Cowboys vs Giants using coaches film (Part V)

5. So much of the talk in camp and preseason was the rebuilt offensive line but most forgot the secondary was almost rebuilt returning only one starter in Sensabaugh. We had to expect some mistakes from Claiborne but had to be pleased with his performance not giving up easy receptions and especially no big plays surrendered either. However there were a few technique flaws to his game that can tip their hand to the opponent especially with his footwork

He got schooled by Bradshaw on a running play to give up a touchdown, a corner has to make that tackle or find a way to force him back inside to his help. He can't do what he did and give up an easy score.

Church was also making his first start, very impressed with his style playing a downhill aggressive safety who is not afraid of contact. I showed earlier his ability to get in the passing lane and be in position to make a play on the ball and just miss on it. It sure seems Rob Ryan has faith in the kid playing him close to the line but his aggressiveness will be used against him at some point this year.

Just for fun. I want to post my favorite play of the game, the Miles Austin touchdown to seal the game.  I marked it as a negative read by Romo but sometimes great players just make great plays regardless.

6:26-4Q-1st and 30. Obvious pass play, this is not a good read by Romo. Austin is double covered but the trust they have makes him throw it.

Pays off as Austin goes for it at the highest point inside the coverage. Touchdown Dallas. All but seals the game.

Cowboys vs Giants using coaches film (Part IV)

4. Dallas is going against the sound idea that the Giants have used to two superbowl championships, superior pass rush can cover up a suspect secondary. The Cowboys are trying to win with superior coverage and move Demarcus Ware all over to generate consistent pressure as well as confuse opposing quarterbacks with pre-snap movement.

Historically, Dallas blitzes Eli often almost 40% of the time without success, he has proved to be one of the league's best when pressure as he trust his receivers to go up and get the ball.

The gameplan was to show different looks with the safeties in the box, show blitz and then occasionally back out into deep half coverage. Then allow Brandon Carr and rookie Morris Claiborne to get physical at the line jamming the receivers and not give up the easy reception. It helps a lot when you don't have Terence Newman and Alan Ball as easy targets for Eli.

Throughout the first quarter either Church or Sensabaugh lined up in the box showing blitz but backed out of it. This time he would be coming and obviously Manning thought pre-snap he was going to back out of it.

15:00-2Q-43 in box but previous times had darted back into deep half coverage. This time 43 blitzes off edge, misses sack but 94 finishes the play. Sack

 They catch the giants in a playaction with the fullback releasing up the middle. Sensabaugh has to finish the play but Ware is there.

Fast forward to the third quarter, pre-snap suggest two safeties back in deep half coverage, Manning is so good looking off his primary receiver then coming back. Dallas has seen it for years and beaten so often. However Barry Church is an aggressive safety who also hasn't been beaten badly in coverage yet. He is sitting in zone just playing the 10 yard curl and then undercut the route. He is in perfect position to make a play on the ball but just misses it. Play call was perfect.

10:19-3Q-Giants 1st and 10. Play is 10 yard curl to 80. Cowboys show man, 2 safeties deep. Both LBs in tight. 42 is playing that curl to make a play on that ball.

 Dangerous to double move since he's playing aggressive like that. Here it works and almost gets a INT.

Carr's debut in Cowboy blue was good but by no means perfect. He is a smart corner who understands times when to be aggressive and when to back off to just not give up the deep ball. He was not a shutdown corner nor the aggressive tackler but he is the efficient corner who just does not give up many receptions especially deep ones.

13:43-4q-3rd down, giants in shotgun. 42 lines up in box, then just prior to snap backs out of it. Historically Dallas blitzed and pressured Eli a lot in passing but left secondary vulnerable. Rob Ryan used this history against Eli and it worked most of the night.

No blitz, coverage sack as Eli with no where to go with ball. Unlike last year, there is no Alan Ball or Newman to easily target for completions in secondary. 31 Butler sticks like glue to underneath route, 93 with inside pressure and 97 finishes the play with sack.

It wasn't all good as the Giants still had opportunities.  The first one is one play Carr would like to forget.


6:31-3Q-3rd and 4 for Giants. Cowboys in nickel D appear to be playing cover 3 with Mana Silva responsible for the middle of the field. Carr is playing off. Play goes to 87 runs a go route inside of Carr. Manning fires as soon as 87 clears 43, Carr is in perfect position to undercut the route and at the very least knock the ball away.

However he times his jump terribly and Silva cannot close fast enough to knock the ball away. The scheme worked but player execution failed Rob Ryan's team.

