This is another win for JG, but not only due to the scoreboard

[Woods]

When evaluating JG this game, you've also got to consider

1. The team put up over 30 pts yet again. The Cowboys have one of the top offenses in the league without their pro bowl, starting QB. That is really significant.

2. The offense is also able to keep putting up points without their number 2, 3, and 4 wideouts.

(As an aside, I like how JG is mixing in at least one trick play per game to help the offense out. Something that Norv Turner likes to throw in as well I've noticed.)

3. As for the poor defensive showing, unfortunately I don't think there is much Garrett can do in the interim with that group. And I DON'T think JJ is going to hold the consistently weak defensive outings against Garrett when evaluating him.

Assuming JG gets the full time job, what Garrett will then be evaluated on is his choice of DC co-ordinator. If his choice of co-ordinator then flops, then that's on Garrett, imo.

4. The team has proven that their win over the Giants wasn't a one game fight. The team continues to fight each and every game. Yes, there are holes on this team. And some of the holes are truly glaring. But the team is trying to get better, and the team is hustling.

There have been no blowouts since Wade's departure. And there have been plenty of opportunities to be blown out considering some of the offenses that we've played.

 

[theebs]

When evaluating JG this game, you've also got to consider

1. The team put up over 30 pts yet again. The Cowboys have one of the top offenses in the league without their pro bowl, starting QB. That is really significant.

2. The offense is also able to keep putting up points without their number 2, 3, and 4 wideouts.

(As an aside, I like how JG is mixing in at least one trick play per game to help the offense out. Something that Norv Turner likes to throw in as well I've noticed.)

3. As for the poor defensive showing, unfortunately I don't think there is much Garrett can do in the interim with that group. And I DON'T think JJ is going to hold the consistently weak defensive outings against Garrett when evaluating him.

Assuming JG gets the full time job, what Garrett will then be evaluated on is his choice of DC co-ordinator. If his choice of co-ordinator then flops, then that's on Garrett, imo.

4. The team has proven that their win over the Giants wasn't a one game fight. The team continues to fight each and every game. Yes, there are holes on this team. And some of the holes are truly glaring. But the team is trying to get better, and the team is hustling.

There have been no blowouts since Wade's departure. And there have been plenty of opportunities to be blown out considering some of the offenses that we've played.

pretty interesting that since kitna has become the starter only brees has thrown more touchdowns.

I was kind of shocked to hear that today, I feel like he has missed a bunch of throws, but he has gotten away from it by not committing turnovers.

 

[Woods]

pretty interesting that since kitna has become the starter only brees has thrown more touchdowns.

I was kind of shocked to hear that today, I feel like he has missed a bunch of throws, but he has gotten away from it by not committing turnovers.

I haven't checked the offensive rankings and Kitna's rating yet. I'll do it tomorrow as it's late here across the pond. But I have to admit that after our 1-7 start, I was not expecting 4-2, and against some good teams.

I just don't see how JJ will hold our defensive deficiencies against Garrett this season.

 

[Randy White]

to rain on Kitna's parade, because he's done a wonderful job, but today's game should remind everyone the differences in talent and quality between he and Tony. I'm saying this because there are some people who want to believe that there isn't that big of a drop off between the two and although it's not an abyss, there are some significant differences.

Again, I'm thrilled with Kitna's performance because he's done more than what's being asked of him, but today's game should have been a blow out. The score should have been at the very least 21-0 ( as opposed to 13-0 ) in the first quarter, and roughly nearing the 40 points mark at half time. He missed some throws that TR wouldn't have missed ( which, I want to make it very clear, there's nothing wrong with NOT being Tony Romo ) and stalled some drives.

The FG that Buehler missed, the play before he had Marty B completely wide open out of the 3 receiver set on the flat ( nobody covered him ) for an easy TD and overlooked him to throw a bad pass to Austin. The 2 passes to Hurd in the endzone ( the one to the corner and the other one where he dove ) were also poorly thrown, not enough touch in either of them. That's something that's follow him throught his career, by the way.

 

[Woods]

to rain on Kitna's parade, because he's done a wonderful job, but today's game should remind everyone the differences in talent and quality between he and Tony.

