Cowboys Defense by the Numbers: Anthony Henry’s Excellent Adventure
Posted: September 23, 2008 @ 12:45 pm
Anthony Henry heard for much of the preseason that the Cowboys were considering moving him to safety. He showed some misgivings about the switch, seeing it as a demotion from his regular right corner spot.
Sunday night, Henry got his first extensive work as a regular safety, the move prompted by Roy Williams’ broken arm. The Cowboys used two base formations against the Packers’ spread offense. They went big and bold, using a standard 3-4 look with three CBs and one safety.
They also used a lot of their 4-2-5 nickel set, but with a twist. Henry moved from the edge to linebacker, where he and Kevin Burnett patrolled the short middle.
Henry was so productive he may stay there a while. He was sent on a host of blitzes and finished with two sacks. He also defensed a pass when he dropped into a passing lane and tipped a pass incomplete.
The Packers did have a little success running at this set when the Cowboys deployed it on first down. The Cowboys are a bit light up front when they have six in the box and the two LBs go 228 lbs. (Burnett) and 207 (Henry). Dallas was careful not to use it again on run downs and thus kept guards out of Henry’s grille.
Greg Ellis complained long and loudly when he was moved to OLB. You rarely hear him any more, because he’s having too much fun. He now gets matched up against fullbacks, tight ends and running backs, instead of 330 lb. tackles. His sack totals have skyrocketed as a result.
Williams is going to be out a few more weeks, so I imagine we’ll see more Anthony Henry as the dime linebacker. If he continues to play as he did against Green Bay he might be the one campaigning for a permanent switch.
| player | att. | comp. | yds. | YPA | Def. |
| Anthony Henry | 4 | 2 | 35 | 8.8 | 1 |
| Adam Jones | 10 | 5 | 41 | 4.1 | 1 |
| Terence Newman | 6 | 4 | 39 | 6.5 | 0 |
| Mike Jenkins | 5 | 4 | 55 | 11.0 | 0 |
The Packers are the first team to attack Adam Jones and the results are promising. He’ll start getting some picks if he continues to receive the attention.
Mike Jenkins looks like a rookie. It’s very common for a new corner guy to give up big yards and then settle down halfway through a season. He had the thankless task of covering Greg Jennings one-on-one most of the night and Jenning beat him on a slant and pivot-outside for 20 yards, which greatly inflated Jenkins’ YPA. Jennings also did the same thing to Henry, spinning outside of him for 25 yards on the Packers first play from scrimmage.
Dallas’ Rush vs. Green Bay
- 3 men - 2 plays;
- 4 men — 28 plays;
- 5 men — 11 plays;
- 6 men — 3 plays
Notes:
– Ain’t Too Proud to Crib
The Eagles run a very effective overload blitz, where they flank two outside linebackers together outside their four man line, rush both linebackers off the edge and drop the weakside DE into coverage.
The Cowboys used variants of this overload from their 4-2-5 and their 3-4 base sets Sunday night. The first time Bradie James got a free run at Rodgers and forced a hot throw for a five yard gain. The second time the Cowboys got two men free and forced an incompletion.
– Don’t go Too Tall Jones on us, Jay, okay?
Jay Ratliff has a nasty punchout. At least once a day during training camp, the 290 lb. Ratliff would bow the 355 lb. Leonard Davis backwards with a two handed stunner to the chest. Ratliff used this devastating move on Packers RG Tony Moll in the 3rd. The Packer thought he was set, but Ratliff’s punchout knocked him back a solid three yards. While Moll was trying to re-establish his set, Ratliff used a swim move to get past him and sack Aaron Rodgers.
– Everybody is getting in on the fun:
Bobby Carpenter got some reps when the Cowboys played a 3-2-6 dime package in the middle quarters.
– Chaos unveiled
The Cowboys used their chaos package in the 2nd quarter when the Packers were deep in Dallas territory. Dallas lined up with two down linemen, Chris Canty and Jason Hatcher. The team stood up four more potential rushers — Jay Ratliff, Kevin Burnett, Greg Ellis and Demarcus Ware — and let them roam along the line. Just before the snap, Ratliff jumped into a three point stance on the nose. Ware roamed out to the right end spot and Ellis and Burnett lined up directly behind Ratliff. At the snap, the two inside LBs criss crossed and broke the middle of the Packers’ pocket.
