dbair1967

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Not much else to say about it other than we clearly stunk on both sides of the ball. Really disappointing debut for McCarthy and co and they clearly have to go back to the drawing board on some things. The rash of injuries is also extremely concerning.

1) I get that we were starting a career backup at C and that we started a rookie UDFA at RT, but with the wealth of talent available everywhere else scoring only 17 pts against what I clearly expected to be a bad Rams defense was pathetic. Way too conservative of a game plan and play calling, and the 2nd half was really bad. Really didnt see any way we wouldnt score 28 or more, and we didnt come close to tha number. 3rd down conversions we were 3/12 and Dak was under 50% comp% in the 2nd half. When your WR group is Cooper/Gallup/Lamb there should be far more than 1 or 2 downfield attempts, and there wasnt. Team looked confused all game long about what the Rams were doing, and the Rams don't have much talent on defense other than Donald, Ramsey and maybe Brockers.

2) I don't think Looney will be the starter at C all year. To me there is a noticeable difference in how much bigger/stronger Biadasz looks (he got on the field for a couple plays I think at G, one other time I think he might have lined up as an extra OL). The Steele kid might have some chance to develop down the road, but he was exposed badly in the 2nd half and especially the 4th qtr and he clearly isnt ready. C Williams was more good than bad, but he did get beat a couple times. Thought Z Martin was more up and down than usual. Tyron Smith was clearly the best OL on the field for us last night. Depth looks like a real problem here again.

3) Defense was just pathetic for the first half and the opening Rams drive of 2nd half. To say they (defense as a whole) were slow would be a massive understatement, as would saying they had 4 or 5 guys (at least) on the field that didnt even look like legit NFL players. Standouts (bad) to me were Poe, Crawford, Darian Thompson, Daryl Worley and Joe Thomas, although Thomas as a backup/ST guy would be fine. Noticeable difference in how bad our tackling was compared to an opponent (common theme of last 10-15 years). If they want to have a chance to be an average defense, they have to make a number of changes asap. Mike Nolan's debut as coordinator was definitely a flop and like the offense, the defense was just too fucking conservative. They played way too far off rams receivers, even when the Rams made almost no effort to throw the ball more than 5 or so yds downfield over and over again. Didnt see any blitz or coverage schemes that appeared to work either.

4) Injury situation is definitely disappointing. LVE gone 6-8 weeks, Jarwin gone for yr, backup OL (Erving) I think might be gone for year, Jordain Lewis gone for awhile, no idea when Lael Collins will be back, Lee out as usual. They definitely need to make a few roster moves pretty quick.

5) I thought Prescott played fine in the first half, but his 2nd half was not very good at all. Maybe some of it was due the pressure that picked up on him as the game went along, and as noted above the ultra conservative game plan definitely didnt help. But he has to play better overall, especially if they are trying to warrant the mega extension he so sorely wants.

6) Thought Cee Dee Lamb looked legit in his debut, and even though T Diggs gave up a couple decent completions he had nearly flawless positioning both times and at least TRIED to make plays on the ball. I can definitely see him being a quality starter for a long time at CB.

7) Good to see miserable officiating is right in mid-season form. It was bad for both teams but how they fucked up an obvious delay of game (when it was called right originally) and then make that shitpile offensive PI call on Gallup in that situation is just a joke. The Rams got away with offensive PI and pick plays all game long and I don't remember a single call going against them for it, then we get nailed for that call in that situation.

Overall, a miserable performance and one in which had we played a really good team, I think we'd have gotten beat by 21+ easily. Contrary to what Collinsowrth said, I don't believe the Rams are any good. We were just THAT bad.
 

Doomsday

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Mike Nolan's debut as coordinator was definitely a flop and like the offense, the defense was just too fucking conservative. They played way too far off rams receivers, even when the Rams made almost no effort to throw the ball more than 5 or so yds downfield over and over again. Didnt see any blitz or coverage schemes that appeared to work either.
Timid is what we saw. Timid and yes confused. Almost like there's a ton of gadgetry in the defense clogging the players' brains up with so much extraneous shit that they don't know what to do or even where the fuck to line up. Hesitation kills. It's a wonder LA didn't run up an extra couple of TDs on us. Study long study wrong and paralysis from analysis.

If we don't simplify our shit and let the players fly to the ball and be aggressive we're gonna need 35 ppg to have a chance to win any given game this season.

And fuck no... The timid play-scared deep zones gotta go. Contest every fucking catch. For fuck's sake, WTF is the idea behind playing 7 dbs 12 yards off the ball in our own red zone? Prevent defense inside the 20? Who the fuck does that?

