Day After Thoughts- Shockingly competitive game

dbair1967

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A tie sux, it's true. It's also a rare thing, so people going overboard about it the few times a decade that it actually happens is really uncalled for. The last NFL tie game was 2022 (there were actually 2 that yr) and there was 1 each in 2021 and 2020. This is now a total of 5 ties in 5 1/4 seasons. The NFL has far too many games now so letting games go 100% of the time until there's a winner just makes it far more likely more players get hurt. If the season were 14 games like it should be, an argument could be made for playing games until a W/L conclusion. Or you could just have sudden death for all overtime games (which makes the most sense to me). This isn't as fair as it used to be because of the fucktarded kickoff rule they have in place now, but it's still the best way to decide a Winner or Loser. OK enough of my OT rules rant.

1) Dak Prescott is still not worth 60 million per year and it's a near 100% lock that he will never be. But IMO last night was the best game of his career when all things are considered. They didnt have their best player in Cee Dee Lamb. They were missing two interior starting OL and the LT would go out in the 4th qtr with a concussion. They were playing a defense that the first month of the season was probably the league's best. And he played great and they put up 40 pts on that defense. He made a number of great plays and throws. He couldnt afford any mistakes and didnt make any. Took no sacks (Parsons "sack" was not a real passing game sack in my book, Prescott was clearly in run mode). Let's all admit it that we pretty much assumed the absolute worst. I thought we'd see Prescott throw 2 or 3 picks. I thought our OL would give up 6-8 sacks. Hats off to him for last night, he played great.

2) And major hats off to Kolston Adams and Conor Riley too, the job they have done with this OL group is sensational and Schottenheimer's decision to make both a priority in the staff hiring process was superb. Last night we started 2 backup interior OL and during the game had to replace the starting LT. Yet the OL still paved the way to 4.5 yds per carry and allowed 0 sacks, and there was no consistent play killing pass rush pressure allowed either. This against a pretty high end defense with playmakers at every level. Hoffman and Bass could both start for a number of teams (especially Hoffman) and I now suspect Nathan Thomas could as well. Thinking about how good this OL could be once we really get our 5 best OL on the field together is pretty nice. Future looks great for this unit.

3) George Pickens has a chance to make himself a mint now after this season, whether it's here or elsewhere. He's off to a great start here and he had a bigtime game last night. He was open pretty much every time they showed him, and when he wasn't he was making highlight reel reception like that one before halftime. When Prescott let that ball go I thought it might have a chance to be picked, yet there was Pickens snatching it away from two GB defenders and somehow staying in bounds too. One bad drop (drive killer on opening drive of 2nd half) is all that kept him a perfect game.

4) Javonte Williams is well on his way to a really strong season. He's on pace for over 1300 yds rushing and 17 tds to go along with averaging 5.0 yds per carry. Almost never gets stopped at or behind the LOS either. He's a VAST upgrade (so far) from Dowdle last yr or Pollard in 2023. Excellent receiver and very good blocker as well. Great addition to the team.

5) Really good supporting game from the other receivers. Tolbert had one of the great receptions you could ever see and had a solid game overall. Turpin came though when needed and if anything is showing he needs to be even more involved in the overall passing game moving forward. Flournoy showed flashes. We've got talent at this position and it will get better obviously when Lamb returns, and we'll also be getting Mingo back (who had a great camp as well).

6) There are just not enough words to describe how appallingly bad the defense is. There definitely is some lack of talent, but its compounded by a complete moron running it. As good as the Adams and Riley hires were, the Eberflus hire was at the opposite end of the spectrum. Not only is he a moron, he's an exceedingly stubborn moron. You cannot keep Jack Sanborn on the field anymore. He loves the guy, maybe they are gay lovers or something. But he fucking sucks beyond belief against the run and especially the pass. He should be a core special teamer and nothing more. He loves Dante Fowler for some reason, and he's bad. He loves Wilson and Hooker and it took an injury to get Hooker off the field. Wilson is almost as bad at safety as Sanborn is at MLB. And he's married to a fucktarded soft zone scheme that gives them almost no chance. Case in point was game on the line with 4th and 6th or 7, and instead of trying to force Love into a quick decision or inaccurate throw, he laid WAY off and rushed only 4 guys, and they easily completed the throw for the 1st. He has to be fired.

