Cowboys Blogger Perspective and pizzeace I'm out
By Skin Patrol
Posted on Fri Nov 16, 2007 at 01:04:43 PM EDT
Grizz from Blogging the Boys shot me a few queries and I did the same to him. Find his answers below and a huge thanks to Grizz for setting this up. I don't read Cowboys Blogs, plural, I read Cowboys Blog, in the singular, and his is the one. Whether you hate or are indifferent towards the Cowboys, BTB is a worthwhile daily stop, even for Redskins fans. Here we go:
Hogs Haven: Redskins-Cowboys rivalry has gotten some print recently, so here goes: It doesn't bother me one bit how Cowboys fans feel about my franchise as I imagine you feel the same about Redskins fans. I consider the Cowboys games to be the biggest of the year, only because I have no cause to get pumped up about Washington-Miami or even Washington-NYG or Washington-Philly. I like the history. That doesn't mean I live only to beat the Cowboys either. In any event, Grizz, do you personally consider the Redskins a game of consequence, rivalry, etc.?
Blogging The Boys: I consider it a rivalry game and probably always will. The history is so rich and the hatred so ingrained for the older generation of fans that for them, it will always mean a little more that just a regular season game. Having said that, the rivalry worked so well in the far past because both teams were shooting for the playoffs, and the Super Bowl. Both teams were elite in the NFL. Lately, neither franchise has done much in terms of the NFL landscape and that takes away a little of the heat. We need both franchises to become good again for the rivalry to really take off for a new generation. As I found out on my blog, a lot of fans who came of age with the Cowboys over the last 10 years or so seem to have more intense feelings for the Dallas-Philadelphia game. Cowboys fans really hate the Eagles now.
HH: Roy Williams, Pro Bowler?
BTB: Depends on what you're asking me. By a strict definition, he's a Pro Bowler because he goes to the Pro Bowl every year. But the selection process for the Pro Bowl is influenced by name and reputation as much as ability and on-the-field production. To me, it's just a fun thing that doesn't really gauge a player's worth or status. Roy Williams as a Pro-Bowler doesn't mean much to me; it's his actual production that concerns me. Besides, I don't really keep up with every safety on the other NFC teams - of course I know Taylor and Landry - but really, evaluating the strong safeties on other teams is not something I do. So I can't speak intelligently about exactly where Roy Williams stands in the pecking order of NFC strong safeties. But, as I wrote recently, I think Roy is actually playing a better, smarter brand of football this year. He's making sure tackles and getting into the correct position on defense instead of loading up for the big hit or trying to make the highlight reel. Wade Phillips has also found a way in passing situations to utilize him as a linebacker instead of a cover deep safety.
HH: The Cowboys are even better than they were offensively last year. There was a presumption that the defense would get better (and it has) as Phillips would be willing to use the personnel in a more creative manner than Parcells. How much of the offensive improvement is credited to Jason Garrett? Is he the real deal?
BTB: I have to believe that Jason Garrett is the real deal. The Cowboys offense is better this year even though last year we were among the league-leaders. A lot of that credit goes to Jason Garrett. He's an aggressive play-caller that wants to score on every play, but he's not reckless, he is smart enough to take what the defense is giving him. He tends to probe early in games to see what the defense is doing and to give Romo an opportunity to see different looks from the defense. But once he's got it figured out, he will exploit it the rest of the game. He will utilize whatever player on offense he thinks has the better match-up and from week-to-week that player, or players, can change. Plus, his rapport with the players and his professionalism with the media have all the hallmarks of a head coach. If he's not the Cowboys head coach post-Wade Phillips - whenever that may be - I'll be disappointed.
HH: Marion Barber the third or JJ? I'd take MB3.
BTB: MB3 is the better back.
HH: How do the Cowboys lose this game? What, if anything, worries you about it?
BTB: I'm worried every week. This is the NFL, a team can go down in flames on any given Sunday - or Monday, or Thursday. We're a team that has to overcome mistakes to win, so far we've done it pretty handily, but there's always the chance we won't. Tony Romo is like his idol Brett Favre, including wanting to make something happen on every play. So, like Favre, he will turn the ball over on occasion, usually though, he more than makes up for it with the rest of his play. In fact, if Romo is on, and he's been on almost every game, our offense is too much for the opponent. We also make stupid penalties, I'm sure we're still the most penalized team in the league, and we can make them at the worst time. In general, the Cowboys have the potential to beat themselves in every game. It's hard to say how you'd beat the Cowboys this year without their own mistakes helping, unless you do what the New England Patriots did and that's simply to out-perform the Cowboys offense.
