The View From My Couch: Preseason Game 2

couchscout

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Before I start today, I wanna send love out to all the people doing weekly analysis/observation threads. I really enjoy reading them in between watching the game 20 times. You guys are awesome, keep it up.



What Do Vanilla Mean?


It’s a term tossed around a lot every preseason and the reality is that it means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Twenty years ago, defenses truly were “vanilla” in preseason, meaning they called almost nothing but basic man or zone schemes on defense, and the simplest formations and route combinations on offense. Now, both offenses and defenses run a lot more complex stuff, the big difference being the relative lack of game planning. Teams aren’t spending hundreds of man hours each week in preseason coming up with ways to out scheme their opponent. In truth, a lot of coaches spend more time each week coming up with ways to put specific players in compromising positions just to see how they react/perform. Guys the typically get doubled get to see single coverage, OL that might get help during the regular season will be one on one all preseason, etc. So while there is something to be learned from preseason, so much of it is hard to judge because players are going against schemes they would literally never see in the regular season.



Who Is The Backup?


I said this on both my radio show, and my youtube channel on Friday. Basically, if they put Dak in after Romo and let him play with the 1s, and then pull him as soon as the 2s start rotating in, he’s 100% gonna be the backup. If they leave him in there after the 2s and 3s start coming in, throwing him to the wolves so to speak, there is a good chance they will sign a vet to be the backup. What I didn’t account for was scenario two happening, and Dak still looking like the unholy love child of Tom Brady and Russell Wilson. I think that pretty much locks him in as the backup this season. But what really impressed me so much more than what he did on the field, was this one little shot they showed of him and Romo off of it. You’re probably thinking about the one with the two of them on the bench studying the stills from the game. That’s not it. To me, it was him and Romo yucking it up on the sidelines. The players know. If you watched the Blue Star Series on the mothership about Romo and Quincy, towards the end there is a part with Woodson talking about how he was telling Parcells during Romo’s rookie year that Romo was the best QB on the team. The players know. Romo has taken Dak under his wing in a way he never has with any of the other backups. Dak’s relationship with Garrett probably has a very similar meaning. These guys know when a guy can play.



Morris vs. McFadden


These are two completely different running backs. McFadden is much faster and far more explosive, but has a fraction of the vision and cannot string together moves. So it becomes a question of what you want from the backup. If a play is perfectly blocked up, McFadden will hit the hole with an explosion that Morris can only fantasize about, be on top of the secondary before they know what hit them, and rip off 30+ yard runs. Morris would get 10 before needing to start putting moves on guys and end up with 17. Take that same play and make it only partially blocked up right. McFadden would get 1 yard before needing to start making defenders miss, fall forward for 3 yards. Morris would make the first guy miss, glance off the second, set up a blocker perfectly for the 3rd and grind out 8 yards. Obviously, all these numbers are hypothetical and completely made up, but I’m doing it to make a point. Do you want a steady backup who is basically a less physically gifted version of Zeke, or do you want the “change of pace” guy who can rip off long runs but won’t always get every bit of yardage on every run?



Zeke vs. Jackson


Obviously, there is no contest here. I just wanted to quickly bring up that these two have eerily similar traits to Morris/McFadden. Jackson is fast and explosive but he can’t pull off more than one move in a short area. Zeke doesn’t have that level of explosion, but he is so smooth and can string together moves and make a lot of people miss. It’s funny that those scouting reports on the triplets were released last night. I had already written the above paragraph when I saw them. At the bottom of Emmitt’s report it says something like “can rip off an astonishing number of moves in a small area”. That’s what I see with Zeke. Not saying he’s gonna be 22, but he has a chance to be very special, especially in this scheme.



Chaz Green


This guy needs to work on two things. Conditioning, and mental toughness. And really one hand washes the other with those two traits. We all saw him wear down as the game wore on, that was the obvious part. What was less obvious (at least to me on my first watch) was the lack of mental toughness. Every time he would give up a little pressure or even slightly “lose” in pass pro, his mechanics would go to crap for 3-4 plays. He’d start guessing, he would let his base get way too wide, his punch was late and not violent. Usually within a few plays he would get it back, but you can tell that he was way too much in his own head after even a semi bad play. He needs to understand that the other team has good players too, they are gonna win sometimes. You just gotta get back out there and do better the next play. Assuming he can continue to increase his conditioning, I see no reason why he won’t be the swing tackle this season.



Mo Claiborne


I really focused on Mo this week, and what I saw was exactly what I’ve always seen with him. He literally looks no different to me except that he’s clearly healthy and confident. He’s still not a willing tackler, he’s still not gonna be a turnover machine. If he stays healthy all season, he’ll be good at ball denial, but he’s not gonna bait a QB into throwing his way and then explode into position and pick off the ball. He doesn’t have the athletic ability for that. But he can stick his man and make the QB look elsewhere, especially on intermediate routes. That little bit of health has definitely helped his ability to mirror. He was absolutely smothering receivers in many cases, which means more passes thrown toward Scandrick/Carr. I’m hoping for a huge season from him, but what I’ve seen so far looks like a very slightly improved version of what we’ve seen for several years now.




