Want to Beat Atlanta? Patience Required.

I was simply saying the source of most of our troubles seems to come from mental errors such as penalties, confusion, etc. If they get that sorted out, they could very possibly prove to be much more talented than the Falcons defense.

I think the Falcons are the real deal, but I think our offense can score on them frequently if they manage to cut back on the mental lapses that have held them back so far.

And every game is different. You can’t just look at it and say “well, New England is better than us and they barely beat the Falcons, so we’ll really struggle”. Every team matches up differently.

Versus NE, ATL had 9 third-downs:

Only 4 of them are what I would consider 3rd and long: 7, 7, 14, and 18 yards.

What impressed me more was the fact that the Patriot defense got Ryan and company off the field 4 out of 5 times in 3rd and 4 or 3rd and 3 situations.

Of note: Ryan passed 100% of the time on 3rd down in that game.

The team has the makeup of being a team that can run an offense like that (it’s what I’ve really been telling you all along Bishop). It’s not the team that needs to have this discipline, but the offensive coordinator (i know, this story is getting old).

I can envision 2 types of outcomes easily…..

1- a game where we pass but are not productive and we stay with it and Romo doesn’t get into sync, forces passes, Falcons get a turnover or two, and win, simply because you don’t want to be giving the ball to Matt Ryan and they’re offense.

2- a game where the Cowboys run/screen/short pass the ball with Tashard, MB3, and Felix, mixing it up well, eating the clock, making the Atlanta offense sit the bench, staying productive, making little/few mistakes because the plays are higher percentage, patiently waiting for the passing game to open up, defense awakens, stops Atlanta, and we win by a larger margin in a conservavtive game than we would have thought we could have. Making no mistakes does that. i stlll expect a false start or 3 fro Flo, but that won’t loose the game as much as giving Atlanta extra touches on offense because of turnovers. If there was ever a time to clobber a team with the run (and stick to it) it’s now. We have to prove to other teams we are willing and able to win a game THAT WAY, and until we do, teams will be baiting Romo and Garrett in the passing game. If they have to worry about us running them into the ground- well, that changes the way a team will study and prepare for us.

This is truly a Tashard Choice kind of game. Use Felix out there a the same time, as a decoy AND a reciever. You can’t go wrong against any defense having Miles and Felix out there at the same time (our two fastest players on offense), and Tashard will get his yards running. And just when a defense gets used to that kind of production…

BAM-touchdown Witten!

That’s still in that “hopeful” category.

The question is, will Garrett use the bye week to gain extra strategical advantage or out-think himself (again!).

and it’s the reason why I say he has failed as our offensive coordinator. The answers as to what to do to win these games is right there in front of him- he just needs to see it. Don’t be surprised if this isn’t the gameplan though. Jason Garrett is pass-happy, and it’s not a matter of what we discuss here, but rather what he feels like doing. There have been many games where he needed to play conservative and use the run/short pass more, but opted to pass alot. It’s in his nature to not make the run a bigger priority than the pass. I feel, in this game, he has no choice but to use the RB’s alot. But don’t be surprised if he chucks it. the problem is, even if he has success in the beginning with the pass, if he doesn’t establish the RB’s first (and stick to a gameplan that uses them alot), he may not be able to later the way he needs to. In this game (like every big opponent we play), establishing the running backs as a threat is the biggest priority (in my opinion).
Simple formula’s and schemes Garrett- eat the clock on Atlanta and you win. Do alot of 3 and outs with passes and you don’t. That doesn’t mean you turn your back on the pass- on the conntrary, your success doing these other things will set up the pass beautifully.

Notice how I said establishing the running backs, and not exclusively the run. Who here doesn’t believe that MB3,Felix and Tashard are devestating on screens in the open field? That’s what I mean by running backs, and not just saying “run”.

but in the Denver game, Garrett did exactly as you suggest. The first 53 plays were all runs and short passes. It wasn’t until the 54th offensive play of the game that Dallas took a shot down field, and at that point there was only 10 minutes left in the whole game. You just need to remember that “running to set up the pass” doesn’t always work. I still contend that game planning working or not working, has more to do with player execution.