Indefensible
• Over the season, I have waffled on Roy Williams. For the last few seasons, I have not been a fan, but this year started thinking maybe it was Zimmer's fault. While Zimmer is still in my doghouse, I will no longer waffle on Roy.
After today (and most of the season), I feel he may be the most overrated player in Cowboys history. Herschel had a lot of hype. He was good but not great, so he could challenge Roy, but given the contracts, the sponsorships (how many times do I have to see what a great house he has in the AT&T commercials?), the Pro-Bowls and the constant praise by fans, I'm convinced NO COWBOYS PLAYER has done so little to deserve so much.
Does he make plays? Sure, but only when he's near the line of scrimmage or moving towards the line of scrimmage.
Problem is, he's a safety—the last line of defense—and has to play, many times, with his back to the line (he shouldn't really, but Roy can't back-peddle) or running away from the line of scrimmage. Has he ever taken a geometry class? I've never seen someone (again, he's supposed to be GREAT) take so many poor angles when the ball is in the air.
I'll admit he's made some plays (McNabb threw it right to him) and a few big hits, but just like that, he gives them all back with awful penalties and poor help in coverage, which often times leads to long TDs.
Said it before, and I'll say it again, he's the defensive equivalent of Drew Bledsoe.
• I cannot wait for Zimmer to go. I always thought his blitz packages and defensive schemes were poor, but now I have proof.
On Marcus Spears' radio show, he admitted that the defense is set up for either Ware or Ellis to provide pressure. That's ONE or TWO players!?!?! No wonder we make an over-the-hill Brunell look like his old self. Think the Eagles Jim Johnson would set his 3-4 defense up to rush only one or two guys?
So, what's supposed to be the point of playing passive in the pass rush? To PREVENT the long pass! As noted above, with a superstar safety who can't cover and a group of below-average FS who can't cover and another overrated CB (see below) who can't cover, why INVITE the other team to pass?
Idiocy.
Peyton will thrash this defense in two weeks, unless there are major changes.
• Anthony Henry has become another liability in the secondary. He looked to be a player prior to his injury, but he's nowhere near that guy anymore.
• Drew Bledsoe, Anthony Henry, Marco Rivera, Kyle Kosier, Akin Adoyle, Mike Vanderjagt and now T.O. Free Agency is killing this team. Whoever is in charge of Pro Scouting should be let go - YESTERDAY. I tried to come up with a few names of free agents (not Glenn as he was traded for) who have actually worked out for the Cowboys and the list is not good.
La'Roi Glover. Marginal credit goes to Jason Ferguson (even then, is he worth all that money?) and I still think T.O. will prove to be a decent signing.
Free Agency is a double-killer when you miss. Your players stink and your cap takes a hit from overpaying.
• I said last week that Jason Witten is a GREAT pass-catcher, but a lousy blocker. I sure didn't think it would come back to haunt us.
He completely whiffed on a 3rd and 1, which would have extended a drive and he also blocked out, instead of in (basic kick blocking) which led to the last kick being blocked.
His catch leading to the kick was great, but he threw it all away with his poor block.
• Barber/Jones are a great combo.
• Penalties are horrible. Could this be coaching?
• Can't blame the QB. Tony Romo played great, and would've been even better had T.O. not dropped that beautiful bomb.
His poise is awesome and this week, he displayed a nice touch on long passes.
If only his teammates would've show the same heart.
• Speaking of coaching, why aren't we ever prepared for the blitz on the goal line? Looked eerily similar to the blitz on the safety in the Giants game.
And, as Troy Aikman said, a coaching decision led to us chasing that extra point all game.
How might things have been in the last few minutes had we been able to milk the lead?
• I haven't been this frustrated about a Cowboys loss in a very long time. No way the Boys should've lost.
-M
posted by Shawn @ 4:41 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Mid-Third quarter, and I'm thinking to myself "No matter how this game ends, Mike's gonna be madder than a Jerry Springer guest".
The boys dropped the ball on SO MANY levels:
Coaching:
Going-for-2 ultimately was the difference, but add-in 150+ yards in penalties and Vanilla defensive planning.
It's amazing we were even close.
TO's hands:
Does he need glasses or is he missing a thumb?
Anthony Henry's coverage:
Or lack thereof?
Roy Williams' coverage:
Isn't it time he's moved to Will LB? WHY does Zimmer put him in ANY position to cover anyone? His interference penalty (temporarily at least) kept the Skins out of the end-zone, and better to give up yards than points. But why was he put in that position to begin with?
