Nfc east reports regular season

GIANTS

Kudos to ...

Defensive Line: A great job throughout the first three quarters controlling the Carolina running game, then lots of pressure on quarterback Matt Moore once Perry Fewell turned them loose. Let's mention a few guys individually.

* Justin Tuck: Four tackles, including a couple of run stops coming down the line to make the play, and several quarterback pressures.
* Mathias Kiwanuka: Lined up all over the place -- defensive end, defensive tackle, linebacker in the 'heavy' package designed to stop the run. He rushed the passer, dropped into coverage, made run stops as a lineman and linebacker. He did it all. Kiwanuka ended up with two sacks, four tackles and a forced fumble.
* Osi Umenyiora: He started, which I'm sure made him feel good, then went out and justified the decision. He played the run as well as I can remember seeing in a long time, recording five tackles. He also had a sack, aforced fumble and a handful of quarterback pressures. For me, that's better than he played at any time in 2009.
* Chris Canty: Can the 6-foot-7 Canty play defensive tackle? Sure looked like it Sunday. He was a force in the middle, and at defensive end in the heavy package. Six tackles, a half-sack and lots of stout work against the run. The big man is healthy, and if he keeps playing like that no one will be questioning how much money the Giants are paying him.
* Barry Cofield: Four tackles, and split a sack with Canty. Seems like he spent most of the day in the Carolina backfield.

Kenny Phillips: An interception in the end zone, and a tremendous touchdown-saving diving tackle on DeAngelo Williams in the first quarter.

Terrell Thomas: Did get beat by Carolina's Steve Smith for a touchdown, but it took an incredible throw from Moore to get that done. Had a pick, and four tackles.

Deon Grant: Love the fact that the veteran safety did not pout about losing his job to Phillips. When he got on the field, he made a huge play, picking off a floating Moore pass to save what looked like it would be seven Carolina points.

Eli Manning: Forget the three picks. None of those were his fault even if you want to argue that the one to Ramses Barden was too high. When you're 6-foot-6 and you can get both hands on a high throw without jumping, that's a ball that has to be caught if you're an NFL receiver. Without the six drops by the Giants, Eli would have been 26-for-30 for well over 300 yards with zero interceptions. He was fabulous, I don't care what the overall numbers show.

Hakeem Nicks: Four catches, three for touchdowns. Are we going to have to start calling him 'Touchdown Maker'? A couple of beautiful grabs, though he did miss one he should have had that resulted in an interception.

Perry Fewell: An impressive debut for the Giants new defensive coordinator. The Giants obviously game-planned to stop the run, and allowed Carolina's vaunted rushing attack just 89 yards on 24 carries (3.7 yards per attempt). Then, late in the game Fewell turned the defensive line and the blitzers loose on Moore, and the Giants ended up with four sacks. Loved the multiple fronts, with players moving all across the line. Mathias Kiwanuka played defensive end, defensive tackle and linebacker. At times, Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck played side-by-side. Chris Canty played some defensive end. Lots of alignments, lots of variations. Best of all, big plays and turnovers when they were needed. The Giants defense faced a short field the entire first half, and only surrendering 16 points was actually great work.

Kevin Gilbride: Love him or hate him, I think this week you have to give it up for the Giants offensive coordinator. The Giants dominated time of possession, holding the ball for 34:39. Without a true tight end, and after rushing for negative yardage in the first half, Gilbride dug a little deeper into the playbook and found ways to help the Giants get a ground game going. Good work from KG making some adjustments on the fly, something he is often criticized for being unable to do.

Mario Manningham: Four catches for 84 yards, including one for 31 yards. I was most impressed, however, by the communication that seems to be developing between Manningham and Manning, which was especially in evidence on the long third-down completion down the right sideline in the first half.

Red Zone Defense/Green Zone Offense: Three turnovers created by the defense in the Red Zone, three touchdowns scored by the offense in the Green Zone. Can't say that long-term problem has been cured after one game, but that sure was nice to see.
Wet Willies to ...

Matt Dodge: Pitiful. Two horrible punts, and one that was blocked. The blocked punt was the fault of the protection, but still an awful debut for the rookie punter. Memo to any veteran punter looking for a job -- if you don't have your agent call Giants GM Jerry Reese ASAP you are foolish.

Kickoff Coverage: Worse than Dodge's punting. What 'clean' word can I use to describe it? How about 'friggin' awful,' which is as close as I will come to dropping an F bomb. The awful coverage probably helped Carolina to at least 10 of its first-half points. It was better in the second half, but still not good enough.

Travis Beckum: Maybe this is unfair since the second-year tight end was asked to do much more than expected, but it was easy to see why the Giants really don't want to use Beckum on the line of scrimmage. He got pushed into the backfield a number of times, and the primary run game adjustment the Giants made in the second half was to do pretty much everything possible to run away from wherever he was lined up. With Kevin Boss suffering a concussion and a neck injury in the first series Sunday, I will be stunned if the Giants don't quickly sign Bear Pascoe to the active roster.

Tom Quinn: I asked it during the offseason, but how does the Giants special teams coach still have a job? The Giants could not cover kickoffs or punts last season, and they still can't now. We saw an awful offsides on a kickoff, a miscommunication in punt blocking that led to a blocked kick, horrible work by Dodge, D.J. Ware get in Darius Heyward's way on a kickoff and muff a ball he had no business trying to catch. Sorry, but a lot of that is on Quinn. I can't believe the Giants saw fit to keep him, and it is a decision that is obviously hurting them.

Ramses Barden: I know he only had one ball thrown in his direction, but ... when you are 6-foot-6 and your role on the team is make catches across the middle to move the chains you have to catch that ball, not bat it up in the air and cost your quarterback an interception. Keep that up, and Ramses will be in street clothes on Sundays watching Victor Cruz play.
Kwillies to ...

I have to give out a couple of these. By very loose definition, a 'kwillie' goes to those who contributed for both teams.

Ahmad Bradshaw: Nice running with 20 carries for 76 yards, including a 39-yard run that was longer than any running play the Giants had in 2009. But, a bad drop that turned into an interception, and a fumble when the Giants were simply trying to run out the clock. Can't have those.

Offensive Line: This was a real mixed bag. Outstanding pass protection for Manning most of the day as he was sacked just once and often had loads of time to survey his options. Pretty awful run blocking for the most part, though. Absolute nothing available on the left side behind David Diehl and Rich Seubert. Brandon Jacobs 22-yard run to that side was simply a great play call by KG that caught the Panthers off-guard. A terrible job by Shaun O'Hara and Chris Snee on the fourth-and-inches play where Eli barely made the first down. The Giants had a little second-half success running behind Snee and Kareem McKenzie, but a lot of what Bradshaw got he did on his own.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/9/13/1684541/kudos-wet-willies-loving-the

According to AP, Kevin Boss suffered his third concussion in two years in yesterday's game, and tackle William Beatty has a broken foot.

Boss's status for the game against Indianapolis is unknown, and no time frame was given on Beatty either.

No truth to the rumor that Matt Dodge suffered a sprained neck from constantly looking to Heaven for answers as to what is wrong with his punting.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/9/13/1686578/giants-injury-update

 

EAGLES

During the third quarter of this game Troy Aikman said, "One word comes to mind when I see Kelly green. Pain" Troy's statement was right then and now. The Eagles season opener against the Green Bay Packers resembled a reverse "House Of Pain" game and saw five Eagles starters go down. Let me clear my throat and do my best Andy Reid impression. First, injuries.

Leonard Weaver left the game with a truly gruesome knee injury. His leg literally bent the wrong direction. Andy Reid announced that he has a torn ACL and is done for the year.

Also done for the year is center Jamaal Jackson, who suffered torn biceps. Reid said it's likely that he's done for the year as well. It's a pretty heartbreaking injury for Jackson, who had fought back valiantly from offseason knee surgery to get ready for the season opener.

QB Kevin Kolb & LB Stewart Bradley were both taken out of the game at halftime with concussions. The scary part was that both players were re-inserted into the game after they appeared to suffer their concussions. Both players will need to pass concussion tests from the team and an independent physician before they cleared to play again. Reid did say that if Kolb is healthy, he will be the starter next week.

The last injury was to LT Jason Peters, who sprained his right knee but returned a few series later.

We'll take a look at the actual game after the jump.

Star-divide

We'll start first with the bad.. and there's plenty of it to go around. The offense got off to an absolutely dreadful start. Kevin Kolb did not look sharp, the offense line was giving up tons of pressure, the running game couldn't get moving, and Michael Vick was seemingly in the game every other play. By the end of the half, they had as many penalty yards as they did yards of net offense.

There's certainly been a lot of panic over the performance of Kevin Kolb, who went just 5-10 for 24 yards and was sacked twice. However, let's put his performance in context. He attempted 10 passes over two quarters of play. Much of that time he was being pulled in and out of the game as Michael Vick saw more time than we've ever seen him have in the role he played last year. Three of his ten passes came after he suffered a concussion. So let's just take it easy before we panic about him. We still need to see a lot more.

The awful early performance of the offense has overshadowed the poor defense a bit. The Eagles D gave up 27 points today and effectively put the game out of reach with how poor they were late in the second half and early in the third. They gave up 17 points in about a 14 minute span there. It was extra disappointing to watch after they got off to such a red hot start. They did some good things sacking Aaron Rodgers three times and picking him off twice, plus they stood strong in the fourth quarter... but the Eagles won't win too many games where they give up 27 points.

Now, the good. The good has to start with Michael Vick, who finished the game with a 101.9 QB rating and ran for 103 yards. He looked as good as he ever has running the ball and his throws were good and bad, but good enough to move the team with 175 yards through the air. He turned a blowout in the third quarter to a game where they were driving for a tying score in the fourth quarter. If he has to start next week, I think people will be much more confident in him after this game than they were after the preseason.

The comeback at the end made the game exciting and lifted spirits a bit, but make no mistake about it... this was a devastating game. They lost two key starters for the year and potentially Bradley & Kolb for a couple weeks. This will be a tough one to recover from.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/9/12/1684734/michael-vick-led-comeback-falls

According to the Eagles' official Twitter feed, the team has just signed former Seattle Seahawks fullback Owen Schmitt to the active roster. Coming with that move, tight end Garrett Mills was promoted to the active roster, giving the Eagles a third tight end and an emergency backup fullback (because, let's face it, Eldra Buckley just didn't cut it). Taking Mills' place on the eight-man practice squad will be a familiar face: OL Fenuki Tupou. This gives the Eagles three offensive linemen on the practice squad: Tupou, A.Q. Shipley, and Dallas Reynolds. Will the Eagles keep all three? Likely. Since the team is now a man down at center, Shipley could be one "tweak" away from becoming a part of the active roster.

As expected, Leonard Weaver and Jamaal Jackson were placed on injured reserve, officially ending their 2010 season.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/9/13/1686747/eagles-sign-fb-schmitt-promote-te

GB 27, PHI 20

Who knew the preseason was expanded to 5 games this year, huh? That's about what it felt like at times. We made a lot of mistakes. GB wasn't perfect themselves, but they were a heck of a lot more sharp than us. They were clearly the better team. Most of us thought that going in, so the result isn't actually all that shocking. The way things happened were the troublesome part.

This was supposed to be the beginning of the Kevin Kolb era. It went over about as well as New Coke. Kevin struggled and then got knocked out of the game. Mike Vick came in and played well. The offense came alive with him and did some good things. The defense was very up and down. There were times when we looked great. Other times, not so. 27 points is unacceptable, even to a team like the Packers. Special Teams was another mixed bag. They gave up a pair of long KORs that really hurt us.

The Kolb doubters are coming out full force. He's a bum. He sucks. Blah, blah, blah. One game, good or bad, doesn't define a player. Heck, Kevin didn't even have that. We're only talking about 18 offensive snaps. The Texans had a 15-play drive yesterday. Kolb missed the whole 2nd half. Who knows what might have happened. Maybe he settles down at halftime and gets hot. Maybe he struggles the whole game. We don't know. Acting as if a bad half means a guy can't play is utterly ridiculous.

This was the Reid era version of the Body Bag Game. The Packers lost DL Justin Harrell for the year. FS Nick Collins had to leave the game. RB Ryan Grant suffered a nasty ankle sprain when Q tackled him. We lost Jamaal Jackson and Leonard Weaver for the year. We lost Kolb and Stew for the 2nd half due to concussions. I got real worried when Jason Peters left the game. Luckily he returned. Both teams were playing physical football and really getting after it.

Let's talk about what we do know. The team showed tremendous character in never giving up. We got down 20-3 and 27-10 and I didn't know how the team would respond. The guys stepped up and cut that down to 27-20. Look at SF as a point of contrast. They opened with a dud game, losing to SEA 28-6. The Niners never came alive in that game. Now the coach and QB are saying strange things to the media. Singletary wants a team meeting to get things right. The Niners look to be in panic mode after one game. Our guys kept plugging away and got right back in the game yesterday. There's no gloom 'n doom scenarios inside the team. They're ready to go to work and get back to 1-1.

There was also a lot of talent on the field yesterday. I was pleased with quite a bit of what I saw on tape. We've got to quit making mistakes and start executing better, but there isn't a lack of talent. I'm not down on the team right now. I'm frustrated with how they played yesterday, but I still like them quite a bit. We'll see whether that is wise or not in the weeks to come.

Most important of all...this loss is just one game. A win wouldn't have guaranteed us a spot in the Super Bowl. A loss doesn't mean we're terrible. The NFL season is a marathon. You grind away for 16 games and see where you are at that point. We've got a long way to go between now and then. Be patient. At least for a week.


*** Coaching ***

I know a lot of people are down on Marty for the offensive struggles. Frankly, I'm not sure if he's to blame or not. We executed so poorly that it is hard to judge his gameplan. I liked some of what we did. Obviously I think running the ball more would have helped, but we've had that discussion ad infinitum. Overall, I'm okay with the way the offense ran. The best play call of the night was the quick hitting Trap on 2nd/GL when LeSean scored his TD. My biggest frustration was the lack of a deep ball, but it might be that the Packers' FS was taking that away.

I liked Sean McDermott's gameplan. He was aggressive and creative. He let the DL get after Rodgers quite a bit. He mixed in 3, 4, and 5 man looks. He blitzed at times. He rotated his players a lot. He mixed in different groupings.

As for Reid...he had an okay opener. He made a good challenge that negated an INT and we gained about 20 yards on the punt. In the 4th Qtr AR tried to argue the Shovel Pass was incomplete and the clock should stop. Refs didn't agree. The most obvious area of discussion is how he used his timeouts. Andy used the timeouts around the 5:30 mark. This is sorta odd, but I think he had logic behind his decision. Andy probably wanted us to get the ball back with plenty of time on the clock because Vick doesn't have a lot of 2-minute experience with us. Vick's 2 TD drives went 3:39 and 4:12. Could he have moved the ball with 90 seconds left as effectively?

I don't think there is a strong case that Reid made a dumb gamble by calling the timeouts when he did, but I might be missing something. Feel free to let me know if there's an angle I'm overlooking.


*** Plays ***

* We opened the game with Kolb and Vick both on the field. Vick was wide left. We faked a pass to him and threw a TE screen to the other side.

* 3rd/9. 3 WR, RB, TE. We lined up with TE & 2 WRs to right side. Vick drops back and throws a screen to the left. McCoy reads his blocks and uses his burst to fire upfield for 27 yards. He only had to use one move to avoid a defender. The rest was just running hard up the field. Herremans took out a LB on the play. Cole killed Nick Barnett downfield. That is one of the hardest blocks I've seen in a long time. Larry Allen thought that was hardcore. The slo-mo replays missed it. You've got to re-watch the live play and follow Nick to really appreciate it.

* We tried to run the Shovel Pass inside the 10. GB played it well. No gain.

* 4th/1. Too far for conventional sneak. We needed a full yard. Running Vick was the smart call. When I watched the play live I thought Celek's poor block is what ruined the play. Wrong. Vick screwed up. Our OL blocked perfectly and gave Vick a good hole. All he had to do was fly up the B-gap (LT/LG). GB gave us a favorable formation. Jason blocked his LB and Todd drove his DL off the ball. There was at least a yard of room. A LB was flowing to the hole, but had Vick fired up in there he would have gotten the 1st down. Vick instead was looking to run more outside and that's when Celek's poor block did ruin the play.


*** Players ***


QB

KOLB --- Pretty much a nightmare start. Things started innocently enough. Hit Maclin for 5 yds on his first completion. That was pretty much the highlight of the 1st half. Kevin finished 5-10-24. Not great numbers, to put it mildly. He never looked comfortable on the field. I'm not sure what the problem was, but he was just off. He gave us the worst of both worlds. On some plays he was hesitant to pull the trigger and held the ball too long. Other times he threw the ball too quickly instead of making good reads. He was at his worst forcing the ball to DeSean, who was heavily covered for most of the game. Kevin almost had 2 passes picked off.

The biggest thing Kevin did wrong was simply not just running the offense. That's all Vick did when he came in. Drop back, find the open guy and get him the ball. Vick's scrambling certainly helped, but Kolb should have been much more effective than he was. It almost felt as if he was trying to be too perfect. You don't have to do that with the caliber of skill players we have. Just execute. On time, on target.


VICK --- Good game. 16-24-175 with 1 TD. Also ran 11 times for 103 yards. Got mixed in a lot early on. I'm not a huge fan of that, but it's clear that the coaches want to use Vick a fair amount this year. Had a good scramble on 3rd/long to help set up first FG of the game. Took over and played the whole 2nd half.

As I said above, the thing I liked best is that Vick just ran the offense. He threw a ton of short passes over the middle. That's fine. He was getting the ball to the open man and moving the chains. Mike scrambled real well. He kept his eyes downfield, but took off when he had to or there was a lot of room. Overall, his decision-making was very good. He did have a couple of big snafus. He picked the wrong hole on 4th/1 run at the end of the game. The play may have been designed to go wide, but on 4th/1 you attack the first place where you've got room. Vick also had a couple of RZ mistakes. He missed wide open Avant on 2nd/GL play. Would have been an easy TD. Luckily, Vick threw a TD pass on 3rd down. And Mike should have run the ball in on the play in the early 4th when we were down 27-17. I looked closely. He would have scored with no problem. Instead, he forced the ball into coverage and it fell incomplete. Had we cut the lead to 27-24 I wonder just how nervous the Packers would have been.

Vick's passing was okay. He made some terrific throws, but also got bailed out by the skill players a few times. Several WRs made diving grabs. Celek made a real tough catch down the middle. I'm sure the coaches will work with Mike on getting the ball up a bit this week. One thing that I did like was that Vick didn't force the ball to any one player. He found the open guy and hit him. He threw right and left. He worked the middle and sidelines. Vick also hung tough in the pocket. He took a couple of big shots while getting passes off.


RB

MCCOY --- Good game. Ran 7-35-1. Caught 5-47. Looked really good on the move. Had a good burst. Was elusive in the open field. Was really good on screen passes. I also thought he was solid as a blocker. Acted as FB for Vick on QB draw on early 3rd/long play. Got a block on ILB, but it was close to holding. Gotta keep those hands in tight. No grabbing. Had a very good chip block on Matthews. Hit him so hard that he spun him. Failed to catch pass from Kolb. Bounced off him and up in the air. McGlynn saved the day by catching it. Good run to left side in early 3rd. Made Woodson miss and got about 7 yds. Scored TD on trap play from the 12. Used a cutback move on screen pass to get 9 yds. Also had the screen that went for 27.

BELL --- Had a good run of 9 yds wiped out by holding call. Quiet game.

BUCKLEY --- Not a good day. Got some reps at FB after Weaver got hurt. Made one huge mistake. Fumbled after short catch over the middle. Woodson knocked the ball away. Buckley can't make mistakes like that when he gets on the field. Also struggled on STs. Those notes are in that section. Long day.

WEAVER --- Ran up the middle in the early 2nd Qtr and Nick Barnett hit him hard in the lower legs. Leonard's knee bent backward and that was that. Not good. You knew things were bad when Packers players were working hard to get people off him. Leonard must have been in some serious pain.



TE

CELEK --- Much more quiet game than I expected. Caught 2 passes for 32 yds. Both catches came in the 4th Qtr. Got called for Off. PI in the mid 1st on seam route. Questionable call. Brent stuck out his arm, but it didn't seem like he would have had that much effect on the defender. Sloppy block to open 3rd series cost us. If Brent had sustained block on Matthews, McCoy had some real room to run. Instead, Clay made the stop for just 3 yds. Had good seal block on Jones on 3rd/short run by Vick for 1st. Had an okay block on Jones on run that came to his side in the early 3rd. Terrible block on Matthews on 4th/1 to end the game.

HARBOR --- Played sparingly. Made a critical mistake on 1st GL. Had good initial block of Woodson on run, but then Charles shed him and went for the ball. Clay should have let him go. Never hold on a run play. He did hold and got called. 1st/GL from inside the 5 got changed in a hurry. Didn't end up hurting us.



WR

DJAX --- Down game. Caught 4 passes for 30 yards. Offered no impact. GB schemed to take him away and did a good job. We failed to get him the ball in space where he could run with it. Made one impressive grab by the left sideline on a pass that Vick slung his way.

MACLIN --- Okay game. 4 catches for 38 yds and a TD. Got the ball on an end around and ran for 1st down in the 1st Qtr. Looked good on the play. His TD catch was impressive. Mac ran a good route to get open and then had to adjust to a low throw from Vick. He was able to get down and make the grab.

AVANT --- Good game. 4 catches for 41 yds. Had to go down low for a couple of his grabs. Did a great job on 3rd/2 play in early 4th. Was tightly covered in slot by Woodson. Jason used his hands (sort of a swim move) to get to the inside, forcing Woodson to hold him or let him be wide open. This drew a flag and moved the chains. Jason can be a very physical WR.

COOPER --- Played some STs, some WR. Was in the game in the 4th Qtr, but never had any passes come his way. I'm sure Riley will let Vick hear about that. Those two were really good in the preseason, but now Vick is abandoning him for DJax, Mac, and Avant. No way Riley let's his buddy not hear about that a little. "C'mon #7. What about me and you and the magic we had against the Jags scrubs?"


OL

* Gave up sack on delay blitz, twist. No one person at fault. Brilliant execution by them, poor chemistry by us.
* The Packers used stunts/games on the right side of the OL. You wonder if Cole and Justice have any rapport when you watch them play at times.

PETERS --- Not a great game. Cut LB on Mac's run in the mid 1st. That gave him room to run. Holding call on run play in mid-2nd. Terrible technique on the play. That erased a good gain by Bell. Whiffed on blitzing LB late in the game and that forced Vick to scramble up the middle for no gain. Obviously I'm focusing on his mistakes. Jason did his job well most of the game. He is so good most of the time, but his mistakes are incredibly frustrating. And costly. Left the game for a few plays with a sprained knee. Returned.

HERREMANS --- So-so game. Wasn't able to block Nick Barnett on Vick designed run and that led to TFL. Nick did a great job on the play. Todd would have needed to make a terrific block for the play to work. Poor block of Raji led to Vick having to scramble to open the 2nd half. Failed to pick up stunting LB and that led to sack on the final drive. Had the great block on the screen pass that went for long gain. Had a terrific block on 4th/1 even though Vick didn't use it.

JACKSON --- Whiffed on LB on early inside run. The play was stuffed. Helped ride the NT wide on an inside run. Got hurt in the mid-2nd and left the game. Torn triceps. Done for the year.

COLE --- RG. Very up and down. Looked to me like the first sack of the game was his fault. Had no one rushing so he turned to help out Justice. Should have noticed the Packers best pass rusher was standing still just a few yds upfield. Clay Matthews shot through the gap when Cole moved and got Kolb for a sack. Had other plays where he and Justice struggled with blitzes and stunts. Great job on McCoy's TD run. Nick Cole blocked Nick Barnett and then Nick Collins. How's that for weird? Excellent blitz pickup on Vick's TD pass to Mac. Nick blocked his to to the outside initially and then saw another rusher looping in. Nick stonewalled him and kept Vick clean. Got beaten by Jenkins on pass play and that forced Vick to hurry a throw.

JUSTICE --- Struggled with Matthews a few times. Got shoved back by Matthews on early run play. That affected McCoy's running room. Had a good block on his DE on inside run. Sealed the guy, giving McCoy room to run. Tossed Matthews to the ground on pass play. McCoy got Clay off balance with a good chip and then Winston just shoved him down. Good teamwork. Had an okay initial block on Matthews on concussion play. Couldn't sustain it and Clay was able to get free and chase down Kevin. Matthews beat WJ with spin move to the inside to flush Vick on long scramble play. Got beaten to the inside by Matthews, but it came on a screen to the other side and didn't affect play. Still, you don't like to see your RT letting guys have an inside angle to the QB.

MCGLYNN --- Took over at C at about the 8-min. mark of the 2nd Qtr. I thought he played pretty well. I'm encouraged. Had an OL's dream sequence. We drop back to pass. Mike has no one to block. He turns and hits Todd's man (Raji) from behind and puts that dude on the ground. Then Mike sees the pass get deflected and he hustles over to catch it. Excellent awareness. Might have gotten away with grabbing Raji on McCoy's TD run, but if he did hold he didn't make it blatantly obvious. Popped DT on draw, then went for LB. Picked up Matthews looping inside. Good block gave Vick a clean pocket and led to a 1st down. Got a block on Barnett on screen in the early 4th. Good job out in space. Delivers nasty shots to DTs rushing when they are being blocked by the OG. Mike hits them from the side like he means it. Whiffed on a block of Raji in pass pro. Looked like he tried to get in a big shot and just missed.

DUNLAP --- Took over at LT on 1st/GL in late 3rd. Only played a few snaps. Didn't get beat or have any highlight blocks.

___________________________________________________


DE

COLE --- Outstanding game. Jumped offside on early 3rd down, but it didn't end up hurting us. Dropped on a zone blitz and tackled Driver after short catch over the middle. Got on him immediately. Created a sack when he drove LT back into pocket, flustered Rodgers. JP sealed the deal. Cole made LT Chad Clifton look like a rag doll on the play. Made a great TFL on a run play. Stonewalled the LT, shed the "block", and put the RB down for a short loss. Great run defense. Got a sack in the early 2nd Qtr. Used his hands to knock away Clifton's hands and then used a good shoulder dip to get by Chad and sack Rodgers. Made a good tackle of Jackson on draw on the next play. Trent has great awareness and is a very good tackler. Just missed a sack in the mid 2nd. Got inside the LT and pressured Rodgers, but Aaron was able to get away. Drew a tripping penalty on the RG on that play. Blew up a run play that came his way in the early 3rd. Didn't make the tackle, but gave the RB nowhere to go. Led the team with 6 tackles.

GRAHAM --- Solid game. Played LDE and DT. Gave RT Mark Tauscher fits at times. First play of the game he drove the RT straight back and then went inside him to pressure Rodgers. Drove Tauscher back 2 yards on a run play to force the RB to stay inside. Took a hard inside slant from LDE and drove the RG back into Rodgers. Aaron was able to get the pass off, but the RG looked like he was on skates. I think these guys are caught off guard by Brandon's explosive power. Should have gotten his first NFL sack in the early 2nd. GB forgot to block him and Brandon had a free run at Rodgers. Unfortunately Aaron side-stepped him and Graham was left reaching for air. Got pressure up the middle on pass play and hit Rodgers just as he was releasing the ball. Got pressure in the early 4th and forced Rodgers to throw the ball away. Got penetration on the next play and disrupted a run. Drove the C straight back and then dove at Rodgers feet on play where Aaron threw the pick in the 4th. Rodgers couldn't step into the throw and the ball sailed on him. That's an example of a play where pressure was better than a sack. Didn't make it onto the stat sheet, but had some impact.

PARKER --- Good game. Had a pair of sacks. Backup LDE. Hit Rodgers on play when Stew missed sack and forced Aaron to move in pocket. First sack came when Trent got pressure and boxed Rodgers in. Juqua used a power move to drive Tauscher straight back. He shed the block and got Aaron down. We did get lucky. Juqua had some facemask. No call. 2nd sack was real impressive. Came upfield and just tossed Tauscher to the ground and then slung Rodgers down. That is tremendous power for a guy that lists at 6'2, 250.

BARNES --- Played some LDE, some Joker. Had a chance for a sack when he got loose in the backfield, but Rodgers took off running and Barnes couldn't catch him before Aaron was safely out of bounds. Shoved Finley out of bounds while covering him. Antwan had dropped into coverage on a zone blitz. Made an impressive play late in the half. Came in a LDE and chased a running play down on the other side. Held the RB to minimal gain. RZ play. Jumped offside late in the half. Finished with a couple of tackles.


DT

BUNK --- Good game. Hustled down the LOS to tackle Grant on a run play on the 2nd drive. Got some push on a couple of pass plays. Took inside slant to get by LG in late 1st Qtr, but Rodgers had already gotten rid of the ball. Hustled to hit TE after short catch. Basically did a somersault to try and get a shot on the guy. Had a TFL in the late 2nd. Just tossed aside the LG and engulfed the RB for short loss. Had a TFL of Jackson in the late 3rd. Got off his block and into the backfield. Moved down the LOS and tackled RB for a short gain in the late 3rd. Got penetration vs run play and almost got RB for a loss. Did disrupt the play. Got a TFL in the early 4th when he got into the backfield and got the RB by his lower legs. Had 5 total tackles. Was credited with a TFL, but should have had 2.5 or 3 by my count.

PATT --- Not his best game. Started slow. Failed to consistently hold the POA early on. Got dominated on one run. RG drove him more than 5 yds off the ball. That shocked me. Did get some pressure on a pass play. Looped to his right on a play where Rodgers drifted in that direction. Blew up one run play by shoving RG out of the way. Went to tackle RB, but got run over by Jordan, who did make the stop. Shed a block in the late 3rd and got RB for only a short gain. Hustled to his right to tackle RB on play that went away from him. Held his ground perfectly on late 4th run. Stuffed the RG and clogged the hole. RB had nowhere to go and was stopped for short gain.

LAWS --- Got a decent amount of time, but overall had a quiet game. Used a spin move to get off a double team and hit Rodgers just after throwing the ball on a 3rd down play. Got some push on another 3rd down, but Rodgers still got the ball away. Took over for Patt in the base D in the late 3rd and got driven off the ball on a run play that went right through his area for about 10 yds. Not good. He's got to be more stout in the base D.

DIXON --- Played a decent amount, but had a quiet game. Even got mixed into some passing situations. There were a couple of plays where Dixon and Graham were the DTs. Interesting combo.


LB

SIMS --- Good game. Had 5 solo tackles and a TFL. He reacts really quickly to plays in front of him. Rodgers misfired on a short pass on opening drive, but Sims had closed to the guy so quickly that a good throw wasn't going to do much. Looked like he hesitated on an outside run to his side. Grant was running wide and if Ernie stayed full speed, he was going to run through Grant. Ernie slowed down as if expecting Grant to cut upfield. That allowed Ryan to get wide, but Asante made the stop. Helped to create a sack on a pass play. Ernie was in coverage. He saw the TE trying to release and got a shot on Finley. Rodgers couldn't throw the ball and ended up on the ground. Chased down Grant and tackled him for minimal gain on a run in the early 2nd Qtr. Made a terrific tackle on 3rd/2 in the 2nd Qtr. Rodgers was under pressure and dumped the ball to Jackson, right at the LOS. Sims closed to the ball in a hurry and forcefully put Jackson down on the ground. Blew up FB on iso run, but Grant was able to find room up the middle. Had one real sloppy play vs run. Iso play came his way. Ernie didn't take on the FB, but tried to get upfield. Dumb. Left big running lane. Had tight coverage of backup TE on short pass play and tackled him for a short loss actually. Got through traffic and tackled RB on inside run for only a short gain. Aggressively attacked OL on run play in the late 4th and limited the RB's options on run play. Pursuit made the stop.

