Overtime Loss Underlines Dallas’ Strengths and Weaknesses
Posted: November 27, 2005 @ 3:03 pm
The overtime 24-21 loss to Denver Thursday offered Dallas the chance to measure itself against one of the NFL’s elite. It showed Dallas matched up very well. The defensive line is already a joy to watch and it spent the last 20 minutes of the game overwhelming Denver’s line. The seemingly flawless Jake Plummer was exposed as a QB who will serve up interceptions when you press him. The Dallas offense showed it can move against a pressure defense, answering three Denver leads with tying touchdown drives.
On the other hand, the game probably revealed the limits of the ‘05 team, as Dallas has four glaring areas of need, two on each side of the ball, that will probably end this season short of the Super Bowl.
Defense: nine strong and two missing.
The defense turned in a very impressive line Thusday. Denver had eleven possessions in regulation. Two were methodical touchdown drives, one in each half. Remarkably, Denver did nothing with its nine remaining possessions. Absolutely nothing. Six were three and outs. Two were four and outs, where a first-down-producing pass was followed by a three weak plays. The ninth was a one play drive where Plummer was baited by Terence Newman into throwing a deep interception.
The secondary played superbly, in spite of missing RCB Anthony Henry. The Broncos made backup Aaron Glenn one of their targets, yet failed to abuse him. Here is his line for the day:
Among those eight passes were four long bombs. None of them were completed.
Shanahan was wary of throwing right at LCB Terence Newman, with good cause:
Dallas, with Glenn and Jacques Reeves getting extensive playing time, took the Broncos receivers out of the game. Denver’s wideouts caught only six passes and just one for more than ten yards. They might have performed more poorly had Henry been healthy.
Denver moved the ball aerially in two ways. The first was in the deep middle, against safeties Keith Davis and Roy Williams. Tight end Jeb Putzier got 23 yards on Denver’s first TD drive when Davis was slow to close on him. He got a key 20 yards on a third and seven play early in the third when Williams was picked by a criss-crossing Broncos receiver. He also got fourteen on a first down cross on Williams that the SS just missed tipping away. Safety coverage has been an issue all year and would benefit from some more speed and recognition skills at the free position. However, these are not the types of plays that beat a team.
The one position that Denver exposed consistently was the left outside linebacker. The Broncos managed only eighteen runs in regulation and shied away from the middle of the Cowboys front, choosing to attack the left and right perimeters. Shanahan called most of his plays to his left at Demarcus Ware. Ware held his end. Denver’s big plays came on the few times they ran right:
Denver also threw three passes at LOLB’s Scott Fujita and Kevin Burnett for 24 yards. Dallas furiously rotated the two, hoping to find some consistency, but neither could close off his side. Denver targeted Fujita for early passes. One, a 13 yard shallow cross to Mike Anderson, kept Denver’s first TD drive alive. On Denver’s second half TD drive Burnett got a chance but was lost in space. He gave up contain on a Plummer bootleg that let the QB get ten yards and a first down. On another third down Burnett lost track of TE Putzier, who gained eight yards and another first down. On Ron Dayne’s 16 yard TD run Denver ran a counter play at Burnett. Burnett dove inside Kyle Johnson, allowing the Denver fullback to hook him inside. Dayne ran around the exposed end untouched for a score.
LOLB has been a weakness all year and has become worse since Al Singleton was lost to injury. Fujita and Burnett’s poor play might explain the Cowboys’ signing of former Giants LB Michael Barrow today.
The perimeter weakness also undid the strong play of the Cowboys’ linemen. Jason Ferguson was a nuisance, stuffing the Broncos center and guards and pushing all runs wide. Chris Canty was unstoppable on runs and on passing downs. He and Ware prevented Denver from getting any push on runs to their side. Canty abused left guard Ben Hamilton. He drew a holding penalty that ended on Denver drive in the third quarter. Later, Canty’s pressure forced an errant throw that Newman dropped at the Denver 30. In the first half, he and Greg Ellis combined on a stunt that resulted in an Ellis sack. Dallas also had a mismatch at right tackle, where Ellis got the better of George Foster.
Dallas had Denver measured, and if they had a bookend to Demarcus Ware, they could have shut the Broncos down completely. I’ve been predicting the Cowboys will draft an OLB in the first round next April, and this game only intensifies that belief. One more big playmaker outside would take this defense from good to nasty.
Offense: understudies underwhelm
Two huge offensive mistakes linger in the mind. The first was Drew Bledsoe’s inexplicable first quarter interception, where he overthrew an open Dan Campbell on an easy five yard out. The other was Billy Cundiff’s 33 yard miss of a field goal that would have given Dallas the lead with five minutes remaining in the game.
The play calling, as it does after every loss, also drew scrutiny, in particular the hitch pass thrown to Terry Glenn on a 3rd and one on Dallas’ last possession. That was a poor call, but critics should look at the overall game plan, which was the Cowboys’ most aggressive since the blowout win over Philadelphia. The Cowboys attacked from the beginning, throwing on nine of their first eleven offensive plays. Dallas moved the ball but was undone by two drops and the Bledsoe interception.
