Plankton
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Half-full, or half-empty?
These are the only ways to look at the end of what has turned out to be the extended exhibition season for the Dallas Cowboys. From here on forward, there will in all likelihood not be a softer stretch of schedule than what the Cowboys have faced to this point. The Cowboys have managed to raise the bar and expectations significantly on the offensive side of the ball, and convincingly beat the three opponents that they have faced, as expected. Yesterday was no different, as Dallas awoke from a second quarter slumber to make the NFL’s most recent version of the Trust The Process Sixers™, the Dolphins, look like the tanking mess that they are. In the 31-6 victory, the Cowboys did what they needed to do, and avoided continuing the listless play that they put forth in the second quarter throughout the second half.
But, despite the 3-0 record, there’s a sense of needing to see more.
Yes, the offense has been more diverse, exciting, and most of all, productive. The Cowboys have the fourth best scoring offense in the NFL after three weeks, and are third in yards gained. They are the best offense in the league on third down, converting 58.1% of their opportunities. The offensive line is now Mount Rushmore again, allowing a league low two sacks, and paving the way for the fourth highest yard per carry in the running game. The red zone efficiency? A season ago, riddled with the inability to convert into touchdowns. In the early portion of 2019? A 30 percentage point turnaround, ranking fourth in the league with an 81.82% success rate.
So much to like offensively. Kellen Moore’s influence has definitely had an effect.
More importantly, after being slowed and somewhat frustrated in the second quarter yesterday, when the Dolphins forgot that they were supposed to be nothing but a speed bump on the way to a 3-0 start to the season, the Cowboys did what they have done consistently: take the game by the throat to start the second half. Whatever adjustments were made worked as planned. The Cowboys took the second half kickoff, and quickly marched to a touchdown to extend the lead to 17-6. Following a Dolphin punt, the offense once again drove the ball to a score, this time a bit more methodically, ending with a Dak Prescott 8 yard score on a roll to the right, effectively ending the game by making it 24-6.
But, despite a 31-6 final score, and a decisive win, the second quarter performance is enough to make one take a step back. In that quarter, the offense was bogged down by their own greed. Prescott led an offense that ran 19 plays for only 87 total yards. He threw a deep pass up for grabs, and paid for it with an interception. Prescott’s first half passer rating? An anemic 57.5. One of his better plays of the first half, a 20 yard completion to Randall Cobb on second down, was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty. From there, the Cowboy offense sputtered due to a lack of patience and the Dolphins taking the deeper routes away.
Frankly, the Cowboys were fortunate to have the lead at halftime, as the Dolphins controlled the pace of play as well as the time of possession. The Cowboy defense were stymied in their efforts to hurry and harass Josh Rosen, and he was able to make some plays down the field. The defense stiffened in the red zone, but their performance was far from impressive.
Then came the second half.
In the second half, the Cowboy offense wasn’t the only unit that woke up. The Cowboy defense, buoyed by a forced fumble by Jaylon Smith on Kenyan Drake late in the first half to prevent a potential go-ahead score, rolled up their sleeves, and got to work. After allowing 218 first half yards to a team averaging 222 yards per game, the defense played much angrier, and held the Dolphins to 65 second half yards. They managed to get three sacks of Rosen in the second half, and put a terrible half of performance in the rear view mirror.
While the second half was more of what was generally expected of the Cowboys in this game, the slow and lethargic second quarter is not a performance that can be repeated against the next two opponents on the schedule. The Saints, especially in the Superdome, and the Packers are teams that can actually punch back, and they play brands of defense that can cause the Cowboys issues. The Cowboys need to maintain their focus for a full game, and bring the same level of intensity that they have delivered in the second half of all three games from the opening snap.
For a half yesterday, the Cowboys looked very much like the team that many are viewing as a Super Bowl threat in the NFC.
If they repeat what was seen in the first half going forward, those views will be more than half empty.
Other observations about yesterday’s game:
These are the only ways to look at the end of what has turned out to be the extended exhibition season for the Dallas Cowboys. From here on forward, there will in all likelihood not be a softer stretch of schedule than what the Cowboys have faced to this point. The Cowboys have managed to raise the bar and expectations significantly on the offensive side of the ball, and convincingly beat the three opponents that they have faced, as expected. Yesterday was no different, as Dallas awoke from a second quarter slumber to make the NFL’s most recent version of the Trust The Process Sixers™, the Dolphins, look like the tanking mess that they are. In the 31-6 victory, the Cowboys did what they needed to do, and avoided continuing the listless play that they put forth in the second quarter throughout the second half.