STEW --- Watching the game live I thought Stew played well. The tape showed something different. Mixed results. Very active early in the game. Stew probably should have gotten called for illegal contact on a WR on early 3rd down on crossing route. Pass went elsewhere and no flag was thrown. Lined up at LDE on a 5-man line to open 2nd drive. Was offside and did get a flag for that. Lined up at LDE again. Didn't do much. Might have been too fired up early on. Overran a run to his left. Ended up playing patty-cake with the C while Bunk made the tackle. Missed tackle on slot receiver early on, but Hanson held him up and Stew got back in on the play. Overran Rodgers on 2nd drive. Should have been a sack. Stew attacked upfield and the blocking left him a clear lane. Aaron ducked as Stew was about to hit him. That led to short completion. Used to cover TE Finley at times Stew was up and down. He got called for PI on one play. He also helped on the pass when Hanson got the INT. Stew took away some of the deep middle and made Rodgers get some air under the ball, allowing Q to come over and play the pass. Kept tight coverage on RB on 3rd/short pass. That helped to force Rodgers to scramble. Overran an inside run play in the mid 2nd, then got stuck on the block. That left big hole for Grant. Made a tackle of Grant on the next play, but it was 8 yards downfield. The next play was another Grant run up the middle. Sims blew his assignment, but Stew got stuck on a block and could only watch Ryan fly up the field. Tackled Jackson after catch and run late in the half. Suffered a concussion in the 2nd Qtr. Sat out a couple of snaps, then returned. Sat out the 2nd half.

JORDAN --- Quiet game. Chased down Grant on a run up the middle. Good pursuit. Missed tackle of RB out in space after catch. That allowed him to get a 1st down. Let himself get cut blocked on a run to his side and that let the runner get wide. Best hit of the game came in the early 3rd. Ran over Mike Patterson to tackle the RB at the LOS. Nice hit, but too bad it was friendly fire. Hustled over to help tackle RB on run that was away from him. Missed tackle of Jackson on run up middle. Akeem was in good position. Just made a sloppy attempt.

GAITHER --- Do not handle a gun while reading this. Also not safe for pregnant women or people with heart conditions. Took over at MLB when Stew left the game. Didn't set any records for awesomeness. Finished with 5 total tackles. Got some pressure on Rodgers on a play where he scramble toward the sideline, but Aaron was able to get the pass off. Made sloppy tackle attempt on WR after short catch late in the half. Chased down RB on run to his left. Failed to jam Finley on 3rd down pass play. Omar had good coverage for about 10 yds, but then Finley came open and Rodgers hit him for a good gain. You've either got to jam him or backpedal like crazy to take away the deep middle. Omar did neither. Completely mis-read the FB dive play and stayed with the RB. Left the middle open for about a 10-yd run. Overran play in the early 3rd and got sealed, leaving big running lane up middle for Jackson. He got about 10 yds on the play. Ran right by the FB on TD run. Reached for him at the last second, but had already overrun the play. Missed a tackle of Jackson on draw play. Brandon went for more than 20 yds. Omar had space to make a tackle, or at least significantly slow him down. Did neither. Had a chance for a TFL in the late 3rd, but Bunk beat him to the RB. Overran run play to start the 4th. Should have made tackle of RB on run play in late 4th. Got over into position and seemed to freeze. Luckily other guys made the stop. Weird. Got out of position on 4th Qtr run up the middle. Guessed where RB would go and that hurt us when Jordan missed the tackle. Played the run well on the next snap. Flowed to the ball, then saw the RB cutback and Omar adjusted and helped make the stop.



S

MIKELL --- Good game. Had 5 tackles. Broke up a pass to Finley that led to Hanson's INT. Read the play and then went up and made a good play on the ball. Q couldn't make the catch and the ball bounced off his lower leg and to Hanson. Q looked pretty athletic on the play. Tackled well. Disrupted a running play by coming up quickly. Didn't make the tackle, but blew up the play and limited it to a small gain. Blitzed off the LDE's side in the late 4th and forced an errant pass on 3rd down.

ALLEN --- Good start to his Eagles career. Best thing I can say is that he didn't look like a rookie. Nate played fast and confident. Quickly came up to jump on RB on early pass play. Ball went elsewhere, but Nate was in good position to make the tackle if the ball had gone there. Came up quickly to make tackle of Jennings after short catch. Really hustled to get upfield or out wide and to the ball. Made a good stop of Finley after Asante's missed tackle. Nate didn't wrap up, but did explode through Finley's legs. He left no doubt that the big TE was going down. Helped Sims on a tackle of Grant right at the LOS. Made a mistake in the late 2nd when he came up after Rodgers on a play where Aaron had scrambled outside. That left Jennings wide open in the middle of the field and Greg made a sensational catch. May have blown coverage on 3rd down pass play. Rodgers had guy wide open on short pass. Nate flew up to make the tackle. Might have been his guy. No other DB looked to be on him. Made a good, wrap-up tackle of Jackson after long run. That may not sound like a big deal, but it is the FS's job to clean up messes. Nate did well to put the guy down forcefully. Nate came up a couple of steps to help out as a run defender on a play in the late 3rd. At the snap he paused for a minute to see if the TE was going up the deep middle. Then Nate turned and got back. Unfortunately that was the long TD to Jennings. Should have gone back right at the snap. Maybe could have helped. Maybe not. Picked off an overthrow over the deep middle in the early 4th. Easy catch, but he made it and ran the ball back to midfield. Finished with 5 solo stops.

COLEMAN --- Played some on defense. Was credited with 1 tackle, but I didn't see it. We used Kurt in some 3 Safety sets.



CB

SAMUEL --- Pretty good game. Made a solid stop of RB on the 2nd drive. Forced him out of bounds by going low and getting in his way. Didn't wrap. Made good effort to tackle Finley in the flat, but didn't wrap him up and Finley was able to withstand Asante's hit. It did slow Finley down and let pursuit get over to make the play. Just missed an INT and possible pick-six in the early 3rd. Jumped a route to his side perfectly, but couldn't hold onto the ball. Could have been a huge play with us just down 13-3. Credited with 3 tackles. Good effort.

HOBBS --- Up and down game. Had tight coverage on Driver when he caught a slant pass & moved the chains. Did make the tackle. Ellis was very effective in coverage at times. He would be physical with WRs and not let them have a clean release. Unfortunately, that didn't always happen. Had pretty good coverage on deep ball to Jennings in early 3rd. Ball was overthrown. My worst fear came true in the late 3rd. Played off of Jennings. Greg ran a go route and went right by Hobbs. Easy TD. Ellis doesn't have good deep speed and he loves to watch the QB and try to squat on routes. Can't do that vs Jennings. The Packers sat on the sideline joking about the play and how easy it was. Had tight coverage on 3rd down pass that came to his side. The ball was off target. Had 4 solo stops.

HANSON --- INT on deflected pass on 2nd drive. Good awareness, hands. That play was a matter of right place, right time. Ran the ball down the left sideline to put us out near midfield. His presence may have affected throw to Nelson near GL. Hanson was in front and Rodgers threw the ball behind Jordy. Could have been inaccurate throw or deliberate. Play was incomplete. The next play was a pass to Driver (his guy) for a TD. Hanson broke on the ball, but Rodgers made a great throw and Driver made a good catch.


STs

SAV --- Good game. Averaged 49.6 yds per punt. Packers fair caught 4 of the 5 punts.

AKERS --- Nailed 2 FGs. KO's weren't great.

PR --- Quiet game for DJax on returns. Had room to run on a PR in early 4th, but very strangely lost the ball as he started to run. Luckily it went out of bounds. Looked like he was playing a one-man game of hot potato. DJax had some room on the final PR, but couldn't quite get going. Just seemed a bit off.

KOR --- Blocking needs work. Hobbs long return was only 33 yards and that was weaving through traffic. Ellis ran hard. Didn't have much of a lane to attack.

---Misc---

* Antwan Barnes and Riley Cooper blew up the first KOR and kept the ball inside the 25.

* Barnes got good pressure on the first punt of the game.

* Eldra Buckley overran 2nd KO. Kurt Coleman closed in from the outside to make a good tackle. Well done.

* Buckley had a free run on Nelson's first long KOR. I don't know why he wasn't able to get to him. Jordan had a chance to make the play, but couldn't. Moise Fokou chased Nelson down and made a good tackle.

* On Nelson's 2nd long KOR it looked like the Packers just did a good job of blocking. Sometimes you have to give the other team credit for executing well. Fokou did hustle to chase the play down.

* Kurt Coleman probably should have made the tackle on the final KO. He was to the outside, but it looked like he had the room to get to Nelson and make the stop.

* Riley Cooper was the gunner on the right side on punts. He had good coverage on the firs punt, which was fair caught.

* Cooper missed the tackle on 2nd punt, but did hustle downfield. Jordan made the stop. Short return.

* Cooper had good covg on 3rd punt. FC.

* Buckley hit PR after he gave FC signal. Dumb. He's got to see that signal. We gave away yards because of that.

http://boards.philadelphiaeagles.com/index.php?showtopic=593164

 

COWBOYS

I wonder how long it took Roy Williams to see the flag. When did Roy notice the Redskins celebrating? How long did Williams get to enjoy his moment of apparent atonement?

On the final play of the game, the Cowboys' Whipping Boy Wide Receiver came through. Williams got open and gathered in what he and almost everybody else wearing white assumed was a game-tying touchdown pass, leaving the Cowboys only a David Buehler PAT away from an opening night road victory over the hated 'Skins. For a few seconds, Williams let a warm wave of sweet revenge wash over him. Overpriced? Underachieving? Overrated? Hypersensitive? Take THAT, critics!

But at least one teammate already knew Roy's moment of triumph would be brief and false. Right tackle Alex Barron didn't need to see the flag. Barron knew he hadn't gotten away with horse-collaring, hog-tying and practically strangling Redskin second-year pass-rushing demon Brian Orakpo. Holding. Offensive penalty as the clock hit zero. By rule, game over. Celebration over. Vindication over.

The Dallas Cowboys lost Sunday night. Collectively. No single player was responsible for the loss. But no single player lost more than did Roy Williams. This Blue Monday could have, and maybe should have, marked at least the beginning of Roy's return to grace in the eyes of Cowboy teammates and fans. Instead, the questions, doubts and barbs will remain aimed at him -- at least until and unless he comes through again, this time with no asterisk-stamped penalty flag.

No current Cowboy has been vilified, discounted and discarded more than Williams. Much of the heat has been deserved. Williams is overrated and overpriced. He is not an elite level, "number one" NFL receiver. He is not a fluid downfield route runner, he has major difficulty getting off press coverage, he drops too many balls, and he can be petty, petulant and pouty with fans, teammates and the media.

But neither is Number 11 a bottom-feeder. Roy Williams is a big, reasonably fast, and reasonably talented NFL receiver who is capable of making a major contribution to a championship team. He is a willing blocker, and he retains unique Red Zone receiving potential. We saw that last night, and celebrated that last night, albeit all too briefly.

Today could have been and maybe should have been Roy's day. The Dallas Cowboys lost Sunday night. But no individual lost more than did Roy Williams.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/9/13/1685632/cowboys-roy-williams-cant-win-for

We've been hearing the same thing about the Dallas Cowboys for the last few years. They have one of the most talented rosters in the NFL. They should be contenders for the NFC representative in the Super Bowl. There's nothing that should be holding this team back. It's hard to disagree with most of that. The Cowboys are as stocked in talent as anybody. They can play with any team in the NFL and win. But they have a problem. This doesn't appear to be a smart football team, and they kill their own cause when the pressure is on.

The Cowboys have spent the last few seasons tinkering with their roster to get the right chemistry in place. They've unloaded players that were perceived to be problems and replaced them with the 'blue-collar' guys, players who just do their job and don't disrupt the locker room. They've been doing that while not sacrificing in the talent department. This is why they're perceived to have one of the most-talented rosters in the league. All of this is a good thing, it means the Cowboys have been smart as an organization over the last few years.

The problem is, sometimes they play really dumb football. When they get on the field, they flash all that talent, then shoot themselves in the foot with critical mistakes and penalties. They are the masters of killing a good drive, or giving the opposition a second chance, or just plain making a boneheaded play. This will not get you championships in the NFL.

Star-divide

In light of last night's game, it would be easy to place the blame in the hands of penalty-loving right tackle Alex Barron. And there's no doubt he deserves some scorn. Blowing a game-winning TD in the last second of a game is as bad as it gets. So we do reserve some vile for Barron. But, let's not forget the rest of the team that contributed to this frustrating loss.

Start it off with a David Buehler missed FG. Dallas had a chance to tie the game up early, but Buehler was wide of the mark on a 34-yarder, a FG any NFL kicker should make. Already, we have to have concern about our kicking woes. This is especially important given the Cowboys propensity to bog down in the redzone. Previous to Buehler's missed FG, rookie Dez Bryant picked up an offensive pass interference call, moving the Cowboys back. Penalties and mistakes were dogging the Cowboys early.

Perhaps the biggest bonehead play of all came right before halftime. Dallas was in no-man's land with just a few ticks left on the clock. There are really only two choices in this situation, chunk a Hail Mary down field or take a knee. Dallas chose neither. Tony Romo, under pressure, decided to flip a short pass to Tashard Choice, who promptly fumbled the ball. The 'Skins scoop it up and put seven points on the board for a 10-0 halftime lead. There's really no explanation for this play. This one goes to multiple parties; what were Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett thinking? Or were they thinking at all? Why did Romo choose to dump the ball when he could have just eaten it or thrown to the endzone? And Tashard Choice? You absolutely can't fumble that ball at that time. This was a new level of stupidity.

There were so many other examples of ill-thinking plays in this game. Orlando Scandrick jumping offsides on a FG to give up a first down? Incredibly dumb. Martellus Bennett throws a block in the back on a Miles Austin catch-and-run run that sets back a drive that eventually stalls. Jason Garrett calls two hitch patterns to Dez Bryant, back-to-back, and neither work, stalling the Cowboys first drive. One I can understand, but two? In a row? And they weren't even setting up the Redskins secondary for a hitch-and-go, at least they never ran it.

The Cowboys had more first downs in this game, they were more efficient on third down than the Redskins, they ran more offensive plays, the gained more yards, they had a better run game, and they won time of possession. All tell-tale signs of a more-talented roster. Yet, when you look at the 'mistake' categories, the Cowboys got walloped. 12 penalties for 91 yards, and those were just the ones that were accepted. A penalty wiped out the game-winning TD, another penalty came on a Redskin turnover (although to be fair, that INT might not have happened if it weren't for the penalty). Missed FG. And one incredibly stupid play right before halftime.

The Cowboys are talented. The Cowboys have everything they need to win, except maybe the brains.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/9/13/1685938/cowboys-have-the-talent-to-win-big

Last night's tilt will leave us with two indelible images: DeAngelo Hall sprinting towards the end zone with no time left on the first half clock and the final play, in which Alex Barron is draped on Brian Orakpo like a drunken bride during a money dance.

It's the latter of these images that I'm betting haunted the Cowboys' offensive staff in the week leading up to the game. The nightmare we'll all remember is precisely the nightmare that Jason Garrett and his staff were game-planning to avoid. We all knew, and most of us were nervous about, the fact that the Cowboys were going into the game with two backup offensive linemen, each with a game, the story went, featuring a specific set of weaknesses: Montrae Holland has lead feet and can't handle quickness; Alex Barron has "left tackle feet," but is a ballerina at the point of attack. As it turns out, the Cowboys' staff weren't too concerned about Holland; they did very little out of the ordinary in this game to help him out. Barron, however, was a different story. A review of the tape shows a gameplan designed almost wholly to help Barron--and, by extension, to keep Tony Romo alive to fight another day.

As they do every week during the regular season, Garrett and his staff dipped into the Cowboys' massive playbook and extracted a collection of plays. A great majority of these were selected a) to help Barron or b) because they didn't require him to make a key block at the point of attack or c) they developed too quickly for him to impact them negatively. Lets take a brief look at some of these strategies after the break.

Star-divide

Formations: For the better part of the first three quarters, the Cowboys stayed out of more wide-open, obvious passing formations (three wide, empty backfireld, shotgun). As they usually do, they employed a lot of two-tight end sets. With a couple of exceptions, they only went to more open formations, specifically shotgun, on third and long situations. And when they did, they lined up with Witten and either Choice or Barber on either side of Romo. On a couple of occasions, Witten went out into a pattern; on several, however, he stayed in as a pass blocker, often on Barron's side. On multiple occasions, the Cowboys lined up in a "12" set (one RB and two TEs), with both Witten and Bennett lined up outside of Barron. Often, Bennett stayed in to help out the RT; at the very least, their presence forced oncoming rushers to take wide angles, thus helping Barron - who is often either too fast or too slow off of the snap - reach them in time. On a couple of occasions, including the first play of the game, they went to an unbalanced line, with Barron outside of LT Doug Free, and Bennett outside of RG Leonard Davis. What this did, in effect, was make Barron the tight end and Bennett the RT. Think about this for a second: on some level they trust Bennett more than Barron as a blocking tackle.

Short Drops: Until the score forced the Cowboys out of their game plan, the vast majority of Romo's dropbacks were of the one- or three-step variety. As a result, there were a lot of slants, short hitches and WR screens called. Garrett called plays requiring five-step drops only often enough to keep the defense from coming so far up as to render Dallas' game plan impossible (and it worked, as the 'Skins had to be nervous about the Cowboys' deep speed). As the game announcers made clear, this plan was designed to avoid pressure on Romo: no outside rusher, even if unblocked, can get to a QB taking a one-step drop. What IS required, is that the interior of the line remain stout. In calling these kinds of plays, the Cowboys' brass showed faith in Holland's ability to anchor and keep the front of the pocket clean. The conclusion to be drawn, then, is that they were most concerned with Barron's ability (or inability) to keep Orakpo and Andre Carter off of Romo.

Run Left: The Cowboys' running game was painfully one-sided; they ran predominately left all night, away from Barron's side. This makes sense, given that Barron is notoriously weak at the point of attack. When they did run right, which happened exactly four times in the game, they usually gave him help; on one occasion, on their fourth drive of the first half, Felix Jones took a handoff and started to head off RG, but a blitzing linebacker filled the hole. He might have taken it outside, but Barron's man was getting penetration upfield, so number 28 made like Barry Sanders, stopping on a dime, then cutting left for a short gain. From that point on, they gave Barron help. After the 'Boys had clearly established that they were a left-handed running team, they had to break tendency. On the short second-half touchdown drive, they ran two consecutive plays over RT, one of which was a new package that I hope to see more in future: a handoff to Choice, who then became an option quarterback. On both plays, #82 was positioned outside RT and helped Barron seal the edge; on neither play did Barron seem to get any upfield push.

As I hope this admittedly sketchy analysis makes clear, the offensive game plan was designed primarily to help out Barron. What is most disappointing is that he is supposed to be a good "foot athlete." Yet when, by necessity, Dallas opened up the offense at the end of the first half and then again in the fourth quarter, he responded by getting beat badly on the pass rush and committing key holding penalties. In the past 12 hours, Garrett has been the target of a great deal of Cowboy fandom's collective anger, especially for his conservative game plan. But had he developed a more wide-open plan, I'd wager, we would have seen even more of Barron getting beat. The result? More holding penalties, or more pressure on Romo - and more big plays. We all remember the key turnovers from the Denver and Green Bay games that were caused by pressure. So does Garrett. It was clear that keeping Orakpo and Carter (and various defensive backs; Redskins DC Jim Haslett dialed up a smorgasboard of blitzes) off of Romo was priority one so, given his o-line personnel, Garrett had no choice but to batten down the hatches and play smallball.

Romo emerged relatively unscathed; in that respect, the game plan was a success. Here's the problem with smallball, however: it requires extended drives of 10+ plays. As O.C.C.'s highly illuminating three-part series on "drive killers" will attest (part 2 is here; part 3 here), Dallas' is a big play offense largely because it has to be. The simple fact is that this is a mistake-prone bunch, even with Flozell no longer in the fold. Smallball requires perfect, consistent execution. If a team is going to go down the field in 5-7 yard chunks, a penalty or a sack becomes an almost certain drive-killer. A look at last night's drive charts substantiates this. On one hand, the Cowboys were impressive: they sustained drives of 7, 10, 7, 13, 5 (end of first half), 5, 6 (touchdown), 10 and 14 plays. The downside to long drives, however, is that they increase the opportunity for mistakes.

Indeed, drive-killers are exactly what plagued the 'Boys last night. In the first half, a promising second drive was curtailed by a holding call on Dez Bryant and then capped off by a missed FG; the next series was derailed by a sack of Romo; the next time the Cowboys got the ball--in the shadow or their end zone--they amassed four first downs, the last of which, a 21-yard pass to Austin, placed them at the Washington 34. A delay of game penalty put them in a first and long from which they couldn't recover. In the second half, a catchable pass, which would have put the Cowboys deep in enemy territory, clanked off Roy WIlliams' hands. After their TD drive, once they had opened up the offense, two drives of substance, sandwiched around a three-and-out, were killed by Barron holding calls, including on the game's final play. It's no accident that the only Dallas TD drive of the night was also one of their shortest: six plays and 34 yards. They scored largely because the short field didn't present them as many opportunities for a drive killer.

So, if you are Jason Garrett, which poison do you drink? Do you throw caution to the wind and risk losing your franchise QB for the duration, or do you protect him, playing smallball, knowing that your squad doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to win that way? He clearly opted for the latter, and it didn't work. But before you pillory him, consider what might have happened had he opened up the playbook: more holding penalties, more second- and third-and-longs; higher potential for turnovers; a FedEx feeding frenzy; and a potential blowout. All I'm sayin' is, it could have been worse.

And, Marc Columbo, wherever you are: pleeeease come back to your '09 pre-injury form. The season's riding on it, buddy.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/9/13/1685892/barron-witness-a-look-at-jason

It's rant day if you're a fan of the Cowboys. After we've waited months for the season opener, our favorite team struggled mightily against one of our least favorite teams. Now, the Redskins sit atop "the Beast" with the Giants while the Cowboys join the Eagles in the 0-1 cellar.

Before I roll out a "bright side-type" post, let's vent. The disappointment of losing 13-7 to the Redskins will sting through this week, especially seeing that the Cowboys came so close to escaping FedEx Field with a win. The dark side of the Dallas loss will be discussed incessantly on every NFL news outlet, so let's prepare for what we should expect to hear.

Star-divide

The Alex Barron Holding Call

Obviously, the first thing on everyone's mind about last night's game will focus on Alex Barron. His stranglehold on Brian Orakpo sent a buzzkill deep into Cowboys nation. As Paul points out, Roy Williams was primed to be the hero. Instead, Barron will be the goat.

Peeking down at this list, the Barron penalty was not the only thing that cost the Cowboys the game. But he will get the blame. Folks will be calling for him to turn his cockeyed hat forward and realize the responsibility he has with a team that has high expectations.

All eyes will focus on Marc Colombo's return. Heck, I'd bet a bunch of you will take Robert Brewster or Sam Young instead. Now Orakpo is a top-notch player, so he's a handful for many tackles in the league. Have to give credit where credit is due.

Penalties, Penalties, Penalties

The crowd was loud. 12 penalties for 91 yards, though, is unacceptable. It's tough not to search the TV screen for yellow after Dallas makes a play, but this is an area of concern we fans are all too familiar with. Solutions to this problem seem to escape this team in recent years. Perhaps the Barron play will draw the coaches' focus even more on how the Cowboys tend to be their own worst enemy.

The Tashard Choice Fumble

The first fumble of Choice's career ends up going for a last second touchdown to end the half--a bummer, to say the least. Instead of going into halftime down by a field goal, the Cowboys go in down by 10. It could be argued that the game could've ended with a 7-6 Dallas victory.

Questions abound on this play. Sure, Choice should have held on to the ball. But should Tony Romo even have thrown that with four seconds left on the clock for such a minimal gain? Should Garrett have had his squad take a knee and look to regroup in the locker room? Is a Hail Mary even worth taking the chance from 1st-and-20 at your own 36?

The Timeout on the Marion Barber Carry

Who called this? Only Wade Phillips has that option from the sideline, as far as I know. But why would Wade call an offensive timeout when it looked as if they had the Redskins right where they wanted them? Somebody must've lined up wrong or something because Dallas was gaining momentum, which makes me wonder why you would call a timeout to allow the defense to adjust on 3rd-and-1.

Barber was "on" last night and looked as if he may have even scored a long touchdown there. He did end up getting the first down on the next play, which was nice; although, that toss looked very similar to the previous one before the timeout. Huh. Give me a little more variation please when the running game is succeeding.

Too Much Running Back Rotation?

Barber averaged 4.9 yards on 8 carries; Felix Jones 4.8 on 8 carries. 8 carries a piece, really? This is the same playcalling that drove many BTBers insane last season. The offense does have a plethora of weapons in the passing game, but the three-headed monster needs food badly. You could tell that Barber was pumped. Keep him in. He's the type of back that will wear down a defense, especially seeing that the interior offensive linemen were doing their jobs up front. Personally, it was disappointing to see Barber watching from the sidelines when you know he thrives off each carry.

Felix is a game breaker so you have to get him involved. He looked good as a receiver too catching a couple of passes for 26 yards. He also looked to have improved in the pass protection department. When he has a hot hand, keep him in. In my opinion, the rotation between him and Barber felt a little premature.

Garrett seems to have formations for each of his backs with the third-down duties going to Choice. It would be nice to see him stick with a guy until that guy gets tired and needs a breather. Then rotate until the next guy needs a breather and so on, especially between the 20-yard lines.

David Buehler's Missed Field Goal

Wide right from 34 in a tight, defensive game. Sigh.

More Special Teams Breakdowns

Without Buehler booming kickoffs through the end zone, he had to come up in support because Devin Thomas was flying through Joe DeCamillis' coverage team. Thomas averaged 38 yards on two returns.

On punts, I was surprised to see Mat McBriar hit two into the end zone for touchbacks. Danny McCray nearly stopped one short of the goalline though. The four other punts were either downed or kicked out of bounds so we didn't have a chance to see whether McBriar would have to cover his own kicks like Buehler did. Overall, McBriar's 6 punts netted just a 34-yard average.

Somebody pour DeCamillis decaf this week.

Orlando Scandrick's Rough Night

In college, Scandrick was known to block a kick or two for Boise St. His anticipation got the best of him when he jumped offsides on Washington's 4th-and-4 field goal try at the Dallas 18. Fortunately, Scandrick's '08 cornerback mate, Mike Jenkins, twice prevented a McNabb touchdown pass. And the botched snap on the 'Skins next field goal was surely another relief for Scandrick.

Working the slot CB position is no field day, so this is where I start to get a bit nit-picky. Scandrick has to cover the tight end at times, and then he will sometimes see the team's top WR as he did last night against Santana Moss. Moss was everywhere like he usually is against the Cowboys. For once, I would like to see Scandrick make a play on the ball instead of trailing a receiver. Giving up 10 to Moss on that 3rd-and-2 in the 4th quarter was hard to stomach.

Keith Brooking's Rough Night

Rough is the operative word here. Again, I'm being nit-picky because I really like Brooking; however, Clinton Portis was absolutely stonewalling Brooking on his blitzes. Portis is certainly one of the better backs in the league at blitz pickups, but for as many times as I saw Brooking charge in, you would think he'd be able to bust through a couple of times.

The Cowboys could use a nickel linebacker other than Brooking or Bradie James. It's a long season and these two veterans don't need to be running around after a guy like Moss in the middle of the field. Hopefully one of the youngsters, Sean Lee or Jason Williams, will be ready to help out in the next game or two.

Pass Rush Can't Get to Donovan McNabb

McNabb is an escape artist and tough to bring down. His offensive line played pretty well last night too. Nevertheless, the pressure from the Dallas defense frustrated me. I don't expect a sack every play (well, maybe I do), but McNabb didn't seem rushed into many bad decisions or play breakdowns. DeMarcus Ware did end up sacking him in the fourth quarter, and he and James each got a hit on him.

Jay Ratliff was doing his all to beat double teams and winning many of his battles. That makes me think that a guy like Stephen Bowen or Anthony Spencer would be able to make a play. In a tight game like that, a sack or forced bad throw can make the difference. It looked to me like Wade was dialing up the blitzes; the defenders just couldn't get there.

A tough loss like last night's brings up many more questions than answers. There were some positives to come out of the game, which I will cover in another post. For now, it's gripe time. It's nitpicking time. It's natural to accentuate the negatives after losing a game in such sloppy fashion.

I'm sure many of you have more gripes to add to this list. Bring them on...can't find solutions until you recognize the problems!

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/9/13/1685815/the-dark-side-of-the-dallas-loss

After the end of Sunday night's game, as the Cowboys were walking off the field in defeat following a failed last-minute comeback, I was certain I was going to be inconsolable. I'd seen games like this before, the Cowboys falling just short in the final seconds of a game they should have one and they always left me in a constant state of deep depression. I could feel that same feeling building up in my chest once more, the anger rising and I had to resist the urge to punch any breakable objects that were within reach.

Then I calmed down. I remembered there were still at least 15 games remaining in the season. Those previous losses, the ones that effectively doomed prior seasons, those were the final and lasting memories of ultimately disappointing campaigns. The loss against the Redskins hurts, it hurts a lot, but the great news is that there's another game next Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

The Cowboys are just 0-1. Not the end of the world. The only thing to do now is to pick up the pieces from a brutal defeat, learn from the mistakes that were made and improve. There were a lot of mistakes made, so there's only one way to really go from here, right?

I also know we want to blame it all on Alex Barron. I did. While I will never forgive him for his lackluster and idiotic play, it's obvious that more than anything this was a complete team loss.

Somehow, I forced myself to sit through the entire game one more time to really breakdown the good (there was a lot of good) and the bad (there was plenty of that as well). Later, I'll have a detailed breakdown of a couple of key plays in the game, but follow the jump for my random thoughts as I re-watched the Cowboys and Redskins from Sunday night.

Star-divide

Thoughts from my notebook as I watched the game for a second and third time (in no particular order):

- Deon Anderson received the majority of the snaps between the two fullbacks and he had one of his best games as a pro. He was decisive in his blocking and consistently blew his man back and off the play. He was used exclusively as a fullback in the game and was never flexed out into the TE-HB spot that Chris Gronkowski had been playing in the preseason. Oddly, I didn't see Gronkowski out in that position very often either. The Cowboys played a lot from their two TE formation, but rarely used the third tight end in the game.

For all the good Gronkowski did in the preseason, you know John Phillips would have been used extensively in this game.

- Speaking of tight ends, I want to commend Martellus Bennett. I know he made a drive-killing penalty that left folks angry but re-watching the play several times over it was obvious he was already committed to the block as the defender was turning. It's unfortunate, since the block ultimately didn't matter in the play. What I did see, however, was a tight end that played outstanding in run blocking. He caught just one pass, but also wasn't used much in the passing game either; the Cowboys almost exclusively used him to help out the offensive line. Each big outside run play by the Cowboys was sprung because of a big Bennett block -- that's what you need from your #2 TE.

- The Cowboys had success running the ball inside as the Redskins struggled with gap control in their new 3-4 defense. It's the same thing we saw in 2007 when Wade Phillips brought his own defense to the Cowboys; the Redskins improved as the game progressed, yet were still vulnerable inside. Amazing when you consider that Haynseworth is on the team. The Cowboys finished with 4.7 yards per carry; very respectable against a traditionally staunch defense.

- The Cowboys run defense, on the other hand, regressed as the game wore on. Early in the game the Redskins had absolutely no room to run, whether inside or outside, and were unable to use their play-action effectively. Yet once the offensive line began to wear on the Cowboys, the running backs suddenly found their cutback lanes opening up. Shanahan's scheme calls for a zone-blocking scheme that gets the line moving in one direction and the running back cuts back against the momentum. If pulled off effectively, this play consistently averages five yards a carry. This is why Mike Shanahan has had so many 1,000 yard running backs. The Cowboys played it perfectly but were too easily moved late in the game.

- I don't know what Wade Phillips was thinking, but it was obvious to me after about 10 minutes that the Redskins were not being fooled by the inside blitzes from the linebackers. I counted five times that Bradie James and Keith Brooking were blown off their feet by a blocking back as they blitzed up the middle. The Cowboys used this blitz extensively, it never worked, yet I didn't see any true variation of this defensive play. Very unlike Wade.

- That's not to take much away from the defense, however. I thought the Cowboys played an unknown offensive scheme with a new quarterback about as well as can be expected. The defense had all sorts of trouble with Chris Cooley (as we knew they would) but were able to keep the offense in front of them and not allow any big plays downfield. The red zone stand, fueled by Mike Jenkins, after the offsides on the field goal call was obviously a big boost. The Cowboys haven't allowed the Redskins to score an offensive touchdown since the first quarter of the Cowboys 14-10 victory on November 16, 2008. That's impressive.

