Week 2 Pre-season Analysis
Originally posted by Manster68 from a sports forum:
I will start this off with a question:
When was the last time Dallas looked this good after the first two Pre-Season games?
My answer: Not since I have been following the Cowboys since 1970.
What does this mean? Who knows. None of us truly know what the situation and philosophies are with the two opponents the Cowboys have faced.
I’ll say this though – I really do like what I am seeing.
SUGGESTION: Let Terry Glenn have next week’s game off as #81 most likely will be back. Glenn does not need to prove anything anymore this preseason as he is in mid-season form already.
Another question: Exactly why did Jerry and Bill pursue another WR from Denver? I do not know about any of you, but I will go to war with any of those young receivers already on Dallas. Good to see Miles Austin make that big play; Rector has had two good games now (thus narrowing down the chance of that being a fluke); Hurd is making a bid for Crayton’s position.
Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. Let’s go to the offensive line.
I am not going to get as critical as many of you. That is because, despite a number of breakdowns, Dallas still ended up with 403 yards total offense and 37:43 in time of possession. So the offensive line cannot be THAT bad. It is a better unit than last year, but Parcells does have reason to get grouchy this coming week. McQuisitan definitely took a few on the chin against the Saints first unit. That is to be expected from a late round offensive lineman.
Overall, Bledsoe and Romo looked fine this evening. Perfect? No. If Bledsoe had been perfect, then he would have hit Witten on the opening drive for a touchdown. Bledsoe threw two clunkers and made a smart decision to throw the ball out of the end zone.
Romo’s passes were nice and crisp, but until he can secure the ball better, I don’t think he will replace Bledsoe as the starter. I also blame the fumbled handoff to Thompson on Bledsoe as well. So that is four times Romo has laid the ball on the ground in two games. UNACCEPTABLE!
Now to the DEFENSE!
Don’t know if any of you read my earlier post a couple of days ago, but I had one main concern:
How would this defense handle the cobra quick cutback skills of Reggie Bush?
I was very concerned about that. For this game at least, the defense passed with flying colors. THAT PLAY BY WARE ON REGGIE BUSH WAS SICK! That was my favorite play the entire game. This might explain why Ware very likely will struggle to get to 10+ sacks. Bill just will not send him after the QB on every play (like what Dungee does with Freeney). I may be wrong, and hopefully I am. However, if the Cowboys continue to keep the ball for 35+ minutes, and hold the opponents to a much lesser amount of offensive plays, then that also means there will be less chances of defensive players racking up gawdy numbers. Do you see my point of view here?
I also did not see Dallas’ linebackers get pushed back 3 to 5 yards like they had happen to them last year (especially in Oakland).
I also noticed that the corners were not challenged much. Why? Why could that be? Could it be that the receivers were not open?
Let me tell you something else. I am NOT concerned that many of the draft picks have yet to make a big splash so far after two pre-season games. They will be fine. I cannot believe some of you are panicking so much over Carpenter. Not me folks, not me. Certainly not when the defense is clicking like it has so far.
I can see it coming. Next week’s game will be the Carpenter-Lawson Bowl.
PREDICTION: I do not think John Madden will recant his statement that the most impressive thing he has seen so far this pre-season is Dallas’ defense.
Special Teams:
The kickoffs were good except for the one that only went to the 25-yard line. I did enjoy seeing the touchback though. Coverage looked pretty good as well.
McBriar had an excellent pooh punt inside the ten. That was his only punt.
Green didn’t have much opportunity to break a few of the returns. However, his 20-yard return late in the game was excellent. If Green is returning punts all throughout the game, then there is no way Dallas will cut this guy IMO.
I will start this off with a question:
When was the last time Dallas looked this good after the first two Pre-Season games?
My answer: Not since I have been following the Cowboys since 1970.
What does this mean? Who knows. None of us truly know what the situation and philosophies are with the two opponents the Cowboys have faced.
I’ll say this though – I really do like what I am seeing.
SUGGESTION: Let Terry Glenn have next week’s game off as #81 most likely will be back. Glenn does not need to prove anything anymore this preseason as he is in mid-season form already.
Another question: Exactly why did Jerry and Bill pursue another WR from Denver? I do not know about any of you, but I will go to war with any of those young receivers already on Dallas. Good to see Miles Austin make that big play; Rector has had two good games now (thus narrowing down the chance of that being a fluke); Hurd is making a bid for Crayton’s position.
Okay, enough with the mushy stuff. Let’s go to the offensive line.
I am not going to get as critical as many of you. That is because, despite a number of breakdowns, Dallas still ended up with 403 yards total offense and 37:43 in time of possession. So the offensive line cannot be THAT bad. It is a better unit than last year, but Parcells does have reason to get grouchy this coming week. McQuisitan definitely took a few on the chin against the Saints first unit. That is to be expected from a late round offensive lineman.
Overall, Bledsoe and Romo looked fine this evening. Perfect? No. If Bledsoe had been perfect, then he would have hit Witten on the opening drive for a touchdown. Bledsoe threw two clunkers and made a smart decision to throw the ball out of the end zone.
Romo’s passes were nice and crisp, but until he can secure the ball better, I don’t think he will replace Bledsoe as the starter. I also blame the fumbled handoff to Thompson on Bledsoe as well. So that is four times Romo has laid the ball on the ground in two games. UNACCEPTABLE!
Now to the DEFENSE!
Don’t know if any of you read my earlier post a couple of days ago, but I had one main concern:
How would this defense handle the cobra quick cutback skills of Reggie Bush?
I was very concerned about that. For this game at least, the defense passed with flying colors. THAT PLAY BY WARE ON REGGIE BUSH WAS SICK! That was my favorite play the entire game. This might explain why Ware very likely will struggle to get to 10+ sacks. Bill just will not send him after the QB on every play (like what Dungee does with Freeney). I may be wrong, and hopefully I am. However, if the Cowboys continue to keep the ball for 35+ minutes, and hold the opponents to a much lesser amount of offensive plays, then that also means there will be less chances of defensive players racking up gawdy numbers. Do you see my point of view here?
I also did not see Dallas’ linebackers get pushed back 3 to 5 yards like they had happen to them last year (especially in Oakland).
I also noticed that the corners were not challenged much. Why? Why could that be? Could it be that the receivers were not open?
Let me tell you something else. I am NOT concerned that many of the draft picks have yet to make a big splash so far after two pre-season games. They will be fine. I cannot believe some of you are panicking so much over Carpenter. Not me folks, not me. Certainly not when the defense is clicking like it has so far.
I can see it coming. Next week’s game will be the Carpenter-Lawson Bowl.
PREDICTION: I do not think John Madden will recant his statement that the most impressive thing he has seen so far this pre-season is Dallas’ defense.
Special Teams:
The kickoffs were good except for the one that only went to the 25-yard line. I did enjoy seeing the touchback though. Coverage looked pretty good as well.
McBriar had an excellent pooh punt inside the ten. That was his only punt.
Green didn’t have much opportunity to break a few of the returns. However, his 20-yard return late in the game was excellent. If Green is returning punts all throughout the game, then there is no way Dallas will cut this guy IMO.
posted by The Gryphon at 9:23 AM
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