7) Sanborn, Murray, Fowler, Mazi, Wilson and Hooker are all really, really poor. But there was a little cause for optimism in seeing Ezeiruaku continue to improve and be as active as we have seen him. Arrow is definitely pointing up for him. Shemar James finally saw the field and did have one bad play where he took a bad angle and missed an open field tackle on Jacobs, but his speed and physical skill was also evident. Clark, Odiggy and Thomas are a really nice trio of DT's. James Houston had the only big play the defense made all night and should be seeing MORE pass rush plays. Sam Williams had a few decent reps even though he did have the facemask call on a would be sack (which wouldn't have counted anyway due to another penalty on us in secondary).

8) It's hard to grade the CB's because of how stupid Eberflus' scheme is. Theres plays where it appears they are beaten bad but many of them they look like they were looking from underneath LB or inside safety help and it never shows up. I don't think Bland or Diggs are anywhere near 100% though, and Elam is just average at best probably. This Reddy Stewart kid is interesting though and hopefully we will be getting rookie Revel on the field soon.

9) Penalties reared their ugly head some last night again (11 for 95). Some were pretty damn stupid (Liufau). I also thought a couple of them were pretty bogus though. Tyler Smith got flagged twice for holding. One was probably warranted, the other he only held because the GB DL jacked his facemask hard and it wasn't called. Most of our penalties were probably warranted but they also let some stuff GB did go.

10) Lastly, I expected Parsons to have a pretty big game against us. They have a lot of talent overall and we were playing backup OL's without our best WR. But Parsons was basically a no show other than 1 or 2 plays. He rarely came free to Prescott (maybe once or twice). He spent plenty of time huffing and puffing on the sideline and then had his customary sulk face on the sideline late in the game because he knew he had gotten his ass whipped along with the rest of their defense. Ironically I thought his game last night mirrored what he did for us vs them in that playoff debacle or any other really big game we had while he was here. I have never thought Prescott was worth what he got, but I was also convinced Parsons wasn't worth what he got either. We did well to get those two 1sts and a quality starting DT for him. Maybe it will work out for them but based on his first month there, I think we clearly did the right thing moving him. Now they have to make it pay off by getting quality guys with those picks, but they have a chance to upgrade the overall talent for sure.

It's going to be an odd season. The offense can clearly be very, very good. I was stunned at how good they were last night and they've now scored 40 pts in both home games. The special teams with Aubrey and Turpin are potentially elite (we also had a huge blocked PAT and 2pt conversion last night, and Liufau had one of the all time great special teams hits on a play that I still dont see how the guy held on to the ball). But the defense is both catastrophically and historically bad. They needed just ONE fucking stop in the 2nd half and OT to pull off a major upset and failed miserably. They might be a 12 or 13 win offense, but they are a 3 win defense. Not sure whta they can do about it but Eberflus clearly has to go.
 

Dodger12

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Excellent write up. The D is just shockingly bad and I'm just so over coaches who are stuck in the mud and can't seem to pivot. Parcells used to bring in veterans at every stop he made, including here, and I used to hate it but now I can certainly understand why. But Eberflus is just stuck in the mud and can not change or pivot. He's stubborn to a fault and just can't make any adjustments. we're back to the point where we are shocked when we force a punt. It's just awful.
 

RogtaDru

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Yep.
As good as the offense's potential looks to be going forward, the defense counters it in looking so embarrassingly bad.

Not trying to totally absolve the Flus scheme, but each and every linebacker, corner and safety is playing at such an alarmingly poor individual level on their own merit that in my opinion you can still make a credible argument to whether is it scheme or lack of talent concerning all those positions.

Just my opinion off of the film I see.
 

dbair1967

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Yep.
As good as the offense's potential looks to be going forward, the defense counters it in looking so embarrassingly bad.

Not trying to totally absolve the Flus scheme, but each and every linebacker, corner and safety is playing at such an alarmingly poor individual level on their own merit that in my opinion you can still make a credible argument to whether is it scheme or lack of talent concerning all those positions.

Just my opinion off of the film I see.
I'm still not sure on the CB's. I don't think Elam is great and firmly believe Bland and Diggs are hurt. But it seems like I see all of them looking at some of the LB and S after some of these completions and they are like "where were you?"

Wilson should not be a down field safety in passing situations. Moving him UP (maybe to a cover LB spot) on 3rd downs would be smart IMO. He is a solid tackler and excellent blitzer, and if you move him up he doesnt get exposed trying to cover the intermediate to deep areas. (ironically this is what they should be doing with Markese Bell, who has elite speed and hitting ability) I'm hoping Hooker is out awhile and they have no choice but to leave Thomas out there. Sanborn and Murray 100% have to be benched. They're both terrible.
 

