mexicanjunior
10-13-2009, 08:51 AM
The Good:
* Despite dropping a touchdown and losing another on his fingertips, Miles Austin was clearly the player of the game. Whenever Dallas needed a play to be made, he came up big and used his great speed to turn 10 yard completions into long scoring runs. It's hard to get too excited about this performance since it came against a terrible KC secondary but at least someone stepped up and decided to try and be a game changer. I think he has won himself a look at being a starter alongside Roy Williams when he returns.
* With Marion Barber obviously ailing during his runs, Tashard Choice really stepped up to the plate and carried this team's running game. I have been a big proponent all year long of starting Choice, using Felix for 40% of the carries and 3rd down, and looking for another home for Barber. Since 2007 (and his huge contract), he just hasn't run with the same ferocity and become more of a liability with his lack of speed. Choice shows great burst, durability and willingness to run between the tackles. Also, and possibly most important, he seems to know how to finish close to the end zone and punch it in for 6.
* After having such a terrible game last week against Denver, I thought Romo actually bounced back pretty well. Granted, most of his 351 yards were YAC put in by Austin, but he seemed to have good placement on his passes and several good tosses were flat out dropped. Also, he didn't throw any picks, which is such a rarity these days, and his decision making seemed solid. My only beef with him was that half ass attempt of recovering the fumble on that botched snap.
* Finally! After 5 weeks of coming close to making plays, it was great to see Demarcus Ware close out a sack (finished with 2). I thought the front 7 as a whole did a solid job of containing the Chiefs running game (2.5 YPC) and making Larry Johnson look absolutely done. They also brought alot of pressure and finished with 4 sacks, which I suppose is the norm against KC's horrid offensive line. Still though, you have to take advantage of what's in front of you and I thought this unit did their job.
* Keith Brooking continues to show that he was one of Jerry's better free agent signings of the last decade. 11 tackles, a sack, 2 tackles for loss and a pass defense are very solid numbers. More than that though, he really seems to be trying to take the leadership role for this team. If there is one guy I feel comfortable with in the lineup every week, it is him.
The Bad:
* So much to choose from here, let's start with special teams. Nick Folk is turning into Mr. Unreliable from 40+ yards out. I'm starting to wonder if Beuhler might be the better choice on non chip shots. That miss to start the game was huge and I thought really gave KC a shot of confidence early on to keep them competing in the game.
* Special teams problem part 2 goes to the return teams. Patrick Crayton is becoming Mr. Butterfingers back there and I'm hoping cost himself the job. He has such a lack of speed, I would prefer to take my chances with Miles Austin handling those duties. Also, Newman's opportunity was completely botched when he let ball sail right over his head, costing the Cowboys bigtime field position. Ogletree was also failed on kick returns, Felix can't come back soon enough to help this unit out.
* Someone please explain to me again why we drafted Martellus Bennett so high to just ignore him on the field. The guy has big play ability but just doesn't seem to make use of it. He is starting to look more and more failed by the game.
* For as well as the front 7 played on defense for the majority of the game, the secondary made Cassell look like a Pro-Bowler. He ended up with a 90.8 passer rating, which is an embarrassment to what is supposed to be a decent secondary. I wanna say that it is due to Sensabaugh being out but this is turning into an every game occurrence. Newman was in position to make some great plays on the ball yesterday, it's too bad he doesn't seem to be able to do it consistently. Maybe we should have used all those millions on someone that can.
* This isn't to knock this guy's heart or desire to play but Marion Barber is clearly not himself right now. For some reason though, maybe out of fear or ignorance, he was left on the field far too often and his limp running killed several Dallas drives. I think Tashard Choice has shown himself to be more than capable as Barber's replacement, let's give him a shot and maybe consider putting Barber at fullback whenever he gets healthy again. If Marion doesn't like that, perhaps he needs to go the way of Braylen Edwards and be shipped for picks.
* I think Flozell has earned the new nickname I have coined for him..."Drivekiller". The guy cannot block speed rushers, can't remember the snap count, can't control himself from tripping defenders, and can't do a decent job of disguising his holds. I've been ready for the Doug Free era to begin for a few years now, it's time to pull the trigger. Too bad we don't have a coach with the stones to make it happen.
* Speaking of coaching, for the 2nd straight game, they just did not have this team ready to play. Blown coverages, bad tackling, poor playcalling, excessive penalties (13 for 90 yards)...this all falls on the coaching, or lack thereof, by Wade. He continues to show he is no more than a decent defensive coordinator and cannot lead a team past it's faults to success. That's a really tough thing to say after a win but this game really felt more like a loss. Against 90% of the other teams in the league, the Cowboys would have been blown out handily playing like this. This is the perfect time for Jerry to make a change but, as usual, I'm sure Wade will be kept through the bye and we can expect more of the same for 11 more games.
Overall...this win was nothing to get excited about and proved once again how average this team is. Against any of the NFC teams with a winning record, Dallas would have lost going away. They were just very fortunate to have been playing the team with the worst record over the last 30 games (2 and 28). Jerry really needs to wake up and realize that only a drastic change will save this season, it won't make it to the playoffs in it's current state. If not, all we can hope for as Cowboys fans is for the charter to crash (minus Brooking, Choice and Austin) into the ocean, which would be the only way to guarantee things will change around here.
