turn takes it an Eagles record of 102 yards for the clinching touchdown, and it looks like all Parcells says to him is "Oh well, must've been Wittens fault."


Bottom Line:
This is a .500 ball club, with nothing to look forward to for a long time.

 

[Spontae]

The Good: *Ware's interception return for a touchdown. Great concentration, pretty good wheels.

....and it looks like all Parcells says to him is "Oh well, must've been Wittens fault."

Bottom Line:
This is a .500 ball club, with nothing to look forward to for a long time.

Ware was spectacular on that play; does Merriman have a INT return for a TD?

What if it was Witten's mistake (he failed to cut to his right on time)?

Your Bottom line is half right...

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

The Good: Not much
*Julius Jones rolling off 7-9 yards a run. Impressive.
*Ware's interception return for a touchdown. Great concentration, pretty good wheels.


The Bad:
*Let's see. Bledsoe hates pressure up the middle. Well for goodness sake lets not block anybody coming up the middle. Good job there Pasqualoni (or whoever the o-line coach is)!! What was it? 7 sacks and three turnovers?
*No pass rush. Why is it that every team in the NFL can generate a pass rush except the Cowboys? Is the Defense overrated, or are they not playing up to their potential?

The Ugly:Everything else.
*Was McBriar geeked or what? How does a professional not handle that snap?
*Eagles with a 3rd and 18. Hey, lets rush two people and not cover anybody with the secondary!!
*Being fully unprepared for the blitz. How can you not know that's going to happen?
*Being completely flat. The Eagles knew this was an important game (TO or not). It was a division game, a real test of their team. They responded. The Cowboys looked like it was a pre-season game as far as emotion goes. None whatsoever (with the exception of TO and Terry Glen). Nobody else seemed like they wanted to win.
*Where did Bledsoe think that ball was going to end up when he threw it straight to Sheperd?
*And finally, it's becoming more and more obvious that Parcells has pet players who can do no wrong. Watkins get benched (rightfully so) for allowing two TD's. Parcells goes out of his way to make sure to stare him down, belittle him and make him feel worse than he already does.Bledsoe throws one right into Sheperds hands, who in turn takes it an Eagles record of 102 yards for the clinching touchdown, and it looks like all Parcells says to him is "Oh well, must've been Wittens fault."


Bottom Line:
This is a .500 ball club, with nothing to look forward to for a long time.

LOL..........


Come on in off that ledge there buddy. We're eventually going to be just fine. We're not a SuperBowl team but I didn't really believe we were to begin with. We should be able to make the playoffs and I still believe we will win the NFC East. Philly still has to come to Dallas. They were lucky to walk away with a win in Philly. They deserved it because they made plays and we didn't but still, they were lucky to get a win yesterday.

 

[dr_hefley]

I'm not on a ledge. I'm a realist. For the last few years, the Cowboys have played uninspired football, always looking over their shoulder deathly afraid of making a mistake. It hinders their aggressiveness, and makes them play tight and scared.

Witten very well could've stopped his route short, but that's probably because there were three defenders standing where he was going. Point is, no matter what Bledsoe does he's never held accountable. I did like the one rollout they tried to escape the blitz. It worked, and to my knowledge they never tried it again. That's a good bit of coaching right there.

When was the last time you watched a Cowboys game and honestly thought "That team is going to be tough to beat; that team can't be beaten"? You can't count Tennessee even though they gave Indy all they wanted yesterday. In reality, Tennessee is a JV team headed toward Adrian Peterson. For me, I think it was in 1993 that I really thought the Cowboys were invincible. Now, I think they're shaken and destined to be a .500 club. I hope I'm wrong.

I don't think the Eagles were lucky to win, I think they were ready to win. I don't know that anything will be different when they come to Dallas.

 

[BulletBob]

I'm not on a ledge. I'm a realist. For the last few years, the Cowboys have played uninspired football, always looking over their shoulder deathly afraid of making a mistake. It hinders their aggressiveness, and makes them play tight and scared.
Witten very well could've stopped his route short, but that's probably because there were three defenders standing where he was going. Point is, no matter what Bledsoe does he's never held accountable. I did like the one rollout they tried to escape the blitz. It worked, and to my knowledge they never tried it again. That's a good bit of coaching right there.

When was the last time you watched a Cowboys game and honestly thought "That team is going to be tough to beat; that team can't be beaten"? You can't count Tennessee even though they gave Indy all they wanted yesterday. In reality, Tennessee is a JV team headed toward Adrian Peterson. For me, I think it was in 1993 that I really thought the Cowboys were invincible. Now, I think they're shaken and destined to be a .500 club. I hope I'm wrong.