RogtaDru

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I'm still not sure on the CB's. I don't think Elam is great and firmly believe Bland and Diggs are hurt. But it seems like I see all of them looking at some of the LB and S after some of these completions and they are like "where were you?"

Wilson should not be a down field safety in passing situations. Moving him UP (maybe to a cover LB spot) on 3rd downs would be smart IMO. He is a solid tackler and excellent blitzer, and if you move him up he doesnt get exposed trying to cover the intermediate to deep areas. (ironically this is what they should be doing with Markese Bell, who has elite speed and hitting ability) I'm hoping Hooker is out awhile and they have no choice but to leave Thomas out there. Sanborn and Murray 100% have to be benched. They're both terrible.
Yeah, I agree on all your above bro.
 

theoneandonly

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1) Dak Prescott is still not worth 60 million per year and it's a near 100% lock that he will never be. But IMO last night was the best game of his career when all things are considered.
Yeah. I am not ashamed to admit this. Still don't believe in him though.

) And major hats off to Kolston Adams and Conor Riley too, the job they have done with this OL group is sensational and Schottenheimer's decision to make both a priority in the staff hiring process was superb.
Yeah. Adams was a nice hire. Still don't care for the play of either OT. Maybe it was my imagination but I thought the overall level of OL play rose when Thomas replaced Guyton.

George Pickens has a chance to make himself a mint now after this season, whether it's here or elsewhere. He's off to a great start here and he had a bigtime game last night. He was open pretty much every time they showed him, and when he wasn't he was making highlight reel reception like that one before halftime.
Yeah. He played his ass off and they had no answer for him but I wonder what he will be like once he gets paid.

Javonte Williams is well on his way to a really strong season. He's on pace for over 1300 yds rushing and 17 tds to go along with averaging 5.0 yds per carry. Almost never gets stopped at or behind the LOS either.
Definitely cant argue this. I wasn't excited when they signed him figuring Payton knew what he was looking at. Score one for the front office.

5) Really good supporting game from the other receivers.
Flournay has some swag. Turpin is a baller. Tolbert played well but I don't think he is here next year and to this point I wouldn't miss him.

6) There are just not enough words to describe how appallingly bad the defense is.
So I wont try. Would love to see the defense rebuilt by somebody with a clue. Hint....it ain't Eberflus.

But there was a little cause for optimism in seeing Ezeiruaku continue to improve and be as active as we have seen him. Arrow is definitely pointing up for him.
Yeah Eze and Houston need reps. I think Williams is down to his last 13 games as a Cowboy. Not impressed by him to this point at all.

It's hard to grade the CB's because of how stupid Eberflus' scheme is.
Hope Revel is a baller. Coming off an ACL, not sure what to expect but my expectations aren't high for the balance of the season.

Penalties reared their ugly head some last night again (11 for 95). Some were pretty damn stupid (Liufau)
Yeah Tyler Smith one of the better players on the roster but not a great season for him so far. Stupid doesnt do justice to the Liafau penalty.


The usual strong effort by you Dbair.
 

Doomsday

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Yeah. I am not ashamed to admit this. Still don't believe in him though.


Yeah. Adams was a nice hire. Still don't care for the play of either OT. Maybe it was my imagination but I thought the overall level of OL play rose when Thomas replaced Guyton.


Yeah. He played his ass off and they had no answer for him but I wonder what he will be like once he gets paid.


Definitely cant argue this. I wasn't excited when they signed him figuring Payton knew what he was looking at. Score one for the front office.


Flournay has some swag. Turpin is a baller. Tolbert played well but I don't think he is here next year and to this point I wouldn't miss him.


So I wont try. Would love to see the defense rebuilt by somebody with a clue. Hint....it ain't Eberflus.


Yeah Eze and Houston need reps. I think Williams is down to his last 13 games as a Cowboy. Not impressed by him to this point at all.


Hope Revel is a baller. Coming off an ACL, not sure what to expect but my expectations aren't high for the balance of the season.


Yeah Tyler Smith one of the better players on the roster but not a great season for him so far. Stupid doesnt do justice to the Liafau penalty.


The usual strong effort by you Dbair.
I enjoy reading your posts can't agree with everything but that's healthy I appreciate your input that's why dbair keeps us all around for but you have some great insights and I respect it.
 
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