The play produced the desired chaos and an incompletion.
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I really think the D is coming around and starting to gell. Barring injuries, it looks like things can only get better. Good coaching; good in-game adjustments; depth at key positions, and that’s just on the defensive side of the ball!
The offense, forget about it. No one is stopping it so far.
Can’t wait for Sunday for the redskins and then latter the giants. The latter is the one team that concerns me a bit as I think they are quite good and match-up with us better than most - deep at running back; manning is improving, consistently good D.
Rafael,
Thanks for the breakdown - the defense seemed much less predictable than the one they used against Philly. I like the innovations and it seems that they are fine without Roy. They even managed OK when Watkins went out and they had to use Brown.
I am thoroughly impressed with the depth in the secondary. You really don’t want to truly rely on the Jenkins’, Sandricks, Watkins and Browns, but when they are in there, they look to be holding their own. That Scandrick is going to be a star someday. Also, Keith Davis’ presence on coverage teams is the best $1MM Jerry will spend this year.
By the way, this is my first comment posted in over 2 months. Moved my family from Silicon Valley back to the Dallas area so I dropped off the face of the earth. Great to be back on the board!
From last thread, Jarhead hit the nail on the head. This defense has been OUTSTANDING, save for one quarter vs. Philthy (which BTW was mostly the fault of Romo).
Secondly, I have the distinct suspicion that superstar DC Phillips and his protoge Stew are saving a lot of looks for the postseason.
Lastly, this group should do nothing but grow as a unit, being in just their second year in the Phillips 3-4.
Tex and Mediots alike must really be sick at the early success.
Just remember, the 16-0 prediction is simply looking at the facts. This team might be the best the ‘Boys have ever produced and will be for the next decade if we simply draft adequately.
We might have seen the last of Roy Williams. I think they may trade him to a safety depleted team in the near future. It’s time to move on, and to stop making Roy out to be a superstar, when he surley is not.
Should have added a caveat to post 6. That is, not that Henry has film, we’ll see how the Redskins adjust to our new found blitz success from the SS position. Roy is okay stopping the run, but Ronnie Lott he ain’t.
Pecos,
I beg to differ, I do indeed want to count on the Jenkins’, Sandricks, Watkins and Browns. These guys all have great upside and if we could get them playing time, they will or could be better than the starters. BTW, they are all sub 4.5 guys.
These guys will become an integral part of the best secondary ever to play on one team. The Roy Willies of the world need to make room, these guys will be awesome, mark these words.
Another thing I like about this team, which others have certainly referred to, is the sense that we haven’t seen everything there is to see. The coaches are just waiting for the right time to roll out some things.
Heck, we haven’t even seen a screen pass to Felix yet!
On a separate topic, I am glad Sam Hurd is coming back. He’s a good steady player and will help on ST’s
What do you think we could get for Roy? A second round pick?
rha, I agree that their potential is tremendous, and they have done little to hurt us. When I say “rely on”, I guess I just mean I hope our T-New, Antney Henry and Hamlin stay on the field as much possible. I’m very proud of these newbies.
Guess we gotta give a whole lot of credit to Dave Campo and Brian Stewart. Looks to me like the defensive schemes and calls are as flexible and “adjusting” as I’ve seen in 6+ years.
sfcowboyfan, “…seen a screen pass to Felix yet!” Wade said that one fo the Intentional Grounding calls on Romo happened because Fexil fell down on a screen play. They tried, at least.
sfcowboyfan, “…Roy? A second round pick?” Fourth, IMHO buy hope you’re more on target.
I hope the Redskins are healthy. The only time they really scare me is when most of their starters are out. For some reason we nearly always get our rear ends kicked when their second stringers are playing us.
sfcowboyfan, are you from San Francisco?
Look for more of the same “soft” coverage on the skins.
I know it frustrates many, but its working and if it aint broke, dont fix it, especially with a passing threat like DC rolling into town.
