Cowboys slow starts are really slow
by Dave Halprin on Oct 19, 2007 12:02 PM CDT
in Dallas Cowboys News
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PrintFrom an AP article on the Vikings game, I got this stat on the slow starts by the Cowboys offense.
The Cowboys haven't even gotten a first down on an opening drive since going 67 yards on 14 plays in the season opener for a field goal.
Wow. I couldn’t believe it was that bad, not even a first down. I’ve been writing about how the play calling seems to revolve around Julius Jones up the middle and standard pass attempts to either Witten or Owens. Well, I decided to do what a responsible journalist does and and look it up. Below are the ESPN play-by-play for each of our first drives on offense in game 2-6.
Miami
1st and 10 at DAL 33(14:54) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 39 for 6 yards (J.Porter).
2nd and 4 at DAL 39(14:19) (Shotgun) T.Romo pass incomplete short right to T.Owens.
3rd and 4 at DAL 39(14:09) T.Romo pass incomplete to T.Owens.Chicago
1st and 10 at DAL 20(12:54) T.Romo sacked at DAL 9 for -11 yards (M.Anderson).
2nd and 21 at DAL 9(12:16) J.Jones left guard to DAL 11 for 2 yards (A.Archuleta).
3rd and 19 at DAL 11(11:30) (Shotgun) T.Romo pass deep left to T.Owens to DAL 28 for 17 yards (C.Tillman).St. Louis
1st and 10 at DAL 20(15:00) T.Romo pass short right to J.Witten to DAL 28 for 8 yards (C.Chavous).
2nd and 2 at DAL 28(14:22) J.Jones left tackle to DAL 28 for no gain (B.Chillar).
3rd and 2 at DAL 28(13:42) J.Jones right guard to DAL 29 for 1 yard (W.Witherspoon).Buffalo
1st and 10 at DAL 2(10:47) J.Jones right guard to DAL 1 for -1 yards (K.Williams).
2nd and 11 at DAL 1(10:11) J.Jones left guard to DAL 2 for 1 yard (L.Tripplett).
3rd and 10 at DAL 2(9:31) T.Romo pass deep middle intended for J.Witten INTERCEPTED by G.Wilson at DAL 25. G.Wilson for 25 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Receiver overthrown.New England
1st and 10 at DAL 17(14:55) T.Romo pass short middle to J.Jones to DAL 19 for 2 yards (T.Bruschi; V.Wilfork). Shuffle pass.
2nd and 8 at DAL 19(14:18) J.Jones up the middle to DAL 21 for 2 yards (T.Warren).
3rd and 6 at DAL 21(13:35) (Shotgun) T.Romo pass incomplete short left to P.Crayton. Pass incomplete at the Dallas 26 (Gay closest defender).
Pretty standard play-calling. I hope we try something different to get ourselves in gear.
I know what’s been missing lately; the other team taking cheap shots at the Cowboys and providing bulletin-board material. From Brandon Jacobs to Joey Porter to Issac Bruce, we had great material to get hyped about. Lately, not so much. So in true sports journalism hackery, I will create something out of nothing. Here’s what Antoine Winfield had to say about T.O. this week.
"Really, he's not their No. 1 receiver," Winfield told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday regarding Owens. "(Tight end Jason) Witten is. He has all the catches and most of the touchdowns."
Bada-bing! There you go Cowboys, especially T.O., he’s calling out your manhood. He’s saying Witten is the man. You must do something about it!
Eh, not so much. He was actually saying that we have a well-balanced passing attack and that you can’t forget about Jason Witten. But taken out of context, it smells like fake bulletin-board material for the Cowboys. Hey, I’m just trying to help.
Short article on Greg Ellis’ probable return to the starting lineup and some other stuff.
Kevin Williams is one half of the Vikings run-stuffing duo at DT. Read about his battles with the double-team, here.
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fake bulletin-board material?
