What was impressive and what was not

Plankton

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IMPRESSIVE:
  • Elliott showed many of the traits that had me believing that he was a top flight running back coming out of college - vision, patience, setting up his blockers, power, the ability/desire to finish runs, speed and blocking ability. The only thing that we didn't get a chance to see was him demonstrate his pass receiving ability. A real solid debut against a defense that pressed him hard.
  • Dak Prescott - I may be in the minority here, but I think that this was Prescott's best performance of the preseason. Why do I say this? He had to enter the game at a time that wasn't pre-determined, and without a lot of notice. Against a defense like the Seahawks, on the road in a loud stadium, that could be something that would unnerve a young player a bit. Prescott continued to show the poise and decisiveness that has marked his play thus far in the preseason. Some of his throws were a little off compared to other performances, and his TD pass to Witten was a somewhat suspect decision, but he was cool in the pocket, confident in his decision making, and identified open receivers consistently. The numbers may not have been as impressive as the earlier games, but I was more impressed by him tonight than the other games.
  • Offensive Line Run Blocking - the first team linemen were really moving the Seahawks off the ball. Doug Free had a terrific block that caved in the left side of the Seahawk defense on a run by Alfred Morris in the second quarter.
  • Dax Swanson - as I stated in another post, this guy has something when it comes to returns. He has very good instincts with the ball in his hands. I don't know what position he would ultimately play (not impressed with him as a corner), but I hope they can develop him on the PS.
NOT IMPRESSED:
  • Wide Receivers - looked like plumbers out there. Andy Jones can't drop a perfectly thrown ball like he did that cost Showers a TD. Same goes for Terrance Williams on the deep throw from Prescott.
  • Chaz Green - for a guy who is a good athlete, he is not moving his feet well enough. He lets guys run around him too easily.
  • Safeties - not a pretty night for the whole group.
  • Pass rush - non existent.
 

xwalker

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I think Olatoye makes the roster as they've also been using him at S as well as CB if I saw right last night. Wilcox is just geometrically challenged.
I didn't notice Olatoye at Safety. I need to review that. It would be good if he could be a backup Safety and backup CB.
 

Derinyar

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I didn't notice Olatoye at Safety. I need to review that. It would be good if he could be a backup Safety and backup CB.
I might be wrong and he might just have been talking a deep route to the slot but I swear I saw him middle of the field presnap later in the 4th and going backward. I agree it would be nice for him to be able to do both. I think we have 4 CB locked and 4 S locked. To me Brown is CB4 and Frazier is S4. There's one or two spots left and if we have a guy who can play both that makes me much happier about the teams insistence on carrying a FB.
 

xwalker

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I might be wrong and he might just have been talking a deep route to the slot but I swear I saw him middle of the field presnap later in the 4th and going backward. I agree it would be nice for him to be able to do both. I think we have 4 CB locked and 4 S locked. To me Brown is CB4 and Frazier is S4. There's one or two spots left and if we have a guy who can play both that makes me much happier about the teams insistence on carrying a FB.
Brown definitely, but Frazier is far from a lock, IMO.

They continue to use formations with a FB in the preseason which indicates to me that they likely carry one. If Hanna was healthy, they might be less inclined to carry one because he can line up in the backup field. Swaim did it some in college, but I think he has a lot on his plate just to play as a blocking TE this season. I do like FB Keith Smith. He seems like one of the hardest working guys on the team. He is very good on ST and could serve and an emergency backup LB.
 
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Plankton

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This was asked already I think............. but any interest in Donte Whitner?

He would seem better than any backup S we have. Carolina is apparently giving him a hard look.

As a Church substitute? he would be slightly better in coverage, but his play has slipped the last two years.
 

CalPolyTechnique

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Anyone notice Morris whiffing on pass protection from the pressure coming up the middle. I'll try to find the time stamp.
 

Sydla

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As a Church substitute? he would be slightly better in coverage, but his play has slipped the last two years.

Church substitute, backup to Church, whatever.

He's likely better than any safety on our roster other than Jones.
 

JPostSam

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I am worried about the linebackers. Outside of Lee, we may not have a quality starter with the group. Hitchens will need to prove to me that he is more than a valuable reserve who can fill in at three linebacker positions. Durant is a JAG. That is not a bad thing. He has been a solid starter when healthy but it has been a few years since he has been here. Is he still the same player? Even so he is just an average starter. I wonder if there is a veteran we can bring in just for depth. If Lee were to go down, that position would look even more scarier.