10:50 in the 1st quarter brings up a Giants 3rd and 5.  Victor Cruz is the slot on Eli's left side.  They will be running a pick play with the outside receiver cutting to the inside hopefully to "accidentally" pick off the defender lined up on Cruz.

 The Giants tried this route several times throughout the game but Dallas was either in off coverage or seamlessly picked up the receivers not giving the instant separation as on this play.

Cowboys vs Giants using coaches film (Part III)

3. For the second year in a row, most draft freaks were screaming for Dallas to draft a powerful run stuffing nose tackle and push Jay Ratliff to end. The logic was allow Ratliff to become a dominating end in a 3-4 and improve the run defense with the giant nose tackle to stuff the inside run. Josh Brent would get that chance along with versatile Sean Lissemore with Ratliff recovering from the high ankle sprain.

I wrote during the preseason that Jason Hatcher got off to a great start in 2011 before cooling off down the stretch but should be Dallas' first excellent 3 down interior lineman outside of Ratliff. Hatcher had a dominating game just having Giants lineman Kevin Boothe #77 at his fingertips most of the night. He made plays in the running game, keeping separation then locate the ballcarrier to make a play on the ball. Josh Brent did an excellent job as a two gap nose tackle allowing Sean Lee & Bruce Carter a clean route to the back. Lissemore cooled in the preseason after a red hot training camp but showed the ability to be stout at the point of attack and finish plays against the run.

14:49-4Q-92 plays two gap nose well. 54 unblocked as mike backer and fills hole vs back, jukes to outside and 54 speed allows him to still stuff the run.

 Kenyon Coleman did not allow the pulling guard to create a huge hole and Brent is crashing down from his nose tackle spot. Carter is in position to stuff whichever hole Bradshaw decides to take.

I wrote in the preseason that Dallas would have quality depth along the defensive line and their performance in week 1 to withstand a injury and control the line of scrimmage vs the Giants backs up that claim. A long way to go for sure.

Cowboys vs Giants using the coaches film (Part II)

2. I am not a fan of Kevin Ogletree, did not want him on the roster prior to training camp nor any shot at the 3rd receiver job. I felt he had been given several opportunities and failed them as well as a poor special teams player just gave no value to this team. I am happy to be proved wrong at least for one week.

He has a ways to go to make people forget about Robinson but a good start for sure not to mention starting a gigantic wave of waiver claims in the fantasy world after his performance. Folks do need to tape the breaks slightly when it comes to Ogletree, the Giants focused their attention at Miles Austin with double coverage and their other experienced corner Webster against Bryant. Ogletree had the benefit of working against the backups of an already depleted secondary so he should have had a good game. Most of his first half receptions came on slants in which he easily got a inside release off the snap for a simple slant catch. The ability to work himself open for the touchdown.

10:32 in the 3rd quarter. The pre-snap read shows cover 1 meaning one safety in the middle playing center field. Ogletree is lined up on an experienced corner #23 Corey Webster. Ogletree is going to run a double move which takes a while to develop. Romo gets pressure from the right side, Doug Free's man gets inside on him thanks to a counter move. However one of Romo's strengths is extending plays and fires the ball with Ogletree even with Webster which means he is beaten.  The ability to get find the open spot in the redzone and run good routes downfield without blazing speed are Robinson traits and a good start for Ogletree.

 Webster bites hard at the 30 yard line, Romo fires with no hope for the safety to get over nor the corner time to recover.

 Here you can see Uymenora setting up Free outside then knocking him off balance with the right arm jumping inside.

Cowboys vs Giants using the coaches film (Part 1)

Dallas surprises the football world beating the Giants on the road on opening night for a big division win.  How did they do it?

It took me several days to watch all the film and analyze what it means.  I had to a few questions I started with and find the answers.

1. How did the new offensive line do against perhaps the best pass rush in football?
2. Is Kevin Ogletree the new Laurent Robinson?
3. How did Dallas defensive line consistently stuff the Giants running game?
4. What did Rob Ryan do to keep Eli's passing game in check?
5. How did first year starters Barry Church & Morris Claiborne in their debuts?

I will post in five sections addressing these questions.

Lets get started.

1. The outlook was not good heading into this one with Jason Pierre-Paul vs Tyron Smith at left tackle, his first career start on the left side. Nate Livings coming over from the Bengals, known as a better pass blocker than in the running game, highly suspect Phil Costa, Mackenzy Bernadeau who wasn't a full time starter with the Panthers and Doug Free hoping for the 2010 Free vs the 2011 one.

