Plankton
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Better late than never I suppose, but……..
In a weekend filled with a number of mediocre matchups, the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys projected to be the most interesting and best matchup in Week 9. This would be a game that served to be a referendum of sorts for the Cowboys on what kind of team they were. Riding a two game winning streak, the Cowboys had what appears to have been a soft front end of the schedule, with no wins against a team with a winning record, and two of their wins coming against two of the worst teams in the league: the Giants and the 49ers.
The Chiefs started off hot, winning their first five games of the season, but had hit a bit of a rut, losing two of their last three. With their innovative offensive scheme, dynamic rookie running back Kareem Hunt, and one of the most explosive threats in the league in Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs presented a significant threat to the Cowboys, and would be an indicator of where this Cowboy team stood at the halfway point of their schedule.
Consider it to be an indication of a team hitting its stride.
In a game that could be characterized as the Rise of the Maligned, the Cowboys rose to the occasion with their best performance of the season. Strong in all phases of the game, the Cowboys sent a message to the Chiefs and the NFL that they have found their identity, and are coming together at seemingly the right time. And, in doing so, the Cowboys performance was headlined by some players and units that have been amongst the most maligned on the team.
The Cowboys played a very physical game that was predicated by aggressiveness on defense. Dallas attacked the line of scrimmage early on, and eliminated the threat of Hunt in the run game. The Cowboys held the league’s leading rusher to his second lowest output of the season, and rendered the Chief rushing attack a moot point. Additionally, they limited the threat of Tyreek Hill, a truly dynamic player with the ball in his hands, to one play at the end of the first half, where the Cowboys shed the aggressiveness that had highlighted their defensive player earlier in the half, and paid for it by being caught flat footed.
The Cowboys got strong performances from the usual suspects. Ezekiel Elliott played a steady, effective game in rushing for 93 yards, as well as a number of key blitz pickups throughout the game. Doing this with only one day of practice for the game was impressive, but where missing Elliott would impact the Cowboys the most is in his all-around capabilities. His presence on the field tips off nothing, as the Cowboys can run their entire playbook when Elliott is in the backfield. There isn’t an aspect of his game that he isn’t very good to exceptional at, and his threat on the field opens things up for others. Dak Prescott managed the game well, stayed out of dangerous throws against a secondary with a premier ball hawk in Marcus Peters, and made enough plays with his feet to keep the Cowboy offense humming. DeMarcus Lawrence’s stat sheet didn’t look overly impressive, but his presence was felt throughout, with Alex Smith never able to find a comfortable place in the pocket when throwing the football.
But, it was the previously maligned members of the team that stepped up, and played the most prominent roles in this key, season building victory.
Terrance Williams played his best game of the season, and showed explosiveness after the catch and in his cuts. Williams was a perfect 9 for 9 in passes thrown by Dak Prescott, going for 141 yards, and set up scores with some big catches. Williams had been hampered since the opener with a sprained ankle that had limited his effectiveness, and he looked healthy for the first time in weeks. He appeared to have reaggravated the injury in the fourth quarter, and had to leave the game.
Jeff Heath, perhaps the biggest punching bag for fans amongst the Cowboy roster, did what no one else in the NFL had done this year – intercept Chief quarterback Alex Smith. Heath ended a Chief drive with a perfectly timed jumping of a Travis Kelce route to snag his first pick of the season. Heath isn’t perfect by any means, but he did contribute a momentum shifting play in this Cowboy victory.
The Cowboy secondary as a whole, worked and limited the Chiefs to one big play in the passing game, tackled well, and helped hold the Chiefs to 4 of 11 on third down conversions. Save for a six minute span in the middle of the game, they were outstanding.
And, even the much maligned first round pick, Taco Charlton, notched his first sack of his career, setting up the Heath interception on the very next play.
While Rod Marinelli has been lambasted by many for running an antiquated, archaic scheme, it was his charges that slowed an explosive and diverse Chief offense, and held them to their second lowest point total of the season. The Cowboy defense played fast, hit hard, and maintained an aggressive posture for all but six minutes of the game.
