Three Key Strategic Moves for Wade...

[28 Joker]

Three Key Strategic Moves for Wade Phillips to Make the Team Better


1. Start Pacman over Henry at RCB as soon as possible. The Eagles, Packers, and Commanders are coming up in September, and Pacman makes this team better at CB. Plus, Henry can limit his plays and possibly stay healthy while playing in the dime. Pacman is a game changer, and he can't change the game on the pine on first and second down.

2. Start Anthony Spencer on the other side of DeMarcus Ware and play him much more than last year. Spencer is out now with the knee, but he is ready to play and contribute more to the defense. The coaches have bragged about his technique, and he played well last year and deserved more playing time. If you want Ellis fresh for the stretch run, put him in the pass rush specialist role. Spencer plays the run very well, he can cover better than Ellis, and he is faster and more athletic than Ellis. The Cowboys passed on DeWayne Bowe and Robert Meachem in order to draft Spencer. Use him. Put him in there and turn him loose. Spencer can be a star if you turn him loose.

3. Start Miles Austin over Patrick Crayton at the number 2 WR position. Yes. It was only two pre-season games, but I've seen enough. Crayton doesn't do well against the top notch corners in the game. According to K.C. Joyner, Crayton only put up a YPA under 3.0 on Joyner's "red" rated cornerbacks. Austin has the size, speed, and strength to have a better chance of making plays for Tony Romo on the outside. Plus, he can win a jump ball on the outside. Crayton makes his money inside, out of the slot. That is where he earned his payday. Plus, those top corners can lock him up on the outside and allow the defense to roll coverage to Owens and Witten. Some people say that Jason Witten is the number 2 WR, and that may be true in production. However, sooner or later, you are going to have to stretch the field out of that number two spot to counter the defenses in the division and get some plays or production out of that number 2 WR spot. That spot hurt Dallas in the playoff loss to the Giants. Austin can upgrade it. If he could turn into an Alvin Harper, Dallas' offense will be even better this year.


The Wildcard:

Orlando Scandrick

I really like Mike Jenkins, and I think he can be a great player and start in the sub-packages. However, Phillips needs to find a way to get Scandrick on the field some.

 

[tomson75]

Umm........no.

 

[Mansta54]

Umm........no.

Bingo!!!

 

[zrinkill]

No to number 1

Yes to number 2

No to number 3 (unless Crayton does worse mid year than he did last year)

 

[CalCBFan]

It was an absolute pleasure to see Scandrick lay the lumber on that receiver in the 4th Q. At last a CB that isn't afraid to it somebody! I've been watching every other team's CBs pound our WRs and wondered "when are we going to get a CB like this?" Hopefully, he do hits like this week-in-and-week-out without getting hurt. An absolute jewel....

 

[CATCH17]

If Miles Austin is indeed the real deal he will be starting soon enough.

Crayton is a really good player but Miles Austin is incredible Physically @ 6'3 215 and a blazer.

If he is the real deal it will be hard to keep that kind of athlete off the field and thats no knock against Crayton because I think Crayton can be a #2 for a ton of teams in this league.

 

[btcutter]

1. Adam is a game changer....but may not be what you think....he'll get burned alot more than Henry until he can prove that he doen't gamble so much.

2. Rotate Spencer and Ellis is the right thing to do. You don't just pull Elllis who had double digit sacks.

3. Romo trusts Crayton. Miles....not so much....

 

[CATCH17]

1. Adam is a game changer....but may not be what you think....he'll get burned alot more than Henry until he can prove that he doen't gamble so much.
2. Rotate Spencer and Ellis is the right thing to do. You don't just pull Elllis who had double digit sacks.

3. Romo trusts Crayton. Miles....not so much....

I have also been down on his run support too. He needs to get that taken care of or hes going to give up a lot of big runs.

Pacman is a heck of a player but Henry is currently the better player so keep your best player on the field.

 

[28 Joker]

I made a mistake, and I changed it above.