- The Cowboys were called for 12 penalties (that were accepted at least) and all were costly. The Redskins were called for five. Call it homefield advantage, call it Cowboys bias, whatever. All I know is that in re-watching the game I saw at least three blatant holding calls not called on the Redskins, twice on Trent Williams.

To be fair, none of those holding non-calls were as blatant as the Alex Barron clotheslines we witnessed all night.

- Jason Garrett is Jekyll and Hyde. I'm convinced of it.

Throughout the game I was thrilled with a number of his play designs and his play calls at the right time. This would quickly be followed by a curse at an incredibly odd decision. We only saw a couple of the historically annoying Garrett tendencies in this game ( which is good, I guess) as only once did the Cowboys try a pointless outside pitch for no gain after an incomplete pass on first down. Garrett, especially early in the game, was intent on putting his players in the best situation he could. Several times he put Romo on the move with misdirections or play-action and nearly every time there was a positive result. This is something I've wanted to see more of for three years now and he finally gave it to me.

Garrett also game-planned to get the defensive ends for the Redskins out in space and exploit their inexperience in the scheme. This worked to perfection on a number of occasions as he used misdirection and quick screens to catch the Skins in over-pursuit.

Of course, then would out-think himself. Garrett is too smart for his own good, apparently. The Cowboys weren't exactly gashing the Skins up the middle, but they were certainly getting a push forward (especially behind Holland and Free). That's when Jason Garrett starts with the outside pitches, to the short side of the field, with the Cowboys' slowest running back. He also had success early with the screen, then absolutely drove that play into the ground until it was completely useless.

Maddening, I tell you.

- Speaking of which, I thought Montrae Holland had a great game. He wasn't perfect, but he and Doug Free were very consistent all game long. There's a good reason that Brian Orakpo switched to the right side of the offense.

- I thought Tony Romo had a good game. Not great, but very good. It was painfully obvious that he was not comfortable in the pocket and several times made his move to scramble way too early. At one point, he backpedaled out the pocket before weakly tossing a ball at Witten's feet; if he had just stepped up into the clean pocket, he would have had time and room to make a clean throw.

That said, Romo certainly calmed down as the game progressed and made several great throws. His deep out to Roy Williams was deadly accurate and his fade along the sideline to Dez Bryant was right on the money; unfortunately his receivers let him down. By my count, he had just one truly bad decision all game -- the lame duck 40 yard toss to Miles Austin on the final drive was easily his worst throw of the night.

- While Romo had a good game, he needs to take complete and ultimate control of this offense. Whether it's Garrett, Romo, the offense or whatever, this team needs to find some way to get to the line so that Romo has more than four seconds to get the play off. This has been happening for three years now, so I guess it shouldn't change anytime soon.

- Miles Austin is the real deal. He's just incredible.

- So in Anthony Spencer. No sacks, but once again a monster in run defense.

- Bradie James did not have his best game. Neither did Igor Olshansky. Neither did Jay Ratliff, although he had a couple of QB hurries.

- Forget the holding penalties. Alex Barron was not very good, at all. He looked disinterested at times and it's very apparent that every scouting report coming from St. Louis was painfully true. This offense desperately needs Marc Colombo's nastiness.

- Dear Dallas Cowboys defense: Your offense plays with much more confidence when given a short field. Please take note and start forcing turnovers. Signed: B.W.

- Coach D should have had fun today while studying film. While David Buehler was busy booming kicks through the back of the end zone all preseason long, the kickoff coverage received no practice. That showed against the Skins as Buehler had to save TWO touchdowns with great tackles of his own.

- Finally, a couple of thoughts on Dez Bryant and his NFL debut.

It went about as well as one could expect. It was obvious he was playing with some nerves and was hesitant at times, which is why (I assume) Garrett wanted to give him some easy plays early with the smoke screens. Unfortunately, they never worked. Yet Bryant made several tough catches across the middle and showed his incredible hand strength by holding onto the ball with one hand while being tackled to the ground.

He also had two chances to go up and snag fades along the sideline but quickly realized how much better these NFL cornerbacks are over those faced in college. I'm willing to bet this is the first time in his career he's failed to come down with two catches of that nature in the same game. He did go after the ball with the zeal and aggression I know he can and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does now that he's got that first game out of the way.

Romo has confidence in the rookie (targeting him four times on the final drive) and knows that he's going to become the dependable receiver we all knew he could be. For a rookie receiver making his NFL debut, after zero preseason games and after missing most of the 2009 college season, I'd have to say that was a very, very successful debut.

Just stop trying to throw defenders to the ground, kid. It won't work.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/9/14/1686468/cowboys-film-review-the-good-bad

 

REDSKINS

God damn it's nice being on the winning side of one of these games (that is a team better than the Rams). The new era of Shanahan and Bruce Allen has gotten off to the start we all wanted and more. Cowboys' fans are calling for Alex Barron to be cut, have hit the panic button with Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett, and after six months of hearing Kevin Kolb is the second coming of Jesus Christ, he gets knocked out and now a QB controversy is brewing. Ahh...the Kool Aid sure tastes good when it's other teams fans doing all the *****ing. Although the Redskins got the W, they should be sending Thank You letters to Jason Garrett.

The Redskins defense in the last 5 games, including pre-season, has given up a very high per rush average: (8.1 BUF), (4.9 BAL), (5.0 NYJ), (2.3 ARI), and (4.7 DAL). Wouldn't common logic, history, and a suppressed ego tell any coach to run the ball? The answer is "Yes," unless you're a ginger named Jason Garrett. I don't know for sure, but the coach on the other end of Garrett's head set might have been Andy Reid. Who remembers the 2008 game at Dallas where the Jim Zorn Redskins won 26-24? The Cowboys rushed the ball only 11 times (4.0 per carry) to 47 passes. TO had more rushes than Felix Jones, who had 1 touch all game. Why do coaches take the ball out of their best players' hands? Is it time to photoshop Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett on the Dumb & Dumber movie poster? Quite possibly.

Sunday night, Dallas rushed the ball only 22 times (4.7 per carry) yet threw the ball 48 (for 31 completions). Joe Gibbs, who sat shoulder-to-shoulder with Dan Snyder in the owner's box, must have been shaking his head. The famous quote "Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it" applies here.

Star-divide

It's certainly hard to say run the ball more, though, when Alex Barron is one of the worst run Tackles in the league. The Cowboys ran the ball 9 times left, 9 times up the middle, and only 4 times right. They did get 6 yards per carry on those right runs, so who's to say Garrett should give up on that side so easily?

Enough about the Cowboys, Mike Shanahan summed up how this team willed themselves to a win in a sit-down with Kelli Johnson:

Take a look at Rak. If he doesn't give a 110% effort around the Right Tackle, the official is not going to make that call. A lot of the guys at the end of the game are going to go 85% instead of 100% and there's no way he's going to be able to stop Brian on that last play unless he tackles him. Those are the type of efforts you're looking for.

Hmm...players who play at 85%. I wonder who's he talking about? In all the excitement you may not have noticed but Haynesworth was NOT in the game for that final play, which was a rush 3 protection package - right up his alley. I sat behind the Redskins bench for the 2nd half and Haynesworth did not talk to anyone that entire time. Players that were high fiving after team changes...he stood alone. Phillip Daniels walked right by him another time. It's 100% clear he is not part of this locker room.

In that same interview, Kelli mentioned how Romo said he had never seen that many corner blitzes in his life. Shanahan confirmed as much saying Romo would pick any team apart if given the time. The thing is, the Redskins blitzed from everywhere. Safety blitzes from the middle and off the edge. Corner blitzes, zone blitzes. Twist stunts with his inside backers. Haynesworth lined up at NT off center on some plays. Only thing missing was Haslett blitzing himself. This win is ceratinly filed in the ugly category from the offensive standpoint, but for a team that's still learning to gel after such a large staff and roster overhaul, it could be just the boost they need. It's already showing since Monday was a day off yet a lot of the players arrived at Redskins Park to watch film.

The players believe in this regime - there's no reason fans shouldn't either.

http://www.hogshaven.com/2010/9/14/1687882/kool-aid-report-redskins-hold-on



On Sunday night we saw a Washington Redskins team show the whole league the blueprint of how to beat the Cowboys.

Let's start with Donovan McNabb and the offense. Although the stats were not staggering, the offensive line did a better than average job of blocking for McNabb, Trent Williams did a very commendable job against DeMarcus Ware, which was a must if the Skins were going to have a chance to win. McNabb also pulled the ball down and escaped the pressure when there were no other options. As a result of solid blocking and McNabb's scrambling ability, he was sacked only once.

McNabb seemed to be able to identify when mismatches, such as Chris Cooley being covered by a linebacker or a defensive lineman spying him in the passing game, and that resulted in some offensive success. The running game was not what it needed to be, but Clinton Portis had some unbelievable blocks in the passing game and came up big with a crucial fourth-quarter run to keep a very important drive alive.

Special teams provided crucial points in the kicking game, Graham Gano was 2 for 2 when the snaps and holds were good. Coverage teams were solid also, even when punts weren't.

But the biggest key to the game was this defense. They banged with Dallas for 60 minutes and provided Washington's only touchdown of the night when DeAngelo Hall scooped up a fumble and returned it for six points. This defense held Dallas under 100 yards rushing and totally shut down every receiver except Miles Austin, which appeared to be Jim Hasslet's game plan. Stop the run, take Jason Witten, Roy Williams, and Dez Bryant out of the game, pressure Tony Romo and make him win it with his arm with Austin as his only available target. It worked to perfection.

LaRon Landry had a very active game with a game-high 17 tackles. Landry's strengths are big hits and tackling. He was put in position to do just that. Not to be outdone, Brian Orakpo was double- and triple-teamed all game and was still the most disruptive force on the field. But my MVP honor goes to DeAngelo Hall. He has been our playmaker since arriving in D.C. and it was no different last night. He covered, he tackled, and he scored the Redskins' only touchdown.

The Redskins will have to figure out a way to get touchdowns on offense and run and pass the ball more effectively if they want to be competitive, but this game begins what looks to be a promising season. This was a great win for this Washington Redskins.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/hard-hits/2010/09/keys_to_redskins_13-7_victory.html

Head Coach Mike Shanahan said Monday that offensive tackle Trent Williams was "quite impressive" against Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman DeMarcus Ware in his first NFL game. "I thought for Trent's first game in the National Football League, he did a great job. ... You can see his athleticism," Shanahan said at a news conference following the Redskins 13-7 opening game victory over the Cowboys Sunday.

Shanahan also praised running back Clinton Portis's blocking: "I thought Clinton did a heck of a job. I thought we got stronger as the game went on...When we did throw the ball, I thought Clinton did a great job."

And he said that defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who clashed with the coach throughout the preseason, "played hard. He's getting more comfortable with the 3-4 scheme."

Shanahan said wide receiver Devin Thomas helped put the team in good field position on a couple of occasions with long kickoff returns. "Devin did one heck of a job getting us field position against one heck of a team. ... Devin helped himself last night."

But Shanahan acknowledged that the team must score more often, especially when it reaches the red zone. "Hopefully 'Shanahan football' will be scoring a few more points," he said.

He said that left guard Derrick Dockery is "obviously our starter, but I wanted to look at Kory [Lichtensteiger] as well." Lichtensteiger spelled Dockery on the offensive line Sunday night as part of the Redskins strategy to help keep linemen fresh.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/

 

GIANTS

How many different ways can you think of to say the New York Giants were completely embarrassed and outclassed by the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night? Come up with whatever adjectives, explanations or theories that you want, but it comes down to this.

The Giants got embarrassed and outclassed by a Super Bowl caliber team that was way, way better than they were. Shockingly better, as far as I was concerned.

All those good feelings generated by the season-opening victory over Carolina vanished into the Indianapolis night. Peyton Manning toyed with the helpless Giants defense, and the Giants offense simply got manhandled by the Colts defensive unit.

'Simms-McConkey' said Sunday night he was looking for 'hope and perspective' from me this morning. Here is what I will give you on a day when I'm not at all happy about what I watched Sunday night.

* The Giants are 1-1. Be honest with yourself, and you have to know that when the schedule came out months ago that is exactly the record you figured the Giants would have after two games. Beat Carolina, lose to Indy. Start the season 1-1, and go from there.
* The Dallas Cowboys are 0-2. So are the Minnesota Vikings. The Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins are 1-1. The season is not lost.
* Even going back to the Jim Fassel years, and maybe beyond, pretty much every Giants season I can remember has included a couple of devastating losses in which the Giants looked like a first-year expansion team. It is the way of the world with this franchise. Don't jump off the bridge. Let's just see where it goes from here.
* Peyton Manning and the Colts laid out the blueprint for how to handle the Giants defense Sunday night. First, go quickly so they can't substitute freely. Second, run when they put their three- safety package in the game and throw when they go base. Teams will try to copy it, but none of them has Peyton Manning. So, I doubt it can get worse than that for this revamped defense.
* Eli Manning survived. I thought the offensive line was going to get him killed, but he is still in one piece. Embarrassed about the lopsided loss, probably, but in one piece.

Anyway, on with the traditional 'Kudos & Wet Willies'. I'm certain you can guess that the 'kudos' won't take long.

Star-divide

Kudos to ...

Special Teams -- This tell you precisely how bad a night it was for the Giants. The first 'kudo' I could think to hand out had to go to the usually awful special teams. Rookie punter Matt Dodge struck the ball well all night, hitting a 62-yard punt and dropping one inside the 5-yard line. An outstanding play by D.J. Johnson to down a Dodge punt at the two-yard line. Hey, even better kickoff coverage, including a beautiful tackle inside the 20 by Gerris Wilkinson.

Ahmad Bradshaw -- Eighty-nine yards on 17 carries for Bradshaw, pretty much every last one of those yards entirely on his own. He got zero help from the offensive line, or alleged blocking fullback Madison Hedgecock. You just have to love this guy's ability, and even more than that the effort he puts forth every time he touches the ball.

Mario Manningham -- Four catches for 75 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown when it still mattered. At least, sort of still mattered.

Eli Manning -- He survived. Four sacks and probably a dozen hit a dozen more times. I don't care about his numbers. He's still upright, and we are not staring at Sage Rosenfels as the starting quarterback. As for the game, he forced one deep ball into triple coverage to Steve Smith. Otherwise, can't fault him for any of Sunday night's misery.
Wet Willies to ...

The Coaching Staff -- God, I hate to sound like Jeremy Shockey, but the Giants absolutely did not look ready to play Sunday night. It's as disturbed as I've ever been watching a Tom Coughlin team. In a game I thought set up well to give the Giants a chance at what would have been an upset, it was obvious from the opening drive that they had no chance. A lot of that is on TC, who you guys know I believe is a terrific coach. I have no idea what the Giants were thinking, or trying to accomplish, Sunday night.

What was going on with Perry Fewell's defense? I understood the plan -- which was play pass first and use your front four to contain whatever running the usually pass-happy Colts tried to do. But, Perry, when you are getting absolutely gashed on the ground you have to adjust. Fewell stayed with the two-linebacker set until the third quarter, when it was way too late. The first real 'chess match' challenge for the Giants new defensive coordinator, and he flunked. Miserably.

While I'm blasting coaches, can't excuse everybody's favorite whipping boy, Kevin Gilbride. Hey Kevin, did you watch any film last week? Did you realize that the Houston Texans shredded the Indianapolis defense by RUNNING THE FOOTBALL. Did you or TC ever stop to think that maybe keeping Peyton off the field by chewing up the clock and RUNNING THE FOOTBALL might be a good idea. I often defend Gilbride, because he is a much better offensive coordinator than many around here give him credit for. Once or twice every season, though, the Giants come out with an offensive game plan that leaves me wanting to rip out what's left of my hair. Sunday night was one of those nights.

Brandon Jacobs -- C'mon, Brandon. Throwing your helmet into the stands? That's real mature, and I hope it lands you with a suspension -- either from the league or the Giants. At the very least it landed you in Coughlin's doghouse, right where you belong. A late-hit penalty, too? Oh, and I'm pretty tired of watching you run. Trying to get your Barry Sanders (or your Bradshaw) on when there is a hole right in front of you? Give me a break! Maybe you should sit for a weeks and watch Bradshaw and D.J. Ware run.

Pass Defense -- Terrible night for Terrell Thomas. A flashback to the awful safety play of 2009 when Michael Johnson, in for Kenny Phillips, bit on a play fake when he had deep responsibility, hung Aaron Ross out to dry and allowed a 50-yard touchdown pass to Austin Collie. Can we please get Johnson off the team? He's awful.

Defensive Line -- Zero pass rush. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis spent the night dominating the Giants offensive line, while Justin Tuck and Osi Umenyiora never got near Peyton Manning. On top of which, I don't care about Tuck's seven tackles (or even liebacker Michael Boley's 15). They don't matter when you are getting pushed five or 10 yards down the field before you make them.

David Diehl and Kareem McKenzie -- Awful, awful, awful. Last night showed you why the Giants wanted so badly for Will Beatty to step up and earn the left tackle job. The two Giants tackles were exposed as old and slow in pass protection. Oh, and going back to the coaches and the plan for a second. Hey, umm, how about some help for these guys? A running back? A tight end? Somebody? Anybody? Or maybe you just wanted to see how much punishment Eli could take.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/9/20/1699049/kudos-wet-willies-annihilation

Safety Antrel Rolle did not name names, but he left no stone unturned Tuesday in an amazing tirade on WFAN earlier today that shredded his teammates, his coaches and his organization following Sunday night's embarrassing 38-14 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

"I don't think the coaches gave us a chance, and I don't think we gave ourselves a chance," was just one of the many biting comments Rolle made during the interview.

Here is a transcription of much of what Rolle said while speaking to 'Joe & Evan' during his weekly Tuesday spot on WFAN's Midday Show. Which, by the way, just became a required listen for Giants fans everywhere.

Star-divide

The fun started when Rolle was asked "do you feel the defensive game plan was correct against Peyton Manning?"

"I don't feel that the game plan was right, but I also don't feel that it's wrong," Rolle said. "In my eyes it doesn't matter what call you put up there it should be executed and it should be executed to the fullest. Whether it's the best call for that particular play or not, that goes unsaid.

"I don't think the game plan was perfect. It probably coulda been called in a little bit different format, but at the same time there were calls made for us to prevent what they were doing at certain times in the game, and it just wasn't done."

Rolle was just getting warmed up. Here is his response to a question about the Giants dressing only two defensive tackles and not adjusting their defensive scheme quickly enough.

"The necessary adjustments might not have been made," Rolle said. "But you can't blame the coaches and you can't only blame the players. It's a team out there.

"I think things could have been called a little bit differently, but us as players could have executed the plays that were called a little bit differently.

"We were in a Cover 2 system pretty much the entire night, but I also see a lot of teams that stop the run in Cover 2 systems.

"I don't think the coaches gave us a chance, and I don't think we gave ourselves a chance."

On whether he was surprised how often Indianapolis ran the football.

"I wasn't surprised because they were having success running. A smart team will definitely stick to what they're having success doing.

On that I think they could have picked their poison. They could have either passed and had success or they could have ran and had success.

"For some reason it just felt like the team was very, very flat. They weren't into the game, no one was enthused. There was no excitement ... there was no 'dog.' There was no swagger out there on the field, which actually drove me crazy."

On whether he had a reason for that.

"I don't really understand what it was. I have my own perception of what I think it might have been because also honestly myself I don't feel I was up to par that game either," Rolle said. "I don't excuse myself. I was trying to get myself excited, I was trying to get myself pumped.

"Honestly in my opinion I just think that there was too much laying around before the game. The day before the game, the day of the game I just felt like we had too much down time doing nothing and just relaxing. I really felt that it carried over to the game."

Rolle was then asked "what needs to be done differently so this doesn't happen again?"

"We got to Indy 3 o'clock Saturday, so we had that entire day of doing nothing, of just sitting around not doing too much. And then we had the next day of just sitting around not doing much. Then we got to the stadium three hours and 15 minutes before the game started. I mean, we're sitting around the locker room not doing anything. Honestly, I don't know what you do in a situation like that because I've never been in a situation like that, so I'm just sitting around getting lackadaisical and I'm pretty sure a lot of players felt the same way. You can't tell me that the football Giants played that kind of football. I've seen differently, everyone else has seen differently.

"I don't make excuses for the game because the game is still the game. We got whupped, no matter how you look at it.. I'm not saying this is an excuse, I'm just saying I don't know the reason why we came out flat. I know the reason why I felt like I came out flat, but then again I can't speak for anyone else.

"To get to the stadium three hours and 15 minutes before a game, I've never done that. I've never heard of that.

"Two hours before game time, that's more than enough time to go out there and get done what you need to get done. When you're sitting around the locker room for an hour, and hour and a half not doing anything it's pretty much unheard of.

There's one thing you can't do -- you can't separate mind from the body," Rolle said. "You're not supposed to get massages right before the game because it relaxes you too much. I felt like we were way too relaxed."

Here is a very damning statement from Rolle on the locker room leadership and the attitude of the team.

"I saw some things that I wasn't too fond of in that locker room. I felt like there was no one that stepped up to the plate when the opportunity presented itself.

"I don't take anything away from any player. I love my teammates, my teammates are great, they're warriors. But I felt like in a situation like that something should have been done. I don't feel like there was enough done at all in that game.

Rolle finished by throwing some haymakers at the organization.

"I definitely see things, I see little things here and there, and it's not all with the players. There's a lot of other things that go on behind closed doors that a lot of people don't know about. It's not all about the players, sometimes.

"Things have to change. If you want a winning team, if you want a team to have the competitive attitude and to have that 'dog' mentality sometimes you have to let that team be a dog.

"Everything can't be controlled, and right now everything is controlled within this organization. Everything is controlled."

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/9/21/1702230/antrel-rolle-things-have-to-change

First of all, I'm just as upset and embarrassed as everyone else here about probably EVERY single aspect of that debacle on Sunday night! I'm just more apt to not let my emotions get the best of me and rant uncontrollably. The last time I did that was when Eli played SO badly against the Vikings that I DECLARED him a bust.......later that season he was our SB MVP.

So, I know there is A LOT of that going on right now. People are venting out of anger and that's ok. I won't be too harsh on anyone for it.

So let's begin.....the way I see it, there were 2 GLARING issues..(3 if you count the absolute genius that is Peyton Manning).....First was our defensive gameplan and the stubbornness of our coaching staff not to change it. We stuck with it FAR too long and put ourselves in a hole we couldn't get out of. IMHO...the loss falls SQUARELY on the shoulders of our coaches.....all Indy had to do with thier defense was pin thier ears back and come after Eli......which leads to the OTHER glaring hole on this team...

The Offensive Line.....Anyone who doesn't recognize just how bad our o-line is, you need to choose another sport to be a fan of. Eli didn't suddenly regress, he was put in a bad situation that forced him into making some poor decisions. It happens to EVERY QB in the NFL....even P. Manning (see Texans game)......so, you had your moment of venting and calling for his job......now just stop it. You are starting to go past venting into just plain stupid.

The o-line is also responsible for our lack of running game. You guys are so quick to say Jacobs sucks (and I have plenty to say about him and his nonsense in a minute) but you never say anything about Bradshaw and HIS lack of production thus far. We CANNOT run block. The line isn't getting any push and the defenses are in our backfield before we can even get to the line of scrimmage. Unitl the problem is fixed, it doesn't matter who's carrying the ball, our running game will suffer.

Dear Mr. Jacobs.......just go away. Not because I don't think your're a good back, and not because our run game is awful........I DON'T LIKE YOU!! YOU ARE A BIG *** BABY!!!! Your mouth is one thing, but when you let yourself get so worked up that you THROW your helmet into the stands, you have no place on this team. You are DAMN lucky you didn't kill someone!!!! It was a classless and indefensible act of rage that could have ended with you in a jail cell!! I no longer care if you are on this team or not.

Lastly.......it IS only the second game of the season...against the reigning AFC champions in THIER house after getting embarrassed by Houston the week before. All is not lost...........yet.

http://boards.giants.com/forums/thread/1866466.aspx

 

COWBOYS

A quick look at the Cowboys' loss to the Bears, by the numbers:

1: The Cowboys sacked Jay Cutler on the Bear's first offensive play, seemingly a glorious portent of the pressure that he was to be subjected to all afternoon. Instead, it ended up being Dallas' only sack as Cutler, operating behind a banged-up Bears O-line (they lost starting tackle Chris Williams on the first series of the game), steadily gained confidence as the game wore on. In the fourth quarter, the Cowboys were able to put only negligible pressure on Cutler; he responded by making numerous plays in the passing game

3: The number of Cowboys' turnovers. Coincidentally, this is also the turnover margin for the game. As The Ticket's Bob Sturm is always pointing out in his masterful "Live from Lewisville" blog, its very difficult to win in the NFL with a negative turnover differential, and nearly impossible when its at -3. Going in to the game, I assumed that it would be Cutler and the Bears who would have trouble with ball security. Instead, the Bears defense made plays; they forced three changes of possession with pressure, big hits, or ball awareness (are you watching, Cowboys secondary?).

9: The Bears offense was able to convert only one of eleven third down attempts, giving them a 9% conversion rate. That is, frankly, an awesome number, a championship number. Unfortunately, Wade Phillips' defense has proven on several occasions that they are capable of being a break but don't bend bunch. Indeed, the Bears couldn't sustain any drives--but they didn't need to: their scoring drives averaged less than 5 plays per drive.

Star-divide



35: Because they were playing a Tampa-2 defense, it was of paramount import that the Cowboys be able to run effectively. This is because, in the Tampa-2, the middle linebacker has coverage responsibilities in the deep middle of the field. If Brian Urlacher is concerned enough about the running game that he has to creep up and/ or honor play action, then that deep middle opens up for passes to Witten and slot receivers. Instead, Dallas managed to collect a grand total of 36 yards on 20 carries, a (drum roll, please) whopping 1.8 yards per carry.

56: The play of the game, in my estimation, happened during the Bears' first possession of the second quarter, at the end of a stretch in which the Cowboys defense had been giving Cutler and Co. fits: the Bears couldn't run the ball, they were finding themselves in 2nd and 3rd and longs, and Cutler was under constant pressure. Somehow, on a 3rd and 15, he was able to stay on his feet enough to find Johnny Knox downfield (on a pass that, had it not been underthrown, would have been a touchdown). From that point on, Wade Phillips called off the dogs, the Cowboys' defense played scared, and Culter and Martz had their way with them.

88: The Dez Bryant era has begun with a bang. Although the Cowboys made plays throughout the game, the only BIG play they made was Bryant's electrifying 64-yard punt return. On the lay, he displayed the combination of skills that makes him so dangerous: strength, speed, acceleration, and an innate knowledge of where he is in relation to other bodies on the field. Get used to it, folks, we're going to see a lot of broken field runs from this kid.

790: In the first two weeks of the season, the Cowboys have amassed a lot of yards from scrimmage yet have only three touchdowns and a pair of field goals to show for it. Clearly, last year's woeful yards per point problems were not an aberration. There are numerous explanations of this phenomenon, and all were in play today: because the defense never forces turnovers, the offense repeatedly has to drive the length of the field; they are prone to drive killers; they have difficulty converting third downs.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/9/20/1698473/quick-take-bears-cowboys-by-the

Brad Sham, the voice of the Cowboys, said it best in the third-quarter of Sunday's game, "Dallas has not played that well, and that's why they're losing."

Plain and simple.

The Cowboys didn't play well in the preseason.

The Cowboys didn't play well last week in Washington.

And on Sunday, they didn't play well against the Chicago Bears, which is why Dallas is now on brink of an all out fiasco, at 0-2.

There are no excuses left to be made.

There are no ‘vanilla game plans'.

There weren't any second-string offensive lineman starting.

So what's the problem then?

Find out after the jump...

Star-divide

It might be Jason Garrett and his lack of desire to establish an offensive balance or identity.

It might be the players, in general, and their knack for making mistakes and miscues at the most inopportune times.

It might be David Buehler, who has destroyed any sliverof offensive momentum, by missing a field goal apiece in each of the last two games

It might be the aging offensive line and their inconsistent performances.

Or maybe, the Cowboys just aren't very good.

It's quite possible that the Cowboys are just an average team. A team that wins nine games. A team that looks good one week and terrible the next (or in this case terrible both weeks).

At the moment, that's what this Dallas Cowboys team looks like: 9-7.

The Cowboys offense, while better against Chicago, still looks lethargic and lacks intensity.

Yes, the defense is solid, but definitely not dominant, and was dismantled by the Jay Cutler and Co. once offensive coordinator Mike Martz made some minor in-game adjustments.

The youth and inexperience of the special teams units is beginning to show. Without Patrick Watkins, Steve Octavien and Deon Anderson, the Cowboys only have one experienced and consistently effective special teams player, Sam Hurd. Danny McCray and Barry Church are athletic, young players with potential. But, right now, they're just not getting the job done, and are turning what was a great strength for this team last season into a weakness.

With the amount of talent at the skilled positions, how can this be?

Lots of talent does not mean lots of wins. It might mean lots of offensive yardage and lots of gaudy statistics. But, in the end, as the Cowboys have discovered, not many points.

This team has dug itself into a hole. They're not at the point of no return yet -- but they are getting close. And the schedule doesn't get any easier. The Cowboys travel to Reliant Stadium this Sunday, to face the other team in Texas (the one that wins) - the Houston Texans - for what should be described as a must win game. Heading into a bye week winless is a nightmare for any team. Instead of having to wait one week until they can attempt to redeem themselves, the players must wait two -- usually resulting in players over thinking what they should or should not have done in the games lost, instead of preparing for their next opponent.

The Cowboys need to start winning and winning now.

Step 1: Back to basics. Find offensive balance and execute simple plays.

Instead of pointing the gun at the feet, point it at the opposition.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/9/20/1699237/overrated-and-overhyped-cowboys

At some point this season I'll be looking forward to one of these film reviews, where I get to break down what the Cowboys did right -- and wrong -- during a good ol' fashioned win. Instead, once more, I'm left re-watching a game that I never wanted to revisit again.

In the wake of yesterday's loss to the Bears it became fairly ugly in Dallas Cowboys land. The players were disappointed, talking about lack of focus in practice, the hype and the pressures of the season getting to their heads. The coaches are vowing that "changes will come". The fans want wholesale changes in the front office and the coaching staff and it seems that the most outspoken (isn't it always that way) believe this team won't win another game until Wade Phillips is gone. Of course, the ones with the most outlandish wishes, theories and desires are the ones with the most to say and it's good to see they aren't the majority.

I have now watched this game three times in total and twice in a very detailed fashion. The "jump back" function on my DVR is going to be warn out by the time this season is over, but in the end it's going to be worth it. There's minutiae in these games and within these plays we miss the first time around when we're caught up in the emotion of the game and don't have time to replay something over and over. Going back and watching these games again let's me find out some very interesting aspects of the game we didn't catch the first time around.

Realizing, for instance, that the Dallas Cowboys actually didn't play a completely bad game against the Bears.

Star-divide

What happened against the Bears was a loss that stemmed from a series of mistakes, odd bounces, bad fortune and some generally great play by the Chicago Bears. What happened was the Cowboys lost a game they should have won and had multiple chances to do so. The Cowboys lost because the mistakes that were made occurred at the absolute worst times throughout the games, killing drives or giving the Bears the opportunity to snatch back the momentum after the Cowboys had gained the upper hand.

The Cowboys, overall, had a good game and performed much better (at least offensively) than they did against the Redskins. There are things that must change, however, if the Cowboys want to get back on track and salvage this season but let's not be completely delusional here: the Cowboys did not have a terrible, horrible game. They weren't blown out by a mediocre team, they didn't completely fall apart in any phase of the game.

Instead, they made mistakes at critical points in the game and they lost. That is the reality of what happened. What needs to happen is for this team to regroup, for the Coaches to re-establish themselves and as a team move forward. Like I said last week and I'll say it again this week: forget the Super Bowl, forget the playoffs, forget the NFC East title -- just go out there, play football and focus on this one, singular game that needs to be played.

The Cowboys are likely a 9-7 football team this season, at best. It's going to be tough to make the playoffs with that record but the good news is the Cowboys are just one game behind the rest of the NFC East. We had high expectations for this team but, for now, it's time to temper them and just focus on what can be accomplished now: a win over the Texans.

I'm not here to pump you full of false hope or to look at this situation through rose-colored glasses. But I was pleasantly surprised when I turned this game back on, from the start, and things weren't nearly as bad as it seemed yesterday. This isn't a team that needs to be "blown up" or one that needs drastic changes from front office to head coach. There are very concerning issues here, but they can all be fixed. It's just week two, not time to panic; if things do continue like this, then I might change my tune.