Last year in Tx stadium, the boys took portis out of the game (30+ yards only) and campbell threw over 50 passes.
If we force him to throw 50 passes this time, we’ll win.
Reading over some past posts, everyone sounds scared of S.Moss. Lets just say we should respect him. Im not sure we should “fear” him.
Yes he burned us late on a MNF game in 04. That was a long time ago and a much different team.
He’ll make some plays, lets just limit them.
I dont think their passing attack rivals the packers.
Early points spread is 10, which sounds like alot for a NFCE rivalry game. It probably is, but the oddsmakers aren’t stupid (they’d be broke if they were).
Wouldn’t be shocked to see the boys cover. If we limit our mistakes, skins just cant hang with us.
If they win, it wont be b/c of anything dazzling they did, it will be b/c we screwed something up.
jarhead, “…everyone (That includes me) sounds scared of S.Moss. Lets just say we should respect him. Im not sure we should “fear” him. Yes he burned us late on a MNF game in 04.” 04? Wow, time to get over it. Thanks, I’m calm now.
one observation I have is that we haven’t seen this defense play from behind really yet … something I think about from time to time is when things like soft coverage schemes, etc. are working, they’re working for us when we’re playing a ‘contain’ strategy, ensuring that, at the least, we’re keeping teams to FG’s instead of TD’s, giving our offense plenty of space to win the game.
I wonder what schemes exist and how well we function when we *need* a 3 and out, or can’t afford to give up 20 yards because it would allow an opponent into FG range.
I guess my point is, there are plenty of situations that are difficult to understand until you’re presented with them and you see your units / individuals respond. It would be nice to get to some of those early in the season, particularly defensively and learn a bit about how the team is going to react.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Raf had numbers that indicate how effective the defense was in situations like this last year … from memory, I don’t know that we were particularly effective …
You should be, this is a really good football team, with a really good defense.
Keep that in mind when the other team’s offense completes a pass for more than 10 yards or moves past the 50 yard line.
They cant do it for 4 quarters.
Want something to worry about?
Anthony Henry hasn’t completed a season healthy with the cowboys.
At least we have some depth this year, so no, Roy Willy isnt going anywhere, at least not this year.
berkokid,
if teams are ahead, they’re thinking possession vice scoring.
they want to kill the clock. As such they’ll likely run and go short dumpoff passes.
we can stop the run and we can pressure.
This puts the pressure on the other offense to maintain possession.
Maybe I sound like a broken record, but I have alot of faith in this defense.
the only time i think it really failed us last year was the last 40 seconds or so in the first half of the playoff game against the gints.
that “issue” has been addressed IMO, just ask the Texans (he is their issue now).
jarhead -
agree, teams are thinking possession vs. scoring … that said, you still have to prevent the first downs, take away the center of the field, etc. The Cowboys, for example, ended the game against the Packers by surprising them with the monster miles austin TD pass … I don’t think that was the anticipated play 3rd and long.
The Cowboys have great talent on the defense and fortunately some flexibility in packaging this talent together. I think there’s a component of ‘you don’t know what you don’t know’ involved and while I’d tend to bet on the Cowboys, I’d feel a lot more comfortable placing the bet if they found themselves in game situations that created the real-life challenge.
Example: you think the Patriots had any idea what to do against the Dolphins once they figured out the direct snap strategy. Second example, have you ever seen a steelers offensive line looked SO completely lost ? I would absolutely bet on both these teams to react to those respective situations … except that they failed miserably
I bet the Steelers never get caught up that badly in a Jimme Johnson chaos scheme again … and I bet the Patriots are now reminded how it feels to be playing from behind and be unable to stop your opponent from moving the ball …
just my thoughts.
berkokid,
I think you get an idea how the defense will do when they need a 3 and out by how they play in the red zone. How many times did Philthy and GB get in the red zone and have to settle for a FG? The defense tightened up and made it look easy.
Rewatched the Miami game. As someone who considered vodoo against NE last year, it was awsome to behold.
The Patroits did not need to be experienced with playing from behind, something they will get this year. They needed to be experienced facing the single wing, whuch has not been used extensibly in the NFL since the 1950s. It’s a copy cat league, teams like Minnesota, SD or Atlanta could do as well as Miami.