Sean Payton set up CB Champ Bailey with some hitch passes and then torched him when Bledsoe faked a hitch and snuck Keyshawn Johnson behind him for a TD. Dallas ran a new rollout-throwback pass to Terry Glenn that worked for 38 yards. The first half ratio of passes to runs was 60:40.
There was even good news on the pass blocking front, as Torrin Tucker had his best day. Dallas turned him loose Thursday, offering almost no back and tight end help. And Tucker responsed; by my count he was only beaten once all day. Denver did get to Bledsoe a few times but needed heavy blitzes to faze him.
Dallas’ offensive troubles can be summed up in three simple words — backside run blocking. The running game stumbled against the league’s second-ranked run defense. The Broncos’ linebacking corps is probably the best Dallas has faced all year. They’re fast, smart and hard to block. They play in an agressive scheme that has them moving a lot just before the snap, making them harder for linemen to locate and reach. The Denver linemen also slant and loop a lot, using their speed to overcome their lack of size.
That speed tripped up the Cowboys linemen. In the first half, Broncos linemen caught several running plays from the backside on run blitzes. On one notable play, Dallas ran the counter play it had used so effectively against Arizona and Detroit, with center Al Johnson and Larry Allen pulling left to lead Julius Jones. Denver’s weakside backer D.J. Williams raced through the hole created when Johnson pulled and caught Jones for no gain.
These plays are to be expected against a good front. But they were not the sole reason the running game sputtered. As is the case with the FS and SOLB positions, this game exposed weaknesses at fullback and tight end that Dallas cannot resolve this season.
Several Cowboys runs failed because the lead blockers and backside blockers for Julius Jones and Marion Barber failed to do the job. FB Lousaka Polite and TE Jason Witten were the most frequent culprits. Polite’s whiffs denied Dallas several long runs. An example came in the second quarter. The Cowboys were facing a second and twelve from their own one after a stellar Denver punt. Dallas called a stretch play left from a two-TE, I set. All of the Dallas linemen and the tight ends locked up their men and a huge seam developed between LG Larry Allen and C Al Johnson. The Broncos’ safety was set deep, fifteen yards beyond the line of scrimmage. The play would turn on the duel between Polite and Denver MLB Al Wilson. If Polite blocked Wilson, Julius Jones had room for a first down. Polite was beaten to the hole by Wilson, who shed him and dropped Jones after a one yard gain.
In the third quarter, Dallas called a draw for Jones on third and seven. Polite led Jones through the hole and shoved LB Ian Gold enough to spring Jones free for eight yards and a first down. Polite’s block did just the bare minimum but no more. Gold was therefore able to herd Jones towards the sideline and out of bounds. Had Polite cut Gold, or locked him up, Jones would have had an open corner and a chance to make a much longer run. Polite clearly lacks the speed and bulk to be a quality fullback. He’s regularly beaten to the hole and lacks the ballast to stand defenders up.
Polite had company in his infamy. Witten had backside responsibility on Denver ends for much of the day and failed to cut them. Far too often, they slashed across his face and were able to dive and trip up the Dallas runners after one and two yard gains, when the frontside blocking was strong. I gave Witten poor marks after the Raiders loss and saw the same inconsistent blocking Thursday. Sadly, Witten’s bad blocks helped undo his season-best receiving day.
The final backside failure came on the second and two play from the Denver 49 at the two minute warning. This time, RT Rob Petitti whiffed on a slanting Courtney Brown. Brown dropped Julius Jones by the ankles for no gain. This consistent failure to convert simple running plays factored into Payton’s decision to pass on the next play.
The question, which I asked after the Raiders loss, is what to do? Witten is too valuable to take out of the lineup. Dan Campbell is a steady blocker, but he seems to have lost the step he never had after last year’s foot injury. He’s stiff and has average hands at best. His presence in the lineup compromises the passing game. It has not been mentioned as a top priority for the ‘06 offseason, but add a quality tight end to the wish list.
The bigger need, perhaps the biggest on the offensive side of the ball, is fullback. The Cowboys short yardage and goalling rush has all but disappeared since the bye, and it was not that strong before. DE Marcus Spears’ play as goalline FB tells you everything you need to know about Polite’s blocking skills.
Lost in the dreck was a promising game by Al Johnson. The young center had his best day run blocking, handling Denver’s slant nose tackles with regularity. On a couple of plays he turned and pancaked Broncos’ NTs. This after he injured his knee in pregame warmups. Bill Parcells mentioned that Johnson will probably need a minor scope procedure but is expected to play against the Giants. He and Torrin Tucker show signs of life after slow starts to their Cowboys careers.
On the whole, the team showed that it will soon belong among the league’s elite. Bill Parcells wanted to build a defense that could line up and physically overpower opponents. He’s close to completing the job, as top offenses like the Giants, Seahawks and now the Broncos have learned. The offense continues to stubbornly pursue a power running attack and has found two quality backs for its trouble. It also may have found keepers in Tucker, Johnson and Petitti. However, those four holes, two on the offense and two on the defense, mean that the glory everybody craves will probably have to wait until next year.