What follows are my detailed thoughts and observations from my film review. We'll be covering the defense separately so this will focus primarily on the offense, but I haven't completely left the defense out. My film breakdown tomorrow will focus on three key plays from the game, just like last week, and while I'll talk about them here a bit I won't get into much detail on those until tomorrow.

In no particular order...

* Chris Gronkowski is this team's full back of the future. While we'd all love to have John Phillips here, his injury opened the door for the Cowboys to keep Gronkowski and right now it appears he's well on his way to taking over that position full time -- even after Deon Anderson returns. Right now, Anderson is the better pure blocker but Gronkowski is easily much more versatile. He's a bit on the taller side for a full back so he has trouble getting his pad level low, but on 90% of the runs where he was the lead blocker he more than held his own. I've yet to see him blow a defender back but he was very good at knocking his man off the play and opening up running lanes. He missed a few blocks throughout the game but for the most part played very well in his first real NFL game as the full time full back.
* After having his best game in nearly two years, Leonard Davis regressed. He missed blocks in the running game and was beat by inside stunts (once more) in the passing game. Not a horrible day by any means, but certainly frustrating to see after a great game against the Redskins.
* The offensive line wasn't bad in this game overall, certainly not as bad as we've seen in the past and with Romo dropping back to pass 51 times, not giving up a sack is certainly a great sign. Romo saved them a couple of times, as he is wont to do, but for the most part Romo had time to throw when he needed it.

Here's what frustrated me about this game when it comes to the offensive line, however. There's just too many moving parts. The Cowboys like to run draws and counters with guards pulling and the tight ends crossing. Try as they might, this offensive line just doesn't have the speed to pull off these plays any longer and they especially couldn't do it against a team with speedy linebackers like the Bears. On nearly every negative running play the Cowboys missed a block as a result of the offensive line not being able to get around to their blocks in time and the runner was forced to avoid defenders in the backfield.

If there is one thing I can beg of Jason Garrett it's this: put this offensive line in position to succeed. They had a great running game going in the first half when the offensive line was firing off the ball and blocking the man in front of them. Great blocks by the tight ends and the full backs and the Cowboys running game looked great. Then Felix would come in and the Cowboys would revert to a complex running play with two linemen pulling out in front; on one Felix run to the left, both Kosier and Davis whiffed on the same defender while Urlacher had a free path to the runner.

Simplify these running plays and put Felix Jones in position to succeed. Many think Jones doesn't look like himself but the simple truth is that he never really had a fair shot when you watch each play he had a run. It also appears that defenses are getting a good read on the play when Felix is in the game, as they are getting a much better jump on the ball and better penetration on his runs than with Barber.
* 19 runs, 51 passes. Largest deficit in the game: 10 points (last four minutes of game). That is NOT going to cut it. Garrett abandoned the run completely in the second half and while the Cowboys averaged just 1.8 yards per carry, there was no need to become completely one-dimensional.
* The Cowboys tried one delayed handoff in the game and it didn't work at all. That was a staple of this offense last season; the Cowboys need to find a way to make that play work again.
* Playaction in the red zone works once more. Just sayin'.
* Time for the Razorback to be put on the shelf. Until the Cowboys do something different with it than have Tashard Choice keep the ball and run up the middle with it, that play will never work again. It's incredibly predictable as a fan and the defenses are teeing off on it now.
* I might have briefly -- BRIEFLY -- had the thought cross my mind that Wade should be fired solely on the grounds that the decision to pooch kick it after the Cowboys first touchdown might have been the worst strategic decision of his career.
* What's unfortunate about these two losses is that it's overshadowed the fact that the Cowboys have three very good to incredible wide receivers all playing very well. Roy Williams, Miles Austin and Dez Bryant all had great games, once again, and Miles Austin continues to prove that last season was far from a fluke. Perhaps seeing Dez Bryant start to make plays has lit a fire in Roy Williams but he's made several tough catches these past few games and has had just one egregious drop (Austin, by the way, has two). While there are certainly problems with this team, the receivers have stepped up their game.
* DeMarcus Ware was all over the place to start the game yet slowed down as the game went on. The Bears started double teaming him on nearly every play and with the quick-pass attack the Bears began to use, his pass rushing abilities were of no use. It's unfortunate, since Ware started off the game so strong.
* Jay Ratliff is struggling to start the season. He made one great play on a key third and short situation but he's been getting blown off the play on a regular basis. He came close a few times to getting to the quarterback but we've yet to see the dominant nose tackle really start to take over games like we're used to.
* We'll be going into the defense separately, but I did want to share my thoughts on what happened with Wade's unit in this game against the Bears.

When the game started the Cowboys had Jay Cutler and the Bears against the ropes. They moved Anthony Spencer and DeMarcus Ware around and disguised their blitzes well, while also finding ways to get to the quarterback out of the basic set. The Cowboys played aggressively against the pass and while they were allowing a few runs sprinkled throughout the first quarter, for the most part they dominated the Bears. They held the Bears to just a field goal after Chicago started with great field position following an interception, and then held them to a three and out the next series.

Then that dang pooch kick happened. The Cowboys gifted the Bears with short field position and Cutler immediately made an adjustment on the Cowboys rushing attack: short, quick passes. The Cowboys continued to play aggressive at the line of scrimmage yet changed their coverage schemes, for some unknown reason. Devin Hester scrambled for 19 yards after coming off the line uncovered when the Cowboys tried a conerback blitz. The next play, Greg Olsen sat down in the space vacated by the linebackers when they blitzed up the middle and ran in for a touchdown. What's frustrating about both is the blitzes worked and forced Cutler to give up the ball early, yet the Cowboys had backed off their coverage and allowed the Bears receivers to find open space to make the quick catch.

The Cowboys immediately responded with their first long touchdown drive of the season and it appeared the defense had regrouped after forcing the Bears into a 3rd and 15 situation from their 21. Generally, this would be the time and place to go after the Bears and Cutler but instead the Cowboys backed off. They rushed only four against a full protect scheme while playing a deep zone against the pass. The Cowboys appeared ready to play the ol' "keep the ball in front of you" method of not allowing a conversion and sat back in a zone about 12 yards off the ball. The Bears receivers, all of them, just ran right through it. Mike Jenkins misplayed Knox, the Bears had a 59 yard completion on a perfectly thrown ball and suddenly the tide of the game was changed.

For some reason, from that point forward, the Cowboys just....backed off. They weren't blitzing as much, they weren't as aggressive and seemed intent on just not allowing any more big plays. They played very well overall -- they only allowed seven points in the second half -- but the problem here was when they allowed the Bears to score. Each touchdown by the Bears was an absolute backbreaker; despite holding the Bears time after time after time in the third and fourth quarter, allowing a very fast touchdown drive right after David Buehler's missed field goal was a killer.

The defense played well overall and did their best to hold them off for the majority of the game; unfortunately when the Cowboys needed a stop the most they fell apart.
* I'm going to be doing a much more detailed post on Tony Romo later this week but for those of you saying this loss was squarely on his shoulders, that was certainly not the case in this game. We've seen what Romo looks like when he's not good, and while he wasn't certainly wasn't perfect he was far from bad.

The common theme last night after the game was how "off" Romo looked and how his inaccuracy cost this team the game. He was far from perfect but he was still very, very accurate on most throws he did make. His pocket awareness was much better this game and he made several bullet throws down field that were right on the money. He completed 67% of his passes for 374 yards and for the most part was dead on. He wasn't perfect however, yet to need your quarterback to be absolutely perfect all the time is a heck of a lot to ask.

The first interception, off of Miles Austin, was purely the result of a great hit. Sometimes you have to give the defense the credit and that's what happened here. Miles Austin sat down in the zone and Romo had to fit the ball over the underneath coverage and into the hands of Austin; he couldn't float the pass because of the speed of the defenders and Austin was forced to reach up for the ball. Like Austin loves to do, he jumped for the ball and immediately turned in mid-air; this is what allows Austin to get upfield so quickly after a catch. He was drilled by Tillman and the ball fell into the hands of Moore. Unfortunate, far from Romo's fault.

I'll get into the interception off Jason Witten's shoulder tomorrow.

Romo made mistakes that led to this loss, but so did a lot of other players on this team.
* The Cowboys found a way to exploit the two-deep zone and they attacked that all game long. Like the Bears adjusted to the Cowboys rushing attack, the Cowboys adjusted their routes and were able to find holes in the Bears coverage and started to rack up the yards.

I know some of the Bears are saying that the Cowboys were scared to get hit and were reacting accordingly, but I saw receivers who were catching balls all over the Bears defense for most of the game. There was one bad drop by Austin when he turned up field too quickly, but I never once saw the Cowboys act skittish when catching passes. The Bears were playing not to allow the big downfield play and for the most part it worked. Yet it was still good to see that the timing of the Cowboys offense worked (for the most part) against a defense that normally gives them trouble.
* So if everything was so rosy, if this film review revealed that in essence the Cowboys really didn't play all that bad and the world isn't ending, what happened? Why did the Cowboys lose if this team actually didn't play that bad overall. Like I said at the top, mistakes made at the absolute worst times doomed the Cowboys in this game.

Interceptions, fumbles, penalties and blown coverage. Everything in between was actually pretty damn impressive but it's these lapses in focus and execution that are dooming this team right now. The Cowboys don't need a drastic change at offensive coordinator, head coach or anything like that. They don't need a new scheme or new personnel. What this team needs is the ability to just focus and accomplish the task that is right in front of them.

Judging by what the players are saying it seems they understand where the problems lie. Whether they can correct this themselves or Wade "changes are coming" Phillips can force it upon them, but focus and fine tuning is all that is needed.

There wasn't a monumental breakdown of epic proportions in this game, instead mistakes at the worst time led to the loss.

- The Cowboys are moving the ball smartly, but a holding penalty pins them back at 1st and 20. A bad snap count turns into 2nd and 20 and a failed screen attempt turns into 3rd and 20. One simple penalty and the entire drive is killed.

- The Cowboys offense puts together a long, time consuming touchdown drive and puts the team up 14-10. The Cowboys defense, after playing so well in the game, allows a touchdown for the second drive in a row and the Bears take the lead for good.

- The Cowboys respond and are moving the ball once more, and Romo and Witten combine for a backbreaking interception. The Bears capitalize with a field goal.

- The Cowboys once again move the ball down the field, this time in chunks at a time, until they reach the 16 yard line. Romo rushes a throw to Bennett who never saw the pass. One more half second of patience and a bit of touch, and Bennett would have had an easy touchdown. The next play, a false start sets the Cowboys back and they can't recover. They settle for a field goal after putting together 56 yard drive.

- The Cowboys, once more, move the ball easily down the field. After an incompletion on first down and short run on 2nd down (Garrett back to his old ways), the Cowboys face a 3rd and 8 from the Chicago 37. The Cowboys have run a slant to Roy Williams in the situation before, successfully, and they do it again. As Romo is releasing the ball, a defender comes uncovered in front of Roy and blocks the passing lane. Romo adjusts and throws the ball behind Williams -- it appears he expected Williams to adjust as well and stop his route. This was not an inaccurate pass, as one on target would have easily been intercepted. Call it unfortunate. The Cowboys decide not to go for a 54-yard field goal and instead punt the ball into the end zone for a net gain of 17 yards.

- Dallas, once again, moves the ball down field. On 3rd and 5 from the Chicago 26, Garrett calls for a wheel route to Choice. This was the one truly poor throw of the game by Romo, as he rushes the pass and doesn't come close to getting the ball cleanly to the receiver. He was not under extreme duress and had time to make a better throw; this is one he's made many times before but this time the pass fell short. Buehler misses the 44 yard field goal attempt.

- Following the missed field goal, the Cowboys allow the Bears to score in just four plays. A missed field goal turns into a 10-point deficit. The absolute worst time for the Cowboys to allow the lone points of the second half.

These mistakes were plenty and once more you can't pin the loss on just one player or one play. But these isolated plays showcase just how frustrating these losses are. The defense made plays but couldn't stand up to the challenge when needed most. The offense moved the ball at will yet key mistakes and turnovers doomed them once more.

Sometimes you also have to give credit to the other team. Jay Cutler, when he had time, was deadly accurate and his bomb to Knox was simply amazing. The Bears were able to adjust better then the Cowboys and in the end that was the ultimate difference in the game.
* Finally, I leave you with the #1 reason the Cowboys lost this game:

Turnovers: Bears 0, Cowboys 3.

You aren't going to win many games when that stat is skewed against you.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/9/20/1700607/cowboys-vs-bears-film-review-all

 

EAGLES

This game ended up closer than it ever should have been. After a rough first half, the Eagles defense seemed to turn things around in the second half pitching a shutout in the 3rd quarter. In the meantime, the Eagles offense built a 35-17 lead. Then... things started to come undone. I don't know whether the Eagles defense got complacent or just reverted back to the generally crappy play of the first half, but the Lions scored 15 straight points and recovered an onsides kick to make what appeared to be a comfortable victory into a very tense affair. That said, we'll get back to the defense. Let's look at the good first.

You have to wonder whether it's fair to say that Michael Vick "looked like his old self" today, because it's hard to remember when Vick was ever as poised a passer as he was today. He was 21 of 34 for 284 yards and 2 TDs with no turnovers. Thing is, the numbers don't really even tell the story. How many times did he stand in and make a great throw on a play where he knew he was about to get blasted? He was accurate, he was calm under pressure, and generally looked fearless out there. I've never been a big fan of Vick as a QB, but there's really nothing to criticize today. The guy played fantastic.

If Michael Vick was the Eagles offensive MVP, LeSean McCoy had to be the runner up. The second year man had his first career 100 yard game to go along with 3 TDs on the day. Amazingly, he's the first Eagles RB to rush for 3 TDs in a game since Charlie Garner did it in 1995.

Star-divide

DeSean Jackson had a big day as well hauling in 4 passes for 135 yards including a 45 yard TD.

Now, to the defense... They were terrible. There's really no other way to put it. The first half, they were absolutely steamrolled on the ground as Lions RB Jahvid Best had almost all of his 78 yards rushing in the first two quarters. Then, as I said earlier, the defense really seemed to respond coming out after the half and played really well in the third quarter before just falling to pieces in the fourth. The worst part was, the Lions game plan was remarkably simple. They ran up the gut in the first half and carved the Eagles with screens to Best and short throws to the TE in the second half. Nearly all of the Lions offensive success came on two or three different play calls over and over. It was eerily reminiscent to the games against Dallas last year where they dominated the Eagles with a delayed handoff and WR bubble screen.

What can be done to fix it? Certainly the return of Stewart Bradley will help as Omar Gaither was slow to the sidelines on every play to the outside and pushed back on most runs to the inside... But unless Bradley is he second coming of Mike Singletary, his presence alone can't solve everything.

Oh and Ernie Sims got his first win in 30 games. Wouldn't that have been a terrible irony for him had the Lions managed to pull this one out after he'd lost 28 straight games as a member of that team? Good for him and us that they didn't.

A win is a win and any win on the road in the NFL is a good one. Considering the Cowboys lost today to fall to 0-2... It was a pretty good day.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/9/19/1698138/michael-vick-shines-in-eagles-win

There was plenty to be unhappy with in yesterday's win over the improved Detroit Lions yesterday, but a win is a win, so let's start off Monday morning with a round of game balls to the players who excelled:

Michael Vick - The Vick/Kolb discussions will of course dominate any and all talk surrounding the Eagles this week, and I think that's generally perceived as a bad thing. I don't see it that way. It's only a topic of discussion because Vick has been so surprisingly good, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with having the best backup QB in the NFL. I'd say he looks like "the Vick of old," but he actually looks better. He played a spectacular, mistake-free game yesterday, throwing for 284 yards on 21 of 34 passing, with an additional 37 yards on the ground. Gone are the critics questioning the signing of Vick last year. Enter the critics that will say he should take over as the full time starter. He won't of course (and shouldn't), but let's give him his due - He has far exceeded any and all expectations these first 2 games, and that's an understatement. The pressure is on Kevin Kolb to play well and win in Jacksonville next week, and I think a little extra pressure can be a good thing.

LeSean McCoy - At times during training camp, I thought McCoy looked like the best player on the field. He's hitting holes with authority, and is adapting to the pro game quite nicely. He inexplicably had just 5 carries against Green Bay. That simply can't happen. Yesterday, he carried 16 times for 120 yards and 3 TDs, and he also had a long run called back on a holding penalty. Even that's not enough - He needs to get 20-25 touches per game.

DeSean Jackson - That catch and run was a thing of beauty.

The Colts, Texans, and Bears - Thanks guys.

Juqua Parker - He lost his starting job to impressive rookie Brandon Graham, accepted his new role, and is now leading the team with 3 sacks. When he has gotten his opportunities, he's been outstanding putting pressure on the QB.

Ellis Hobbs, Asante Samuel - Great job today by the starting corners in coverage. Calvin Johnson had 4 catches for 50 yards, and Nate Burleson and Bryant Johnson each had 1 catch for 4 yards apiece. That was it from the Lions wide receivers. Hobbs also made a nice play on his interception of Shaun Hill.

Sav Rocca - What a pleasant surprise. Sav is killing it so far this year. 7 punts today for a 48.7 average. More importantly, the Lions only returned 3 of those punts for 34 yards, giving Sav a 43.9 yard net. If he continues this kind of play, he's going to the Pro Bowl.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/9/20/1698929/game-balls-week-2-win-in-detroit

The Eagles made a slew of minor personnel moves today officially signing RB Joique Bell (pronounced Joyk) from the Buffalo Bills practice squad. Per NFL rules, Bell will have to be on the Eagles active roster for at least three weeks.

To make room for Bell, the team released Hank Baskett again. Baskett has played sparingly since the start of the season and was on the roster bubble at the end of preseason anyway. Baskett's release is somewhat of a surprise simply because you might have thought the Eagles would have chosen to release another RB, such as Eldra Buckley, to make room for Bell. My guess is that it was partly a special teams concern. For the most part, your 5th WR and 3rd RB are primarily special teams players, so the Eagles very well may have kept Buckley over Baskett based on their special teams play.

But hey, last time Hank got released a superbowl bound team picked him up...

The team also released RB Martell Mallett and S Chip Vaughn from the practice squad. No word yet on who might replace them. I assume Mallett got his release when the team figured it had enough organizational depth at RB.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/9/21/1702449/eagles-officially-sign-joique-bell

This is breaking news... Andy Reid has announced that Michael Vick is the Eagles starting quarterback. The Eagles will be holding a full press conference in about a half hour, so it appears that this isn't due to an injury to Kevin Kolb.

It looks like Michael Vick is the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles for the rest of the year.

More details to come.

[Update by JasonB, 09/21/10 6:24 PM EDT ] Andy Reid will be holding a conference call at 6:30. I'll update this story as he speaks.

Has nothing to do with Kevin Kolb or his injury, his future is "not slighted one bit." Still says he can be a franchise quarterback.

Says it's all about Vick's "accelerated play." Calls Vick "the hottest quarterback in the NFL." Says Vick deserves to play, Kolb will be allowed to continue his maturation process.

Says it's his responsibility to continue evaluating and Vick's accelerated play prompted the decision to make a change.

Was asked whether one half of play was enough to evaluate Kolb. Andy says it wasn't about judging Kolb, he'll still be a Superbowl level QB. However, when you have a guy playing at the level that Vick is you have to let him play.

Reid says that this will help Kevin Kolb's maturation process and he will get to continue to learn.

Reid says he didn't expect the accelerated play of Vick when he made the decision to go with Kolb in preseason.

Says he's been meeting with Kolb over the past two days and that he wants to be the starter, but has accepted the decision. He says Kolb is unfortunately stuck behind an "Ex superstar that has now regained his abilities."

Reid says the team has seen the great play from Vick over the past two weeks and that has factored into the decision

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/9/21/1702733/breaking-andy-reid-names-michael

When a team gives up six sacks and numerous quarterback pressures, there is room for variety. So it went for the Eagles Sunday, when they had protection issues that could be attributed to individual miscues, play selection and even just poor fundamentals (a sack on a fumbled snap).

Quarterback Michael Vick helped limit the damage with vintage moves, but the Eagles can't count on that kind of mobility from Kevin Kolb. They need to give him time.

"We definitely need to handle the blitz better," head coach Andy Reid said. If they don't, it could be a season-long problem.

Here's a look at Sunday's work from center Mike McGlynn, guard Nick Cole, linebacker Omar Gaither and several other Eagles after reviewing the tape of the Birds' 35-32 victory over the Lions:


Center Mike McGlynn

McGlynn held his own blocking for Vick. But he is also responsible for making blocking calls, and in some instances Lions came free, even though the Eagles had enough men back in protection. On a red zone first and 10 late in the second quarter, the Eagles had six men (five offensive linemen plus tight end Brent Celek) to face six pass rushers. But McGlynn and Cole double teamed Lions tackle Ndamukong Suh, leaving Lawrence Jackson to race in on Vick untouched. Vick was hammered as he threw an incomplete pass.

Reid, in listing a litany of issues with pass protection overall (including with his own calls), said the line needed to be redirected at times.

McGlynn had a hand in opening up room on all three of LeSean McCoy's touchdown runs. On the back's first score, he stopped a free Kyle Vanden Bosch.


Guard Nick Cole

The right guard had the difficult task of trying to block Suh, often one-on-one. He was overmatched. Even when he managed to keep Suh in front of him, the big defensive tackle pushed Cole back. On the Lions' third sack, the Eagles had eight blockers (including two tight ends and running back Mike Bell) chipping against five pass rushers. But while several Lions were double-teamed, Cole was alone against Suh. The rookie defensive tackle powered through Cole for a violent tackle on Vick.

Cole also did better in the run game, helping open holes on McCoy's scores.


Linebacker Omar Gaither

Filling in for Stewart Bradley, Gaither struggled trying to cover athletic tight end Brandon Pettigrew. But on the most glaring play, a 35-yard catch and run, Gaither was hurt by a good play call. Calvin Johnson ran right by the linebacker, leading Asante Samuel into Gaither and creating separation for Pettigrew. Once the tight end caught the ball, he easily outpaced Gaither down the sideline for a big gain to set up a Lions' score.


Other observations

Linebacker Ernie Sims continued his habit of biting hard on initial moves. At least twice he jumped to the outside to try to cover Jahvid Best only to get beat for big gains back toward the middle of the field.

Jeremy Maclin had a great downfield block on DeSean Jackson's touchdown.

Defensive end Juqua Parker created significant pressure, especially as Detroit tried to rally. He had a sack midway through the fourth quarter and hurried quarterback Shaun Hill on the second play of the Lions' final drive. Parker was also credited with a crucial tackle on a fourth-and-one stop early in the fourth quarter.

On the Lions last score, they used Calvin Johnson's height to exploit the Eagles' shorter defensive backs. On consecutive plays, he burned first Joselio Hanson and then Quintin Mikell, and the Lions put the ball high for him to make a play. Both resulted in scores, but one was called back by a penalty. That led to a surprising admission from Reid on the vulnerability of his defensive backs: "I can't get the secondary to grow, and they put it up there where only he can get it." Reid said there isn't much his defenders can do against a good throw to someone as big and athletic as Johnson - a fair point. But with Andre Johnson, Dez Bryant, and other big receivers left on the schedule, it's an area to watch.


Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/sports..._Offensive_line_needs_work.html#ixzz10De3lreU
Watch sports videos you won't find anywhere else

 

REDSKINS

) Even the most optimistic of fans (like myself) could not have possibly said before the game that we were--in our present form--better than the Houston Texans. I thought we could win, yes. And I do not believe in good losses. However, of the many judgements that can be made of the Washington Redskins after yesterday's game, one of them is that we certainly should compete with some of the top teams coming up on our schedule. I couldn't have been the only one fearing a miserable stretch in which we scored maybe 10 points en route to losing 5 games.

2) Another judgement: where the F is our running game?

3) When we got the ball back in overtime, I just kept thinking, "This is why you have Donovan McNabb as your quarterback." Granted, he did not turn the ball over, but I really believed that we were going to get another 1st down there and get Gano closer. I can't call it a failure...but we failed to get that first down, didn't we?

4) Devin Thomas could have just as easily missed that deep ball in the end zone that Galloway should have caught. I think I would rather take my chances with Thomas. I have zero love for Galloway. I was very impressed with the improvement in overall wide receiver performance--426 yards passing will do that. This week's glaring wide receiver stat is surely the big donut in the TD column. With everything that Fred Davis, Chris Cooley and Donovan McNabb can do to open the passing attack, our wide receivers MUST score touchdowns.

5) I had a pretty good view of the touchdown catch Andre Johnson made over Reed Doughty. Would Kareem Moore have made a better play? I have no idea. But we do know one thing for sure: Reed has failed to shine in pass coverage as long as he has been here. The Texans really worked that well. Wes Craven should make his next horror film in DC and call it "Reed's In Coverage".

6) I hate the timeout rule. I have always hated it from afar, but now it has really bitten me in the keister. Let me get this straight...in order to win, you have to kick TWO 50+ yard field goals? That is not football. Am I just chewing on sour grapes? Please tell me. But from where I am sitting today, it doesn't seem fair to have a rule that makes you kick a field goal twice at the end of a game like that.

It was hard to just pick 6 of these today.

http://www.hogshaven.com/2010/9/20/1699452/looks-like-someones-got-a-sixpack

If you don't think players are taking this loss hard...think again. DeAngelo Hall, easily one of the stars on this defense, articulated his distaste for Haslett's defensive design where cornerbacks are assigned a side instead of a player. On Andre Johnson's huge touchdown, the 4-time Pro Bowl WR was covered by Phillip Buchanon (easily the team's 3rd-string cornerback), who released Andre deep to 1-1 coverage with Reed Doughty. There are multiple fails on that (before even getting to Doughty's valiant effort on defending). DHall exploded today in his interviews with the media:

"From here on out, I'm going to wherever the f***ing ball is going. Whereever the receiver is going, that's where the f*** I'm going...If Andre Johnson's out there, I'm gonna be out there." (via @ryanohalloran)

Isn't it common sense to put your best defender on arguably the best WR in the NFL? What if Haslett doesn't agree with Hall?

"It don't matter what he say. This is my team. This is my defense." (via @Rich_Campbell)

Wow. That will for sure ruffle some feathers among Shanahan and Haslett...both no-nonsense guys. The coaches are not ones to air out their beef to the media, but this for sure will be a headline throughout the week since the MRI news on Trent Williams was all on the ups (no structural damage to knee).

http://www.hogshaven.com/2010/9/20/1699824/deangelo-hall-vs-jim-haslett-round

Everyone catch their breath yet?

Now that the dust has settled, it's time to examine exactly what happened in the NFL season's most thrilling game to date. Sunday, the Redskins lost at home to the Houston Texans, a football team a week removed from the biggest win in its franchise's history over the Indianapolis Colts in Week One.

We learned a lot about our team, but a lot of questions remain going forward. Welcome to the first installment of a weekly/bi-weekly/whenever-I-can segment of Questions and Answers, and I thank you for reading.

Question 1: Can the Redskins run the football?

Clinton Portis has been acceptable, but far from explosive -- through two games he has only 96 yards on 31 carries, but he also racked up two touchdowns against Houston. Larry Johnson has been a non-factor, accumulating only two yards on five carries. Keiland Williams is mostly a pass-catching back, mostly used on third downs.

Star-divide

Portis has been running hard, and his numbers perhaps look a little less impressive than they really were last week given that he had a lot of carries from inside the Texans' 10-yard line. He clearly looks better than he did last year.

But the Redskins were, overall, unsuccessful when running the football for the last two games. They did deliver touchdowns on Sunday, but they did not establish a consistent rushing attack. Eventually, given the nature of the NFC East, the lack of talent opposite of Santana Moss, and a litany of other reasons, the Redskins will not be able to throw the ball as much as they did Sunday. Any NFL team, especially a team coached by Mike Shanahan, has to be successful running the football. It takes up clock and rests the defense; it tires the opposing defense and opens up the pass for the offense. Clinton Portis will have to shoulder more of the load, and soon we will have to learn whether the Larry Johnson experiment is worth further investigation or worth ending prematurely. That one carry that lost ten yards certainly didn't bode well for Johnson, though, did it?

Question 2: Are our receivers better than we thought?

When you have a quarterback like Donovan McNabb (more on him later), you don't need elite wide receivers to necessarily have a top-level passing attack. Look around the league -- sure, Peyton Manning has Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, but Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon and Anthony Gonzalez are huge parts of the offense. The same can be said for Drew Brees -- Marques Colston is unstoppable, but Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and Jeremy Shockey are by no means elite players at their position. Look at the Texans. They have a great quarterback and Andre Johnson is probably the best wide receiver. But neither Owen Daniels or Kevin Walter are "elite" players -- they are capable players blessed with a good quarterback.

All off-season -- and again after Week 1 -- we wondered if the Redskins receivers could hack it. I think we all debated whether we'd accept trading our second-round pick for Vincent Jackson to give Santana Moss less of a burden on the field.

But suddenly, Moss looks like the Pro Bowler he was a few years ago and Roydell Williams, Joey Galloway and Anthony Armstrong all proved to be at least capable NFL receivers on Sunday. Sure, Moss only had 89 yards receiving yesterday, but he had 10 catches, no drops, and one of the biggest plays of the game with a catch in coverage at the 1-yard line. Galloway had three catches for a pretty significant 88 yards, including that gorgeous bomb that set up a touchdown. While the guy is not as explosive as he was, he is a guy who won't drop easy passes and will run pretty good routes. Same with Roydell Williams. It's my hunch that Devin Thomas isn't the route-runner the rest of these receivers are, which has set him down the depth chart. I also believe he will be a factor at some point this season (in addition to the good job he's done returning kicks) because he's too talented to keep off the field.

But if this receiving corps is as effective as it was yesterday, the Redskins will have an effective offense. The question is, can they play well against a better defense? Will they be able to make plays all season? If they are as good all season as they were Sunday, they may be acceptable for the season.

More after the jump...

Question 3: How hurt is Trent Williams?

Did anyone expect this kid to be as good as he is already in his rookie year? He absolutely has lived up to his billing as a quality left tackle in the NFL against two of the best pass-rushers in the league: DeMarcus Ware and Mario Williams, both Pro Bowlers last year. He more than held his own against two players that are among the best at their position -- in fact, there were moments he dominated them.

As soon as Williams went down and Stephon Heyer stepped in as left tackle, the entire offense changed. Heyer's immediate holding of Williams was Alex Barron-esque; it stopped a crucial third down conversion and instead forced the Redskins to punt the ball away in the fourth quarter. McNabb stopped dropping deep and started throwing more quick slants and screens, the result of a collapsing pocket, once Williams left the game.

Trent Williams went one-on-one with Mario Williams for most of the game and absolutely held his own. With the arrival of one player, the offensive line improved tremendously. Man, aren't we all glad we picked him!

But the problem is that he's hurt. Apparently, it's just a sprained knee. But if he's hurt for a few games or longer, the Redskins will have to figure out what they want to do on the line. Do they move Jammal Brown back over to the left side? Does Stephon Heyer have enough talent to hold back Chris Long and/or Trent Cole in the next two weeks? Imagine Heyer vs. Dwight Freeney four weeks from now -- goodness.

We need Trent Williams to have a fully-functional offense. McNabb can't be running for his life -- and if we can contain a top pass-rusher, largely by himself, for an entire game, our offense will be a lot better. If we have to worry about McNabb's blindside, we have a lot to worry about this season.

Question 4: How scary will this defense be with Kareem Moore?

Remember this preseason how much praise was heaped on free safety Kareem Moore, the only Redskins starter to get hurt before the season?

Despite all the criticism levied at Reed Dougthy, I think we all have to give him a little credit for making some good tackles and being a decent option for a backup at safety. Come on, it's not his fault he was one on one with Andre Johnson, or that he couldn't out-jump the best receiver in the league. For those of us who have been pulling for Chris Horton to make himself a factor again, we sure had a setback yesterday -- an offsides and getting beat on a big pass play in overtime were not good signs. Clearly, the Redskins need someone opposite LaRon Landry who is great in coverage.