Trey -
interesting observation … i was simply highlighting the fact that expected high performers can be surprised … I wasn’t really focused on *what* surprised ‘em, but good point.
Jarhead, ok, we can agree to have different perspectives on this one
Redzone defense doesn’t require you to defend depth … so I think it’s a bit different.
Regardless, I think where we do agree is that the defense has plenty of potential to be a top 10 unit and with the offense at top 3, this puts us in great shape.
oops, jarhead, i didn’t even realize that ‘StillHateTheGiants’ chimed in, i thought that was a second response from you … my bad.
Off topic but I spent a lot of time looking it up.
The NFC East in order of rank based on adding defensive rank to offensive rank
Team Offensive Rank Defensive Rank
New York Giants 3 6
Dallas Cowboys 1 9
Philadelphia Eagles 6 4
Washington Redskins 14 13
Sorry thats not what I meant to post.
stats after three weeks
Note the level of competition.
Giants have played the
Offensive Rank Defensive Rank
Washington Redskins 14 13
St Louis Rams 31 32
Cincinatti Bengals 30 24
The Cowboys have played
Cleveland Browns 32 23
Philadelphia Eagles 6 4
Green Bay Packers 8 27
The Eagles have played
St louis Rams 31 32
Dallas Cowboys 1 9
Pittsburg Steelers 29 2
The Washington Redskins have played
New York Giants 3 6
New Orleans Saints 4 28
Arizona Cardinals 10 8
The Redskins have faced three top ten offenses and two top ten defenses. They have had the toughest schedule so far. The Giants should be ashamed. They played two of the worst teams in the NFL and have found themselves in close games going into the fourth quarter with both of them. The Eagles and Cowboys have played honorable opponents.
Also note the Steelers and Browns played each other in 40 MPH wind so the stats for them will be off.
The NFC East in order of rank based on adding defensive rank to offensive rank
Team Offensive Rank Defensive Rank
New York Giants 3 6
Dallas Cowboys 1 9
Philadelphia Eagles 6 4
Washington Redskins 14 13
The top three teams are virtually the same, and the Redskins are victims of a tougher schedule.
Ranking the QB’s
Quarter back Yards YPA Rating
Tony Romo 892 9.7 103.2
Donovan McNabb 838 8.0 102.8
Eli Manning 765 7.1 91.1
Jason Campbell 647 7.0 100.1
I grudgingly put Campbell behind Manning. He has faced three top ten defenses and Manning has faced much of nothing. Even the Redskins were lost for a half against the Giants. For now this is how I rank it but I think by the end of the year Campbell will have eclipsed Manning.
Ranking the Running back Tandums
Running backs Yards Average Touch Downs
Brandon Jacobs 244 4.9 1
Derrick Ward 177 6.9 1
Marion Barber 285 4.6 4
Felix Jones 144 8.2 2
Clinton Portis 248 3.8 3
Laddell Betts 48 3.7 0
Brian Westbrook 161 3.8 3
C Buckhalter 48 4.0 0
I know Philly fans will argue Westbrook is a recieveing back and that point is true. This stat is about running and plus Barber has double the recieving yards that Westbrook has. Plus those easy passes pad McNabbs stats.
I put Jacobs and Ward on top, they have the most yards and their team relies on them the most. Eli scares no one, its the running game in New York that makes things work. Although Dallas showed it can run the ball Sunday night.
Rate the offensive lines
Sacks Yards Per Run
Dallas Cowboys 3 5.0
New york Giants 4 5.4
Washington Redskins 5 4.3
Philadelphia Eagles 7 3.2
Dallas has played Philly and Geen Bay, two teams that rate in the top ten (1st and 7th)in sacks , New York has played teams all in the lower third in sacks, two of them in the bottom 5. Washington has played 3 top ten defenses including the Giants who share the #1 spot with philadelphia with 13 sacks. Philly’s numbers are skewed by playing the Steelers and Cowboys, two good 3-4 teams that can bring the wood.
