dbair1967
Administrator
- Messages
- 61,402
- Reaction score
- 11,290
I had pretty low expectations going in, and other than a few individual players the game was pretty blah for me. There was probably more bad or concerning than there was good.
1) I'll start with the OL. Collins got a few series at RT and was ok, but I didn't see the 2nd coming of Big E there either. I was at first surprised he played at all, but its obvious he needs work/reps and I'm sure now that's why the coaches played him. In regards to Jonathan Cooper, I can see now why some covering the team think Chaz Green is going to be the starting LG if he can ever stay healthy (highly questionable obviously). Cooper played liked a journeymen IMO and certainly doesn't look like a guy who was worthy of a top-10 pick just a few years ago. Byron Bell was better than him IMO, Emmett Cleary got flagged for 1 holding call but he wasn't horrible. I thought Dan Skipper was horrendous.
2) I said before the game that the DL and DB were really what I was most interested in seeing, and cant say that after what we saw last night I came away with any sort of comfort level there. I'll cover DL first: Taco played two series and didn't do much save one pass rush where I saw him break free, but the QB got rid of it (and pass was easily completed). Tapper played a lot but was only credited with 1 tackle. he did show some explosion off the ball and speed, but he didn't transfer that into consistent pressure either. I thought Demontre Moore had a similar sowing as Tapper, where there were a few plays he showed some explosion but not enough pressure. None of the DT's impressed me, including the two rookie 7th rd picks. Overall our team got two sacks, and neither of them was by a DL despite playing against backups and scrubs. Not good.
3) Jeff Heath and Byron Jones both started, and neither looked good. Jones had a couple nice stops vs the run, but both he and Heath seemed pretty ordinary vs the pass (despite it being all backups for Cards) and Heath badly missed on two tackles. On one play I noticed Heath (like his ordinary predecessor Chruch) was late getting to the help spot and a completion was given up because of it. Awuzie had a nice play or two but also gave up several completions. Marquez White gave up a completion or two but also had a few plays where his coverage was really good, but he also badly missed on a tackle that turned a fairly short throw into a decent gain. Everyone (mostly Zoners) was gaga over Xavier Woods back in April but he was hardly noticeable on the field vs the run or pass. Anthony Brown got hurt on the 2nd series but supposedly it isn't serious. He gave up one big play when he was in decent position and tried for the deflection, but missed. Like the DL, I didn't see much to be overly excited about here.
4) Nobody will probably talk much about them, but two of the UDFA LB's played pretty well. Joseph Jones played quite a bit and was in on a team leading 9 tackles (#43 from Northwestern, IIRC he had some really impressive proday workout numbers). I thought Kennan Gilchrist had a nice showing. Really moved well, had a couple of good blitzes and a nice hit on a run play. Damian Wilson had a decent showing, got a sack and showed good range. But he's headed for a major suspension I suspect.
5) The obvious good were Rico Gathers (for his receiving anyway, I didn't think he did well as a blocker at all) Brice Butler, Rod Smith, Alfred Morris and Andy Jones. The TD to Gathers was evidence of what a redzone weapon he could end up being, as the DB had zero chance of getting anywhere near the ball. Gathers also plucked the ball right out of the air on that play. Loved the play where he went down but was able to get up and run for the 1st. Had another nice gain later as well. Butler looked really explosive and Jones caught the ball well (something he didn't do last preseason). Will cover RB's below.
6) I have read a bunch of stuff where there's praise for Moore and Rush for their play. Moore had 3 or 4 decent throws, but the guy has absolutely no arm strength (like close to all-time weak arms that I've ever seen) and he is a smurf standing back there. He also threw away points with a dumb decision that led to an endzone interception. I have absolutely zero confidence that if something happens to Prescott and Moore has to play, that we can do anything in the passing game. Rush looked like what a UDFA 3rd or 4th string QB could be expected to look to me. Couple decent passes but did more with his feet than his arm IMO. I read where some idiot Zomers were already declaring this guy the next Romo and that he should be the #2. I really hope that McCown shows enough to win the backup spot or they look elsewhere after final cutdowns, but I have an ugly feeling that isn't going to happen.
7) I get that they like McFadden's versatility and the fact that in a pinch, he can also return kickoffs. But dude is not the same as a RB threat as Morris or even Smith at this point. With McFadden's age and cost, I'd think that if he doesn't step it up a little that they'd have to seriously consider moving on from him. Morris looks like he has lost several pounds to me and looked pretty quick, and Smith is a jack of all trades guy that ran hard, caught the ball well, can play RB and FB and also plays special teams. I think if we lost Zeke for a few games Morris would be a far more productive runner than McFadden by quite a bit, but Jones and the staff might not agree because of their love for McFadden. Ronnie Hillman looked like a spare part type player to me.
