Plankton
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Challenge accepted?
That was a question that many in the Cowboy fan base had following the reply by Dak Prescott to the answer provided by Giants safety Landon Collins when asked about what the Giant defense would need to do to have the best shot to win.
For those with short memories, Collins stated, "We're making sure we close the air out of their offensive running game. If we do that, put the ball in Dak's hands, I think we'll have a better shot at winning." This was following the epically poor offensive effort by the Cowboys in Carolina the previous week, and a week that had the former bright light and presumed future of the Cowboy quarterbacking lineage having everything questioned about him: from his skill level to his ability to read defenses properly to his gumption in the pocket when faced with pressure.
It's safe to say that Prescott took a more harsh beating in the media glare (print, broadcast and social) in the week that followed the defeat to Carolina. If there were ever a player that needed a bounce back game more than the beleaguered Cowboy signal caller, you would be hard pressed to find one with more to prove than Dak Prescott.
But, as we have become accustomed to seeing with Prescott, the statement made on Sunday night was less dramatic than it was pragmatic. More lunch pail than superstar.
In the 20-13 defeat of the Giants that was more one-sided than the score and stat line indicated, Prescott played with a quiet confidence. The Cowboys came out looking to take advantage of a Giant defense that was not expecting to have to defend the length of the field. In the loss to the Panthers, the Carolina defense was able to compress the field, and make the Cowboys have to patiently work their way down the field. The Cowboys in that game lacked the efficiency, consistency of play and general competence to make Carolina pay. Three plays in on Sunday night, the Cowboys decided to take the top off of the Giant defense. With Collins playing in the box to support against the run, Prescott, off of play action, hit offseason acquisition Tavon Austin in stride with a 64 yard touchdown toss, and less than two minutes into the game, the Cowboy offense was able to breathe.
As if the Cowboy brain trust had rabbit ears in regards to the complaints from fan base and media alike about the vanilla aspects of the offense, Scott Linehan emptied the bag of tricks early in this game. The Cowboys threw deep multiple times. They actually ran some pre-snap motion. Austin took a handoff on a reverse play. Most importantly, the read-option game was run by Prescott.
While his passing yardage numbers weren’t other worldly, it was his ability as a runner that was most important for the offense in this game. Prescott managed 45 yards on seven carries, and showed his physicality on a keeper in the fourth quarter on the touchdown drive that salted the game away. The skittishness and risk averse player of a week ago was not seen on the field this week. Prescott managed the game well, and save for a few poor throws, played a solid game. Ezekiel Elliott didn’t pile up big rushing totals, but he ran with toughness, and managed to squeeze out a very physical 78 yards on the ground, and a terrific effort to get into the end zone with the clinching touchdown.
While the back and forth between Collins and Prescott was the theme of the pre-game and post-game discourse, it was the Cowboy defense that made it all possible. The Cowboy front made the rebuilt Giant offensive line look amateurish in pass protection. The Cowboys went blitz and stunt heavy, and the Giant output went up in lack-of-execution smoke. Eli Manning looked very much like a bewildered rookie, with a deer in the headlights look as he was sacked six times, and harassed for much of the night. This was an equal opportunity effort by the Cowboys, as the sacks were by six different players. The Giant offense was held to less than two hundred yards more than halfway through the fourth quarter, and their two most explosive players, rookie Saquon Barkley and wideout Odell Beckham Jr. were kept completely in check.
The Cowboy defense played fast and at a different speed from the Giants all night long. The tackling still left something to be desired, as they had some difficulty in getting Barkley to the ground on their initial hits, but they swarmed to the football, and made the Giants earn every yard that they got. The key to their effort was reestablishing the line of scrimmage on the Giants side of the ball. Barkley had to fight to get back to the line of scrimmage on run plays, and Manning had precious little time to look downfield to his targets. This, as much as anything, took Beckham away from the Giant offense.