Most effeciant team
Dallas converts 60% of its third downs
Philly converts 48% of its third downs
New York converts 46% of its third downs
Washington converts 31% of its third downs
Probably the single most important stat, third down cnversions play big roles in a teams success. Dallas runs away from the pack. New York considering who they have played is not very impressive. Washington is not rising to the challange of playing good competition.
Defensive rankings
Yards a Game Sacks
Philadelphia 242 13
New York 252 13
Dallas 292 10
Washington 306 6
I think Philly is a lot better than New York, I also think Dallas is even with New York and is improving every play. Washington has played three high powered offenses and not been emberrassed.
Dallas 10 sacks are impressive because they have played three top ten offensive lines. Philly did not get a sack against Dallas but destroyed the rams and steelers two teams really strugling to protect their QB’s. The Redskins are not generating a pass rush. The bad news for them is Dallas, New york, and Philly all have good offensive lines.
Ranking Special teams
Kick return average Punt Return Average
Dallas Cowboys 29.1 4.0
Washington Redskins 25.0 4.5
New York Giants 22.4 11.2
Philladlephia Eagles 20.8 9.2
It’s really hard to rank these teams as they all have strengths and weaknesses. So I ranked them by kick return average. I couldn’t find kick coverage stats so if someone could help with that I would appreciate it
Cowboy man - I am in SF. Do you live here as well? I usually watch the games that aren’t on network TV at the Bus Stop on Union Street. There is a growing group of Boys fans there.
http://www.farewelltotexasstadium.com/
Check this link out.
sfcowboyfan, “…live here as well?
No, but I lived in Pacifica for over twenty years before retiring in 2004. I now live in Placerville. There are more than a few Cowboy fans scattered around the foothills. Get this. The Niners are on one screen and the Cowboys on the other. The sound is on for Dallas, and off for SF. Tell you anything?
Hey Raf,
Why the heck wasn’t that obvious late hit on Barber a 15 yarder? What is the definition of a late hit, if that isn’t it. He was down and even had time to stand up, so that was definitely late. Why no personal foul? BTW, he didn’t get up and start running again, so that isn’t the answer.
I think the ruling was he had not been touched and the whistle has not blown. No whistle, no late hit.
BTW, I see the DMNers trying to do breakdowns like this.
Keep doing extra work, guys. Al Breer is gone and now you have to do the work. No biggie. I’ll add even more stats next week and make you watch even more tape.
You’re gonna HATE me when the year is over.
Bluecheese
I agree with Raf however why was the ball not marked where barber got hit the second time?
Also what a difference when the defense delay blitz up the middle instead directly at the OLinemen
I’d actually say that their breakdowns are better this year than Breer’s were last year.
Give them credit for trying hard to place second behind this site.
berkokid,
I dont think anyone has caught the boys that off guard.
DMN writer T.Cowlishaw tried to suggest last year that the pats caught wade phillips off guard b/c he prepared for their running game and wasnt prepared for their passing game, but i would disagree with them.
its one thing when you have the personnel and talent to match up with an opponent and their coaches just totally leave you flummoxed.
its another when you just dont have the personnel to match up, which was the case with us and the pats game last year, we had nate jones and j.reeves on welker and stallworth, we’re going to lose that battle more often than not. the cowboys will put many defenses in similar dilemmas this year.
i think if we’re in a position for a MUST stop, its likely only b/c there is little or no time left and we must get the ball back (say, 2 minutes in the game and down 6).
Offenses usually go ultra-conservative there b/c they dont want to make a mistake and just want to run out the clock.
I think our defense can stop just about anyone there. the real question is, can we go down and score after we get the ball back?
The situations you described in post 21 are a little different than just playing from behind. That seems more like one team’s coaching staff is totally at a loss to answer another team’s strategy or the players just totally fail to execute the adjustments.
those situations are exceptions I would argue. I dont think every team that plays the steelers and pats from here on out are going to be successful using those same strategys, but we’ll see.
My gut feeling is that wade and redball could figure it out if it happened early enough in the game.
What the hell has Ratliff been eating for breakfast? It must be a trail mix of nails, diced scorpions, crushed glass, and a splash of kerosene.
Jarhead - DMN’s current analysis better than Breer’s? No way. His Tales of the Tape were awesome. He may have been an arrogant prick but he knew a little football.
