Plankton
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Good luck is when opportunity meets preparation, while bad luck is when lack of preparation meets reality.
- Eliyahu Goldratt
Preparation.
It’s the key to success in any competitive discipline. The ability to focus on a task, and assess the work needed to complete it, or attack it successfully. This extends to any phase in life, any profession.
None more so than football.
In looking at the Dallas Cowboys since the beginning of the 2017 season, many things can be questioned. The coaching staff, the ability of the organization to effectively self-scout, the focus of ownership and the front office, the continued insistence on adding and relying on players with checkered backgrounds. There were many questions this offseason related to how positions of weakness on the team were addressed, specifically the wide receiver, tight end, defensive tackle and safety positions. Some of the questions were caused by players leaving of their own volitions (Jason Witten), others by players who were released (Dez Bryant, Dan Bailey), and others by players not acquired (Earl Thomas).
The Cowboys insisted that they were prepared for the season, and felt confident that they had built a team that could prosper despite the loss of front line veterans. Despite an offense that barely played with each other during the preseason slate. Despite the presence of a number one receiving option, something that the front office and coaching staff insisted wasn’t needed.
If the opening game of the season is any indicator, the Cowboys played as they prepared.
Listless. Lifeless. Sloppy. Ineffective.
And, ultimately, unprepared for what they faced.
The 16-8 defeat suffered at the hands of the Carolina Panthers this afternoon was a picture of a team that allowed veterans to have “veteran days” off during camp, a team that played less than four quarters of football as a full, functional unit during preseason games, and a team that presented more questions than answers with their performance.
The Cowboy offense was sluggish, sloppy and unproductive. When the Cowboys weren’t getting stymied by the Panther defense, they were shooting themselves in the foot with unforced errors. In the first half, the Cowboys didn’t run a single play across midfield. The last time that happened was in Dave Campo’s last game as a Cowboy head coach against Washington in 2002.
In their first seven drives of the game, the Cowboys failed to do anything other than punt. Offensively, they did little to threaten the Panthers down the field, allowing Carolina to squeeze the field on them. The Cowboys ability to run the football was marred by eight-man fronts, and the passing game was unable to make them pay. As a team, the Cowboys committed 10 penalties, many of which backed the Cowboy offense up into unenviable down and distance scenarios, not to mention field position problems.
Were it not for the defense and Chris Jones, this game could have been a four-touchdown defeat.
The defense battled hard, and made a number of good stops, but they were not without blame in this game as well. The fundamental way that they prepared to handle the zone-read game of Cam Newton was flawed, and led to their early deficit in the game. Rod Marinelli has his ends continually crash down inside and scrape against the run. What this does is allow Newton to have an escape route around the vacated end. Taco Charlton, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory all were guilty of this in the game, and Newton made them pay. The Cowboys also had difficulties in getting Newton to the ground, and his ability to extend plays caused problems for the Cowboy defense.
However, this defeat rests on the ineffective offense. Prescott resembled the player seen far too often in the second half last year – skittish in the pocket when pressured, inaccurate down the field, and generally subpar. Prescott was sacked six times, and was under duress quite a bit in the game. He didn’t threaten the Panthers down the field with the passing game at all, and did not take advantage of a big opportunity in the first half when the Panthers busted a coverage, leaving Blake Jarwin wide open. Prescott didn’t set his feet, and left the throw short, squandering a big chance in the second quarter.
The majority of the changes on the coaching staff resided on the offensive side of the ball. Those units – quarterback (new coach Kellen Moore), offensive line (new coach Paul Alexander), wide receivers (new coach Sanjay Lal) and tight ends (new coach Doug Nussmeier) – all had subpar games.
One game does not make a season, but there are enough alarms from what was seen today for one to be concerned about how prepared this team is to compete through the long haul of this season. The challenge for the Cowboys going forward is to effectively self-scout, and prepare for what they are bound to face.
Because today, all this team was prepared for was to lose.
Other notes from today’s game:
- Eliyahu Goldratt
Preparation.
It’s the key to success in any competitive discipline. The ability to focus on a task, and assess the work needed to complete it, or attack it successfully. This extends to any phase in life, any profession.
None more so than football.
In looking at the Dallas Cowboys since the beginning of the 2017 season, many things can be questioned. The coaching staff, the ability of the organization to effectively self-scout, the focus of ownership and the front office, the continued insistence on adding and relying on players with checkered backgrounds. There were many questions this offseason related to how positions of weakness on the team were addressed, specifically the wide receiver, tight end, defensive tackle and safety positions. Some of the questions were caused by players leaving of their own volitions (Jason Witten), others by players who were released (Dez Bryant, Dan Bailey), and others by players not acquired (Earl Thomas).
The Cowboys insisted that they were prepared for the season, and felt confident that they had built a team that could prosper despite the loss of front line veterans. Despite an offense that barely played with each other during the preseason slate. Despite the presence of a number one receiving option, something that the front office and coaching staff insisted wasn’t needed.
If the opening game of the season is any indicator, the Cowboys played as they prepared.