I think our secondary is solid. I think Church is nothing but average but Byron Jones at safety should really help that position. I do not see a true ball hawk in the secondary though. A play making saftey next to Byron Jones would be ideal next offseason. Although I think the secondary is one of the better lineups on defense. A good pass rush would really help them out though.

i am worried about the linebackers other than sean lee, too.

but i also have no confidence in any defensive backs other than byron jones.

the offense is loaded, but the defense is a long, long, way from where it needs to be.
 

BAT

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Dude I like Morris but he is not Zeke. There was a reason why Zeke was #1 on our draft board and there is also a reason why you should draft BPA and not draft for need. What defensive player was going to turn this team around? NONE. Maybe Miles Jack but we passed on him twice. One could argue we got the best defensive player in the draft who could turn this defense around but most likely we will have to wait till next year. Hopefully.

Cowboys could of drafted Jack and moved up into 2nd to get Jaylon, this was their strategy all along if one of their coveted DEs was still available for their 2nd pick. Problem is that they panicked when all the DE options that they liked were taken. They should have still followed their plan and taken another catalytic D player AND Jaylon Smith.

Myles Jack, Jaylon Smith and Sean Lee would have shored up LB corps for years. That position group would have been ELITE, a true defensive strength, with Nzeocha as primary back up and in line to replace Lee. All it would have cost was probably Leary and Maliek Collins.
 

BAT

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I didn't notice Olatoye at Safety. I need to review that. It would be good if he could be a backup Safety and backup CB.

Played safety against Fins but didn't notice him at that position against Hawks. Thomas and Brown got more burn.

And there are not 4 safeties worth keeping on current roster. Both Wilcox and Frazier have looked underwhelming at safety when given opportunities. But Wilcox is the better ST player.
 

MSCowboyFan

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- I was against Elliott at 4. I'll say that right up front. I thought there was more value to that pick than taking a TB. But I never doubted he was a talented kid and he showed that in his few carries last night. The most impressive run to me wasn't the trucking of Chancellor or spinning of Chancellor. It was that run outside where most TBs simply can't get to the corner on a NFL D that is attacking the line like Seattle's does. But Elliott somehow, got outside and turned what initially looked like a loss or no gain into a 10 yard run.

- Romo is what Romo is. He's going to be a hold your breath player every time he takes a hit. But like has been pointed out, that was a very weird, awkward hit. I can't imagine him taking hits that wrench his back like that all the time. And the fact he wanted to go back in and seemed, at least partially healthy enough to do it, was a good sign. I tend to look at that one half full instead of half empty.

- Prescott was again impressive............ this time against a pretty good D that while they might not have game planned for the matchup, still were doing things like blitzing, etc. Not nearly as sharp as his two previous games, he still was very, very effective and could have been better if Williams attacks that deep ball and a couple of other drops. I was one that believed the odds of him ever being anything more than a backup were long............ but he's been far better than I ever imagined and while it's still preseason, I don't worry as much about a Romo injury today as I did say a week or so ago. Showing that kind of poise and looking like he just "fit" in that environment with a Seattle D that is very good, has put me a bit at ease. The moment wasn't too big for him which you often see from rookie QBs, even really good ones. The regular season is a different story but at this point, there's not much to not like.

- Free is taking a beating but overall he was OK. And the first team OL was just their typical great selves. Green looked decent early but again seemed to tire out and lose focus. I didn't even notice Leary. Did he play?

- My one fear if Romo does go down........... that Garrett and company will get conservative in playcalling with Prescott. I hope if the moment arises where he has to step in comes up, they let him fling it around and don't get scared and try to play closer to the vest. Frankly, we don't have the defense to try to play that way IMO.

- Pelt me with empty beer cans. Curse me out. Call me a bad fan. Ban me from the board. Steal my children. Poop on my lawn. Whatever you want......... but I am going to go there again. We have an issue at DE. I watched Mayowa a lot last night, and while he didn't get a ton of snaps, in the few he did play, he looked OK. Nothing more, nothing less. It's his first action but I was hoping to see a little juice, a glimpse of what is supposed to be uber athleticism and I just didn't see it. Russell? Nice effort and he did get a bit of pressure but he also found himself out of position a few times and it cost the Cowboys. The battle cry seems to be now for the pass rush - wait until Tapper gets back. If that's what we are left with - hoping Tapper can be the answer - then we have some issues.

- Starting DT rotation looked good. Thornton had a couple of plays later where he penetrated into the backfield and showed decent quickness. Assuming Crawford is back healthy, DT should be a solid group for us. I think, given the issues at DE, the DTs are going to have to really control the opponent's run game.

- I am no Hitchens fan but he has typically played solid. He looked out of sorts last night. Not sure what it was but he made a couple boneheaded decisions.