* Despite dropping a touchdown and losing another on his fingertips, Miles Austin was clearly the player of the game. Whenever Dallas needed a play to be made, he came up big and used his great speed to turn 10 yard completions into long scoring runs. It's hard to get too excited about this performance since it came against a terrible KC secondary but at least someone stepped up and decided to try and be a game changer. I think he has won himself a look at being a starter alongside Roy Williams when he returns.
* With Marion Barber obviously ailing during his runs, Tashard Choice really stepped up to the plate and carried this team's running game. I have been a big proponent all year long of starting Choice, using Felix for 40% of the carries and 3rd down, and looking for another home for Barber. Since 2007 (and his huge contract), he just hasn't run with the same ferocity and become more of a liability with his lack of speed. Choice shows great burst, durability and willingness to run between the tackles. Also, and possibly most important, he seems to know how to finish close to the end zone and punch it in for 6.
* After having such a terrible game last week against Denver, I thought Romo actually bounced back pretty well. Granted, most of his 351 yards were YAC put in by Austin, but he seemed to have good placement on his passes and several good tosses were flat out dropped. Also, he didn't throw any picks, which is such a rarity these days, and his decision making seemed solid. My only beef with him was that half ass attempt of recovering the fumble on that botched snap.
* Finally! After 5 weeks of coming close to making plays, it was great to see Demarcus Ware close out a sack (finished with 2). I thought the front 7 as a whole did a solid job of containing the Chiefs running game (2.5 YPC) and making Larry Johnson look absolutely done. They also brought alot of pressure and finished with 4 sacks, which I suppose is the norm against KC's horrid offensive line. Still though, you have to take advantage of what's in front of you and I thought this unit did their job.
* Keith Brooking continues to show that he was one of Jerry's better free agent signings of the last decade. 11 tackles, a sack, 2 tackles for loss and a pass defense are very solid numbers. More than that though, he really seems to be trying to take the leadership role for this team. If there is one guy I feel comfortable with in the lineup every week, it is him.
The Bad:
* So much to choose from here, let's start with special teams. Nick Folk is turning into Mr. Unreliable from 40+ yards out. I'm starting to wonder if Beuhler might be the better choice on non chip shots. That miss to start the game was huge and I thought really gave KC a shot of confidence early on to keep them competing in the game.
* Special teams problem part 2 goes to the return teams. Patrick Crayton is becoming Mr. Butterfingers back there and I'm hoping cost himself the job. He has such a lack of speed, I would prefer to take my chances with Miles Austin handling those duties. Also, Newman's opportunity was completely botched when he let ball sail right over his head, costing the Cowboys bigtime field position. Ogletree was also failed on kick returns, Felix can't come back soon enough to help this unit out.
* Someone please explain to me again why we drafted Martellus Bennett so high to just ignore him on the field. The guy has big play ability but just doesn't seem to make use of it. He is starting to look more and more failed by the game.
* For as well as the front 7 played on defense for the majority of the game, the secondary made Cassell look like a Pro-Bowler. He ended up with a 90.8 passer rating, which is an embarrassment to what is supposed to be a decent secondary. I wanna say that it is due to Sensabaugh being out but this is turning into an every game occurrence. Newman was in position to make some great plays on the ball yesterday, it's too bad he doesn't seem to be able to do it consistently. Maybe we should have used all those millions on someone that can.
* This isn't to knock this guy's heart or desire to play but Marion Barber is clearly not himself right now. For some reason though, maybe out of fear or ignorance, he was left on the field far too often and his limp running killed several Dallas drives. I think Tashard Choice has shown himself to be more than capable as Barber's replacement, let's give him a shot and maybe consider putting Barber at fullback whenever he gets healthy again. If Marion doesn't like that, perhaps he needs to go the way of Braylen Edwards and be shipped for picks.
* I think Flozell has earned the new nickname I have coined for him..."Drivekiller". The guy cannot block speed rushers, can't remember the snap count, can't control himself from tripping defenders, and can't do a decent job of disguising his holds. I've been ready for the Doug Free era to begin for a few years now, it's time to pull the trigger. Too bad we don't have a coach with the stones to make it happen.
* Speaking of coaching, for the 2nd straight game, they just did not have this team ready to play. Blown coverages, bad tackling, poor playcalling, excessive penalties (13 for 90 yards)...this all falls on the coaching, or lack thereof, by Wade. He continues to show he is no more than a decent defensive coordinator and cannot lead a team past it's faults to success. That's a really tough thing to say after a win but this game really felt more like a loss. Against 90% of the other teams in the league, the Cowboys would have been blown out handily playing like this. This is the perfect time for Jerry to make a change but, as usual, I'm sure Wade will be kept through the bye and we can expect more of the same for 11 more games.
Overall...this win was nothing to get excited about and proved once again how average this team is. Against any of the NFC teams with a winning record, Dallas would have lost going away. They were just very fortunate to have been playing the team with the worst record over the last 30 games (2 and 28). Jerry really needs to wake up and realize that only a drastic change will save this season, it won't make it to the playoffs in it's current state. If not, all we can hope for as Cowboys fans is for the charter to crash (minus Brooking, Choice and Austin) into the ocean, which would be the only way to guarantee things will change around here.