YR's My Meaningless Thoughts on the Cardinals Pre-Game...

Yakuza Rich

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- This is a big game for obvious reasons. If Dallas can win, that puts us at 8-4 and if the G-Men lose to the Packers, that puts them at 6-6. Having a 2-game lead going into the last quarter of the season is a beautiful place to be.


- However, the Cowboys have lost their last 2 tries against Arizona at Arizona. It's obviously a big game for the Cardinals even though it appears they are pretty much out of the playoff picture. As one poster put it, it's a good reason as to why the Cowboys cannot take anybody lightly because of Phoenix being in somewhat close proximity to Dallas and a lot of teams treat playing the Cowboys like a homecoming game.


- The good news is that the Cardinals are not a good team from a metrics standpoint. In fact, most of their metrics are quite poor so it's not quite like they may be good at 1-2 things and stink at the rest and use those 1-2 things to beat us.


- But, that then brings into question 'how does a team like Dallas lose to an inferior Cardinals team?' Coming out flat, silly turnovers, stupid penalties like a holding call on a 2nd and short running play or Jesse Holley getting a personal foul call. I also believe the big key...special teams. DeCamillis' unit, outside of Dan Bailey, has been terrible this year


- I think we should dominate the sacks game. I think we'll see Ware get back on track. I know the Dolphins shut him out, but they overloaded to protect against him and that allowed the other defenders to get to Matt Moore. I wouldn't be too surprised to see the same thing here, although I think Ware is going to have a big game.


- I'm actually glad that the team called up Chapas. Even if he fails, it shows to me that Garrett has recognized that this offense performs best when we have the fullback in the game and use 21 personnel more than 12 personnel. It's kinda funny because so many teams revere Bill Walsh's offenses, but use different personnel than Walsh. As Pat Kirwan said, Walsh never had have a problem using 21 personnel on 3rd and 12. Why? Because that's the best personnel he had in the game. And while Tom Rathman wasn't a great receiving threat, he could pass protect and then you had Brent Jones, Rice, Taylor and Roger Craig going out for passes.


- We've got to use a lot less shotgun that we did against Miami. I could live with it a little if we were better running from the shotgun and kept defenses honest. But, this is a team that runs far better with a fullback as a lead blocker. And I think we generate more deep, big pass play potential when Romo is under center than when we are in the shotgun.


- I think that the rest of the year will dictate what we do at center (or need to do) for 2012. Costa had a good game against Miami and maybe he's now finding his groove. I've been unimpressed with Costa for the most part, but he's a young player who may have some potential in this league. I'd hate to see him become a Casey Wiegmann who got dumped early in his career and turned out to be an elite center later on. But, we need to see some good play down the stretch from Costa.


- I think the obvious key here is to contain Fitzgerald. Hopefully, that means Alan Ball isn't covering him. Well, after last week, I hope Alan Ball isn't covering anybody.


- Is it me or does anybody else think we should see a helluva lot more or Barry Church? The guy seems like he can play in this league.


- I think the team has to cut down on the amount of time they run off the playclock. It just makes the O-Line's job more difficult and I think the WR's struggle with it as well. Plus, the defense gets a better idea of what Romo is going to do and can just continue to move blitzers around. I think that's one way the Patriots have attacked the Jets, get the snaps off earlier and not allow the Jets defense to move around and confuse Brady and the O-Line.

Unfortunately, we probably can't pick up the pace this year since we've spent so much practice time winding down the playclock. I would like to see us speed it up early in the game to see if we can get off to a good, fast start.









YR
 
You "Lie"....Those are MEANINGFUL thoughts! Thanks for them!!!
 
My first question would be if there was some correlation with the high number of penalties called and the number of plays from the shotgun?

I would note on the side, that a fullback might be more friendly to an away game as well.

Then an observation, that the secondary better be ready to defense a very hard running back in Beanie Wells. This is one of those times when Anthony Spencer may be very important to have on the field.

And thanks for your efforts as usual....:starspin
 
Yakuza Rich;4279861 said:
- Is it me or does anybody else think we should see a helluva lot more or Barry Church? The guy seems like he can play in this league.

Get.

Out.

Of.

My.

Head!

