What I like and What I don't like about this team (long)...

[Yakuza Rich]

WHAT I LIKE​

The Young Players-One of the most common mistakes made by fans is that they will judge a draft class too quickly. Most of the time the rookie classes that supposedly look great after the first year are only so because they play for an awful team. As year's pass, these rookies wind up not progressing because they weren't that good to begin with. They just played on an awful team that allowed for them to get playing time.

But at Dallas, there's a ton of very good players that are playing for a pretty good team that is considered not only a playoff contender, but a Super Bowl contender. I'd say that Pettiti (23), Tucker (26), Crayton (26), Polite (24), JuJo (24), Barber (23), Thompson (24), Witten (23), Al Johnson (26), Ratliff (24), Spears (22), Canty (23), Ware (23), Shanle (26), Bradie James (24), Newman (27), Reeves (23), Fujita (26), Pile (25), Roy Williams (25), Keith Davis (27) & McBriar (26) are all "young players who have been significant contributors this year."

That means Dallas has 23 guys that fit into that category. The average age of these 23 guys with an average age of 23.48 years old. Out of those 23 players, 14 are currently starters (not including McBriar). The only player who is starting only because of injury is Tucker.

This list does not include Burnett (22 years old), Pepper Johnson (24), Terrence Copper (23), Peterman (23), Pierce (24), Ryan Fowler (23), Nate Jones (23) or Sean Ryan (25), Kalen Thornton (24).

Pass Protection - Before the Denver game Dallas was t17th in sacks allowed. They only gave up 1 sack against Denver and could very well move to t15th or better after this Sunday. With Bledsoe being sack prone and losing Flozell Adams, I'm pretty happy with the pass protection so far.

The 3-4- I've always liked the 3-4 over the 4-3 and Parcells is just proving me right.

The 3-4 always seemed to stop the run better IMO. So far I'd say the run defense is pretty good, but struggles with consistency. However, they've had more takeaways and much more sacks this year. Our "golden year" was 2003 where they had 32 sacks. Currently, they have 29 sacks with 3 forced intentional groundings. Not to mention that they seemed to blitz much less w/o Anthony Henry in the lineup.

Lastly, the 3-4 typically requires bigger players and bigger players typically don't wear out and the defense looks worlds stronger in the 4th quarter for the most part.

They have very few GLARING weaknesses-I'll go into the glaring weaknesses in a bit. But, I think it's safe to say compared to last year it's almost night and day. Last year they needed a QB, a backup RB, RG, RT, D-Line help, LB's, CB's, a pass rusher, and a free safety. It's amazing how they have filled almost all of those holes.

The Running Back Combination-Yes, the Running game needs a lot of work. But, I believe as time goes along, Julius will get healthier and both he and Barber should only improve. I still like Julius as the primary RB, but I really like Barber as the backup who can get the short yardage, catch the ball out of the backfield, and give Julius a rest.

No Troublemakers-Right now there doesn't appear to be any big time trouble makers. Keyshawn actually gained my fandom after hearing about him helping out Nat Little, the kid who was paralyzed from a football injury. People mocking Terry Glenn's supposed attitude is like me wearing a Members Only jacket.

WR's - I would love to see a bit more speed, but I like Glenn as a deep threat. All three receivers run good routes and generally catch everything and block very well. And they are relatively inexpensive. I really can't wait to get Crayton back as I think he'll make the entire offense more effective if he plays like he did before he got injured.

Tyson Thompson- Right now he's a pretty good kick returner. But, I've got the feeling he's going to be a great kick returner next year. Gotta give the kid credit for coming along so far in such a short amount of time.

Roy Williams finally at SS-I'd really like to see all of the idiots that criticized Roy earlier in the year now. Especially the dude from CNNSI.com that said Roy hurts the team more than he helps it. I hate to tell people, he isn't bad in coverage and has been actually pretty good. Even if you call the Santana Moss TD's on Roy (which Parcells and Aaron Glenn don't), outside of the Jeremy Shockey TD Roy has been very good in coverage (and that play was due to supposedly a miscommunication breakdown, not a physical breakdown).

Anyway, the only other top Strong Safety's that I think can compete with Roy this year are Polamalu and Arizona's Adrian Wilson and here's how they stack up, stats wise.

