From: rjk@dino.qci.bioch.bcm.tmc.edu (Raymond K)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.pro
Subject: Re: Painful, yet positive, *icednotes*
Date: 9 Oct 1992 15:04:52 GMT
Organization: X-Ray Crystallography / Howard Hughes Medical Institute
NNTP-Posting-Host: dino.qci.bioch.bcm.tmc.edu

In article <1av19bINNd43@news.aero.org> mas@aero.org (Marcus A.Shaw) writes:
>
>THE GOOD:
>
>* Dallas's offensive line held the Eagles as well as 
>a line needs to get the job done.  Given better execution
>by Aikman & Co., the line work was superb, and most of
>the sacks came after Aikman had time to set.  It is a
>far different line than that that collapsed every play 
>vs. the Eagles last year.

Agreed.  I'm glad they have Newton back at guard and Erik
Williams starting.  With Gogan, Cornish, and Veingrad coming
off the bench they are deep also.

>* Emmitt's running game was going to improve in the second
>half, he ran hard and well in the first half, even if you
>discount the bonus yardage he got from running out the clock
>at the end of the half.  I am not talking about statistics, 
>I am talking about what he did with what he was given and 
>what I expected from the Eagles DL in the second half.

Yeah, I think the strategy was not to rely on Emmitt, but just
to run him to keep the Eagle D honest.  And if he happened to have
some success or break a big one, so much the better.  It worked well
for the passing game as Dallas was able to move the ball in the
first half.

>* Dallas ran one swing pass and it was quite successful.  I
>think they should have run more and slowed the pass rush down
>a little.  It still comes a ways away from actually running
>a successful screen pass (Cowboys are 0-6 this year or something
>like that), but that play would have given the linebackers more
>to think about than blitzing or playing zone.

Norv Turner is a pretty smart cookie.  I think if he thinks 
something will be beneficial to the offense, they'll work on it.
I'd like to see Johnston or Agee get involved with the swing pass 
or the screens.

>* The defense dominated at times and played more than well
>enough to win.  If the Eagles had not been given field
>position (which of course they were) the points would have
>been lower and the yardage about the same.  

Agreed.  Not only did the turnover hurt, but the locations
that they occurred in hurt even more.

>                                            I like that 
>fact that Randall appeared to REALLY struggle against a
>moderate Dallas pass rush, on several plays not knowing
>whether to run or pass (and Dallas not knowing either...
>*sigh*).  There were several tight (to say the least) plays
>in the end zone but other than that Randall had very little
>success against a Cowboy secondary that some have heralded
>as being among the worst in the league.  The Cowboys corners
>are playing tough man-to-man if only the safety play would
>improve to meet up with them.

Yup, Randall didn't have time to check his watch back there,
he needed to get rid of the ball or duck out of the pocket
pretty quickly.  I thought that in this regard the Cowboys
tackled poorly.  Several times they either had Randall or
Herschel in the backfield only to let them get away.

>* Martin and Williams get game balls from me for offense, even
>though the Big E was beaten several times.  He did very well
>against Reggie White, and got beaten mostly by LB.  And tell
>me, on that one sack, what was poor Emmitt doing blocking
>Reggie???

Williams will only improve as the year goes on and not only
is that good news for the Cowboys this year, but it's good that
they've integrated another young guy as a starter on the OL for
down the road.  I'm glad to see KMart having a bigger part of
the offense.  A year or so ago, it seemed as if he got lost in
the shuffle.  He can help a lot.

>* On defense, Tolbert is the only defensive lineman that I can
>credit in this game.  He is a much better player than Haley at
>this point and Haley does not deserve all of his accolades. 
>Better yet, Haley should not even be playing every down, his
>production has dropped significantly since he became an every
>down player.  Put Tony Hill in there instead, or move Jeffcoat 
>back to starting DE....

It's good to see Tolbert is for real when it comes to being a 
pass rusher.  I agree with you about Haley playing every down,
but even if he doesn't get a sack he makes his presence known.
If Hill or Jeffcoat were playing DE on first downs, Haley might
get more sacks in nickel situations.  Overall, the Cowboys defense
continues to get pressure on the pocket without a lot of sacks.

>* As for defensive game balls, Tolbert and R. Jones get high marks
>for solid games.  Honorable mentions go to Holt and Brown for 
>holding Williams and Barnett (two very talented receivers) down
>for as long as they did and as well as they did.

Agreed.  Against a QB like Randall, who makes you think about him
doing other things than passing, and against a pass offense that
features safe, high percentage plays, the Dallas D did a great job.

>* Novacek was horrible and deserves to have his salary lowered.
>I hate to see the great go bad, but he has the worst cast of
>"relaxation disease" that I have ever seen.  He was obviously
>"the man" in this offensive game plan and failed to produce.

Yup, Jay dropped several passes and missed a few chances to get
that extra yard, which cost the 'Boys a few first downs.  But,
other receivers dropped passes also, which was frustrating to see.