I don't think the Eagles were lucky to win, I think they were ready to win. I don't know that anything will be different when they come to Dallas.

Great point, Doctor !!!

Your point was crystallized on at least two separate plays when Ware started a bull rush, and then dropped back halfway through, expecting a short pass. It was totally ineffective, and you could "see" Ware actually thinking about not making a big mistake.

Look, I cannot imagine us having the cojones to blitz three downs of a series like Johnson did yesterday, but here's a thought:

Maybe on one series of downs, how 'bout saying to Ware - "Now just pin your ears back, young man, and go straight for the QB every down this series. I don't care how you get there - stunt, twist, bull rush, or speed rush around the edge."

Then have one of the ILB's assigned to his pass coverage area and have Roy cover his run lane (or vice-versa). We'd still only be rushing 4.

Is it too much to ask your most talented pass rusher to do what he does best exclusively on just one series??

Who knows, maybe if it works (when Ware just has one thing to think about), you could actually (**GASP**) try it again.

 

[goshan]

1. Ware's return was on a fumble, not an Int.
2. It is amazing to me how little credit Ellis gets on this Board. He made that play (that Ware scored on) and I think generates more consistent pressure than Ware. Ware is better all around though.

 

[Bleu Star]

For the last few years, the Cowboys have played uninspired football, always looking over their shoulder deathly afraid of making a mistake. It hinders their aggressiveness, and makes them play tight and scared.

Damn. That's a perfect point. It sums up perfectly what I have painfully watched over the last few years. Geez.. When will it change?

 

[joseephuss]

The defense did put pressure on McNabb. They sacked him 3 times and pressured him several times during the game. On the long play to Smith and the TD to Basskett, the defense was forcing McNabb to move around. Bad, bad safety play allowed McNabb to convert on both those plays. If the safeties do their job, McNabb has nowhere to throw the ball on those plays and the pressure either sacks him or holds him to a short run. McNabb did what a good QB is supposed to do, buy some time and take advangtage of mistakes.

 

[Cowboy Bill Watts]

The Bad:
*Let's see. Bledsoe hates pressure up the middle. Well for goodness sake lets not block anybody coming up the middle. Good job there Pasqualoni (or whoever the o-line coach is)!! What was it? 7 sacks and three turnovers?

did you notice how jim johnson did this?

he continually picked on the weakest link in our OL, and continually exploited it?

the two gaps on either side of kyle kosier.

over and over and over again...

 

[Bleu Star]

McNabb did what a good QB is supposed to do, buy some time and take advangtage of mistakes.

Exactly. Why can't Bledslug do that?

 

[fanfromvirginia]

The Good: Not much
*Julius Jones rolling off 7-9 yards a run. Impressive.
*Ware's interception return for a touchdown. Great concentration, pretty good wheels.


The Bad:
*Let's see. Bledsoe hates pressure up the middle. Well for goodness sake lets not block anybody coming up the middle. Good job there Pasqualoni (or whoever the o-line coach is)!! What was it? 7 sacks and three turnovers?
*No pass rush. Why is it that every team in the NFL can generate a pass rush except the Cowboys? Is the Defense overrated, or are they not playing up to their potential?

The Ugly:Everything else.
*Was McBriar geeked or what? How does a professional not handle that snap?
*Eagles with a 3rd and 18. Hey, lets rush two people and not cover anybody with the secondary!!
*Being fully unprepared for the blitz. How can you not know that's going to happen?
*Being completely flat. The Eagles knew this was an important game (TO or not). It was a division game, a real test of their team. They responded. The Cowboys looked like it was a pre-season game as far as emotion goes. None whatsoever (with the exception of TO and Terry Glen). Nobody else seemed like they wanted to win.
*Where did Bledsoe think that ball was going to end up when he threw it straight to Sheperd?
*And finally, it's becoming more and more obvious that Parcells has pet players who can do no wrong. Watkins get benched (rightfully so) for allowing two TD's. Parcells goes out of his way to make sure to stare him down, belittle him and make him feel worse than he already does.Bledsoe throws one right into Sheperds hands, who in turn takes it an Eagles record of 102 yards for the clinching touchdown, and it looks like all Parcells says to him is "Oh well, must've been Wittens fault."


Bottom Line:
This is a .500 ball club, with nothing to look forward to for a long time.

I'll ask the question I've asked several times in various forums: if we were that bad, how were we first and goal to tie the game with 38 seconds left on the road in arguably the least hospitable stadium in the league against a 3-1 team?