There’s a lot to look for when I get around to rewatching the game. I’m most interested in looking at the DLine, but there’s so much substitution going on I can never tell during the game who’s in there, except for Ware.
I don’t exactly have a big HD TV…
Also, I hope the Cowboys have a bunch of pics and articles from last year’s final game posted around the locker room. There should be NO trouble getting up for this one, wanting to send a message to Wash. that they are not on our level, and that was a fluke.
CowboyMan, it sounds like you enjoyed the Sports Bar we went to, next time it’s necessary let’s go there again.
It was fun watching with you!
Never said he didnt know about football, just said i think their analysis is better than his.
breer, IMO, liked to throw out a lot of technical terminology about different packages or sets and never really got to what i would call the heart of the matter.
Its almost like he wanted to show off his knowledge of NFL terminology more than try to understand and explain what happened.
plus he was a snotty little prick too.
Maybe those two things went hand in hand.
Realist Larry,
Every week local and national media types rush to point out that the boys haven’t won a playoff game in 12 years.
The more we win in the regular season, the more they’re going to gush about that.
This is a good thing.
dont get mad when you see this bloggers, we want it pounded into the boy’s heads all season long. they are not going to need photos and old articles to remind them of their playoff record, they are going to hear about it all season.
After 3 weeks the top Free Agent WR’s (Berrian, Walker, Stallworth, Porter) who signed contracts totaling 162 million dollars have 8 receptions. People go on and on about the risk of drafting WR’s but they’re a hell of a lot cheaper than that abomination. And what have the rookies done? 2nd rounders Royal, Jackson and Nelson have 40 receptions, 521 yards and 3 TD’s at probably a quarter of the cost of their big name veterans.
Kosier being out for another 2-3 weeks is a bummer. He played a good game and is a good player. Procter did fairly well the first two games so hopefully he can keep that up. Or we may see Holland get a run.
Jarhead -
All fair points. I don’t think anyone has caught the boys off guard, I was simply suggesting that I’d like to see the defense perform in a situation where the team is relying on them to *win* the game … we had no idea Anthony Henry had real potential in the role we saw him in this past sunday, who knows what we might find as the defense gets exposure to new situations.
The end of the Eagles game I think was an interesting case … those last couple sacks on the Eagles last drive were fantastic … there had to be a number of positive things going on there in the secondary and with the linebackers who dropped back into coverage or zone. (not the least of which was McNabb going retarded and not getting rid of the ball …).
Moss’s huge MNF game was 2005, not 2004. But he’s done pretty nicely against us since then:
2005: 2-73-0
2006: 4-69-0
DNP
2007: 9-121-1
8-115-1
And now he appears to be rejuvanated, so I’d say watch the eff out.
David he has been playing well.. but mainly against inferior defenses.
He had a TD against the giants but the rest was garbage yards. I think Dallas has the corners to stick with him ths year. But he does burn them quite often.
I hear ya, AFB2…although frankly, I am just as worried if not more about Cooley. He’s had a few huge games against us. Whatever…I’ll just watch the game and enjoy the victory.
I had an interesting conversation with a fellow coworker and Redskin fan this week. He mentioned that he was impressed with the rookie receiver Malcolm Kelly, but pointed out how he got 2 offensive pass interference flags during last Sunday’s game. He thought Kelly’s in experience lead to the flags.
I agreed, but automatically thought of what a difference 3 years make and how good Austin looked on Sunday Night, especially on the 62 yard touchdown pass. On that play Austin leaned his 6′2″ 220 lbs frame into the FudgePacker defender then got separation at the last second. Leaving the defender only to point at Austin as if to say did you see how he pushed off, but knowing he would not get the call.
Because of this I expect big things from Austin and Hurd this year.
Darren Woodson = Ring of Honor = Hall of Fame
To my mind the first three games show that we can beat anyone IF we don’t beat ourselves e.g. the red zone INT’s and league-leading penalty count.
There-in lies our challenge - avoiding the now traditional Dec-Jan slump and playoff defeat. I would be curious as to your perspective on this Raf - from training camp and your contacts.
