2026 Season | Week 1 | Gameday Chatter Thread | Cowboys @ Giants | 09/13/2026



Agree that Downs was good, I think he gave up one catch for a few yards, although it was a 3rd down late in the game, coverage was good though.

But the rest of what Sherman says is true, the mistakes were so basic I'm not sure how much "learning" is happening since some of these mistakes are things I wouldn't expect a college team to make 3-4 times in a row.

That's my real concern, the mistakes were so glaring and basic, and so repetitive, that there's some sort of deeper rot going on. Or maybe it was just week 1 and a team that didn't do anything in preseason, we'll know soon.
 
Agree that Downs was good, I think he gave up one catch for a few yards, although it was a 3rd down late in the game, coverage was good though.

But the rest of what Sherman says is true, the mistakes were so basic I'm not sure how much "learning" is happening since some of these mistakes are things I wouldn't expect a college team to make 3-4 times in a row.

That's my real concern, the mistakes were so glaring and basic, and so repetitive, that there's some sort of deeper rot going on. Or maybe it was just week 1 and a team that didn't do anything in preseason, we'll know soon.
I guess it is possible that outside of Downs, they are all borderline retarded. :shrug
 
Plus it's very reminiscent of last year's problems.

Yep, that's the biggest reason I was so pissed after the game. I didn't expect a great defense right off the bat, and I expected rough patches in the early part of the year, but I didn't expect them to look almost exactly the same as the group last year in the very first game.
 
So the first two don't bother me much. Lawrence has never dropped in coverage and those things are going to happen to a rookie in his first game. EZE isn't a rookie but still isn't used to dropping and covering.

Thompson and Winters screwing up, I don't know how to explain vets doing this unless this system is so different from what they're used to and they sort of brainlocked for a minute. But with Winters it was several times.

Who is our LB coach again? Oh yeah. Looks like Scott Symons needs to get his shit together.
 
Yep, that's the biggest reason I was so pissed after the game. I didn't expect a great defense right off the bat, and I expected rough patches in the early part of the year, but I didn't expect them to look almost exactly the same as the group last year in the very first game.
But the same reasons we believe were the main culprits last year— poorly executed plans, players out of position, bad or misremembered communication, players not knowing their roles— are exactly what can happen with a brand new scheme no one but the backups and cut players have actually played a game against. Especially with a brand new coordinator not used to coaching more than one position group.

Going forward, it’s OJT from here on, just like it was for Jimmy Johnson or any other brand new pro coach in a new role.

The two drives where we attacked— as in actually executed a plan, we forced a punt and a turnover.

These guys have to learn how to play passive defense, which involves reacting and passing off responsibility to the right person.
 
Back
Top Bottom