But, despite the 3-0 record, there’s a sense of needing to see more.
Yes, the offense has been more diverse, exciting, and most of all, productive. The Cowboys have the fourth best scoring offense in the NFL after three weeks, and are third in yards gained. They are the best offense in the league on third down, converting 58.1% of their opportunities. The offensive line is now Mount Rushmore again, allowing a league low two sacks, and paving the way for the fourth highest yard per carry in the running game. The red zone efficiency? A season ago, riddled with the inability to convert into touchdowns. In the early portion of 2019? A 30 percentage point turnaround, ranking fourth in the league with an 81.82% success rate.
So much to like offensively. Kellen Moore’s influence has definitely had an effect.
More importantly, after being slowed and somewhat frustrated in the second quarter yesterday, when the Dolphins forgot that they were supposed to be nothing but a speed bump on the way to a 3-0 start to the season, the Cowboys did what they have done consistently: take the game by the throat to start the second half. Whatever adjustments were made worked as planned. The Cowboys took the second half kickoff, and quickly marched to a touchdown to extend the lead to 17-6. Following a Dolphin punt, the offense once again drove the ball to a score, this time a bit more methodically, ending with a Dak Prescott 8 yard score on a roll to the right, effectively ending the game by making it 24-6.
But, despite a 31-6 final score, and a decisive win, the second quarter performance is enough to make one take a step back. In that quarter, the offense was bogged down by their own greed. Prescott led an offense that ran 19 plays for only 87 total yards. He threw a deep pass up for grabs, and paid for it with an interception. Prescott’s first half passer rating? An anemic 57.5. One of his better plays of the first half, a 20 yard completion to Randall Cobb on second down, was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty. From there, the Cowboy offense sputtered due to a lack of patience and the Dolphins taking the deeper routes away.
Frankly, the Cowboys were fortunate to have the lead at halftime, as the Dolphins controlled the pace of play as well as the time of possession. The Cowboy defense were stymied in their efforts to hurry and harass Josh Rosen, and he was able to make some plays down the field. The defense stiffened in the red zone, but their performance was far from impressive.
Then came the second half.
In the second half, the Cowboy offense wasn’t the only unit that woke up. The Cowboy defense, buoyed by a forced fumble by Jaylon Smith on Kenyan Drake late in the first half to prevent a potential go-ahead score, rolled up their sleeves, and got to work. After allowing 218 first half yards to a team averaging 222 yards per game, the defense played much angrier, and held the Dolphins to 65 second half yards. They managed to get three sacks of Rosen in the second half, and put a terrible half of performance in the rear view mirror.
While the second half was more of what was generally expected of the Cowboys in this game, the slow and lethargic second quarter is not a performance that can be repeated against the next two opponents on the schedule. The Saints, especially in the Superdome, and the Packers are teams that can actually punch back, and they play brands of defense that can cause the Cowboys issues. The Cowboys need to maintain their focus for a full game, and bring the same level of intensity that they have delivered in the second half of all three games from the opening snap.
For a half yesterday, the Cowboys looked very much like the team that many are viewing as a Super Bowl threat in the NFC.
If they repeat what was seen in the first half going forward, those views will be more than half empty.
Other observations about yesterday’s game:
- The Cowboys have to clean up the penalties. Cannot say it enough. For as disciplined as they have generally been in taking care of the football, they commit careless penalties to wipe out big plays. An illegal shift by Jamize Olawale eliminates a 20 yard completion to Cobb. A holding penalty on La'el Collins wipes out a first down Elliott run. Against the Dolphins, a team can get away with this. Against teams with a pulse, those plays are part of the epitaph. The Cowboys are averaging 7.3 accepted penalties per game thus far, and this has got to improve for this team to get where they want to get to.
- It was a real shame seeing Allen Hurns, in his return to Arlington for the first time since shattering his leg in the playoff win over the Seahawks, exit the game following a high speed collision with Jeff Heath. Hurns is regarded as one of the good dudes in the league, and his last two games at AT&T Stadium are ones that I’m sure he doesn’t want to think about moving forward. Heath’s hit, while scary and vicious due to the rate of speed of both competitors, was entirely clean and unavoidable. Not sure how they can legislate that out of the game, but I’m sure the league will try.