Notes: Some readers have asked if there was holding on Ron Dayne’s 55 yard run on the second play of overtime. There was and there wasn’t. The play was run to the left. For the only time all day, Denver got the Dallas interior linemen to overpursue on that side.
On the backside, in contrast to the Dallas linemen, RG Cooper Carlisle was able to cut Jason Ferguson and get his back turned to the play. The holding, which I’ll call a loose hold, was by RT George Foster on DE Marcus Spears. Foster grabbed and held Spears’ jersey, slowing his pursuit. It was not a glaring foul and being on the backside, not something the back judge was likely to see. I also don’t think that Spears would have been able to catch Dayne from the backside anyway, had he been able to run free.
Comments
168 Responses to “Overtime Loss Underlines Dallas’ Strengths and Weaknesses”
Not so fast…. I think you’re already counting on the cowboys going into the playoffs. I can see this team finishing 10-6 as well as I can see it 8-8. The schedulle is extremely difficult, our offensive line can’t proetct worth a crap (nor create running lanes) and our D always melts when it counts….
That’s a very negative scenario, but it is sort of real. Our only convincing victory has been Philly at home….correct me if I am wrong..
How about the glaring weakness at kicker? If the Cowboys are going to play a power running game and have a dominant defense, they need a top-of-the-line kicker.
ManTab,
I’m making no assumptions at all, except for what I think the team needs to go forwards. Bledsoe could break a leg next week and this team finish 7-9. But I think most of what they need is already on the roster.
Lex,
I’m not passing judgement on Cundiff yet. A 56 yard leg is something the Cowboys have never had. He’s had only what, two attempts? Let’s wait until he’s had a few more before we cast him off.
I understand your point about full back being a need, but how many good full backs are there in the league??
Seattle has one, SD has one, but does Indy? Do the Giants? For that matter does denver?
These teams have good running attacks but do not have that fullback you speak of.
also, I just want to see that FS that we drafted healthy and on the field next year, any news on his progress? Davis is a top notch special teamer, but onse he has the opposition scheming away from his strengths, he gets beat.
That was the first stunt that I recall seeing this year, Why is that?
And finally, is Canty the Starter next week? Or Next Year? it seems inevitable…..
By the way,
Great review again Raf….
I can pinpoint the exact moment that we lost that game. Once again, Bill is trying to play for overtime. I hate it. It was 3rd and one and we throw that stupid quick pass to Glenn. We could have easily run the ball twice to get a first if need be. That would have put us in much better shape. I wouldn’t count on playoffs coming easily this year. I don’t think we can win the east either. Here’s to hope.
J,
That stupid quick pass to Glenn was Bledsoe’s choice to audible, cause he saw two linemen stacked over the centre and the Broncos had 9 men in the box.
The Cowboys hadn’t looked good running short yardage all game.
I don’t know why you think any coach would try to play for overtime since it usually hinges on the coin toss and I get the feeling that Parcells knows this also. Just a feeling.
Denver is a very strong team, and with a tiny bit of luck we would have not only beat them, but rolled over them by 10 points.
Somehow I think you are wrong and our Hall of Fame coach is right. You might not like him, but to say he was playing for overtime is ridiculous. IMHO.
We didn’t draft a FS,Bierault is a SS…
I guess they should fire Jay feeley
jay feeley went to the billy cundiff school of kicking
or the charlie brown scholl of kicking
brother feeley missed it exactly the same way cundiff did
seattle got the flip which we didnt in denver
charlie brown could kick the ball fine….
it was the snap he couldn’t count on.
I hope Hasselback didn’t say were going get the ball and win the game like he did in the green bay playoff game.You know what happen then!!!!
seattle has the same feel as cowboys
looked very predictable and giants dictating offense
watch shockey on offense
manning, like any Q, if given time, will make the pass
dallas better live or die from blitz next week confusion and risk is better than letting young manning beat you
Dallas will play alot of man, seattle looked like they were in zone coverage
Seahawks are rushing 4 and getting no pressure. We will blitz 6 or 7 and rattle him
talk about adrenaline rush for giants
come back from 8 down
win it in overtime?
oh baby, I hope they are on a sugar high when we meet them next week
It’ll be a war next week. We could win if our coaches prepare our team mentally to beat them.
We’ll not be able to afford 34 yard misses, stupid INT’s, and all those other beuties we’ve made last couple of weeks. Our running game will not be any good…
But the Giants (16 penalties) arent the Broncos
mentally prepared is the key
see what magic BP can do
fire feeley!!!!
YEAHHHHH Feely misses
I see seattle has the same half role out two yard pass as we do.
derrick
I heard those roll outs are really in style in late november
no wonder dallas has their eye on holgrem
Go seattle
Holmgram probably has the same playbook as big bill, so it wouldn’t be a big change in offensive philosophy,lol
Giants are a better team than Seattle….I still dont see anything in that Seattle team…
Shawn,
if you think that Beriault is going to play SS in the NFL at 199lbs then I would like some of what you are smoking.