Again, I'm thrilled with Kitna's performance because he's done more than what's being asked of him, but today's game should have been a blow out. The score should have been at the very least 21-0 ( as opposed to 13-0 ) in the first quarter, and roughly nearing the 40 points mark at half time. He missed some throws that TR wouldn't have missed ( which, I want to make it very clear, there's nothing wrong with NOT being Tony Romo ) and stalled some drives.

The FG that Buehler missed, the play before he had Marty B completely wide open out of the 3 receiver set on the flat ( nobody covered him ) for an easy TD and overlooked him to throw a bad pass to Austin. The 2 passes to Hurd in the endzone ( the one to the corner and the other one where he dove ) were also poorly thrown, not enough touch in either of them.

I agree that we left points on the field.

But given what Garrett has been able to do with a 38 yr old back up QB has been remarkable.

Honestly, if an OC/HC on another team was able to do on offense what Garrett has done since taking over, we'd be saying that coach has been doing an excellent job (with the offense, at least).

 

[Doomsay]

to rain on Kitna's parade, because he's done a wonderful job, but today's game should remind everyone the differences in talent and quality between he and Tony. I'm saying this because there are some people who want to believe that there isn't that big of a drop off between the two and although it's not an abyss, there are some significant differences.

Again, I'm thrilled with Kitna's performance because he's done more than what's being asked of him, but today's game should have been a blow out. The score should have been at the very least 21-0 ( as opposed to 13-0 ) in the first quarter, and roughly nearing the 40 points mark at half time. He missed some throws that TR wouldn't have missed ( which, I want to make it very clear, there's nothing wrong with NOT being Tony Romo ) and stalled some drives.

The FG that Buehler missed, the play before he had Marty B completely wide open out of the 3 receiver set on the flat ( nobody covered him ) for an easy TD and overlooked him to throw a bad pass to Austin. The 2 passes to Hurd in the endzone ( the one to the corner and the other one where he dove ) were also poorly thrown, not enough touch in either of them. That's something that's follow him throught his career, by the way.

There is a huge athletic drop off, no doubt, but Kitna manages the game pretty well. Even though I was against it originally on a risk to no-reward basis, I'd like to see Tony play again this year to see how he does on an apples to apples basis against Kitna. It will be interesting to see the pass/run ratio in particular.

 

[Randy White]

I agree that we left points on the field.

But given what Garrett has been able to do with a 38 yr old back up QB has been remarkable. .

That's one of the points I was trying to make with that post. If there was ever any doubt, they're gone. Jerrah is gonna have to go through the charade of interviewing candidates, and that's a good thing because the more you know other coaches, the better you are, but the decision has been made.

 

[hutch1254]

How much of the teams attitude and improvement in performance is due to Garrett and how much is due to how Kitna handles things? Kitna has done very well. Tony is my guy but I hope he's taking notes for sure. Kitna has some attitude and doesn't hesitate to bark at guys.

When I see things like I did today with the defense it makes me want to keep Ware and get rid of anything/everyone else related to the D.

 

[Kevinicus]

If Garrett would just learn to make better decisions at times and manage the clock better I think he'd be pretty good, but those are significant deficiencies he needs to work on.

 

[Future]

I feel like winning is making people ignore all of the flaws that havent been fixed.

We still can't gain a yard to score a TD, and this team still doesn't have the fortitude to put a game away.

This reeked of the Giants game except we squeaked out a win against a totally inferior opponent.

I'm more concerned about the way this team nearly folded than excited about how they pulled it out.

 

[Randy White]

If Garrett would just learn to make better decisions at times and manage the clock better I think he'd be pretty good, but those are significant deficiencies he needs to work on.

That's true for every single coach that's ever roamed a football field.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I'm more concerned about the way this team nearly folded than excited about how they pulled it out.

In two weeks you will be able to sleep better at night. When we were up 27-7 I caught myself feeling like we had it won.

 

[EPL0c0]

might be a win for Garrett, but for the offensive players, I think this one showed A LOT of their weaknesses, in particular poor execution inside the redzone.

Settling for a couple of short FGs (20yds each), missing one (35yds) and turning the ball over on downs at the 1 is just unacceptable. A TD conversion on ANY of those four drives and this game is not as close as it was in the end.

That is something that definitely needs to be addressed w/ coaching changes and/or personnel changes (Oline in particular).

that said... man feels great to be the Commanders. If Dallas can finish w/ a better record than them...I'll be happy

 

[JustDezIt]

I feel like winning is making people ignore all of the flaws that havent been fixed.