Moore was the unquestioned starter almost from the beginning. He was arguably the biggest story of training camp (besides Haynesworth). He possesses cover skills that Doughty and Horton cannot match. When he is back, you have to think some of those pass plays over the middle that the Texans used so often will not work. Apparently, he practiced in pads last week, so maybe we'll see him back sooner rather than later. Let's hope so -- the Rams and Eagles are next, but the Packers and Colts (and Rodgers and Manning) are after them. We will need all the help we can get against their prolific passing offenses.

Question 5: When will the Redskins get it together on special teams?

Does it seem like no team over the last decade that has had more strange plays occur on special teams than the Redskins? We've had a historic turnover at the kicker position since Eddie Murray, and our punting situation -- although significantly better this week than last -- has been more than dubious for the last several seasons.

Each of the last two games was either lost or almost lost due to special teams gaffes. Josh Bidwell (or the long snapper, Nick Sundberg) botched a snap/hold against the Cowboys and almost -- perhaps, in fact, it should have -- cost the Redskins the game. Fred Davis didn't even attempt to stop a streaking cornerback on a short field goal -- which would have put the game out of reach if Graham Gano had nailed it. Then, Gano missed terribly on a 52-yard game winner, which is a tough kick under pressure, but a special teams deficiency nonetheless.

Danny Smith was retained by Joe Gibbs, Jim Zorn and Mike Shanahan. Two of those are Hall of Fame coaches (I'll let you guess which two). He must be good. Yet, you wonder how these kind of mistakes happen, specifically when no one was there to slow Bernard Pollard on the blocked field goal.

The special teams unit has been holding the Redskins back this season. The offense and defense are relatively well-oiled machines despite huge changes in personnel (offense) and a new scheme (offense and defense). The special teams need to improve or the Redskins cannot win games. Some say you're only as good as your backup quarterback in the NFL (I sure hope that's not true this year for the Redskins), but I always have thought you're only good as your special teams. From Adam Vinatieri to Mike Scifres, from Dante Hall to Darren Sproles, you need good special teams to either keep you in the game or help you win the game. So far, the Redskins have not had that. How much is Danny Smith to blame?

----------------

Those are five questions that the Redskins will be confronted with for the next few weeks -- if not the rest of the season.

Now, for five answers -- mostly positive ones.

Answer 1: The Texans are really good.

The Texans are a playoff team this year. They have a great quarterback, a great option out of the backfield (if Arian Foster can keep it up) an amazing wide receiver, and other really strong complimentary weapons like Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels. Their offense is an absolute force. Mario Williams will do enough on that defense to make sure it's at least competitive -- but in many games, the Texans' opponents will have to put up ridiculous point totals just to keep up, so their defense won't have to be great.

The Redskins should not be ashamed of losing to a team like this. First of all, the offense and defense are still meshing. Sure, that's no excuse, but this is a team that was 4-12 last year and had a different coach, quarterback, offense and defense. The Texans' offense had a really amazing game against the Redskins. Despite that, this game was essentially a 50/50 game. If the Redskins had won the coin toss, if Galloway had caught that pass in the fourth quarter, if Davis had made one block on a field goal, if Gano had nailed the 52-yarder, if a ball had bounced our way, etc, etc. Essentially, we lost a game we should have won in Week Two and won a game we probably should have lost in Week One. Personally, I'd rather have the Dallas game than the Texans game. This is not a catastrophic loss and, in fact, should show Redskins fans that our offense and our team in general is good enough to play with a really strong team.

Answer 2: We won the Adam Carriker trade.

Can you believe we got a quality starter for the price of almost nothing? We moved down in the fifth round of last draft and UP in the 7th for a starter. Carriker is an effective 3-4 end -- he fits the scheme perfectly. He was credited with half a sack and absolutely made it difficult to run in his area on the field. It's tough for 3-4 linemen in this scheme to really make themselves noticed, but Carriker certainly did against Houston, I thought. This was a great trade and certainly an underrated one on our defense.

Answer 3: We really, really won the Donovan McNabb trade.

That throw to Joey Galloway (the first one) confirmed it for me. I liked Campbell, but there's no way he makes that pass. It was more than the pass though -- it was the first 400 yard effort for the Redskins since Brad Johnson in 1999 (the last time we won the division, by the way). And, in typical McNabb fashion, he completed passes to eight different receivers, only two of whom are real threats (Cooley and Moss).

Donovan McNabb possesses everything you want in an elite quarterback. First and foremost -- professionalism and leadership. He has complete control of the team and is unquestionably the most important player on the field for the Redskins. He is an accurate passer, both short and long range, especially important on a team with no elite receivers. He is mobile. He can take a hit without fumbling. He has a good sense of what's going on in the pocket. He doesn't throw interceptions. The list goes on for paragraphs.

Seemingly overnight, the Redskins went from the offense of last year to a credible offense. Because of one player -- McNabb (and two coaches).

Jason Campbell does not have the ability of Donovan McNabb. How much longer could we afford to wait for his possible potential ability to unearth itself? Instead, we gave up two picks (neither of them first rounders) for the most important player in the organization, one of the best quarterbacks of this era, and a leader with a huge chip on his shoulder. This was a fantastic trade and Donovan McNabb, for me, certainly, has proved himself to be the quarterback this franchise desperately needed. Can anyone in Washington disagree?

Answer 4: Albert Haynesworth's presence would be a luxury, not a necessity.

I thought a lot about whether stating flat-out that Haynesworth was no longer a relevant piece of the defense. But he is frankly too special of a football player (sometimes) to completely rule out. There were some key moments where Matt Schaub slipped out of a few sacks -- maybe Haynesworth would have helped there. Who knows. But the defense will get its turnovers and be largely the same without him.

I think anytime you can add a top-of-the-line pass rusher, you should. And I think Haynesworth will be a factor for this team at some point down the line... but I disagree with McNabb's statement a few weeks back that said, "We can't win without him." He made little to no impact in the Cowboys game and our team could easily have won the Texans game without him.

Of course, you'd rather have your highest paid player be both a luxury AND a necessity, but we all know what reality is with Haynesworth. We'd love to see him on the field, I'm sure, and we'll be a better team if he's in, but he is not by any means the most important player on the defense. You know who is?

Answer 5: LaRon Landry is playing like the 2010 DPOY.

He makes tackles. He sacks quarterbacks. He covers tight ends. He comes out of nowhere and delivers punishing hits.

#30 has completely changed. This guy was a huge liability on our defense last season. Look at this post from Kevin -- LaRon was a joke last year. He was a possible draft bust.

Now, he's the most exciting player on the defense -- arguably more so than Brian Orakpo. His 28 tackles lead the league (interestingly, Rocky McIntosh is #3 with 24). That's 17 week one and 11 week two -- wow. He has 21 solo tackles already -- last year (all year) he had 78. He also has a sack and multiple quarterback hurries, not to mention some fine coverage over the middle.

What a huge improvement by LaRon Landry. What a better use of player personnel by Jim Haslett. Landry is not a true free safety like our beloved Sean Taylor was. Landry is a hitter, essentially a faster and more athletic version of a linebacker who has pretty good coverage skills. He's doing what he does best, and he should be the early leader for DPOY.

Think I'm crazy? Peter King seems to agree with me. He's made that much of an impact that people around the league are starting to take notice.


Thanks for sticking with me for this piece -- see you next time. HTTR.

http://www.hogshaven.com/2010/9/21/1700504/redskins-texans-analysis-questions

Can you name the last Redskins QB to throw for 400+ yards?
Brad Johnson in 1999.

Do you know how many times McNabb has thrown 2 passes in a game for 60+ yards in his career?
Once. This past Sunday.

There's a reason I don't do this post the night of the games - simply put - emotions are still running too high. Walking out of Fedex Sunday night brought back too many memories of 2009...injuries, missed FGs, heart-breaking loss...but with sobriety comes vision (usually). In the post game tailgate, after drinking some Coors Lights to sober up, several things popped to mind talking with friends, which are the mains reasons the Kool-Aid is still full (the only spillage being the injuries to Landry and Trent Williams). I do find it odd that the win over Dallas was one we should have lost and the loss over the Texans is one we should have won. The positives:

* The Redskins put up over 400 yards of offense with a roster we've been fairly criticizing all summer. Who saw that coming?
* Both sides of the Redskins have played great games against great teams (D versus Dallas/O versus Houston) - just need to put it to gether.
* Redskins rank 4th in kickoff return average yards (Thank you DT).
* Laron Landry ranks 1st in NFL tackles (Pro-Bowl play so far) & Rocky 3rd.

Remember all that pre-season talk from players that fans would be "Wow'd"...guess they weren't kidding. With the way Shanahan and McNabb stretched the field, the Rams defenders will have to play back and the running game as a result should open up. Yea, the running game still stinks, but who says you have to run it? (ask Manning, Andy Reid, Tom Brady, or Drew Brees)? As the Redskins deal with some early bruises, it's nice they have a break in their ridiculous schedule to deal with the Rams...statistically one of the worst play-action and rushing defenses last year. (Is there a name for baby Rams because using that term applies here on out). Ken and I got in a heated debate filming Redskins Lunchbox last night (that will air on Wednesday) whether the Rams are considered a BYE week. I think they are (which I'll lay out in my next post). I know the last 2 games were close or a loss, but Zorn was the sole reason we lost those games. Ken then went on to predict the Redskins win 35-10. WTF?

Star-divide

I left this part after the jump, but the drop-off in the quality of backups is worse than I thought (and I thought the worst). When Trent Williams went out, Stephon Heyer channeled his inner Alex Barron pulling out the clothes-line hold. The Redskins were already backed up and it was a dagger of a penalty to take on a 3rd down play. The Football Outsiders highlighted how the Redskins changed their offense when Heyer came in:

@FO_BBarnwell: Redskins are throwing slants because they're afraid of letting McNabb take any sort of drop with Heyer at LT.

When I spoke with Heyer at the Redskins Luncheon 3 weeks ago, I asked him why he looked better this pre-season (all his action was at Right Tackle). He said it's been extremely helpful to only have to focus on one position unlike last year. Hmm, yet he's the backup LT? Fail.

The mental mistakes for the injury subs (Horton - offsides), (LJ-running backwards), and Keiland Williams (failing to stay in bounds) we simply have to let slide. It's week 2 with a new staff and these guys are being rotated in so rarely. I expect players to learn from film this week.

On a side note, if the game does come down to a FG attempt again...do you think Shanahan ices the kicker? I put my money on yes.

http://www.hogshaven.com/2010/9/21/1701877/kool-aid-report-redskins-offense

 

COWBOYS

To borrow from Monty Python, we're not dead yet. A season that was teetering on the precipice of an 0-3 start has suddenly been revived with a resounding 27-13 win over red-hot Houston. The Cowboys went on the road and beat a team that was thought to be on the rise, and their in-state rival. What was once looking like a lost season now has a pulse; indeed, the Cowboys aren't dead yet.

Dallas can thank a stifling defense that put pressure on Matt Schaub, that also put together a huge goal line stand, and finally, got some turnovers. The Texans came into the game as the number one ranked offense in the league, and left with 13 points, seven of those in garbage time. DeMarcus Ware pitched in a couple of third-down sacks and ended up with three total, Keith Brooking had a huge third-down sack, Anthony Spencer caused a fumble, and Mike Jenkins had a pick.

Offensively, the Cowboys still made some mistakes, but this week, they were able to overcome them. And more than anybody else, this week's redemption belongs to Roy Williams. The much-maligned wide receiver caught 5 passes for 117 yards, and more importantly, two big TDs. Roy was denied his big moment by Alex Barron in week one, this week he overcame. Roy showed crisp route-running, the ability to catch in traffic, the ability to make a tough catch, and the ability to break the long one, all in one game. Few have taken as much abuse as Williams has, now we come to praise him. Well done, Roy!

Other notables below:

Star-divide

- The running game was finally effective. Marion Barber showed consistency and punched one in from the goal line, and Felix Jones had some burst.

- Tony Romo looked sharp, throwing on-target passes all day long. He went an efficient 23/30 for 284 yards, 2 TDs and no INTs,

- Mike Jenkins, Terence Newman and Danny McCray (corrected from Barry Church) each got a turnover. The Cowboys had zero in the first two games.

- Second in line for redemption in this game to Roy Williams? David Buehler, who a perfect day, including a clutch 49-yarder right before halftime. The reports of his death may have been premature.

- The offensive line. They kept Romo clean the whole day.

- The secondary. Gerald Sensabaugh was very active in this game, and Terence Newman and Mike Jenkins did a great job on Andre Johnson and the Houston passing game.

We'll have more detailed breakdowns soon, but the news of the day is that Dallas isn't dead. A bye week is next, time for the Cowboys to reflect on their season-saving win, to get healthy, and to get re-focused on a 2010 that still has possibilities. Call the morgue, the patient made it, their services won't be needed on this day.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010...cowboys-redemption-crush-houston-texans-27-13

Allow me to offer a soothing bedtime story, in the Dickensian vein: a plucky protagonist, after a bad start compounded by a fall-in with some rough company, overcomes adversity and, by story's end, emerges triumphant. Indeed, this familiar synopsis aptly describes the Cowboys' narrative trajectory in the past fortnight or so. Borrowing from Dickens, I'll title my story of redemption A Tale of Two Seasons. Unlike Dickens, whose novels were written and distributed in numerous serial installments, I'll tell my Tale all at once, and limit it to four short chapters

First, the Cliffs Notes version: on Sunday, our intrepid heroes got off the early-season schneid with a convincing 27-13 beatdown over their instate rival. There was little indication of the final outcome at the beginning of the contest, which can best be described as shaky. The defense appeared too psyched up or were trying too hard to create positive plays; the offense, seemingly haunted by the butt-kicking they received in the preseason game against these same Texans, played tentatively. Gradually, however, Dallas settled down, began to gain confidence and to create momentum on both sides of the ball. In the second half, in particular, they controlled the line of scrimmage and made big plays, be they significant downfield gains to wideouts or forced turnovers. A game that, going in, seemed destined to be a nailbiter, was wrapped up less than midway through the fourth quarter.

Now the unabridged version:

A Tale of Two Seasons, Chapter One: in which the preseason and regular season contests are examined. The Cowboys' fourth preseason game, which was supposed to be their "rehearsal" for the games that count, was an unmitigated disaster: the Texans whipped the Cowboys on every conceivable front. Dallas' offensive line, in particular, was overwhelmed by the quicker Houston defensive players, and Romo was under constant, immediate pressure. On the other side of the ball, the Cowboys D seemed uninterested in either tackling or covering; the Texans' receivers ran through them like cheetas through dry grass. The starters left the game down 23-0--and left Cowboys Nation looking for answers.

Star-divide



On Sunday, it was apparent the the Cowboys' coaching staff had answers for the myriad problems that plagued them just four short weeks ago. In the rematch, the offensive line maintained their blocks and managed, for the most part, to prevent the Houston front seven from gaining upfield penetration. In the passing game, they were stellar: Romo increasingly had time to survey the field and make throws downfield. The Cowboys' defense, and the secondary in particular, frustrated the Houston receivers. Time and again, Matt Schaub had time to throw, but couldn't find an open man. This leads me to the next chapter:

A Tale of Two Seasons, Chapter Two: in which the Dallas secondary parties like its 2009. At the end of last season, particularly in the season-ending shutouts of the 'Skins and Eagles, secondary coaches Dave Campo and Brett Maxie had their charges playing with tremendous cohesion. Secondary play is a high-risk affair in which trust and communication (as well as elite athletic ability) are paramount. When the opposing offense deploys a bunch formation, for instance, at least three defenders, and possibly more, have to read the route combinatons the same way, interpreting them according to the defensive call, and then quickly close on the man they are assigned to cover. Any slip up or confusion can result in a big play.

Against the Bears, as I noted in a previous post, the Cowboys D generally played stoutly, with the exception of four big plays that contributed directly to 14 of the 27 points surrendered. Each of these was the result of a missed assignment or a miscommunication in coverage, most of them the fault of the secondary. Indeed, these errors sent Campo into an apoplectic frenzy on the sidelines during the game, the residue of which was still evident in interviews with him during the week. Whether because of his frenzy or in spite of it, his unit returned to the form that they enjoyed at the end of last season. Like the 2009 Eagles, the Texans' passing game came into their tilt with the Cowboys flying high--both were at or near the top of the league in passing offense and scoring--and were summarily and unceremoniously grounded. Like McNabb, Schaub often had time to throw, but could not find an open man. Schaub only managed a measly 216 yards passing; of those, 102 were in garbage time, after the Cowboys called off the dogs and went into prevent. Thanks to Campo's unit, an intimidating group of recievers for whom the Colts and Redskins had no answer were rendered a non-factor.

A Tale of Two Seasons, Chapter Three: in which Roy Wiliams finds redemption. For well over a year now, "Roy Uno Uno" has been the object of Cowboys fandom's ire and, as a result, the butt of their jokes--much of it deserved. The primary source of frustration has been his seeming inability to "get on the same page" with Romo, despite the fact that they have spent two offseasons with that as a primary goal. To be on the same page, a receiver and quarterback need to agree on what the defense is running, and what the response should be. The receiver then has to run a precise route which allows him to end up within a yard or so of where the QB expects him to be. This level of agreement has happened only irregularly; more than once, it has appeared that Roy is somewhere other than where Tony expects him to be. In 2009, he he was often late making his breaks, usually because he struggled to get off the line or failed to get any separation.

This week, Wade Phllips somewhat jokingly admitted that it was time to call 9-1-1. We didn't realize he was referring to the Romo-Williams connection--which hummed along to the tune of 5 catches for 117 yards and two scores. More importantly were the kinds of connections that were being made. On both of the touchdowns, for example, Roy quickly got inside position on a corner, gained a small modicum of separation and was hit in stride with a Romo pass. This can only happen if the quarterback knows precisely where a receiver is gong to be. Is this a harbinger of things to come for this duo? Only time will tell; at least, for one day at least--one glorious, shining day--they were on the same page. Alex Barron's infamous holding penalty kept Roy from being the week one hero; had he not, 2010 would be on the verge of becoming the Season of Roy.

A Tale of Two Seasons, Chapter Four: in which the Cowboys rediscover their former identity. In the week leading up to the game, much was made of Dallas' feeble running game. Many pundits declared that the Cowboys weren't racking up enough carries, holding up the sacred run-pass ratio as some kind of magic formula. Others noted that Dallas didn't runn the ball much because, when they did, they were getting stuffed. This bred a rabid philosophical debate: do the Cowboys not run enough because they can't, or because Jason Garrett abandons the running game too early, at the first sign of trouble? As evidence, they pointed to the run-pass ratios from 2007, when the Cowboys offense was humming along at a more balanced rate.

More intelligent observers pointed out that Jason Garret, like Bill Walsh, has always been a guy who used the pass to set up the run. In 2007, for example, his unit typically softened up opposing defenses by mixing passes to T.O. and Jason Witten with occasional runs to Julius Jones. The majority of the team's carries came in the third and fourth quarters, after the passing game had tired the defense and given the 'Boys a lead. The argument could be made that the running game in 2010 hadn't been as effective largely because they hadn't played with a lead all year.

Against Houston, however, the Cowboys finally played with a lead. Watching it, I couldn't help but be reminded of 2007: they mixed passes and runs, but built up that lead principally by throwing the ball downfield. In the fourth quarter, the Cowboys tallied 11 of their 27 rushing attempts; of the nine plays they ran (not including the final kneeldown) after Williams' catch-and-run sealed the game, eight of them were runs, seven by Barber. With the game in hand, what would have seemed a low rushing output (and by, extension, a "poor" run-pass percentage) pushed the needle back toward 50% (the final tab was 47% run/ 53% pass). A well-worn football adage holds that a team must run the ball to win. The Cowboys demonstrated that this is a two-sided coin; the flip side reads: "you must win to run the ball."

An Epilogue: in which the two teams' fortunes are examined: it remains to be seen what this victory might mean for this season' master narrative, but for one Sunday the Cowboys played like we had envisioned they might all offseason long: with precision, power and passion. The Texans? Well, they can remind themselves that they still possess the Governors Cup...

Enjoy the early bye week y'all. Thanks to this early scheduling quirk, we get two weeks to celebrate this one

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/9/26/1713660/cowboys-texans-a-tale-of-two-seasons

Both Kyle Kosier and Jason Witten suffered knee injuries in the Texans game. Fortunately, we could be looking at good news with the bye week coming up. Witten seems certain to be OK even though he did go for an MRI. He actually finished the game. Kosier is more iffy, but the bye week could really help. Both MRI's showed no significant ligament damage.

From the mothership:

For Kosier, who termed his fourth quarter injury in Sunday's game a "tweak," the pain is an aggravation to the sprained MCL that kept him out for a month and forced him to miss the season-opener at Washington. Witten's knee was wrapped after the test, but he said it wasn't anything serious.

Over at the DMN, Kosier said he'll play the next game.

Also, Mike Jenkins' knee looks good for the future. He'll still get treatment and might miss some practice, but he'll be ready when the Cowboys resume play.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010...wboys-injury-update-kosier-witten-and-jenkins

It all came together for the Cowboys on Sunday. They ran the ball, they passed the ball, they created turnovers, they pressured the quarterback, and on and on it goes.

The big question now is: Have the Cowboys turned the corner? Or was their performance, as the title of this article suggests, an aberration?

Wade Phillips' team entered Reliant Stadium with their backs to the wall. They had started the season off 0-2, looked borderline anemic on offense, were failing to consistently pressure the quarterback, and mistakes and miscues were rife, whether it was missed field goals or missed assignments.

The Cowboys had dug themselves into a hole. A hole some experts and analysts believed was already too deep to climb out of.

Instead of panicking, however, the players and coaches, individually and collectively, took it upon themselves to make sure that there was no possible way they would leave Houston without a ‘W'.

Star-divide

Terence Newman headed a player's only meeting.

Wade Phillips and Jason Garrett made sure that mistakes were rectified as soon as they occurred in practice.

Mike Jenkins vowed that the intensity and focus of his team would be lifted.

And Andre Gurode and Joe DeCamillis gave motivational pre-game speeches.

End result: Cowboys win 27-13.

A victory for the Cowboys and dominant performance all round.

However, was it more the underwhelming performance of the Texans that made this win?

Prior to Sunday's game, Texans starting left tackle Duane Brown was suspended for four games for violating the league's substance abuse policy. Enter Brown's replacement Rashad Butler, who in turn, assisted on some of DeMarcus Ware's three sacks of Matt Schaub.

Andre Johnson, arguably the best receiver in the league, was hindered for most, if not all, of the game by an ailing ankle injury. He still put up reasonable numbers - four receptions for 67-yards, but was obviously not the same player. This was highlighted in the third-quarter when Schaub tossed a bomb down the left sideline for Johnson, who was covered by Jenkins; Johnson stumbled on the route, allowing Jenkins to get in front of him and intercept the ball at the Dallas 10-yard line.

Tony Romo, who had found the end-zone only twice in the last two games, and struggled with his accuracy last week, threw two touchdowns to Roy Williams and zero interceptions. The Texans secondary is one of the worst in the league. They have allowed, on average, 368.7 passing yards a game, and have Alabama alumni and rookie Kareem Jackson starting at cornerback, who Romo victimized all game long, and was the player beat on Williams' 63-yard touchdown catch.

Perhaps the Cowboys are still a 'bad' team, a mistake-riddled unit that got off to an 0-2 start, that was suddenly made to seem better due to certain circumstances.

Do I believe that's true?

No.

The Cowboys were assisted by the aforementioned. But that is not the only reason they won.

Firstly, they had to take advantage of the opportunities presented to them. And they did that. Ware got his sacks, the secondary stopped the Texans passing game, and Romo shredded the secondary. The Cowboys had an opportunity last week against the Bears when they lost their left tackle in the early stages of the game. Unfortunately, the Cowboys defense seemed to get less pressure after that. Romo had a secondary beat last week, but he couldn't line-up the passes like he did this week. Every week, teams in the NFL will present you with opportunities, you just have to grab them.

Secondly, the Cowboys still committed an array of penalties and mistakes. However, in this particular game, they overcame them.

The Cowboys failed to convert a fourth-and-two in the first quarter. But instead of allowing the momentum to swing and the Texans to drive down the field and score, the defense held strong, forcing a punt after six plays.

In the second quarter, a 32-yard catch-and-run by Felix Jones was negated by an illegal block on Miles Austin. Instead of allowing the nullified play and first-and-20 deflate the offense; they drove 90-yards in 13-plays, punching it in from the one-yard line on a Marion Barber run.

Keith Brooking had a horrible pass interference penalty in the endzone. He then had a crucial third-down sack to hold the Texans to a FG. Mike Jenkins was penalized on a 2nd and 19 for the Texans, giving them a first down. He then proceeded to pick off Matt Schaub.

The Cowboys may not have turned the corner yet, but on Sunday - against the Texans - they looked like a team that is on its way. Everybody would like for them to cut down on the mistakes, but recent history has shown us this team will commit them; they haven't been among the league-leaders in penalties for nothing. The Cowboys are a bit of a 'wild bunch' in their play, but have the talent to overcome. The talent to overcome their own mistakes, and the talent to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the opposing team.

On Sunday, they did just that. Is it an aberration, or have the 2010 Cowboys turned the corner? We'll know a little more two weeks from now.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010...the-cowboys-performance-against-the-texans-an

One of the disappointments marking the opening weeks of this season was the fact that the Cowboys' special teams units, a group (or groups) that had been stellar in 2009 (the Dallas Morning News' annual special teams rankings had them at #4), had been anything but special. Sure, Dez Bryant took a punt return to the house in week 2, but the anxiety surrounding David Buehler was compounded by repeatedly shameful kickoff coverage; indeed long returns by both the Redskins and Bears as well as a botched kickoff against Chicago had contributed directly to those losses. This was enough to motivate people to ask: had special teams coach Joe DeCamillis lost his mojo?

One important consideration is this: in an attempt to get younger and cut deadwood from the roster (I'm talking about you, Pat Watkins), Dallas did some significant offseason churning. This didn't affect the offense or defense terribly significantly; those units returned 20 of 22 starters, and the two replacements, Doug Free and Alan Ball, had started multiple games last season as injury replacements (in which, it could be argued, they outplayed the men they replaced). The roster churn deeply affected Coach Joe's special teams, however. More specifically, it decimated his core special teams guys.

Star-divide

Last season, the "core" special teamers--the guys who play on all, or a vast majority of, the six "teams" (kick return, kick coverage, punt return, punt coverage, field goal, field goal defend) - were Bobby Carpenter, Patrick Watkins, Deon Anderson, Sam Hurd and Alan Ball. Several other guys played on multiple units: the Patricks, Crayton and McQuistan, Orlando Scandrick, Steve Octavian and the aforementioned Buehler. As the roster was beginning to take shape late in training camp, imagine being in Joe D's shoes: all your core guys were either already gone or were evidently slipping off the 53. And, due to their elevated level of responsibility, Ball and Beuhler would have reduced ST roles.

To comprehend the level of anxiety this might engender, imagine Jason Garrett undergoing an equivalent loss: Tony Romo and Jason Witten are traded; Andre Gurode retires, Marion Barber and Miles Austin are clearly going to be beaten out by younger, cheaper players. Next, imagine that the replacements for these offensive stars are top notch college athletes but that they've probably never played the positions into which they will be thrust. Lastly, consider that, in training camp, you will not be able to replicate actual game play in any realistic way without sending your entire team into a hospital ward. Now, try to develop an effective week 1 offensive gameplan. That was exactly DeCamillis's special teams challenge.

Not surprisingly, his units struggled early. According to the Football Insiders weekly special teams rankings, Dallas' units were the NFL's 27th most effective group after week one. Thanks in large part to Bryant's return, they found themselves in the middle of the pack (14th) after the Chicago game. The numbers show, however, that they were below the league average in kickoff returns (an area that plagued them last year as well) and well below on kickoff coverage. Against Houston, however, this last aspect of their game experienced a much-needed reversal. The Texans started drives after Dallas kickoffs at their own 21, 18, 24, 37 and 23. I'll take this as a crucial and necessary turnaround; I expect the Dallas special teams to continue to rise up the ranking and nestle comfortably in the top five by season's end.

The nature of special teams dictates that this is the unit that will be the furthest behind to open the season. Usually, this is because the ST coach has to decide which players from the bottom of the roster would best complement his core guys. What we have seen in the past three weeks is a remarkable achievement: Joe D has completely overhauled his teams, building around the one remaining core guy, Sam Hurd (and we wonder why he was kept on the roster!). He has developed a new "core" - Danny McCray, Barry Church, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Jason and Leon Williams and Victor Butler have joined Hurd as guys who show up on multiple units. Take a look at the play-by-play of the Houston game; you'll notice that these cats also join Hurd on the stats sheets. On seven Houston punt and kick returns, it was the above players who made all the tackles; Butler, Hurd, J. Williams and L. Williams had two apiece.

Churning the roster has multiple effects. Letting go of players like Bobby Carpenter comes at a significant, albeit hidden, cost. When a kick coverage unit surrenders several long returns in close losses, this cost becomes all too apparent. At the same time, the salary cap dictates that the bottoms of rosters be continually refreshed with younger, cheaper players. This is precisely why having a top-flight special teams coach is of such import; in a sport in which continuity is the watchword, he--and his players--must excel amidst (sometimes radical) turnover. As I have suggested herein, DeCamillis has done a superb job starting essentially from scratch.

But not without a couple of significant, and potentially damaging, early hiccups..

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010...s-special-teams-a-new-core-is-being-developed

 

GIANTS

Long-time BBV member 'potroast' hit the nail on the head with a comment in this morning's notebook.

Here is what 'pot' said.

I still think THE biggest worry right now is not who is leading and who is not. Winning cures a lot of those ills & has in the past. This defense can get the job done even if Tuck is not getting in everyone’s face. Plus this D will be fired up thanks to Mr Rolle.

The biggest worry is this OLine and now its going to be even weaker without O’Hara. The Giants season is going to live or die by how this OLine holds up. I think Koets will be ok, but the state of the line as whole is very worrisome.

Exactly.

The Giants knew coming into the season that their offensive line was aging and that they would be fortunate to get quality play from the veteran group for one more season.

That is why last year's second-round pick Will Beatty was given ample opportunity to win the left tackle job, which the Giants ultimately decided not to give him. It's why the only offensive player the Giants drafted was guard Mitch Petrus. It is unquestionably why the Giants grabbed former Pro Bowler Shawn Andrews off the scrap heap and are trying to resuscitate his NFL career.

Star-divide

Only a couple of seasons ago the group of David Diehl, Rich Seubert, Shaun O'Hara, Chris Snee and Kareem McKenzie were considered elite, quite possibly the best offensive line in the NFL. If you have watched the games the past two seasons I don't have to tell you that is no longer the case.

Diehl was absolutely abused by Dwight Freeney last week. Yes, the Giants should have given him more help but Diehl is barely adequate at left tackle. Don't give me this 'but he went to the Pro Bowl last year' stuff. He went as an alternate because there was nobody else -- his 2009 play did not earn him the trip to South Florida, his reputation did.

Seubert is seemingly on the last legs of his NFL career and I will be stunned if he keeps his left guard job all season. I love the guy, but he can't move at all anymore. I'm 50, have torn my achilles tendon twice, and I would bet you $10 I could outrun Richie in a 40-yard dash. That's not cool.

O'Hara was terrific in 2009, but his ankle and achilles issues are preventing him from practicing much and might prevent him from playing this weekend. When he does play, having a bad wheel has to impact his ability to get off the ball and drive 300+ pound defensive tackles off the line of scrimmage.

Snee is the Giants best lineman. No real concerns there.

McKenzie is a guy fans keep wanting to get rid of, but he has been the one player who has not missed time at all so far this season -- excepting a migraine headache that KO'd him from a preseason game. McKenzie should get help against premier pass rushers, but the guy can still run block. If he goes down this line is in even more trouble.

The Giants have talked since Day 1 of training camp about getting back to the dominant running team they were in 2007 and 2008. Obviously, so far it isn't happening.

Here are some numbers from Pro Football Outsiders for you to chew on.

* After two games the Giants are 22nd in the league in Adjusted Run Yards per play with 3.47.
* Twenty-five percent of their running plays have been 'stuffed,' meaning they either lost yardage or went for no gain. Only seven teams in the league have a worse percentage.
* The Giants are 31st in the league in 'power running' success, having converted only 25 percent of third- and fourth-down runs when two yards or less was needed.
* Here is an alarming pass protection stat, too. The Giants are 24th in the league in that regard, getting Eli Manning dumped 7.6 percent of the times he tries to throw.

