2020 Season | Week 2 | Gameday Chatter | Falcons at Cowboys | 9/20/2020

Amazing how even with coaching decisions to have issue with, it's still way way way better than it ever was with Garrett.

We'd lose one starter on the O-line, and the offense would struggle to just be functional at times.

We're out essentially 3 starters on the line yesterday and the team puts up 40.

What a difference.
 
1bigfan13 said:
The pass rush has been so bad that I honestly can't give an honest assessment on the state of our secondary play. On paper the Falcons and Rams have OLs that probably rank in the bottom half of the league yet the Cowboys barely laid a finger on either of their QBs.

And it's not just the sack numbers. They aren't even generating hurries.

Despite all that I thought Diggs took another step forward. He missed another INT but unlike most of the other CBs on our roster he's generally aware of the ball's location in the air. So he attacks the ball rather than resorting to panic flailing like we've seen from most CBs that we've had on the back end of our defenses.
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Pass rush is awful for sure, but they aren't being helped by all the experimenting and moving around.

Lawrence and Griffen are not stand-up pass rushers. Not only that, but there are times Smith and Griffen rushed from the interior.

It's good to mix up looks and get creative because that's what we've been wanting all these years, but you don't mix it up just to do so.

We are not playing to those players' strengths by asking them to do that.

Identify who your best guys are and what it is they do best and have them line up there and do their thing most of the time.

None of our D-line outside of Smith has been able to develop any consistency due to the reps and the movement.
 
One more thing about the inept pass rush. I wonder if
Texas Ace said:
Pass rush is awful for sure, but they aren't being helped by all the experimenting and moving around.

Lawrence and Griffen are not stand-up pass rushers. Not only that, but there are times Smith and Griffen rushed from the interior.

It's good to mix up looks and get creative because that's what we've been wanting all these years, but you don't mix it up just to do so.

We are not playing to those players' strengths by asking them to do that.

Identify who your best guys are and what it is they do best and have them line up there and do their thing most of the time.

None of our D-line outside of Smith has been able to develop any consistency due to the reps and the movement.
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It might be time to scrap that game plan and go with a more traditional approach to rushing the passer. I think we've seen more than enough data to show that the current DE personnel are not able to generate a rush from the interior.

Against Seattle I'm interested in seeing if they dial up more twists, stunts, and A-gap blitzes to generate pressure in Wilson's lap. I don't recall seeing much of that stuff yesterday but I'm going to look for it when I re-watch the game later on.
 
1bigfan13 said:
The pass rush has been so bad that I honestly can't give an honest assessment on the state of our secondary play. On paper the Falcons and Rams have OLs that probably rank in the bottom half of the league yet the Cowboys barely laid a finger on either of their QBs.

And it's not just the sack numbers. They aren't even generating hurries.

Despite all that I thought Diggs took another step forward. He missed another INT but unlike most of the other CBs on our roster he's generally aware of the ball's location in the air. So he attacks the ball rather than resorting to panic flailing like we've seen from most CBs that we've had on the back end of our defenses.
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I don't know what it is but it's most certainly horrendous. It's hard to say what exactly it is but I think it's a combination of Lawrence not taking well to standing up more often, and generally just not playing as well as he did prior to the extension, an over-reliance on Smith who probably isn't truly ready to play 50 snaps every game, and Griffen not being fully integrated/comfortable yet.

I think Lawrence is the biggest issue, he was 1 on 1 a few times with Atlanta's backup RT yesterday and did absolutely nothing, which is obviously unacceptable given his contract. The only hope is that as the year goes along these guys get more comfortable in the scheme and the coaches learn what each of them do best.

For example, I don't think Griffen should be rushing from the interior. Smith I get with his size/length/hands but Griffen looks like a guy who is way more comfortable on the edge than rushing on the interior.
 
Simpleton said:
I think Lawrence is the biggest issue, he was 1 on 1 a few times with Atlanta's backup RT yesterday and did absolutely nothing, which is obviously unacceptable given his contract.
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He's done. Burned himself out playing for that contract. Maybe he needs a year off to heal, but he's clearly lost the edge that set him apart.
 