Who are we, the Patriots?
by Nelson @ Blogging The Boys on Oct 19, 2007 12:29 PM CDT reply actions
slow starts
I personally feel too much has been made of our slow starts because if you look back at every game, they really haven't hurt us. I mean we were down 14-0 to the Pats and still took the lead in the 3rd qtr, so therefore we didn't lose the game because of the slow start but because we couldn't stop Brady and all the crucial penalties in the 4th qtr.
We always seem to get it going eventually, so to me it seems over blown in the media and on this blog. I think scoring on our opening drive really doesn't mean all that much. As I've said a million times, its how you finish a game thats important and we finished really well in 5 games, and finished poorly in one.
The slow
starts are because of two reasons. Conservative play calling and Julius Jones. Your not going to do much if JJ is running into the OL 2 or 3 straight times starting a drive. The running game is a problem. The roles need to be reversed with MB3 starting and JJ coming in later.
by Cowboys81 on Oct 19, 2007 1:00 PM CDT up reply actions
the solution isn't starting MB3
it would be to come out passing to loosen the defense up and then bring in MB3 to pound away.
Every single team we played this season started out the game defensively all jacked up to stop the run. I say play action fake and throw down field, it will not be what they're expecting at all.
Terry
I said the roles should be reversed and the running game is a problem. All of a sudden NicK Eatman writes an article on the very same subject. Amazing!! maybe this former RB does know something after all about football.....lol Yes, Terry it is a problem and a blind man can see it and apparently others have to. MB3 is and has been the better RB for some time. The roles should be reversed, than maybe we can put together some drives in the first quarter and give this team some energy. Because it's clear MB3 gives this team a spark which JJ does not.
by Cowboys81 on Oct 20, 2007 1:11 AM CDT up reply actions
So to follow your logic
Jones should have most of the carries in the 4th quarter and red zone while MB3 simply bangs away at the stacked defense early in the game? That would be role reversal. Do I think that will score more points in the first quarter? No. Where we have been dominant is after the defense is worn down. Those advocating MB3 to do more of the wearing and less of the production seem intent on the player instead of the strategy.
I realize this is in danger of becoming a divisive issue on the blog. That must not come from me. I could not be happier if the Coaches start MB3 and he has more success in the game and we win easier. I trust the Coaches to know far more than I and far more than any fans because of their experience and resources. So I am simply backing our Coaches in whomever they put on the field for whatever tasks they assign.
Who in the hell is Nick Eatman?
I'll tell, just a reporter who doesn't know anymore about footabll than anyone else on this blog. He's entitled to his opinion but that doesn't mean he's right. Look, it doesn't matter who starts, we need to come out passing to loosen up the defesne.
Its that simple, not rocket science.
When you watch the film
the first series there are no holes to run. Many of the stops are in the backfield. No running back can gain yardage when he is hit immediately following the handoff. The issue is that teams are geared up to stop the run ans Terry says. With 8 and 9 men in the box there is no opportunity for LT or LJ or JJ or MB3 to gain yardage. The few positive runs are extraordinary and are not repeated.
Peyton Manning comes to the line and reads the defense and calls run or pass depending on his read. I doubt that Tony Romo has the same freedom - or maybe the same ability to read the defense while it is faking one thing and doing another. This is not a knock on Romo. Few quarterbacks get the kind of flexibility that Manning has earned.
I think the slow starts
are very important. You make the case that we were down 14-0 and came back to take the lead in the 3rd quarter, but if we had scored and sustained some of our first drives, we would have
- had more points which is always good, but
- Given our defense a chance to not get so worn out.
It isn't just the offense that can hurt from a slow start. We need our defense to be fresh late in the game, and our slow start is what had our defense gasping for air in the 4th quarter of the Pats game.
who gets released with tank coming on?
The Tank delay seems to be a little bit of a blessing right now -- don't think we could release Nate Jones right now with Henry's ankle. Who's the odds on favorite to lose their job?