A smart DC would know better. How many times do you see John Lynch in coverage any more?
Greg Ellis' missed plays:
One blown read keeps a drive alive,
Two kept the game within reach
Andre Gurode's lackadaisical blocking:
His half-assed blown-block on Glenn's end-around cost us a first-down and killed the drive.
Lousy special teams:
What makes anyone think Skyler Green can return a punt?
Where was the O-line with 5 seconds left? Not even Vinatierri could have made that FG with all those red helmets in his way.
Crappy officiating:
How many holding calls (for us and against us) did the Zebras miss?
And yes, Julius, the ball was beyond the goal line when you went down. That was NO safety.
---
On the good side:
The Run D looked good. Seven consecutive plays stoned at the goal-line?
Unheard of!
Except for one fluke run by Portis he was a non-factor.
Just a shame it came-to-be by sacrificing the passing game.
Hats-off to BarberJones.
JJ is just so slick. When he runs it looks like quicksilver on a glass plate, smoooooth and effortless. His jersey must be teflon-coated, to repeatedly pick up 7 when he's hit at 3...
Barber is absolutely fearless, all knees, elbows and effort, and MAN is he fun to watch! Like watching Larry Centers years ago.
Hats-off to Romo, he played his giddy butt off despite drops, poor blocking and more penalties than Robert Downey Junior at an NA meeting. I think some of our over-paid defensemen should pass along to him some of their signing bonuses. Romo earned them by keeping their butts in the game at all.
Next week Arizona. They're not afraid to throw the ball, and they have the receivers to eat our collective lunch. We get no pressure we lose this one, too.
Hey MT
Something dawned on me re: your assessment of Roy Williams being over-rated and one-dimensional.
Not that I disagree with you about his dearth of cover skills, but it struck me that it's not uncommon for a player to be a Pro Bowl player in one area of his game to the neglect of others:
• Deion Sanders couldn't tackle your youngest child.
• Randy Moss still doesn't know how to run a proper route.
• Barry Sanders never ever moved the pile.
• Rich Gannon and Kurt Warner were products of the system.
With so many teams (and subsequently so many players on the field) we've seen a drop in talent across the board, as lots of second-stringers suddenly have job openings.
For example, how many really good QB's are there any more? Years ago every team had a decent starter and a capable backup. But with so many teams in the league there are starters now who would be back-ups (or #3's) at best 10 years ago.
So it's not unusual for a one-dimensional player to suddenly shine, especially when compared to lesser competition. And honestly, how many Safeties are there in the league right now who are truly head and shoulders above the others?
• Ed Reed is a ball-hawk, but he doesn't play the run as well as RW.
• Brian Dawkins is a stud who covers a little better than RW, but he doesn't hit so hard or tackle so fiercely any more.
• Sean Taylor COULD be the total package,
but from the ears-up he's lost-er than an easter egg.
• That leaves Troy Polamalu as the only really complete Safety, the only one who can cover AND blitz effectively AND tackle surely.
But he makes those tackles because opposing TE's are unafrai to catch the ball in front of him.
---
With all that said, I still agree RW is more of a liability than an asset in coverage.
But I don't blame him for that:
he's only in coverage because Zimmer can't find the right tool for the job:
You don't use a sledgehammer to mend the birdhouse.
Cad,
I agree that there are other star players have deficiencies, but in reference to the players you mentioned, their short-comings didn't often harm their teams chances.
Corners, generally, don't provide run support as that usually falls upon the safety. There are always exceptions, but most corners are just OK at run support, although not as bad a Primetime. Outside of the Broncos, teams usually run between the tackles with an occasional pitch, therefore Deion's lack of physicality wasn't considered a weak spot, team wise. Simply put, teams might have said let's run at Deion, but fact is he didn't consistently hurt the team because of it.
Barry didn't need to move the pile because he was usually scoring from 30 yards out.
Randy Moss can't run routes and I would say, just like Roy, that he is overrated.
Roy's issue is that, IMO, teams game plan EVERY week to go at Roy, and every week, it seems to bite us.
The reason I'm so down on Roy is because I am a Cowboy fan, and I hate seeing the consistent long plays against Roy. IMO, because of Roy's contract and that he's considered the man on defense and in some circles, the "face" of the Cowboys, he will never be sat down as the result of poor play (just reading this appalls some fans and is considered blasphemy).
Using my Bledsoe analogy, even Parcells finally saw that he was killing us, but I fear it will never happen with Roy and as a result, we will continue to suffer this same pain.
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