Me neither they cant cover anyone
I cant wait to see what the rave play December holds if the half role two yard out pass is all the rave in November
kiki barber went to ron dayne school of running just like denver wow!
its looking more and more that the Giants are the team to beat in the NFC, if manning can cut down his mistakes.
The only good teams the Seahwaks have beaten are us and Atlanta, the rest is Arz twice, St louis twice, San Fran, and Houston….
de ja vu denver game
jay feeley, you miss this, you’ll walk back to N.Y.
oh man i almost feel sorry for that guy
boy, Billy looks more and more like an all pro
and i thought cortez and cundiff choked bad
If Jay Feely goes back to NY with the Giants, Coughlin is an idiot….even if I have no kicker for the game against Dallas….what a fuc***g idiot
watch this end up as a tie
seattle is just going to give it to giants this is so lame
here come the hawks
wait
still lame but seattle lucky on that big pass play
Yeah!!! Go Seahags!!!
Here we go seahawks
dallas and giants will be crying over their beer at the same bar
I never heard the Seattle faithfull this loud before, WOW!!!!
Man i love watching Alexander hesitate and find the hole…
Lol I think we’re over our loss the Giants loss will go on for the rest of the season haha
feeley was like a bad reoccuring dream
just kept missing at least cundiff only missed once
Seahawks win….je je je je
bye bye feeley, you’re fired!!!!!
Man the NY press and fans are gonna be murder on Feely tommorrow….DALLAS back on top!!!!
may the giants be very distracted and live in the past
story line for next week’s game will be kickers that killed the team
Interesting day.
The Giants, Redskins and Bucs lose. The Panthers offense has suddenly forgotten how to score, though they pulled out out of the fire against Buffalo.
Big winners today — the Bears, who now have a game and a tie breaker in their favor for second NFC seed.
AlanTDot,
IMHO, the play calling has sucked. I happen to like Parcells quite a bit. I appreciate the fact that we are in all games, but where is his killer instinct. And don’t get pissed when people are critical. These forums exist for people such as myself to post observations.
Good day for the Cowboys
I can’t imagine myself if it was us missing 3 field goals in OT…much worse I cannot imagine Bill Parcells or even worse, the stupid kicker facing his angry a$$ after the show…..may they suffer this one as I have had to suffer Washington, Seattle, Denver, Oakland and all of thos close wins….11 games so far, 11 cardiac finishes.
Again, DALLAS IS THE BEST TEAM IN THE NFC.
Think the Giants, Seahawks, Bears and Bucs don’t have problems too?
Next week will tell all….
Giants D is playing well. SA had 110 but he needed 30 carries to do it. Hassleback looked like a deer in the headlights late in the game. I think with a healthy A Henry on the field, we match up pretty well with the Giants O. If we’re not a little scared of the Giants D we should be.
We need Henry on the field to match up against Plaxico….Glenn will not do
Henry comes back to shut down Plax. The thing that worries me the most about the NYG is Shockey, our LB’s cant cover him. Our O has to get back on track. Score 20+ we win.
J,
I’m not pissed, I’m just saying I don’t agree that BParcells was playing for overtime. It wasn’t his call, Bledsoe saw 9 in the box, they hadn’t run well all game…..
I am all for diferent opinions, I just happen to think yours is poorly informed and I pointed that out.
That is another reason forums like this exist.
Feel free to disagree and tell me why you think I’m wrong, but don’t tell me I’m intolerant…….
Lou,
last game we put TNewman on Shockey and shut him down untill the Fourth Quarter when we put out LB’s and SS on him and he went for Six…..
Michael Irvin charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia in Plano Texas….
I wonder if this hurts his HOF chances.
AlanTdot,
Only if the Hall people want to admit being hypocritical. Remember, the very open case for Lawrence Taylor was based on the idea that his performance on the field should be the only metric.
On the other hand, they guys vote secretly. If they want to slam Irvin, they will use any pretext available to them. Meaning, you just might be right.
will espn fire the “smoke blunt player” irvin arrested. ?
Saw a picture of Tommie Harris…..Man does that NFL ‘Diet’ put on size!! He went from a 290 DT in College to what looks like 330 plus in the NFL.
Rafael,
It was an interesting day. I personally like the Barrow signing. Amongst the other headlines were: Irvin arrested for possesion and Philly says the Cowboys tampered with T.O. Can’t seem to confirm the Barrow signing, but if you say so, it good with me … nice work.
Did you look into the tampering charge? Jerry is asked if he would sign TO? He says he’s a risk taker and talented players could improve playing with Drew Bledsoe.
Hmmmm. Never mentioned a player by name, though the question was about T.O. Never mentioned that he was GOING to sign him, just that he’s a risk taker.
Didn’t the Eagles just spend a week with a mediator arguing that they NEEDED to put T.O. in exile?
Talk about wanting it both ways.
What ever happened to Kenyon Coleman?
Has anybody heard the news that Micheal Irvin was arrested after a speeding incident and drugs were found in his car, if this is true, you can forget about the hall of fame this year, I didn’t think he had much of a chance this year anyway.