PLAYER..........TACKLES/GAME........INT'S.........SACKS.......FF'S

Roy Williams.....5.5.......................2...............2.5...........3

Polamalu..........6.1......................1................3.0..........0

Wilson.............7.6......................0................5.0..........0

CB's - Newman has been great and the only "mistake" he's made this year was not catching that ball thrown behind him by Plummer yesterday. Henry has been well worth the money. Glenn has played very well. And call me crazy, but I think Reeves has played very well in the last three games to the point I don't think they really need to draft a CB this year.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT THIS TEAM​

The Run Blocking - Sure, JuJo hasn't been all that hot, but the run blocking is just poor and they do miss Flozell. I think the big problem is Al Johnson and Rivera. Rivera looks painfully slow out there. Johnson seems good in pass coverage, but good centers are usually very good at run blocking. It's as simple as that.

The screen play or throws to RB's-the sad thing is that it's a lot better than it has been. But, the screen plays Dallas throws never seem to remotely fool the defense and even the good ones never kill them as well.

Keyshawn's YPC-He's only averaging 11.0 yards per catch. I *think* it will improve when Crayton comes back, but don't quote me on that.

Useless Price - Enough said. I'm at the point I'd like to see Copper get some time in his place. At least Copper has speed to get some seperation.

The playcalling in the red zone or near the red zone-It's driving me nuts. Am I the only one that thinks that Parcells doesn't feel you can be a "good team" if you cannot just run the ball in the red zone. To me, it's preposterous when I've watched teams like the Packers pass the ball a lot in the red zone with effectiveness. And I agree to Parcells' point about execution to a degree. However, I still believe you have to make the right playcall and give your team the best chance to execute.

How many times have we seen the Cowboys run a play action and then throw to Witten in the red zone? Teams do this all of the time with amazing effectiveness. Instead, we get the following things:

1. Run the ball.
2. Throw a fade to Keyshawn.
3. Try some cute play like the WR screen which never works in the red zone. It drives me nuts.

How about going into a drive and saying "hey, we are going to throw it (and not use the WR screen or the fade to Keysawn) on first down. If it doesn't work we'll throw it again on second down. And if that doesn't work, we'll throw it on third down."

I don't want that type of thinking all of the time because you do have to run the ball in the red zone. But, just on occasion I wouldn't mind seeing them commit to the pass (sans the WR or the Key fade) in the red zone.

Free Safety Play-Granted, the FS play is decent right now and has improved quite a bit since the beginning of the season. However, they are not making plays which is a bit absurd given the pass rush, the CB's, and Roy's play so far. I think they must draft a free safety along with O-Linemen this offseason. I'd prefer a Eugene Wilson type, somebody adept at coverage and a decent tackler. Teams will most likely adapt to the 3-4 next year and they are going to need better play from the FS spot in order to offset that.

Punt Returning - Just putrid and I really didn't like Crayton much better. There's really no threat back there at all. I think Dallas needs to draft a speedy WR who is a good kick returner. They'll need to replace Terry Glenn in the future and if they can find a guy that can do punt returns they can ease him into the offense.

Kicker-Is it evil of me to wish a rampant, uncurable STD on somebody? Just kidding.

Texas Stadium is one of the easiest places for a kicker to boot a ball and Cundiff has shown me that he can only be trusted slightly more than Cortez. It's gotten to the point where:

a) I sure do wish Neil Rackers didn't re-sign with Arizona
b) Think Adam Vinatieri should be a sureshot HOF'er. Seriously, just thinking of all of those great NE victories that would have never happened if they didn't have a clutch kicker like Vinatieri.

Injuries-They have just been a royal pain and while the staff has done a very good job of keeping things together, they do miss Flozell, Crayton, Ratliff, and yes...Al Singleton. With Al Johnson's status in doubt and the O-Line being banged up along with Julius, it's amazing how the offense gets more injured than the defense under the Parcells era. There was a study done that showed defensive players are twice as likely to get injured as offensive players. Yet, the offensive players are consistently hurt or banged up.

The 2 minute offense - I think here's some reasons for the problem:

a) Flozell gone -makes Witten block more
b) Julius not the same as last year - could always use him on the occasional draw play for big yardage or keep the defense honest. Can't do it this year.
c) Crayton gone - With Witten blocking, could really use him as the guy over the middle.

