Scouts Inc. = n00bs...lmao

[DMWSackMachine]

My points on the game:


- McNabb is back. That was as good as I have ever seen him play, though he certainly has had bigger and better stat lines. The man is clearly at ease in the pocket again, and his mental maturity has him making reads better than ever and getting the ball to the correct receiver more often than not. However, I never expected to see him regain the mobility that was his trademark early on in his career. While he doesn't have the same speed, his agility is all the way back, and his amazing lower body strength is as impressive as ever. If he continues to play this way, and that's no guarantee, than he is going to reclaim his spot in the discussion for best NFL QB. He was amazing.

- That said, I thought last night's game actually proved my point about the WRing corps. I find it funny that some are using the "only one WR had more than 23 yard, you suck" logic when, by the same reasoning, only one Philly WR had over 36 yards. So now the difference between 23 and 36 is gigantic? McNabb completed passes to 9 different receivers? Romo--who threw 7 less passes--completed passes to 7. When push came to shove, though, which WR corps was the one dropping passes and making mistakes to kill drives? Philly's. To me, more than any other point, my assertion about the respective WR corps was proven true. Both QBs were brilliant, though each made a few key mistakes, and McNabb played the better game. Yet Romo had the superior numbers. Why is that? Because Dallas pass receivers were vastly superior. *shrug* But at this point no one is going to listen, I suppose.

- Philly was really focused on stopping the run. I was amazed at how well they were clogging up the running lanes. I think the bulk of their LBs will really help them in this respect. That said, I do think it was partially a schematic thing. Wade mentioned in the post game conference that once we changed up our attack and mixed more 2nd down runs in we had more success. Combine this with the change in philosophy that they made in order to contain the deep ball, and I think that explains why we had so much more success running the ball in the 2nd half than we did in the first.


- Dallas' approach to this game was to lay back and allow the underneath passes without giving up any big plays. This worked all game with two exceptions. The first was on a play in which McNabb took literally SIX seconds to scan the field and was finally able to find Jackson deep down the left sideline, and the second was the deep ball to Jackson against Adam Jones. Jackson is making a believer out of me, and he was impressive this game.

However, I would bet my paycheck that the TD occurred because of a breakdown in technique by Jones. The inside scoop is that he is an elite talent, but that the coaching staff are struggling to get him to fully commit to disciplining himself in relation to the little things that will make him a dominant player. This is obviously cause for concern, and bears watching as the season moves forward.

The coverage for the rest of the game, though was actually pretty good. McNabb attempted 37 passes and accumulated 281 yards. That is 7.6 YPA, (for reference, Romo posted a 10.4 YPA) which is a solid, but not really impressive, figure. All things considered, the coverage was at least decent--even including one big time breakdown.

- Our DL actually played a pretty good game, I thought. However--and this is something that isn't referenced enough by the anti-Parcells, pro-Wade contingent of Cowboy fans--this was a textbook case of the dangers of gap penetration vs. gap control or even lane control. Canty was getting into the back field plenty, but his OL was riding him past Donovan. This vacated the area in front of McNabb, allowing him to step up in the pocket and either run or buy more time to get the ball downfield. Ware was getting the edge on Thomas literally all night long. Our problems were that we either didn't get the push in the middle or, when we did get penetration, our DEs were getting run right past the QB. They didn't play a necessarily bad game. Indeed, they were excellent vs. the run. It was more a matter of scheme combined with excellent play on the part of the Eagles OL.

Of course, this all excludes Ratliff, who played out of his mind all game long. He came up with a 1st Half sack--contrary to the claims that are being made about Dallas getting all our sacks late in the game--and got regular pressure on McNabb. Tank Johnson is the one who didn't show up at all. I never noticed him once.

- I hope Felix can start getting some respect now. I did not agree with us taking him at 22, and was left a little underwhelmed by our draft (largely because of him), but he has won me over in a big way, and he is as much a reason for my optimism as anything. The dude is a threat to score any time he touches the ball, and he can run well between the tackles, too. He has a chance to be special.