>* The penalties were terrible, but will be reduced if the game
>stays closer.  The Cowboys showed their youth and reverted to 
>a sloppily played game without the concentration and style that
>the Eagles played theirs.  This part of the game will still come,
>it is one of the few things that can be guaranteed in NFL football.

The drive where the Cowboys were deep in their own territory and kept
getting backed up by penalties was ugly, something a JJ coached team
does not normally do.  I agree that it's one of the manifestations
of a young team, and luckily should improve.

>* Aikman looked very bad at times and did not listen to the only
>major directive given by his boss, he didn't protect the ball and
>he held it too long as usual.  His offensive line did a great 
>job holding back the Eagles, but when push comes to shove he
>needs to get rid of the ball sooner.  He must have checked off
>to 3 receivers on EVERY play, and that is not right.

I think it's the mark of a QB that most refer to as "gutsy".  The
same thing happened time after time when the Eagles played the Giants
for the past few years.  Phil Simms, a Super Bowl winning QB, a Pro
Bowler, and a "gutsy" QB himself, consistently had balls batted in
his face, stripped from him on sacks, and other weird things when he
faced the Eagles.  Guys like this try to force things instead of
taking what they're giving.  Hopefully, Troy will learn.  It seems
like he's learned from last year's 11-sack game, and is getting rid
of the ball quicker this year.

>* Alvin Harper, although making a great catch in the game, should
>have had a bigger role.  I salute the guys who played him man all
>game, but a receiver that big and fast should be able to beat man
>coverage more often than once (and he wasn't that open that time).
>With all the attention focused on Irvin, Novacek, and Smith, 
>Harper was obviously the guy that needed to catch several balls.
>Instead, my favorite receiver on the Cowboys, the guy who should
>be starting in place of Harper, Kelvin Martin, caught 3 balls 
>including 2 clutch catches for a 1st down and the TD.  With more
>playing time, Martin would make the defense pay worse than 
>Harper is doing currently.

I predicted Harper would be the star of this game, expecting Irvin
to draw the attention of Eric Allen and Harper challenging Jenkins.

>* The team collapsed somewhere around the end of the third 
>quarter.  They will learn from this and will improve because
>of a collapse like that.  This collapse was different than the
>breakdown in the Giants game, but each has taught a valueable
>lesson.

Yup, young teams learn, and young teams with talent learn and
then win!

>* Finally, without calling him a goat, I believe that the
>blowout can be blamed on one play, a play that if it had gone
>differently MIGHT have altered the final score if not the whole
>outcome of the game.  Although there is no way that I can back it up
>it is my firm opinion that if Horton had intercepted the Cunningham
>pass in the endzone early in the game that the tide would have
>turned a little differently.  That pick, or not-pick, is this
>weeks "key play" by my standard.....

When I see a play like that I keep wondering how much it's going
to matter later on.  If it had gone the other way, who knows??

>* Lin Elliot, while not having a bad game, needs a confidence 
>builder in a bad way.  Hopefully he will kick 3 vs. Seattle.

He'll be fine as the season progresses.  He may not have the leg of
Brad Daluiso, but by NFL standards is a kicker with a strong leg.
Accuracy is the attribute which won him his job.  I agree, for his
own sake, he needs a confidence builder.

>* The Cowboys released NYGiants spy Bobby Abrahms today.  It is
>not known who will take his roster spot, but if there isn't a 
>trade in the works (yes, the trading deadline approacheth),
>it could be Jimmy Smith.  I expect Ace to go on IR this week and
>for Smith to come off though, so the roster spot is still a 
>mystery to me.  Abrahms had played a bit on special teams but
>didn't do much to impress me or the coaches.

Jimmy Smith has been reactivated.  I'm looking forward to seeing
him develop.  I don't know why Abrams was ever picked up, and now
that he's gone, I won't wonder.

>* Tony Hill played in the game and so did Thomas Everett.  That 
>means that Hennings and Wright were the inactive players and that
>Hennings still has not seen the light of day or the green of the
>turf.  He must be getting splinters from riding that pine so long.

Everett is another bright spot for us Cowboys fans to focus on.
He should fit in quickly since Pittsburgh plays the same kind of
zone defense as the Cowboys.  Hennings is an obvious choice to
be deactivated every week, he's doing most of his work during the
week learning.

>* The Seattle line is 16, and I don't know what to make of that
>game.....

Any kind of win will be fine as long as the game is injury free....

>Anyway, I have fulfilled my obligations and done my duty.  Let's
>see and hear those responses from pro and con netters around the
>globe.

Overall, not a good result, but I can see where JJ is encouraged
by the play.  The Cowboys had a similar type of day with turnovers
after the bye week last season (at Detroit) with a similar result.
It's tough to coach against turnovers without getting very
conservative or letting it affect the aggressiveness of your game
plan.  Individually, it comes down to players hanging onto the
ball to avoid fumbles, or the QB to make correct decisions.  Troy
has to fine tune slightly more to buy some time or stay away from
a collapsing pocket.

Bring on the Seahawks!!!!!!


Ray     GO COWBOYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!