Angus
Active Member
- Messages
- 5,097
- Reaction score
- 20
Training Camp
A Closer Look at the Tape
The Cowboys have broken camp at Oxnard and will begin butting heads with the Broncos tomorrow and Thursday, with two days of two-a-days scheduled.
In the meantime, here are some more crumbs of football goodness from the Chargers game:
Heavy Jumbo: Teams don’t game plan in their first preseason matches but it’s clear the Cowboys know the Chargers tendencies. On San Diego’s second play from scrimmage they went to their heavy packages, with two tight ends, two backs and just one wide receiver.
Dallas countered with a 4-4-3 package. There are several interesting aspects to the package. First, the position switch the team practiced was in effect, as Tank Johnson and Marcus Spears were the DTs and Jay Ratliff and Chris Canty were the DEs in a three point stance. Greg Ellis and Demarcus Ware were the OLBs and Bradie James and Zach Thomas were inside. Anthony Henry was the lone corner.
Both DTs exploded into the backfield, with Johnson getting the sack when the Chargers tried picking him up with a fullback. Tank threw the FB aside and wrapped up Philip Rivers.
Inside Pressure — Dallas rushed their inside backers at Tony Romo a lot during practice and this carried over to the game. Bradie James was given lots of first down blitzing responsibility and he got in free on pass plays or he got to the fullback on the offense’s side of the ball on running plays, giving Zach Thomas a free lane to the ball.
Spears Unleashed — Todd Grantham may already be paying dividends. He had two blowups on Dallas first two drives and shows much better agility than we’ve seen in the past.
Crayton Miscast — One reason to applaud Miles Austin’s strong game is that it would allow Patrick Crayton back into his ideal role as the 3rd receiver. KC Joyner mentions in Scientific Football ‘08 that Crayton had a YPA under 3.0 against “red” caliber corners (those who ranked in the top third of NFL CBs) but had a YPA over 10 against “yellow” (league average) and “green” corners (those in the bottom third).
Crayton is devastating in the middle of the field, but can’t shake the big time guys. He showed that in Dallas first two series, with two impressive catches over the middle. Both converted 3rd downs and kept drives alive.
Keep the Starting Job — The starting line of Canty, Ratliff and Spears lived in San Diego’s backfield. The group of Bowen, Johnson and Hatcher? Not so good. Hatcher could hold his point but Johnson was up and down against the run and Bowen was pushed around.
On the Line — We can handicap positions after every game but the biggest issues were for second year man James Marten and for backup center Cory Procter.
Marten was being beaten around the edge inside. When you’re working in a limited area you cannot let guys get around you. He also failed to switch on a Chargers twist, letting his guy get a free shot at Brad Johnson.
Procter lacks ballast. This was a problem last year, when big DTs and NTs pushed him into the backfield. Procter had the same problem Saturday. He got all the snaps at center, with Joe Berger working at guard but I wonder if Berger, who can also play center, will get some looks in the pivot this week.
Good Marks for the Backup Backs — The biggest question for Felix Jones and Tashard Choice entering ‘08 is their ability to block. So far, very good. Both rookies showed the will and the ability to find blizers and stop them.
Game ball – MIles Austin. We know what the Cowboys have at most of their starting spots but somebody has to step up at receiver. Austin made a strong case, running tight routes and displaying good hands. He ran a precise deep in on Dallas’ field goal drive at the end of the half. When he entered the game last year you knew he was running deep. Now, he’s putting the full repertoire together. He’s got the deep speed this team needs at the two.
Continued play at this level would be a BIG plus to this team.
Most Smug Man Today — Anthony Henry. Everybody and their dog was ready to shunt him to safety or the bench when Adam Jones was signed. Not so fast. Henry played well on Saturday and had a big goal line stop. Jones, on the other hand, was caked in rust. He missed tackles. He looked slow reacting to the ball. He drew penalties. He’s got talent, without question. But he’s not in sync with the game yet.
So what do we know? We know the coverage teams were ragged. Half of them were where they needed to be on any given play but half were slow arriving.
