Do You Understand What You’re Seeing?
Posted: October 31, 2006 @ 6:49 pm
I’ve seen some complaints in the threads that Dallas runs a “conservative offense.”
Conservative compared to what?
Today, the ‘06 Cowboys are averaging 29.1 points a game. (They rank 4th overall.) They’ve been held under 20 points just once, way back in week one. Even with Drew Bledsoe’s ups and downs, the o-line’s breakdowns and the nagging penalties, this team is scoring points at a higher pace than any of the Cowboys’ Super Bowl winners of the ’90s. In fact, the ‘83 Cowboys, who averaged 29.9 points per game, are the only Dallas team to go a sixteen game season with better production. (You have to go back to 1966 and 1968 to find the only Cowboys’ squads to top 30 points per season.)
If Tony Romo can keep the offense at its increased tempo and avoid the dumb turnovers, we could be looking at the most prolific offense in this team’s history.
Comments
157 Responses to “Do You Understand What You’re Seeing?”
1st
It’s really unbelievable how optimistic Dallas fans have become thanks to a little helping of Tony Romo.
Knowing how impressive Carolina’s front four is (Rucker, Peppers, Jenkins) do u think the Cowboys offense just played a lot better for Romo on Sunday, Romo made the offense’s job a whole lot easier, or some combination of the both?
It seems like Romo has that gunslinger confidence that energizes the whole team behind him (like Favre). Haven’t been this excited about the cowboys since … can’t even remember
1st ah…i mean 3rd…dah!!!
and who better to lead this most prolific offense in team history? why not romo?
why was he smiling a lot in that panthers game? yeah i guess because he basically secured his starting spot. but there’s another reason why he’s smiling.
Minimum salary for 4-6th year player is $540,000.
his 2005 paycheck? $705,280.
his base salary this year? $1 million.
if he takes all snaps until end of the season? additional $750,000
Uh yeah that’s a nice pay raise right there.
I finally got back and responded to many who addressed me so ill copy and paste since two new posts have been added:
well im back and full of candy.
anyway, i see now why my ears were burning as i was walking around with my son.
emrdog,
ref post 63. this is a “what have you done for me lately†league so lets look at what JJ has done lately. as shane pointed out, the hiring of BP signaled a fundamental shift in JJ’s perception of his own ability to evaluate talent and of his willingness to forgo control in the name of progress (can we give him some credit without being accused of drinking the kool aid?)
The TO signing was certainly a calculated move. it remains to be seen if it pays off, but there is no way to reasonably argue that they didnt carefully consider the potential risk and rewards before pulling the trigger.
to say otherwise sounds more like what gets tossed out on ESPN than sound analysis.
It appears that the GM/owner, the HC, and the scouting dept are all on the same page, the long term benefits of that can be substantial.
cosby, i understand what you are saying about frustration. A fan blog is of course a viable location to vent those, but i caution against making rash judgements, or calling for rash courses of action, while frustrated, and I certainly dont want JJ and BP doing it (see my comments above). believe me, i was very frustrated after the giants game.
Speaking of the giants game, stillhate: I discussed in previous posts that i changed my mind about DB after that game. apparently BP changed his mind during the game. I went into some detail how i felt about it with tony romo (not the real one) who called me out for not responding and then didnt respond to me.
Its no longer a knee jerk reaction when you make a change to a starter who has CONSISTENTLY demonstrated failure in key areas (such as DB has done).
For example, might the benching of David Carr this weekend have been a knee jerk reaction? maybe.
the benching of DB however, was not. i dont see that BP had any other choice. Im sure he decided going into that game, that if DB threw another stupid pick and more than once ignored the design of the play, that he would bench him.
It remains to be seen if it will work out, but as i stated before, there is reason to be confident that it will. we’ll see.
And if he plays well the rest of the year……..priceless
SCORING WHEN INSIDE THE RED ZONE-
were you impressed with the Patriots? Well guess what?
Who’s atop the list in touchdown percentage when inside the red zone? Patriots and Cowboys share the #1 spot. Both teams have been in the red zone 28 times. Both teams scored 18 touchdowns. Patriots have 6 field goals, and Cowboys with 5 field goals. I think we should listen to Rafael when he says we may have the most profilic offense in team history. Only the Colts visited the red zone more (30 times), but their touchdown percentage is less.
If you had told me going into this season we would avg. this many points combined with the defense we thought we had I would have said we would be 7-0 right now. Amazing the impact of turnovers.
jarhead,
So you decided AFTER the switch was made that it was the right thing to do? Sorry, that’s a little weak for me after the way you told us all it was the OL not Bledsoe that was the problem.
rparr,
how impressive has carolina’s front four been this year?
peppers has 8 sacks. the REST of their defense had 7 over 6 games. they weren’t terrible against the run, but they certainly weren’t stuffing it. the team we beat was good, but is now 4-4. we were losing to them in the 4th 1/4 and what happens if keyshawn catches the ball and scores???
I agree there is reason for optimism, but lets see what we do in the next two weeks. lets see him not make any dumb throws. lets see him take a sack or just throw the ball away when nothing is there. that is what BP wants. he will get the opportunity to make plays.
the beautiful thing is that the defense and punter are good enough to where he doesnt HAVE to score on every possession. the weapons we have on offense will give him chances.
he said something recently that really boosts my optimism. to paraphrase, he said that he needs to just get the ball to the “playmakers” and let them make him look good. BINGO. dont do it all yourself son, let the good players be good players.
sunday is the first day of the rest of the season.
Ok, Jarhead, one more time…
That’s all well n’ good but why are you getting in my grill for bitching about the same thing.