While it would be wonderful to say that one win and one effort fixed everything, for as much as Prescott showed his toughness on ground, and played mistake free football, the offensive effort still wasn’t up to par. The Cowboys only managed 20 points, and aside from the long touchdown to Austin, Prescott threw for fewer than 100 yards on 24 additional attempts. He missed a wide open Rico Gathers on a play that would have extended the Cowboy lead to 17 early in the second half following a Manning fumble. Seven Cowboy receivers caught passes, but there were only five passes that went for greater than 10 yards. The Cowboys committed back to back holding penalties on third downs that wiped out first down conversions, and forced a punt.
Once the Cowboys got the lead, the offense retreated into a more conservative shell. Yes, it ultimately won the game. But, it didn’t answer all of the questions. Against a punchless opponent, it worked. Against teams with more potency on offense, they will need more from that side of the ball.
In a week where the Cowboys were under siege from one and all, they got a much needed win.
But the challenge that was accepted is still to come.
Other notes from this week’s game:
That was a question that many in the Cowboy fan base had following the reply by Dak Prescott to the answer provided by Giants safety Landon Collins when asked about what the Giant defense would need to do to have the best shot to win.
For those with short memories, Collins stated, "We're making sure we close the air out of their offensive running game. If we do that, put the ball in Dak's hands, I think we'll have a better shot at winning." This was following the epically poor offensive effort by the Cowboys in Carolina the previous week, and a week that had the former bright light and presumed future of the Cowboy quarterbacking lineage having everything questioned about him: from his skill level to his ability to read defenses properly to his gumption in the pocket when faced with pressure.
It's safe to say that Prescott took a more harsh beating in the media glare (print, broadcast and social) in the week that followed the defeat to Carolina. If there were ever a player that needed a bounce back game more than the beleaguered Cowboy signal caller, you would be hard pressed to find one with more to prove than Dak Prescott.
But, as we have become accustomed to seeing with Prescott, the statement made on Sunday night was less dramatic than it was pragmatic. More lunch pail than superstar.
In the 20-13 defeat of the Giants that was more one-sided than the score and stat line indicated, Prescott played with a quiet confidence. The Cowboys came out looking to take advantage of a Giant defense that was not expecting to have to defend the length of the field. In the loss to the Panthers, the Carolina defense was able to compress the field, and make the Cowboys have to patiently work their way down the field. The Cowboys in that game lacked the efficiency, consistency of play and general competence to make Carolina pay. Three plays in on Sunday night, the Cowboys decided to take the top off of the Giant defense. With Collins playing in the box to support against the run, Prescott, off of play action, hit offseason acquisition Tavon Austin in stride with a 64 yard touchdown toss, and less than two minutes into the game, the Cowboy offense was able to breathe.
As if the Cowboy brain trust had rabbit ears in regards to the complaints from fan base and media alike about the vanilla aspects of the offense, Scott Linehan emptied the bag of tricks early in this game. The Cowboys threw deep multiple times. They actually ran some pre-snap motion. Austin took a handoff on a reverse play. Most importantly, the read-option game was run by Prescott.
While his passing yardage numbers weren’t other worldly, it was his ability as a runner that was most important for the offense in this game. Prescott managed 45 yards on seven carries, and showed his physicality on a keeper in the fourth quarter on the touchdown drive that salted the game away. The skittishness and risk averse player of a week ago was not seen on the field this week. Prescott managed the game well, and save for a few poor throws, played a solid game. Ezekiel Elliott didn’t pile up big rushing totals, but he ran with toughness, and managed to squeeze out a very physical 78 yards on the ground, and a terrific effort to get into the end zone with the clinching touchdown.
While the back and forth between Collins and Prescott was the theme of the pre-game and post-game discourse, it was the Cowboy defense that made it all possible. The Cowboy front made the rebuilt Giant offensive line look amateurish in pass protection. The Cowboys went blitz and stunt heavy, and the Giant output went up in lack-of-execution smoke. Eli Manning looked very much like a bewildered rookie, with a deer in the headlights look as he was sacked six times, and harassed for much of the night. This was an equal opportunity effort by the Cowboys, as the sacks were by six different players. The Giant offense was held to less than two hundred yards more than halfway through the fourth quarter, and their two most explosive players, rookie Saquon Barkley and wideout Odell Beckham Jr. were kept completely in check.
