Coach's Halftime Thoughts - Week 1

[Dallas94Ware]

Ill try to do this every week. Sorry for the delay in my other threads, Desperado. Been very busy.

1. There is no player on the Dallas defense with more football instincts than Sean Lee. He reads the lanes, he reads the routes, he is never fooled by option combinations and he tackles as well as Butkus, albeit less violently. If you plan to throw over the middle, you have to go hi-lo and divert Lee's attention or you will fail.

2. Dak is making smart adjustments at the line. I like his check outs, they are well read and he looks savvy. 

3. Speaking of checking out. Apparently, "Shannahan" as a check out audible is a classic Mike Shannahan offensive stretch zone run. Cute touch.

4. Travis Fredrick is playing about as well in pass protection as Ive ever seen him, or anyone, play. He sets up with great positioning and plays with leverage every setup.

5. The Cowboys have used a split end concept on 2 of their big pass plays. Witten has manhandled the inside DB on both, bullying them with a hard route inside that left the defender lost to the play. Guys still got some speed to his game.

6. Zekes vision rivals that of the great LaDanian Tomlinson. And, like Tomlinson, he possesses the burst, wiggle and finish ability to capitalize on what he sees open up - even after it looks too late to get there. He has the power of Shaun Alexander to finish the run with fierce drive, as well. I cant nail down a good comparison of running styles for him, because he takes good qualities of so many great runners.

7. Dez is being outhustled. There was a deep in-comeback option he ran where Jenkins was initially beat on the selection of the option direction (deep in) but Jenkins was able to beat Dez to position for the throw, leaving Dak to pull the ball back. Dez has to finish his routes with more intensity.

8. Brice Butler just simply cannot run a quality route, but he can run with the best of them and he has a pretty darn good stutter step off the snap. With decent hands to boot and a good ability to track the ball, he has the makings of a consistent deep ball guy. We need to involve him more. Even if the D knows not to worry of alternative routes, and can count his route tree on a single hand, if you dont keep a safety over the top on his side you run a serious risk of being beaten for a big one.

9. Good to see the Zone Stretch and Zone Pull back in the offense. After collins went down last year, there was a lot of isolation and classic down hill blocking types of runs being called. Thats not what this line does best. Good to see the outside push and inside swap on the stretch being used again, and to see Green coming off the pull and clearing out a linebacker on two plays with effectiveness is really great to see again. Still, Collins could have cleared out the linebacker then the safety on that ssme play to spring Zeke for the TD - i am convinced of that. He is too fast and agile on the pull, at guard, to be stuck outside when we are making use of a zone pull over the weak side.He was dominant in his small sample size.

10. Speaking of collins. He is certainly holding his own at right tackle. Those fast feet make it tough to get around him, and he has the hips to hold position inside. He does not have that shuffle to him that you expect, it keeps him from adjusting when a guy does get around him, and Id still prefer to see him coming around the edge on a zone pull, but he is going to be a great tackle for a long time, especially when he learns to shuffle those feet evenly to adjust better.

11. Great defensive playcalling by Marinelli. He is taking away the outside, both from the run and pass, by utlizing his best zone defenders on the edges of the field while lining up man coverage inside, allowing Sean Lee to essentially play the robber zone  off the line, filling the role left vacant by Church. I have to think this is the type of defense Marinelli prefers - a heavy dose of zone, a middle-tier zone/robber from a linebacker, and force the offense to take time finding the gaps - resulting in miscues, and, an early sack and nearly a strip-sack later on by Lawrence.

 

[D82]

I was interested to see how Collins would handle JPP tonight, and so far he's done very well. 

Nice write-up, D94W.

[HDsportsfan]

Thanks for the insight coach.

[Dallas94Ware]

End of game additions:

1. Lee did not play robber in the second half. Heath did. Great adjustment, and done pre-emptively. It really monkey wrenched the Giants.

2. Brown is the prototype zone corner. Had he showed the speed and cutting ability to also shine in man, he would have been a much higher draft pick than he was. 

3. Jaylon Smith runs pretty fast for someone who suffered the kind of injury he did. He chases plays down really well. Wish we would see him get position and drive hard through the play, but as someone else said in the GDT, baby steps.

4. Lee could play safety in the NFL if he wanted to. He is arguably one of the best zone players on this team, and also the single best defender on the team period.

5. Elliott is best behind the zone pull. Wish we would use it more - Also Where is Hannah coming around the formation to seal the edge like we saw him do for Murray with great success few years ago?

6. Beasley is this teams lifeline in the passing game. Even when he is not the target or even an early read in the play design, he runs such a great route tree he creates vacancies for other targets. And he has no problem using that little frame to throw in a block. He helps the passing attack in so many ways.

7. Tapper is going to be a good player in a rotation. At least for now. Id be skeptical of him full time. But he has a great push and drive off the snap. If you keep him fresh he can make a good impact late in the game.

8. Awuzie is certainly ready for the pro level. Held position, never bit on route combinations attacking his position, and played like a veteran.

Ill know more, and be a bit more accurate, once I watch the gamepass film. Hard to see it as clearly on the live, QB centered broadcast.

[resilient part 2]

I saw the game, sort of, but would like to read up on how the rookies played and/or how much. I could tell who played the most etc... I also consider Chazz Green and Collins to be rookies, sort of.