- If I was a Philly fan, I would be starting the Westbrook for MVP bandwagon. The dude has gotten better every year he's been in the league. As I was watching ESPN after the game, Young made a great point. He pointed out how, now that Philly has a deep threat in Desean, it will make defenses back off and allow Westbrook more room to roam underneath. Young predicted an All-Time-type season for him as a result. Two game, 5 touchdowns, and he hasn't really even got untracked yet with any big plays. He is amazing.

- We'll have to see how it develops, but I have liked what I've seen from the Dallas D in the first two weeks. Newman should be back to 100% shortly, and Jones is getting his game together. I think we could emerge as a force as the season progresses.

- Forget the lack of playoff victories. Romo needs to quit making key turnovers if he is going to be considered among the elite at the QB position. He is basically bankable for one INT a game. He needs to keep them down.

- Finally, the Cowboys deserve points for mental and physical toughness. Dallas was in control of the game, up 8 having scored both times they had touched the ball and looking to make it a 15 point cushion. Romo (with an assist from Stanback and the refs) hands the Eagles two straight TDs and completely turns the game around. Against a team playing as well as the Eagles had played to that point, and under that kind of pressure, a lot of--maybe most--teams would have folded and let the game get out of hand. Dallas took every punch that Philly could dish out and kept on coming. Considering that Dallas' main roadblocks on the way to the SB are thought to be toughness/cohesiveness/leadership issues, this showed me something about the team. After what Romo showed in week 1, that is 2 weeks in a row.

[PACKmanN]

Originally Posted by bigbluedefense

If the Giants do their job, and Dallas does their job, the week 8 meeting between them is going to be a bloodbath.

I can't wait till next week. Hard test between two of the top teams in the NFC. This time, we are less injured then what we were last year.

And I wouldn't take the Eagles lightly. They have a top 5 defense in the making, but they have to stay healthy on offense. Plus we don't know how far both Brown and Curtis have developed since the last time we have seen them.

[bigbluedefense]

Originally Posted by DMWSackMachine

I have to say, BBD, I usually have quite a lot of respect for your opinions, and usually your analysis is spot on or close to it. But this post is probably the worst I have ever read of yours--and its not like you haven't been strongly critical of my 'Boys in the past, so its not just the clear anti-Cowboy slant embodied here that I'm responding to.

I am so pumped about the game, I really don't even want to get into a squabbling match about this, so I won't. But I think you will have to eat some crow later in the year for this analysis. I will be referencing it plenty moving forward.

Its not anti-Cowboy bias. Just bc im not slobbing their nob doesn't mean that its anti-bias. Im calling it like i see it.

Now, to clarify, just bc i said theyre "overrated" doesn't mean that theyre not good. Just overrated. Its not a top 5 unit in the league, but it is a top 10 unit.

My belief remains the same: The Cowboys defense is stoute vs the run, but against quality passing teams, you can very much move the ball through the air on them and put up points. Thus, saying "they can be had through the air".

Of course not every team has the personnel to do this, so they will rank highly during the season. But come playoff time, I think their offense will have to come through for them, bc i don't trust that defense to shut down quality offenses in the postseason. You won't be able to hang your hat on that Cowboy defense during the postseason. Its good, but its not dominant good.

If Im wrong, feel free to rub it in my face. But I stand by my evaluation.

Originally Posted by Modano

BBD why do you think Hamlins is ovverated? Or at least, why do you say that after yesterday game?
Hamlin didn't get beat deep (it was Williams+Jones responsible of the only big play allowed) and their TEs were held in check. So I can understand your opinion on Hamlin but I don't think that yesterday game showed any proof of him being overrated. We were also able to contain Winslow last week. Considering that covering the TE has been one of our biggest weakness recently I think we improved a lot this year (so far, of course).
I think you also have to give Dallas defense some props for that second half performance. We allowed only 7 points against a great offense after halftime, so our coaching staff made good adjustments.
I'm pretty sure that "only" 23 of these points allowed are the defense fault. One TD was a fumble recovered in the endzone and another one was after a turnover and a very bad call which gave the Eagles a 1st&goal on the 1 yard line. You can make the argument that we don't know if Dallas defense would've stopped the Eagles without that PI call but anyway...
So 23 points is not good but not horrible. But, to me, the most important thing is that they were able to allow only 7 points in the second half.