The first thing I said in this long exchange was I was sick of hearin’ espn flip flop on the the cowboys. and you are jumpin’ on me. read your post…it was directed at me. so let me ask you again. did you really read my orginal post? come on…just tell me the truth, no one will get mad or laugh at you.
stillhate,
it sounds like you’re looking for excuses to argue with me.
i STILL havnt decided it was the right thing to do. if tony romo (the real one) plays to the potential he has shown consistently, THEN it will be the right thing to do. BP himself isnt even sure it was right, but why do you think he was kissing everybody sunday? at least after that night, it sure looks like it.
What i “decided” was that i dont see that BP had any other choice. DB’s play was that bad against NY, and it was enough to warrant a benching. Like i said, after reading rafael’s analysis of DB’s 1st half play (i beleive he called it the anatomy of a benching) and after talking to some other people whose opinion i trust, i agreed it was the right thing to do. i hope romo proves BP right (in fact, he said the same thing himself recently).
as to what you think of it, i dont really care.
emrdog,
here is the exact copy of my post # 60 on “f-back = flexiback:
how much better are we?
we lose a game, its all over.
we win a game, our problems are solved.
its tuesday, and im already seeing some bold predictions for sunday.
how exactly is that getting in YOUR grill?
where do i accuse YOU of doing anything in that post?
i state in further posts that nothing was aimed at you.
Laugh and/or get mad if you want.
stillhatethegiants-
u said “amazing the impact of turnovers”
i say we should have optimism. we just hit the halfway mark and now we broke even with the turnover and takeaway with 15 turnovers and 15 takeaways. we were in the negative side until the Panthers game. we are improving. let’s have faith and hope they go into the positive mark for the 2nd half.
mvppalisades,
definitely a good sign, but i think stillhate was pointing out that the TOs are killing us more than anything (12 in our 3 losses).
Jarhead,
If pointing out your inconsistency is arguing so be it. You aren’t afraid to voice your opinion on here and I’ll exercise the same privlege thank you.
Regardless how Romo turns out this year, I would “argue” it’s still the right change to make (without qualification). Bledsoe is what he is and we had to find out about Romo. Now we’re going to. At least we’ll know at the end of the year what we have and what we need to do.
MVP,
I agree, optimism is in order.
Jarhead,
first off, it was addressed to me…you left that out. therefore i took it as a critique.
either way, i do think you should lay off of people. believe it or not last week was looking pretty bad and it was warrented. this week is good and it is warrented. don’t blame people for be reactionary when we are in the middle of a quarterback issue and in a close division race.
so yes, we were dead last week.
we look great this week.
whether you want to say it or not, it’s a big turnaround regardless of the implications.
Jarhead,
The stat you gave really drives the point home. It’s a little deceiving when you read we’re 15 each give away/take aways but when you see it’s 12 TO’s in 3 games, it’s a pretty clear (and ugly) picture.
Raf
I think the word I would have used pre-Romo was “predictable” although I admit the stats you cite don’t necessarily support that.
I still use the word predictable for the defense insofar as the pass rush
stillhate,
i think we’re saying the same thing. you say it like, “it was the right thing to do.” i say it like, “i dont see what other choice BP had.”
it will be judged as to how it works out, and i think we both want it to work out.
DB’s play changed my mind, if that is incosistent so be it.
by all means express your opinion that my argument is weak. Ive only stated why i support the benching of DB now, as oppossed to 2 games ago.
emrdog,
i addressed it to you b/c it was your comment. it was a critique of many on this site who are of the same state of mind as the media. This week, we suck, next week, we got a shot.
If you watch, you’ll notice that many of the most optimistic ones after a win (who make the most bold predictions) are the same ones who call for whole scale changes and doom after a loss.
Im currently optimistic, why wouldnt i be? But i dont have any illusions about the difficulty of the road ahead for us.
stillhate,
ugly and glaring. so glaring in fact that it blinds us to some of the good things that were happening, effective running, sound defense (other than some long pass plays) and solid punting. I think if we cut down the stupid TOs, we win alot of games.
jarhead / ermdog / stillhate
I wanted to jump in but I had nothing to address. Shoot.
that’s the point jarhead!!! why would you address it to me???
That was my point in the post. I don’t think we should be talking crazy like super bowl or anything either. I don’t get why you addressed it to me…were you lonely or something? did you need someone to talk to or something? I don’t get it. I’m friggin lost.
emrdog,
you were the one who posted it. whenever i respond to someone’s post, i always address them. i wasnt accusing you of anything.
when i said “we,” i meant the bloggers on this site.
when i think about a prolific offense, i think about how well that team can consistently get 1st downs. i think it’s a good indicator of how smooth ur offense is, how much oomph u have. well………
cowboys ranked #3 in that category (only colts and eagles can do better). deadskins ranked at #23. big difference right there.
linus,
i agree we’re predictable in one facet of the D. We play (usually) well on 1st and 2nd, get them in 3rd and long (say 7-9 yards), then blitz.
why?
why not blitz on 2nd down? i think they want us to blitz on 3rd, so why give them what they want?
jarhead,
let’s just let it go. no harm no foul. i don’t give a f@%*
spacer between jarhead and ermdog
emrdog,
fine. didnt mean to get you so worked up.
And another point……besides the 12 TO’s in those 3 losses, how many drive killing penalties? That’s what makes a sustained run for the rest of the season seem like a stretch to me. Even IF Romo plays well, this team needs to establish a consistent high level of execution. I don’t remember many teams deep in the playoffs that were as schizophrenic as this one.
dude, it’s my fault…i’m trying to quit smoking this week.
emrdog,
good luck with that. the way the boys are playing…….
remember airplane the movie?
“looks like i picked the wrong week….”
stillhate,
penalties are frustrating, but a failed drive here or there i can handle. its those TOs!!!!!
DAMN.
still, they need to do better in penalties too.
the most promising thing about romo so far. he didnt lose cool after a very frustrating 1st 1/4.