DUH, of course is does, the drugs are what made it take so long for him to make it to the semifinals
Lou,
Marcus Spears happened to Kenyon Coleman. And Chris Canty.
His first year of eligibilty was last year, DUH!!!! The off the field issues are suppose to have no effect on a players ability to get into the Hall, But since he’s a cowboy AND was taking drugs, would he now forever be kept out by the hall of Fame voters.
Gentlemen,
Forget Irvin. Someone earlier was worried about Shockey. I think if we play him with a CB or over the top with a Safety we can shut him down or at least contain him. The other key deal will be putting pressure on Eli.
If you’re not starting to worry about Chicago along with the NYG D, you should be. I’d much rather go play in Seattle than in Chicago in the playoffs but we may have to go there.
p.s. that was some weak stuff the iggles pulled with the TO thing.
Jarhead,
I dont think the Eagle complaint will go anywhere, I heard the interview of Jerry and the T.O. situation, he wouldn’t say anything about that player, but talked in general about any player that was available to sign.
sounds like a weak case at best.
Jarhead,
That Giant Defense is starting to gel. They didn’t look like s##t early in the season.
They’re definitely gelling. their Def ends are on fire but their corners seem a little suspect. that wont matter if we cant protect bledsoe.
If we dont start to run the ball consistanty, it wont matter.
Running would help. The giants MLB, i forget his name but they signed him from the skins in the off season, is also having a bang up year.
correction, running well would help.
rafael,
you say dallas signed barrow. His he still hurt cause when he signed with washington i think he played one down in two years.
Rafael,
Once again, very good analysis.
But I wish to differ. You’re right! We need two on each side of the ball.
Defense: OLB and FS are givens. But Burnett will man one LB. Ware another. James is a keeper. We need one more, but I’m betting on a comeback from Nguyen or Burnett moving inside (my personal preference) and another Ware-type rookie in Round 1. Maybe a FA, but the real killers don’t get let go. I’d love for an Urlacher to come in the middle and Burnett develop on the outside, but I think it will take a high draft pick.
FS will come from one of the following: a. FA signing b. Development of Beriault or Davis. I think Plan B is much more likely. Way too much cap space taken by the corners and Roy.
Offense: Here’s where I disagree. FB is nonsense. Polite may not be the second coming of Moose, but he’s adequate, learning, strong, and very average. Yet as another post stated, name a decent FB in the league. Most teams run 1 back schemes.
Our problem lies directly on the tackles. OL in general, really.
-Center, check.
-Guards, fine. Even with LA in decline, Rivera will be healthy next year and three replacements are very good should LA no longer be capable.
-Tackles. I, too thought Tucker was OK, but he and Pettiti are average at best. We need two road graders. Ogden, Tra Thomas, etc. types.
That’s two.
I’d love to add WR, as I think that will be our second round choice, but don’t think he’ll beat out the guys we’ve got.
Now to the real beef. There is absolutely nothing wrong with our TE position, other than the fact they’re playing OT part time. If they weren’t so focused on giving help, they would be much more effective.
I’ll take Campbell & Witten over any other duo in football. They’re simply put in bad positions due to the weakness of our OT’s.
Do we have two stud OT’s on our roster? One will come from Tucker, Pettiti, Columbo. Another from the draft. Here’s living with a rookie on a Super Bowl run.
You know whos completely forgetton about? Kalen Thorton. He was supposed to do something this year until he got hurt.
The Eagles are just trying to make sure that TO doesn’t land with their most hated and heated rivalry. There is no way that JJ’s comments will make a tampering charge hold. It is like a politician screaming “Racist!” at his opponent. It may be bullcrap, but just the charge hurts the other guy, and makes him waste time explaining it away. In this case, they are banking that Jerry will not sign TO and say, “See, we didn’t want him anyway.”
That being said, I really, really, REALLY, don’t want that punk on my team. Is there anyway that we can send an open letter to Dallas Morning News, that we all sign, requesting that Jerry not even entertain the notion?
Once a cocain cowboy, always one. See ya’ Irvin…. on the streets. Your professional and HOF career is OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fighter15:
I think Tra Thomas was placed on IR this week.
Regarding fullback, Parcells said that Polite was the smartest player on the team…not the strongest.
Why can’t Barber III be the fullback, with Jones or Thompson running behind him(I keep hearing that Barber III plays ‘bigger than he looks’)?
Also, when Crayton’s back(maybe 04 December) could he be used sometimes as a 3rd down back, out of the backfield? Crayton reminds me of Ronnie Harmon, when Harmon was 3rd down back on the 1993 Chargers.
I’m more worried about our lack of offense than the Giants D. Our offensive line is the reason why we won’t get to the Super Bowl this year. I hope I am wrong, but since Flo got injured, our suspect offensive line has become even worse.
Add Bledsoe’s untimely interceptions to the mix, and we will lose many more 24-21, 19-13, 14-13, and 13-10 games this year. I think we’ll make the playoffs, but we won’t go far unless the offensive line starts playing better.
Where’s Moose? We need a fullback, like Raf says. I’m somewhat surprised about needing a TE, but I definitely agree that we need another OLB.