Timid is the word. Not "conservative."
 

bbgun

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There's only so much you can do to disguise bad personnel on defense. When Gregory comes back we'll have a ton of defensive ends, but garbage up the middle (DT, MLB, S). The coaching staff wasn't here two years ago when we lost to LA in the playoffs and it showed, because LA basically copied what they did that night with a ton of pre-snap movement, play action and misdirection. Third down after third down converted. Even our sole turnover was a fluke based on a missed penalty by Smith.
 

dbair1967

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There's only so much you can do to disguise bad personnel on defense. When Gregory comes back we'll have a ton of defensive ends, but garbage up the middle (DT, MLB, S). The coaching staff wasn't here two years ago when we lost to LA in the playoffs and it showed, because LA basically copied what they did that night with a ton of pre-snap movement, play action and misdirection. Third down after third down converted. Even our sole turnover was a fluke based on a missed penalty by Smith.

The bad personnel is certainly some of it. There's several guys we trotted out there that just flat looked awful.

I do wonder if Poe would have even made the team had McCoy not gotten hurt. We heard next to nothing about him all of camp and now we know why.

Darian Thompson is horrendous and should not be on the field. Tyrone Crawford looked washed up and both he and Poe were knocked around all night. That Worley guy was horrendous too.
 

bbgun

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The bad personnel is certainly some of it. There's several guys we trotted out there that just flat looked awful.

I do wonder if Poe would have even made the team had McCoy not gotten hurt. We heard next to nothing about him all of camp and now we know why.

Darian Thompson is horrendous and should not be on the field. Tyrone Crawford looked washed up and both he and Poe were knocked around all night. That Worley guy was horrendous too.
And the cavalry ain't coming. They gotta make it work with guys who aren't good enough, and Nolan doesn't strike me as a defensive genius who can outscheme an opponent. And can we talk about how badly LVE and Jaylon have regressed in recent years? That ain't helping. The good news is that the moment didn't seem too big for Diggs. It took a couple of picture perfect passes by Goff to beat him.
 

Jerseycowboysfan

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Well we’ll well.... here we are for another season of Cowboys football. Albeit said it’s was a fucking disaster from the opening drive and never seemed to level off.

Offense: 17 points ???? With that line up ??? Plesseeee !!!!! 3rd down efficiency was near a doughnut!!! Dak played decent but it still delivering balls late and behind receivers. $40 million / year QB’s don’t do that pal . Zeke was ballin!!! I expected more from our stud wideouts however.

Defense: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 what fuckin a defense?????? Giving up chunks of yardage like a god damn sieve!!!!! Front 4 didn’t clog shit!!! I don’t think that Poe fuck ever got up from kneeling for the anthem....Jaylon Smith couldn’t cover my grandmother . Tackling is still a major issue with this team AGAIN!!!!!!

I see another 8-8 team staring ya in the face once again . Yes another disappointment for another over hyped team .
 

Dodger12

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Well we’ll well.... here we are for another season of Cowboys football. Albeit said it’s was a fucking disaster from the opening drive and never seemed to level off.

Offense: 17 points ???? With that line up ??? Plesseeee !!!!! 3rd down efficiency was near a doughnut!!! Dak played decent but it still delivering balls late and behind receivers. $40 million / year QB’s don’t do that pal . Zeke was ballin!!! I expected more from our stud wideouts however.

Defense: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 what fuckin a defense?????? Giving up chunks of yardage like a god damn sieve!!!!! Front 4 didn’t clog shit!!! I don’t think that Poe fuck ever got up from kneeling for the anthem....Jaylon Smith couldn’t cover my grandmother . Tackling is still a major issue with this team AGAIN!!!!!!

I see another 8-8 team staring ya in the face once again . Yes another disappointment for another over hyped team .

Yeah, the D wasn't good but it did hold the Rams to 20 points. When your offense is 1 for 7 on 3rd down, your offense has some issues. If we keep teams to 20 points and under, you should win a lot of games if you have a franchise QB, especially when you have a premier RB and WR(s).
 

Maveric

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Yeah, the D wasn't good but it did hold the Rams to 20 points.
This isn't the same Rams from the last few years though. We were the first to hold them to 20, but I highly doubt we'll be the last.
 

theoneandonly

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McVay has a knack misdirecting our LBs by getting them to bite and over react on misdirection, then gashing the defense for chunks. The gimp was atrocious and LVE is ever closer to injury prone bust. Dallas best defender hadnt stepped on a field in 5 years. Fucking sad.
 

MrB

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Here are a couple observations from me.

McVay coached circles around Nolan. The Cowboys defense was in its heels the entire game. Are they running a 4-3 or a 3-4? Nolan said it would be a hybrid defense but those guys looked lost. They looked confused. The DT’s and LB’s looked like trash. Aldon Smith looked good. Diggs showed promise. Goff showed amazing touch and accuracy on some of those passes.