But the other big reason is Bledsoe. I think Drew has done a good job, but I think that the QB's that are typically the best at running the 2 minute offenses are the scramblers or guys who throw well on the run. When things aren't open, those guys can run the ball and gain some yards or if the defense commits to him, he can then throw the ball. Furthermore, they know Drew is going to throw the ball in the 2 minute offense so they pretty much know that he's going to drop back in the pocket.

QB of the Future-They are going to need to develop one. We could be in for some painful years with a great squad, especially on defense, but no QB to help take the team to the Super Bowl.

Rich.................

 

[Bob Sacamano]

wow, I find myself agreeing with everything, I esp. liked the part about Roy Williams, what a year he's having

 

[AtomicDog]

I would add one more thing to things I dont like: The pass rush just seems anemic. I just can't understand our lack of pressure. We have guys like Ware, Glover and Ellis and we just can't seem to get consistent pressure. We need to improve our pass rush.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

we need Ware and Burnett to gain more experience, and Jay Ratliff back, and maybe some Pepper Johnson, and I think we should be fine, I think next year, our pass rush will really be a force

 

[Trip]

Great post and I agree with a lot of what you said.

Tyson Thompson sure shows great vision on those kick returns, but he frustrates me because he goes down a lot of time by tackles that should not bring him down. I hope he gets a killer instinct on those returns.

I love the fact our team is so young. We'll be good for a long time.

We really shouldn't waste our time worrying about the next franchise QB. But I'm sure you will, and I will too, that's what we do, we're fans. Bledsoe is good enough to take us where we want to go, and he has at least 3 years left. He ain't no Aikman (now I wait for Big Neil) but he's good enough. Our next franchise QB could be a player that we get through trade that another team gives up on, like a Philip Rivers or someone like that a year or two from now. I certainly hope we don't draft high enough to pick a franchise QB.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I would add one more thing to things I dont like: The pass rush just seems anemic. I just can't understand our lack of pressure. We have guys like Ware, Glover and Ellis and we just can't seem to get consistent pressure. We need to improve our pass rush.

Here's why I didn't mention the pass rush:

1. We're currently tied for 7th in sacks. However, we forced 3 intentional grounding calls. If those were included as sacks, they'd be 3rd in sacks. Right now they are on pace for 44 sacks which is excellent. Furthermore, they are ranked 2nd in adjusted sack ratio according to http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/dl.php. Adjusted sack ratio takes into consideration down and distance and opponent.

2. It seems the main concern about the pass rush has come in the last 3 games. According to http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ol.php, Philly ranks 11th in adjusted sacks allowed ratio, Detroit ranks 18th, and Denver ranks 3rd. In other words, they've faced a pretty good pass protecting O-Line, a decent pass protecting O-Line, and a great pass protecting O-Line.

3. In those last three games, each team has been able to run a lot. Philly ran a lot because it was working so well and the Dallas offense was so bad that there was no reason for them to pass the ball. Denver is a run first team and only threw the ball 24 times.

4. I think that Parcells was a bit gun shy of blitzing without Henry in the game. I think after the Detroit and Philly games, he gained more confidence in Reeves. He blitzed a lot more against Denver and if you watch the game, Plummer got hit pretty hard and was sacked twice. And like I said, Denver ranks 3rd in adjust sacks allowed ratio.

In other words, I'm not exactly worried about it now. They haven't had the same game plan with Henry being out, they've faced teams that are running the ball more (which may be saying that they recognize how good the pass rush is and would rather run the ball instead), and they've faced some good pass protecting O-Lines.


Rich........

 

[Bob Sacamano]

wow, you opened my eyes, but I still feel our pass-rush will improve next year

 

[Yakuza Rich]

wow, you opened my eyes, but I still feel our pass-rush will improve next year

It probably should if they can stay healthy. If they get a better free safety in coverage, that could cause huge problems for opposing offenses.

Canty, Spears, and Ratliff should all improve.

Burnett who seems to have some pass rush skills for a ILB should improve.

Ware should get better.

They'll also have Kalen Thornton back and I think if Singleton comes back that might help Fujita as well. I can't tell whether or not Fujita is still trying to get used to the 3-4 or if he needs to alternate so he can be better rested.


Rich........

 

[Bob Sacamano]

the future is certainly bright on D

 

[AtomicDog]

Good research Yakuza. It does shed some light. However, it just seems qbs have a lot of time to scan the field on us. Thank goodness our secondary is pretty good. But I want to see someone in the qbs face on almost every passing play.

