Rough night

[ROMOTOOWENS]

Not only for my beloved team but also myself. I totally lost it last night during the game and after the game. I said a lot of things that were honestly probably true but unlike what I would normally say. I let a lot of that alcohol talk last night and I apologize for that. I made a lot of sarcastic statements. With that being said I love this team as most of you do. It just really stings when you realize that you just arent good enough.

 

[jarntt]

You really do crack me up sometimes. Stop getting yourself so upset over everything. I get as pissed off as anyone during and after these losses, but you need to keep it in perspective. I don't know what you did or said, but if it was bad enough that you needed to start apologizing for things that is a bad sign. In the words of you hero 'if losing a Football game is the worst thing that happens to you, then you are a pretty lucky guy!!!'

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

You are correct. I basically just bashed Kiffen, Webb, Carr, Witten, Ware, etc. I usually try to keep the blames nameless. I too think its a team game . Im not asking for a pity party here. I just made some sarcastic comments thats all .

 

[blue jersey jinx]

Not only for my beloved team but also myself. I totally lost it last night during the game and after the game. I said a lot of things that were honestly probably true but unlike what I would normally say. I let a lot of that alcohol talk last night and I apologize for that. I made a lot of sarcastic statements. With that being said I love this team as most of you do. It just really stings when you realize that you just arent good enough.

We haven't been good for a long time.

 

[elziegreat42]

Not only for my beloved team but also myself. I totally lost it last night during the game and after the game. I said a lot of things that were honestly probably true but unlike what I would normally say. I let a lot of that alcohol talk last night and I apologize for that. I made a lot of sarcastic statements. With that being said I love this team as most of you do. It just really stings when you realize that you just arent good enough.

it happens. most have us have done it. i remember when the mavs lost to the GS Warriors in the playoffs in 07 i said i was denouncing my fanship to them. lol. i felt like an ass. needless to say im still a mavs fan and was talking out of my ass!

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

I got home today and just looked back at all my posts. Wow, I was bad on Carr, Ware, and Kiffen especially.

 

[elziegreat42]

I got home today and just looked back at all my posts. Wow, I was bad on Carr, Ware, and Kiffen especially.

carr and kiffin deserve plenty of blame.....

 

[Schmoopy1000]

well Jerry defended Kiffin so now we know its official. Kiffin is out at the end of the season

 

[Earl Stevens]

carr and kiffin deserve plenty of blame.....

Not just them, but the defensive backs and linebackers coaches as well. Funny how nobody ever calls those coaches out. If I had to place blame on why this defense is so horrific based on percentages, this is how I would do it:

30% Kiffin- He is the head of the snake. The scheme has been in many ways, flat out awful. Yes, I know he had only one offseason and he doesn't exactly have the players he needs for his scheme, but that is no excuse for terrible game-planning, terrible adjustments, and terrible coverage calls.

30% Jerome Henderson- How this guy still has a job amazes me. Frankly, Henderson has been the coach of the two worst secondaries in Cowboys history. In history. We've even set NFL records for futility in secondary play this season, not just Cowboy records. And that's not all because of Kiffin. You look at some of the big passing plays we've given up this year and the 400-yard games we've given up and you can't help but notice the poor technique and routes to the ball that were put on display by the players. I know the players have to make plays and show instincts, and frankly, guys like B.W. Webb are just not good players, but with some good teaching, they can at least show some form of good technique, soundness, and discipline. You see so little of that from this secondary. For example, I give major kudos to Alshon Jeffrey for that TD catch before half, but that was just poor poor defense. You can't give up that TD there. Poor technique, a terrible attempt to break a pass, and not using the sideline to your advantage and shielding the WR from making a play on the ball.. We've been seeing all of this all too often during Henderson's short tenure here.

20% Players- Players gotta make plays. Players gotta make the scheme work, even if it is a terrible scheme. Even if you are being poorly coached. You still have to grow some gonads and do some things on your own.

10% Scouts/Management- Who are these scouts Jerry is hiring? What type of players are we bringing in? B.W. Webb? We couldn't have done better than this? Shoot, I rather had kept Mike Jenkins here.