LOL, yeah, I was trying to work it out around the cardinals week between Indy and Washington but I jumped the gun.
emrdog,
if you can pull that off this season…..
im going to bed, i was too jacked up to sleep sunday night.
What Sunday night’s win told me, is that our offense has been limited/conservative because of the limitations bestowed upon us by Drew Bledsoe’s abilities/inabilities.
Speaking of being conservative on defense - does Ware ever flip-flop to the other side of the line? From what I’ve seen, it looks like he’s always on the right side.
Ware has had some great games, but I think we’d all love to see him getting more consistent pressure/sacks (Merriman had 3 last Sunday??). Why don’t they move him around? Some of the best pass rushers in the history of the game actually lined up on the left side so they wouldn’t always be going against a team’s best tackle (Reggie White, Strahan…even Lawrence Taylor). I remember in Super Bowl 27 when Haley flopped to the left side and sacked Kelly on the 2 yard line. Kelly fumbled, Jimmie Jones caught it in mid-air and fell into the endzone. The rest is history. I distinctly remember the announcer saying, “Jim Kelly didn’t account for where Charles Haley was…” You move the linemen around and you not only get Ware up against a potentially weaker tackle, but also make your rush less predictable.
A few years back I think they tried to move Ellis to the right side in order to get the other DE more opportunities to get to the passer (don’t remember who the DE was at that time). Ellis complained that he wasn’t comfortable from that side, so they stopped the experiment. Maybe that’s why they still don’t do it. I think it would be nice to see, though.
Ware moved to the left side at least once in the preseason and had a sack. I thought it was a great move and have also wondered why they don’t move him around.
Whoa there. Dont let meaningless stats cloud a simple straight-forward thing like the TRUTH!!
I am the biggest of fans out there, but lets do the re-write of history after we win the Super Bowl please. Before we forget the last seven games and annoint this offense the best ever, can we remember
1) Bledosoe’s 3 ints in JAX
Two interceptions our O has thrown that were taken back to the HOUSE. And a safety (-16 points)
2) The OFFENSE inability to maintain a 10 pt lead in that game.
3) The O-line’s complete breakdown in two DIVISION RIVAL games.
3) Bledsoe AND Romo’s bad decisions in those games.
4) The multitude of dropped passes in the Redskin game.
5) The fact that we scored two simple TDs at the end of the Carolina game and a meaningless one in the Giants game.
6) The fact that we scored 106 points against 3 of the WORST teams in the league.
7) Our two defensive touchdowns (-14 points).
9) Our general tendency to have penalties, turnovers and dropped passes at very critical points in our losses.
We have the potential to be very good, BUT WE HAVEN’T BEEN!
If you are going to tell me ‘we’re watching history here’ please tell me when your history is over because it has sucked, for the most part, watching this AMAZING offense.
Hi Everybody!
Alright, in the spirit of bringing everybody together…
jarhead / ermdog / stillhate
Each of you, in whatever Starbucks internet cafe you may each be seated right now. get up and go punch some random, clearly Non-Cowboys fan…no, better make it two…and come back to the computer and compare stories with each other. Maybe that will calm everybody down and get everybody on the same page.
Whether you scream Romo or Huevos Bledsoes as you do it is your business.
Thank you.
OT
I agree with reldbr…
You have to take those stats with a grain of salt.
The grain of salt being the 3 first wins were against Washington, Tennessee and Houston. Hardly stellar defenses. Those games are stat padding. The stats for the 3 losses look much different.
I am encouraged by the overall red zone effeciency, but I’ll be much more encouraged by that if the stats prove true later in the year when we get the Eagles and Giants again.
redlbr,
The last line read COULD be looking at the most prolific offense in team history.
Read it as it’s written.
Citing me correctly is truth as well. Nobody has annointed anybody yet.
“Most prolific offense in team history”??!!
HA!
We can bend the stats anyway we please, but this claim’s just laughable.
Our offensive production seems like SMOKE AND MIRRORS to me. We used to be able to sense when Troy, Roger, or even Danny were gonna lead this team down and score. Now we sit in amazement when they actually do.
I’m lookn for runs of longer than 20 yards. Running lanes. I’m lookn at spreading the ball around and getting our playmakers more involved. I’m waiting for us dispense with the stupid penalties. Pass protection. Taking control of a game and not having to count on the OTHER team’s mistakes.
We need to be mindful- and respectful- of the offenses Dallas has fielded in the past. There have been some truly “prolific” ones, to be sure. But we need to see MUCH MUCH more from this squad before we start throwing out superlatives such as this.
“We could be looking at the most prolific offense in team history”?
WAYYY too soon to be even suggesting that. Sorry- ain’t buying it.
*****************
Seems everyone’s so desperate to feel gooood about our little Cowboy team. Dang, guys. We’re 4 and 3, and we’re still shell-shocked from the Giants stomping us 2 weeks ago.
Let’s win these 2 road games- CONVINCINGLY- and then stop the Colts. Then let’s talk. Fact is, we don’t know what we have in Romo and the Dallas offense. I just know it ain’t no damn prolific nothn… sheesh.
Who believes the offensive Line and Running backs werent trying to block as hard, when Bledsoe was QB?
The whole Offensive Line probably wanted Romo in there.
Raf,
I’m all for ‘could be’. ‘Could be’ is what gets me up in the morning.
I’m just worried that when we start thinking we are . . .that’s precisely when the roof caves in.
All this said, I am as optimistic about this team now with Romo as I have been since the start of the season.