This is the Rich I know and love, like a brother, platonically, of course. :D
 
- I think that the rest of the year will dictate what we do at center (or need to do) for 2012. Costa had a good game against Miami and maybe he's now finding his groove. I've been unimpressed with Costa for the most part, but he's a young player who may have some potential in this league. I'd hate to see him become a Casey Wiegmann who got dumped early in his career and turned out to be an elite center later on. But, we need to see some good play down the stretch from Costa.

We're going to be in a tough spot at C. It's not an easy position to upgrade. FAs who can play aren't available, and you hate to put a high pick into one of the two best players at the position in the draft. The current starter is playing well enough to win with, but is probably the weak link on the OL right now.

Let's hope Costa keeps improving and makes it a non-issue for us by the end of the year. He's got the potential to. Maybe his arms will get a few inches longer, somehow.
 
casmith07;4279947 said:
Get.

Out.

Of.

My.

Head!

This is the Rich I know and love, like a brother, platonically, of course. :D

Church v. Elam is going to be an interesting decision in the offseason. Signing Sensebaugh's going to end up being a no-brainer, and it'll come down to what Elam wants for a 3 year deal, I think.
 
Yakuza Rich;4279861 said:
- I'm actually glad that the team called up Chapas. Even if he fails, it shows to me that Garrett has recognized that this offense performs best when we have the fullback in the game and use 21 personnel more than 12 personnel. It's kinda funny because so many teams revere Bill Walsh's offenses, but use different personnel than Walsh. As Pat Kirwan said, Walsh never had have a problem using 21 personnel on 3rd and 12. Why? Because that's the best personnel he had in the game.
This is the dilemma Garrett faces. With Fiammetta out, the 21 personnel aren't the best personnel we have in the game. Maybe Chapas can do better than Phillips and make that personnel group viable, but to date it's only been a great grouping when we've had Fiammetta in there.
 
jimnabby;4279979 said:
This is the dilemma Garrett faces. With Fiammetta out, the 21 personnel aren't the best personnel we have in the game. Maybe Chapas can do better than Phillips and make that personnel group viable, but to date it's only been a great grouping when we've had Fiammetta in there.

Phillips also brings some plusses when he's out there. He's done a nice job filling in for Fiametta, and I think Chapas has a hard time pushing him for even limited snaps.

No doubt, though, we're a better running team with Fiametta in the lineup. It's a case where the player is more important than the personnel grouping, though.
 
Idgit;4279959 said:
Church v. Elam is going to be an interesting decision in the offseason. Signing Sensebaugh's going to end up being a no-brainer, and it'll come down to what Elam wants for a 3 year deal, I think.

Sensabaugh should have been signed long term years ago. But I think his year-to-year status has been kind of a factor of the salary cap with guys like Colombo, Davis, Gurode, Barber, Williams on the books the last couple of years than it has been about Sensabaugh's play. I would really like to get some insight into the thought process around that.

jimnabby;4279979 said:
This is the dilemma Garrett faces. With Fiammetta out, the 21 personnel aren't the best personnel we have in the game. Maybe Chapas can do better than Phillips and make that personnel group viable, but to date it's only been a great grouping when we've had Fiammetta in there.

Great observation, Jim. Explains the ridiculous usage of shotgun over the years. Trying to get the best players on the field.
 
I'm pretty excited about Chapas. Dallas has had some luck in grooming players and having them perform when finally given the chance. Chapas was a pretty good lead blocker in a tough conference. I don't expect him to get many snaps, but look forward to seeing him in at least some short yardage situations.

I agree on Church. I'd personally like to see both Church and Elam back next season, but I don't know if that will be possible. I'm hoping Church and Carter get as many snaps as possible over the next several weeks. The performance of these two kids will be a big factor in the 2012 draft.
 
I can't recall which guy did the comparison, Broaddus or Sturm, but they made a point of how Fiammetta makes blocks and how Phillips makes blocks.

Phillips blocks the right guy, but he mainly holds the guy up. Murray (or whoever the RB is) has to do more to clear the hole.

Fiammetta attacks the blocker, clears him out, which makes it much easier for the RB to get thru the hole to the 2nd level.
 
WoodysGirl;4280134 said:
I can't recall which guy did the comparison, Broaddus or Sturm, but they made a point of how Fiammetta makes blocks and how Phillips makes blocks.

Phillips blocks the right guy, but he mainly holds the guy up. Murray (or whoever the RB is) has to do more to clear the hole.

Fiammetta attacks the blocker, clears him out, which makes it much easier for the RB to get thru the hole to the 2nd level.