Listless. Lifeless. Sloppy. Ineffective.
And, ultimately, unprepared for what they faced.
The 16-8 defeat suffered at the hands of the Carolina Panthers this afternoon was a picture of a team that allowed veterans to have “veteran days” off during camp, a team that played less than four quarters of football as a full, functional unit during preseason games, and a team that presented more questions than answers with their performance.
The Cowboy offense was sluggish, sloppy and unproductive. When the Cowboys weren’t getting stymied by the Panther defense, they were shooting themselves in the foot with unforced errors. In the first half, the Cowboys didn’t run a single play across midfield. The last time that happened was in Dave Campo’s last game as a Cowboy head coach against Washington in 2002.
In their first seven drives of the game, the Cowboys failed to do anything other than punt. Offensively, they did little to threaten the Panthers down the field, allowing Carolina to squeeze the field on them. The Cowboys ability to run the football was marred by eight-man fronts, and the passing game was unable to make them pay. As a team, the Cowboys committed 10 penalties, many of which backed the Cowboy offense up into unenviable down and distance scenarios, not to mention field position problems.
Were it not for the defense and Chris Jones, this game could have been a four-touchdown defeat.
The defense battled hard, and made a number of good stops, but they were not without blame in this game as well. The fundamental way that they prepared to handle the zone-read game of Cam Newton was flawed, and led to their early deficit in the game. Rod Marinelli has his ends continually crash down inside and scrape against the run. What this does is allow Newton to have an escape route around the vacated end. Taco Charlton, DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory all were guilty of this in the game, and Newton made them pay. The Cowboys also had difficulties in getting Newton to the ground, and his ability to extend plays caused problems for the Cowboy defense.
However, this defeat rests on the ineffective offense. Prescott resembled the player seen far too often in the second half last year – skittish in the pocket when pressured, inaccurate down the field, and generally subpar. Prescott was sacked six times, and was under duress quite a bit in the game. He didn’t threaten the Panthers down the field with the passing game at all, and did not take advantage of a big opportunity in the first half when the Panthers busted a coverage, leaving Blake Jarwin wide open. Prescott didn’t set his feet, and left the throw short, squandering a big chance in the second quarter.
The majority of the changes on the coaching staff resided on the offensive side of the ball. Those units – quarterback (new coach Kellen Moore), offensive line (new coach Paul Alexander), wide receivers (new coach Sanjay Lal) and tight ends (new coach Doug Nussmeier) – all had subpar games.
One game does not make a season, but there are enough alarms from what was seen today for one to be concerned about how prepared this team is to compete through the long haul of this season. The challenge for the Cowboys going forward is to effectively self-scout, and prepare for what they are bound to face.
Because today, all this team was prepared for was to lose.
Other notes from today’s game:
- The offensive line had some question marks going into the game with Travis Frederick not available to play for the foreseeable future. Those questions look a little more glaring after the game. Connor Williams looked overmatched in trying to anchor against Kawaan Short. La’el Collins had a brutal game, allowing Julius Peppers and Wes Horton to beat him around the edge repeatedly. Tyron Smith committed a couple of penalties in the first half. The play of these three made the presence of Joe Looney in the lineup almost trivial in comparison.
- For all of the changes that Scott Linehan promised in terms of how the offense looked, and the routes run by the wide receivers, what was seen looked very much like what was seen in the second half of 2017 – a lack of separation, and no deep routes pushing the action down the field. This Cowboy offense looked very easy to defend.
- Ezekiel Elliott didn’t have a lot of running room in this game, and generally was not effective, but he needs more than 18 touches in a game. With the lack of threats elsewhere, Elliott not getting over 20 touches was a poor use of their best offensive weapon.
- The new-found depth of the linebacking corps was put to use in the game. All six linebackers in uniform got time on the field in the base defense, and they generally played well. And fast.
- Maliek Collins showed an explosive up the field pass rush in notching a sack in the third quarter. We have not seen this from him in the regular season since his rookie season in 2016. Hopefully, his foot woes are behind him, and he can show this sort of explosion more often.
- The secondary under new passing game coordinator Kris Richard was definitely more aggressive and active than we had been used to seeing. The Panther WRs are not a generally threatening group, but the Cowboy corners kept their production down (only seven total catches allowed).
- Randy Gregory had a scary moment when he took a blow to the head by teammate Lawrence, and left with a concussion. The story about a potential relapse and discipline coming his way is an unneeded distraction, and the team needs to treat any contribution from Gregory as gravy going forward.
- As good as Chris Jones was today, his punt following the third Cowboy drive was terrible, and cost them greatly. Rather than direct the kick to the sideline, he left his 51 yard kick in the middle of the field, and this led to the 30-yard return by Damiere Byrd that set up the Panthers first touchdown. Directional kicking is something that Jones generally excels at, but this was not a good effort.
- The Cowboys and Giants are both staring up at the Eagles and Commanders after Week One. The game next week between the two 0-1 teams is even more critical given those circumstances.