One thing that annoys the heck out of me is that our blitzes don't seem to accomplish much. Our non-dl players seem to be picked up easily. We need to do something different with our blitz schemes!

I feel confident that guys like Canty, Spears (who needs to step it up), Ware and T. Johnson will gives us good pressure in the future after they get the rookie out of them. Plus, maybe we haven't really figured out the 3-4 scheme just yet.

But, But!, with the guys we have now we should be doing a better job. I want the QB to be unsure of himself back there when he passes and we aren't doing that yet. I want some drive-ending, interception making, fumble making pass rush going on. We're not there yet. But there is a good likelihood that we will get that in the future. Its just that I want it now!

Dog-out!

 

[Bob Sacamano]

but listen, remember when ATL switched to the 3-4 a couple of years ago? they scrapped the scheme the next season, because they were so horrible at adjusting to it, that's how far we've come with the 3-4, it seemed to just come to us, and our D is only going to get better because of it...

 

[phildominator]

I agree with everything except the Tyson Thompson bit. He's got speed, but it's all straight-line. I don't see enough agility out of him and find him almost running into the first tackler, instead of evading.

One point I'd like to add is Bledsoe's play. As the season has progressed, Bledsoe has thrown more passes off his backfoot. Bledsoe does it even when there isn't a player in his face.

Once Bledsoe sees a blitz, he'll throw it off his backfoot, even if the blitz is picked up.

I don't like that. Unlike Aikman, who'd courageously step into each throw regardless of the impending punishment Reggie White was about to unleash, concussion be damned.

 

[Hostile]

WHAT I LIKE​

The Young Players-One of the most common mistakes made by fans is that they will judge a draft class too quickly. Most of the time the rookie classes that supposedly look great after the first year are only so because they play for an awful team. As year's pass, these rookies wind up not progressing because they weren't that good to begin with. They just played on an awful team that allowed for them to get playing time.

But at Dallas, there's a ton of very good players that are playing for a pretty good team that is considered not only a playoff contender, but a Super Bowl contender. I'd say that Pettiti (23), Tucker (26), Crayton (26), Polite (24), JuJo (24), Barber (23), Thompson (24), Witten (23), Al Johnson (26), Ratliff (24), Spears (22), Canty (23), Ware (23), Shanle (26), Bradie James (24), Newman (27), Reeves (23), Fujita (26), Pile (25), Roy Williams (25), Keith Davis (27) & McBriar (26) are all "young players who have been significant contributors this year."

That means Dallas has 23 guys that fit into that category. The average age of these 23 guys with an average age of 23.48 years old. Out of those 23 players, 14 are currently starters (not including McBriar). The only player who is starting only because of injury is Tucker.

This list does not include Burnett (22 years old), Pepper Johnson (24), Terrence Copper (23), Peterman (23), Pierce (24), Ryan Fowler (23), Nate Jones (23) or Sean Ryan (25), Kalen Thornton (24).

Outstanding post. I want to break it down.

I agree with this but remind you we have veteran presence at QB and both WR spots on offense as well as a suddenly vocal Larry Allen. On defense Dat, Glover, and Ellis have been great and all the LBs speak of the veterna loss of Singleton.

Point is, it's a nice mixture of youth and savvy.

Pass Protection - Before the Denver game Dallas was t17th in sacks allowed. They only gave up 1 sack against Denver and could very well move to t15th or better after this Sunday. With Bledsoe being sack prone and losing Flozell Adams, I'm pretty happy with the pass protection so far.

Interesting points. I think they can get better if they stop the pressure though. Part of pass protection isn't just not giving up sacks. Bledsoe has avoided a bunch by smartly getting rid of the ball. I think there's too much penetration by the opposing D.

The 3-4- I've always liked the 3-4 over the 4-3 and Parcells is just proving me right.

The 3-4 always seemed to stop the run better IMO. So far I'd say the run defense is pretty good, but struggles with consistency. However, they've had more takeaways and much more sacks this year. Our "golden year" was 2003 where they had 32 sacks. Currently, they have 29 sacks with 3 forced intentional groundings. Not to mention that they seemed to blitz much less w/o Anthony Henry in the lineup.

Lastly, the 3-4 typically requires bigger players and bigger players typically don't wear out and the defense looks worlds stronger in the 4th quarter for the most part.

Actually the knock on the 3-4 league wide has always been it is weak against the run because you give up DL size for LB size.

