jswalker1981;3030379 said:
I've wanted to see Austin start over Crayton, but only if he earned it, and not because Crayton played poorly. Because I believe we know what Crayton is. And if he can stay being that, and Austin can excel past him, then we are better for it. I think Austin is going to pull some coverage away from the line, and allow Roy and Witten to be open. What I think this also does is means less chances for Bennett to succeed, unless we are in a 2-TE set with just two WRs. Because I think we are likely to see more 3 WR sets with Crayton in the slot.
...well S11 or 11 will only work for Romo if the protection holds, namely Flozell Adams...Dumervil and Hali wreaked havoc on the left side of the line in the last two games, short-circuiting the deep routes...this pressure played a role in Romo's fumble on 3rd and 14...DJ Williams blew through the line on a blitz and Romo did'nt have enough time for Austin to work the slant and go on Bailey in the fourth quarter against Denver...later Romo missed a wide open Witten, Crayton on a seam route and Roy Williams right after that...the most hideous series by Romo since the Pittsburgh game last year...the line did'nt help matters...
...i'm of similar opinion as Sturm with 1 RB/ 2 TE as the base...Romo got killed down the stretch [Giants game in particular] last year because of Garrett's love affair with the shotgun formation [S11]...i think Dallas was passing over 65% of the time at years end...1 RB and if Witten goes out on a route you have only six guys in to block...
...the real culprit is offensive penalties, particularly holding...The line can't keep putting Romo in 3rd's and forever and expect teams not to blitz them into oblivion...this reminds me of the problems Ben Roethlisberger had in Pittsburgh last year, getting stuck trying to convert long yardage 3rd downs on a regular basis...the deck is stacked against you percentage wise no matter how good your quarterback may be at improvising...sooner or later it catches up with you...it caught up to the boys down the stretch...you can get away with it against weaker teams but not against defenses like the Ravens and Steelers forget it...
...this team can put some fear into the league by doing just two things better than they have...cutting offensive penalites and executing in the redzone...add in a few turnovers on defense and they will make the playoffs...beyond that, who knows but the current melee of penalties, turnovers and lack of execution pigeonholes them as a mediocre team that can't get out of it's own way...it won't change until enough players get sick of the mistakes costing them close games...hopefully that occurs sooner than later because they are entering a stretch of games which will determine if post-season aspirations are tangible or simply a pipe-dream...
