Gameday Chatter Thread |Cowboys v. Cardinals| - 8/3/17

[Cujo]

Gathers looked damn good last night. I am just about ready to jump on that train. He doesn't run the greatest routes, but with his size if he can get just quasi-open, Dak can get him the ball. And, I really like his run after contact effort.

I was pleasantly surprised by him. Clearly, he has a come a long way since last year.

 

[DLK150]

One can only hope he's responding to the competition.

Plenty of bodies out there fighting for a roster spot so possibly, just so long as he keeps it up once the lights really come on if he makes the cut.

 

[boozeman]

Just watched the first series again, specifically concentrating on Charlton facing Ulrick John.

It was pretty laughable. This wasn't just strength or something he cannot help.

It was lousy hand-fighting and spinning around like an idiot.

He is going to need some cruel coaching.

 

[data]

I thought he showed little burst and poor vision and feel. He averaged less than 4 YPC. I'm not sure why people are praising him today. I don't see it.

Didn't you say YPC is essentially useless?

 

[Genghis Khan]

Didn't you say YPC is essentially useless?

No, I said nearly useless, but the low register matters.

If you can't get over the 4.0 threshold you aren't doing well generally.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

No, I said nearly useless, but the low register matters.

If you can't get over the 4.0 threshold you aren't doing well generally.

To be fair I thought our run blocking kind of sucked in general. That isn't to say there wasn't some good blocking by individual lineman but in general we were not really knocking guys back with regularity. Which isn't surprising because other than Collins and Cooper we were putting a bunch of scrubs out there. I guess Bell isn't necessarily a scrub either.

Looney on the other hand got blown up more than once. Not to make any excuses but I thought Smith did well with what was there. Meaning he would get you the dirty yard when when he was running. Plus he showed some excellent ability as a receiver. He also had a pretty good run called back on a questionable block in the back call. Not saying Rod Smith looked awesome or anything but he played well in my opinion. He looked more like a RB out there then I ever saw last year.

 

[Genghis Khan]

To be fair I thought our run blocking kind of sucked in general. That isn't to say there wasn't some good blocking by individual lineman but in general we were not really knocking guys back with regularity. Which isn't surprising because other than Collins and Cooper we were putting a bunch of scrubs out there. I guess Bell isn't necessarily a scrub either.

Looney on the other hand got blown up more than once. Not to make any excuses but I thought Smith did well with what was there. Meaning he would get you the dirty yard when when he was running. Plus he showed some excellent ability as a receiver. He also had a pretty good run called back on a questionable block in the back call. Not saying Rod Smith looked awesome or anything but he played well in my opinion. He looked more like a RB out there then I ever saw last year.

That's why the eye test matters too. So for instance, Morris looked way better behind the same line.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

That's why the eye test matters too. So for instance, Morris looked way better behind the same line.

Alfred Morris had a great game. I don't think he had a negative run the whole day. He just has a way of sort of slipping through the trash. To me he is definitely the second best RB on the roster. It's sad that we don't value him as much as we should. It's like we value utility over actual running ability with McFadden and Smith.

 

[ravidubey]

TJ Watt is 6'5" with long arms...

6'4" 252, 33" arms. Right, not short, though his build is stocky.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

6'4" 252, 33" arms. Right, not short, though his build is stocky.

I think most would call that a long and lean frame. Stocky is like 6'2" 260+

 

[Simpleton]

Just watched the first series again, specifically concentrating on Charlton facing Ulrick John.

It was pretty laughable. This wasn't just strength or something he cannot help.

It was lousy hand-fighting and spinning around like an idiot.

He is going to need some cruel coaching.

I thought he did some nice work against the run, he bulled the RT back about 3-4 yards twice on that first drive and disrupted the RB's path but his teammates were nowhere to be found to clean it up. On the one play in particular Wilson lost outside contain for what should've been a loss or no gain.

His rush definitely wasn't impressive, looked slow and methodical like he was thinking through what he was doing instead of reacting naturally. I've seen him spin in college very fluidly but last night it was slow and mechanical, I think that'll improve as time goes on.