All of this tells you that the names on the offensive line may be the same as they were a couple of seasons ago, but these players are not the same. Toss in the fact that it seems blocking fullback Madison Hedgecock may never again be the dominant lead blocker he was back in 2007 and 2008, and that even with Kevin Boss healthy the Giants just don't have a powerful blocking tight end who can set the edge (which is why they tried to claim Mickey Shuler) and there are lots of problems to contend with.

Here is offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride discussing the struggles of the veteran line.

"I wish we had an easy solution to that. You hope and you know that the character of the group...it's wearing on them. It's difficult for them not to have played well. We just haven't been consistent with the running game this year. We stress it so much that it's disappointing but if you look at it statistically, we were better last week than we were the week before so hopefully we're headed in the right direction and that you'll continue to see some dividends from our commitment to it," Gilbride said. "They struggled against two outstanding pass-rushers in a hostile, loud environment last week so we'll at least have the benefit of being home, which is a good thing now that...they've got to play better and just our unit has to play better because we never ask just our tackles to block. We've been helping our tackles for years with chips here and tight ends there. The guards have to slide on all of those things. They didn't have their best game but we didn't have as good of a game as we needed to as a unit in helping assist those guys, especially under the conditions of last Sunday."

One move the Giants can make eventually involves Andrews. By season's end, I am relatively certain you will see him in the lineup at left guard or left tackle. The Giants are still trying to figure out which spot would be best for him, and Andres' acclimation to the Giants has been handicapped by Beatty's injury -- which has forced him to learn mutiple positions as well as the offense itself.

Whether Andrews ends up inside or outside long-term is still to be determined.

"That's the million dollar question. Right now we've got no choice. He's got to play them all, but we've kind of had to say, hey, you're the swing tackle now. We were looking to make him the swing guard and then when William Beatty got hurt then we kind of said, you know what, we can't afford to just...even though we're trying to spoon-feed you and bring you up slowly so you learn the offense and you only have to learn these positions...all of the sudden we've had to switch those positions and now it's not the inside, it's the outside," said Gilbride.

If Beatty can get healthy and the Giants can hold a roster spot for him you may also see the second-year player get an opportunity to play extensively late in the season.

For now, though, creating holes for running backs and trying not to get Manning killed are going to be constant issues. And if the Giants can't solve them, locker room leadership won't mean a thing.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/9/2...lay-of-offensive-line-is-giants-biggest-issue

What else could I call today's 'Kudos & Wet Willies' following the way the New York Giants embarrassed themselves Sunday against the Tennessee Titans? When have you ever seen an NFL team take five -- yes, five -- unsportsmanlike conduct penalties?

Well, actually there are a few other things I could have chosen.

* The 'Hey, Eli you're not left-handed' edition.
* The 'Hey, Matt Dodge it's been nice to know you -- maybe not' edition.
* The 'Hey, Ahmad you do remember you play for the Giants, don't you?' edition.
* The 'Hey, Kareem McKenzie, what the heck were you doing?' edition.

So, yeah, there are lots of choices. But, I'll stick with my first instinct -- the 'unsportsmanlike conduct edition.' I have been watching NFL games for 40 years, and I don't think I have ever seen an unprofessional display like that one.

The Giants embarrassed their old stadium in their final game their last season. It took them all of two home games to embarrass the new building.

The 'Kudos & Wet Willies' are after the jump.

Star-divide
Wetwillies_200_medium


Wet Willies to ...

Yes, I'm starting with the WWs today. It was that kind of performance from the 1-2 Giants.

* Kareem McKenzie: I want McKenzie's backside benched next Sunday against the Chicago Bears. His frontside, too. In fact, after that incredibly immature and unprofessional effort from a guy who has been in the league 10 years and knows better I honestly would not mind seeing McKenzie cut this week. I really don't care who plays right tackle next Sunday. Tom Coughlin talked a lot Sunday night about how his players know better, and how the message has been delivered again and again. Maybe it's time to send it a little louder -- by showing somebody the door.
* Ahmad Bradshaw: I really don't care about the 88 yards on 15 carries, or the five passes caught. Bradshaw cost the Giants at least five, and probably nine points on Sunday. I love the guy's effort with the ball in his hands, but he has to learn to protect it. He's so busy juking and jiving and trying to get six more inches he forgets about the ball. And the penalty in the end zone was just awful. At first glance the call upset me. The more I thought about it, though, he went for the guy's knees, which is a no-no. The fact that he did it in the end zone, and then admitted that's exactly what he was trying to do, made it even worse.
* Eli Manning: Again, I really don't give a hoot about the nice-looking 34-for-48 for 386 yards. I care about the absolute stupidity of a guy who has been in the league seven years throwing a ball with his opposite hand INTO TRIPLE coverage while falling down. Take the sack, and the three points, for crying out loud. Geez, Rhett Bomar could have done that, Eli.
* Hakeem Nicks: Seven catches, but c'mon Hakeem. When you have both feet planted on the ground and you get two hands on the ball you HAVE TO MAKE THAT CATCH. That's not the first easily catchable ball Nicks has turned into an interception this season. It cost the Giants points, and stuff like that has to stop.
* David Diehl: Spent the day getting abused off the edge in pass protection. He also took one of the Giants unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, ripping the helmet off a Tennessee defender. Way to go, Dave. Not bad enough the Giants had just turned the ball over, you have to be Mr. Macho, rip a guy's helmet off and bail the Titans out of a situation where they would have been backed up near their own end zone.
* Terrell Thomas and Corey Webster: Vince Young only completed 10 passes, but I have a question. When is one of these supposed top-tier cornerbacks actually going to make a play? I'm deeply disappointed by the play of both guys so far this season. At least they didn't join the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty party.
* Matt Dodge: Absolutely inexcusable to take a delay of game penalty on a field-goal attempt , and that is entirely on Dodge. As Coughlin said "The young holder needs to get us going." On top of that, Dodge hit a horrible ball after the safety caused by Bradshaw's bad penalty. Jeepers, I can kick like that.
* Antrel Rolle: Nice 'leadership,' Antrel. All the talking Rolle did last week, and he goes out Sunday and takes a foolish, immature unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Then, in my mind, he makes it worse by saying he saw nothing wrong with what he did.

"I got struck twice, and I struck back. There was no explanation about it. I'm a ballplayer, and that means I'm fiery. He struck me twice, and I definitely struck him back. I wasn't ejected, but the coaches pulled me out probably to calm me down. I understand that. It's a game of emotions. That guy took two strikes at me, and I made sure I struck him back."

You're kidding me, right Antrel? "I made sure I struck him back." Are you serious? You think this is a macho street fight between gangs or something?

Rolle even added this beauty that did not make it into the transcripts in a conversation with reporters.

"It’s a penalty. I wasn’t ejected," Rolle said. "It’s a penalty, a personal foul. Whoop-dee-doo. It’s not the end of the world."

Sorry to say, but those actions and that attitude toward hurting his team sours me on the Giants' biggest offseason free-agent acquisition. Get a clue, Antrel!

Coughlin had this to say about all the dumb penalties and immature behavior, and I agree with him completely.

"They've been told that they do not have the freedom to hurt our football team, to take actions which hurt our team. Penalties lose games - they know that, they've been told that, they all know it - what the repercussions are of losing the turnover battle - they all understand that...against a team that had seven turnovers a week ago and had none today," Coughlin said.

He also fell on his sword, trying to shift blame away from the players.

"It is frustrating, but it's my fault, it's my responsibility, put it on me," he said. "We gave a game away that we should have won and I'll take the responsibility for that."

'Kudos' for the professionalism, Tom, and for doing your best to at least outwardly defend a team that had no right to expect you to go to bat for them after that abysmal performance.

This one is not on you, though. It is squarely on the shoulders of the guys wearing the shoulder pads.

Now, on with a couple of 'Kudos.'
Kudos to ...

* Mario Manningham: This guy has become scary good. He had six catches for 78 yards, and Bradshaw's penalty wiped out a seventh catch that would have been good for 40 yards and quite possibly have helped the Giants swing the game back in their direction.
* The run defense: Give that group credit. They beat Tennessee superstar Chris Johnson up all day long. Yes, he ended up with 125 yards on 32 carries, but he got 42 of those on one play once it was already obvious the game was lost. He averaged less than four yards per carry, and the Giants can be proud of how well they handled him.
* Kevin Boss: Three catches for 88 yards, including a 54-yarder. He got a little of Mark Bavaro on at one point, too, dragging a handful of Titans defenders for some extra yards. Love this guy, let's just hope he can stop getting hit in the head.
* Mathias Kiwanuka: Had the Giants only sack of the day and was in the backfield a handful of other times.
* Adam Koets: Aside from one false start penalty where Koets seemed to have messed up the snap count, he actually played fairly well replacing Shaun O'Hara in his first career start. No complaints from me about Koets' performance.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/9/27/1713953/kudos-wet-willies-unsportsmanlike-conduct-edition

You want a little more bad New York Giants news on top of the bad news you have likely been reading all day? I know you don't, but that's what there is, anyway.

Well, Ralph Vacchiano says it looks like center Shaun O'Hara, who missed Sunday's game, is not getting any better. Right now, in fact, nobody seems to know if or when -- or how -- O'Hara's messed up ankle and achilles will get any better.

Star-divide

The 33-year-old Giants center has been bothered by tendonosis in his left Achilles since August, and it was bad enough last week that he was unable to practice. He also couldn’t play in the Giants’ 29-10 loss on Sunday to Tennessee.

Now there is some concern that his absence from the lineup may last even longer. According to a source familiar with his injury, O’Hara recently tried a platelet-rich plasma therapy injection - - the procedure where a doctor withdraws some of the athlete’s blood, spins it to isolate the platelets, and then injects them directly into the injured area. PRP is supposed to promote a body’s natural healing.

Unfortunately for O’Hara, it did not.

"They’ve tried it all," said the source, who requested anonymity. "It just continues to give him trouble. So now they’re just checking it out."

Asked about O'Hara today, head coach Tom Coughlin said "I'm not sure where this is going to lead."

It does not sound like it is leading anywhere good, and that is news Giants fans don't want to hear. The Giants can't afford losing a Pro Bowl caliber player like O'Hara long-term, even though Adam Koets played pretty well in his stead Sunday. The good news for O'Hara? You can't get flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct while you are in a boot on the sidelines? At least, you shouldn't be able to.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/9/27/1715783/shaun-oharas-ankle-continues-to-give-him-trouble

I began beating the drum for special teams coordinator Tom Quinn to be replaced way back in January.

That was shortly after John Mara's 'status quo is not acceptable' speech, and after the firings of then-defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan and defensive line coach Mike Waufle.

Yet, despite Mara's proclamation and the pitiful performance of the special teams in 2009, Quinn is still special teams coordinator.

And here we are again. In the same spot, with the Giants special teams play ranking among the worst in the league.

Star-divide

Tom Coughlin termed special teams play "horrible" during his post-game press conference the other day, and he was right. Now Coughlin, while rejecting the idea that Quinn might be the problem, is hinting that some more starters may be asked to pull special teams duty.

"We certainly have not done anything with our return game. We did not cover. We talked about coming out after the half and covering the kick and then being able to play good solid defense, get the ball back, that type of thing. They got the ball at the 48-yard line," Coughlin said. "There are some areas that have definitely got to be improved...if it's nothing more than field position. Let's not let the other guys start at midfield."

Special teams captain Chase Blackburn says the problem is simply lack of execution.

"It’s not a lack of effort," Blackburn said. "It’s a lack of discipline. Not everyone believing in everything and being on the same page at all times."

The key part of that for me is where Blackburn said "not everyone believing in everything." I have seen enough training camp workouts to know how much emphasis Coughlin puts on it, and that the Giants work on it every day. Blackburn's quote, though, is a stark admission that the Giants aren't buying what Quinn is selling.

I have to admit the spectre of facing punt returner Devin Hester and kickoff returner Johnnie Knox this weekend is not giving me pleasant dreams. Oh, and toss in the fact that Chicago blocked a field goal Monday night and this could be a gruesome Sunday night for the Giants on special teams.

We constantly see mistakes in coverage leading to long returns. We see indecision from Darius Reynaud on whether he should bring the ball out of the end zone. We constantly see him with no chance by the time he hits the 15-yard line on kickoffs he does return. We see no place to go on punt returns. We saw an unheard of delay of game on a field goal. We've seen assignment breakdowns lead to blocked punts.

Quinn took over as special teams coach in 2007, and his deficiencies were masked by a magical Super Bowl run. In truth, though, the Giants special teams have not been good the entire team he has been in charge.

Have you noticed how well placekicker Lawrence Tynes has been striking the ball this season, on both kickoffs and field goals? Yes, I know he missed a 43-yarder Sunday, but I'm never killing a kicker for a miss outside 40 yards.

You know what the biggest difference in Tynes is this season? He has stopped listening to Quinn, who has had Tynes monkeying with his mechanics the past couple of seasons, and basically gone back to kicking the ball the way he always kicked it pre-Quinn. The results have been startlingly better. Quinn even tried to get then-punter Jeff Feagles, one of the best ever, to make mechanical adjustments a year ago. Foolishness.

The Giants have shuffled special teams players again and again the past couple of seasons, and still the problem remains.

It mystifies me that the Giants have never been able to see that the biggest problem on special teams is not the players they are using. It's the guy trying to coordinate them.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/9/28/1717114/let-me-ask-again-why-does-tom-quinn-have-a-job

The relatively short but unquestionably eventful Giants career of Michael Johnson likely came to an end yesterday when the team placed him on injured reserve with a herniated disc in his back.

Johnson was replaced on the roster by defensive back Brian Jackson, a rookie who was with the Jets this summer and is best remembered for getting tied to a goal post and subjected to all sorts of sophomoric abuse in a scene that went public on "Hard Knocks."

Jackson was signed off the Giants' practice squad.

Johnson played in the first two games this season, but missed the Titans game because of the back problem.

He's done for the season and, in the last year of his contract, likely done with the Giants, considering he fell from grace this year and was no higher than the fourth safety on the team.

Johnson, as a seventh-round pick out of Arizona in 2007, ended up starting in his first season and was a starter for all four postseason games during the Super Bowl run. He maintained his hold on a starting spot, but his play regressed last season. That regression, combined with the injury concerns with Kenny Phillips, prompted the Giants to sign veteran safeties Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant.

* Phil Simms on his inclusion in the Giants' new Ring of Honor, which will be unveiled Sunday night at halftime of the game against the Bears: "When I was told about this a few days ago, of course I was very excited; honored is not the word. To think my name is going to be inside that stadium is incredible. I tell people all the time, they ask about my playing days, I talk about it, it's truly like another life. Sometimes I think back and I go wow, I did enough to get my name inside of a stadium?"

* Unlike last week's oration, Rolle steered clear of controversy during yesterday's WFAN spot. He even apologized for insinuating the poor performance in Indianapolis had something to do with how early the team got to the stadium.

"Everyone is definitely panicking when they say Coach [Tom] Coughlin is losing this team," Rolle said.

But he also wasn't completely repentant for the personal foul he received for punching a Titans player, who he says slapped him first.

"At the end of the day, you're a man before a football player," Rolle said. "In the heat of the moment anything can take place."


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/giants/safety_Lzq728dCAP4nvjg6swesvL#ixzz10uiChVSg

 

REDSKINS

I'm catching a lot of flak for my earlier prediction that the Rams were essentially a BYE week. Fair enough. Geez, even my 7-9 prediction isn't looking good at this point.Who would have ever thought ball-busters like Shanahan and Haslett would have their team as under-prepared as this? In our show, I highlighted that's it's not a BYE week for the players and coaches, but for the fans. There's a reason the Rams are consistently in last place with a horrible defense. Any game plan and coaching staff should be able to prepare their team for a win - especially when the Rams top play makers on both sides of the ball go down early with injuries (Steven Jackson and OJ Atogwe).

Well, it's clear the Redskins coaches never showed up. It was equally discouraging to hear the players say as much. Haynesworth post game:

"We didn't focus. We kind of expected, this is the Rams, we'll come in and beat them."

AHH, Christ. Really, guys? It seriously looked like the Redskins never even put a game plan together. Steven Jackson running wild, Andre Carter in coverage, the blocked punt, DeAngelo Hall consistently looking lost, the fumbles, the missed tackles. The Redskins went into halftime knowing Jackson was out and Bradford's game of throwing short passes, yet no adjustments were made. The Redskins were the 32nd ranked D against two great offenses weeks 1-2, and they're the 32nd ranked defense (still) against one of the worst offenses in the NFL. The Rams lost their starting RB and WR, yet they still moved the ball with ease. The Rams were 7-16 on 3rd down conversions while the Redskins were 1-10 (0-3 red zone). Same story - different week.

Star-divide

The Special teams unit continues to be an utter disaster. Both Reed Doughty and Keiland Williams missed blocks for the streaking Rams defender that got to Gano. I thought blocked punts only happened to terrible teams like the Lions? Ah crap, we're now that terrible team. I was at the Redskins Luncheon when Mike Shanahan said he did not inherit a 4-12 team because" there's too much character on this team." It's true this team has character, but focus is another thing.

The 3-4 experiment needs to end. As much as we've all hated Greg Blache's defense, it was a top-5 defense that always kept the Redskins in games late. When the Rams have the ball for almost 10 more minutes of the game, something needs to change. The Nose Tackle position is laughable. Have you noticed the line of scrimmage gets pushed back 2-3 yards every play in the middle? Guards were pulling in to the secondary untouched. London Fletcher is essentially being taken out of the game due to the front 3 woes. On top of that, Kareem Moore had missed tackles on those 2 rushing touchdowns. Did you know the Rams had not had a rushing touchdown in 7 straight games? Yeah, and they got TWO against the Redskins.

Moving to the offense side, there's plenty of blame to go around. Why is Devin Thomas still on the bench? Roydell Williams? Really? It's painful to watch him out there. The only successful things the Redskins can run are misdirection plays. I was amazed to see the Rams fall so hard for it on the Moss TD, after the Redskins ran a gillion of them vs the Texans, but it's safe to say the Eagles will not.

Like all Redskins fans, I was furious to see Portis fall down untouched on that long run. I suspect that's why he was benched, but Shanahan said post-game it was in the plan all along to have Torain run the ball more second half and have Portis block 3rd downs. Bold faced lie. On that key 3rd and long play, Torain was the blocker and completely whiffed on a streaking rusher...play was then busted up. It's maddening to see Shanahan's ego overtake simple logic. How bad is the Redskins running game, Rich Campbell spelled it out:

Redskins were 1-for-10 on third-down attempts. Their AVERAGE distance to-go on third down was 8.7 yards. That's not manageable. Half of their third downs required 10 yards or more. Only two were shorter than 7 yards.

The second half the Redskins had 5 rushes for 1 yard. That is their lowest rushing total for a half in their history. If the Redskins can't get it going against the lowly Rams, they have no chance against the Eagles and Packers' defense.

Haslett, Shanahan, and Danny Smith lost this game. I'm used to dealing with a struggling offense, especially one that was over-hauled like this. However, the defense is another story since it's always been solid. It's practically the exact same roster as last year, yet they can't cover or tackle anyone all of a sudden. If the Redskins can't tackle no namers on the Rams roster, how are they possibly going to deal with bringing down Michael Vick, DeSean Jackson, and LeSean McCoy? We used to be able to say we play to the level of our competition, but they couldn't even do that with the Rams. Cooley said it best post-game, "They kicked our asses."

http://www.hogshaven.com/2010/9/27/...fense-defense-sts-are-balanced-in-that-theyre

Holy crap. I have become so hardened to the reality of who this team and organization is that I forgot what it was like to feel my own feelings. Then at the end of the game, my 3-year old started crying because he wanted the Redskins to win. You see, he is only three, so he has not witnessed first-hand the mockery that this team has become over the last decade. The Sixpack is my off-the-cuff, knee-jerk reaction post. While I won't mix words today, my hope remains that this organization can figure things out before my son shuts down emotionally. At least some of us have seen the burgundy and gold hoist the Lombardi Trophy. I pray that my son lives to see that himself.

2. We only dressed SIX offensive linemen yesterday? Is that right? (Honestly, tell me because I thought it was six with Montgomery sitting, but the Redskins changed their inactive list so many times before kickoff I lost track.) To me, that said everything I needed to know about the state of our franchise. Our WEAKEST area over the last handful of years has been our offensive line. I would argue that our offensive line has been worse than our receivers. We spent time, energy and resources over the offseason getting our line in an improved condition. Since Kory Lichtensteiger technically is in the rotation of linemen throughout the game, you would be hard-pressed to truly call him a back-up. I understand that the unavailability of Will Montgomery was an unforeseen situation. They flip-flopped between him and Perry Riley dressing prior to kickoff. They dressed Logan Paulsen and they clearly used him to help out Heyer on multiple occasions. I worry that they thought they could get away with the shortage there for a week since it was only the Rams. That is pure speculation of course, but let's just say that kind of attitude seemed to be on display everywhere yesterday. If they only had six, fine. But getting to the point of getting caught with only six is a joke.

Star-divide

3. This loss was a total team loss. We lost it everywhere on the field. Offense sucked, defense sucked, and special teams chipped in with a few gaffes that cost us mightily. I can't point to anything that happened that indicated we were ready to play the St. Louis Rams. Did they think this was a BYE week? Damn it, Kevin.

4. When Kareem Moore made that first-half INT, I thought it was a game-saving play. I thought it was the line in the sand that we drew (finally) before the game got completely out of reach. It was a great play. Orakpo chasing down Bradford could also have been a lasting image of a win that we fought back to get. Instead, missed tackles, bad footing, horrible penalties, ineffectiveness on 3rd down and in the red zone and Sam Bradford beating our blitz will go down for me as the memorable things from yesterday's game. That, and our best players simply blowing it.

5. Chris Cooley fumbled that ball. Who was working that instant replay booth...his grandmother? I thought the ball was clearly coming loose as he was going down. The INT thrown by Don Burgundy a minute later kind of cemented the issue though. In fact, turning the ball over on that drive seemed to be the only thing our offense appeared dedicated to doing. Way to stick with it.

6. Last week we were a blocked field goal away from being 2-0. Now we know the truth: we are a holding penalty away from being 0-3. Don't be sad today Redskins fans. Be PISSED. I said it last week: that game was a huge test for this team and franchise, and we FAILED MISERABLY. I keep making this about both the team and the organization. We have to, because there are clearly still some things horribly, horribly wrong inside that building if that is how we came out and played against a team everyone (not just Redskins fans, EVERYONE) thought we were much better than.

http://www.hogshaven.com/2010/9/27/1714663/looks-like-someone-has-a-sixpack-of-the-mondays

The main thing we learned from the Washington Redskins' loss to the St. Louis Rams is that it's going to take two more drafts to rebuild the team, not just one. The Redskins have now been beaten in consecutive weeks by two of the youngest teams in the league, and they've faded badly in the fourth quarter while doing it. That's not about scheme, or one or two positions on the field, or some weird curse-like malaise. It's about their inability to punch the other team in the mouth.
This Story

*
Washington Redskins sticking with 3-4 defense
*
Sally Jenkins: Redskins need to take a punch, and throw even more

The Redskins are getting physically pushed around. The truest truism in the NFL is that players trump system. The problem isn't so much Jim Haslett's blitz-happy 3-4 defense, or Kyle Shanahan's offensive playbook, though both are a little too cute. The real crux is that the Redskins don't have enough core strength - and by that I mean the muscle, the hard midsection, that is the foundation of any strong structure.

They are paying for years of roster rot, the organization's refusal to build good young quality depth on the interior lines, and that problem has defeated every single coach who has come through Redskins Park. If you were wondering why Mike Shanahan's 2010 version of the team looks so much like Jim Zorn's 2009 version, there's your answer.

Quality line play isn't something that can be built overnight. There is no quick fix for it through free agency. It requires a two- to three-year commitment to draft picks, and patience while players get to know and learn to trust each other, and there is no accelerating that process. It will require a kind of patience that the franchise has not been willing to show in the last decade.

Everyone knows that when a good team has a bad Sunday, it has to be able to fight its way out of trouble physically.

Instead the Redskins have noticeably surrendered in the second half of every game this season. They were saved by a holding penalty against the Cowboys after they gave up a late drive. They couldn't protect a 17-point lead in the final 16 minutes against the Texans. And they were outscored 16-0 in the late third and fourth quarters by the Rams.

That's a physical issue.

When you convert just one of 10 third downs against the Rams, you aren't getting the push you need. "Third downs," Mike Shanahan said. "You kept on taking a look at third and 10, third and eight, third and 11." The main reason they're in third and long is because they simply aren't moving anyone out of the way.

There were times when the Redskins actually looked contact-shy - as with Portis's purposeful slide in the grass to avoid getting hit. Defensively, you couldn't tell when Albert Haynesworth was in the game or not; he wasn't credited with a tackle as the Redskins had just one sack and never affected rookie quarterback Sam Bradford or stifled the run, especially on third down. Yet these are two players the Redskins count on to establish physical presence.

Last season Zorn's critics ripped him for a lack of discipline, and for letting his team commit mental errors. But with their record again at 1-2, it's becoming apparent that the main reason the Redskins commit penalties is that they're physically overmatched at certain spots. You false-start when you're worried you can't contain the guy on the other side. You hold because you're already beat.

Two series against the Rams spelled doom. Late in the third quarter the Redskins got the ball at their 37, and instead of mounting the game-winning drive, they kept the ball for all of 23 seconds. They went three and out with incomplete passes, presumably because they didn't have the confidence to run.

The Rams answered by holding the ball for more than five minutes. They ran 10 plays, slugging their way to an eight-point lead. For the day, they converted 7 of 16 third downs. Game over.

It's not clear why the Redskins have failed to strong-arm supposedly inferior opponents: perhaps it's age or complacency or players still learning their assignments in the new systems.

Critics can argue over specific players or play calls - whether they should go more to young Ryan Torain over Portis, or second-year guard Kory Lichtensteiger over seventh-year Derrick Dockery. But the more important question is: Why are they so reluctant to run the ball? They're averaging a league-low 19 carries per game. The most obvious explanation: They don't yet trust the run game.

The most frustrating aspect of the loss is that the Rams, with just two wins in their past 29 games, appear to be developing what the Redskins are still seeking. They got stronger as the game wore on, not weaker. On the front line, they are a blend of youth and experience: their left tackle, Rodger Saffold, is a rookie second-round draft pick, and their right tackle, Jason Smith, is in his second year and was their No. 2 overall pick last year. They are complemented by a couple of veteran guards in Jacob Bell, 29, and Adam Goldberg, 30, and center Jason Brown, 27.

The Redskins' own offensive line should have been rebuilt from the ground up three or four years ago, but instead was famously neglected. Shanahan did all he could to upgrade in a single offseason, drafting Trent Williams at left tackle and bringing in free agents, but consider their overall age: Casey Rabach is 33; Dockery, 30; Jammal Brown, 29; Artis Hicks, 31. If the Redskins had another Williams, a young draft pick with new legs and lungs, the past two games might have ended differently.

The defensive line is equally grizzled. Nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu is 31. Haynesworth is 29 but plays like he's 50. Phillip Daniels is a consummate pro but he's 37. Vonnie Holliday is 34. Kedric Golston at 27, Adam Carriker at 26, and Jeremy Jarmon at 22 are the youths in the unit.

That's a lot of drafting the Redskins need to do in the next couple of years. It's going to take a two-class infusion of young talent to compensate for the poor management of the past few years. And that's assuming that Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen bring in prize classes, which is by no means assured. Regardless, the Redskins are probably going to be a three-year project before they reap the full results of Shanahan's plan. In the meantime, they're going to take some punches.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/27/AR2010092705800.html

 

EAGLES

First of all, great day. Easy win (and I'll take those any day). The Titans bullied the Giants, and the Giants responded with something like 14 personal fouls out of frustration (I lost count). The Redskins lost to the Rams. Repeat - The Rams. Unfortunately, the Texans that I saw Weeks 1 and 2 decided not to show up today, and let the Cowboys get off the shnide. But... 3 out of 4... not too shabby.

- I actually thought Michael Vick started slowly today. He missed a few receivers early that were wide open. But man, once he gets going, you just sit back and enjoy. He's a better player than he was before his incarceration. Far better. I know it was just the Jags, but when you peek around the rest of the NFC, you'd have to say the Eagles are serious contenders.

- DeSean Jackson is the best punt returner in the NFL, by a wide margin. Not to oversimplify it, but if you have a guy that does something better than anyone else on the planet, you just let him do it. I want him returning punts. Jorrick Calvin looks like he has some talent, but he can't be fielding balls at the 5 with a guy in his face. This isn't the Sun Belt conference, Jorrick.

- LeSean McCoy needs to get the ball more. He had 11 carries in a game the Eagles led the whole way. That's plain ridiculous. I understand that the Jags have a horrendous pass D, the Eagles were looking to exploit it, and exploit it they did. But can we get some balance guys? Just a little balance is all I ask, and the passing game will open up that much more.

Star-divide

- The Redskins lost to the Rams. I'll repeat... The Redskins lost to the Rams. Say it with me... The Redskins... lost... to the Rams.

- Fox hired Mike Pereira to give in-game commentary on controversial officiating calls. Pereira is of course the NFL's former head of officials. His commentary (paraphrased) on Reid's challenge on the bad spot on 4th and 1 went something like this (they cut away from the game for this, mind you)... "Gee guys, that's close. I'm not quite sure if he got over the line or not. His knee might be down. I can't tell. I guess we'll find out in a second." Thanks Mike. I can get that level of commentary from my wife.

- OK, now for the announcers. I can forgive stuff like when Ron Pitts called Jason Avant "Joseph Avant." It's a 3-hour game, and you're going to slip up every once in a while. However, I can't forgive comments like the following gem from Pitts... "You hear a lot about unsung heros, but Jeremy Maclin is a sung hero." That of course prompted the following text message from my buddy, SR... "A rare ‘sung hero' reference." Those two guys have to be the worst announcer duo in the NFL. Come on Fox, we're the Eagles - Don't give us this junk.

- Make fun of me all you want for this, but I enjoyed watching Kolb cheering on the sidelines. Give the guy credit - He waits 3 years for his chance, throws 10 passes, the backup plays phenomenal football, and he's back on the sideline holding the clipboard... And he's the biggest Vick cheerleader in the building. Great attitude.

- Trivia - Who has given up 9 turnovers and 2 safeties in 3 weeks of football so far? Give up? The Giants offense! Yay!

- Another play call nitpick - On 4th and 1, can we maybe try to get the ball in the hands of one of the many great weapons on this offense instead of dialing up a sweep to Mike Bell?

- Dimitri Patterson and Riley Cooper are fantastic gunners on the punt coverage team. They get down the field very quickly and if they don't make the play, they are at the very least slowing down the returner for the rest of the troops to clean up. With the way Sav Rocca is punting (his one semi-shank aside today), I'll be surprised if the Eagles aren't the best punt coverage team in the NFL when this thing is all over.

- Darryl Tapp... Let's keep this guy activated. He was completely invisible in camp and preseason, deactivated Weeks 1 and 2, and he steps right in and gets pressure all day, including a sack. Maybe he's just a gamer? I sure hope so, because that trade was looking really crappy before 4pm today. Maybe it wasn't so bad.

- Did I mention that the Redskins lost to the Rams?

- I was getting thoroughly disgusted with Asante Samuel today. Usually, his poor tackling is just awful technique more than it is a lack of effort. But I counted at least 4 plays today in which he had no interest in getting involved in a tackle. It's so frustrating to watch. And then... he jumps a route and makes a pick and makes you forget all of that. Great player, and opposing QB's hate facing him - He's a legitimate regular Pro Bowl player. He could be a Hall of Famer if he were a tougher player.

- Trent Cole... 2 more sacks, 8 tackles. Ho hum.

- Trevor Laws had a fantastic camp, and I've been telling everyone and their mother that I expected him to have a good season. He had a great game today - Was extremely active, hit Garrard several times, came up with a sack, and almost had a second one. It would be a huge lift to the defense if Laws can give consistent play all season as a 3rd DT.

- DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin combined for 9 catches, 236 yards, 3 TD. Just FYI, that's 26 yards per catch.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/9/26/1713923/random-thoughts-from-week-3

Every week we'll giving out a game ball to the Eagles player who most impressed us on the previous Sunday. He may not have been the flat out best player on the field, but the guy still made a big impact and probably surprised some.

