bbgun

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ARLINGTON -- The Cowboys looked like they were going to blow out the Rams early Sunday afternoon, and then everything fell apart.

Here are my thoughts on the Cowboys' 35-30 loss at AT&T Stadium.

1. Stalled offense


As you have probably figured out by now, the Cowboys are built around their offense. They go as that group goes. And that group was playing lights out for most of the first half, as they helped build a 17-6 lead. Dallas scored on each of its first four possessions.

But then they came out in the second half and punted three consecutive times. The defense was then put in position to where they were going to have to win the game. They just couldn't get off the field without allowing second half scores.

Getting David Irving back from suspension will help, but the Cowboys will still go as the offense goes. It wasn't really going anywhere in the second half. And the result is Dallas falling to 2-2.

2. Momentum shift

Ryan Switzer's muffed punt might have been the biggest play Sunday afternoon.

The Cowboys had all of the momentum and looked well on their way to a potential blowout. The Rams recovered the ball, trailing 17-6. They scored a touchdown on that drive and made it a ballgame the rest of the way.

Switzer is usually praised for his aggressiveness, but it might have cost him on that play midway through the second quarter. The Rams scored on all but one possession after recovering that turnover.

3. Zeke

Think Ezekiel Elliott has lost a step? The first half showed you he hasn't.

Last season's rushing champ had 56 yards on 14 carries, caught two passes for 41 yards and scored twice. The problem for the Cowboys is that they couldn't get him involved in the third quarter. The Rams rallied to take the lead, removing much of the run game from the Cowboys offense.

Had the Cowboys held a lead in the second half, Elliott would've went well over 100 yards on the ground. Elliott's fine. As long as he's on the field, the Cowboys have one of the most valuable weapons in the game. Problem is, the Rams have one of the others in Todd Gurley.

4. Dez

Dez Bryant showed you what happens when he's not being checked by an elite corner. Trumaine Johnson had seven interceptions two years ago, but he's not on the same level as Janoris Jenkins, Aqib Talib and Patrick Peterson. Bryant had three catches for 68 yards in the first half alone. That's more yards than he had in any of the first three games.

It was obvious early on the Cowboys were trying to attack that matchup. For the Dallas offense to reach its potential, Bryant has to be a big part of it. He wasn't in the third quarter and the results were three consecutive punts.

5. Tank

DeMarcus Lawrence's dominant play continued. The most productive pass rusher in the NFL this season recorded another sack, forced a fumble, had another tackle for loss and added a QB hit.

Lawrence has a league-leading 7.5 sacks through four games. He's already one sack away from topping his previous career-high (eight in 2015). Lawrence needs 15.5 more sacks over the final 12 games to break Michael Stahan's single season sack record. Of course, that will be more and more difficult to do as the season goes one because he will continue to see more double-teams, which the Rams did quite a bit on third downs.
 
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4. Dez

Dez Bryant showed you what happens when he's not being checked by an elite corner.

Fails to break 100 yards or score a TD while contributing basically nothing more than one play?

5 whole catches! Just give him the MVP now! Dez is BACK!!!

What is it about Dez that makes these people go brain dead? Just tell the damn truth. Your eyeballs are not lying to you, and claiming Dez is great doesn't make reality warp to conform.
 

Scot

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He’s one joint or one injury away from ending his season
 

seandude

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An offense that can score 30 points in the NFL deserves a win. A defense that allows 35 points deserves a loss. Sorry OP, your post is heavy on offense and light on defense, just like the Cowboys.
 

Doomsday

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For the Dallas offense to reach its potential, Bryant has to be a big part of it.
This is the exact idiotic bullshit "conventional thinking" that produces results like we saw today. Force the ball to Dez, when has that EVER fucking worked?
 

Doomsday

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What is it about Dez that makes these people go brain dead? Just tell the damn truth. Your eyeballs are not lying to you, and claiming Dez is great doesn't make reality warp to conform.
E fucking Zackly.