Is there any thinking/coaching around the late season fades that seem to becoming a habit for this team? Superbowl winners tend to be the teams that finish the season strong – like our 90’s team tended to do.
Watching the Olympics reminded that much work has been done in training and sports psychology to get teams to peak at the right time. Is this possible with a Football team or is it just too hard over a 16 game season? Are the coaches trying to do this or just win every game?
PS A second round pick for Roy?!? We’ll be lucky to get a dozen donuts and a set of steak-knives. Maybe two dozen if we negotiate hard.
Rewatching the game, some things I noticed–
Real interesting play when they tried to run the fake reverse/Crayton to TO pass. It completely broke down, but Crayton does a nice job getting away-then heaves a pretty nice throw 40 yards while barely setting his feet! I’d say try that one again later, but not to TO-too obvious, to one of the backups.
And, if you watch it, the corner in front of TO has great position, but TO is coming over the top of him, going for the ball-so it’s not Offensive PI. Meanwhile, Woodson crashes right through TO way before the ball gets there from behind. Why wasn’t Pass Int. even mentioned there, if not called?!? It’s real clear and not hard to see.
Tank J was gettiing double teamed early when they stopped the Pack for a FG, on the play where he completely stuffs Grant (”He ran into a ‘tank’ on that one”). He’s pushed back 2 yards, but fights out and splits right through the 2 blockers.
MBIII is a game-changer in that I think he gets blockers around him to hold on to their blocks a few seconds longer, esp. WR’s etc. They know he’s always capable to break out of a pack, and even last year I started to wonder if the team subconsciously played a little differently when he was in than JJones. His style forces everyone to stay on their toes.
Jar, #42, I was just saying that Wash. kicked our butts in the last
regular season
game, so that should help prevent any ‘letdown’ after the last 2 big games.
That’s all-I don’t really get your point, I wasn’t part of the other discussion.
Realist Larry, You’re on my friend. Channel 40 has the Redskin game this week. I think that Cincy game on Oct. 5, may not show in NorCal. We’ll see.
Realist Larry, you’re right about the PI on Owens. It was easy to see, except for zebra’s of course.
Cowboy Babe, I thought the same thing about Austin’s catch. I’ve been a cheerleader of his since his rookie year and it’s really good to see him developing. Parcells said in his rookie year he had all the tools to be a #1 receiver in the NFL. He’s not there yet and may never be but at least it’s clear now he’s a legit #3 and maybe argue a #2.
Plaxico skips practice gets suspended by giants
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/8601112?MSNHPHMA
Oz,
Quit listening to the mediot rants…nothing we do this year will sate their lustful ire until the ‘Boys are in the Super Bowl. Only then will they relent that this is the best team in the NFL.
Until then, it will always be “Yeah, they’ve got the most talent…but”.
Babe,
The Landry rule of Year 3 is simply being validated once again. It’s also proving GM Jerry & Redball’s assertion that no rookie is better than the talent we have right now at WR.
All that draft consternation has been silenced…even the local mediots have relented.
Hey, FYI Matt Millen has just been fired/resigned.
CowboyMan, and also not seen by the announcers, yet somehow I feel that if that had been #21 of our team on D it would have been seen and probably called.
It’s like the refs were dealiing with it the way they do last second ‘Hail Mary’ type passes, where they just let things go. But this wasn’t that type of play.
Oh well.
All the turnovers and penalties, and we still have one of the best point differentials in the league.
Now that Matt Millen is gone, maybe the Lions will be willing to deal Roy Williams for a mid-round draft pick(3rd or 4th) to start the post Millen rebuilding. Now I am not saying we need him right now considering Hurd and Austin are both prime for a break out season, but he would be better on the roster than most other WR other than DOS (TO for the Spanish challenged).
Fighter,
I do remember you posting that the 3rd year guys would have a breakout year in 2008. Its still a little early, but base on what we’ve seen so far, that was a Good Call.
I am still holding out hope on my prediction that the second year guys can contribute just as much. Deon started strong, Spencer should contribute once his back from the injury and Stanbach can help on special teams on specialized plays in the office. Nick does not count since he made the ProBowl last year.