I completely agree with this assessment. It's part of the issue with having a tight end as the lead blocker. Center of Gravity is higher and they are used to blocking from the TE spot.







YR
 
Unfortunately, we probably can't pick up the pace this year since we've spent so much practice time winding down the playclock. I would like to see us speed it up early in the game to see if we can get off to a good, fast start.

Thnaks YR! The last part of what you said (quoted above) I think is the msot important. I can't recall the last time this team took their opening possession down the field to score (TD or FG).

And I think this is a problem because there's a stat out there that shows that the team that scores a TD first, particularly on the oening drive, has something like an 80% chance of wining. That figure may not be exact, but it's high nonetheless.

Dallas simply does not have one of those quick-strike/strike-fast offenses. I think that if the offense ever became that it would truly be dangerous for defenses.

Hopefully they use up December trying to elevate the offense up to that level. That's how you make noise in the playoffs of a passing league.
 
Yakuza Rich;4279861 said:
- I think that the rest of the year will dictate what we do at center (or need to do) for 2012. Costa had a good game against Miami and maybe he's now finding his groove. I've been unimpressed with Costa for the most part, but he's a young player who may have some potential in this league. I'd hate to see him become a Casey Wiegmann who got dumped early in his career and turned out to be an elite center later on. But, we need to see some good play down the stretch from Costa.


I think they'll look to make a change here, regardless. Not that they'll actually do it, but I think they'll try. The reason I say that is this. The knock on Costa is that he's good in close, but not out in space. Thus, Garrett has had to change up the blocking scheme to play to Costa's strength. If Garrett decides he needs a more mobile center, in order to fully inplement his desired scheme, and Costa can't do that, then he has to try to make a change.

If Costa were then to go have a great career somewhere else, in a scheme that allows him to do what he does well, so be it.
 
Idgit;4279987 said:
Phillips also brings some plusses when he's out there. He's done a nice job filling in for Fiametta, and I think Chapas has a hard time pushing him for even limited snaps.

No doubt, though, we're a better running team with Fiametta in the lineup. It's a case where the player is more important than the personnel grouping, though.

I think Chapas' role may be to spell Fiametta. That way they can keep Fiametta on the firld healthy by limiting his snaps.

Yes, Phillips has palyed well, but temas know that when he's in there they're morel likely to use him as a receiver out of the backfiled, or deliver a quick pass since his blocking is limited. They don't tip off their hand that easily with Chapas in the game spelling Fiametta.
 
WoodysGirl;4280134 said:
I can't recall which guy did the comparison, Broaddus or Sturm, but they made a point of how Fiammetta makes blocks and how Phillips makes blocks.

Phillips blocks the right guy, but he mainly holds the guy up. Murray (or whoever the RB is) has to do more to clear the hole.

Fiammetta attacks the blocker, clears him out, which makes it much easier for the RB to get thru the hole to the 2nd level.

Phillips has to lean to get low enough to make the block and often falls on the ground creating a bit of an obstacle for Murray to clear.

I also think Phillips often blocks a guy that he didn't need to block - that is someone who Murray was going to clear on his own or was going to get blocked by one of the OL.
 
Phillips or Fiammetta is not the choice this week; the choice was Phillips or Chapas. Not getting the discussion on Fiammetta since he would obviously be our go to guy, if he were available.

Since the coaches decided that Chapas has now (seemingly) become a better option than Phillips- I am thrilled and waiting on pins and needles to see what the coaches have seen to have them make the change.

Chapas has always been strong enough- he has always been able to make a block. The questions were can he pass protect and can he lead a runner into the right hole and make the right block.

I am looking forward to seeing him show us what he has learned, even if it is against a bottom dwelling run (and pass) defense.
 
WoodysGirl;4280134 said:
I can't recall which guy did the comparison, Broaddus or Sturm, but they made a point of how Fiammetta makes blocks and how Phillips makes blocks.

Phillips blocks the right guy, but he mainly holds the guy up. Murray (or whoever the RB is) has to do more to clear the hole.

Fiammetta attacks the blocker, clears him out, which makes it much easier for the RB to get thru the hole to the 2nd level.

Phillips makes decent blocks, but if Fiammetta only gets an extra 6 inches of space for Murray, then that is often the difference.

Philliips might be able to get lower and get more push, but if he does then his own body is in the way when he is sideways to the OL.
 

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