5% Matt Eberflus- The linebackers (and even sometimes Lee) are out of position far too much. Especially Bruce Carter. I don't know what the hell Eberflus was doing this offseason but Carter took a huge step back. His technique, passion, etc. has just been gone this year.

5% Mike Woicik - Seriously, what the fuck? Do I even have to say anything more? All these injuries? WTF is going on? This has been a problem for three straight years.

Marinelli- I didn't give him a percentage because I don't think he is anywhere near what's wrong with this defense. He has been dealt a bad hand. Bad may be an understatement. Yes, he does deserve some blame and even he would hold himself accountable. Pass rush has declined significantly as the season has gone on. But Marinelli hasn't been a problem to the point where he deserves a percentage of blame here and if there were a guy that I wish was our DC right now, it would be Marinelli.

 

[jarntt]

Isn't it funny how coaches in all Professional sports are geniuses in some places and morons in others? Does that make any sense? Do they forget how to coach? It's the players on the field most impact the game.

We are so into assigning blame for things here for some reason. Everyone relies on everyone else. It's a team screw up or a team success. If you want a %, it's probably about 90% players. Coaches can't make suck any better. To only give the players 20% of the blame is a head scratcher to me. All you have to do is watch them to see the mistakes and the poor plays. No coach can do much with that. I'd like to see you try to put together a game plan including our decimated DL, an injured Sean Lee and guys like Webb, Heath, Wilcox and Church in coverage. To be fair, even though I'd say 90% players that does of course reflect the teams stupidity in trotting out horrible safeties for years and ignoring drafting DL to teh point where that is as big a need next year as OL was this year and also the injuries we've incurred. So split the 90% between the GM and players as you see fit because with better choices we'd have more talented players. Also, I keep telling you guys that we have a cap problem and you all keep saying that since we get under the cap and sign guys we "want" that we don't. Well, it's what we could be doing with the salaries we are wasting on certain players that is hurting our depth and ability to get quality players. When Hatcher and Spencer both walk next year you guys can tell me we don't have a cap problem. But anyway, the problems we are seeing on the field aren't mostly because of the coaches.

 

[snookdad]

Isn't it funny how coaches in all Professional sports are geniuses in some places and morons in others? Does that make any sense? Do they forget how to coach? It's the players on the field most impact the game.

We are so into assigning blame for things here for some reason. Everyone relies on everyone else. It's a team screw up or a team success. If you want a %, it's probably about 90% players. Coaches can't make suck any better. To only give the players 20% of the blame is a head scratcher to me. All you have to do is watch them to see the mistakes and the poor plays. No coach can do much with that. I'd like to see you try to put together a game plan including our decimated DL, an injured Sean Lee and guys like Webb, Heath, Wilcox and Church in coverage. To be fair, even though I'd say 90% players that does of course reflect the teams stupidity in trotting out horrible safeties for years and ignoring drafting DL to teh point where that is as big a need next year as OL was this year and also the injuries we've incurred. So split the 90% between the GM and players as you see fit because with better choices we'd have more talented players. Also, I keep telling you guys that we have a cap problem and you all keep saying that since we get under the cap and sign guys we "want" that we don't. Well, it's what we could be doing with the salaries we are wasting on certain players that is hurting our depth and ability to get quality players. When Hatcher and Spencer both walk next year you guys can tell me we don't have a cap problem. But anyway, the problems we are seeing on the field aren't mostly because of the coaches.

Thats why every time JJ fires a coach or a coordinator I think it's a joke....not saying some didn't deserve being fired. The real culprit is the Talent evaluater /G.M. Great post

 

[snookdad]

I can't put a lot of Blame on Carr though he plays the best wr every week he;s had several flashes of awesome play and has been burnt to. It's a tall order especially when you have know safety help and a spotty pass rush. I actually am dare I say satisfied with his overall body of work.

 

[jarntt]

Carr isn't great, but he is very good. I read something a few weeks ago and realized how true it is. He really struggles when guys take him across the field for some reason. Other than that when allowed to play his game he is pretty darn good.

 

[fastforward]

You've got to leave a 1% margin of blame for Romo.
It's a tradition.