- Sure, there were a few foibles here and there but overall, I am content with the secondary. At least the starting secondary plus a nickel and dime CB. Back up safety is a problem. So Jones and Church better stay healthy. Wilcox? Ugh. On the positive side, I think you can see the athleticism of Jones. Once he gets settled and gets real game time at FS under his belt, I think he's going to be very, very good. I like Brown as well. He made a couple of mistakes but he flashed some real talent. So if you add him to Claiborne, Scandrick and Carr, that's not a terrible group of CBs. And if they can somehow, someway figure out how to get some pressure on opposing QBs, they might end up being pretty damn good.

- Bailey. Cut him. That 52 yard FG was a shank. LOL.



Wow. Helluva post, but you nailed it with your first observation. Some folks don't realize he can get that corner and turn it but he has legit 4.5 speed and that's good enough in this league. He did that a lot at OSU and one of the only teams that contained him and kept him INSIDE the tackles was Michigan State. He bounces it outside and look OUT. He also had the luxury of a great Oline at OSU. He'll have that luxury here too obviously.
 

MSCowboyFan

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Cowboys could of drafted Jack and moved up into 2nd to get Jaylon, this was their strategy all along if one of their coveted DEs was still available for their 2nd pick. Problem is that they panicked when all the DE options that they liked were taken. They should have still followed their plan and taken another catalytic D player AND Jaylon Smith.

Myles Jack, Jaylon Smith and Sean Lee would have shored up LB corps for years. That position group would have been ELITE, a true defensive strength, with Nzeocha as primary back up and in line to replace Lee. All it would have cost was probably Leary and Maliek Collins.

Perfect post....just really floored me when they took Zeke for all the reasons you just laid out. They are pretty clueless...NOT because Zeke has weaknesses, but because they had other options at RB that would have more than sufficed for this season, and they could have vastly improved their D. This is an 8-8 team at best IMO, but the money will continue to roll in so they'll be happy, happy, HAPPY. We won't be...but they will be.

BTW..is Nzeocha OK? Strained achilles correct? Just so he didn't blow it out. I like that kid.
 

BAT

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Perfect post....just really floored me when they took Zeke for all the reasons you just laid out. They are pretty clueless...NOT because Zeke has weaknesses, but because they had other options at RB that would have more than sufficed for this season, and they could have vastly improved their D. This is an 8-8 team at best IMO, but the money will continue to roll in so they'll be happy, happy, HAPPY. We won't be...but they will be.

BTW..is Nzeocha OK? Strained achilles correct? Just so he didn't blow it out. I like that kid.

No new info on Nzeocha. But I was proposing to take Myles Jack with our own 2nd rounder then trading up for Jaylon.

Zeke would have still been our first pick. Would have preferred slight trade down with Ravens though, which was there if we wanted it. Cowboys were quibbling over compensation.
 

MSCowboyFan

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I get your point Sydia but your calling for need over BPA and the Dallas board had Zeek #1 over all .
I wont rehash what the run does for the defense.

We sure do need more defensive studs no doubt.


We need to trade for a DE now!! It's gonna get ugly if we don't.

Can't disagree. My biggest worries: 1) Def. End....2) our defense has no playmakers, only guys that can hold the line 3) Free at Tackle and Green at swing tackle...yikes. As another poster said, we should have tried Martin at Tackle and put Leary at Guard. Free is a very good backup at this point of his career and that's IT
 

Nova

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Still not sure why some fans never understood the Elliott pick. The running back/running game is what makes our team tick. Elliott minus the BS distractions that is.

Can't think outside the box and don't realize the NFL is cyclical moreso than an evolution.

Run game trend is just being (re)set by us, and some are not seeing that.

Currently we're monopolizing a legitimate, weather and era proof way of winning games.

It works in late summer 1992 as well as the dead of winter in 2015...Smashmouh offense.
 

NumOneQB

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This pick is looking really good now, isn't it? Jerruh finally gets the sun to shine on his silver haired *** for once.
The running game will be Dak's best friend...
 

waving monkey

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Perfect post....just really floored me when they took Zeke for all the reasons you just laid out. They are pretty clueless...NOT because Zeke has weaknesses, but because they had other options at RB that would have more than sufficed for this season, and they could have vastly improved their D. This is an 8-8 team at best IMO, but the money will continue to roll in so they'll be happy, happy, HAPPY. We won't be...but they will be.

BTW..is Nzeocha OK? Strained achilles correct? Just so he didn't blow it out. I like that kid.
other options at RB that would have more than sufficed for this season
so sufficate instead of special is your theory
need over BPA well Al right then
 

Manster68

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We need to trade for a DE now!! It's gonna get ugly if we don't.

Now that Romo is down, I would hold off on that. Dallas needs to play the hand they have been dealt - we'll see who makes plays, and don't make plays.

I just don't want to throw away draft picks.
 
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