Ultimately, the problem was ...

[WV Cowboy]

I have seen posts blaming Zimmer, Payton, Parcells, Roy, A. Glenn, etc.

Ultimately, we had the ball at the Skins 48 yd line with plenty of time to get in FG range, ... but we couldn't do it.

If we kick the FG, we win, even after all of the other crap that happened.

 

[rcaldw]

I have seen posts blaming Zimmer, Payton, Parcells, Roy, A. Glenn, etc.

Ultimately, we had the ball at the Skins 48 yd line with plenty of time to get in FG range, ... but we couldn't do it.

If we kick the FG, we win, even after all of the other crap that happened.

I said the exact same thing in another thread, and not one response. It is easier to blame the defense, because people here have a history of hating Zimmer, than to look squarely at the fact that we couldn't move the ball 25 yards with the game on the line. That would be more discouraging to think that we really haven't improved that much on the offensive side of the ball.

 

[Eddie]

This topic was beaten to death earlier this morning.

 

[scottsp]

Good point.

Question: why the hell did we feel the need to rush a play - a pass play - on second and four - just before the two minute warning?

Tuesday morning quarterbacking? Maybe. But I swear I was at a loss for words when I saw them lining up and snapping the ball with 2:04 on the clock.

Why not take it to the two minute warning, think about things, and go forward from there? Time was not an issue at that point, IMO.

 

[Eddie]

Well, it all came down to getting a first down when we needed it most. We didn't.

We lost.

Gotta love that DFU offense. Does wonders for you. Keeps you from winning.

 

[Doomsday]

I agree, there are alot of mistakes that happen every week but good teams find ways to overcome them when it counts. Dallas has 2 and 4 and midfield with 2 mintues left and they gain 3 yards.

 

[JeffInDC]

I have seen posts blaming Zimmer, Payton, Parcells, Roy, A. Glenn, etc.

Ultimately, we had the ball at the Skins 48 yd line with plenty of time to get in FG range, ... but we couldn't do it.

If we kick the FG, we win, even after all of the other crap that happened.

You have a VERY (and I mean VERY) valid point. However, should the offense at that point in the game even have been in the position that they now needed to make plays to win the game? What I mean is if the D had continued to apply the same pressure that it had all night (w/ great success mind you), would the offense ever have been in that position?

Basically, we both are right on this one and that's the tough part. Why? Because the coaches, even though they aren't on the field, made the calls late in the game to be ultra-conservative on both sides of the ball & it ended up costing Dallas the game.

 

[WoodysGirl]

This topic was beaten to death earlier this morning.

Everybody has an opinion about why we lost, and many of them have been repeated.

Ultimately we lost. And at this point, it doesn't matter how. All that matters is that we did.

I thought the same thing. We make the FG, we win. We make a couple first downs, we win. We don't let them make a couple first downs, we win. The guy next to me in the stands, don't get drunk, and we win... :

There are a number of reasons why we lost, but the end result is still the same.

On the flip side, think of it like this. If we had won, alot of the same things that we blame as to why we lost, would've still occurred. But if we had won, not as many people would've been pointing out the flaws. Two big plays and we lose, and now everybody wants to point out what didn't go wrong... Alot of crap went wrong last night, even if we had somehow pulled it out.

JMO, of course.

 

[Dale]

Some of the credit has to go to Washington. While the 2nd and 4th down plays were horrendous, Sean Taylor made a heck of a play to break up that first-down pass to Patrick Crayton. If Crayton catches that ball and is tackled in regular fashion, who knows how that game ends up.

 

[WoodysGirl]

Some of the credit has to go to Washington. While the 2nd and 4th down plays were horrendous, Sean Taylor made a heck of a play to break up that first-down pass to Patrick Crayton. If Crayton catches that ball and is tackled in regular fashion, who knows how that game ends up.

You're right, Dale. Nobody wants to give Washington any credit. But they did what they had to do to stay in the game. And when Washington took their shots in the last final minutes, they took care of business. Dallas didn't, unfortunately.

 

[Dale]

You're right, Dale. Nobody wants to give Washington any credit. But they did what they had to do to stay in the game. And when Washington took their shots in the last final minutes, they took care of business. Dallas didn't, unfortunately.

I agree. Dallas choked. There's no doubt about that. But Washington still had to capitalize, and they did.

 

[ABQCOWBOY]

Some of the credit has to go to Washington. While the 2nd and 4th down plays were horrendous, Sean Taylor made a heck of a play to break up that first-down pass to Patrick Crayton. If Crayton catches that ball and is tackled in regular fashion, who knows how that game ends up.

My hate is off to you Dale. I was actually toying with the idea of starting a thread that basically said the same thing but I was not mentally ready to deal with the onslought of what it would intail.



I think that when all is said and done, this is the truest statement that can be said. We could have executed better in the RedZone. We could have played the speed down the field better. We could have shown a little better awareness on the scrambles. We could have ran better routes, blocked better in the running game, thrown a bit more accuratly. We could have been more agressive. We could have done a great many things better but in the end, you gotta say that the Skinz beat us. They made plays when they had to. They played excellent defense. They stayed tough and in the end, they made plays.

You gotta just see it for what it is, tip your hate and file it away for Dec. 18th.

 

[Hollywood Henderson]

Very good post JeffinDC!