On offense it’s clear that Zeke is still going to be (and should be) the engine that makes this team go. He’s not explosive like in his rookie year but he’s still the best player on the team. Also Gallup is a stud. I thought the PI call at the end was the right call. I would like the refs to let them play but it was the right call, Gallup extended his arm. But he didn’t need to do that, he had Ramsey beat on that play AND he made the catch. Perfect pass by Dak by the way. Gallup looks stronger. He might end the season as the best WR on the team.

As for “the play”. Take the points or try to go for the win. A LOT of people are bitching and moaning they MM went for it on 4th instead of taking the points and the tie. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? Red would have NEVER went for it there. He would have played it safe and taken the points. Hindsight says it was a bad call but if the Cowboys convert and then score MM looks like a genius. Don’t bitch now because this is what everyone wanted.


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MrB

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Couple more things...

Cowboys are screwed at TE. Any chance they could pull off a trade for Camron Brate from the Bucs? Would a 5th be enough?

What’s up with all the missed kicks this year? Greg the leg missed one but there have been A LOT of missed kicks this year. Is the lack of fans causing some kind of depth perception issue causing the misses?

The lack of a preseason has clearly had an impact. Both the Cowboys and Eagles are perfect examples. Both teams will be better than what they showed in week 1.


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Dodger12

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This isn't the same Rams from the last few years though. We were the first to hold them to 20, but I highly doubt we'll be the last.

You could be right Mav. But we did hold them to 20 and while the D didn't play great, they held them to 7 points in the second half. The problem is, they held our offense to 3 points int he second half. You have to muster more than 3 points a half when you have some premier players on offense.
 

LAZARUS_LOGAN

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As for “the play”. Take the points or try to go for the win. A LOT of people are bitching and moaning they MM went for it on 4th instead of taking the points and the tie. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? Red would have NEVER went for it there. He would have played it safe and taken the points. Hindsight says it was a bad call but if the Cowboys convert and then score MM looks like a genius. Don’t bitch now because this is what everyone wanted.


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I bitched about it initially. I think they should have taken the points and tied it up. There was still plenty of time left in the game. But, upon further thought, I find that I do not have as much of a problem with them going for it on 4th and 3, but moreso the (lack thereof) personnel involved. Keeping Zeke off the field in that circumstance is beyond stupid. You basically telling the defense what exactly you are going to do and that was pass. When you add Zeke, the defense does not know what will go down: will Zeke run --- draw? will the Cowboys do play action? Will Zeke kick out or be released as a receiver out of the backfield? Will Dak run --- QB draw or option? So many options are available when you include Zeke into the equation. You want to call a pass play for 2 yards when 3 yards is needed for the 1st down? Have Zeke run that route. He'll get you that extra yard and then some; I'd like to see a DB try and knock Zeke back, I'll take matchup ALL DAY.

If you are going to go for it in that situation, we ask that they be smart about it. This is some Garrett shit. Garrett would go for it, and take Zeke out. Just dumb.
 

theoneandonly

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I bitched about it initially. I think they should have taken the points and tied it up. There was still plenty of time left in the game. But, upon further thought, I find that I do not have as much of a problem with them going for it on 4th and 3, but moreso the (lack thereof) personnel involved. Keeping Zeke off the field in that circumstance is beyond stupid. You basically telling the defense what exactly you are going to do and that was pass. When you add Zeke, the defense does not know what will go down: will Zeke run --- draw? will the Cowboys do play action? Will Zeke kick out or be released as a receiver out of the backfield? Will Dak run --- QB draw or option? So many options are available when you include Zeke into the equation. You want to call a pass play for 2 yards when 3 yards is needed for the 1st down? Have Zeke run that route. He'll get you that extra yard and then some; I'd like to see a DB try and knock Zeke back, I'll take matchup ALL DAY.

If you are going to go for it in that situation, we ask that they be smart about it. This is some Garrett shit. Garrett would go for it, and take Zeke out. Just dumb.
I never had a problem with going for it on 4th down. The play call on the other hand......seems like no team in the league likes to throw behind the sticks and rely on athleticism to pick up necessary yardage. All time often that has blown up spectacularly in the play callers face.
 

dbair1967

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And the cavalry ain't coming. They gotta make it work with guys who aren't good enough, and Nolan doesn't strike me as a defensive genius who can outscheme an opponent. And can we talk about how badly LVE and Jaylon have regressed in recent years? That ain't helping. The good news is that the moment didn't seem too big for Diggs. It took a couple of picture perfect passes by Goff to beat him.

FWIW Jerry was on his radio show today and essentially said the same thing, they werent signing guys to make up for injuries or the poor play. Just going with what we have.

I do wonder if they might call up that practice squad LB from Utah, he had a really good camp and people were surprised when he didnt make the active roster.
 

dbair1967

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And can we talk about how badly LVE and Jaylon have regressed in recent years? That ain't helping. T

The LVE thing is all injury related in my opinion. He was great his rookie yr then played hurt all last yr before shutting down.
 
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