Crayton put up a YPA which was under 3.0 against Joyner's "red" Corners. (The corners with the lowest YPA.)

YPA is just one measure, and it can be misleading if you judge a corner by YPA, alone.

However, Crayton's YPA was very poor against Joyner's "better corners".

 

[dbair1967]

1) Jones will probably start at some point this yr, but even if he doesnt I have no problem with it because he's going to be on the field quite a bit regardless

2) Spencer will start eventually too, but maybe not this yr...like Jones above however, he'll be on the field alot

3) There is nothing wrong with Crayton as the #2...if he duplicates his numbers from last yr, or comes close thats a good thing...is he a dominant player? No, but then again how many teams have "dominant" #2 WR's? Then you have to factor in that regardless of who the #2 WR is, that person arnt going to pass Owens or Witten anyway in terms of importance to the offense

David

 

[28 Joker]

1. Adam is a game changer....but may not be what you think....he'll get burned alot more than Henry until he can prove that he doen't gamble so much.

2. Rotate Spencer and Ellis is the right thing to do. You don't just pull Elllis who had double digit sacks.

3. Romo trusts Crayton. Miles....not so much....

I have to disagree. Pacman put up a 5.4 YPA in 2006 with the Titans. He played Manning twice that year. You don't put up a 5.4 YPA and get burned deep all the time or give up a ton of big plays. Newman's best was 5.7 YPA in a season.

If Pacman can keep his YPA below 7, he will be a big upgrade over Henry, imo. That doesn't count his ability to get pick sixes.

Vela's Four Year YPA Averages, via Joyner's YPA: (2007 not included)

Newman 6.2 YPA
Pacman 6.3 YPA (only two years available)
Henry 7.4 YPA

The league average is about 7.0 YPA according to Joyner.

Reeves put up a 7.9 YPA last season.

When compared to Henry, Pacman is faster, more physical, makes big plays, doesn't give up big plays like you think, and takes picks to the house. Pacman's 4.3 speed and his physical nature will enable Dallas to play more press man and bump and run coverage. Henry isn't as physical as Pacman. In fact, for his size, Henry isn't very physical with receivers.

 

[peplaw06]

I made a mistake, and I changed it above.

Crayton put up a YPA which was under 3.0 against Joyner's "red" Corners. (The corners with the lowest YPA.)

YPA is just one measure, and it can be misleading if you judge a corner by YPA, alone.

However, Crayton's YPA was very poor against Joyner's "better corners".

Crayton isn't going to be up against the opposition's best corners.

 

[28 Joker]

Check out these numbers K.C. Joyner has on Crayton's YPA in Scientific Football '08:

Crayton, as stated above, put up a YPA under 3.0 against "red" corners or corners Joyner puts in the "top 1/3" of the league. That is very poor. The CBs top YPA numbers or "red" numbers can negate Crayton.

On the other hand, Crayton puts up a YPA of over 10.0 against "yellow" and "green" corners. The "yellow" corners were defined as corners having a YPA in line with the NFL average, which is around 7.0 YPA. The "green" corners are defined, by Joyner, as corners at the "bottom 1/3" of the league.

What does this tell you? When Crayton sees a "red" corner on the outside, he gets shut down. Crayton lacks the speed and strength to make plays or big plays on these CBs and get open. Look at the difference in Crayton's YPA when you consider the "color" CB he is playing against. When he plays against "average" to "below" average CBs, he performs much better.

under 3.0 YPA (red) VS 10.0 YPA (yellow and green)

As a general rule, the quallity of player that Crayton will face on the outside will be much better than a corner he may face in the slot. Crayton is at his best when he can find open space in the middle of the field and get open and use his hands. He does this out of the slot. Many of his key catches come out of the slot and on third down.

 

[tomson75]

As a general rule, the quallity of player that Crayton will face on the outside will be much better than a corner he may face in the slot. Crayton is at his best when he can find open space in the middle of the field and get open and use his hands. He does this out of the slot. Many of his key catches come out of the slot and on third down.