Last but not least: I guess TO was held in check in the second half because they focused on him, allowing Witten to roll. This is the reason why I don't think we can judge Dallas WR corp without considering Witten. He's not a normal TE, he plays on the line, in the slot, split wide etc.
And I also believe, as I stated in the Cowboys forum, that the only on who can stop both Witten and Owens is Romo. If you focus on one, the other one is gonna kill him.
Witten is our #1/2 option and that's why I think we don't need a great second option.

Sniper, I don't wanna argue about which team has the better WR corp but it's incorrect to say that our wideouts were all healthy.
Hurd is our 3rd receiver and he was inactive, Austin - who played in his place - saw very limited action because he just came back from a knee injury and Stanback was also limited because of a shoulder injury.

Hamlin is surely a step up from what you had, but I don't see the PB caliber play. He's great vs the run, and reliable against the pass, but he's not a playmaker back there. Again, bc i said he's overrated doesn't mean that he's not good, just that he's overrated.

[DMWSackMachine]

Well, that does soften your stance a little from what I got out of it. Part of the confusion, in my mind, is that people aren't exactly rating us as a top 5 unit. Hell, even some of our own fans don't think we have that kind of defense.

As for our passing game, I can make a fairly convincing case that we were a top 6 unit last year against the pass, though most would obviously scoff at the notion. To me, our biggest problem last season vs. the pass wasn't getting regular stops, it was the fact that--when a crucial point in the game arose--all the opponent had to do was go at Jacques Reeves and they would usually find success. For this season, I simply figure that you remove Reeves (and our nickel back, Nate Jones, who was horrifying in his suckitude) while adding Pacman and Jenkins and you should have a top flight secondary.

Maybe that is too simplistic to be realistic. But part of the problem is this perception that we were bad last year, which we weren't. I guess we'll see.

[eaglesalltheway]

Originally Posted by SNIPER26

No, it was Dawkins. He bit on an in and up. A very well-run route.

It was considine.

[eaglesalltheway]

Originally Posted by SNIPER26

The rest is pure hyperbole and I'm not gonna sit around and play hyperbole circle jerk but...



You won by four....at home....against a team without its top two wideouts. Hardly knocking around anyone.

Yeah don't forget we were without our best O-linemen in Andrews for the last few drives as well, when the Cowboys got their pressure the most.

[eaglesalltheway]

First off, Ratliff had a great game, you can't expect much more from a NT. the only problem he had was grabbing facemansks. He had as good of a game as you can hope for.

[Sniper]

Originally Posted by eaglesalltheway

It was considine.

Yes, I realized that and posted in the Gameday thread. My bad. Why am I not surprised that Considine got toasted?

Originally Posted by DMWSackMachine

Also, while I am sure you are interpreting a lot of what I'm saying as homerism, I think you will see what I'm talking about in the coming months. Dallas secondary is not only better than Philly's, but there is a decent chance it will end up being the best of this decade. Again, that sounds like an extreme statement, but its something that I am confident in. Philly fans should be proud of their secondary, because it looks impressive as well. Just not on the same level as the Cowboy's.

Wow, you're going to eat those words.

[DMWSackMachine]

You know, its funny. Dallas losing to New York by 4, a game in which the Cowboys dominated all statistical categories, is classified as "the better team won, deal with it", but now Dallas winning by the same margin is no big deal because you were missing Kevin freakin' Curtis and Reggie Brown?

Weren't the Philly fans sayin' "watch all the excuses you guys come up with when you lose?"...and now look who's coming up with the excuses.