Like I said above, pretty blah opener (which is what I expected) but I am disappointed the pass rush was almost nonexistent and the DB's (especially Jones and Heath) did not fare that well.
1) I'll start with the OL. Collins got a few series at RT and was ok, but I didn't see the 2nd coming of Big E there either. I was at first surprised he played at all, but its obvious he needs work/reps and I'm sure now that's why the coaches played him. In regards to Jonathan Cooper, I can see now why some covering the team think Chaz Green is going to be the starting LG if he can ever stay healthy (highly questionable obviously). Cooper played liked a journeymen IMO and certainly doesn't look like a guy who was worthy of a top-10 pick just a few years ago. Byron Bell was better than him IMO, Emmett Cleary got flagged for 1 holding call but he wasn't horrible. I thought Dan Skipper was horrendous.
2) I said before the game that the DL and DB were really what I was most interested in seeing, and cant say that after what we saw last night I came away with any sort of comfort level there. I'll cover DL first: Taco played two series and didn't do much save one pass rush where I saw him break free, but the QB got rid of it (and pass was easily completed). Tapper played a lot but was only credited with 1 tackle. he did show some explosion off the ball and speed, but he didn't transfer that into consistent pressure either. I thought Demontre Moore had a similar sowing as Tapper, where there were a few plays he showed some explosion but not enough pressure. None of the DT's impressed me, including the two rookie 7th rd picks. Overall our team got two sacks, and neither of them was by a DL despite playing against backups and scrubs. Not good.
3) Jeff Heath and Byron Jones both started, and neither looked good. Jones had a couple nice stops vs the run, but both he and Heath seemed pretty ordinary vs the pass (despite it being all backups for Cards) and Heath badly missed on two tackles. On one play I noticed Heath (like his ordinary predecessor Chruch) was late getting to the help spot and a completion was given up because of it. Awuzie had a nice play or two but also gave up several completions. Marquez White gave up a completion or two but also had a few plays where his coverage was really good, but he also badly missed on a tackle that turned a fairly short throw into a decent gain. Everyone (mostly Zoners) was gaga over Xavier Woods back in April but he was hardly noticeable on the field vs the run or pass. Anthony Brown got hurt on the 2nd series but supposedly it isn't serious. He gave up one big play when he was in decent position and tried for the deflection, but missed. Like the DL, I didn't see much to be overly excited about here.
4) Nobody will probably talk much about them, but two of the UDFA LB's played pretty well. Joseph Jones played quite a bit and was in on a team leading 9 tackles (#43 from Northwestern, IIRC he had some really impressive proday workout numbers). I thought Kennan Gilchrist had a nice showing. Really moved well, had a couple of good blitzes and a nice hit on a run play. Damian Wilson had a decent showing, got a sack and showed good range. But he's headed for a major suspension I suspect.
5) The obvious good were Rico Gathers (for his receiving anyway, I didn't think he did well as a blocker at all) Brice Butler, Rod Smith, Alfred Morris and Andy Jones. The TD to Gathers was evidence of what a redzone weapon he could end up being, as the DB had zero chance of getting anywhere near the ball. Gathers also plucked the ball right out of the air on that play. Loved the play where he went down but was able to get up and run for the 1st. Had another nice gain later as well. Butler looked really explosive and Jones caught the ball well (something he didn't do last preseason). Will cover RB's below.
6) I have read a bunch of stuff where there's praise for Moore and Rush for their play. Moore had 3 or 4 decent throws, but the guy has absolutely no arm strength (like close to all-time weak arms that I've ever seen) and he is a smurf standing back there. He also threw away points with a dumb decision that led to an endzone interception. I have absolutely zero confidence that if something happens to Prescott and Moore has to play, that we can do anything in the passing game. Rush looked like what a UDFA 3rd or 4th string QB could be expected to look to me. Couple decent passes but did more with his feet than his arm IMO. I read where some idiot Zomers were already declaring this guy the next Romo and that he should be the #2. I really hope that McCown shows enough to win the backup spot or they look elsewhere after final cutdowns, but I have an ugly feeling that isn't going to happen.
7) I get that they like McFadden's versatility and the fact that in a pinch, he can also return kickoffs. But dude is not the same as a RB threat as Morris or even Smith at this point. With McFadden's age and cost, I'd think that if he doesn't step it up a little that they'd have to seriously consider moving on from him. Morris looks like he has lost several pounds to me and looked pretty quick, and Smith is a jack of all trades guy that ran hard, caught the ball well, can play RB and FB and also plays special teams. I think if we lost Zeke for a few games Morris would be a far more productive runner than McFadden by quite a bit, but Jones and the staff might not agree because of their love for McFadden. Ronnie Hillman looked like a spare part type player to me.
Like I said above, pretty blah opener (which is what I expected) but I am disappointed the pass rush was almost nonexistent and the DB's (especially Jones and Heath) did not fare that well.
Last edited:
