Cowboys Wide Receivers still having issues getting open
by torchindefenses on Nov 22, 2009 5:53 PM CST
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The Green Bay game showed a blueprint for how to beat the Cowboys. Shadow Witten all game, bring elaborate blitz packages and get to Romo while having good CB play.
It almost worked again today with Washington. Although the offensive line was fairly solid, Washington's 1st place pass defense made it very hard for Dallas' WR's to get open. This is a point I have been making since the playoff game with the Giants. Against a really good secondary, these guys have a very hard time getting open due to lack of separation. Plus a lot of drops. Now that Austin is being eyed by the opposing FS's, this is starting to become a problem for Dallas.
Garrett ran the ball more, trying to mix it up after calls by many that Garrett was passing too much. I know Darryl Johnston mentioned that the shotgun made the Cowboys one dimensional and I have to agree with him. I also think that Romo feels more comfortable in the shotgun and that is why Garrett is calling those plays. I would much rather see Romo behind center calling play action plays than the shotgun but for some reason he is in the shotgun quite a bit. I think it's to limit Romo getting rattled.
Austin needs to learn how to get open even when doubled. Dallas needs another WR, (not named Roy Williams) to complement Austin. Roy drops 90% of his balls. If Roy doesn't get it together quick, he might not be here next year.
All this makes me nervous going into December, where Romo is 5-8 and the schedule is very hard after Turkey day. Dallas will rebound and get the passing game going again at times, no doubt. When it comes to big games and good defenses, I don't think Dallas has the firepower to get the job done. One side factor is Felix Jones, he hasn't been the same since his ligament tear. He needs to be back to 100% health to make this offense explosive. With Witten, Austin, a healthy Felix Jones and an emerging MB, good defenses would have a harder time not giving up points.
I don't think that the Raiders will be much of a problem and it will good to have a few extra days to get more rest and preparation for the December run. Hopefully Austin can pull through and Felix can get 100% healthy.
All that said, they pulled out the win so celebration is in order!!
GO COWBOYS!!!
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I agree about RW
I’m done defending this clown. Whats the hit if we dump him? No cap next year right?
it was a bad trade
but you know you’re not going to get ANYTHING for him in a trade…NOTHING! In fact, with the ridiculous contract you gave him, you probably won’t even find suitors.
With that said, you might not have a cap to worry about so you could just drop him…but if you do, does that go down in history as the worst trade in NFL history?
"What did it feel like? That collision, I didn't feel nothing, because he was pretty much defenseless. It was like running through a cardboard box. Seriously. Cardboard box."- Sheldon Brown on his pounding of Reggie Bush in the '06 Playoffs
Me too
I’ve been comparatively patient with him, when you look at other bloggers on here, but even I’ve had enough after yesterday’s game. I’m fed up with hearing Joe Buck saying, “off the hands of Roy Williams.”
And we thought T.O. dropped a lot of balls.
2009 Dallas Cowboys: 10-6
2009 New York Jets: not 11-5 :(
2009-2010 Dallas Mavericks: 57-25
I know it looks like much more
But RW is ‘credited’ with 4 dropped balls. There are 28 guys with more dropped balls, including TO with 8. Then again, TO did catch 9 yesterday.
by One.Cool.Customer on Nov 23, 2009 10:00 AM CST up reply actions
Dallas needs a true number 1 WR. Williams is slow, isn’t a good route runner, and drops to many passes. Austin has disappeared the last 3 games. He’s a good WR but would be better served as a number 3 WR used as a deep threat.
We can’t continue to use WR’s who are late round or undrafted. There’s a reason that these guys weren’t drafted. I’m not saying that early round WR’s are always a success because they aren’t.
If we are able to draft someone like Benn, Bryant, or LaFell next year then I think we should do it.
Getting rid of Williams isn’t going to solve much. Your paying him already for some production and if you cut then you’ll still be paying him for nothing.
I think Austin is the one..
I just think our 2 is not taking advantage of his opportunities.
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
Twitter Account
Austin should be your 1
he’s a beast. Someone needs to step up to take advantage of the 1 on 1 with safeties over the top of Austin
"What did it feel like? That collision, I didn't feel nothing, because he was pretty much defenseless. It was like running through a cardboard box. Seriously. Cardboard box."- Sheldon Brown on his pounding of Reggie Bush in the '06 Playoffs
I don't think that means Oakland is good
I think it just shows how RIDICULOUSLY BAD jamarcus russel really is
"What did it feel like? That collision, I didn't feel nothing, because he was pretty much defenseless. It was like running through a cardboard box. Seriously. Cardboard box."- Sheldon Brown on his pounding of Reggie Bush in the '06 Playoffs
Oakland's team isn't...actually...all that bad...
JaMarcus Russell is. I mean, Oakland is still kinda crap, but JaMarcus Russell just makes them look like a team that could lose to grade-schoolers.
2009 Dallas Cowboys: 10-6
2009 New York Jets: not 11-5 :(
2009-2010 Dallas Mavericks: 57-25
as long as our defense keeps playing well
we’ll be in every game, but I think eventually theoffense will get back in sync, only a matter of time.
I think we put up over 20 points today if MB3 doesn’t fumble and Romo doesn’t get hurt.
In Romo we Trust
agreed
That Barber fumble was huge..
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
Twitter Account
exactly..
Last thing we needed was Romo gimpy on a short week.
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
Twitter Account
I think Romo may've saved a td with that play
I’m not sure we would’ve caught the defender. And it was a better play than trying to wrap him up cause i doubt romo would do much at all to slow him down by wrapping up.
Reminded me of the minnesota game in some ways in that Romo got hurt trying to slide tackle a guy on a fumble return and after that point our offense was helpless, we needed that blocked fg to win the game
Chad on Twitter.
@OGOchoCinco
Congrats to the Raider nation on there win,much deserving,that defense is awesome, shout out to my dude Nnamdi,we lost but we will be back!!
"No matter where you go, you are what you are playa"-Jay Z
Twitter Account
ummm
maybe im wrong but i didn’t see many blitzes at all. While I agree the blueprint is out there, i didn’t see it today. The redskins shut us down with good coverage and Romo wasn’t very accurate. They played safeties deep and we ran the ball well cause of that.
I think Oakland will bring pressure, I hope we’re prepared
Execution Was What Would Have Lost This Game
With the exception of the last drive, Romo was just off. He was terrible through 3 1/2 quarters, but I’m not contesting bracketing Witten and sending exotic blitzes at Romo doesn’t make things harder.
Greetings from the Humungus, the Ruler of the Wasteland, the Ayatollah of Rock and Roll-A. I laugh at your puny plans.
foyesboys
true that, I’ll have to watch the tape again, I saw a few blitzes, but not many. Washington has a good secondary that shut down our WR’s. Someone needs to get open and make a play. RW has butter fingers and I was holding my breath when Crayton caught the game winning TD.
These guys need to be better with the penalties and excecution
by torchindefenses on Nov 22, 2009 7:28 PM CST reply actions
Sorry torchindefenses...
but this post is a joke. I can think of about 5 times in this last game where a pass deflected off the WR’s fingertips and Aikman said, “That one got away from Romo.” He threw everything high, and was getting the WR’s hit hard going up for them. The one pass Roy probably should have had today (although it was high and would have been a really nice catch), but it’s hard to blame him for having gator arms since he got his ribs beat up a few weeks ago thanks to another high throw. Romo brought his C game for 55 minutes, let’s be honest. Dallas’ offensive woes cannot be put on the WR’s. While they do take a share of it, everyone takes a partial blame— Barber fumble, Folk missed FG, holding penalties, illegal formations, all of them together. Everyone takes their turning in screwing up a drive.
"I’m ready to go here, all right? It’s like R. Kelly at recess."
"You will come back stronger then ever. Like Lance Armstrong. But with two balls."
-Ari Gold
Actually, this post is not a joke, unless you think Mike Ditka doesn't know
football either. I was watching Mike and Mike this morning, and Ditka held the receivers directly responsible for the what’s happened to the offense the last two games. He plain out said it’s not Romo’s fault; the receivers are being pressed and aren’t getting open, which is forcing Romo into bad situations. If Dallas doesn’t do something about this, every time the Cowboys play a good defensive backfield, it’ll be the same story. Philly set a precedent everyone who can will emulate.
The fact that teams have the Cowboys figured out is B.S. to me
I guess in a way Green Bay showed a way to slightly slow down the Cowboys, but seeing the Cowboys drive 60 yards for the win at the end shows it’s all a matter of execution from our side, rather than defensive genius by our opponents.
2009 Dallas Cowboys: 10-6
2009 New York Jets: not 11-5 :(
2009-2010 Dallas Mavericks: 57-25
I disagree with the WR's being the problem
The receivers aren’t doing a great job of getting open, and drops have been an issue. Generally speaking though, the wide receivers haven’t been the problem with the offense.
The biggest problem yesterday was Romo’s accuracy – he was off all day, except at the very end. If Romo’s game is on, the wide receivers on this team are plenty good enough. If Romo is off, it doesn’t matter if Randy Moss, Wes Welker and Larry Fitzgerald are the wideouts. Most of those balls yesterday weren’t catchable. Most weeks, this team will win or lose on the performance of Tony Romo. He was hot for a while and now is in a funk. How he plays over the remainder of the season will be the primary determining factor in the success of the team.
I'm pretty sure his back injury was the cause of his inaccuracy Sunday
He is a career 60% passer, and before it’s all said and done, that’s the % he will get back to once he is 100% healthy.
In Romo we Trust
I agree to disagree with both of you..
Romo had a few passes go high on him, but he throws it high to Roy Williams on purpose. RW is the kind of WR you want to go up and get it. He isn’t speedy and is usually covered. RW had his hands on two balls and couldn’t bring them in.
Did you not see some of the pressure that Washington was getting with 4 men? THAT, was due to coverage. Romo was coverage sacked. That secondary is #1 is the league. They pressed all day and did a great job covering our WR’s. Funny how you guys want to blame Romo. That last drive for a TD was because the defense was getting tired. Although Romo was not perfect, he was having trouble finding open WR’s.
by torchindefenses on Nov 23, 2009 10:10 AM CST reply actions
The truth lies in the middle (like it usually does)...
Romo could be throwing more accurately and Roy could surely be playing better. Right now this offense is just off and personally I hardly see it as a problem that has one source. Instead, I think blame could go far and wide.
Garrett needs to call better plays and put Romo in a better position to succeed (especially on third downs). Romo needs to throw more accurately. Roy and Austin and Witten need to do a better job getting off the line and flashing open quicker so Romo doesn’t have to hold the ball. The backs have to hold the ball and not fumble like yesterday. The line needs to handle blitz pickup better and not make the normal stupid penalties.
The fact is that there are a lot of people not playing very well right now and hopefully that last drive against Washington will drive them to make some changes to get this offense rolling again.
If I had a nickel for every Super Bowl the Eagles have won, I would have zero nickels.
Cowboyfan729
I agree with you that it’s usually never just one person or group that isn’t playing their best, but my short spat of an article was meant to focus on the WR group.
The reason? Because in my opinion they are the group that is play the worst and also cannot get separation from good CB’s. Austin can but he still has yet to prove himself when doubled. The rest of the group just doesn’t cut it. Against a so so secondary they are okay to good. Against a good defense, they get shut down. Green Bay & Washington.
Not a good thing in the playoffs!
by torchindefenses on Nov 23, 2009 3:27 PM CST reply actions
One more thing
Romo was far from perfect on Sunday. He had a bunch of throws that were not accurate. IMO and hope, his back was bothering him.
by torchindefenses on Nov 23, 2009 7:36 PM CST reply actions
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