I don't care which D we run. I just want good D play and we're getting it. No complaints.

They have very few GLARING weaknesses-I'll go into the glaring weaknesses in a bit. But, I think it's safe to say compared to last year it's almost night and day. Last year they needed a QB, a backup RB, RG, RT, D-Line help, LB's, CB's, a pass rusher, and a free safety. It's amazing how they have filled almost all of those holes.

Best off season in many, many years. Kudos to Jeff ireland, Bill Parcells, and Jerry Jones for pulling together.

The Running Back Combination-Yes, the Running game needs a lot of work. But, I believe as time goes along, Julius will get healthier and both he and Barber should only improve. I still like Julius as the primary RB, but I really like Barber as the backup who can get the short yardage, catch the ball out of the backfield, and give Julius a rest.

Julius has not lived up to his own expectations. I am disappointed as well. Barber scares me with the fumbles we keep getting back. This is a concern area for me.

No Troublemakers-Right now there doesn't appear to be any big time trouble makers. Keyshawn actually gained my fandom after hearing about him helping out Nat Little, the kid who was paralyzed from a football injury. People mocking Terry Glenn's supposed attitude is like me wearing a Members Only jacket.

Couldn't agree more. Keep the biggest attitude problem away and I'll be thrilled.

WR's - I would love to see a bit more speed, but I like Glenn as a deep threat. All three receivers run good routes and generally catch everything and block very well. And they are relatively inexpensive. I really can't wait to get Crayton back as I think he'll make the entire offense more effective if he plays like he did before he got injured.

I love our WRs. I iwsh they and Witten were the focal point of the offense.

Tyson Thompson- Right now he's a pretty good kick returner. But, I've got the feeling he's going to be a great kick returner next year. Gotta give the kid credit for coming along so far in such a short amount of time.

It's time for him to break one.

Roy Williams finally at SS-I'd really like to see all of the idiots that criticized Roy earlier in the year now. Especially the dude from CNNSI.com that said Roy hurts the team more than he helps it. I hate to tell people, he isn't bad in coverage and has been actually pretty good. Even if you call the Santana Moss TD's on Roy (which Parcells and Aaron Glenn don't), outside of the Jeremy Shockey TD Roy has been very good in coverage (and that play was due to supposedly a miscommunication breakdown, not a physical breakdown).

Anyway, the only other top Strong Safety's that I think can compete with Roy this year are Polamalu and Arizona's Adrian Wilson and here's how they stack up, stats wise.

PLAYER..........TACKLES/GAME........INT'S.........SACKS.......FF'S

Roy Williams.....5.5.......................2...............2.5...........3

Polamalu..........6.1......................1................3.0..........0

Wilson.............7.6......................0................5.0..........0

Nice job.

CB's - Newman has been great and the only "mistake" he's made this year was not catching that ball thrown behind him by Plummer yesterday. Henry has been well worth the money. Glenn has played very well. And call me crazy, but I think Reeves has played very well in the last three games to the point I don't think they really need to draft a CB this year.

There's support for Henry to Pro Bowl but I think he's missed too many games. Newman has earned Hawaii for damn sure.

WHAT I DON'T LIKE ABOUT THIS TEAM​

The Run Blocking - Sure, JuJo hasn't been all that hot, but the run blocking is just poor and they do miss Flozell. I think the big problem is Al Johnson and Rivera. Rivera looks painfully slow out there. Johnson seems good in pass coverage, but good centers are usually very good at run blocking. It's as simple as that.

Nailed it.

The screen play or throws to RB's-the sad thing is that it's a lot better than it has been. But, the screen plays Dallas throws never seem to remotely fool the defense and even the good ones never kill them as well.

With our speed at RB, it doesn't need to be this bad. It just is.

Keyshawn's YPC-He's only averaging 11.0 yards per catch. I *think* it will improve when Crayton comes back, but don't quote me on that.

As long as he keeps making 1st downs I don't care about his ypc.

Useless Price - Enough said. I'm at the point I'd like to see Copper get some time in his place. At least Copper has speed to get some seperation.

He won't be back most likely. I do think he's done well on punt returns even though he's not a threat to break one.

The playcalling in the red zone or near the red zone-It's driving me nuts. Am I the only one that thinks that Parcells doesn't feel you can be a "good team" if you cannot just run the ball in the red zone. To me, it's preposterous when I've watched teams like the Packers pass the ball a lot in the red zone with effectiveness. And I agree to Parcells' point about execution to a degree. However, I still believe you have to make the right playcall and give your team the best chance to execute.