As always, I’ll stick around for the next 24 hours or so and try to answer questions and respond to comments.
 

CATCH17

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Regarding Zeke....


That is what I too see with him.

When compared to the Gurleys, Fournettes, and Cooks I think where Zeke edges these guys is just natural RB instincts even though those guys are better athletes.
 

Idgit

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"The players know. Romo has taken Dak under his wing in a way he never has with any of the other backups. Dak’s relationship with Garrett probably has a very similar meaning. These guys know when a guy can play."
I was making this same point about Andy Jones in another thread. You can tell a lot about a guy by listening to his teammates talk about him.

Re: Dak, it was also telling hearing Linehan talk about his conversation with his son about Prescott's poise. You could tell from that conversation early in camp that the team thought they were onto something.

On a side note, the coverage in camp blew it on Dak. Anybody believe he just started playing better in games all of a sudden?
 
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JohnsKey19

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What Do Vanilla Mean? I'm guessing but that has to be a classic Troy Hambrick quote.

Morris vs McFadden

I agree with your description. For this team, i take a healthy Morris over a healthy McFadden every time. It's just a better fit. Whether it's a s a backup or lead RB, Morris is clearly a better fit for this blocking scheme. Plus his running style can physically wear down a defense. Whereas McFadden is never a difficult guy to tackle, early or late. BTW i like McFadden and appreciate his effort and production last season.
 

Teague31

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What did you see with Traylor? Can he stick as the the 4th TE/sometime fullback? I'm not counting on Hanna to be off PUP anytime soon
 

CCBoy

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How are the linebackers looking?

And as always, thanks for your effort and writings..
 

School

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Appreciate the write-up. Could you elaborate a bit on Mo? You think he won't have a big year primarily due to a lack of interceptions and not being a willing a tackler, or do you think his coverage still leaves something to be desired too?
 

adbutcher

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"The players know. Romo has taken Dak under his wing in a way he never has with any of the other backups. Dak’s relationship with Garrett probably has a very similar meaning. These guys know when a guy can play."
I was making this same point about Andy Jones in another thread. You can tell a lot about a guy by listening to his teammates talk about him.

Re: Dak, it was also telling hearing Linehan talk about his conversation with his son about Prescott's poise. You could tell from that conversation early in camp that the team thought they were onto something.

On a side note, the coverage in camp blew it on Dez. Anybody believe he just started playing better in games all of a sudden?
I fault the myopic Broaddus coverage. They say first impression are hard to shake but that should not apply in scouting.
 

Ken

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I appreciate the analysis on Chaz Green. i like what I see from him....when he is not fatigued as you stated. It reminds me of the ol' Jimmy adage..."Fatigue makes a coward of us all".
 

Fla Cowpoke

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As always, I enjoy the read.

For me, in regard to the McFadden question....it comes down to how is he going to be used? I personally think that McFadden should be the third down back. I think he is the best pass protector for Romo, he is right there with Elliott as the best pass catcher, if he gets in the open field he has the speed to punish people and he can run the draw effectively when we want to go that way.

So, I am looking for Elliott to get 17-20 carries per game and maybe 3-4 passes. Morris to get 5-8 touches a game, mainly running. McFadden to get 4-5 passes and a few carries. Basically, I think it is McFadden or Dunbar, not both. Dunbar can be a playmaker but he really isn't a ball carrier. He is pretty much pass receiver only. His size limits him as a protector for Romo.

As far as Mo, I hope he does better than what you think he will. He definitely is doing better on touching the ball, something our guys rarely do. I think he will come up with some picks. I do think he is still going to get called on contact a lot. It is a very fine line for him as far as that goes. When he can be physical he stays with the receiver better but he is more likely to have a little too much contact.

Traylor got a little love from Broaddus I think it was. Saying he is advanced as a blocker....will be interesting to see if he sticks over a guy like Keith Smith.
 

DFWJC

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The two things that I kind of assumed we'd get from Prescott were poise and leadership. I mean, those were his calling cards in the SEC and he was 5th year Senior.
He has exceeded expectations there, nevertheless.

He's been a bit more accurate that I expected--though many of the throws are basic pitch and catch--he is delivering on whatever they're asking him to do so far.

His arm strength is better than average. Plenty good. I know he took a full step and heaved it (in his words) as far as he could with the 62 yard toss. I'd say that works, given that in today's NFL, that's a throw that you're only asked to make a few times (if at all) through the season. We know he can pull it off. Maybe Big Ben throws it 5 more yards and hits his guy in stride, but we would really be splitting hairs there. Usually, that ball location gets picked by a decent safety
Bottom line, he can make all the throws necessary to be an NFL QB.