This week, it goes to Trevor Laws. The guy the Eagles actually selected above DeSean Jackson had spent two rather unimpressive seasons in the NFL prior to this one. Then this offseason we started hearing all the stories about how hard he'd worked in the offseason and how impressed all the coaches were with him... Blah blah stuff we've all heard before.

But then, Laws started to really play the part. He had a great camp and won the #3 DT job. He's been getting pressure in the first couple games, but he took over against the Jaguars. To the point where he seemed to get more snaps that Mike Patterson & Broderick Bunkley. He had his first career sack and was credited with knocking down two passes. I actually thought he had two sacks, but apparently he was only credited with a tackle for loss when he brought down David Garrard for a two yard loss early in the game.

Laws talked about getting his first career sack after the game.

I came in today and played like I feel like I should have been playing for my whole career, got my first sack which is a great feeling out there. I went camp healthy for the first time this year. I've been banged up the last couple of years and it's all about having a healthy body for me."

Star-divide

In his must read weekly "Man Up" feature Sheil Kapadia also noted Laws' standout performance.

A stand-out performance for Laws. I thought the inside pass rush was probably the biggest factor in the defense's turnaround (OK, that and the Jaguars looked horrible). Laws dropped Garrard for a 2-yard loss in the first, although I'm not sure why he wasn't credited with a sack on the play. I guess the officials ruled it a run? Laws picked up a sack later on 3rd-and-17. He came close to another one on a 3rd-and-16 where Garrard flipped the ball to Jones-Drew at the last second. Laws also deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage and made a good play on a 3-yard Jones-Drew run.

Congrats to Trevor Laws. His ability to get penetration up the middle is really what disrupted the Jags offense and if he can continue to do that all year it could transform the Eagles defense.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/...ladelphia-eagles-week-3-game-ball-trevor-laws

Now that Michael Vick has been promoted to the starter in Philly, many (including myself) are riding the Vick train. Yes, there are those folks out there who are still adamant on hating the guy for his past. I do not condone what he did but I believe in second chances. Now that my point-of-view has been posted for the world to see, here are my reasons on why this new Vick is bigger, faster, and better overall than the Falcons' Vick.

Speed. Michael Vick's speed post-prison is something that many had concerns about. Will he be as fast as before? Is he able to make the same ankle-breaking shakes? The answer to these is yes and yes. In the first three games of the 2010 season, Vick made many players look silly and rushed for 170 yards and 1 touchdown in those three games combined; his speed looks like it never changed.

Passing and Accuracy. In Atlanta, Vick had a 53.8 completion percentage throughout his six seasons there. So far this season, he has a 60.7% completion percentage and has completed 54 of 89 passes with 6 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Vick has emerged as a pass-first quarterback this time around and he possesses the prettiest throw in the NFL, in my opinion. The way he zips the football into the tightest spaces is amazing. One thing is for sure, he looks nothing like he did in Atlanta and I say that as a good thing; much of this success can be attributed to the coaching skills of Marty Mornhinwheg and Andy Reid.

Elusiveness and Escapability. Good news - Michael Vick is still as elusive as he was pre-prison. Despite being sacked a league-leading 11 times, Vick was still able to amass the excellent stats that he has; Texans' QB Matt Schaub has also been sacked 11 times. Schaub has a 94.7 passer rating and Vick has a cool 110.2 (a career high after three games). Often times, when Vick was in Atlanta, he would be thinking run first and teams were able to defend it better. In Philly, Vick stays in the pocket as long as possible which forces the defense to drop back in coverage. After the D is nestled a comfortable 12 yards behind the line of scrimmage, number seven then is able to take off for a sweet gain.

Bravo, Coach Reid, you made an excellent call by replacing Kevin Kolb with Mr. Vick. Not only is Vick a re-born superstar, he is an accurate, fast, and smart superstar this time around. I see nothing but success for Vick and the Birds in 2010.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-rejuvenated-michael-vick-is-better-than-ever

 

GIANTS

HOUSTON — When the Giants studied the Texans and their league-leading rushing attack, they wondered if all the success was based on Arian Foster or the fact that the offense has such a good running scheme.

"Sometimes," Justin Tuck said, "it really doesn't matter who they put back there."

It didn't matter who the Texans put back there yesterday. The Giants stopped them all. Tucked into their resounding 34-10 victory at Reliant Stadium was a forceful throw-down of Foster, who came into the game with an NFL-high 537 rushing yards, four touchdowns and a gaudy 6.3 yards per rushing attempt.

"That was our focus," Tuck said, "and we did a really good job of shutting it down."

No doubt it didn't hurt that Eli Manning provided early points and a quick 21-0 lead to force the Texans out of their run-first mentality. Still, when Foster got it he got nothing accomplished. He finished with 11 carries for 25 yards, his longest run was nine yards, and he quickly became a non-factor.

"We didn't know how effective the run was going to be. We just had to go play within our defensive scheme," Antrel Rolle said. "Playing disciplined, gap-assignment football, that's all we did. We didn't do anything magical, we just played within the scheme that Perry Fewell set out for us."

On one play, Foster tried to go off-tackle and linebacker Jonathan Goff nailed him for a three-yard loss. He tried his luck up the middle and Tuck dropped him for no gain. In the first half, Foster ran the ball eight times. Total yardage: Nine yards.

"You gotta maintain your gap discipline," defensive tackle Barry Cofield said. "When they face undisciplined teams and they face teams that run up the field and allow themselves to be cut and wash out of their gaps, they're effective. But, if you play with gap discipline and get them off schedule early, don't allow them to get into second-and-short and third-and-short situations, then you have success."


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/gian...ttled_up_GZKrS2Be5dC1DvLKMZUhYP#ixzz12N4qOQI6

Hakeem Nicks smiled when someone asked him about dropping what would have been a 46-yard touchdown down the left sidelines immediately following the two-minute warning.

“Took my eyes off the ball, man,” Nicks said after Giants 34, Texans 10.

Nicks kept his eyes on 12 other balls, tying Amani Toomer’s club record for catches by a wide receiver, including two touchdowns. He could have had four scores, but dropped the one sure thing and was tackled once at the 1.

“I gave him hell,” Eli Manning said. “I guess he didn’t want a four-touchdown day. But two’s good enough, and we’ll keep working from there. He has something to build on.”

Justin Tuck also jokingly called out Hicks for his miscue.

“It’s one of those things — I saw the end zone a little too early,” Nicks said.

Just as Nicks was being asked if he knew that offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride would be calling his number so much, Gilbride walked by and cracked: “He paid me, but he still owes me money.”

Nicks chuckled.

“Coach Gilbride did a great job putting together a game plan this week,” Nicks said. “He told us as long as we work our craft, we will be fine.”

The game plan was to pick on rookie cornerback Kareem Jackson. Nicks was simply too explosive off the line, and too savvy for him.

“I don’t never worry about that,” Nicks said. “I worry about what I have to do to take advantage of their defensive schemes.”

Nicks, remember, caught three touchdown passes in the opener against the Panthers. He had eight catches for 110 yards against the Bears.

“It’s always fun when the balls come come your way, you just gotta come down with it,” Nicks said.

Nicks, with those freakishly large hands, had seven catches for 97 yards and his two touchdowns in the first half.

“They threw the safety over the top a lot more in the second half,” Nicks said.

He is only in his second season, and already he is Manning’s go-to guy.

“I approach every game to try to contribute to the team the best way possible,” Nicks said. “You play the game to be the best.”

Nicks’ 6-yard touchdown catch gave the Giants a 7-0 lead. His 12-yard TD catch made it 21-0 early in the second quarter.

“The second one was something that me and Eli discussed in film,” Nicks said. “That safety was gonna bite up on that running back. Once he gave him a little look, we were gonna be ready to hit that second window on a glance route.”


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/gian...rd_tying_g4l6zF49z0QoxqMSPVPqBI#ixzz12N5bO2ny

As one of the best defensive tackle prospect in years, it was no surprise Ndamukong Suh was taken with the second overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. The Lions scooped him up and he’s done nothing to disappoint anyone, leading the team (and all rookies) with three sacks.

Mainly, the job of dealing with Suh will fall to right guard Chris Snee, a Pro Bowler who isn’t awed by much, or anything.

“What’s there to know?’’ Snee said when asked about Suh. “He’s the No. 2 overall pick, he looks strong, he’s fast, he doesn’t play like most rookies do. Looks like another challenge. He’s going every play. Pursuit and never takes a play off.’’

Asked if he gets any extra motivation from going against such a high draft pick, Snee didn’t exactly light up with excitement.

“No, I’m not ‘inspired’ by the privilege to play against the No. 2 overall pick,’’ Snee said. “I’m a competitor and I want to go against the best guys every week. I have to go against Suh so I’m excited for the opportunity.’’

Snee certainly has experience on his side. Asked how that experience can help him, Snee was eager to respond.

“I’ll put more preparation probably than any opponent he’s ever faced into his individual technique and pass-rush moves,’’ Snee said. “I’ll know every snap that he’s taken.’’

Center Shaun O’Hara, who looks as if he’ll return to the starting lineup after missing three games with bursitis in his left ankle and Achilles, said going up against heralded defensive linemen is all in a day’s work.

“I’m not even going to try to pronounce his first name,’’ O’Hara said. “Suh is definitely a good player, when you watch him on film you see he has some power, he has some quickness for a defensive tackle that’s a pretty good combination. One of the things you can see is he’s picking things up pretty quickly. We’re still athletes ourselves, we’re not schleps by any means.’’

O’Hara predicts left guard Rich Seubert will have something ready for Suh.

“I’m sure Richie will find something to say to him to get him out of his frame of mind,’’ O’Hara said. “Richie has a way about him.’’

http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/giantsblog/giants_snee_ready_to_face_lions_nNSkfXYuBQe04aB0bwqQxO

Wow! It's a winning streak. Two victories in a row for the first time since the Giants started the 2009 season 5-0.

So much to feel good about today, including the fact that the Dallas Cowboys lost to the Tennessee Titans. Let's get on with the 'Kudos & Wet Willies.'

Star-divide
Kudos to ...

* Giants fans in Houston: Giants fans stepped up in a big way Sunday at Reliant Stadium, and I suspect many of those Big Blue faithful in attendance are folks who visit Big Blue View. Hats off to you guys for representing the Giants. Oh, and congrats to Jim and Co. for running what I heard was a great 'meetup' in Houston Saturday night.
* Hakeem Nicks: The second-year wide receiver had a tremendous night with 12 catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Could have been even better, though, if he had not dropped what would have been a 51-yard touchdown pass and stepped out of bounds at the one-yard line when he could have scored with a little bit of a lean. Still, great performance.
* Defensive line: Three sacks, four passes batted down, seven hits on Houston quarterback Matt Schaub and a huge part in holding Arian Foster to a piddling 25 yards on 11 carries. I will single out some individuals, but it's safe to say no one in this group played poorly.
* Osi Umenyiora: Two sacks and two forced fumbles for Osi. I have had my issues with Osi, but when he gets the corner on an offensive tackle and heads for the quarterback he is as dangerous as any defensive end in the game.
* Justin Tuck: Six tackles, a sack and a nice drop actually dropping out of the pass rush and into coverage on a couple of zone blitzes.
* Corey Webster, Antrel Rolle and Terrell Thomas: Webster got the first-quarter interception that helped the Giants establish a big early lead. I though all three of these guys played well, and Rolle deserves particular mention for his run support.
* David Diehl: We have been killing the guy for most of the past two seasons, so we have to give him credit today. How many times did you hear Mario Williams name Sunday? Not many, and he was hardly ever anywhere near Eli Manning. In the first quarter Diehl did a great job getting out in front of Hakeem Nicks on a wide receiver screen, and also absolutely pancaked Williams trying to come off the edge and get to Eli. Really, I thought the offensive line was excellent as a group, but Diehl deserved to be singled out.
* Brandon Jacobs: Ten carries, 41 yards, one touchdown and lots of hard, straight-up-the-field with no messing around running from Jacobs. That's what we want to see from the big man, and what the Giants need.
* Jason Pierre-Paul: An innocent-looking stat line of two tackles and one pass deflected, but JPP's physical presence was undeniably felt. Both of those tackles came on special teams when he simply blew down the middle of the field on kickoffs and made plays. As a pass-rushing defensive end he did pressure Matt Schaub a couple of times. The guy is a physical monster and you have to think his role is going to increase as the season progresses.
* Chase Blackburn: For being in the right place at the right time and recovering Darius Reynaud's muffed punt.
* Ramses Barden: Only one catch for eight yards. 'Kudos' to Barden, though, simply for working his way back past Victor Cruz on the roster and getting himself a uniform -- and playing time -- on Sunday.
* Tom Quinn: I am not a Quinn fan, but the kickoff and punt coverage was much better this week and there were a couple of hints of opportunities on both kickoff and punt returns. Plus, the decision to replace holder Matt Dodge with veteran Sage Rosenfels was a smart one, as well.
* Kevin Gilbride: I have not actually gone in and read the comments from any of you in the Game Thread, but I'm sure some of you found stuff in Gilbride's play-calling to complain about. If you did, you're nuts. Great mix of run and pass, deep shots, screens to wide receivers, backs and tight ends. If you are complaining about Gilbride, other than to ask why he isn't this good every week, then you are just making up phantom stuff to be unhappy about.
* Tom Coughlin: Gotta give it up for the Giants head coach. Does this look -- or sound -- like a football team the head coach has 'lost'? Hardly. This looks like a football team that is getting better, and that is buying into the message Coughlin is preaching. Only time will tell how this season will turn out, but you have to feel much better than you did a couple of weeks ago. And you have to give Coughlin some credit for getting this ship pointed back in the right direction.

Wet Willies to ...

* Brian Jackson: Seeing his first action as a professional, the rookie defensive back got in on three special teams tackles. He had a pair of penalties, though, one for a horse-collar tackles and the other a foolish block in the back.
* Adam Koets: Couple of bad shotgun snaps from Koets this week, and a silly leg-whip penalty.
* Darius Reynaud: Some improvement returning the ball this week, when he remembered to catch it first. Blackburn bailed him out big-time by recovering the punt he muffed at the Giants 15-yard line.

Kwillie to ...

* Eli Manning: Eli did a lot of great things Sunday, and would have ended up with close to 350 yards passing if Nicks had not dropped that sure touchdown pass. But, what the heck was he doing in the third quarter? It sure looked like he was bored with an easy victory, and was trying to keep Houston in the game. An awful throw when he was scrambling and should have just thrown the ball away led to one interception. Then, a terrible decision when he could clearly see the double coverage that led to another pick. He went 27-for-42 for 297 yards and three touchdowns, but both interceptions were on throws that were completely unnecessary.
* Matt Dodge: Four punts for an average of 49.3 yards per kick. Still not enough hang time on a couple of those boots, but the rookie punter from East Carolina did look a little better this week.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/10/11/1743111/kudos-wet-willies-winning-streak-edition

Amazing! A couple of impressive victories and I go from reading about the end of Tom Coughlin's coaching career to seeing New York Giants and 'Super Bowl' in the same sentence.

Nice, but waaaaaaaaay to early for that stuff. I will, however, agree with New York Daily News columnist Tim Smith's assertion that it will be the defense that will make or break this team the rest of the season.

If the Giants make it to the playoffs this year, and if they can manage to win a championship, they will do it with the defense leading the way. And if they make it to the playoffs and make it to the Super Bowl, they may well point to the performances the defense had against Chicago and Houston as the turning point for this season. Like good pitching in baseball, defense dominates the playoffs and wins championships.

After back-to-back dominant defensive performances, the Giants are No. 1 in defense in the NFL. It's still early, but the defense seems to have found itself, which is going to be bad news for the rest of the NFC East.

"If I was one of our offensive opponents (looking at film of the last two games), I'd be scared ----less,"' said safety Antrel Rolle.

Star-divide

The Giants now have the league's No. 1 ranked defense, surrendering only 244.6 yards per game. Rolle has an explanation.

"It took time for us to understand the system and trust the roles and trust the coaches," said Rolle, who publicly criticized the team for a lack of leadership after the loss to the Colts. "I'm not saying that in a negative way, but we're all new here. We're all in this together. We really didn't know what to expect from Perry Fewell. You hear a lot of great things about him. Then the first game goes pretty well, the second game doesn't go so well and you really don't know what to expect. You can't put the blame on coaches, the coaches can only do so much. It's up to the players to play the game."

Maybe we should just change this notebook to the 'Antrel Rolle edition.' Here is another Rolle quote -- from a third publication -- discussing how this Giants team seems to be enjoying each other.

"It just doesn't consist of winning," safety Rolle said. "It consists of practice, it consists of meeting times, guys in the locker room, gelling with each other, joking with each other. Just making sure you never really work a day in your life. That's what it feels like right now. It doesn't feel like we're coming to work. It feels like we're coming here to execute something, and having a good time doing it."

Dave Tollefson was asked about the change in the Giants' fortunes from the beginning of the season, and had a great quote. It echoed Rolle's thoughts about the team atmosphere.

"Isn't that life in general?" he said. "It's the ebb and flow of a season. There was an early storm, for sure. We got our early hurricane, in hurricane season, but with the guys in this locker room we've been around too long to turn on the freak-out mode. We knew the only way we were going to fix it was out on that field, and I feel as a team, and as a group of men, we're happy. We're playing for each other and things are going well."

Defensive tackle Chris Canty said the Giants will not look past the 1-4 Detroit Lions, this weekend's opponent. He said, forget this 'trap game' stuff.

"I've been in the NFL six years and I don't know what that means," Canty said. "We give every opponent their due and we're going to enjoy the (Houston) win and then we're going to come in here (Tuesday) and get started on the Detroit Lions. They're going to present some challenges to our defense. They put 44 points on the board (vs. St. Louis Sunday)."

Canty and many of the other Giants have been giving up their normal Tuesday off day, and the results have been obvious.

"We’ve had guys that have been in on Tuesday since Day One. I mean, Eli is in here on Tuesday always and always has been. So if guys want to study with him or watch tape with him, they’re in here with him. Some of the defensive guys – you notice how the defensive backs will get together and come in. There’s a lot of that that goes on and it’s good because it’s unannounced. It’s not for anybody’s story the next day – that’s not what it’s about. It’s about guys wanting to do a better job in their profession," Coughlin said.

"Prepare, practice, work hard, focus, understand the opponent, understand what we’re asking you to do. Prioritize what needs to be done in order to be effective. Go spend extra time in the classroom, which, whenever we play someone of the nature of Houston, for example, that is someone we don’t know all that well, we stress to them that because we don’t know the opponent, you’ve got to put them under the microscope, you’ve really got to do a good job.

"You’ve got to spend the extra time studying them and I feel like the evidence is pretty much there."

After the last two weeks, and the way the Giants defense is currently playing, that is hard to argue with.

http://www.bigblueview.com/2010/10/12/1746810/new-york-giants-notes-time-to-talk-defense

 

EAGLES

Earlier today the Philadelphia Eagles made the move to trade backup running back Mike Bell to the Cleveland Browns in return for Jerome Harrison.

This move makes sense for the Eagles, mainly because Bell was not living up to expectations.

Originally Bell was brought into Philadelphia to be the power back behind LeSean McCoy, who is now starting for the Eagles. Over the season it turned out that Bell was not doing as well as the Eagles had hoped, only posting 28 yards on 16 attempts.

So in a move to bring some spark behind McCoy, the Eagles traded for former Browns starting RB Jerome Harrison.

Harrison had a big breakout last year, posting up very impressive numbers. He finished out 2009 with 862 yards and five touchdowns. Harrison averaged 4.4 yards a carry throughout the 2008 year. Harrison was originally benched due to a hip injury, and Browns backup Peyton Hillis stole the starting role.

This trade could mean a few different things. Although the Eagles did not give up much to get Harrison, it could have very important implications.

It is a possibility that the Eagles made the move to acquire a could-be starter because McCoy's rib injury is more serious than it looks. If this is the case, the Eagles could have traded for Harrison knowing that they need a RB who can perform as a reliable starter. The Eagles have not released anything more on McCoy's injury, and as far as we know, he will be starting Sunday against the Falcons.
What will be Harrison's roll on the offense?
Backup Starter Third Down Back Will Not Play Submit Vote vote to see results

Of course, there is always the possibility that Andy Reid was worried about McCoy's injury, and if the injury was to worsen, he would be able to have another RB capable of starting. Harrison is definitely a RB that could fill in for an injured starter and be able to carry the team on the ground.

One thing is certain: McCoy is in no danger of losing his starting job. Even with his recent rib injury, he was able to torch the 49ers defense. It wouldn't make any sense for Reid to bring in another guy to take over for McCoy, especially since he is on such a roll this season.

Even though the Eagles now have a dual-threat backfield, McCoy being speed and elusiveness and Harrison being strength and power, McCoy still will be receiving the majority of the snaps. However, I do see excellent potential in Harrison being a third down RB in short to medium length situations.

Besides Leonard Weaver, it has been a long time since the Eagles have had a good power RB, and Harrison fills that empty spot perfectly. It should be very interesting to see what Reid decides to do with Harrison.

I would not be surprised to see Harrison starting against the Falcons just to give McCoy time to rest that rib injury. If Harrison does not start, look for him to take quite a few snaps in an effort to let McCoy heal that rib.

Welcome to Philadelphia, Harrison.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...ed-to-eagles-what-this-means-for-lesean-mccoy

It seems like every week we've got a new season ending or major injury to report and sadly this week is no different. Andy Reid announced today that an MRI revealed that Brodrick Bunkley had ligament damage in his elbow and will require surgery.

"He's going to have to have surgery on that elbow," Reid said. "That's not a good thing. He had ligament damage in there. The nerve to where your funny bone is, that nerve shifted and so they have to go in and straighten it out. It's not a career-ending thing, but it's going to take time to get him back."

Another starter, another solid contributor gone. It's going to be a tough injury to overcome either way, but it would be a lot worse if Trevor Laws hadn't made the progress he did this year... which leads me to the other injury.

Reid also said that there's a chance there's cartilage damage in Jason Peters' knee, but that they wouldn't know the extent until later in the week. That's doubly bad news because unlike DT, the team really has no one that has demonstrated themselves as capable backups at LT. In previous years if the Eagles had an injury at that position they'd slide LG Todd Herremans. Last night, obviously King Dunlap filled in and struggled. He's clearly not a long term fix or even a guy that can be counted on to make spot starts.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/...unkley-needs-surgery-likely-done-for-the-year

The Eagles went on the road this week and got themselves a very important win to keep pace with the rest of the teams at the top of the NFC East. Here are your top performers for week 5.

LeSean McCoy - Accounted for 138 yards of total offense. Averaged 5.1 yards per carry and had this shifty 29 yard TD.

Kevin Kolb - 21-31 for 253 yards and a TD for a QB rating of 103.3. Was much more poised and crisp than we saw last week. Even converted a 3rd and 18 with his legs. That's an important thing to see from week to week with a young QB, growth. Ironically, his opposite this week Alex Smith, is a guy that continually makes the same mistakes. We've now seen Kolb make consecutive starts twice in his career and the second was always markedly better than the first. Will he get a chance to make a 3rd consecutive start this week? [Note by JasonB, 10/11/10 3:48 PM EDT ] I guess since he played so much last week, I forgot that Kolb didn't start vs Skins...

Nate Allen/Trevor Laws - I don't really want to hand out game balls to anyone on the defense after that one, but it's worth acknowledging what these two young guys did on the final San Francisco drive. Allen was brought on a blitz on second down and while he didn't get to the QB, he did leap up to just tip the pass away. Had he not, Frank Gore was standing wide open with nothing but green behind. Had he caught that pass, it very well might have been game over.

Trevor Laws was of course the guy who made the game winning play as he chased down Alex Smith and hit him just as he threw. The hit forced an errant pass that went straight into the arms of rookie Trevard Lindley. Game was over.

http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2010/10/11/1744722/eagles-win-over-49ers-game-balls

 

COWBOYS

Usually when I do these in-depth film reviews I find something much more substantial than what I initially witnessed while watching the game live. Sometimes the emotions of the game get in the way of any sort of unbiased analysis and having the ability to go back and watch the game in a much more controlled manner reveals aspects of a win or loss that weren't immediately apparent.

Against the Bears, I walked away from the film review with the feeling that the Cowboys actually played an overall decent game and were done in by some odd playcalling on defense and some unfortunate mistakes and penalties on defense. I walked away from that film review frustrated but actually feeling a bit positive -- if the Cowboys just corrected these mistakes and played fundamental football, then they could easily be a top three team in the NFL.

That's the trick, however. Fundamentals. The breakdowns throughout the Titans loss were so basic and so numerous, it's amazing that the Cowboys even had a chance to win the game. Make no mistake about it: the Dallas Cowboys are not a bad team. The Dallas Cowboys are insanely talented and it's embarrassingly obvious that this team has the ability to go to the Super Bowl this season if they just focus and get past the idiotic mistakes that are currently plaguing the Dallas Cowboys.

After the jump, some thoughts on the game after re-watching the loss twice. I'll have some specific breakdowns, but right now it doesn't matter much. The Cowboys can make big plays, they can play defense; right now it's much more than just simple production and execution -- it's about the mindset of a team on the ropes.

Star-divide

What is very apparent to me is that the Cowboys are not playing as if they love the game. They approach the game not a completely cohesive team from spots 1 through 53 on the roster, but more as individuals that are trying very, very hard not to screw up. Some are saying the Cowboys are just "selfish" and not interested in playing as a team. I can't disagree with this more. This is a team with players playing tight and who, for whatever reason, aren't able to really think through their actions from play to play.

There were some incredibly frustrating breakdowns on defense in the first half that put the team down 17-3. Yet the Cowboys never really strayed from their gameplan, they stayed committed to establishing the run with Felix Jones and were able to tie the game eventually at 17, then against at 27. The Cowboys showed resiliency and the ability to not panic when things looked near impossible to overcome. Tony Romo was sharp throughout the game, Felix Jones ran with a purpose, Roy Williams and Miles Austin made big plays and the defense eventually settled down.

Ordinarily, these occurrences would be cause for celebration. We would be talking about a team with "heart" who are able to band together when the going got tough and come back against a good Titans team. Yet the mistakes throughout the game are just too much to overlook and for the Cowboys these mistakes were just too much to overcome despite the "heart" they may or may not have displayed during the game.

Yet teams make mistakes all the time. Rarely is there a football team that doesn't commit penalties, that doesn't fumble or throw interceptions. Even the best teams allow big plays on defense at times. For the Cowboys, these mistakes are proving too numerous to overcome while other teams do their best to limit the mistakes that are made. The Cowboys really don't make more mistakes than other teams (while they are penalized more than most teams, the overall mistakes really aren't too different than the majority of the NFL). The problem with the Cowboys this season is when these mistakes are made and how they directly affect the outcome of the game.

In the end, after watching the game I've come to the conclusion that three very specific mistakes are what doomed the Cowboys against the Titans -- and possibly doomed the season as well. There were plenty of mistakes and miscues throughout the game, especially on defense, but it was these individual plays and mistakes that proved to be the difference.

1st Major Mistake

4th Quarter - Trailing 20-17, the Cowboys offense has swiftly moved the ball down the field after a long pass to Jason Witten. Romo and Austin connect on a 3rd and 3 inside the red zone and the Cowboys have 1st and Goal from the 9-yard line. Not the easiest yardage on 1st and Goal, but the Cowboys get a good chunk covered with a six yard run by Felix Jones to the 3. The Cowboys try the same play again, this time for no gain after fullback Scott Chandler fails to open a hole on the left side. The next play, with the Cowboys in shotgun formation from the 3-yard line, Doug Free is called for a false start. It appears that the Cowboys were prepared to run a shotgun draw.

The penalty forces the Cowboys to 3rd and Goal from the 8-yard line and Romo plays it safe with a designed dump off to Felix in the right flat. The Cowboys settle for a field goal and tie the game at 20-20. This one penalty put the Cowboys in a tough situation and while 3rd and Goal from the 8 is certainly not impossible, the Cowboys offense had all the momentum up until that point. A touchdown would likely have sent the Cowboys over the edge towards a win, after completing a full comeback after being down 17-3 earlier in the game.

Instead, the Cowboys commit a penalty at the worst time and have to settle for a field goal.

2nd Major Mistake

Sorry to pick on you, but once again we look at Doug Free.

After the Cowboys have tied the game at 20, the defense holds the Titans' offense and Dallas gets the ball right back. After a four-yard gain by Felix Jones on first down from their own 12, Garrett and the Cowboys call up a designed play for Martellus Bennett. This was the type of play that had worked throughout the game to negate the pass rush that had been so successful in the first half; a quick screen or out to a receiver or tight end with blockers out in front.

On this play, the Titans disguised a blitz that the Cowboys picked up -- unfortunately, Doug Free allowed defensive end Dave Ball to get a good push, who deflected the pass as it left Romo's hand. The deflection allowed Verner time to react and easily intercept the fluttering pass and return it to the 1-yard line. The Titans took the lead a few plays later and wrestled the momentum back from the Cowboys, who had dominated the game throughout the last half of the 2nd quarter and most of the second half.

Free, for the most part, had a good day from the left side. But with the play designed to go to the left, on a quick throw, he absolutely cannot allow his man to get that sort of push into Romo.

3rd Major Mistake

I know everyone wants to focus on the excessive celebration penalty; how it was called on the Cowboys but not the Titans, how it isn't fair, etc. Whatever happened, it's the NFL rule and the officials called it as such. The best thing for the Cowboys is to just kick the ball, hold off a big return and allow the defense to get the ball back for the Cowboys.

Unfortunately, David Buehler attempted to make up for the penalty all by himself.

I know for a fact that Coach D didn't pull Buehler aside and tell him to kick that ball as hard as he possibly could, since the Cowboys were now kicking from the 15-yard line. In fact, kicking it as hard as he could is the absolute worst thing he could do. Yet that is exactly what happened -- Buehler reared back and kicked a line-drive kick that traveled 70 yards to the Titans returner.

Normally, we'd love this kick. From the 40, that kick would have sailed over the returner's head and out the back of the end zone. Instead, Mariani fielded the kickoff with about 25 yards worth of space in front of him and plenty of room to use his speed to pull off a big return. That Buehler made the tackle was fine, saving a touchdown, yet the facemask just added insult to injury. The Titans needed just three plays to pound the ball in from the 5-yard line to take a touchdown lead with just over three minutes remaining.

Star_medium

Three seemingly inconsequential mistakes that throughout a game and throughout a season will happen. Yet these mistakes occurred at the absolute worst times in the game and were outright catastrophic for the Cowboys and impossible to overcome with added together. All three mistakes came in the fourth quarter of a close game and all three directly led to game-changed plays in favor of the Titans.

The season is far from over, yet these three mistakes could spell the end for the 2010 Dallas Cowboys.

Star_medium

Some other (brief) thoughts from watching film:

* It was great to see Felix Jones finally featured as the Dallas Cowboys running back and there was certainly a difference in how he ran with the ball. He was used on both inside and outside runs and his biggest run of the day came on a designed inside run that he bounced to the outside. He also made several big blocks in pass protection, read the blitz well and showed that he could indeed have success as the main running back for the Cowboys.

One big difference for Felix was that he was no longer having to avoid defenders in the backfield. The Cowboys minimized the amount of slow-developing running plays and instead allowed him to attack the defense behind a fairly straight-forward blocking scheme. The Cowboys were obviously saving Marion Barber for a fourth quarter role, yet were never able to really use him as such.
* I'll say this until I'm blue in the face -- this performance by Romo against the Titans was one of the best of his career. The Titans did a great job of disguising their pass coverage and Romo was masterful in using his arm strength and accuracy to place the ball into spaces where only his receiver could get to it.