I think he only really rushed the passer like 5 or so times though, he dropped into coverage a time or two.

 

[ravidubey]

I think most would call that a long and lean frame. Stocky is like 6'2" 260+

And his weight... how many little guys are we going to burn through before we realize they don't thrive in this system?

Charleton is a properly-sized DE. Give me general pass pressure, size and presence in the middle, stoutness vs the run, strong LB play, and good/opportunistic coverage. From that solid base you can scheme pressure.

The DL with super-high sack totals doesn't correlate to Super Bowl victories as much as people think.

I like the term situational defense. We need high-character guys who know when to turn it up a notch.

 

[boozeman]

And his weight... how many little guys are we going to burn through before we realize they don't thrive in this system?

Charleton is a properly-sized DE. Give me general pass pressure, size and presence in the middle, stoutness vs the run, strong LB play, and good/opportunistic coverage. From that solid base you can scheme pressure.

The DL with super-high sack totals doesn't correlate to Super Bowl victories as much as people think.

I like the term situational defense. We need high-character guys who know when to turn it up a notch.

Marinelli rarely schemes pressure though, that is the issue.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Marinelli rarely schemes pressure though, that is the issue.

Yes it is and I dont pretend to know the mind of the defense but Dallas has been lean on acquiring pass rushers except through free agency. That approach has been toward personal life styles that are questionable. It keeps blowing up on them.

This combined with the alignments of coverage first would seem to indicate that a pressure scheme is not an important part of the defensive philosophy. When the pass rush is used, it actually favors the opponent because the efforts are pretty weak and in turn the QB can get a little more time to find the receivers who are left uncovered. The secondary seems to automatically drop back. The pass or run then becomes the option of the opponent since the DL. is occupied and the secondary has given up more ground.

It's a night mare in close games or when the opponent is in possession of the last chance scoring opportunity because the Dallas defense gives up even more ground in the Prevent alignments.

Oh well this doesn't seem to be a priority for the Cowboys.

 

[Genghis Khan]

And his weight... how many little guys are we going to burn through before we realize they don't thrive in this system?

Charleton is a properly-sized DE. Give me general pass pressure, size and presence in the middle, stoutness vs the run, strong LB play, and good/opportunistic coverage. From that solid base you can scheme pressure.

The DL with super-high sack totals doesn't correlate to Super Bowl victories as much as people think.

I like the term situational defense. We need high-character guys who know when to turn it up a notch.

What little guys have we burned through in this system that didn't succeed because of a lack of size? I am honestly struggling to think of even one.

 

[Carp]

I really feel like Collins is going to blow up as much as he can this year. He'll be limited by the lack of a pass rusher at DE, but he was coming on last year and I think Paea next to him will help...more athleticism.

 

[ravidubey]

What little guys have we burned through in this system that didn't succeed because of a lack of size? I am honestly struggling to think of even one.

It just so happens that all the undersized guys develop drug/injury/GNC problems and happen to fail. Crawford, Gregory, and probably Lawrence.

Won't see that with Collins or Charleton.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

And his weight... how many little guys are we going to burn through before we realize they don't thrive in this system?

Charleton is a properly-sized DE. Give me general pass pressure, size and presence in the middle, stoutness vs the run, strong LB play, and good/opportunistic coverage. From that solid base you can scheme pressure.

I love Taco. I think he will be great. I think he would have looked better if the camp body DTs could have pushed the pocket back at all. I was just commenting that the term stocky means short and heavy. Not long and lean.

Also Taco was double teamed against the Cards a decent amount.

 

[Genghis Khan]

It just so happens that all the undersized guys develop drug/injury/GNC problems and happen to fail. Crawford, Gregory, and probably Lawrence.

Won't see that with Collins or Charleton.

What universe are you in?

 

[DLK150]

FWIW, NFLN is re-airing the game right now. I'll watch because I don't have anything better to do at the moment. Shoot, it's the Cowboys so why not?