Shit.
 

bvhawkeye

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Cowboys defense is, like usual, shit. Minimum pass rush and little help in the backfield. And Jerry will draft offense early again next season... like usual
 

Hoofbite

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Switzer is usually praised for his aggressiveness, but it might have cost him on that play midway through the second quarter. The Rams scored on all but one possession after recovering that turnover.

I'm fucking sick of hearing about how fearless he is every game. What if he isn't fearless, just really fucking stupid?
 

Dodger12

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An offense that can score 30 points in the NFL deserves a win. A defense that allows 35 points deserves a loss. Sorry OP, your post is heavy on offense and light on defense, just like the Cowboys.

Not in today's NFL. 30 points guarantees nothing but a close game.
 

Hoofbite

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Fails to break 100 yards or score a TD while contributing basically nothing more than one play?

5 whole catches! Just give him the MVP now! Dez is BACK!!!

What is it about Dez that makes these people go brain dead? Just tell the damn truth. Your eyeballs are not lying to you, and claiming Dez is great doesn't make reality warp to conform.

The shitty part is Janoris Jenkins is only elite against Dez Bryant. He's a very good CB but he literally shits on Dez even though Dez is 4 inches taller and 20-30 pounds heavier.

But lets pretend Dez has faced elite DBs and so we shouldn't worry too much. Look at the fucking schedule and see who will be guarding him.

Week 8: Josh Norman (elite)
Week 9: Marcus Peters (elite)
Week 10: Desmond Trufant (good)
Week 13: Josh Norman (elite)
Week 14: Janoris Jenkins (doesn't matter how good he eats Dez alive)
Week 16: Richard Sherman (elite)

So we just expect nothing from Dez for like 9 games out of 16? Better pray the Eagles don't have some random guy who can just fuck Dez's day up like Jenkins. Also better pray the teams without an elite CB don't just decide to double down on his ass and take him completely out of the game.

40 targets on the season, 16 receptions. Drops (one leading to an INT), multiple miscommunications, and whole lot of fucking mediocrity. He needs to pull his head out of his ass and learn how to play the position. Develop a route tree, and hit the Jugs machine to work on catching passes below his waist. When his palms have to turn upward, he's dropping and tipping shit with regularity.
 

Hoofbite

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3. Zeke

Think Ezekiel Elliott has lost a step? The first half showed you he hasn't.

Last season's rushing champ had 56 yards on 14 carries, caught two passes for 41 yards and scored twice. The problem for the Cowboys is that they couldn't get him involved in the third quarter. The Rams rallied to take the lead, removing much of the run game from the Cowboys offense.

Had the Cowboys held a lead in the second half, Elliott would've went well over 100 yards on the ground. Elliott's fine. As long as he's on the field, the Cowboys have one of the most valuable weapons in the game. Problem is, the Rams have one of the others in Todd Gurley.

He never lost a step in the traditional sense, he's only 22. He carried the ball 6 times in the preseason and started the year heavy enough to lack the same burst he had last year. Give it another month and he'll look much better than he does now.
 

Hoofbite

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When he's sat on his couch at home serving his suspension?

I don't think it will be resolved all that quickly. The NFLPA really can't afford to lose this one with the next round of CBA discussions coming up. If Roger's power is ruled as absolute, the owners will use that as a bartering chip to shift the percentage of revenue in their favor.
 

seandude

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Not in today's NFL. 30 points guarantees nothing but a close game.
NFL statistics show the most common score in football is 23—20. If you can't win with 30 points, your defense sucks. Offenses win games but defenses win championships.
 

theoneandonly

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So Jerry just blathered on about Wade being a great coach (lets put aside the fact that Jerry fired him and ditched the 3-4), anybody find it really interesting that after both losses this year he heaped praise on the opponents coaches? Could something actually be dawning on the old fart?
 
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