Before the Cowboys can walk away feeling really good about themselves, the body count that piled up from a very physical football game was troubling and poses a potential problem for the near future. Defensive tackle Brian Price suffered what appears to be a season ending knee injury at a position where the Cowboys’ depth is next to non-existent. Tyron Smith has been battling a bad back, and now he can throw a groin injury on top of that. Dez Bryant and Williams both left the game in the fourth quarter with ankle injuries, and did not return. Williams has been battling an ankle problem since Week One, and Bryant has had numerous lower leg injuries over the years, so this bears watching. And, while it isn’t injury related, the Cowboys could finally lose Elliott to a six game suspension that has been hanging over the football team like a cloud, with a three judge panel convening this Thursday to determine whether the ruling of Justice Katherine Polk Failla should stand.
A great Cowboy win with an ounce of dread as a chaser. Where have we heard that before?
If the Cowboys want to continue their hot streak over the next few weeks, with a desperate Falcon team up next on the road, followed by a critical meeting against the NFC East leading Eagles, the Cowboys will need to continue to get contributions from all parts of the roster.
And continue the Rise of the Maligned.
Other notes on Sunday’s game:
In a weekend filled with a number of mediocre matchups, the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys projected to be the most interesting and best matchup in Week 9. This would be a game that served to be a referendum of sorts for the Cowboys on what kind of team they were. Riding a two game winning streak, the Cowboys had what appears to have been a soft front end of the schedule, with no wins against a team with a winning record, and two of their wins coming against two of the worst teams in the league: the Giants and the 49ers.
The Chiefs started off hot, winning their first five games of the season, but had hit a bit of a rut, losing two of their last three. With their innovative offensive scheme, dynamic rookie running back Kareem Hunt, and one of the most explosive threats in the league in Tyreek Hill, the Chiefs presented a significant threat to the Cowboys, and would be an indicator of where this Cowboy team stood at the halfway point of their schedule.
Consider it to be an indication of a team hitting its stride.
In a game that could be characterized as the Rise of the Maligned, the Cowboys rose to the occasion with their best performance of the season. Strong in all phases of the game, the Cowboys sent a message to the Chiefs and the NFL that they have found their identity, and are coming together at seemingly the right time. And, in doing so, the Cowboys performance was headlined by some players and units that have been amongst the most maligned on the team.
The Cowboys played a very physical game that was predicated by aggressiveness on defense. Dallas attacked the line of scrimmage early on, and eliminated the threat of Hunt in the run game. The Cowboys held the league’s leading rusher to his second lowest output of the season, and rendered the Chief rushing attack a moot point. Additionally, they limited the threat of Tyreek Hill, a truly dynamic player with the ball in his hands, to one play at the end of the first half, where the Cowboys shed the aggressiveness that had highlighted their defensive player earlier in the half, and paid for it by being caught flat footed.
The Cowboys got strong performances from the usual suspects. Ezekiel Elliott played a steady, effective game in rushing for 93 yards, as well as a number of key blitz pickups throughout the game. Doing this with only one day of practice for the game was impressive, but where missing Elliott would impact the Cowboys the most is in his all-around capabilities. His presence on the field tips off nothing, as the Cowboys can run their entire playbook when Elliott is in the backfield. There isn’t an aspect of his game that he isn’t very good to exceptional at, and his threat on the field opens things up for others. Dak Prescott managed the game well, stayed out of dangerous throws against a secondary with a premier ball hawk in Marcus Peters, and made enough plays with his feet to keep the Cowboy offense humming. DeMarcus Lawrence’s stat sheet didn’t look overly impressive, but his presence was felt throughout, with Alex Smith never able to find a comfortable place in the pocket when throwing the football.
But, it was the previously maligned members of the team that stepped up, and played the most prominent roles in this key, season building victory.
Terrance Williams played his best game of the season, and showed explosiveness after the catch and in his cuts. Williams was a perfect 9 for 9 in passes thrown by Dak Prescott, going for 141 yards, and set up scores with some big catches. Williams had been hampered since the opener with a sprained ankle that had limited his effectiveness, and he looked healthy for the first time in weeks. He appeared to have reaggravated the injury in the fourth quarter, and had to leave the game.
Jeff Heath, perhaps the biggest punching bag for fans amongst the Cowboy roster, did what no one else in the NFL had done this year – intercept Chief quarterback Alex Smith. Heath ended a Chief drive with a perfectly timed jumping of a Travis Kelce route to snag his first pick of the season. Heath isn’t perfect by any means, but he did contribute a momentum shifting play in this Cowboy victory.