The defense will keep us in games, but will the offense be good enough to take us over the top? I think we’re a year away, but as weak as the NFC is, we should make some noise in the last 5 games, and who knows from there? I hope I’m wrong…..
Lou,
I was thinking about that the other day. I figure he was the OLB bookend and he was the first guy Parcells drafted that had his prototypical size to play the LB in the 3-4…….he could definitely improve the rotation next year……..we lost Singleton, Thornton………what now Shanle…..Nguyen for a few games………
I still see Bill getting anoter OLB in the draft next year………thank goodness Bradie James has stepped up and hope he continues to improve. Shanle has looked ok……..Fujita has been a disappointment so far but he is still young and might improve. It will be telling next year to see if Thornton, Singleton, Shanle, Fowler and say a player to be named later like a rookie OLB………who would get cut out of that mix…….maybe Ogbogu gets the ax……not sure…..Bill added Columbo and Brooks to the roster too……..something will have to give.
Cowboys are going to stuff Tiki and Manning and win by 10 in NY!!! Irony the Seahawks beat the NFC East giants in ot too……..both our teams lost in OT this week. Interesting.
You know Seattle may have the best record in the NFC……but they beat two NFC East teams at home…..i figure on the road they lose that game and we beat them as well.
Fighter 15,
Somebody had to lead block. One reason they use TEs in the backfield so much is that they don’t have a good lead blocker.
And there’s no depth. When Campbell went down last year the running game got a lot worse. They need more.
Parcells has to be envious that his former coach and his son in law Scott Pioli have such an abundance of good TEs. When they were winning Super Bowls, they would throw two three and four TE sets at you. It’s one reason they won a Super Bowl with Antowain Smith in the backfield.
The line is an issue, but I think that they will improve. But the perimeter and lead blocking needs a huge upgrade too and that will require more players.
Hi, new to the boards here. Long time fan, first time writing. Couple of comments -
1. Watch out for Beriault next year, I’m telling you, I believe that the kid can play. IF he gets healthy, we’ll have the best secondary, with improved coverage skills.
2. I would feel comfortable if Bledsoe got into a shotgun, a la old Danny White, on 3rd downs. He’s too slow out of of the snap, and with the push that’s coming up the middle from defenses, he gets those happy feet. Shotgun is a viable solution.
3. Any key free agents from OUR team that we have to worry about re-signing this year? I know that Roy Williams and Newman should be due up for some big bucks soon, right?
4. Cundiff’s performance from here on out determines whether we’ve got our kicker for the future or not. I’ve never been convinced with him. He’s middle of the pack, not great, not terrible. We’ve GOT to make cap room to pay a top-tier kicker. It’s good for 2-extra Ws per season, and maybe a key playoff victory (i.e. see Norwood WIDE RIGHT in 20-19 L to Giants in 1990 vs. Vinatieri 35-32 W vs. Carolina, 24-21 W vs. Philadelphia and the win vs. St. Louis). It’s THAT important, yet somehow we haven’t gotten that message loud and clear over the past five years.
Mando,
Witten, Bradie James, Dan Campbell and Andre Gurode are all potential UFAs next year. The team apparently has a buyback option on Witten and James, so look for some new contracts for those two guys post-haste once the season ends.
Stephen,
Holy sh*t, dude, get off #88’s back. He’s telling the truth. If he doesn’t go in this time, then next year. Eventually, the numbers and the rings’ll do the trick.
Looks like Jay Feely’s confidence is shot… very good!
in the 1st round:OLB(Left side has been weak.)
2nd: ILB(I don’t know about Shanle, Burnette, and Dat is getting old)
3rd: TE( A guy like Fassano from ND, good receiver, and a tremendous blocker)
4th: FB (get a real one, not one who catches and runs well, but doesn’t block)
5th: WR( If not earlier, one guy I really like is Stovall, also from ND, he is a 6′5″ senior who is still only 20, very fast, great hops, solid hands.
6th and 7th: O-lineman.
groove
in the name of love..
Mando,
My biggest support of Beriault is that BP kept him around on the IR as a rookie. Parcells must see something.
Stephen,
#88 might have personal problems, but I’ll always have love for The Playmaker.
This offense can’t get it done period. The D gives up 14 points until over time. 14 points to a good team. The offense is not good. We need a lot more on offense than the D. When you give up points on offense its hard to win. This team is not going anywhere. The offense will not allow it. I don’t know if this offense can get it together this season. The missed fg hurt but at that time we were playing for the fg we need to stop trying to put game in the kicker’s hands. At the end of the game our offense played poorly.
Rafael,
Great game breakdown. Agree with you on FB and TE (Campbell is a blessing/curse since he is not a receiving threat).
But I think the bigger problem is RT. Petitti has been doing better pass-blocking, but on running plays he just doesn’t move his man off the line. So Bill puts a TE next to him on most running plays. That draws in an OLB a step closer, two if it’s Campbell. Kills the run.
If we see a step-change improvement in RT next year, we’ll see a much more effective running game, even with our existing FB and TEs.
