Plankton
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Thanksgiving is a day for family, food and football.
It’s also a day to give thanks for the good fortune that many of us are lucky enough to have and experience.
On the football side of things, fans of the Dallas Cowboys have a lot of things to be thankful for. A banner 2016 draft that brought the team their quarterback of the present and future in Dak Prescott and an elite all-around running back in Ezekiel Elliott. A team chemistry that shows a team united and playing for the man next to them. Momentum that has led this team to a franchise record winning streak.
But, in light of things seen around the league of late in the kicking game, Cowboy fans should be most thankful for a kicker of all things.
Because if you are looking for a reason why the Cowboys can advance deep into the playoffs, one phrase can and will ring true.
The Cowboys have Dan Bailey, and everyone else does not.
It seems bizarre to focus on a kicker in a game where the offense scored 31 points, and scored four touchdowns in a game. It’s utterly weird to speak about a kicker when the rookie stars each had a hand in two touchdowns, and presented the Commanders with two too many options to stop when on defense.
But, when you look at this game, as well as the state of kicking games around the league, focusing on the kicker does make some sense.
Since the extra point was moved out to the 15-yard line as the line of scrimmage, only three kickers have been perfect on their extra point attempts. Future Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri? Not perfect. Sebastian Janikowski? He’s missed one. Stephen Gostkowski? He’s missed four, including one in the AFC Championship Game in Denver last year that dramatically impacted the outcome of the game. Stephen Hauschka? Try eight missed.
Dan Bailey? One of the only three yet to miss a conversion attempt.
Couple that with his all-time best percentage on field goal attempts, and Bailey is the best of the best at what he does. And, in high leverage situations, Bailey represents a tremendous weapon that the Cowboys can deploy to win close games – the hallmark of the playoffs.
If one were to look at the game played today, one could surmise that the Cowboys were fortunate to have won the game. Defensively, they were an absolute sieve. They allowed over 500 yards to the Commander offense, with nearly 450 yards of it in the passing game. They created no turnovers, didn’t sack Kirk Cousins one time in the game, allowed three touchdown passes, and only forced one punt in the game.
But, the Commanders did have two drives that didn’t end in a punt or turnover, but ended up without any points. Commander placekicker Dustin Hopkins missed two field goal attempts, and as a result, were left to chase points all day long, and the Commanders were unable to dig out of the hole presented when the Cowboys scored a touchdown on their opening possession.
Despite a subpar effort defensively, and one that should cause significant concern to the fan base as well as the team, the Cowboys eked out a win on the strength of their efficiency on offense, the skill of their rookie stars, the grit of Dez Bryant, and an offensive line that kept Prescott clean all game long.
Jimmy Johnson used to say that in order to win football games, you had to win two of the three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. Today, the Cowboys won on offense and special teams.
And, they won on special teams because they have Dan Bailey, and everyone else does not.
Other notes on today’s game:
It’s also a day to give thanks for the good fortune that many of us are lucky enough to have and experience.
On the football side of things, fans of the Dallas Cowboys have a lot of things to be thankful for. A banner 2016 draft that brought the team their quarterback of the present and future in Dak Prescott and an elite all-around running back in Ezekiel Elliott. A team chemistry that shows a team united and playing for the man next to them. Momentum that has led this team to a franchise record winning streak.
But, in light of things seen around the league of late in the kicking game, Cowboy fans should be most thankful for a kicker of all things.
Because if you are looking for a reason why the Cowboys can advance deep into the playoffs, one phrase can and will ring true.
The Cowboys have Dan Bailey, and everyone else does not.
It seems bizarre to focus on a kicker in a game where the offense scored 31 points, and scored four touchdowns in a game. It’s utterly weird to speak about a kicker when the rookie stars each had a hand in two touchdowns, and presented the Commanders with two too many options to stop when on defense.
But, when you look at this game, as well as the state of kicking games around the league, focusing on the kicker does make some sense.