In any case, he's definitely checking the boxes on what they are asking him to do so far, so I hope we ride with him as the backup.
I think we will.
 

Longboysfan

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Question: I subscribe to Ourlads draft guide.
With Dak - Ourlads had him rated number 4 behind Wentz, Goff and Lynch.
But he ended up being the 8th QB taken - and in the 4th round.

Was the DWI stop a red flag and he dropped because of that?
 

Kaiser

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On a side note, the coverage in camp blew it on Dak. Anybody believe he just started playing better in games all of a sudden?​


To be fair, Dak could be one of those guys that rises to the occasion and plays a lot better in games than in practice. Romo was clearly a guy like that and it was a reason he was such a surprise when he finally became a starter.​
 

DFWJC

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Question: I subscribe to Ourlads draft guide.
With Dak - Ourlads had him rated number 4 behind Wentz, Goff and Lynch.
But he ended up being the 8th QB taken - and in the 4th round.

Was the DWI stop a red flag and he dropped because of that?
Forgot about that. Maybe. Everyone was so sensitive about off-field things.
Some scouts I saw had him lumped in with Cook and Hackenberg. Another one had as 6th rounder (oops).

Looks like Dallas lucked out, so far.
 

dfense

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McFadden only dreams about having the vision Morris has.

And I don't see Claiborne having a problem putting his helmet in there on tackles.
 

gimmesix

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Morris vs. McFadden


These are two completely different running backs. McFadden is much faster and far more explosive, but has a fraction of the vision and cannot string together moves. So it becomes a question of what you want from the backup. If a play is perfectly blocked up, McFadden will hit the hole with an explosion that Morris can only fantasize about, be on top of the secondary before they know what hit them, and rip off 30+ yard runs. Morris would get 10 before needing to start putting moves on guys and end up with 17. Take that same play and make it only partially blocked up right. McFadden would get 1 yard before needing to start making defenders miss, fall forward for 3 yards. Morris would make the first guy miss, glance off the second, set up a blocker perfectly for the 3rd and grind out 8 yards. Obviously, all these numbers are hypothetical and completely made up, but I’m doing it to make a point. Do you want a steady backup who is basically a less physically gifted version of Zeke, or do you want the “change of pace” guy who can rip off long runs but won’t always get every bit of yardage on every run?

This is essentially why I do not believe it is Morris vs. McFadden.

I think Morris is the steady backup who can be called upon to carry the ball for a series or two, finish a game with a big lead or pinch-hit in short-yardage situations (or in my dreams, line up with Elliott in short-yardage situations).

McFadden is competing with Dunbar IMO. Both are explosive backs who can take advantage of space because of their speed. McFadden can convert his speed to power, which probably gives him a leg up, while both have good hands to set up situation where they can use their speed in the passing game. They are the change-up backs, although McFadden has the advantage of showing that he can start and be rather effective if not ideal. Neither is going to get much on their own, which is what hurts McFadden's value as a starter, but if a play is blocked well, both could take it a long way with their speed.

We could end up keeping both McFadden and Dunbar, and I'm leaning that way at the moment because I want to see more from Jackson, but their skills make it a bit of a redundancy.
 

gimmesix

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Zeke vs. Jackson


Obviously, there is no contest here. I just wanted to quickly bring up that these two have eerily similar traits to Morris/McFadden. Jackson is fast and explosive but he can’t pull off more than one move in a short area. Zeke doesn’t have that level of explosion, but he is so smooth and can string together moves and make a lot of people miss. It’s funny that those scouting reports on the triplets were released last night. I had already written the above paragraph when I saw them. At the bottom of Emmitt’s report it says something like “can rip off an astonishing number of moves in a small area”. That’s what I see with Zeke. Not saying he’s gonna be 22, but he has a chance to be very special, especially in this scheme.

I agree on Jackson, and it's why I want to see more before including him on the 53. I want to see if he's got more to his game or is just a bigger Dunbar or poor man's McFadden. Maybe his size and upside bumps Dunbar off the roster, but I haven't seen anything from him yet that really makes me think more of him that Tyson Thompson a few years ago (who was intriguing to keep around because of his size/speed, but never showed the vision and movement skills to be more than a bottom-of-the-roster back).
 

jazzcat22

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What Do Vanilla Mean? I'm guessing but that has to be a classic Troy Hambrick quote.

Morris vs McFadden

I agree with your description. For this team, i take a healthy Morris over a healthy McFadden every time. It's just a better fit. Whether it's a s a backup or lead RB, Morris is clearly a better fit for this blocking scheme. Plus his running style can physically wear down a defense. Whereas McFadden is never a difficult guy to tackle, early or late. BTW i like McFadden and appreciate his effort and production last season.

I would like to see what McFadden can do with a healthy Romo and Dez on the field as a comparison too.
 
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