OK, Candy is all gone. BR (Before Romo) no longer counts except for the win/loss record. We’re now embarked on a journey of discovery. How will Romo do, and how will The Team respond to him and their new possibilities? I think, if I can analogize large, it’ll be like Roger for Craig. When that happened the entire team did a reevaluation and came out of it with renewed determination. I think, right now, players are self evaluating and talking with each other one on one and in groups. Each man on this team has character, or they wouldn’t be here, and each knows that this is the time to put everything in. They each know that BP will stop at nothing to win (replacing DB was proof of that), and they want more than anything to make a sizable contribution to that end. They are throwing me me me to the wind. They are refocusing their attitudes and role and will be ready to go do what BP asks of them when the time comes. We will see a fired up and determined team this week in DC. I think it will carry us to the end of the season. Who knows after that.
rich- take the pole out of ur ass and relax bro. this coming sunday, sit back on ur couch, prop ur feet on the table, eat some wings, maybe get ur girl to give u some while ur at it, place some money on the game, and chillax a little. like jarhead said, the season’s just starting. for the past 2-3 years, i’ve never been more at ease for an upcoming cowboys game.
OK, So now the OL purposely threw DB under the bus. BS. You guys are killing me with that sort of, ‘analysis’? What does your ‘effort meter’ say about blocking for MBIII vs JJ. Should one of them duck for cover?
rich posted this “I’m lookn for runs of longer than 20 yards. Running lanes. I’m lookn at spreading the ball around and getting our playmakers more involved. I’m waiting for us dispense with the stupid penalties. Pass protection. Taking control of a game and not having to count on the OTHER team’s mistakes.”
yeah well join the club, ur preaching to the choir. that goes for every team in the league. if u have a solution to all that stuff u listed, be sure to let all the coaches know.
Reldbr,
You could make a list of “what if’s and maybe’s†about any of the teams in the league on any issue. But the fact is, as Raf pointed out, this is a high scoring offense. And it is on pace to perhaps set some Cowboy records. It almost been half a season it’s not like Raf is making this possible projection from 1 game.
I agree with you though in that this offense hasn’t looked pretty at times. But to me a whole bunch of those problems were related too or rested solely on the dead arms and legs of our former starting quarterback.
You said “we scored two simple TDs at the end of the Carolina gameâ€Â. Why are you so quick to dismiss those TD’s? Those TD’s were set up by the offence in the second and third quarters mate. We absolutely wore them out and by the forth they croaked. That is the sign of an excellent offense. Our offense stayed on the field an eternity that game because they were converting third downs (Thank You Tony Romo). After that shaky first quarter we bit by bit, inch by inch, started winning the battles against them, by the end they were defeated and we trampled them. They are a good team and we trampled them in the end at there home ground. Why did the defense shut them down? Because they were hardly on the field and were fresh. And Carolina’s offense could never get in rhythm because our offense was on the field so long.
Your right this offense isn’t a smooth running machine and it sometimes look’s ugly but that’s what you get with an average Oline. But despite that it’s still scoring at a very solid rate, and we’ve already seen that Tony Romo makes this a much better offense, with more time they might start running more smoothly and look out if that happens!
amen luke. amen to that.
I’m with mvppalisades on the ’stupid penalties’ issue. Although the offense overcame most of them they did stall a couple of drives. That penalty on Gurode for motion was undetectable on camera however. I think JJ should be pissed at some of his runs that have been called back this year. He’d probably be ahead of Tiki if not for that.
mvppalisades,
Hey man good to see you back. I remember your “Get White†campaign, I didn’t agree with it but damnit I admired you persistence
Anyway how great, I mean just how absolutely excellent does it feel to have a young quarterback with a tonne of talent lining up behind center. It’s the first time in years I haven’t been disappointed about our current and future QB. Tony Romo is a winner. I posted this before the Carolina game started and I’m gonna post it again;
“Rejoice Cowboy fans!
Our long and painful search for a young quarterback is about to be confirmed over.
Tony Romo is the man.â€Â
Rich,
Points are facts. It this team scores more of them than other Cowboys team, it will be indeed the most prolific in team history. That’s what profilic means.
If it doesn’t score them in a *style* you prefer, take it up with the Russian judge.
I wish we could agree on just this one issue. This: everything that actually happens during a game counts. Everything that didn’t happen doesn’t count. ‘What-ifs’ and ‘if onlys’, didn’t happen. Late scores, turnovers, garbage time plays, even if the outcome wasn’t in doubt, happened. Examples, Keyshawn’s dropped ‘certain TD’. Well it couldn’t have been too certain if he dropped it.
Raf, “…the Russian judge”. Good one.
oh man i swear i just heard three rim shots behind me. i heard one after the russian judge comment. then i heard two after cowboyman’s comment. he is EXACTLY right. read his post a million times until u understand it perfectly. i have been saying that to everyone since i was born. there is no such thing as what-if. the only thing that exists are the things that actually occured. amennnnnnnnn to that cowboyman.
CowboyMan,
That point underlies this thread. I agree with the naysayers that this offense has been frustrating to watch. The penalties, the turnover, the mental mistakes can make you pull your hair out.
That said, this wild thing moves the football. It’s been aggressive. And it scores points. That title is said as much in amazement as anything else.
Did YOU think this offense was scoring more than the ‘95 team, or a lot more than the ‘92 and ‘93 teams? I didn’t until I looked into it.
Exactly Cowboy man, and why did Keyshawn drop it? Maybe he felt the pressure of the game, which was being applied by… Dallas I guess, because they were the other team on the field? Maybe because he was out of rhythm because our offence was dominating time of possession? Our maybe just because he stuffed up! But that’s football. You have opportunities available you gotta take them, Carolina’s opportunities were limited because we took a lot of ours, then they stuffed the few ones they had. That equals 35 – 14 Dallas. No if’s, but’s, anything.
actually a reporter on the sideline overheard keyshawn telling delhomme that the ball was in the lights. but then again, if i had to donate a dollar to rafael for everytime i heard that escuse, his oxnard trips would be paid off for the life of this blog.
mvppalisades,
Good thing the camp is in San Antonio next year! Those Oxnard trips are expensive, fun as they are.