Case in point: the Giants. Shockey is not a good blocker, so they frequently split him a couple of steps outside the tackle. Forces the D to cheat someone close to him and opens up a running lane. Witten could do the same.
aw,
all I kept thinking during the game was ” what if we had someone who could break this game wide open, what if we had a ………PLAYMAKER!! AW is going to be all over this game on Monday…….”"
I thought that this game was one ‘Offensive’ big play from us breaking the broncos a new one. Would Crayton made a difference? Maybe. i think his YAC running may have helped us .
the Defense made it’s big plays. The offense ?
Remnant,
Petitti may be fine next year. It’s not his fault he had to play as a rookie. Remember, Erik Williams watched his rookie year. He wasn’t ready until ‘92, but then he was REALLY ready.
And if Petitti isn’t, the fact that Torrin Tucker is playing a respectable LT should convince HIM that he could play RT, where he failed last year.
well at least the Cowboys are the only one losing games on the legs of a kicker…….
Giants had three shots with a kicker.
Bucs missed one.
alantdot
This D has been the best since the early 90s. The offense made a its big play one was for the other team. We do need a playmaker at WR. I would like to see MB start against teams with good run defense. MB runs better with less. I don’t know if the offense can get it together this year. Every thing need to get upgraded from the playing calling to the line. We leave too many points out there. Every body want to thinks we need a olb and a fs. Yes we could use an upgrade but its not costing us games. We don’t give up many points. Give the D a break first year at a 3-4. First year for a lot of players starting. The offense is the problem. I said last week it would come down to turnovers and where they happen. Raf says we moved the ball well, I don’t think so. I think 14 points came from turnovers which is good to make the other team pay for turning it over but our offense needs to score on its own. One good sign is Witten getting used.
Regarding TE play, what good is a tight end that can’t block? Might as well have another WR.
Flozell? All the sudden he is god’s gift to the offensive line? don’t think so.
This team has 80% of the players it needs to compete for the superbowl. With the exception of Indy, every other team is in the same boat, about 80% of their roster is good.
Regarding Cundiff, every team has missed kicks, see NYG, Seattle against Washington, TB yesterday; Without the benefit of a complete analysis, I think many teams have missed a field goal costing them a game this year.
Injuries and less than 5 plays will separate the top 12 teams each year. This is what the NFL wanted, parity.
Our offense I think just hasnt adjusted to the injuries. Crayton was a huge 3rd down reciever, he goes down and BP hardly plays Price. He must see something in practice because this guy had a monster year and some other solid ones. We have two real young guys at Tackle. I wonder if it was a tackle and a guard would we worry so much?
I’m still waiting for one of our backs to have a monster game. They’re both due. The Giants are tough up front, but maybe with the playoff atmosphere our line will step up.
3 things that scare me about the Giants:
- Their D line with Osi and Strahan against our young T’s.
- Shockey, if Newman isnt on him.
- Barber. He’s better then ppl think (and this coming from some one who hates the Giants)
If we could get the 2nd seed, watch out. Our Conference record is good too, so its not out of the question.
WOW speculation is that Dat may be placed on IR. Thats why they signed Barrow. Not suprising but not good news IF TRUE.
The first pick in next years draft will either be a Tackle or a linebacker.
to beat the Giants you cover Shockey and Burress. Toomer and others are not going to beat you. Tiki is a problem out of the backfield and can strike from anywhere on the field. Still Dallas shut down shockey for 90% of the last game. We can do that again. Manning is not that good yet……he relys on Shockey and Burress as a crutch. Get some pressure and keep him in the pocket and he will turn it over and make mistakes.
Hope Henry is healthy so we got our best 3 CBs out there. Still this game will be about stopping Tiki and keeping Drew upright against their pass rush.
Giants pass defense is not as good as their rush, I think their corners are suspect and should be exploited.
Coughlin and Parcells no each other very well this game will be tight and tough. One of the reasons Bill Parcells is letting Payton call plays……..he is facing Joe Gibbs and Tom Coughlin not to mention guys like Marty Schot and the other chips off the old blocks……he figures Payton is less predicatable than he is and they are less familiar with him.
I think we are a better team than the Giants. Younger better Defense, and at this point a better QB. They got Burress and Shockey but we can shut those two down. Stop Tiki and we win it easy.
Bill Parcells is not known for building great offenses. Look around at his legacy and you see great defense. Ball control running attacks and reliable qbs. Not a Montana or Manning among them. Yeah he has thrown it and can but other than some TEs like Ben Coates and Mark Bavaro you will have a hard time putting many WRs in his corner. He draft defense, running game, lineman on both sides of the ball the occassional qb and the linebacker of course.
I think he continues that trend next year……we resign Witten and he looks for an upgrade over Ryan and Pierce. In a suprise move he does not address Wr cuz Crayton and Copper are capable. He finds another OLB and Burnett, Nguyen, James and Shanle share the middle responsiblities…….with Fujita as the reliver for Ware and the player to be named later.