 

[tw1st3d]

blame goes where it goes .....

Jerry Jones..... end of story

I like Jarntt's point though. Every offseason when you hear coaches talk about players they use a term. "coachable player"

In college alot of these guys get by on talent alone. When it's pro it's a whole different thing .... everyone has talent...... or they wouldn't be there.

 

[tw1st3d]

That said .... I give more than 10% of blame to coaches.

A great coach can use his guys at what they do great .... and add in a few plays here and there as the season goes to get him good at other things.

Biggest problem with alot of coaches to me is they want to come in and do their thing. Doesn't matter the players they have.
You have to work with what you have and get the best out of them........

Best coach on our team THIS year is Rob on the defensive line. Look at what he is working with.

 

[ArlingtonCowboys100]

The only time I get angry is on draft day. Just watching jerrah sit there,glass of whiskey by his side, thinking he is a football man is enough to make me vomit. The last time I really got upset with what. I saw on the field was 1997. Let's just say I have low expectations

 

[Earl Stevens]

Isn't it funny how coaches in all Professional sports are geniuses in some places and morons in others? Does that make any sense? Do they forget how to coach? It's the players on the field most impact the game.

We are so into assigning blame for things here for some reason. Everyone relies on everyone else. It's a team screw up or a team success. If you want a %, it's probably about 90% players. Coaches can't make suck any better. To only give the players 20% of the blame is a head scratcher to me. All you have to do is watch them to see the mistakes and the poor plays. No coach can do much with that. I'd like to see you try to put together a game plan including our decimated DL, an injured Sean Lee and guys like Webb, Heath, Wilcox and Church in coverage. To be fair, even though I'd say 90% players that does of course reflect the teams stupidity in trotting out horrible safeties for years and ignoring drafting DL to teh point where that is as big a need next year as OL was this year and also the injuries we've incurred. So split the 90% between the GM and players as you see fit because with better choices we'd have more talented players. Also, I keep telling you guys that we have a cap problem and you all keep saying that since we get under the cap and sign guys we "want" that we don't. Well, it's what we could be doing with the salaries we are wasting on certain players that is hurting our depth and ability to get quality players. When Hatcher and Spencer both walk next year you guys can tell me we don't have a cap problem. But anyway, the problems we are seeing on the field aren't mostly because of the coaches.

Yes, I watch them. I see the mistakes. The poor plays on the ball, the dropped interceptions, the poor tackling, etc.. I assign mostly blame to the coaches because the scheme this year has been poor, not defined, and easily recognizable. This scheme has no identity whatsoever right now and teams seems to know exactly what defense we are in on every play.

One play in particular stood out to me, Chicago's first 3rd and long conversion of the game, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Just about every Cowboy player in the secondary played good coverage on this play, but it was a completion anyway because the defense was easily recognizable by the Bears. What I had a problem with on that play in particular was how the front 7 was lined up. First off, it was a dead giveaway where the blitz was coming from. If you watch the replay, you can see Ware standing up as if he's a 3-4 LB on the play instead of having his hands on the ground. Ware standing up is not fooling anybody. They know he is coming for the quarterback and not dropping back in coverage. This coverage Dallas plays is easily recognizable if you've watched extensive film of the Cowboys this year which I'm sure the Bears did. Gotta give Forte credit for a helluva block on the play. But my God, if you see how the Bears blocked on that play and how easily McCown found Jeffrey, it was like they knew exactly what defense Dallas was running. That absolutely cannot happen.

You say 90% is on the players and I completely disagree. One thing Wade Phillips was great at was confusing the defense, putting his players in position to make plays, not leaving certain players vulnerable for too long, and making the right kinds of defensive calls at the right time. As bad as Bradie James was, even Wade would make him look good at times. When we had garbage players on the field, Wade did his best to cover their flaws and tried not to leave them vulnerable. We took Wade for granted because of how bad he was as a "head" coach, but he was damn good at coordinating a defense.