You guys are acting like douches. Quit trying to downplay every damn thing that happened in the game and give some credit where it is due for once. Dallas beat you, acknowledge it and move on.



Edit: changed to include all Eagles posters comments since game end (I had mistaken a few of Eaglesalltheway's posts for Sniper, my bad)

Originally Posted by DMWSackMachine

You know, its funny. Dallas losing to New York by 4, a game in which the Cowboys dominated all statistical categories, is classified as "the better team won, deal with it", but now Dallas winning by the same margin is no big deal because you were missing Kevin freakin' Curtis and Reggie Brown?

Weren't the Philly fans sayin' "watch all the excuses you guys come up with when you lose?"...and now look who's coming up with the excuses.

Sniper, you are acting like a douche. Quit trying to downplay every damn thing that happened in the game and give some credit where it is due for once. Dallas beat you, acknowledge it and move on.

Just tell me what happened to the best secondary of the past decade?

[DMWSackMachine]

If you weren't so eager to beat down on someone for your own personal gratification, you would do a little better at reading comprehension. I said "it has a decent chance to be", not "it is and you will see it on MNF".

And don't talk like we got smoked. It wasn't a good showing or anything like that, but its nothing to hang our heads over. McNabb had a great game, and we weren't as sharp as we need to be, but still held him under 8 YPA (which is sort of the benchmark for excellence in a QB) for the game, despite giving up a 60 yard bomb. Great QBs can make great secondaries look less than spectacular, so don't be a simpleton.

Not just that, but if we're going to get into that again, what happened to the (supposedly) superior secondary of the Eagles? They truly got torched (allowing 10 YPA is an awful showing). And not only that, but it was by an allegedly inferior pass receiving corps. Work that one out for me, will you?

[Sniper]

Originally Posted by DMWSackMachine

You know, its funny. Dallas losing to New York by 4, a game in which the Cowboys dominated all statistical categories, is classified as "the better team won, deal with it", but now Dallas winning by the same margin is no big deal because you were missing Kevin freakin' Curtis and Reggie Brown?

I assume losing Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews is peanuts, right?

Weren't the Philly fans sayin' "watch all the excuses you guys come up with when you lose?"...and now look who's coming up with the excuses.

They're not excuses, they're facts. When we play next game, you guys sit Owens, Crayton, and take Leonard Davis half-way out after he's played the first half the game with back spasms, okay?

You guys are acting like douches.

Says the arrogant Cowboys fan.

Quit trying to downplay every damn thing that happened in the game and give some credit where it is due for once.

My sincerest apologies. The Dallas Cowboys are the greatest team in the history of football. They will go 20-0. 16-0 in the regular season, 3-0 in the playoffs, send their whole team to the Pro Bowl and win that too. Tony Romo will be MVP, Terrell Owens OPOY, DeMarcus Ware DPOY, Felix Jones OROY, and Mike Jenkins DROY. Wade Phillips will win coach of the year. Happy?

Originally Posted by DMWSackMachine

If you weren't so eager to beat down on someone for your own personal gratification, you would do a little better at reading comprehension. I said "it has a decent chance to be", not "it is and you will see it on MNF".

Not just that, but if we're going to get into that again, what happened to the (supposedly) superior secondary of the Eagles? They truly got torched (allowing 10 YPA is an awful showing). And not only that, but it was by an allegedly inferior pass receiving corps. Work that one out for me, will you?

I stayed out of the argument but your homerism was beyond laughable. I could see an argument for the Eagles having a better secondary. Is it true? I don't know, but we'll find out this season likely. But to say that the Cowgirls secondary is the best in past decade...what were you thinking?

[Sniper]

Originally Posted by DMWSackMachine

If you weren't so eager to beat down on someone for your own personal gratification, you would do a little better at reading comprehension. I said "it has a decent chance to be", not "it is and you will see it on MNF".

It has zero chance to be.

Not just that, but if we're going to get into that again, what happened to the (supposedly) superior secondary of the Eagles?