We still can't gain a yard to score a TD, and this team still doesn't have the fortitude to put a game away.

This reeked of the Giants game except we squeaked out a win against a totally inferior opponent.

I'm more concerned about the way this team nearly folded than excited about how they pulled it out.

this is a great post, and should be its own thread. I know some will say its negative, but it is addressing some of the many deficiencies that are trends, not anomalies. Construcitve criticism at this point in the season is needed, even though we can do nothing but speculate about it.

 

[Randy White]

about JG because " the force " is with him:

 

[Randy White]

I'm more concerned about the way this team nearly folded than excited about how they pulled it out.

Then you might as well pull the plug on the season and don't watch anymore Cowboys game until they get back to the Superbowl.

Yes, this team almost blew a win " again ", like they did against the Giants at the meadowlands, but you know what ? the other team gets paid too. How would you like to be a Giants' fan today ? They're still in playoff contention, they have a talented team, but how would you feel right now if that was your team ? 4 TDs in the last 7 1/2 minutes in a game that could decide the division title and possibly home field advantage throught the playoffs. In your own backyard. How would you like that folding ?

You want to look at the situation as the glass being half empty: blowing the lead, tackling poorly, giving up big plays, not being able to score on 4th and 1, etc, etc, and that's fine, it's your right.

I prefer to look at it as the glass being half full: We've found out our new headcoach is going to be good one for a long time, and that's almost as important as having a franchise QB. We have a proven back up QB who's good enough to take over the starter, if he goes down again, without missing too much. We now know we have a couple of young players who make big plays at their positions AND special teams: McCann and Bryant, to add to the already talented arsenal. We've found out that our 4th receiver, Sam Hurd, is not only capable of being a solid starter, but play an entire game as a starter AND special teams. We've found out that some our young back ups need to AND deserve to play more. We found out our kicker is pretty good ( 4 out 5, including the game winner ). We've found out that despite missing the starting QB, 2 out of the 3 top receivers, and losing the starting safety ( the good one ) during the game, they still pulled out a victory. And yes, contrary to what you just said, we also found out we could score from 5 yards out running the football.

There's alot of work that the organization needs to do personnel wise, but I feel more confident now, that they know who they are and where they're heading, since Jimma Jenius and Jerrah decided to split.

 

[morasp]

Now that he is the head coach I don't think you can say the defense isn't his fault anymore than the offense wasn't Wade's responsibility when he was the head coach.

 

[Woods]

Now that he is the head coach I don't think you can say the defense isn't his fault anymore than the offense wasn't Wade's responsibility when he was the head coach.

I have to disagree with you.

JG was the OC and now interim HC. The DC departed when Wade left the building.

The defense will be Garrett's fault when he decides on his DC. If the new DC does not do well, then that's on Garrett, imo, because the new DC will be Garrett's choice. (Pasq is a fill in for the next two weeks.)

 

[Dhragon]

I haven't checked the offensive rankings and Kitna's rating yet. I'll do it tomorrow as it's late here across the pond. But I have to admit that after our 1-7 start, I was not expecting 4-2, and against some good teams.

I just don't see how JJ will hold our defensive deficiencies against Garrett this season.

Why isn't Red held accountable for the defense again?

Last I checked, the defense was a MAJOR part of any football team. A real head coach needs to lift and use to the best of its ability ALL facets of the team.

Switching to alot of zone has decreased sack totals but upped interceptions. That's good, so Red hasn't been all bad there. But he hasn't stopped the Boys from being unable to stop many drives, especially near the end of the game.

Why hasn't Red's practice in pads, wear ties to games approach worked with the defense? A tougher, more disciplined and smarter defense should be having a much more marked improvement than we have been seeing during the beginning of the year, no?

Well, why hasn't it then? Why no real improvement other than more takeaways? The same players sure were getting it done last year, so it's not a lack of talent. Ball is horrid, but any good coach should be able to hide one bad apple. I believe it's because the defense isn't buying into the Red experiment like the offense and alot of fans have.

Red IS accountable for the defense. Just because he isn't good at helping it, doesn't mean Redlovers can ignore it.

 

[burmafrd]

who Jason wants as a DC will tell the tale. For the over blown and frankly very questionable idea that blaming Red for the defense weaknesses is a valid point of view, I spit on that.