Remi Ayodele
by Dave Halprin on Oct 19, 2007 1:54 PM CDT up reply actions
Only Remi makes sense
and he will likely remain for the practice squad again so who comes off the practice squad? Now that I think about it I cannot remember any reference to the practice squad players since they were signed there before the season. Not like it was in prior years. For example the quarterback we signed (resisting the temptation to look up his name because it proves my point) - must be running the opposition's offense every game because Brad Johnson is not likely to do so. All of the practice squad must be long-shots at best as injuries around the league (IR) have opened up roster spots and none of the teams have raided our practice squad.
McNabb's ego
Check out this link, courtesy of DMN:
http://www.courierpostonline.com/app...
Donovan seems to be challenging the Cowboys, I love it!
I want to sweep their
asses and lay a beatdown on them so bad, God I really hate McNabb.
It's great!
Everybody wants to knock us off. Makes for great entertainment. Quite a few of the most memorable games of this season will be games the Cowboys play in. Already, we've had the Monday Night Thriller in Buffalo and the 5-0 5-0 showdown against New England. Even though we lost that last one, people still got their money's worth.
by Nelson @ Blogging The Boys on Oct 19, 2007 2:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Good find
What McNabb does not say is that the Eagles are distracted by the coach's two sons - both in jail. He is expected by some to step down either during or immediately following this season.
McNabb also has a short memory as the Eagles have been looking up at the Cowboys, Giants and Redskins for years until the last 5 or 6. One year I seem to remember even the Cardinals were ahead of the Eagles at season end! Times change and personnel and teams change and Philadelphia is not what it used to be. I do think they are the biggest threat based upon their defense (and Washington as well).
A small chuckle
Your analysis of first series for 5 games acrually shows that we earned a 1st down for the offense on one of them. In the Buffalo game the pass that resulted in an interception touchdown also resulted in a kickoff giving the offense a 1st down (ok - just kidding).
The play calling might be the way it is to enable a big play on the first series against Philadelphia or Washington when they are convinced by results like this that that will not happen. Every game is a challenge but the season as a whole needs to be planned as well.Coach Phillips has discussed the evaluation of tendencies by other teams and may well be setting them up. I do agree that we have been hurt (NE) in not scoring more earlier and getting the defense some rest. With MB3 in the game the play calling is even more predictable as Jones presents a breakaway threat - especially with 8 or 9 in the box (see New Orleans 2006). He is a good pass catcher (as is MB3) and a good blitz pickup and rarely loses yardage on his carries.
Yeah but to me the Pats game
was overrated. It made for great hype but the Pats are an AFC team. We have had an awesome start but we MUST go at least 4-2 within our division. McNabb is a bi-otch and I can't wait to see what lame crap the iggles fans say once we stomp their azzes. Also the gints and skins are surging and we cannot take any game with any division opponent for granted. That is what I hope the team took from the Pats game - bring your A game, every game.
to me, our divisional games will definitely be
our toughest games, no doubt. The only team on our remaining schedule thats better than our divisional foes is Green Bay and thats not by much.
I see the rest of our losses coming at the hand of either the Eagles, Giants or Redskins. I'm hoping that we go at least 4-2 in our division.
You mean your are not worried
by Carolina and Vinny? (smile). I agree with you but as we have learned the past few seasons every foe can beat us because we have had such an amazing variety of things that beat ourselves. I do agree also that the division foes are going to be tougher and closer games and I do not expect any blowouts.
I don't think there's any question that
NFC East is the best division in the league, its the only division with no bad teams.
I'd say
it's pretty even with the AFC South. All four of those teams are pretty good, too (even Houston, to my surprise).
by Nelson @ Blogging The Boys on Oct 19, 2007 3:53 PM CDT up reply actions
another FO stat
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/200...
says Ware is 5th in hurries and 1st in qb hits (minus sacks). He's tied for 6th in the sack lead. Definitely having a great year.
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