The right guard Bernadeau is supposed to be a power run blocking guard with poor footwork and hand placement in pass protection.  He doesn't do much to change that thinking as early on in the first quarter, he gives up almost immediate penetration, Murray doesn't react quickly enough to help his guard and down goes Romo. He let the defensive tackle get his hands into his body and all his upper body is for not.

 

Phil Costa does not make it out of the first quarter with a back injury, I did not see the injury on film but honestly Costa gets knocked on his tail so often from last season it doesn't surprise me. Insert newly acquired Ryan Cook, #63, to play center with less than a week of practice in Dallas.


10:45 in 2nd Quarter.  Cook gives up pressure back into Romo who can't get the ball off like he wants. Kevin Ogletree is coming across the middle but runs behind the linebacker. By this point the ball has already left Romo's hands for the interception. It was a extremely small window for Romo and the ball should not been thrown here but Ogletree did not do any favors to his quarterback.

This is the window Romo was throwing into when he fired the ball, the linebacker in red just sitting in the middle of the field drifting toward Ogletree.

As the ball arrives, he has extended his route 4 yards downfield which gives the defender perfect room to jump in front for the easy pick. Bad read by Romo, pressure by Cook and receiver not helping matters with the route.

Doug Free is the weakest link on the team, keeping in mind that he had to keep the Giants pass rush at bay but keeping in mind the preseason and training camp, Free has not improved.  He is extremely susceptible to counter moves and Uymenora defeated him regularly as did Pierre-Paul. The competition will get easier in week 2 but the 2012 version of Doug Free is far too much like 2011 than 2010.

Free was not alone in his struggles at tackle, Tyron Smith had a hard time keeping Pierre-Paul at bay but the younger player who's a first round pick will get the benefit of the doubt. He did get better in the 2nd half as did most of the line as well, running the ball with success can do that to a pass rushing team. I graded Nate Livings as the most consistent lineman, as expected better in pass protection than getting push in the running game but was plenty serviceable.  Neither of the guards were good at pulling either missing the moving target or getting no push once they locked on.

Preseason game #3 thoughts

The cowboys beat the Rams 20-19 in preseason game #3 to wrap up the starters portion of the NFl preseason as they get ready for the real deal against the super bowl champs giants.

Are they ready?

I feel that Tony Romo, Kyle Orton, DeMarco Murray, Tyron Smith are ready to go for the regular season. That is 4 with only 3 of them will be starting opening day. That leaves 8 who are not ready either due to injury or haven't seen enough of them in practice or preseason to feel they can bring it on opening night. Defensively, the regulars of Jason Hatcher, DeMarcus Ware, Sean Lee are ready while newcomers Brandon Carr and first year starter Barry Church appear good to go. That gives you 5 out of 11 which is better than the offense can say.

Where are the areas of strength?

Dallas will be good at quarterback even if Romo gets injured. Orton was an expensive pick up in the offseason but he has fully embraced the backup role and back to back seasons with Romo missing games made it a worthwhile move by Jerry Jones the GM. They should only keep two quarterbacks on the roster, McGee is in his 3rd year and not shown enough improvement to be worthy of a roster spot. If anyone deserves the job, it is Rudy Carpenter but he is worth the risk of trying to push onto the practice squad. If another team claims Carpenter, he's not someone I would regret letting get away unlike Matt Moore a few years back.

I also feel the Cowboys will be strong at tight end, I've always been impressed with John Phillips especially the seam pass he went up and got in the first quarter. I think the team got themselves a good player in James Hannah, he's done everything better than expected after falling to the 6th round of the 2012 draft. He moves well, catches the ball with ease which was supposed to be a concern and has blocked better on the edge than expected. The injury to Witten is a hit for sure but I think they will soon realize the depth.

Unfortunately that is it for positions of strength on the offense.  I have not seen nor read about any improvement in Felix Jones to make me think runningback will be deep for this team, does not mean I think less of Murray, quite the opposite as I think he will have an excellent season. However keeping him fresh and healthy for the entire season is key and that means relying on your depth which is Felix. I do not see the burst, tackle breaking ability nor the ability to make proper reads off his blocks to get all the yards available.

Although I do like the development of the young receivers especially over the past two preseason games, they will be a concern until they get it done when it counts. This includes 85 being where he is supposed to be and making tough catches. Dwayne Harris and Cole Beasley have made the team in my opinion and neither will make it to the practice squad since they have made big plays in the preseason game film. The problem is both Harris and Beasley are the same type of player while neither is a special teams stud at this point, Dallas needs a Jesse Holley to finish out the top 6 at receiver.

