The Last 54+ Minutes of The Game

[Creeper]

I had a chance to rewatch the game today, and roll back a bunch of plays. I think the play of the secondary speaks for itself. Diggs had an awful day. Bland was good but had some mistakes. Wright played better than I have seen him play but he still has a way to go.

More concerning was the offensive line. I don't care who post what video analysis of Tyron Smith's play at RT. He is a big step down from Terence Steele, especially in the run game. Go back and watch the video of Steele in the first game. You will see him shove Cox all the way across the defense on a few run plays. You will see him get downfield and make some key blocks. Zeke averaged 6.2 yards per carry that game. Pollard 4.0. Of course it is just one game, or 2 if you count the Jaguars game but I think the evidence is beginning to show that Steele is better at RT than Tyron Smith. I have said this before and it is from watching Smith last year. He has lost some quickness and flexibility and it hurts his run blocking, and pass blocking at times.

I also agree that Tyler Smith is struggling pass blocking lately. But the pass protection is not just 1 or 2 guys. Up and down the line each guy is missing a block or two every game and that is resulting in pressure on Dak,

Overall, the did okay, but 6 sacks was a pretty decent measure of who they are right now. I would say a couple of those sack were on Dak. I wish he would throw the ball away more, like Minshew was doing. He could have avoided two or 3 of those sacks. But the rest were all on the OL.

 

[Bullflop]

Minshew played a great game, though there was the one throw he made that we should’ve int, but our guy straight up dropped it.

Backups frequently come in and ball out for a day, they just can’t do it for a season. We’ll never know, but I’m not at all convinced Hurts would’ve thrown the ball better than Minshew yesterday. No doubt he’d have been more mobile, but who knows. Great QBs have bad days and backups play like pro bowlers periodically.

A MAJOR problem we have is receiver separation. Our wideouts and TEs are close to the bottom of the list league wide, forcing Dak to throw into tighter windows, which reduces his margin for error, which leads to more ints, etc. Dak threw the ball very well yesterday.

We have a very good team. I know many here are SB or bust fans, but as we’ve seen through the years, great teams often don’t get there and lesser teams get good bounces/breaks at the right time. If a team can make their conference championship game, they’ve had an exceedingly good season imo. At that point, anything can happen.

I HATE that we’ll have to play the Eagles in the divisional round if we win our first playoff game, essentially playing the best team in the league with them coming off two week’s rest. That’s a tough ask for any team, but it is what it is. If we lose that game, there will be a legion of fans who will hit the gloom and doom button, but it will probably take our very best effort and execution to win that game, something that’s hard to dial up on command.

Go Cowboys!!!

Good take. I think Minshew is one of the better backups that the NFL has to offer, although he's likely a bit rusty from the lack of real game activity. The middle of our DL seems composed mostly of rotational types of players than starting types. Injuries have apparently taken a toll on the DL from what they were earlier in the season, as well. Both teams should be better prepared as a result of our last meeting.

We're usually a tougher matchup for the Eagles than what we're likely to face the next time we play them with Hurts at QB. I'm expecting a very tough, challenging game from them -- even more so than what we had the last time around. Hopefully, our defense will be better prepared to give them all they can handle and more. Let's hope Dak is able to eliminate the mistakes and maximize good plays in that contest. I'm looking forward to the challenge. May the better team get the glory.

 

[blueblood70]

I found my crystal ball at some garage sale, I got it for a bargain, as it does have a small crack in it.

you mean this LOL

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

I had a chance to rewatch the game today, and roll back a bunch of plays. I think the play of the secondary speaks for itself. Diggs had an awful day. Bland was good but had some mistakes. Wright played better than I have seen him play but he still has a way to go.

More concerning was the offensive line. I don't care who post what video analysis of Tyron Smith's play at RT. He is a big step down from Terence Steele, especially in the run game. Go back and watch the video of Steele in the first game. You will see him shove Cox all the way across the defense on a few run plays. You will see him get downfield and make some key blocks. Zeke averaged 6.2 yards per carry that game. Pollard 4.0. Of course it is just one game, or 2 if you count the Jaguars game but I think the evidence is beginning to show that Steele is better at RT than Tyron Smith. I have said this before and it is from watching Smith last year. He has lost some quickness and flexibility and it hurts his run blocking, and pass blocking at times.

I also agree that Tyler Smith is struggling pass blocking lately. But the pass protection is not just 1 or 2 guys. Up and down the line each guy is missing a block or two every game and that is resulting in pressure on Dak,

Overall, the did okay, but 6 sacks was a pretty decent measure of who they are right now. I would say a couple of those sack were on Dak. I wish he would throw the ball away more, like Minshew was doing. He could have avoided two or 3 of those sacks. But the rest were all on the OL.

I agree, Steele is a better RT than Smith. Smith hasn't played that position since his rookie year. years of LT has engrained his muscle memory. it will take time for him to get used to the position and still may not be better than Steele at RT. but he is better than Ball.