How many times have we seen the Cowboys run a play action and then throw to Witten in the red zone? Teams do this all of the time with amazing effectiveness. Instead, we get the following things:

1. Run the ball.
2. Throw a fade to Keyshawn.
3. Try some cute play like the WR screen which never works in the red zone. It drives me nuts.

How about going into a drive and saying "hey, we are going to throw it (and not use the WR screen or the fade to Keysawn) on first down. If it doesn't work we'll throw it again on second down. And if that doesn't work, we'll throw it on third down."

I don't want that type of thinking all of the time because you do have to run the ball in the red zone. But, just on occasion I wouldn't mind seeing them commit to the pass (sans the WR or the Key fade) in the red zone.

By far, my biggest gripe. Well said.

Free Safety Play-Granted, the FS play is decent right now and has improved quite a bit since the beginning of the season. However, they are not making plays which is a bit absurd given the pass rush, the CB's, and Roy's play so far. I think they must draft a free safety along with O-Linemen this offseason. I'd prefer a Eugene Wilson type, somebody adept at coverage and a decent tackler. Teams will most likely adapt to the 3-4 next year and they are going to need better play from the FS spot in order to offset that.

I started stumping for my new Brandon Everage yesterday. His name is Laron Landry. Of course I'd take Will Demps in Free Agency and be just as happy.

Punt Returning - Just putrid and I really didn't like Crayton much better. There's really no threat back there at all. I think Dallas needs to draft a speedy WR who is a good kick returner. They'll need to replace Terry Glenn in the future and if they can find a guy that can do punt returns they can ease him into the offense.

We simply do not break returns since Deion.

Kicker-Is it evil of me to wish a rampant, uncurable STD on somebody? Just kidding.

Texas Stadium is one of the easiest places for a kicker to boot a ball and Cundiff has shown me that he can only be trusted slightly more than Cortez. It's gotten to the point where:

a) I sure do wish Neil Rackers didn't re-sign with Arizona
b) Think Adam Vinatieri should be a sureshot HOF'er. Seriously, just thinking of all of those great NE victories that would have never happened if they didn't have a clutch kicker like Vinatieri.

No it isn't evil. It's a mandate to
hate kickers.

Injuries-They have just been a royal pain and while the staff has done a very good job of keeping things together, they do miss Flozell, Crayton, Ratliff, and yes...Al Singleton. With Al Johnson's status in doubt and the O-Line being banged up along with Julius, it's amazing how the offense gets more injured than the defense under the Parcells era. There was a study done that showed defensive players are twice as likely to get injured as offensive players. Yet, the offensive players are consistently hurt or banged up.

Happens in football. Hard for me to complain.

The 2 minute offense - I think here's some reasons for the problem:

a) Flozell gone -makes Witten block more
b) Julius not the same as last year - could always use him on the occasional draw play for big yardage or keep the defense honest. Can't do it this year.
c) Crayton gone - With Witten blocking, could really use him as the guy over the middle.

But the other big reason is Bledsoe. I think Drew has done a good job, but I think that the QB's that are typically the best at running the 2 minute offenses are the scramblers or guys who throw well on the run. When things aren't open, those guys can run the ball and gain some yards or if the defense commits to him, he can then throw the ball. Furthermore, they know Drew is going to throw the ball in the 2 minute offense so they pretty much know that he's going to drop back in the pocket.

Sort of combine this with the red zone offense. There just doesn't seem to be a sense of urgency to score a TD.

QB of the Future-They are going to need to develop one. We could be in for some painful years with a great squad, especially on defense, but no QB to help take the team to the Super Bowl.

Rich.................

I think we're developing two. One (not saying which) will pay off big.

 

[EndGame]

The only one I really agree with is the complaint about Keyshawn's YPC. With the TEs blocking more, Keyshawn has taken part of their role. He needs to get those tough yards on 3rd down, and he's been doing a great job, IMO.

 

[Kilyin]

I saw a stat that said the Cowboys have more players with at least half a sack than any team in the league.

People keep talking about Ratliff like he was some defensive juggernaut. Guy only had 1 sack in 4 games. Losing him shouldnt affect the team too much.