What we learned was that guys like Julius Crosslin, Marcus Smith and Junior Siavii have limited time on the Cowboys’ roster. But that’s not really news, is it?
http://www.blueandsilverreport.com/
A Closer Look at the Tape
The Cowboys have broken camp at Oxnard and will begin butting heads with the Broncos tomorrow and Thursday, with two days of two-a-days scheduled.
In the meantime, here are some more crumbs of football goodness from the Chargers game:
Heavy Jumbo: Teams don’t game plan in their first preseason matches but it’s clear the Cowboys know the Chargers tendencies. On San Diego’s second play from scrimmage they went to their heavy packages, with two tight ends, two backs and just one wide receiver.
Dallas countered with a 4-4-3 package. There are several interesting aspects to the package. First, the position switch the team practiced was in effect, as Tank Johnson and Marcus Spears were the DTs and Jay Ratliff and Chris Canty were the DEs in a three point stance. Greg Ellis and Demarcus Ware were the OLBs and Bradie James and Zach Thomas were inside. Anthony Henry was the lone corner.
Both DTs exploded into the backfield, with Johnson getting the sack when the Chargers tried picking him up with a fullback. Tank threw the FB aside and wrapped up Philip Rivers.
Inside Pressure — Dallas rushed their inside backers at Tony Romo a lot during practice and this carried over to the game. Bradie James was given lots of first down blitzing responsibility and he got in free on pass plays or he got to the fullback on the offense’s side of the ball on running plays, giving Zach Thomas a free lane to the ball.
Spears Unleashed — Todd Grantham may already be paying dividends. He had two blowups on Dallas first two drives and shows much better agility than we’ve seen in the past.
Crayton Miscast — One reason to applaud Miles Austin’s strong game is that it would allow Patrick Crayton back into his ideal role as the 3rd receiver. KC Joyner mentions in Scientific Football ‘08 that Crayton had a YPA under 3.0 against “red” caliber corners (those who ranked in the top third of NFL CBs) but had a YPA over 10 against “yellow” (league average) and “green” corners (those in the bottom third).
Crayton is devastating in the middle of the field, but can’t shake the big time guys. He showed that in Dallas first two series, with two impressive catches over the middle. Both converted 3rd downs and kept drives alive.
Keep the Starting Job — The starting line of Canty, Ratliff and Spears lived in San Diego’s backfield. The group of Bowen, Johnson and Hatcher? Not so good. Hatcher could hold his point but Johnson was up and down against the run and Bowen was pushed around.
On the Line — We can handicap positions after every game but the biggest issues were for second year man James Marten and for backup center Cory Procter.
Marten was being beaten around the edge inside. When you’re working in a limited area you cannot let guys get around you. He also failed to switch on a Chargers twist, letting his guy get a free shot at Brad Johnson.
Procter lacks ballast. This was a problem last year, when big DTs and NTs pushed him into the backfield. Procter had the same problem Saturday. He got all the snaps at center, with Joe Berger working at guard but I wonder if Berger, who can also play center, will get some looks in the pivot this week.
Good Marks for the Backup Backs — The biggest question for Felix Jones and Tashard Choice entering ‘08 is their ability to block. So far, very good. Both rookies showed the will and the ability to find blizers and stop them.
Game ball – MIles Austin. We know what the Cowboys have at most of their starting spots but somebody has to step up at receiver. Austin made a strong case, running tight routes and displaying good hands. He ran a precise deep in on Dallas’ field goal drive at the end of the half. When he entered the game last year you knew he was running deep. Now, he’s putting the full repertoire together. He’s got the deep speed this team needs at the two.
Continued play at this level would be a BIG plus to this team.
Most Smug Man Today — Anthony Henry. Everybody and their dog was ready to shunt him to safety or the bench when Adam Jones was signed. Not so fast. Henry played well on Saturday and had a big goal line stop. Jones, on the other hand, was caked in rust. He missed tackles. He looked slow reacting to the ball. He drew penalties. He’s got talent, without question. But he’s not in sync with the game yet.
So what do we know? We know the coverage teams were ragged. Half of them were where they needed to be on any given play but half were slow arriving.
What we learned was that guys like Julius Crosslin, Marcus Smith and Junior Siavii have limited time on the Cowboys’ roster. But that’s not really news, is it?
http://www.blueandsilverreport.com/