The Cowboy secondary as a whole, worked and limited the Chiefs to one big play in the passing game, tackled well, and helped hold the Chiefs to 4 of 11 on third down conversions. Save for a six minute span in the middle of the game, they were outstanding.
And, even the much maligned first round pick, Taco Charlton, notched his first sack of his career, setting up the Heath interception on the very next play.
While Rod Marinelli has been lambasted by many for running an antiquated, archaic scheme, it was his charges that slowed an explosive and diverse Chief offense, and held them to their second lowest point total of the season. The Cowboy defense played fast, hit hard, and maintained an aggressive posture for all but six minutes of the game.
Before the Cowboys can walk away feeling really good about themselves, the body count that piled up from a very physical football game was troubling and poses a potential problem for the near future. Defensive tackle Brian Price suffered what appears to be a season ending knee injury at a position where the Cowboys’ depth is next to non-existent. Tyron Smith has been battling a bad back, and now he can throw a groin injury on top of that. Dez Bryant and Williams both left the game in the fourth quarter with ankle injuries, and did not return. Williams has been battling an ankle problem since Week One, and Bryant has had numerous lower leg injuries over the years, so this bears watching. And, while it isn’t injury related, the Cowboys could finally lose Elliott to a six game suspension that has been hanging over the football team like a cloud, with a three judge panel convening this Thursday to determine whether the ruling of Justice Katherine Polk Failla should stand.
A great Cowboy win with an ounce of dread as a chaser. Where have we heard that before?
If the Cowboys want to continue their hot streak over the next few weeks, with a desperate Falcon team up next on the road, followed by a critical meeting against the NFC East leading Eagles, the Cowboys will need to continue to get contributions from all parts of the roster.
And continue the Rise of the Maligned.
Other notes on Sunday’s game:
- If you ever needed a reason to not go completely passive on end of half drives, one needs to look no further than the disaster that was the end of the first half this week. The Chiefs knew that their chances of completing a Hail Mary were slim, so they set up a modified kick return sort of dump off pass to Hill. With the Cowboys having six players at or near the goal line, and Hill having two lead blockers, there should have been no way for the Chiefs to make it to the end zone. The Cowboys remained passive, allowed Demarcus Robinson to pick off two Cowboys with one block, had Orlando Scandrick get caught flat footed, and the fleet of foot Hill went into the end zone untouched. A seminar could be held on this play as to how not to defend at the end of the half.
- That being said, Byron Jones picked a heck of a time to lose his mind. It was his 15 yard penalty for throwing Chief returner Akeem Hunt to the ground out of bounds that set the wheels in motion for the aforementioned disaster. Jones compounded matters by taking his helmet off in frustration after the Hill touchdown, and took a second 15 yard penalty that was enforced on the second half kickoff. This set up the Chiefs with prime field position at the 38 yard line, and led to their second touchdown in as many series. An alarming lack of poise shown by an otherwise smart player.
- While the run game numbers didn’t jump off the charts, the Cowboy offensive line played a strong game in the trenches. The Chiefs made it their defensive mission to stop or slow the Cowboy run game, and had eight men pressing the line throughout the game. The Cowboys still managed to control the line of scrimmage, and keep the offense on schedule.
- Special teams were also prominent for the Cowboys in this game. Chris Jones put four of his five punts inside the 20 yard line, and held Hill to zero yards in returns. Jones has had an underrated season punting for the Cowboys, and combining his excellent work as a holder with his terrific directional kicking skills makes him one of the most effective players on the Cowboy roster.
- Kavon Frazier may not have found his place in the Cowboy defense, but his ability as a gunner on special teams is fantastic. Frazier has been a real factor the last four weeks on punt returns, with a huge hit on DeAnthony Thomas when he fielded a Jones punt.
- Welcome to the 2017 season, Taco Charlton. But, a word of advice. The sack celebration of prepping and passing out Tacos is lame, and should be shelved.
- Think the Cowboys wish that their games versus the Broncos and Packers were scheduled for later in the season? At this point in time, those teams are shells of what they were and expected to be. Yet another reason for the NFL being a week to week endeavor.