Jason Witten, a tight end, happened to the linebacking corps of the Eagles.

They truly got torched (allowing 10 YPA is an awful showing)

Again, most of the damage was done by Jason Witten, a tight end.

And not only that, but it was by an allegedly inferior pass receiving corps.

Eagerly anticipating a quote which says Dallas had an inferior pass receiving corps. WIDE receiving corps, perhaps, but PASS receiving also includes Jason Witten and Marion Barber, the #2 and #3 receivers on Monday.

Work that one out for me, will you?

I just did. Patrick Crayton sure did a lot of damage with his two catches and 23 yards.

[DMWSackMachine]

Again, r-e-a-d-i-n-g c-o-m-p-r-e-h-e-n-s-i-o-n, its FAAAANNNNTASTIC!

[Sniper]

Originally Posted by DMWSackMachine

Again, r-e-a-d-i-n-g c-o-m-p-r-e-h-e-n-s-i-o-n, its FAAAANNNNTASTIC!

It sure is. Don't get mad because I shredded your argument to pieces.

[DMWSackMachine]

Originally Posted by SNIPER26

I assume losing Pro Bowl guard Shawn Andrews is peanuts, right?

Excuse.

They're not excuses, they're facts. When we play next game, you guys sit Owens, Crayton, and take Leonard Davis half-way out after he's played the first half the game with back spasms, okay?

You just compared you missing Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown to us missing one of the great All-Time players. That would be similar to me complaining about us losing Roy Williams as a reason why you guys were able to have any success against our pass D. Get real, dude.

My sincerest apologies. The Dallas Cowboys are the greatest team in the history of football. They will go 20-0. 16-0 in the regular season, 3-0 in the playoffs, send their whole team to the Pro Bowl and win that too. Tony Romo will be MVP, Terrell Owens OPOY, DeMarcus Ware DPOY, Felix Jones OROY, and Mike Jenkins DROY. Wade Phillips will win coach of the year. Happy?

And so now you swing it the other way. Very mature there, pal.

Why don't you quit being such a whiner and excuse maker and actually argue with reason instead of refusing to make any concession of excellence to your opposition and then reacting with exaggerated and sarcastic slobbering when pressed about it.

I have been profuse in my praise of your team and its effort in that game. You refuse to do anything but make petty and meaningless excuses for why you didn't win, without giving any credit to a worthy adversary. Its a joke.

[DMWSackMachine]

Originally Posted by SNIPER26

It sure is. Don't get mad because I shredded your argument to pieces.

Lol

1) wasn't even talking to you

2) as soon as you ever make a factual or substantiated argument, then you can make a statement like that, not before.

[Sniper]

Originally Posted by DMWSackMachine

Excuse

Fact. Missing your best OL is missing your best OL, whether you or anyone else in Cowboy fantasy land wants to admit it.

You just compared you missing Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown to us missing one of the great All-Time players.

Is it my fault your #1 receiver is one of the all-time greats?

That would be similar to me complaining about us losing Roy Williams as a reason why you guys were able to have any success against our pass D.

Only that would be inaccurate, because DeSean Jackson's half-touchdown was on Roy and the amazing Pacman Jones.

Get real, dude.

I am real, "dude".

And so now you swing it the other way. Very mature there, pal.

Thanks chief. I figured I'd write what you wanted to see.

Why don't you quit being such a whiner

I'm not whining.

and excuse maker

I know facts aren't really popular in Cowboy fantasy land, but whether you can get it in your thick skull or not, missing your top two wideouts for the whole game and arguably the game's best guard isn't an excuse. It's a fact. Congrats. You won. By four points. At home. Against a team missing their top two wideouts and a monster on the OL. Be happy with the win. Would things be different with Curtis, Brown, and Andrews at full strength? Maybe, maybe not. We won't know until we see them on the field.

I have been profuse in my praise of your team and its effort in that game.

And any game before that. Big words for you.