Don’t be surprised if the right player is avaialble on the FA market Bill goes that route as well. He has a young D, and he is ready to win now. He adds another OLB and gets good play from the guys he has and the league will be talking about our D and not Chicagos.
Henry and Newman and Glenn are three of the best corners in the league. Aaaron Glenn’s signing might have been bigger than Henry’s cuz we did not miss a beat when a caliber of player like Henry was out with a groin injury. TNEW is not only for real, but man he moves like Primetime……..change that 41 to a 21 and I am having flashbacks of a corner that can cover, return and unlike 21 TACKLE!!!
Our Defense is for real, and believe it or not Bill is not unhappy with the Offense…….he sees Petitti developing Tucker playing well and the best tackle coming back next year in Adams. While I think Raf is right we might lose in the playoffs…..I still say the NFC is wide open and we can play with any of em.
Colts are going to kill Seattle. I don’t see that as a game even. They are so much better than Seattle.
just saw the announcement that Dat Nguyen has been placed on injured reserve and is out for the season. This is a bad break.
Lou,
if our Tackles don’t come to play we will get smushed, don’t worry about the D.
AW,
I know you think the problem with the offense is the lack of a playmaker, and on Thursday it seemed like we could really use a big play on offense. But We don’t have a playmaker and they are hard to find even if you have a high draft pick
Look at the upcoming draft, After Bush can anyone say there is a guarenteed playmaker in the crapshoot that is the draft?
Getting a Tackle to either back up or replace what we have now on the OLine is a higher percentage bet. With two good tackles, we don’t need Witten to play part time OLine. We would turn JJ and MBIII into the top three rushing attacks in the league. We would be able to get those Third and Ones that we can’t get now.
A better line changes everything . Getting a Randy Moss would do the same thing, but who knew he was going to be Randy Moss and not Hart Lee Dykes???
Jon,
Toomer almost beat Seattle.
Mooch gone in Dtown
Gents,
the question for the week is which BP will show up?
Will it be the way too tense one that we have seen against seattle, washington, and NY or the less tense one against the iggles and zona. The team seems to be way too jacked up when BP is tense and it shows in their play.
BP is too wound up on beating certain coaches (gibbs, holmgren,and coughlin), i think that trend needs improvement b/c the team will be keyed up enough as it is.
on another note, lets hope drew stops making one egregious (sp?)error per game.
Jar,
is it really that simple? Thinking back I see the pattern you describe, but that doesn’t hold for the defense, only the offense.
And yeah, I don’t want to see another Drew Boo Boo this week….
Norm,
THAT explains Barrow’s signing, since he’s an inside backer, IIRC. The problems at LOLB will continue until the light goes on in Burnett’s head or until another starter is drafted/signed.
no its not that simple and the D has been consistantly good all year, but i think BP is a little petty in that respect. For some reason, he is much more keyed up against those coaches. I think it effects the team’s play.
Dat may be done…
I’ll bet we draft a linebacker out of Virginia first round this year…
MLB…
Parcells said Dat is considering retirement.
Isn’t the Barrow signing still rumor? Mickey Spags says they just worked him out but signed another offensive tackle, Marcus Price.
according to the official site, barrow has been signed.
Thanks Jarhead
I just read it.
Are you currently active?
Starstruck,
yes
Where are you stationed and how long you been in?
i’m currently serving behind enemy lines in quantico (just south of DC). 12 years.
too bad about DAT……just a few years ago after his first few months with the team a reporter asked who Coach Parcells would keep. He said you know the kid Witten and Dat Nguyen. Calling Dat “that is one football playing dude”…….surely undersized for a guy that had LT, Banks and Carson……nonetheless he recognized the fierce competitiveness and fire that burned so bright in DAT. I for one hope it ain’t extinguished and that he just needs a full offseason to recover and come back to the game……if he wants too.
Either way I wish him well. He will be missed.
Dat is a great guy and a great American story.
I was stationed there 1984-87. On main side for about the first six months and the rest out at TBS.
what did you do? Im sure Quantico hasnt changed much. TBS is still exactly the same.
Dat was the man on our LB corps for years- always playing above his physical ability. Such a shame that now we finally have the rest of the D he is gone. Great player and a great guy- You will be missed.
Enjoy your days after- the decision was probably for the best. You have another 40-50 years to live- do not risk it on something as chancy as a neck injury.
alantdot
We do need to upgrade the line, we also need to get a playmaker. I just don’t think its all on the line for our problems. JJ is not good running inside this year or last year. I think the play calling needs to be better. I think the offense as a unit is a problem. It starts with the line but it doesn’t end there. Every team needs upgrades somewhere on there team. The higher the pick the better the player will be. Its not like it all the time but the percentages are better with higher picks. I’m all for picking the better player in the draft if its a linemen OLB or WR. I wouldnt mind a top rb but I do want a WR in the first two rounds.
whether we like it or not Jerry Jones will sign TO in the offseason…..not the long term solution at Wideout, but he will opt for TO over either TG or KJ. Crayton will continue to play and they will continue to develop the likes of Copper. TO is in great physical shape and may well play another 5 years.
I was a proponent of a WR a year ago, but after watching the season̷