The interception in the red zone was a result of Romo putting the ball where his receiver could get it, high and just out of the reach of the underneath defender, yet Bennett was unable to secure the pass and tipped it up for an interception. Some may say the interception was once again the result of Romo not being pinpoint accurate, but there are times when the receiver has to be able to go up and get those balls for his quarterback. This time, Bennett wasn't up to the task.
* Let there now be no mistake: Miles Austin is an elite receiver and one of the very best in the NFL. That Roy Williams is now on the same page with Romo should make the Cowboys near-impossible to stop -- apparently that's just not the case.
* Anyone see Sean Lee not only get into the game but make two big plays in the final minutes of the fourth quarter? Hopefully that's a sign of things to come, because it's painfully obvious that Bradie James and Keith Brooking absolutely cannot be relied upon to make plays in pass coverage throughout the game.
* Let's just hope that Mike Jenkins had an off day, but this is the second game in a row where he has struggled a bit. That Jenkins dropped a wide open interception was a sure sign of just how "off" he was on Sunday. The Cowboys cannot afford a season-long regression by their star cornerback.
* Chris Gronkowski, please get better soon. The Cowboys desperately miss you.
* If the Cowboys defense hadn't been forced to try and stop the Titans twice in a row from inside the five, then I would use this space to talk about how Wade Phillips was able to adjust against the Titans after initially allowing 17 points in the first half. Yet, they were forced to stop the Titans, they failed and now I don't get to cover the adjustments made by Wade. Oh, well.
* Finally, I still don't know what changes need to be made or whether a coaching change would make a difference. Watching that game against the Titans again, not once did I think "if only Jon Gruden were coaching the Cowboys, this wouldn't be happening". Despite all the talent, despite all of the scouting and drafting and developing of great young talent -- you wonder if the only thing to do is to just....start over. If the Cowboys can't win with this amount of talent on the team then there is nothing that can be done, really.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/10/12/1747352/cowboys-vs-titans-film-review-not-much-left-to-say

In part one of this discussion, I wondered whether the penalties accumulated by the Cowboys against Tennessee might be attributed less to stupidity and more to a talent deficiency. In this post, I'll elaborate further what I mean by talent, starting with the question: what is "talent" when it comes to playing football?

So: what is football talent? If we are to go by the scout-speak that overloads the airwaves from the scouting combine until the draft, football talent is about "measureables": height, weight, speed, explosiveness, lateral quickness, playmaking ability. Very few people doubt that the Cowboys shine in this area; the Dallas roster is loaded with players who exhibit these qualities, often at the highest NFL level. In the high school and college games, winning teams are almost always those that have the better roster in terms of these measureables. Yet, as the Cowboys have demonstrated all-too clearly, this is not the case at the NFL level.

Star-divide

Another way of looking at talent is by examining a player's character, or his "intangibles." These include such qualities as leadership (during the Parcells administration, for instance, a very high percentage of Dallas' draftees had been team captains at the collegiate level), toughness, intelligence, and maturity. These are certainly important qualities, and probably contribute in some way to the successful conversion of a third and seven, or keeping the other team out of field goal range once they cross midfield. The current Cowboys ostensibly have a lot of these "high-character" guys; the roster purge after the 2008 season was designed specifically toward raising the teams' collective intangibles. Since then, however, this team has continued to play as if its intangibles were low.

So, what gives? One key variable that must be factored into this equation is the state of today's NFL. Since the advent of free agency and the salary cap in the early-to-mid 90s, this has been a parity-driven league. As a result, teams cannot merely out-draft or out-spend their competition; the talent level, in terms of measureables, is thus much more equal than it was in previous decades. At the same time, front offices (yes, even the Lions') have become much smarter and more sophisticated about the way they conduct business. As a result, there are no gimmes on the schedule; long gone are the days of Landry's Cowboys or Walsh's 49ers running the division table without breaking a sweat.

When all the games are closer, and thus likely not to be decided until late in the contest, this places a premium on two specific skill sets: the ability to stay cool as the heat is turned up and the ability to avoid mistakes. In short, NFL games become less about making plays and more about NOT making mistakes (indeed, one reason turnover margin has become such an important stat in the past twenty years or so is because all the other "talent" categories have become much more even). In other words, when physical talent is more or less evenly distributed, the ability not to make a mistake becomes the crucial determinant of NFL success.

No finer example can be found than the hated (by me, at least) Bill Belichick Patriots. How many hall of fame-caliber players did those championship Patriots have? One. Tom Brady. Certainly they had other nice players (Richard Seymour comes to mind), but they were essentially a terrific quarterback and a bunch of guys who didn't make mistakes. To my mind, this iteration of the Cowboys is significantly more physically gifted (in terms of measureables) top to bottom than those Patriots were. Moreover, there are many players from this team whose intangibles are equal to those Pats teams. The key difference is that those New England squads never made the crushing mistake. They kept the game close and waited for the other teams to make the fatal error, which invariably happened.

The obvious answer here is that those Patriots had Belichick (and a slew of top-level coaches) while the Cowboys have Wade Philips. While it is certainly true that Wade will suffer in almost any comparison between the two, I don't think the explanation is quite so simple (more on that later in this post). Of late, the Dallas sportstalk airwaves as well as the Cowboys blogosphere have been awash with jeremiads blaming the recent shoddy play on the coaching staff, assuming that there is a direct correlation between Wade's inability to get in players' faces and the amount of penalties this team amasses or its lack of fourth-quarter toughness.

But these problems predate the Phillips regime. Although we debated this quite a bit at the time, I think it can now safely be said that the Bill Parcells Cowboys had one hell of a coaching staff--one to rival Belichick's 2000 era Pats. Sean Payton, Todd Haley and Tony Sparano are now widely recognized as top-flight head coaches in this league; Mike Zimmer's Bengals lead the league in defense last year.

Other than in 2003--which shall henceforth be known as The Miraculous Season of Overachievement--those Cowboys teams, comprised of essentially the same core players dotting the 2010 roster, repeatedly underachieved its perceived talent level, lost winnable games in frustrating fashion, and suffered late-season collapses. This suggests the problem isn't coaching; indeed, Payton, Hayley and Sparano's current teams are all models of discipline and/ or toughness. All play comparatively mistake-free ball. Yet that staff never found a way to motivate these players to stop making key penalties, miss crucial blocks, or throw crippling interceptions at exactly the wrong time.

The constant here is the players...and the management team. A group of men who, perhaps dazzled more by the star power of the 90s Cowboys than those squads' almost surreal ability to avoid mistakes, conduct business according to an old model: they place a premium on one kind of talent (measureables) rather than on another (mistake-free football). For those of us who ask what a "real" coach--a Belichick or a Bill Cowher--might do with all this talent, I fear the answer might be a bit unsettling: start from scratch.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/10/13/1747273/cowboys-vs-titans-aftermath-what-do-talent-mean

JAG. Not just a member of the NFL franchise in Jacksonville. Not only the antonym of "JIG." And more than simply the title of the military justice television show starring the stunning Catherine Bell.

JAG. J-A-G. In NFL player personnel evaluation parlance, it's the scouting acronym for "Just Another Guy." JAG. It is not generally considered a compliment. "The Cowboys have the most talent in the NFL," is the mantra chanted by the media and by many if not most of us fans. We say it reflexively. As if it's a given.

The truth is the Cowboys have more JAGs than anyone wants to believe. Many of the JAGs fill important positions (not that there's such a thing as an unimportant position), and the JAGs are plentiful enough to offset the team's cadre of elite players. Sure, the Cowboys have talent. But head and shoulders, "The most talent in the NFL"? Hardly. For every DeMarcus Ware on the Dallas roster, there are twice as many JAGs.

Star-divide

Elite Cowboy players? Ware, Ratliff, Spencer and maybe still Newman on defense. That's it. Offensively, Romo (absolutely, as any objective observer would have to agree), Witten, Austin, and--in the very near future--Bryant. Done. To be sure, there is a second tier of good players. But there are awful lot of JAGs as well, enough JAGs to make me certain we generally over-rate the Cowboys' overall talent level. Cowboy safeties--JAGs. (No picks, plenty of big plays given up.) Cowboy DEs--a notch ahead of JAGs, perhaps, but only a notch. And, if we can be honest, the Dallas inside linebackers, at least the way they're playing now, are JAGs. Sorry, Bradie and Keith. I do not give out lifetime achievement awards in evaluating current performances.

On the other side of the ball, the only Dallas starting offensive lineman who is not a JAG is, perhaps, Doug Free. And he still has a lot to prove longterm. At one time, each of the other four first-team O-linemen were something other than JAGs. Not anymore. Argue with me at your own peril.

Here's the upshot: Dallas will continue to have trouble running the ball and protecting Romo. The vaunted Cowboy defense (currently ranked 21st) will continue to give up an alarming number of double-digit yardage running plays, and will continue to have problems getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks without committing five, six or even seven rushers. That means the current versions of Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick will be frequently locked up in man coverage. Feeling good about that? And right now the Dallas back seven is incapable--incapable--of playing NFL caliber zone coverage. Nothing wrong with being primarily a man coverage team, as the Cowboys are. But there's plenty wrong with not being able to play zone when you have to or want to. Remember that the 'Boys are going to face Favre, Eli, Rodgers, Brees, Peyton, and McNabb (again). You want to have to man up all the time against any of those guys? And heaven forbid the Cowboys see Michael Vick. If you can't zone him, you can't contain him. And, for the most part in the NFL, no zone, no interceptions. Picks are generated by zone defenses.

One more thing is stuck in my craw. Last week's excessive celebration penalty has been cussed, discussed, sliced and diced ad nauseam. Mistake. Bad mistake. Yes, I know that forced a Dallas kickoff from the 15. But how does that in any way explain or excuse giving up a 73-yard return to set up the winning Tennessee touchdown? It doesn't. Lotta Dallas special teamers are playing like JAGs.

Talented? Relative to a lot of teams, sure. But The Most Talented Team in the NFL? At outside linebacker, certainly, and maybe at wide receiver. Perhaps collectively at running back, although that is debatable. That's it. The remaining offensive, defensive and special teams position groups have just enough JAGs to ensure at least another three losses. That's 10-6. And that's best case, in fact probably unrealistically optimistic. Good thing the 'Boys play in the NFC East. Each of the three divisional opponents also emply JAGs aplenty.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010/10/14/1748719/cowboys-have-more-jags-than-we-want-to-admit

he fine folks at Football Outsiders are running a new weekly column, entitled "Word of Muth," in which former Stanford (and all-Pac10) left tackle Ben Muth breaks down offensive line play. This week, it's the Cowboys' turn once again.

Muth makes the following observations about the O-line performance against the Titans:

* Leonard Davis deserved to get pulled. His ongoing struggles against quicker defensive tackles became particularly evident against the Titans' Jason Jones.
* Marc Colombo also struggled in pass protection but stayed in the game partly because of his run blocking, and partly - according to Muth - because of who his backup would have been.
* Muth saw evidence that the Cowboys halftime adjustments (keeping the backs in to block longer as well as going to full-slide protection) significantly improved the O-line performance.
* Free had the training wheels taken off, as the extra protection was moved over to Colombo's side in the second half. Doug Free passed the test.

If we go by the old maxim that for the O-line, 'no news is good news', then the left side did quite well, while the right side struggled mightily. Muth's analysis is much more detailed (and includes cool diagrams!). Check out his fine work.

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2010...wboys-halftime-adjustments-helped-stabilize-o

It's a good thing Jerry Jones is keeping the roof closed at the new Cowboys Stadium, because the sky is falling in Dallas. After dropping their most recent game, the Cowboys are just 1-3. It isn't looking too likely that America's team will play at home in this year's Super Bowl, as many predicted in the preseason.

Dallas didn't ever have a lead on Tennessee Sunday, and the offensive line didn't help the team's effort early in the game. The Cowboys made some adjustments up front and played much better in the second half. Unfortunately, they had dug themselves in too deep to come back. Now Cowboys fans have to hope that the same thing won't be true for their 2010 season.

The biggest news up front from this Sunday has to be Leonard Davis getting benched in favor of Montrae Holland. Anytime the offensive line unit struggles in a game, like the Cowboys' did in the first half, something has to change. So I was anxious to see whether or not Davis really played that poorly, or whether he was simply the scapegoat for a struggling group. Davis deserved to get the hook.

When I watched the Cowboys game against the Texans, I thought Davis played well, but it seemed like he could struggle against quicker defensive tackles. Turns out, Jason Jones was that quicker defensive tackle. Jones seemed to be playing in a different gear than Davis in that first half.

The two sacks certainly stand out as low points, but even in the running game, Jones was firing off the ball and into Davis before he could get his first step in the ground and establish any kind of power. Jones was just too much for Davis to handle.

The first sack Davis gave up was a predictor of his later struggles. It was third-and-10 on the Cowboys first drive of the game. Dallas was in a man protection we'll call Base Weak. (Most teams call this protection by a number. I've heard everything from 21 to 84, but since most teams have a different number, and this is a really common protection scheme, we'll just call it Base Weak.)

The general rule for most man-based protections against a 4-3 defense is that the offensive line will take the four down defensive lineman and the Mike linebacker. The tailback will take the either the Sam (strongside) or the Will (weakside) linebacker, depending on whether the protection scheme is Weak or Strong. Since this is Base Weak, Marion Barber is responsible for the Will, making the Sam linebacker hot (hot means that, if the Sam linebacker blitzes, one of the receivers, probably the tight end, has to break his route short so the quarterback can get him the ball before he's hit).
Figure 1: Base Weak Formation

With all the schematic stuff established, we can focus mostly on Davis. Jason Jones was lined up in a three technique (outside shoulder) over Davis. Tony Brown was lined up as a shaded nose (on the center's shoulder). This meant that Davis was all on his own, because the center had to deal with a shaded nose. The center would make a call (something that starts with an L -- Larry, Lasso, Louie, Liz, Laser, Lion, even Liberace if that's your thing... and yes, people still go the wrong way) to indicate that he was working with the left guard. That means the center (Andre Gurode) and left guard (Kyle Kosier) would double team the nose tackle, but also watch the Mike (middle linebacker).

Davis should've known before that he wasn't getting any help, at least until the Andre Gurode had checked the Mike and secured the nose tackle. Only after doing both those things, could Gurode offer any help to Davis.

Davis proceeded to get beaten on very quick club-rip to the inside. In fact, Davis had been beaten so cleanly that, by the time Gurode had made sure the Mike had dropped and the nose had been secured, all he could do was bump into Davis and send him to the ground. When Jones clubbed Davis, it was so quick that he got shoulder to shoulder with Davis in one step.

Once a defensive lineman gets even with an offensive lineman's inside shoulder, it's all over. After all, not only is the defensive lineman probably (and in this case definitely) faster already, but he's going forward, and the o-lineman is moving backward. It was the kind of sudden move that a coach would see and worry about how an aging offensive lineman would be able to keep up with.

Of course, Davis wasn't the only one struggle in the first half. His partner on the right side of the line, Marc Colombo, also had his troubles against the Titans. Just like Davis, Colombo also gave up two sacks in the first half. But Colombo wasn't benched. I think there are two main reasons that Colombo was allowed to stay in the game. First, he was more effective at run blocking than Davis was. And second, and probably more importantly, Alex Barron is his backup. (That's the last shot I take at Barron until he plays in another game. I need to stop relying on him as a crutch.) It's also important to note that I think Colombo's sacks were generally technique lapses as opposed to fast-twitch-muscle shortages.

The first sack was just a case of stepping in the bucket right as he punched. A lot of times when you're trying to punch with your hands and kick slide at the same time, you can step underneath yourself and shorten the hoop to the quarterback. That's what Colombo did on the first sack, and that's what got him beat.

The second sack was just the result of a really nice spin move by Jason Babin. Colombo was on his heels a little on the play, but sometimes you just get beat by a good move. After all, Jason Babin gets paid a lot of money to rush the passer. When he gets a tackle one on one, he needs to win occasionally or else he won't be in the league very long.

With all this going on, I'm sure it was clear to Jason Garrett and the rest of the offensive staff that they needed to make adjustments at halftime. That's exactly what they did. They didn't pull out the win, but they mounted a comeback and might have pulled it out if it weren't for a couple of turnovers. There were more adjustments than just benching Davis, which turned out to be pretty minor considering he returned when Holland was injured later in the game. The major adjustments had more to do with scheme than personnel.

The first thing the Cowboys changed that I saw was keeping the backs in to block longer. When the Cowboys would run their core protections, Base Strong/Weak or 2/3 Jet, the running back would stay in and clean up any defender leaking through the line rather than releasing if his linebacker dropped into coverage. This seems so simple, and it is, but you would be surprised how many offensive coordinators stubbornly refuse to lose their check-down routes in order to bolster protection. For some reason, they would rather risk giving up a sack in order to keep a safety net that rarely results in more than four yards.

When you consider that it's pretty rare for multiple offensive linemen to get beaten cleanly on a single play, having one extra blocker makes a big difference. The Cowboys decided it was necessary to have the extra help from the backfield, and the difference was noticeable. With hindsight being what it is (20-20), one wonders if the Cowboys could have made this adjustment early in the first half. All it really involves is telling your running backs to help anyone who needs it instead of releasing on short dump offs.

The other adjustment was more of a schematic overhaul. The Cowboys started going with a lot more full-slide protections in the second half than they have shown all year. A full-slide protection is great for offensive linemen because it gives them just one gap responsibility. If someone makes a great move inside, it doesn't matter because you have help there. There are three main reasons why teams don't run full slide protections more often.

1. If you do it too much, the defense can see it coming and overload the edge that the line is sliding away from.
2. You can end up with a skill player, like a tight end or running back, on a defensive end.
3. To make it schematically sound, you have to keep two skill players in to block rather than one.

Jason Garrett and the staff were willing to put up with those pitfalls because the scheme kept their franchise quarterback upright.
Figure 2: I-Formation Slide

There were two different kinds of full-slide protections that the Cowboys relied on in the second half. The first one was a quick play-action pass out of the I formation. The Cowboys offensive line would slide to its left, with each man responsible for the gap to his left. The Dallas running backs would run an Iso (short for Isolation) play fake. Third tight end Scott Chandler (playing fullback) would then throw a cut block at the defensive end to get his hands down in case Tony Romo needed to throw quickly. Marion Barber or Felix Jones would be responsible for any remaining rusher coming off the right side.

It's a great protection when used sparingly, as the Cowboys demonstrated in the second half. But if they continue to run it, defenses will prepare for it, and they'll start finding ways to put really good pass rushers on the tailback. That is not a good matchup for the Cowboys.

The second run-slide protection, which the Cowboys used more often, was for longer developing pass plays. Dallas would usually run it out of a single-back formation. As with all other slide protections, the entire line would slide one way (let's say left since that was called far more often on Sunday).
Figure 3: Single-Back Slide

The tight end, Jason Witten or Martellus Bennett, would be responsible for the defensive end by himself. This is a better matchup than you would think, as long as your tight end can block -- and Witten can. Defensive ends spend so much time working on the timing of offensive tackles. When a tight end blocks them, they can lose their pass-rush rhythm. The running back is then responsible for any blitzers coming off the right side. These protections aren't revolutionary by any means, but they are a great change up, and a nice way to help a struggling offensive line.

There was one last adjustment that the Cowboys made in the second half -- they took the training wheels off of Doug Free. The first couple of times I've seen Dallas play, it seemed that they were protecting Free. There a lot of ways you can protect an offensive tackle in the passing game, and the Cowboys seemed to use them all. They would almost always slide to him, they would keep a tight end in, and they would chip. Rarely would Free be on an island. But in the second half of this game, the Cowboys gave some of the protection to Colombo and left Free on his own. I think Free really stepped up.

It's unfortunate that his one major mistake, a missed cut block that led to a pick, wound up being so costly. Other than the miscue, I thought Free was great all game, but especially in the second half when his team really needed him. Combine that with his solid run blocking, and it's very possible that the Cowboys have found themselves a legitimate NFL left tackle.

http://footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2010/word-muth-base-weak

 

REDSKINS

Wow...we are 3-2 and in control of our destiny. Sure, I predicted this, but I predict it every year. I am as shocked as anyone. Let's get to the Fight.

Ten Yard Fight -- 10 Chances to Make One Good Point

1. Cutting Devin Thomas is the latest piece of evidence we have that Shanahan does not plan to wait until the offseason to get the kind of roster he wants for his system. Both Joe Gibbs and Jim Zorn inherited players that were less than suited for the style of play they preferred. Gibbs took a guy like Clinton Portis and added a few pounds to his frame so he could bang more in the power running game. Zorn decided to fill the holes on his roster with plays for Hunter Smith. Shanahan is turning this thing over right in front of our eyes. I like the sense of urgency.

2. The inactive status of Dockery had me scratching my head. Here is another guy that does not fit the Shanahan style we are told. I guess I can't praise the roster formation above and then criticize this...but don't we just always seem to need offensive linemen by the end of the game? I have to believe we would have been happy to have a healthy Dockery in the 4th quarter this past week.

3. Is there a team that would surrender a high draft pick or picks for a Haynesworth/Dockery package? I hope we are trying to find out.

4. Barring injuries, we might get used to hearing the names Armstrong and Torain for a long time to come. Cutting Devin Thomas was as sure a sign as any that Shanahan is looking to move forward with Anthony Armstrong. This is Torain's second opportunity under Shanny. These guys could be contributors on this offense for years.

5. LaRon Landry is so much fun to watch this year. All offseason we commented on how hard he was working and how jacked he looked. I assume a lot of guys work hard but his participation in the offseason program really seems to be paying off. cough...Albert...cough

Star-divide

6. The Giants win over the Texans has me worried. First of all, it looks like I am wrong--again--about the Texans. Secondly, it looks like that the Giants have woken up on defense. That is not good. Finally, it is a common opponent that we share with New York and Dallas. And we are the only ones who lost. I think it would be wrong to read too much into that, but early in the season, it is one of the barometers we have to judge the Redskins.

7. Don Burgundy is every bit the MVP dark horse right now. That is NFL MVP by the way. I can't wait to get clobbered for saying that but is there any way we are 3-2 without #5?

8. I said it all last week: the Packers are a dumb team. They have loads of talent and that offense is crazy potent, but they are a stupid team. They have battled their own errors all season and I was hoping we would benefit from their mistakes. We actually matched a few of their bonehead plays but we got five 1st downs from penalties by Green Bay. The Packers got none.

http://www.hogshaven.com/2010/10/12...e-regime-change-for-this-redskins-team-faster

There was a time in the spring when football-starved Washington Redskins fans, subsisting solely on a diet of unsourced offseason reports and speculation, were left to envision LaRon Landry wearing another team's colors in 2010. His name was linked to trade talks between the Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles. Two team sources also indicated that Landry was led to believe the Buffalo Bills also might have been a possible landing spot, if he didn't improve.

Five weeks into the season, the Redskins have certainly benefited from Landry's presence. He was named NFC defensive player of the week Wednesday, and to hear Coach Mike Shanahan tell it now, there was no chance the Redskins were ever going to let Landry go.

The fourth-year safety certainly heard the rumors. Upset by the speculation, he briefly left the team's offseason conditioning program in April and wasn't pacified until he met with Shanahan later that month.

"I told LaRon, 'There may be some rumors and speculation, but I can guarantee you, you will not be traded,' " Shanahan said on Wednesday.

Landry and linebacker London Fletcher were two players who jumped off the film when the team's coaches first moved into Redskins Park, said one league source. Part of the reason the team altered its defensive scheme so drastically was to put Landry in better position to make big plays.

So far, he certainly has. While the Washington defense is giving up a league-high 410 yards per game, Landry has shined in the team's first five games.

"From my perspective, I did not want to play against him," Shanahan said of his early impression of Landry. "That makes it very easy when you see a guy out there and you say, 'I don't want him on another team that I have to play.' "

Landry, who turns 26 on Thursday, earned the NFC's top defensive honors last week for his performance against the Green Bay Packers. He was credited with a game-high 13 tackles - 10 unassisted - and produced both Redskins turnovers during a 16-13 overtime victory. Early in the game, he forced a fumble that gave Washington possession of the football at the Packers 21-yard line. And on Green Bay's final drive in overtime, Landry intercepted an Aaron Rodgers pass, which gave the Redskins the ball at the Packers 39-yard line and set up the game-winning field goal.

The NFL doesn't consider tackles an official statistic, but according to the league's numbers, Landry leads the league with 41 unassisted tackles and is second in total tackles with 52. (According to the team's numbers, which are based on coaches' review of game video, Landry has played a role in 61 tackles, including a team-high 46 unassisted.)

"It feels great," Landry said of his early-season performance. "I moved back to my natural position. And the scheme fits me well. I feel comfortable back there."

Landry played the past 2½ seasons at free safety but is now lining up as strong safety in Jim Haslett's defense. It didn't take long for Landry to show a knack for gravitating to the ball.

"You'd think, watching him, he's been in this system for four or five years," said cornerback DeAngelo Hall. "He just feels that great in it."

Landry's also enjoying a greater sense of freedom. He still plays a role in deep coverage but also finds himself closer to the line of scrimmage, blitzing the quarterback, contributing in the rush defense and laying big hits on anybody within striking distance - at times, mistakenly, his own teammates.

Fellow safety Reed Doughty says Landry is talented at both free and strong safety, but his contributions are more noticeable this year.

"I think it's a matter of what is more dynamic for our team . . . But being a strong safety, it's a mentality for him, the way he's hitting receivers and the way he's getting to the ball and blitzing," Doughty said. "I think it's more of an impact."

Because Landry roves the field on most downs, opposing quarterbacks have to make sure they can account for Landry before each snap. Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts brings one of the game's top quarterbacks to town.

"You can just tell he's got excellent instincts," Peyton Manning said of Landry. "You see him on one side of the field, and . . . you see the play go to the other side, and all of a sudden, you see him show up on film making a big hit or whatever it may be."

The safeties also play a major role in the Redskins' attempts each week to disguise their scheme and their defensive play-calls. Manning prepares as well as any quarterback in the league, though, and Washington knows it will be difficult to fool the Colts' quarterback on Sunday.

"You might confuse him for a quarter or a half or maybe even three quarters," said Hall. "But at some point, he's going to figure out what's going on and he's going to be able to execute that offense.

"We couldn't even really confuse Sam Bradford, so how can we go out there and confuse Peyton Manning? Sam Bradford was able to see where the blitzes were coming from, get rid of the ball. So you know, with Peyton, we're going to have to go to the drawing board, figure out what we want to do as a defense, as a staff and try to execute it."

Whatever the game plan is on Sunday, Landry will play a big role in it. Landry has one more year remaining on his rookie contract, but he seems to know that while his first three seasons were steady, expectations were much higher for the sixth overall pick of the 2007 draft. He finally seems to be fulfilling them.

"I think he's just had a chip on his shoulder," said free safety Kareem Moore. "He's going out there to prove everybody wrong."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...13/AR2010101307121_2.html?sid=ST2010101308320

When an NFL team gets better, moving from one level of the league up to another, the change certainly starts at the top with a new coach like Mike Shanahan, or a better quarterback like Donovan McNabb or, in the case of the Redskins, with an owner who decides to step back and let others have more control.

However, the improvement must spread much further through the team than that. Shanahan's Super Bowl rings and McNabb's accolades in Philadelphia are a catalyst. But new young players must arrive to contribute. And players who were part of the previous losing culture must be redeployed to better advantage, transformed from being part of the problem to keys to a solution.

In Sunday's 16-13 overtime win over Green Bay, the Redskins saw perfect examples of both types of players - wide receiver Anthony Armstrong, the rookie who brings speed, excitement and smiling underdog swagger and safety LaRon Landry, the former high-draft-pick disappointment of '09 who suddenly has begun to fulfill his enormous promise in a new system.

The acrobatic Armstrong caught a 48-yard scoring bomb from McNabb, a heave that traveled 55 yards in the air, that inflamed the crowd of 87,760, shifted the momentum of the game and cut the Redskins' deficit to 13-10 in the fourth quarter.

"Anthony really got things going for us," said a grateful McNabb. "He beat the safety deep. I put it out there high and far for him. And what a catch."

"When I jumped, I was floating," said Armstrong, grinning. "I was WAY up over that safety. He was down at my knees, man.

"You've got to have some swagger."

If Armstrong's catch was an emotional turning point, it was Landry, who was beaten often on deep passes last year in the system of ex-coordinator Greg Blache, who inspired the defense all day with his violence and nose for the ball.

You'd think that causing a fumble and making 13 tackles might be enough for one day's work. But it was Landry's rolling reach-behind-himself interception in overtime - he picking off an Aaron Rodgers pass inches off the ground - that gave the Redskins the ball at the Green Bay 39-yard line in overtime.

"Landry amazes me, to be honest," Shanahan said. "He's fast, a hitter. He loves to play and he's that way every snap."

After Landry's pick, two short McNabb passes and a crucial interference penalty drawn by Armstrong on legendary cornerback Charles Woodson, set up the game-winning 33-yard field goal by Graham Gano.

After Landry's interception, one Packer tried to strip the ball away from him. "Landry's got the biggest arms you've ever seen on a guy his size. You're going to try to strip the ball from him?" said linebacker Chris Wilson. "LaRon could have curled that guy."

"Landry just has incredible speed and power," said safety Reed Doughty. "There is no sense in having a heat-seeking missile if it isn't aimed at the right targets. He's just blowing people up."

No Redskins player disrespects Blache's '09 defensive scheme, especially since, in yardage stats, it's still far ahead of this year's crew. But everyone knows that certain players, especially Landry, already dominant linebacker Brian Orakpo, and versatile 275-pound linebacker Lorenzo Alexander have much more chance to show their talents.

Armstrong and Landry get the primary accolades this time. But they are symptomatic of wider change. Armstrong brings deep speed and vertical leaping to the receiving corps. His development is one reason that the Redskins could release undisciplined wide receiver Devin Thomas before this game. Thomas "has the talent, that's for sure," Shanahan said Sunday. "But he's really going to have to commit himself - on and off the field - to being a pro."

However, there are other young Redskins players who are emerging quickly under Shanahan and replacing players who thought their positions were secure under the previous regime.

Tiny rookie Brandon Banks returned one punt 30 yards and had a scintillating 62-yarder called back because of a penalty. "Both Armstrong and Banks were brought in because of speed," Shanahan said. "You have to have it to make big plays. Both showed some spark today. . . . We were just a hair away [in the kick return game] from having a really big day."

Each week makes it clearer that Shanahan and General Manager Bruce Allen have even wider-ranging ideas about changing the Redskins' makeup than most supposed. Second-year guard Kory Lichtensteiger, drafted by Shanahan in Denver in '08, has come along so quickly that 325-pound veteran Derrick Dockery was a "healthy scratch" for this game. That means: Job lost, new left guard in town.

At left tackle, rookie first-round draft pick Trent Williams has made himself such an immediate fixture that all eyes will watch to see how his left knee feels on Monday. Williams left the game for a few plays after tweaking a previous injury.

At one level, it's indisputable that the Redskins were fortunate - that means l-u-c-k-y - to improve their record to 3-2 Sunday. As the final seconds of regulation time ticked off the clock, a 53-yard field goal attempt by the Packers' Mason Crosby hung high in the crisp autumn air at FedEx Field and seemed destined to end the game with a Green Bay celebration. Six Packers all had their arms over their heads signaling "good" as they prepared.

But five Packers had better judgment than that and held their breath. The Green Bay minority had it correct as Crosby's booming kick smacked off the left upright - more than halfway up the pole - and the Redskins were spared.

Oh, how the Packers then wished that they had kicked a simple 19-yard field goal early in the second quarter to build a 10-0 lead. Instead, they decided to gamble on fourth and goal from the 1 because "they wanted to try to knock us out early," said Alexander.

And the player the Pack tried to pick on was Alexander himself, a player so large he can play defensive line, but fast and agile enough to cover tight ends in pass coverage.

"We were ready for them. Whenever I had [Andrew Quarless] line up on me, it would be a pass. We practiced that coverage all week," said Alexander. So, even though he was isolated in one-on-one coverage in the end zone, Alexander still had the joy of feeling Rodgers's pass bounce off the back of his helmet incomplete.

"Sure felt good when it hit me in the head," Alexander said.

"That goal line stand [with three Packer snaps from the 1-yard line] was the difference . . . the key to the game," Shanahan said.

So far this season, it's been the Redskins' foes who have made the blundering decisions. In the season opener, the Cowboys tried for a senseless flat pass three seconds before intermission: the result was a fumble and a Redskins recovery for a touchdown return. That decided the game.

Now, the Packers help the Redskins, too. Or, at least in my game notes, it says: "Go for it from the one? When you're favored and can go up 10-0? Idiotic!"

Right now, every Redskins game except one has come down to the final play. They could be anything from 4-1 to 0-5. But they're more than happy with 3-2 and 2-0 in the NFC East. When a new regime arrives, many factors are vital. But a few key plays going your way, a "doink" on a field goal that could have meant defeat, carry extra weight. A team trying to escape a 4-12 identity needs every handhold it can find as it climbs.

"The best is yet to come," Landry said.

For now, that's the last word.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...10/AR2010101003849_3.html?sid=ST2010101002836