Raf, no I didn’t think they were scoring THAT much. I watch this team with the same pit in my stomach that I had during the Gailey, Campo years. Although it’s for a different reason. Previously I knew we just weren’t any good. Now I think we are good, but just haven’t ‘realized’ our full potential. So I guess I now have an ‘underachiever-pit’ in my stomach.
Luke, Agreed!
BEAT THE REDSKINS.>
Mvppalisades,
Yeah, I heard drew Bledsoe say the pass he threw to Terry Glenn against the giants was in the lights too. And in Jacksonville I think the lights were in his eyes the whole game. By the Philly game I think he was declared legally blind and wanted to wear night vision goggles.
‘But!’…
‘If’ Drew Bledsoe hadn’t thrown six picks in two games we might have had a chance to win! ‘If’ he could just get some skill, any skill we might win with him. Let’s give him another go! Romo’s untested, he wasn’t even drafted!
That was the sort of argument people were making to keep Bledsoe in the game! Because despite his six picks damnit, that team still had a chance to win! Hahaha, oh well that’s what I’m gonna miss abut Drew not starting, the sheer insanity of Drew supporters.
I think I’ll sit back and rewatch the Carolina game tonight. Candy seekers are gone home and my wife and granddaughter are asleep. Time to relax and re-enjoy. Good night.
All right boys. I’m sure your fantasy games are sailing along with all this great offense. And I hope it continues, I obviously do.
But it DOES matter when and HOW you score points. You see, it better to beat two teams 7-0 for a grand total of 14 points, than it is to beat one team 45-0 and lose to the next 0-2.
Now that that little football arithmatic lesson has been given, please tell me which 4 (of 9 remaining) teams remaining on our schedule will we AVERAGE 36 points against? That is what we scored against the murderers row of HOU, TENN, and WASH.
A team that scores at the end of blowout losses or wins is not necessarily prolific. It is statistically opportunistic. I dont know what you guys are smoking but stop. Its a long season. Less than half finished. We just scored 25 points in 1 quarter, with 14 of them direct results of short fields after turnovers. Our offense had been DOMINATED twice.
How many of our SB offenses were dominated that many times in a FULL season. Good luck with your fantasy teams. I’ll be happy watching the team here in reality.
not to stray away, but i have a quick question- sportcenter keep mentioning the term “hot sauce” when they talk about reggie bush’s injury. does that mean the defender intentionally tried to hurt him?
i’m confused- why did reldbr start talking about fantasy football? he pulled that out of his ass.
And Raf, excuse me but this offense hasn’t just been ‘frustrating to watch’
Its been downright BAD. Against the Eagles, Giants AND for 3 quarters against the Jaguars.
Please don’t mistake your optimism for reality. You’re too good for that.
“please tell me which 4 (of 9 remaining) teams remaining on our schedule will we AVERAGE 36 points against?”
washington, arizona, tampa bay and detroit.
MVpal
I have no ‘fantasy’ in my ass. I’ll leave that to you.
Tampa and Washington. Ok, now I know you are on crack.
This whole season for the NFL has been strange. I would not call it a league of parity but one of mediocrity. I think that is what the salary caps gives or does to teams. You cannot afford to have as many quality backups. Other then the Bears, Colts and Pats no other team is running away and hiding from the rest of their division.
Jacksonville looked like world beaters after their first two games against Dallas and Pitt. Washington was given up for dead after the Cowboys game then Portis came back and they were a good team again..now people are wondering if Gibbs will return. The Bengal’s were the class of the AFC for a couple of weeks. Seattle was that in the NFC till injuries to key players brought them back earth in a hurry. Vick for a while there was still a QB that could not pass, now suddenly he is a media darling again. Philly was better without TO and Mcnabb was the golden boy for a while as well.
Will Romo be the answer long term? I don’t know. I hope so. It was very clear that with this line Drew was not going to be the answer not this year and not in the long term. Romo is going to make bad throws, everyone does. Romo is going to make mistakes. I hope he can limit them. He seems to have a quick release, and a strong arm. He does not seem to throw the long ball very well. I like those quick hitch’s to TO when the defender is playing off. Giving TO the chance to run around and by the defender. I like that he got Witten involved. DB did not, not this year and not last. If you look at the TE his last year in Buffalo they did not make many catches there either.
I think the red zone success has to do with TO. How many of his TD’s have been made inside the 20? Four I think. I am still waiting for the 15 yard catch that he turns into a 60 yard TD. He is big and strong and knows how to use his body to get position on the defender. He also WANTS the ball.
I hope this last game can be a spring board, one that give this team a bit of swagger. The posters who said Carolina is not a great team are right, but they are a good team. One that many picked to go to the Super Bowl. It is the first good team they have beat this year, on national TV in their own back yard. I feel better after this win then I do any of the other three.
When was the last time a team in the NFL has won three straight road games?
Brad
Reldbr,
Huh?
Reality? You mean like when the Redskins, Bills, Falcons and Dolphins all held Dallas to under 17 points in losses in the Superbowl year of 93? Or when Philly beat us 31 – 7 in the Superbowl year of 92? Or when San Fran, Cleveland and the Giants all held us under 15 points in losses in 94? No that offense was never close to being slowed right?
Don’t worry, this offense will score plenty now we have a real QB.
tampa and washington have 4 wins altogether. cowboys already have 4 wins. tampa and washington have scored 26 touchdowns altogether. cowboys have 25 alone. tampa bay scored 88 points so far this season. we already scored more than half of that in one game alone.
SIRIUS- u said..
