waving monkey
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 15,540
- Reaction score
- 14,930
FRISCO, Texas – The in-depth analysis will come on Monday, but there was just a ton to digest in this thriller against the Lions.
From my vantage point in our studios at The Star, these are my main impressions from the game:
· I talked about it during the week and on our pregame show that the new wrinkle you could see from the offense was to play with a little pace. It was a good plan to attempt to wear this Lions defensive line out due to their size. The Cowboys did a nice job offensively putting the pressure on the Lions, and as the game wore on you could see it taking its toll -- especially on that final drive.
· I had a feeling that Tyrone Crawford could be disruptive in this game with his quickness. Crawford was able to beat the down block by Taylor Decker, which threw off the pulling block of T.J. Lang. That put both Crawford and DeMarcus Lawrence in place to tackle Kerryon Johnson for a loss on a big play.
· Nice job by Cole Beasley running his route through the middle of the defense to hold Quandre Diggs in place while Michael Gallup was able to release away from Nevin Lawson along the sideline. Diggs had no choice but to honor Beasley’s route, which allowed Dak Prescott just enough room to throw the ball over the top.
· Bad break for Jourdan Lewis playing in the dime package. There is nothing easy about covering Golden Tate out of the slot, but when Lewis slipped on the play it caused him to lose his balance and stumble forward. Once Tate felt that, he just spun away from him and started up the field. What compounded the problem was the way that Jeff Heath didn’t attempt to push Tate to the sideline to drive him out of bounds.
· Loved the way Scott Linehan used Ezekiel Elliott in the screen game. I felt like Elliott could have had two touchdowns on the day if Connor Williams wouldn’t have delayed a little too long to get out in front of Elliott. Williams will learn that, when he is blocking a linebacker that is playing man coverage on the back, he needs to go and attack that man. Jarrad Davis made a heck of a play to tackle Elliott for a short gain. If Williams gets that block, like I mentioned, Elliott could have been bumping his head on the goal post -- the field was that open.
· Really nice zone coverage by the secondary to force Matthew Stafford into holding the ball for DeMarcus Lawrence’s first sack of the game. Lawrence was able to use a stutter move that forced backup guard Kenny Wiggins off balance. Lawrence was able to quickly swim Wiggins, which put him right on top of Stafford before he could unload the ball.
https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/scout-s-notebook-ups-downs-from-a-wild-day
From my vantage point in our studios at The Star, these are my main impressions from the game:
· I talked about it during the week and on our pregame show that the new wrinkle you could see from the offense was to play with a little pace. It was a good plan to attempt to wear this Lions defensive line out due to their size. The Cowboys did a nice job offensively putting the pressure on the Lions, and as the game wore on you could see it taking its toll -- especially on that final drive.
· I had a feeling that Tyrone Crawford could be disruptive in this game with his quickness. Crawford was able to beat the down block by Taylor Decker, which threw off the pulling block of T.J. Lang. That put both Crawford and DeMarcus Lawrence in place to tackle Kerryon Johnson for a loss on a big play.
· Nice job by Cole Beasley running his route through the middle of the defense to hold Quandre Diggs in place while Michael Gallup was able to release away from Nevin Lawson along the sideline. Diggs had no choice but to honor Beasley’s route, which allowed Dak Prescott just enough room to throw the ball over the top.
· Bad break for Jourdan Lewis playing in the dime package. There is nothing easy about covering Golden Tate out of the slot, but when Lewis slipped on the play it caused him to lose his balance and stumble forward. Once Tate felt that, he just spun away from him and started up the field. What compounded the problem was the way that Jeff Heath didn’t attempt to push Tate to the sideline to drive him out of bounds.
· Loved the way Scott Linehan used Ezekiel Elliott in the screen game. I felt like Elliott could have had two touchdowns on the day if Connor Williams wouldn’t have delayed a little too long to get out in front of Elliott. Williams will learn that, when he is blocking a linebacker that is playing man coverage on the back, he needs to go and attack that man. Jarrad Davis made a heck of a play to tackle Elliott for a short gain. If Williams gets that block, like I mentioned, Elliott could have been bumping his head on the goal post -- the field was that open.
· Really nice zone coverage by the secondary to force Matthew Stafford into holding the ball for DeMarcus Lawrence’s first sack of the game. Lawrence was able to use a stutter move that forced backup guard Kenny Wiggins off balance. Lawrence was able to quickly swim Wiggins, which put him right on top of Stafford before he could unload the ball.
https://www.dallascowboys.com/news/scout-s-notebook-ups-downs-from-a-wild-day