You refuse to do anything but make petty and meaningless excuses for why you didn't win

Not quite skippy. Nice try on the pity party though.

This thread has the potential to backfire in your face almost as much as your "Anyone still wanna take shots @ Romo" beauty.

[Sniper]

Originally Posted by DMWSackMachine

Lol

1) wasn't even talking to you

2) as soon as you ever make a factual or substantiated argument, then you can make a statement like that, not before.

I have. It's not my fault you read at a second grade level and are too busy sucking off anyone on the Cowboys. A nice, solid dose of reality would be good for the Cowboys. Unfortunately, reality doesn't exist in Cowboys fantasy land.

[Modano]

Sniper do you think that Desean Jackson will be moved down to the #3 role when Brown and Curtis come back? I think he earned his status as a reliable #2 option.

[DMWSackMachine]

Originally Posted by SNIPER26

It has zero chance to be.

That's even more arrogant than me saying it could be.

Jason Witten, a tight end, happened to the linebacking corps of the Eagles.

Now this is truly pathetic. Jason Witten did his damage against your All-Everything Safety who supposedly "hasn't lost a step". Do you really even believe these things, or do you just say the first thing that pops into your head. Last I checked, Dawkins was part of the secondary.

Or did you move him to LB?

Again, most of the damage was done by Jason Witten, a tight end.

Again, no it wasn't. Witten accounted for 1/3 of the passing yardage in that game, and much of his success came AFTER Owens had just stomped your secondary down, causing JJ to stop blitzing and roll a safety to TO on nearly every play. Since Witten generated 110 yards, and we finished with 312 yards passing, that would mean that 212 yards were done by other players. As the word "most" is defined thusly:

In the greatest quantity, amount, measure, degree, or number

Then that would make you wrong. Again.

And we wont' even mention how Witten was lined up as a WR for nearly half the game.

Eagerly anticipating a quote which says Dallas had an inferior pass receiving corps. WIDE receiving corps, perhaps, but PASS receiving also includes Jason Witten and Marion Barber, the #2 and #3 receivers on Monday.

Maybe we just need to get our definitions down. Here is the one for WR:

an offensive player positioned wide of the formation, as a split end, used primarily as a pass receiver.

When Witten is lined up as a WR, running routes like a WR, and getting covered by the defense like a WR, doesn't it make sense to treat him like one? Just sayin.

I just did. Patrick Crayton sure did a lot of damage with his two catches and 23 yards.

Patrick Crayton also had only 3 targets. Would he have been more productive with more? Probably, but considering that he finished with a solid 8 YPA, that he performed when called upon, and that Dallas was having resounding success elsewhere,I'm going to say that he did his job well. It's not like the dude was dropping passes on the would-be game winning drive like, say, a certain green-clad player with wings on his helmet. This is only slightly more relevant than if I were to bring up the fact that Curtis and Brown had zero catches combined.

[Sniper]

Face it DMW, if the Cowboys had played that game on the road, without Owens, Crayton, and Leonard Davis, and you guys had lost by four, you know DAMN well you'd be saying the same thing. And while yes, Owens is superior to Curtis, Reggie Brown is a more productive WR than Patrick Crayton, and Shawn Andrews is a better, albeit not MUCH better, guard than Leonard Davis is. So keep chugging the silver and blue Koolaid until the Cowboys next first round playoff loss, and just pretend that Philly isn't even near your equal. Overconfidence sure did work out well for the ZOMGZ 461718239332043100753 Pro Bowlers last year.

[Sniper]

Originally Posted by Modano

Sniper do you think that Desean Jackson will be moved down to the #3 role when Brown and Curtis come back? I think he earned his status as a reliable #2 option.

Yeah, I do. While I do enjoy what DJax has brought to the table so far, the fact remains that he is still a rookie. Not to mention, with his great speed and acceleration, he's a superb fit for the slot receiver. Unless they would want to put Brown at the #1, Djax at the #2, and Curtis in the slot. However, slot guys don't make $6 million per year.