This cloud has a very thick, important silver lining.

 

[dr_hefley]

I really think Ware's return was on an interception.

I can answer your question. The Cowboys were in a position to win at the end of the game because they finally took a shot down the field and took advantage of a weak secondary. They were in position to win because the Cowboys returned an interception for a TD. Without that, the score would have been much worse. The Cowboys were lucky to even be in the game at that time, having developed only 35 yards of offense in the third quarter (that's another point, how hard is it to make halftime adjustments?).

This team is persistently scrambling at the end of nearly every game for a desperation chance to tie or go ahead on the final play.

I think they could be better than that.

 

[goshan]

Hey dr.
It was a fumble return.
Look it up.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

I really think Ware's return was on an interception.

I can answer your question. The Cowboys were in a position to win at the end of the game because they finally took a shot down the field and took advantage of a weak secondary. They were in position to win because the Cowboys returned an interception for a TD. Without that, the score would have been much worse. The Cowboys were lucky to even be in the game at that time, having developed only 35 yards of offense in the third quarter (that's another point, how hard is it to make halftime adjustments?).

This team is persistently scrambling at the end of nearly every game for a desperation chance to tie or go ahead on the final play.

I think they could be better than that.

I agree that they could be better. I disagree about some of the rest. Our two wins were blowouts and our losses were close. That's not bad.

You're right that Ware's return (Goshan's right -- it was a fumble. Ellis knocked the ball out before McNabb could throw it, making it a fumble even though Ware caught it in the air) was huge but it couldn't have been just that. We were up and playing better at the half. They adjusted and we didn't properly adjust to their adjustments, just like in Jacksonville. That's worrisome.

In my opinion our D was mostly solid until about the 3rd quarter, after which it was still pretty good at times. Our run blocking was good. Our pass protection wasn't horrible until the 2nd half. Our kick returning was quite good -- Thompson gave us great field position on at least a couple plays.

 

[dr_hefley]

My bad. I thought it was an interception since he caught the ball in the air.

 

[Future]

*Julius Jones rolling off 7-9 yards a run. Impressive.

26 car 100 yd is not 7-9 yards a run. Its just under 4 according to my math. Thats not bad, and maybe the line is to blame (i wasnt able to see some of 2nd half). Im still happy with julius having said that, but I didnt see anything special against philly.

Particularly when he got tackled in the open field by considine, he looked like no moves TT

 

[AdamJT13]

*No pass rush. Why is it that every team in the NFL can generate a pass rush except the Cowboys? Is the Defense overrated, or are they not playing up to their potential?

The defense is seventh in sacks per game and in sacks per pass play. And that's against opponents who are all among the top 17 teams in pass protection. (Take away the games against us, and Washington and Tennessee would be the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the league in allowing the fewest sacks per game and sacks per pass play.)

So it's not "every team can generate a pass rush except us" -- very few teams can generate one better than us.

 

[StanleySpadowski]

The defense is seventh in sacks per game and in sacks per pass play. And that's against opponents who are all among the top 17 teams in pass protection. (Take away the games against us, and Washington and Tennessee would be the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the league in allowing the fewest sacks per game and sacks per pass play.)

So it's not "every team can generate a pass rush except us" -- very few teams can generate one better than us.

Sometimes statistics can be very misleading. I think using sacks as the sole barometer of a pass rush is one of these cases.

I've often said that hurries are as important as sacks.

Dallas right now may be getting the sacks but hurries and constant pressure aren't there right now.

 

[joseephuss]

Sometimes statistics can be very misleading. I think using sacks as the sole barometer of a pass rush is one of these cases.

I've often said that hurries are as important as sacks.

Dallas right now may be getting the sacks but hurries and constant pressure aren't there right now.

It sure looked as if they hurried McNabb yesterday. He rushed several throws yesterday that went incomplete. He was hurried on two of the big plays, but since the guys were so wide open, he was able to complete the passes. It is also relative. McNabb was hurried, but could move around and create more time. Bledsoe was really hurried by the Eagles defense and Bledsoe can't move.

 

[fanfromvirginia]

It sure looked as if they hurried McNabb yesterday. He rushed several throws yesterday that went incomplete. He was hurried on two of the big plays, but since the guys were so wide open, he was able to complete the passes. It is also relative. McNabb was hurried, but could move around and create more time. Bledsoe was really hurried by the Eagles defense and Bledsoe can't move.

I agree except to add that we pressured him less as the game went on. All three of our sacks were in the first half. Something changed somewhere around halftime.