Since the extra point was moved out to the 15-yard line as the line of scrimmage, only three kickers have been perfect on their extra point attempts. Future Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri? Not perfect. Sebastian Janikowski? He’s missed one. Stephen Gostkowski? He’s missed four, including one in the AFC Championship Game in Denver last year that dramatically impacted the outcome of the game. Stephen Hauschka? Try eight missed.
Dan Bailey? One of the only three yet to miss a conversion attempt.
Couple that with his all-time best percentage on field goal attempts, and Bailey is the best of the best at what he does. And, in high leverage situations, Bailey represents a tremendous weapon that the Cowboys can deploy to win close games – the hallmark of the playoffs.
If one were to look at the game played today, one could surmise that the Cowboys were fortunate to have won the game. Defensively, they were an absolute sieve. They allowed over 500 yards to the Commander offense, with nearly 450 yards of it in the passing game. They created no turnovers, didn’t sack Kirk Cousins one time in the game, allowed three touchdown passes, and only forced one punt in the game.
But, the Commanders did have two drives that didn’t end in a punt or turnover, but ended up without any points. Commander placekicker Dustin Hopkins missed two field goal attempts, and as a result, were left to chase points all day long, and the Commanders were unable to dig out of the hole presented when the Cowboys scored a touchdown on their opening possession.
Despite a subpar effort defensively, and one that should cause significant concern to the fan base as well as the team, the Cowboys eked out a win on the strength of their efficiency on offense, the skill of their rookie stars, the grit of Dez Bryant, and an offensive line that kept Prescott clean all game long.
Jimmy Johnson used to say that in order to win football games, you had to win two of the three phases of the game: offense, defense and special teams. Today, the Cowboys won on offense and special teams.
And, they won on special teams because they have Dan Bailey, and everyone else does not.
Other notes on today’s game:
- Looking at the statistics for the season highlights how bad the Cowboy pass defense is:
- 4th worst passer rating allowed in the NFL at a 101.9 QBR.
- 3rd worst in total interceptions with 3 in 11 games.
- 12th worst in sacks with 20 in 11 games.
- Most yards allowed passing.
- 2nd worst completion percentage allowed – 70.3%.
- Tied for 5th in most plays over 20+ yards allowed.
- Somehow, in the midst of this, they have won 10 games in a row. Some is due to the defense holding the opposition to 19.4 PPG, good for 10th best in the league. The rest is due to the juggernaut that is the Cowboy offense. If you are looking for a reason why the Cowboys could be a quick out in the playoffs, look no further than the pass defense.
- 11 games in, and few issues have presented themselves with Prescott. As the games get tighter, he seems to get cooler. His scrambling ability today was key, with 38 yards rushing, a couple of key first downs, and a touchdown run. He also made plays throwing the ball while on the move. Each week, he impresses more and more.
- The offensive line had a somewhat uneven game today. They were outstanding in pass protection, but allowed a lot of inside penetration on run downs. Tyron Smith had two holding penalties today, but was otherwise outstanding.
- The secondary injuries are starting to pile up. Already missing Barry Church and Morris Claiborne, this game saw the Cowboys lose J.J. Wilcox to injury, and show Byron Jones limping in the fourth quarter. The long rest following the Viking game next week can’t come soon enough.
- Anthony Brown learned a valuable lesson about clueing in on the quarterback when one on one against a DeSean Jackson. Play the man, not the QB, Anthony.
- Cedric Thornton had a quietly effective game today, which is a hard thing to say when the defense gave up 500 yards. Thornton got good penetration throughout the game.
- The Vikings will be playing for their season next week. Their offensive line, already a disaster area, lost two more players today to injury. With an immobile QB in Sam Bradford and zero threats in the run game, this could be a game for the defense to pin their ears back and finally generate a pass rush.
- The Drew Pearson throwback is now 10-0. By season’s end, we may need a hazmat team to remove it and bring it to the cleaners.
- Happy Thanksgiving to all.