Thanks again to Grizz.
Unfortunately, I can't stay long to chat up the game. I am headed to Dallas within the hour to attend the game on Sunday to support Your Washington Redskins. I will enter hostile territory garbed in Redskins gear hoping to escape without having anything broken over my head. That shall not deter me. I will make arrangements for someone to get an open thread up on the weekend and will try to return with tales of victory. Until then, have a safe weekend and Hail to the Redskins.
Cheers.
Cowboys vs. Redskins: 5 Questions with Hogs Haven
by Dave Halprin (Grizz) Fri Nov 16, 2007 at 11:10:26 AM EDT
Here’s the 5 Questions segment for this week, starring our good friend over at Hogs Haven, Skin Patrol. He loves him some Deadskins, so let’s see what he has to say.
Blogging The Boys: What's your take on the whole no-huddle offense that's so topical this week? Will the Skins let Jason Campbell run it again this week in hostile territory where it's hard to hear?
Hogs Haven: Hard to tell. I've lost a huge amount of confidence in the Redskins red zone offense, which has proven pretty inept recently, especially last week against Philly. Regarding the no-huddle, the sample size is still small enough where I'm not ready to make a judgment one way or the other, but I do like the idea of letting Jason Campbell air the ball out more, be himself, and control the game. It's only been very recently that our run game has started to look appreciable, so I'm not yet sold on a run, run, pass, punt strategy. Especially against a team like Dallas that is moving the ball very well and scoring a lot of points, we can't depend on an injured defense to keep this one within reach; we need to score.
BTB: I can't keep up with the injuries at WR. Just who is in and who is out? And who is a maybe?
HH: Brandon Lloyd and James Thrash are out. Santana Moss is a maybe. That leaves Randle El, Keenan McCardell, and Reche Caldwell. We added Jimmy Farris, though you shouldn't know who that is (or you might, he played in Atlanta a couple years back). Surprisingly, the most devastating injury is... James Thrash. He's the only Redskin receiver with multiple touchdowns. Whoulda thunk it?
BTB: How bad will Sean Taylor's absence hurt the defense? What have been his main contributions this year and do you have capable backups?
HH: You cannot replace a Sean Taylor. He is the best player on the defense and thus it is the single most consequential injury that could happen on that side of the ball. The impact his absence will have is difficult to tell, because he hasn't missed a game since 2004. Taylor's main contribution has been generating turnovers with his five interceptions. Beyond that he's played very well in coverage and can cross a lot of field quickly, which makes it much easier to defend both the deep pass and the run (he does that well). The starter in his stead will be Pierson Prioleau, though the Official Site says Vernon Fox and Reed Doughty should see time as well. Fred Smoot was practicing as safety as well, though I don't see him getting in that spot. The amount of people we're willing to use to replace Taylor tells you just how many things he does incredibly well. Prioleau is a capable backup, had actually earned the starting job in front of Adam Archuleta last year before an injury in the first game, but he is not Sean Taylor.
BTB: How do you feel about Coach Gibbs? Is he safe from Danny Snyder? Might he leave after this year if the team doesn't succeed?
HH: Yes, he is safe from Dan Snyder. He might not be safe from Joe Gibbs, though, and may just decide to hang it up. He's said repeatedly that he plans on honoring the full length of his contract. It's not an unfair question though, as I'm sure you've noticed the Fire Joe Gibbs website and multiple minds discussing this precise point. That said, I think it is a huge indictment of the NFL peanut gallery's now now now attitude that we can start discussing the shortened career of a hall of fame coach who currently has a winning record. Were we supposed to beat New England?
The answer to your question is I just don't know. It will depend on how unsuccessful the team is; if we manage to sneak into the playoffs, I'd say absolutely not. If we miss them in dramatic fashion with a late season meltdown, certainly that would increase the likelihood of Gibbs saying it just isn't worth it.
BTB: How does Washington go about winning this game?
HH: Have to win the turnover battle. The Cowboys are playing better football than the Redskins right now which means we need to play flawlessly. It will be especially difficult without Taylor and with our offensive line and receiving unit injured. The Redskins have to be willing to make Dallas defend everywhere, and that means a willingness to go deep. We cannot wait on establishing our running game to start launching 3rd quarter play action passes deep. We need to attack the deep ball from snap one and keep Dallas honest. Defensively we have to get on Tony Romo and need to capitalize on his mistakes; dropped passes by our secondary are unacceptable in this game. The Dallas O-Line is playing good enough where pressuring Romo cannot come from a four man pass rush. We have to take some chances and bring blitz. And we have to cover T.O. I haven't seen anyone attempt to.