- Last week, Chidobe Awuzie shut his side of the field down, and Byron Jones was more of the focus of Case Keenum. One week later, the roles reversed. Jones was largely avoided by Rosen, and Awuzie was picked on. The third year corner was generally in good position, but was outmuscled and outmaneuvered by rookie Preston Williams on a number of receptions. Awuzie did make a nice play in continuing to swipe at Williams' hands on a pass to the end zone, stripping the ball away to prevent a score, but he needs to improve his awareness as the ball is in the air.
- For a good portion of the game, there needed to be an APB out for DeMarcus Lawrence. He managed to get a second half sack of Rosen, but he was not nearly the factor that his paycheck dictates that he needs to be. With the exhibition portion of the schedule complete, Lawrence will have a large step up in class this week in his matchup with Ryan Ramcyzk. Lawrence’s effort will need to be significantly improved for the Cowboy defense to slow down the Saint attack.
- For Taco Charlton, there were clearly issues behind the scenes that led to his release from Dallas. Effort was rumored to be one of them. For at least a couple of plays yesterday, Charlton showed effort against his old employers, running down Ezekiel Elliott from behind on a running play, and chasing Prescott out of bounds to notch a coverage sack. It will remain to be seen whether Charlton will put forth the same effort when not having the motivation of facing his old team, but with the lack of talent on the Dolphin defensive front, he will get every chance to show the Cowboys that they made a mistake.
- The man who Charlton was waived to make room for, Robert Quinn, provided a boost off the edge on the pass rush. Quinn showed that he hasn’t lost his ability to bend and take the edge, as he notched his first sack of the season, as well as another quarterback hit. Quinn’s long arms are also something that aids his ability to play with leverage, and he will be a key cog in the Cowboy pass rush as the year progresses.
- Trysten Hill was active for the first time this season, and flashed some of the tools that intrigued the front office. Hill showed his first step quickness down near the goal line in the first half to blow up a running play, and managed to get two quarterback hits as well. What was most indicative of his motor, though, was him running to chase down Dolphin TE Nick O’Leary on a 19 yard catch and run in the first quarter. He didn’t make the tackle, but for a 300+ pounder to get downfield in the flat was impressive.
- Prescott’s play in the pocket this season has improved greatly, but he showed that his ability to make plays outside the pocket is equally impressive. On the Cowboys first touchdown drive, facing a third and 20, Prescott was flushed to his right, and approached the line of scrimmage as if he was going to run. At the last moment, Prescott found tight end Jason Witten on the sideline, and led him to convert the long yardage situation with a 33 yard catch and run. It has to be frustrating for a defense to cover as well as they did, and break the pocket down as they did to only allow the conversion. This was due to not only Prescott’s mobility, but his ability to keep his head up and look down the field. This play shows the confidence that he’s playing with.
- The biggest positive of yesterday’s game aside from the win? Tony Pollard showing that the faith demonstrated in him by the team’s brass is warranted. Pollard showed his burst in garnering his first 100 yard rushing game as a pro, and scoring a touchdown to boot. Both Pollard and Elliott went over the century mark on Sunday, the first time accomplished in Dallas since the 1998 season. It will be nice to see Pollard integrated even more in the passing game as the season progresses.
- A concern noted about Brett Maher has been his inefficiency in making kicks from the right hash. Maher was 9 out of 12 from the right hash in 2018, and missed a fourth quarter attempt from the right hash yesterday. Yes, it was from 55 yards. But, the kick is well within his range, and was kicked in perfect indoor conditions. Maher needs to be more consistent from this side of the field, as many times the ball cannot be spotted on the hash that he’s more comfortable with kicking from. This can be the difference between being a good and a great team.
- The Saints will provide the Cowboys with their first test of the season. Forget Drew Brees not being available for this matchup – the Saints still have enough depth at their skill positions, as well as a top flight offensive line to boost the ability of Teddy Bridgewater to make plays in the passing game. The Saints had their way with the Seahawks in Seattle, which is not easy to do. In front of the raucous environment that the Superdome presents, the Cowboys will need to come out focused early, and not let the crowd take over the game. It’s definitely a winnable game, but the focus needs to be there for a full game, unlike this past game.
- The Eagles, a team that has been a media favorite to possibly represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, face a bit of a crossroad this week. With a banged up offense and secondary, and having a short week to prepare for the 3-0 Packers in Green Bay, the Eagles face the very real prospect of starting out 1-3. This makes the Cowboy game on Sunday even more important to win. Having the Eagles potentially three games behind after four weeks makes the Cowboy road this season in the division a bit simpler, to put it mildly.
