Teague31
Defender of the Star
- Messages
- 18,220
- Reaction score
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What did you like? What did you not like? Did you see enough of anything (besides the guys in the booth)?
Talk about it here.
Rafael at the controls. I’ve got tape to review, since it’s hard to get a definitive look at the game and get your kids to bed at the same time, but these things stuck with me:
1. What QB controversy? Drew Bledsoe has nothing to worry about, on the field or in the booth, where his owner emphatically backed him up. And his half was pretty good too;
2. Did I mention the Cowboys have worked on fades and stop fades a lot during camp? They could complete these patterns regardless of who played WR and who played QB;
3. Jason Fabini played his heart out, but I twice saw him knocked off his feet by hard inside rushes. This was his weakness during camp and it may put his roster spot in jeopardy;
4. Flozell Adams left at the end of drive one. The sideline reported a bruised calf. Much better than a knee injury;
4a. Pat McQuistan got the rest of the half at LT. He has promise, but let’s not kid ourselves, he also needs a full offseason. He needs to improve his strength. He twice, by my unofficial count, let rushers blow past him. The lone Bledsoe drive that didn’t score faltered because of McQuistan breakdowns. He has promise, but sixteen weeks at LT would get even an oak tree like Bledsoe killed;
5. The coaching staff contines to ladle out heavy reps to Sam Hurd and he continues to eat them up. His stop fade TD capped another strong performance against real NFL competition;
6. Jamaica Rector made a push to be the 5th WR. He, like Hurd, showed good hands and a willingness to go over the middle;
7. Mike Vanderjagt aggravated his groin in pregame warmups. Shaun Suisham made all his kicks, but evoked the infamous name “Cortez.” His first FG was inches inside the left upright. His second FG was at most a foot inside the right. If Dallas has to start the season with him as kicker, stock up on Rolaids;
8. Demarcus Ware abused Saints LT Jamaal Brown with power moves. He almost caused an interception by pushing Brown back into Drew Bree’s lap. Greg Ellis dropped a gimme TD off Brees’ errant throw.
Ware also made the defensive play of the game. With New Orleans facing a third and short in the Dallas red zone, Sean Payton lined up Reggie Bush in the left slot. Dallas, which stubbornly stays in its base as much as possible, moved Ware out into space over Bush. At the snap, Bush ran a flat route, parallel to the line of scrimmage. He caught a quick Brees pass but could not outrun Ware to the sideline. Ware wrapped the rookie up for no gain when Bush tried to cut back inside him.
9. Bush can play. He made Terence Newman look foolish on a pitchout. He’ll be unstoppable in the open field;
10. Greg Ellis also showed some quickness to the sideline, marking Deuce McAllister on a first quarter pass;
11. Dallas showed a max rush third down package that put Ware, Ellis and Kevin Burnett on the field at the same time;
12. Oliver Hoyte continues to push for a roster spot. He made the tackle on on every kickoff I saw.
Talk about it here.
Rafael at the controls. I’ve got tape to review, since it’s hard to get a definitive look at the game and get your kids to bed at the same time, but these things stuck with me:
1. What QB controversy? Drew Bledsoe has nothing to worry about, on the field or in the booth, where his owner emphatically backed him up. And his half was pretty good too;
2. Did I mention the Cowboys have worked on fades and stop fades a lot during camp? They could complete these patterns regardless of who played WR and who played QB;
3. Jason Fabini played his heart out, but I twice saw him knocked off his feet by hard inside rushes. This was his weakness during camp and it may put his roster spot in jeopardy;
4. Flozell Adams left at the end of drive one. The sideline reported a bruised calf. Much better than a knee injury;
4a. Pat McQuistan got the rest of the half at LT. He has promise, but let’s not kid ourselves, he also needs a full offseason. He needs to improve his strength. He twice, by my unofficial count, let rushers blow past him. The lone Bledsoe drive that didn’t score faltered because of McQuistan breakdowns. He has promise, but sixteen weeks at LT would get even an oak tree like Bledsoe killed;
5. The coaching staff contines to ladle out heavy reps to Sam Hurd and he continues to eat them up. His stop fade TD capped another strong performance against real NFL competition;
6. Jamaica Rector made a push to be the 5th WR. He, like Hurd, showed good hands and a willingness to go over the middle;
7. Mike Vanderjagt aggravated his groin in pregame warmups. Shaun Suisham made all his kicks, but evoked the infamous name “Cortez.” His first FG was inches inside the left upright. His second FG was at most a foot inside the right. If Dallas has to start the season with him as kicker, stock up on Rolaids;
8. Demarcus Ware abused Saints LT Jamaal Brown with power moves. He almost caused an interception by pushing Brown back into Drew Bree’s lap. Greg Ellis dropped a gimme TD off Brees’ errant throw.
Ware also made the defensive play of the game. With New Orleans facing a third and short in the Dallas red zone, Sean Payton lined up Reggie Bush in the left slot. Dallas, which stubbornly stays in its base as much as possible, moved Ware out into space over Bush. At the snap, Bush ran a flat route, parallel to the line of scrimmage. He caught a quick Brees pass but could not outrun Ware to the sideline. Ware wrapped the rookie up for no gain when Bush tried to cut back inside him.
9. Bush can play. He made Terence Newman look foolish on a pitchout. He’ll be unstoppable in the open field;
10. Greg Ellis also showed some quickness to the sideline, marking Deuce McAllister on a first quarter pass;
11. Dallas showed a max rush third down package that put Ware, Ellis and Kevin Burnett on the field at the same time;
12. Oliver Hoyte continues to push for a roster spot. He made the tackle on on every kickoff I saw.