“I am still waiting for the 15 yard catch that he turns into a 60 yard TD”
u know what the most funniest part of the panthers game? i can’t get over the fact that romo kept passing to TO at the line of scrimmage and TO would get first downs from there. it looks too easy!!
And who said the prolific teams of Cowboys past didn’t tack on points at the end of losses/wins? Every team does it, every year.
As long as we’re not being cheap and running the score up then I’ll count the points. We needed the second to last TD on Sunday to pad the lead, cause every now and then some teams have pulled off some crazy comebacks in the NFL (Giants-Eagles game earlier in the year) Our last TD came on an awesome run by Barber, and I can’t blame him for trying.
At any rate, the offense needs to keep up the same consistency it had at times, but without the penalties. I’ll even let the one turnover a game slide as long as the penalties decrease drastically.
Ok we have been dominated 2.75 times in 7 games. That translates to 6 times dominated in 16 games. None of our SB teams had that happen. None.
You guys are walking well out there on the limb. I think you are looking at this completely wrong, but I hope you are right. I would just be prepared when Atl, NY, Phil, Indy, TB, NO, Wash dont want to play along.
Points aren’t everything, friends. Wins are.
reldbr post 70
Every single great team in the history of the NFL (minus one Dolphins team) has allowed atleast one team to make them look bad in a season. That’s what happens in losses, you look bad. And if you look bad, then that means you made more mistakes than the other team. Ask Parcells if there’s a such thing as a “good loss”. He’ll laugh at you.
So bringing up the fact that our offense has been frustrating to watch in our losses….well….duh.
Can people please allow the fans that want to be optimistic after a win like we had on Sunday, to be optimistic? We’re being cautiously optimistic don’t worry. We won’t be crying or be looking for the nearest bridge to jump off of. All we wanted to do was log onto the internet, read a thread that Raf took the time to do the research for, and say to ourselves “Huh, that’s pretty cool.”
Oops, above should read
“We won’t be crying or be looking for the nearest bridge to jump off of should we lose any one of the next couple games”
Slide
? what are you saying? Defenses lose games too, my friend. An offense can look very good in a loss. It does not necessarily follow that your Offense will be frustrating in a loss. Ever heard of a SHOOTOUT?
I will agree absolutely that OUR offense is PARTICULARLY frustrating in the 3 losses we have.
We have a streeky O that turns the ball over. This will kill us if we dont fix it. The focus on our points year to date is stupid. I will trade 5 of our turnovers for 25 points anyday. Lets say the last 25 we scored on Tennessee.
‘We are what we are.’ 4 and 3. Our offense has not been consistently good. To project our offense as the ‘Boys best ever at this point is really really dumb, and setting yourself up to be let down.
Reldbr,
“Ok we have been dominated 2.75 times in 7 games. That translates to 6 times dominated in 16 games.â€Â
That simple huh? Why should we even bother playing the rest of the games then. Hell why should any team play more than one game! Whatever you did in that one game multiply it by 16 and that’s what you are. LOL
And you think were ‘walking well out there on the limb’ hahaha.
reldbr-
are u even aware we benched bledsoe and put romo in charge? u do know that right? i’m just double checking. yeah u damn right we are what we are. so in that case, the way i see it, our record is 1-0.
(slide- i’m done with reldbr comments. don’t add fire. let’s just pretend he’s not posting)
RELDBR, that is some really ridiculous reasoning.
You’re right up there with the guy who started to argue a few months ago that some runners’ avg. yd per carry was inflated because he had a long run, so it didn’t count, yada yada yada.
You CAN’T go down that road, unless you want to throw EVERY STATISTIC in the NFL out!
By their very nature they are AVERAGES-think about it. Are you going to go down a list and line item every score for every team in the league? “This one counts, this one doesn’t.”
Because you score 25 in one quarter, you only get credit for, what, 14? Is there a limit?
EVERYONE-Am I the only (normal red blooded) guy in America who thinks Jess. Simpson is a D-O-G! I mean, she’s just ugly to me.
Face like a horse.
And, of course, bad skin.
“EVERYONE-Am I the only (normal red blooded) guy in America who thinks Jess. Simpson is a D-O-G! I mean, she’s just ugly to me. Face like a horse.”
don’t be a hater. u just in denial cause u can’t have her. speaking of girls, did u hear on tv that romo’s girlfriend ditched him the weekend of the giant’s game? all of sudden he’s the hotshot starting qb of the dallas cowboys. maybe jessica simpson wants him.
palisades
Agreed, obviously there’s a reason why 4 people are in disagreement with almost everything he says. Obviously.
One of those guys you can’t really debate anything with cause he always right. Wonder if he’ll be curing cancer or AIDS during his climb up Everest tomorrow.
i did hear that.
And why couldn’t I have Chicken of the Sea girl?
Ooops, did I fan the flames?
I’d like to point out that a single play can change an entire game. That single play can be the difference betwen a win or loss. It is true whether it is a sack or interception or quick TD pass. A simple bad block can be the difference between that sack and TD pass. It will be very important for this team to remember this and play each play at its greatest level. In the 3 loss’s the Cowboys simply made a few many mistakes.
I wanted DB to start the season but I’ve been calling for Romo since JAX. (for the record, I never called for Pueller, Walsh, or any other back up til this year)
Somewhere, I read a member of the media wondering if the Cowboys would have a better record if Romo started since day 1. He goes on to say that he thinks the Cowboys would be at least one game if not two games better. I wonder. I have to think they would have at least won the JAX game and possibly the Philly game as well. Who knows what would have happened with NYG.
This is a tough road to climb for the Cowboys and Romo but I feel good about it.