I said Dallas would have quality depth along the defensive line during training camp and I'm sticking to it here although it will be tested early on. Sean Lissemore was the talk of camp as he was often referred to as a beast in practice. A wise football man told me that during this time of the year, whenever you see a non-starter making plays, always first ask yourself, who is he doing it against before you start drinking that koolaid. Although Lissemore did some good things last year in limited reps, need to reel in those expectations of him starting in place of Kenyon Coleman this year. I see a good player against the run aslong as he keeps his hands extended so he can disengage, like most players, the more snaps he plays his technique gets sloppy and gets taken out of plays without much trouble. The Jay Ratliff ankle injury complicates the matter and I think Rob Ryan will use Lissemore to start the game with Josh Brent especially on running downs until he returns. Rookie Tyrone Crawford plays a non glamour position at the five technique defensive end role in the 34 defense, he's done well but nothing special during the preseason. He needs to do a better job holding at the point-of-attack on running plays, disengaging from the blocker and finding the ballcarrier. I do like what I see from Crawford on passing plays as his athleticism is there, quickness but he's not a polished pass rusher yet which is to be expected. He has the skills to become a similar player to Jason Hatcher in a year.

I also brought up the inside linebacker position with Bruce Carter along with Dan Connor battling for the starting job alongside Sean Lee. Both players had done well in training camp but have disappeared as soon as the preseason got underway. Carter appears to be the preferred choice and he would be mine as well. Carter has the burst to be a real force as a blitzer but he doesn't have the timing down yet although he is the teams best linebacker in man coverage. Both Connor and Lee have been beaten in man coverage but not Carter which is what should give him the edge. The reason I feel for why neither Connor or Carter have made many plays with the starters is a simple reason, Lee just makes so many plays that there are not enough to go around. In addition, Dallas does not have the "thumper" inside backer to make this scheme work perfectly but then again they don't have the nose tackle either but that is a separate issue. The "thumper" back lines up over the strong side guard who needs to play with power taking on the guard consistently which is not Carter or Connor's game. They are trying but its another reason why they aren't finding the ballcarrier as much thus far in the preseason.

So what does this team look like heading into week 1?

Most of the sports geeks I respect said after draft day, the cowboys are a top heavy team. That means they have some of the best players in the NFL who can compete with anyone but they don't have the depth necessary to keep them fresh or withstand injuries. I agree 100% with that as they have zero depth in the offensive line, runningback with Felix, outside linebacker especially since team is reluctant to play Victor Butler for some reason as well as the secondary.

They will get off to a good start, be in the hunt for a playoff spot but the key will be staying healthy on the line of scrimmage and honestly need a few players to step (Crawford, Kyle Wilbur, Carter) who can keep other impact players fresh for the late season push. Depth is the concern and its what has kept Dallas behind in December for years.

Eyes on what Dallas could of had on Draft Day.

In april, I wrote on who I thought Dallas could of gotten had they not traded up for LSU corner Morris Claiborne.

As the opening week of the NFL preseason gets underway, I've been recalling my notes on those players and see if Dallas made the right move or not.

David DeCastro is the projected starter at right guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers who went up against the Eagles in Philly.  Interesting to note that this game would match up DeCastro versus fellow Cowboys draft day target, Fletcher Cox.

Decastro was regarded as one of the safest propsects in the draft who would start from day 1 and become a excellent starter at either guard spot or even as a center if he landed in Dallas.

Cox was widely regarded as Dallas' top defensive target on draft day to help get some pass rush from the defensive end spot and equally good at stuffing the run which is essential to be a full-time starter along a 34 front.

Decastro started the game at right guard and neutralized any man he faced including the likes of Pro-Bowler Cullen Jenkins #97, Antonio Dixon #90 and Cox #91.  He consistently won his battles and didn't matter if it was a running or passing play. He stayed on his block to the whistle and moved well to the second level.

Cox made only a single tackle during his match up with DeCastro and that was only after he was neutralized at the snap, and bypassed to get onto the linebackers.  The steelers runningback ran left and then turned backside to get tackled by Cox.

Since Claiborne will not play in the opening preseason game for Dallas, the instant reaction is they made a mistake.  I am not saying that.

What am I saying is you win games in the trenches and the Cowboys again are confronted with an offensive line in shambles being held together by underperforming young guys and spare veterans.  This offensive line would look a lot better with Tyron Smith, Nate Livings, Decastro, Mackenzy Bernadeau and Doug Free in front of Romo.

The second round project target could have been Michigan State's defensive tackle Jerel Worthy who was taken by the Packers.  I watched his first game as well and he was easy to sum up.  Quick off the snap but struggles to get off blocks.  I am excited to see what Tyrone Crawford can do against the Raiders as he has given fits to Smith at LT with his pass rushing ability.