In honor of ravid we don't get nearly enough interior pressure either. Crawford has looked ok but I think Hill might honestly have the most juice from the inside as far as being able to combine a bit of explosiveness/athleticism with raw strength/size.

Hopefully Gallimore can grow into that role as the year goes on because he projects as a guy who should be able to make an impact as an interior pass-rusher early in his career.
 
I think from a strategy standpoint, they need to focus more on playing that complementary defense. Be more aggressive, dial up some more blitzes. Moving guys around is cool, but it has ultimately proven ineffective. The defense already resembles a doormat, I say take more chances in hopes of snagging a turnover or two. They had a couple dropped picks yesterday, but with just one turnover, we probably aren’t relying on that miracle onside kick.

That offense just dropped 40 after turning it over 3 times. I’m more than fine with gambling on defense from a philosophical standpoint.
 
DontCryWolfe said:
I think from a strategy standpoint, they need to focus more on playing that complementary defense. Be more aggressive, dial up some more blitzes. Moving guys around is cool, but it has ultimately proven ineffective. The defense already resembles a doormat, I say take more chances in hopes of snagging a turnover or two. They had a couple dropped picks yesterday, but with just one turnover, we probably aren’t relying on that miracle onside kick.

That offense just dropped 40 after turning it over 3 times. I’m more than fine with gambling on defense from a philosophical standpoint.
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That works a lot better when you're playing with a lead, I think over the first 120 minutes of the season we've probably led for about 8. If the offense can jump out to leads and force offenses into throwing more to catch up the turnovers/sacks should rise.
 
boozeman said:
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Outside of the fumbles yesterday Elliott is playing like an MVP candidate. That's still no excuse for being unable to integrate Pollard at all, although if we can get some leads I think the coaches would probably feel less pressure to keep Elliott in because we wouldn't be scrambling to claw back into the game.
 
I'll say this about Schultz, we don't need a Kelce or Kittle out there. Obviously that'd be great, but ultimately we have 3 Pro Bowl caliber WR's and if Schultz can just be a reliable security blanket who can find open pockets in zones within about 10 or so yards of the LOS and not drop passes that hit him in the hands then we're golden.

Any halfway competent TE could roll out of bed and put up about 500 yards/4 TD's in this offense, and while it'd be nice to have Jarwin's run after the catch ability, if Schultz can just not fuck up then we're good.

His play yesterday was probably the most encouraging thing about the game aside from just the general comeback/win, because against the Rams it felt like we were playing 10 on 11 after Jarwin went out.

And Blake Bell even made a play downfield, so it's encouraging that TE might not be a complete dumpster fire.
 
Simpleton said:
I'll say this about Schultz, we don't need a Kelce or Kittle out there. Obviously that'd be great, but ultimately we have 3 Pro Bowl caliber WR's and if Schultz can just be a reliable security blanket who can find open pockets in zones within about 10 or so yards of the LOS and not drop passes that hit him in the hands then we're golden.

Any halfway competent TE could roll out of bed and put up about 500 yards/4 TD's in this offense, and while it'd be nice to have Jarwin's run after the catch ability, if Schultz can just not fuck up then we're good.

His play yesterday was probably the most encouraging thing about the game aside from just the general comeback/win, because against the Rams it felt like we were playing 10 on 11 after Jarwin went out.

And Blake Bell even made a play downfield, so it's encouraging that TE might not be a complete dumpster fire.
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Agreed. I went into the game thinking TE was literally a dumpster fire. Now I'm wondering if Schultz might be better than Jarwin (to be fair I've said several times I'm not as big a Jarwin fan as others seem to be so I don't think it's a huge bar to get over).

I've hated Schultz as much as anyone and it looks like I was wrong about him.
 
Simpleton said:
Outside of the fumbles yesterday Elliott is playing like an MVP candidate. That's still no excuse for being unable to integrate Pollard at all, although if we can get some leads I think the coaches would probably feel less pressure to keep Elliott in because we wouldn't be scrambling to claw back into the game.
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why did Pollard start the game over Zeke? Head scratcher...
 
ravidubey said:
He's done. Burned himself out playing for that contract. Maybe he needs a year off to heal, but he's clearly lost the edge that set him apart.
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No time to take the year off. I fully understand that there could be a layoff after getting paid but that was last year. Time to earn that contract now.
 
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