Posted on Fri Nov 16, 2007 at 01:04:43 PM EDT
Grizz from Blogging the Boys shot me a few queries and I did the same to him. Find his answers below and a huge thanks to Grizz for setting this up. I don't read Cowboys Blogs, plural, I read Cowboys Blog, in the singular, and his is the one. Whether you hate or are indifferent towards the Cowboys, BTB is a worthwhile daily stop, even for Redskins fans. Here we go:
Hogs Haven: Redskins-Cowboys rivalry has gotten some print recently, so here goes: It doesn't bother me one bit how Cowboys fans feel about my franchise as I imagine you feel the same about Redskins fans. I consider the Cowboys games to be the biggest of the year, only because I have no cause to get pumped up about Washington-Miami or even Washington-NYG or Washington-Philly. I like the history. That doesn't mean I live only to beat the Cowboys either. In any event, Grizz, do you personally consider the Redskins a game of consequence, rivalry, etc.?
Blogging The Boys: I consider it a rivalry game and probably always will. The history is so rich and the hatred so ingrained for the older generation of fans that for them, it will always mean a little more that just a regular season game. Having said that, the rivalry worked so well in the far past because both teams were shooting for the playoffs, and the Super Bowl. Both teams were elite in the NFL. Lately, neither franchise has done much in terms of the NFL landscape and that takes away a little of the heat. We need both franchises to become good again for the rivalry to really take off for a new generation. As I found out on my blog, a lot of fans who came of age with the Cowboys over the last 10 years or so seem to have more intense feelings for the Dallas-Philadelphia game. Cowboys fans really hate the Eagles now.
HH: Roy Williams, Pro Bowler?
BTB: Depends on what you're asking me. By a strict definition, he's a Pro Bowler because he goes to the Pro Bowl every year. But the selection process for the Pro Bowl is influenced by name and reputation as much as ability and on-the-field production. To me, it's just a fun thing that doesn't really gauge a player's worth or status. Roy Williams as a Pro-Bowler doesn't mean much to me; it's his actual production that concerns me. Besides, I don't really keep up with every safety on the other NFC teams - of course I know Taylor and Landry - but really, evaluating the strong safeties on other teams is not something I do. So I can't speak intelligently about exactly where Roy Williams stands in the pecking order of NFC strong safeties. But, as I wrote recently, I think Roy is actually playing a better, smarter brand of football this year. He's making sure tackles and getting into the correct position on defense instead of loading up for the big hit or trying to make the highlight reel. Wade Phillips has also found a way in passing situations to utilize him as a linebacker instead of a cover deep safety.
HH: The Cowboys are even better than they were offensively last year. There was a presumption that the defense would get better (and it has) as Phillips would be willing to use the personnel in a more creative manner than Parcells. How much of the offensive improvement is credited to Jason Garrett? Is he the real deal?
BTB: I have to believe that Jason Garrett is the real deal. The Cowboys offense is better this year even though last year we were among the league-leaders. A lot of that credit goes to Jason Garrett. He's an aggressive play-caller that wants to score on every play, but he's not reckless, he is smart enough to take what the defense is giving him. He tends to probe early in games to see what the defense is doing and to give Romo an opportunity to see different looks from the defense. But once he's got it figured out, he will exploit it the rest of the game. He will utilize whatever player on offense he thinks has the better match-up and from week-to-week that player, or players, can change. Plus, his rapport with the players and his professionalism with the media have all the hallmarks of a head coach. If he's not the Cowboys head coach post-Wade Phillips - whenever that may be - I'll be disappointed.
HH: Marion Barber the third or JJ? I'd take MB3.
BTB: MB3 is the better back.
HH: How do the Cowboys lose this game? What, if anything, worries you about it?
BTB: I'm worried every week. This is the NFL, a team can go down in flames on any given Sunday - or Monday, or Thursday. We're a team that has to overcome mistakes to win, so far we've done it pretty handily, but there's always the chance we won't. Tony Romo is like his idol Brett Favre, including wanting to make something happen on every play. So, like Favre, he will turn the ball over on occasion, usually though, he more than makes up for it with the rest of his play. In fact, if Romo is on, and he's been on almost every game, our offense is too much for the opponent. We also make stupid penalties, I'm sure we're still the most penalized team in the league, and we can make them at the worst time. In general, the Cowboys have the potential to beat themselves in every game. It's hard to say how you'd beat the Cowboys this year without their own mistakes helping, unless you do what the New England Patriots did and that's simply to out-perform the Cowboys offense.
Thanks again to Grizz.