The Cowboy defense played fast and at a different speed from the Giants all night long. The tackling still left something to be desired, as they had some difficulty in getting Barkley to the ground on their initial hits, but they swarmed to the football, and made the Giants earn every yard that they got. The key to their effort was reestablishing the line of scrimmage on the Giants side of the ball. Barkley had to fight to get back to the line of scrimmage on run plays, and Manning had precious little time to look downfield to his targets. This, as much as anything, took Beckham away from the Giant offense.
While it would be wonderful to say that one win and one effort fixed everything, for as much as Prescott showed his toughness on ground, and played mistake free football, the offensive effort still wasn’t up to par. The Cowboys only managed 20 points, and aside from the long touchdown to Austin, Prescott threw for fewer than 100 yards on 24 additional attempts. He missed a wide open Rico Gathers on a play that would have extended the Cowboy lead to 17 early in the second half following a Manning fumble. Seven Cowboy receivers caught passes, but there were only five passes that went for greater than 10 yards. The Cowboys committed back to back holding penalties on third downs that wiped out first down conversions, and forced a punt.
Once the Cowboys got the lead, the offense retreated into a more conservative shell. Yes, it ultimately won the game. But, it didn’t answer all of the questions. Against a punchless opponent, it worked. Against teams with more potency on offense, they will need more from that side of the ball.
In a week where the Cowboys were under siege from one and all, they got a much needed win.
But the challenge that was accepted is still to come.
Other notes from this week’s game:
- Prescott’s pocket was largely kept clean this week. While there were some struggles with run fits inside on the large Giant defensive interior, Connor Williams had a nice bounce back game with no glaring errors. His athleticism is evident when pulling. In order to survive inside, his technique needs to be perfect, and he was much better in that regard this week.
- Joe Looney has been everything that the Cowboys could have asked for in the absence of Travis Frederick. Not only is Frederick the best center in football, but he may be the most unsung, valuable player on the team. Looney has played solid football the first two weeks, and only stands to develop more chemistry with his linemates in the coming weeks.
- Sean Lee has not been Sean Lee these first two weeks. Some of it can be attributed to not playing in the preseason. Some of it is just bad play. He has missed more tackles than I can remember him ever missing. He also left the game in the fourth quarter with a tweaked hamstring, but was on the field for the Giants second onside kick attempt. This bears watching.
- The Elliott run with 8:43 remaining in the fourth quarter looked like a back to the future moment from 2016. Facing a ten man front, the Cowboy offensive line/tight ends opened a hole, and Elliott crashed through for a key 19 yard gain, breaking multiple tackles, and ultimately the Giants’ backs. For a team that had prided itself on its physicality, and a team that had lost that battle badly the previous week, that 14 play, 82 yard drive that consumed 8:23 was a return to the identity of 2016.
- The Cowboys held Barkley in check this week. That being said, he is going to be a pain in the neck to deal with over the next bunch of years. His quickness and power were something to behold, and the Cowboys had to expend a great deal of effort in getting him to the ground. Barkley’s pedestrian numbers would have looked even worse if not for his great natural talent.
- The Cowboy pass rush can be summed up as one thing – a coordinated effort. The front seven worked in concert, working twists and blitzes in a collaborative fashion. With teams focusing a great deal of attention to DeMarcus Lawrence, the teamwork shown across the board is making it much more difficult for the opposition to slide their protections to the right. This can only mean more one on one chances for the ace Cowboy pass rusher.
- The Cowboys will have a tough matchup upcoming when they travel to Seattle to face a retooled Seahawk team. They will have a number of new faces on defense, and will be missing Doug Baldwin on offense, and also will be on a short week after playing tonight against the Bears. But, traveling to Seattle is always a challenge, and the offense’s communication will need to be on point. The pass rushing strategy will also need to be varied a bit this week with the much more mobile Russell Wilson as the target as opposed to the statuesque Manning.
- I have a feeling that Dan Bailey may be back in the league this week. Following a league wide disaster in kicking, and yes, I'm looking at you Cleveland, I think the former Cowboy kicker's phone will be lighting up.
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