We need to improve the blocking especially the TE’s. I think Flo needs to play better and with more consistency. He has been the worst in my opinion. The defense has to continue stopping the big play and I expect Kdavis ad M.Coleman to do so. I am happy about Ellis but I expect a lot more from D. Ware, C.Canty, and M.Spears.
I hope we get Hatcher back soon. TT is a big loss IMO. Is Peter Warrick still available? A. Caseon? I dont want A Glenn returning KO
Even though I think we beat Washington full strengh, I hope S. Moss and C. Portis miss the game
From an article:
“…Romo has told me in the past that he wants to be a Parcells guy… “Bill doesn’t care about his legacy much, but I do. Whenever he is done coaching in this league, I want to see him go out a winner. I want him going out on a high note. It is very important to me. Now he won’t care if you ask him, but from my perspective I care. I want him to succeed and be a part of it,” said Romo.”
You gotta love this guy!
Good morning all,
Luke, there is a quote in that article that is more incouraging. Romo speaks of just needing to get the ball to his playmakers so they can make him look good.
that would indicate to me that he understands that de doesnt need to do it all himself (at least Im hopeful that he understands that).
skins front:
No practice yesterday.
They hired a guy named ray brown, a former player turned local sportwriter, as an “offensive consulant.” They sure seem to have alot of those already. His focus will likely be on the Oline since he is an old lineman.
On monday, campbell and collins split the snaps since brunell was held out of practice(strained muscle in the rib area).
i think there is a difference of opinion among the offensive staff. If its up to al saunders, i think he would start collins over campbell. in any event it looks like brunell will be back to practice today.
The network will show some Week 8 fourth 1/4s including dallas at carolina at 5:30 and 10:30 eastern tonight.
enjoy.
Good morning Jarhead,
I know what your saying and I mostly agree but you make it sound like just anybody can do it if they ‘understand it’. Like if Romo just realises he doesn’t have to make any plays himself and gets the ball into his playmakers hands we will win. But a QB who gets the ball into his playmakers hands is doing exactly want you want him to do, that is a playmaking QB!
I don’t care how good your playmakers are, if your QB is not making plays you’re done. We had those same playmakers in there with Bledsoe and it didn’t work. Does having great playmakers like we do help a QB, yeah. But those playmakers need the QB to make plays or the offense will stink it up (example Bledsoe). To win consistently you need your QB making plays because a playmaker QB gets everyone else involved in the offense. Having a playmaker WR or TE doesn’t mean much if you’re QB is back there playing ‘tuck and duck’ with shadows. Romo made a tonne of plays against the Panthers and we wouldn’t have won without them. We need Romo to keep making those plays if were going to keep winning. I don’t want any more of this “Bus Driver†horse poo. Romo threw 36 passes against the Panthers, 36, not some Ben Reoslithberger 16 of 23. He completed 24 for 270 yards and scrambled for some more yards and first downs on his own as well. Romo is a playmaker and we need him to continue to be one if were gonna win.
Anyway it’s gonna be fun smaking the Skins around!
Dexter Wynn is a punt returner just released by eagles.
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/team/teamRosterDetails.jsp?id=10885
he was third string cornerback — had three tackles in six games this season. He also acted as the team’s punt returned, but didn’t have much success
Slide,
It seems to me Reldbr is more than happy to debate you. Don’t confuse your inability to convince him with unwillingness to debate.
Regarding the deadskins and their QB situation. I heard on a radio talk show a couple weeks back one of the talking heads say Campbell is struggling with the playbook. If the head is correct, it doesn’t sound like Campbell is even close to being ready.
I heard Campbell struggled with “Where’s Wallyâ€Â.
I hope Campbell starts, Henry will get a pick and Newman will get 4 or 5 bum deflections if he does
Glad to hear the Deadskins hired Ray Brown as a consultant. He is a great guy, from the next town over from here, Marion , Ar. I have met Ray many times, and have sold him furniture a few times for his mothers house here in West Memphis. He just retired last year at the age of 42. He was an all pro at least once, with the 49ers i think. I hate he is a redskin, but a great guy nonetheless
What do Redskins fans think of Romo (latest results from fan poll on official site)
“What is your level of concern with the Redskins’ unfamiliarity with Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo?”
Top answer He’s young…Blitz and he’ll struggle
36.1%
I would actually like to see the Redskins bring a lot of pressure. First, I think he can handle it but I also would like to find out for sure.
Luke,
ill take solid passes (smart passes) to playmakers any day as evidence of “playmaking.”
i was thinking of QB playmaking more as the occassional scramble for a first down, or sidestepping an effective rush to complete a pass downfield. i want him to do that too, he just needs to understand that he doesnt have to do that on every series. i think he does understand that, we’ll see.
I’m not buying the “but we scored all those points against bad defenses” defense.
Those “bad” defenses did this so far this year:
Tennessee held Indy to 14 at Indy
Tennessee won AT Washington 25-22
Houston beat Jax 27-7
Wash held Minn to 19 in Minn
And those three teams have only played 7 games each IIRC, they could have numerous more games like those. Don’t be so quick to dismiss those defenses and what the Cowboys offense did against them.
Statistically speaking the Carolina panthers were an average team on defence, but the falcons put up over 300 yards rushing on them this year in one game with that freaky option play. Carolina did not see it coming. Even with that (This is for relbar) Indy, Tampa, Arizona, Detroit, Washington, all have much worse defences than Carolina. Philly and Atlanta have statistically the same defence. Philly will be on its third road game and should be very tired and banged up after all division road games coming to Dallas.
That is 7 teams we can score on
Indy, Tampa, Arizona, Detroit, Washington, Philly, and Atlanta,
New York and New Orleans are ranked 13/14 respectfully not even in the top 1/3rd and New Orleans is starting to show signs of falling off.
So the New York Giants are the best defence we will face the rest of the year.
so to answer relbars question: all of them why not? We should be able to put points on every team we face the rest of the year.
