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Post by mexicanjunior on Aug 23, 2008 15:35:56 GMT -6
Post your thoughts...
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Post by bigdave on Aug 23, 2008 16:24:41 GMT -6
Defense is not playing as well as I thought they would. Can't wait to see what they do in the regular season.
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Post by Terd Ferguson on Aug 23, 2008 23:49:31 GMT -6
I think Newman and a game-planned pass rush will help alot.
Newman being in there changes things quite a bit.
It pushes everyone down a notch and allows safety help to primarily be shaded to one side.
Pacman still has a little rust to knock off but you can tell he is getting better.
I'm anxious for the season to get rolling!
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Post by bigdave on Aug 24, 2008 2:23:59 GMT -6
Kyle Kosier out for 6 weeks. Guess we will get to see if Free or McQuistan are ready to play after all.
Miles and Stanback both out. I am excited to see if one of the young guys will step up and make the roster. I am routing for Amendola and Lowber both have some talent if matured will have a chance in the league.
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Post by Sideshow Bob on Aug 24, 2008 11:10:43 GMT -6
looks like kosier, austin, stanback, burnett and spencer will all miss the season opener
newman is probably going to make it
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Post by Terd Ferguson on Aug 24, 2008 12:19:00 GMT -6
Kosier out - good news is whoever steps in to start will have pro-bowler Andre Gurode on one side and pro-bowler Flozell Adams on the other to help him out.
Stanback/Austin - Good news is, it is one or two games. Crayton can handle the #2 duties obviously (for a while) and Hurd can be #3. Witten is a great receiver and we can run 2 TE sets with Witten and Curtis (or Bennett who certainly looked like he is improving his effort vs Houston). Return situation should be in good hands with Pacman and Felix. I wouldn't expect to see a lot of 4 WR sets though...lol. (at least not with 4 WRs at those positions...maybe Felix or Witten split out)
Burnett - good news is, the thing he does best (cover TEs and RBs) is something that Zach Thomas excels at, and with Anthony Henry working as the FS in dime packages, we could easily shift to that if teams try to take advantage. Carp looked pretty decent too from what I've read.
Spencer - Good news is, Ellis wants all the snaps anyway.
Ok...that (to me) is the silver lining here. The bad news is, all of those guys were starting or playing significant roles for a reason. They are better than what is behind them on the depth chart. There will be drop off, but hey...a little adversity can bring a team together sometimes too.
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Post by bigdave on Aug 24, 2008 14:52:21 GMT -6
Well everyone has heard me say time and time again that
McQuistan and Free are the future of the Cowboys. The future just coming a little earlier then expected. I think once one of them are installed in the starting O-line Kosier will no longer have a spot.
If our biggest worries are about Miles Austin and Isaiah Stanback that is a pretty good problem to have. We have a really deep team. Spencer is going to be a problem just for resting starters means Ware and Ellis are in on more snaps. Our offense should be dominating time of possession so will not be a problem at all.
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Post by matt51180 on Aug 24, 2008 19:50:58 GMT -6
*Is Berger going to be in place of Kosier instead of McQuistan or Free?
*Phillips said no way to Felix returning kickoff, so who will take over? Is it just a ploy so teams will not plan for him to returning kicks?
*Has there been any news on how long Stanback is going to be out?
*I am not worried about the D. At least until after week 1. If they still look like this after game-planning, blitzes, & Newman back in the line-up.....then I might start to worry.
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Post by Terd Ferguson on Aug 24, 2008 23:22:52 GMT -6
I read that Berger was the leading candidate to take the LG spot for now too.
Stanback will be re-evaluated to see if surgery is needed. I'm hoping it isn't.
Agree with Dave though, time of possession will be huge. If we run the ball well vs CLE, we should be fine.
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Post by matt51180 on Aug 25, 2008 7:03:52 GMT -6
Yes, running game will be huge. If they start to overplay the run, that's when they can exploit the secondary.
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Post by Terd Ferguson on Aug 25, 2008 7:18:43 GMT -6
Yep, TO deep or Witten up the seams if they start dropping down a safety.
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Post by mexicanjunior on Aug 25, 2008 11:08:37 GMT -6
Game Thoughts...
The Good:
* First team offense again looked solid. Aside from 2 turnovers in the red zone, we should have hung 30 on a decent Texans defense.
* Marion Barber is looking more and more like a beast with each possession. I am upping my expectations to at least 1400 yards this season.
* Sam Hurd showed me a little something with some of his pass routes and catches. Losing Austin may give him the playing time and confidence he needs to step up.
* Pass rush is looking good, we came within a hair of nailing Schaub several times. I especially like how Spears is starting to step up and cause some backfield havoc. Maybe he is finally starting to fully "get it".
* Nick Folk has been solid as a rock this preseason, it's nice to not have to worry about kicker for change.
The Bad:
* Our run defense looked bad for many stretches of this game, especially once the second teamers were being integrated in. We can't have a performance like that against Jamal Lewis in week 1 and expect to win.
* The secondary played really soft on an average group of receivers, giving up alot of easy 3rd down conversions. I don't know if it was all Newman being out and no gameplanning but it would have been nice to see the secondary compete a little more 1 on 1.
* Our kick coverage teams continue to hurt us, especially the opening kickoff which normally sets the tone of the game. Also, Stanback coffing up his 2nd half return didn't do much to make me believe he can handle those duties full time.
* Turnovers in the red zone need to be cleaned up ASAP, no way you can leave points on the board like that in the regular season.
* Brad Johnson is still doing little to show me he is a capable backup, hope we start at least looking at some alternatives before it is too late.
* Injuries - Losing Kosier, Stanback and still not having Austin and Spencer are real downers but it could definitely be worse (see NY Giants).
BTW, do you still need a copy of the game Gary? I'm pretty sure Tivo recorded it while I was out of town and I can go ahead and do the conversion if you haven't seen it yet...
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Post by Sideshow Bob on Aug 25, 2008 11:13:02 GMT -6
both starting units looked good
not crazy about romo getting picked in the end zone, but he probably would have run that one in during the regular season, anyway
kick coverage is TERRIBLE...BRING BACK COACH JOE!!!
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Post by Sideshow Bob on Aug 25, 2008 11:13:51 GMT -6
in peter king's column this morning, he said romo and t.o. have to be drooling at the prospect of shredding the cleveland secondary in week one
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Post by matt51180 on Aug 25, 2008 12:36:36 GMT -6
Kickoff coverage can also be attributed to the line drive kick-offs Folk is kicking. He is getting them inside the end zone, but there is no hang time. That doesn't allow the coverage unit enough time to get down field. Now, they need to start making takles when they get there, but if there was another second and a half of hang time, I bet 10 yards could be made up on opponents field position.
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