I have never seen a Cowboy defense play as hard as they have this year since the Parcells days. As PDay has said, this defense may not be good, but they sure play hard and I agree with that sentiment. They do play hard, tackle well, and don't point fingers. They play better than their defensive ranking suggests. That is why I blame the coaches. Yes, I know some of these guys just don't belong on the field (but every team has these type of players) and I do hold the players accountable for their mistakes, but I've seen way too many holes in Monte's scheme. Way too many. Teams are recognizing his defenses way too easily.

We as fans didn't want to give credence to the Kiffin naysayers after the move was made to bring him here, but we should have listened when it was pointed out how horrible USC's defenses were with Kiffin there. College and pros are vastly different, but how Kiffin's defense has looked at both levels in the past five years is not different at all. This team is statistically the worst defense in Cowboys history. These are facts. I mean seriously dude, we had B.W. Webb on Jeffrey for that TD before half. You mean to tell me coaching has nothing to do with that? Kiffin is constantly putting Webb and Heath in position to be exposed even though it has been proven that they are both garbage.

I REFUSE to believe that the defense the Cowboys have put out on the field this season is this bad. I just refuse. We have some bad eggs like Heath and Webb, but every team has bad eggs that they have to trot out every week. Church is not good in coverage, but the guy has made so many open-field-tackles which have saved even bigger plays from happening. The defensive line has slacked off a bit, but some of that can be attributed to Kiffin's play calling as well. Teams are recognizing our defense so fast that our guys are always just a second too late to make the sack. Our CBs are a step slow because Kiffin is always putting them in ridiculous situations to be exposed. Carr looked like a shutdown corner to me last year, yet when Kiffin steps in this season, he's been exposed way too much to the point where he's getting bashed for his contract.

We are setting fucking records for defensive futility. I know this defensive line is decimated, but the talent we have on defense is not to the point where we can make average quarterbacks look great. To the point where Calvin Johnson gets 300 receiving yards. The point where we set an NFL record for 400-yard passers. The point where we give up 40 first downs in a game.

I implore you to get Game Rewind because you would see so many what-the-fuck defensive calls by Kiffin. Watch the Detroit game. On the drive where the Lions scored their first TD on 4th down after Megatron's long 80-yard catch, the Cowboys showed the exact same coverage on every single down at the spot of the field where he caught the TD on 4th down. Shit, it's no wonder Detroit knew they could score on 4th down, because Kiffin did not adjust the coverage one single time in that series of downs. The TD pass on 4th down looked so easy, because the Lions knew exactly what type of coverage the Cowboys were playing.

Like you pointed out to me a few weeks ago that we should have kept singling Cruz in the Giants' game because it was working all game. That is part of the problem I was talking about with Kiffin's D. Zero adjustments, easily recognizable coverages, and too much predictability. We were just fortunate that Eli is having by far the worst season of his career and couldn't get Cruz the ball more.

 

[jarntt]

Way too much there to comment on, so I'll sum it up. We can't rush the passer,we can't cover and we can't tackle. Regardless of what scheme we run or who pulls the strings we will fail miserably at least as often as we don't. Football is first and foremost about EXECUTION. you should be able to tell a team what you are doing and still succeed at times if you execute properly.

With an injured Ware and Lee we have one guy in the front 7 playing like he belongs in the NFL right now. We have two guys in the secondary that can cover at all. There is NOTHING anyone can do about that. How do you cover up for Webb when Heath is just as bad if not worse? Church? Wilcox? Both have been horrible in coverage. I pointed out the other day that if you go to this man coverage that everyone thinks will solve everything then you put more than just Carr and Scandrick in man coverage. You think any of our safeties or Webb should be in man coverage for a big % of the game? We probably give up more plays when coverage is good than any team in the NFL because we just aren't very good and our skills when the ball is in the air suck. How many easy picks did we drop last week? Does Kiffen need to teach guys how to catch?

Once in a while you get lucky with a guy off the street, but not 17 times. If our defense was so simple, how come our guys still look confused in it? And one of the reasons we brought in a simple defense is because the last one was too difficult for our players to learn. But the Saints seem to be able to figure it out.

 

[Mrhappi06]

Something to chew on

Looking Back: A Bad Scheme with the Wrong Players - Know Your Dallas Cowboys | Know Your Dallas Cowboys