[D82]

Hope you don't mind me throwing these in here, Coach. 

• I was really impressed by Awuzie. He's certainly looking to be a Byron Jones clone. I wouldn't overwhelm him too much this year, let him concentrate on one position...but it would be fun to get creative with him and Jones now and then down the road.
• Lee was frustrating the heck out of Eli tonight and it was fun to watch.
• Lawrence and Tapper stood out the most as far as the DEs go. Mayowa had some nice pressure, but didn't quite get there as often as he probably should have going against Flowers. 
• Liked what I saw from Paea, think he'll be an upgrade over McClain. Maliek Collins showed up here and there, but I would have liked to have seen some bigger plays from him. Also saw Taco lining up as the 3T on a few drives. Interesting.

[D82]

3 minutes ago, resilient part 2 said:

I saw the game, sort of, but would like to read up on how the rookies played and/or how much. I could tell who played the most etc... I also consider Chazz Green and Collins to be rookies, sort of.

Green and Collins played really well, I thought. Maybe saw only one or two plays where JPP got the better of Collins. 

Of course those are just quick observations. I'm sure the tape might show differently. 

 

[resilient part 2]

How much or many snaps did Taco play?

[quiller]

Just a few thoughts.    I think it was a by product of how well our D played but I can not remember the last time I watched one of our games and saw so little replays on the coverage of our DB.    Normally you watch a game and I know if we're man or zone just watching the plays and replays this game not so much I only saw like 1 or three wide sceen views of our d backs and their WR   That is a good thing but am worried it is saying more about them then us

our OL was actually better then I expected and have to say my first impression is Smith made more mistakes then Green or Collins  I just hope Green stays healthy

this game also reinforced my thought that this is as good a group of WR TE that we have had sense Aikmen days if not the best though like some one else mentioned I really want to see Dez finishing the route competing for the ball a little better though this was a tough match up for him 

elliot also shows improvement over last year as a runner. Much better confidence in hitting the hole and reading the initial blocks and improved quickness i sliding to the side and then accelerating to make he next level

lAst thought it seemed Collins did better when he pushes forward with power rather then just trying to set the edge on running plays.  That may be more about JP though then Collins.   And why was JP on our rt side didn't he play the other side exclusively last year

[Dirk Gently]

Want to say specifically that I thought Dak's reads were great. He had a few late throws that I'll put on mental grind, but my God the TD to Witten.  Even on the TV screen I knew it was six the moment he pulled the ball out of Zeke's gut. Loved the decisiveness of that read. The real issues I saw him have was being high on short to intermediate throws (almost certainly footwork, which has plagued him before when he is excited)  and the deep throws to Dez could have been placed better.

The 2nd throw to Witten (the one on which he passed Irvin) was what you call a tight window, and the kind of throw that makes me think he's going to be much better this year. Despite his shaky night (to a degree because of it, because I think 90% of those issues are gone next week) I came away from the game even more convinced that Dak is going to be REALLY good.

 

 

[Tyronnosaurus]

Surprised at the lack of Terrance Williams love. He was phenomenal. 

[Dirk Gently]

For all the offensive woes and lack of points on the board to do this:

Quote

 Each drive gained at least 30 yards.  And each drive ended in New York territory.

is REALLY significant against that level of defense.

Kudos to Sturm for pointing it out.

[D82]

2 minutes ago, Dirk Gently said:

For all the offensive woes and lack of points on the board to do this:

is REALLY significant against that level of defense.

Kudos to Sturm for pointing it out.

That is pretty damn impressive.

[Dallas94Ware]

2 hours ago, Dirk Gently said:

Want to say specifically that I thought Dak's reads were great. He had a few late throws that I'll put on mental grind, but my God the TD to Witten.  Even on the TV screen I knew it was six the moment he pulled the ball out of Zeke's gut. Loved the decisiveness of that read. The real issues I saw him have was being high on short to intermediate throws (almost certainly footwork, which has plagued him before when he is excited)  and the deep throws to Dez could have been placed better.

The 2nd throw to Witten (the one on which he passed Irvin) was what you call a tight window, and the kind of throw that makes me think he's going to be much better this year. Despite his shaky night (to a degree because of it, because I think 90% of those issues are gone next week) I came away from the game even more convinced that Dak is going to be REALLY good.

 

 

He throws off the wrong foot and doesnt set his technique well when the opportunity is present to complete a pass prior to proper footing. Rodgers does this as well, but Rodgers also has the veteran know how to make it work. Dak will get there, but I would like to see less of this going forward - he is too good when his feet are set to start leaping and slinging like that. The ball comes out high, sloppy, and misses its mark.

Overall he made tremendous decisions with confidence and made few mistakes. He can really keep the ball safe from turnover when he does that, and that alone is good for a win most weeks.

[Dallas94Ware]

2 hours ago, Tyronnosaurus said:

Surprised at the lack of Terrance Williams love. He was phenomenal. 

Williams was the benefactor of several clearing routes by Beasley. He caught the ball well and followed the blocks when present. Nothing flashy, but a consistent producer when he is called upon to take heat off of other areas.

I dont think we will ever see the rookie sensation Williams again, but a consistent guy who can route a good route tree, catch fairly well and help take pressure off of the others is certainly a nice thing. Ill be curious to see what he can do when he has to create his own space and make something happen on his own.