 

[jimmy4713]

I started stumping for my new Brandon Everage yesterday. His name is Laron Landry. Of course I'd take Will Demps in Free Agency and be just as happy.

Landry (LSU) is now my guy as well. Nice pick yesterday sealing the deal against Arkansas. He is a coverage safety first and foremost. See how he runs at the combine. This from scout.com:

Ht: 6-1.5 Wt: 190 40: 4.55 Yr: 3Jr

Pos: Athletic defensive back who displays explosion on the field. Disciplined in coverage, keeps the action in front of him and quick closing to the ball. Very productive on the college field.

Neg: Lacks top size for the centerfield position.

Analysis: A versatile defensive back with solid size\speed numbers, Landry could be used in a variety of systems. May ultimately wind up at cornerback and also has potential covering the slot receiver in nickel situations as a safety.

BTW, great post Rich

 

[dbair1967]

nice list, but as we have discussed numerous times in the past I think you vastly overrate "sacks"...one post made the guy said he didnt like our pass rush and I dont either...its been virtually non existant for almost a month now...it was slightly better Thursday vs Denver than it had been the previous two games vs Detroit and Philly, but there are still FAR too many plays when even if we blitz we dont get to, or even knock down/bother the QB

the opposite is true on our sacks allowed...we may not be at the bottom of the league in sacks allowed, but right now our pass blocking is pretty lousy...too many times defenders are running free to the QB, and there isnt one real guilty party...the rush comes from the outside...it comes up the middle, it comes between gaps created between guards and tackles...the bad pass protection is absolutely the #1 cause of Bledsoe's number steadily declining the past 5 or 6 weeks (since Adams went down) and also has the damning effect of us having to leave guys like Witten, Campbell, Keyshawn or RB's (or some combination) to help save Bledsoe's tail because the 5 OL's cant handle the rush, ands that includes alot of times when only having to block just 4 guys

sacks are great, but are not always a solid measuring point on if a team has a great or even good pass rush, or how good a team is doing in pass protection...the 1993 Cowboys had something like 30 sacks for the SEASON and you've presented a case where this team might end up in the low 40's, yet that team had a FAR better pass rushing team than this one has, especially once teams got behind and had to pass everydown to catch up...likewise, a team that doesnt give up alot of sacks isnt necessarily a great pass protection team...it might be more of a reflection of that teams QB being able to get into the throwing position quickly and a quick release of the ball, or the teams passing system, which might be predicated on more dink and dunk stuff

David

 

[dirt]

excellent thoughts--I agree totally with your assessment of the young players and would like to add this as well. I like the character exhibited by theses guys. Case in point--Newman struggled last year but handled the criticism and came back with a pro bowl year. Julius Jones seems to have a strong character as well--compare to Kevin Jones on the Lions who is constantly complaining about carries and questioning the coach--then "pulling a quad" and pouting on the sidelines. Between him and Roy Williams they will get Mooch fired. Look at the young talent Detroit has aquired in the same timeline as Dallas. On paper it looks in favour of Det but on the field definitely skewed to Dallas. Check Pettiti--irregardless of his talent level or experience--the guy is a battler--definite high praise for a football player. Looking back at the Antonio Bryant draft year it is like night and day as far as those players' character which gives me hope for the future of this franchise--tip of the hat to Bill

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I saw a stat that said the Cowboys have more players with at least half a sack than any team in the league.

People keep talking about Ratliff like he was some defensive juggernaut. Guy only had 1 sack in 4 games. Losing him shouldnt affect the team too much.

If Ratliff would have played 16 games, he was on pace for 4 sacks which is actually very good for a 3-4 DE. He was harrassing QB's quite a bit when he played and provided some nice depth. I don't think he's a huge loss, but his injury does affect the defense a little bit. You can never have "too much depth" IMO.

Rich..........

 

[Yakuza Rich]

nice list, but as we have discussed numerous times in the past I think you vastly overrate "sacks"...one post made the guy said he didnt like our pass rush and I dont either...its been virtually non existant for almost a month now...it was slightly better Thursday vs Denver than it had been the previous two games vs Detroit and Philly, but there are still FAR too many plays when even if we blitz we dont get to, or even knock down/bother the QB

Outside of total rushing yards per game, sacks have the greatest statistical correlation to winning in the NFL.

To me, that shows how important sacks are.

If you have a lot of sacks, you're typically going to have a good record.

Rich............