Unfortunately, I can't stay long to chat up the game. I am headed to Dallas within the hour to attend the game on Sunday to support Your Washington Redskins. I will enter hostile territory garbed in Redskins gear hoping to escape without having anything broken over my head. That shall not deter me. I will make arrangements for someone to get an open thread up on the weekend and will try to return with tales of victory. Until then, have a safe weekend and Hail to the Redskins.
Cheers.
Cowboys vs. Redskins: 5 Questions with Hogs Haven
by Dave Halprin (Grizz) Fri Nov 16, 2007 at 11:10:26 AM EDT
Here’s the 5 Questions segment for this week, starring our good friend over at Hogs Haven, Skin Patrol. He loves him some Deadskins, so let’s see what he has to say.
Blogging The Boys: What's your take on the whole no-huddle offense that's so topical this week? Will the Skins let Jason Campbell run it again this week in hostile territory where it's hard to hear?
Hogs Haven: Hard to tell. I've lost a huge amount of confidence in the Redskins red zone offense, which has proven pretty inept recently, especially last week against Philly. Regarding the no-huddle, the sample size is still small enough where I'm not ready to make a judgment one way or the other, but I do like the idea of letting Jason Campbell air the ball out more, be himself, and control the game. It's only been very recently that our run game has started to look appreciable, so I'm not yet sold on a run, run, pass, punt strategy. Especially against a team like Dallas that is moving the ball very well and scoring a lot of points, we can't depend on an injured defense to keep this one within reach; we need to score.
BTB: I can't keep up with the injuries at WR. Just who is in and who is out? And who is a maybe?
HH: Brandon Lloyd and James Thrash are out. Santana Moss is a maybe. That leaves Randle El, Keenan McCardell, and Reche Caldwell. We added Jimmy Farris, though you shouldn't know who that is (or you might, he played in Atlanta a couple years back). Surprisingly, the most devastating injury is... James Thrash. He's the only Redskin receiver with multiple touchdowns. Whoulda thunk it?
BTB: How bad will Sean Taylor's absence hurt the defense? What have been his main contributions this year and do you have capable backups?
HH: You cannot replace a Sean Taylor. He is the best player on the defense and thus it is the single most consequential injury that could happen on that side of the ball. The impact his absence will have is difficult to tell, because he hasn't missed a game since 2004. Taylor's main contribution has been generating turnovers with his five interceptions. Beyond that he's played very well in coverage and can cross a lot of field quickly, which makes it much easier to defend both the deep pass and the run (he does that well). The starter in his stead will be Pierson Prioleau, though the Official Site says Vernon Fox and Reed Doughty should see time as well. Fred Smoot was practicing as safety as well, though I don't see him getting in that spot. The amount of people we're willing to use to replace Taylor tells you just how many things he does incredibly well. Prioleau is a capable backup, had actually earned the starting job in front of Adam Archuleta last year before an injury in the first game, but he is not Sean Taylor.
BTB: How do you feel about Coach Gibbs? Is he safe from Danny Snyder? Might he leave after this year if the team doesn't succeed?
HH: Yes, he is safe from Dan Snyder. He might not be safe from Joe Gibbs, though, and may just decide to hang it up. He's said repeatedly that he plans on honoring the full length of his contract. It's not an unfair question though, as I'm sure you've noticed the Fire Joe Gibbs website and multiple minds discussing this precise point. That said, I think it is a huge indictment of the NFL peanut gallery's now now now attitude that we can start discussing the shortened career of a hall of fame coach who currently has a winning record. Were we supposed to beat New England?
The answer to your question is I just don't know. It will depend on how unsuccessful the team is; if we manage to sneak into the playoffs, I'd say absolutely not. If we miss them in dramatic fashion with a late season meltdown, certainly that would increase the likelihood of Gibbs saying it just isn't worth it.
BTB: How does Washington go about winning this game?
HH: Have to win the turnover battle. The Cowboys are playing better football than the Redskins right now which means we need to play flawlessly. It will be especially difficult without Taylor and with our offensive line and receiving unit injured. The Redskins have to be willing to make Dallas defend everywhere, and that means a willingness to go deep. We cannot wait on establishing our running game to start launching 3rd quarter play action passes deep. We need to attack the deep ball from snap one and keep Dallas honest. Defensively we have to get on Tony Romo and need to capitalize on his mistakes; dropped passes by our secondary are unacceptable in this game. The Dallas O-Line is playing good enough where pressuring Romo cannot come from a four man pass rush. We have to take some chances and bring blitz. And we have to cover T.O. I haven't seen anyone attempt to.
posted by The Gryphon at 7:33 PM
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