That being said statistically the Redskins are getting more yards per play than us but cant convert on 3rd down. They also lead the league in yards in penalties. They could get very good very quick because there problems statistically are fixable.
reldbr,
“don’t mistake your optimism for reality. You’re too good for that.”
So you think smiling and patting me on the head while you patronize me makes you less of a dick? No, it makes you a bigger one.
You’re got a problem with reading comprehension. I’ve pointed out that this could be the most prolific offense in team history. This offense, in fact has a chance.
Prolific means the highest scoring. Period. It’s easily determined by looking at points scored. Nobody has claimed that this is the “best” Cowboys offense ever. You’ve been putting that line in everybody’s mouths in order to refute them.
Then you claim that defenses can lose games. Duh. Who said otherwise? When you’ve got to move the goalposts, invest false arguments and repeatedly change the terms of the debate in order make your points you don’t have much to go on.
And calling this a bad offense is ridiculous. Bad offenses don’t average over 29 points a game. As for your claim that it could score 45 points one week and score none the next, well, look at the seven games played. Nobody has held this offense under 17 points. Jacksonville did that and Dallas took a TD off the board with a stupid offensive interference call.
It put up 17 points on Philly and turned the ball over inside the ten. It put 22 on the Giants and turned the ball over twice inside the ten.
NOBODY has stopped this offense from moving the ball and scoring points except itself. The Giants stopped the Dallas’ running game but that’s as close as anybody has gotten to “domination.”
But hey, don’t take my word for it. I’ll let the coach address it. Here’s what Parcells said after the Eagles’ loss. “We’ve got to protect the football better. We’re doing everything else. We’re what, fifth in scoring? We’re running the football. Time of possession is good…”
Tell him this is a bad offense.
I don’t know how the controversy of the week is the offense. Tell me, why is that? should we not be concerned with the defense a little more? I mean Keyshawn nearly put us away…his hands just weren’t up to the task.
Rafeal called Relbar a dick, so from now on ill replay to relbar as dick tracy ” nothing but the facts “Dick”
You want patronizing, here you go . .
Its your blog so I guess that makes you right. (Sorry if the strength of my argument is causing you to resort to name calling. I’ll refrain.)
But tell me, oh wise one, what games has our offense won? This great vaunted offense of ours was down 13-14 in the fourth quarter last week before a fumble on Carolina’s own 11. Carolina duid not score again and I’m pretty sure Vanderjagt would have made the FG had Jones not scored, so do you give the Offense that one?
HMMM. . well, in the Giants game we gave them 9 direct point when the Offense was on the field and we lost by 14. So I guess the Offense really won that game, and something else happened (maybe the Russian judges screwed up and should have awarded us the win.)
Philly? Yeah, you’re right. But for those 20 or so minor mistakes, we were really kiciking.
Grow up buddy, just cause you can be right on other thread leads doesn’t mean you’re right on this one…
Now go ahead, ban me.
I’m sure it’s been covered somewhere else but does anyone know Wash injury situation for this week?
Nothing against you Norm and mostly directed at the childish rants of last night, but it gets under my craw when people start spouting statistics.
There is only one statistic in the NFL that matters…W/L
Yes, it’s neat to have the only team with a top 5 Offense and Defense. But what does it matter?
I’ve heard BP continually reference two measures of a team:
1. W/L - “You are what you’re record says you are”
2. Turnovers - Something like teams with minus net turnovers lose a shitload more than they win. (Paraphrasing)
Rafael’s point is neat. However, reldbr (btw, wtf does that stand for) in his diatribe actually made some sense…it just doesn’t “seem” like a great offense.
I for one am very happy with the talent on Offense. I’ve continually stated that by midseason, the O-line will start to gel because they have never played together as a unit and Flo needed more time after surgery. That, and they need a mobile QB.
If…and it’s a HUGE if…Romo can simply protect the football, then this team could be the best ever, statistically.
Compare the skill positions. Except for Aikman, this team may be better than the ’90’s. O-line is the difference and this team doesn’t belong in the same breath.
Stupid statistics…
I’m pretty sure you don’t get banned for arguing….but using bad words I think can put you in the penalty box.
I listened to the cowboy talk thing on the cowboys site and they mentioned that local media in washington was covering a lot of the injury situation…but can’t remember anything they said…sorry.
Little known fact about tony romo (the real one):
Tony’s paternal grandparents are from Mexico. Tony and his father, Ramiro Romo, embrace their Hispanic heritage.
jarhead,
I missed the inside joke. What’s up with this (the real one) business? Just curious.
Raf,
What happened to my post? Did I offend?
It was a great little diatribe on statistics.
Good morning guys, looks like I missed quite a bit of goings on.
My thoughts: Points are points, you count them. This tells us what kind of potential we have if we can minimize our mistakes. It is also an arguement against the ‘conservative’ play calling cries. It says we are the ones that are stopping us, not really other teams for the most part.
It will be interesting to see how much, if any, this changes over the Romo era. I do think a top notch defense (ours, not theirs) could limit our offensive numbers as well.
For those who have been knocking those of us who stood up for Bledsoe, there is an article by Spags on the home page that sums up my part pretty well.
We were wrong, who could have known, but our arguements were at least warranted at the time. Raf’s revelation of DB’s ignoring the play and the Gnats game told us it was time.
stillhate,
Missed practice monday:
Brunell-strained rib muscle
portis-left ankle sprain (was in a boot last week)
randel el-sore right heel
moss-strained left hamstring
marshall(MLB)-sprained left ankle
I think some, brunell for ex, are expected to practice today. portis didnt sound like he would practice.
Inj reports due today too, but gibbs is notorious for “fibbing” on them.
stillhate-
The redskins