So why does the proven player sit the bench instead of just moving to the slot on three receiver sets? Like they usually do now...

 

[28 Joker]

Crayton isn't going to be up against the opposition's best corners.

Do you remember when S.F. put Deion on Harper and doubled Irvin in 1994?

When Crayton is playing many snaps on the outside, he will run up against corners in the "top 1/3" of the league sooner or later. When he does, he gets shut down.

A "red" corner can take Crayton (on the outside) one-on-one and take him out of the game while T.O. is double teamed, no matter which side T.O. lines up on.

 

[Thick 'N Hearty]

Nice try. But, the only one that I can see happening is No. 2. That's only if Ellis takes a huge step back. He's still a dominant player against the run and doesn't do too bad against the pass. If they're forced to because Spencer is a beast, then sure, put him in.

 

[28 Joker]

So why does the proven player sit the bench instead of just moving to the slot on three receiver sets? Like they usually do now...

Indeed. I'm not saying don't use Crayton. Let Crayton's basic role be in the slot when you are in a three WR set, and let Austin take Crayton's snaps on the outside. This would be my general rule, but this is just my opinion.

I would llike to see Austin on the outside with Owens in two WR sets. It is a shame he was hurt. I can't believe they let him go out on kick coverage. They should have pulled him off it right after the TD. I read that they tried to do so. Plus, they played Hurd over Austin. That was surprising. You would think they would want to see Austin in the game with Romo unless they were "hiding" him to a degree. I wonder if Austin could have run down Romo's over throw when Hurd was open deep.

The Eagles and Packers have good corners and Austin's physical or athletic skills on the outside gives Dallas a better chance to make more plays, imo. I don't think you want Crayton or Hurd drawing Charles Woodson, in man coverage, on the outside. Austin has a better chance to beat guys like Woodson or Harris on the outside.

 

[peplaw06]

Do you remember when S.F. put Deion on Harper and doubled Irvin in 1994?

Yep, and Aikman threw for 380... good point.

When Crayton is playing many snaps on the outside, he will run up against corners in the "top 1/3" of the league sooner or later. When he does, he gets shut down.

A "red" corner can take Crayton (on the outside) one-on-one and take him out of the game while T.O. is double teamed, no matter which side T.O. lines up on.

Crayton isn't going to be a main cog of this offense. He'll be an asset, but if he is "shut down" it probably means one of TO, Witten or Barber is going off.

 

[28 Joker]

Nice try. But, the only one that I can see happening is No. 2. That's only if Ellis takes a huge step back. He's still a dominant player against the run and doesn't do too bad against the pass. If they're forced to because Spencer is a beast, then sure, put him in.

Yes. Ellis is good against the run when he is in the box, but teams can get the corner on him. They will be hard pressed to do this against Spencer. Ellis' tackle on Amonte Toomer's 40 yard TD (on a 10 yard pass) in the playoffs was very poor. Henry looked terrible on that play, too.

I just think that Dallas will be a better team by December and January if Spencer is given a much bigger role this season. He can do it. Ellis will be fresher. Ellis didn't have a sack in the playoff game, his missed tackle on Toomer in space was costly. That is a play Spencer can make. Let Ellis pick up sacks on third down.

 

[theebs]

Yes. Ellis is good against the run when he is in the box, but teams can get the corner on him. They will be hard pressed to do this against Spencer. Ellis' tackle on Amonte Toomer's 40 yard TD (on a 10 yard pass) in the playoffs was very poor. Henry looked terrible on that play, too.

I just think that Dallas will be a better team by December and January if Spencer is given a much bigger role this season. He can do it. Ellis will be fresher. Ellis didn't have a sack in the playoff game, his missed tackle on Toomer in space was costly. That is a play Spencer can make. Let Ellis pick up sacks on third down.

kind of weird how you are basing everything on ellis off of one play.

Dont you see something wrong with that?