OFFICIAL GDT - Cowboys @ Packers!!!

[DirkFTW]

Adams too? Ugh.........

[Jon Avalon]

jesus christ

[Windmill360]

Norm was right.

[FINtastic]

I was kind of thinking going in that we had a good chance to lose this thing. As long as we take care of business the next two weeks against Oakland and Washington, we are sitting at 8-3 going into December. I'd feel good about that. I'm not expecting a Super Bowl out of this team, I'd just like to win a game or two in the playoffs.

[Underdog]

[Big Boy Laroux]

maybe some of you can help me here - how was Felix Jones' recovery of the romo fumble not a reviewable play?

[FINtastic]

They claimed you couldn't review a play where someone was trying to recover a fumble. I guess they thought that it would be hard to review in those situations because when there's generally piles where fumbles happen, you don't get any indisputable evidence. I think that was the rationale behind it. I don't know, it sounded like BS to me. In a play like that one where it's clear that Felix got control of the ball, it needs to be reviewable. If there's a pile, then you don't have any indisputable evidence, so the coach wastes his timeout. Sounds pretty simple to me.

[Thespiralgoeson]

The offensive line was the story of this game. Looks like Colombo's probably out for the season. If they're as bad as they were in Green Bay without him, the Cowboys could be in big trouble.

[FINtastic]

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

The offensive line was the story of this game. Looks like Colombo's probably out for the season. If they're as bad as they were in Green Bay without him, the Cowboys could be in big trouble.

The thing is, it didn't seem like the pressure was coming from Free's side strangely enough. Now, I didn't pay close enough attention to know whether Cowboys were helping out Free and leaving the other parts vulnerable, but a lot of the pressure was coming from Flo's side and the middle. That's not any more encouraging really, but it didn't seem like Free did a horrible job. Then again, an offensive line is one place where chemistry is kind of crucial. Guys have to help each other our all the time, and if you aren't used to playing with a guy, it's hard to trust that he's going to be there. So maybe that was a factor. Whatever it is, I hope they get it sorted out.

Honestly this game reminded me of the New York playoff game. We had been getting pretty darn good play from the line all season, then out of nowhere we got dominated by the other team. The thing that makes me feel worse this time around, is that the Packers' pass rush isn't anywhere near as dominant of a pass rush as that Giants d-line was.

[Big Boy Laroux]

Originally Posted by FINtastic

They claimed you couldn't review a play where someone was trying to recover a fumble. I guess they thought that it would be hard to review in those situations because when there's generally piles where fumbles happen, you don't get any indisputable evidence. I think that was the rationale behind it. I don't know, it sounded like BS to me. In a play like that one where it's clear that Felix got control of the ball, it needs to be reviewable. If there's a pile, then you don't have any indisputable evidence, so the coach wastes his timeout. Sounds pretty simple to me.

ok, i understand the rationale of not wanting to review who recovered a fumble in a pile. There would be extremely long delays in those big scrum piles.

But in this situation, I agree with you. Jones was on top of the ball, and then he was hit on the ground (a full second or so later) when he already had the ball. Then the ball was ripped out of his hands. Bad break.

[DirkFTW]

Some slightly encouraging blurbs I read about Free's play:

Colombo was replaced by third-year backup swing tackle Doug Free, who is expected to fill in for the remainder of the season. A year after the offensive line had its problems with Kyle Kosier out of the lineup, the new front five combination will need to develop instant unity.

"There ain't no excuse, to be honest," Leonard Davis said. "I'm not going to lie to you, he's a guy that I've been playing with, and half the battle is just communicating, knowing what guys are going to be doing, certain plays versus certain looks.

"I think it's pretty big, but Doug Free came in and did a good job, he stepped up and went in there and played."

Though Free didn't seem to be the reason for the trouble, the Cowboys allowed a season-high five sacks in Sunday's loss. Without Colombo, known for his physicality and nastiness, the Cowboys are in need of a new emotional leader up front.
Link

Free stepped right in and although he thought he played well, he's expecting to be much more prepared next week.

"It's hard to put yourself in that game-attitude if you know you're not starting," Free said. "In practice, you don't get many reps. You have to take more mental reps. It's not something you can totally prepare for."

Free played alongside right guard Leonard Davis, who said there was good communication between the two, despite their lack of continuity.

"The whole time Doug was out there, him and I were talking," Davis said. "We talked on the bench and just kind of went over some plays and scenarios, so that way when we got on the field we were able to communicate and be on the same page, because the worst thing you can do is go out on the field with somebody that's never had any game experience and not be on the same page."
Link

Oh, and that call sucked. As did allowing GB to stop play with a challenge-oops-no-challenge-oh-well-no-penalty.

[FINtastic]

Yeah, Nate Newton was on the radio earlier and had some encouraging things to say about Free. More or less said that Free shouldn't be some horrible dropoff at that position.

[Thespiralgoeson]

I thought this was interesting.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfceast/post...ndoned-the-run
Why has Garrett abandoned the run?
November, 18, 2009

By Matt Mosley
In the first few weeks of the season, the Cowboys were one of the most prolific running teams in the league. But in Sunday's 17-7 loss in Green Bay, the running game was barely a consideration. The talented trio of Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice combined for 11 carries. Barber had just five carries for 26 yards against the Packers.

Offensive coordinator Jason Garrett's apologists have gathered evidence to show that the Cowboys couldn't run because of poor down-and-distance situations. But early in the game, it looked like Barber was going to have a big day. Then Nick Folk missed a short field goal and it was like Garrett completely forgot about the run option. Here's what Choice had to say about the matter:

"I think we've got to run it more," Choice said. "Sometimes it's just the situation but that's our biggest strength on our football team offensively is running the football. We've got to get back to it like at the beginning of the season, which we will. They've got to feed Barber. They've got to feed Felix and when I can sneak in and get myself a crack in there then I can do my thing."

And Choice isn't the only one at Valley Ranch making statements like that. Coach Wade Phillips said Monday during his news conference that his team needed to run the ball more. But that's a huge part of the problem.

Owner Jerry Jones has set up an organizational chart in which Phillips appears to have little or no say about the offense. So Phillips' complaints Monday came off as a cheap second-guess. If the head coach doesn't think his team's running the ball enough during a game, shouldn't he walk over and mention that to the offensive coordinator?

It's not like Phillips has to wait for the postgame play-by-play packet to know that his team's not attempting to run the ball. All he has to do is look out there and see his quarterback getting sacked over and over again by the Packers.

Here's an interesting stat from Dallas Morning News Cowboys beat man Gerry Fraley: The Cowboys are 1-16 in this decade when they run the ball fewer than 20 times. And here's what Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers said following Sunday's game:

"The game became one-dimensional,'' Capers told reporters. "You can just go out and blitz, but if people are going to run the ball for big yardage on you, you're foolish."

Teams normally become one-dimensional when they fall behind by two scores or more. But the Cowboys' one-dimensional approach appeared to be self-inflicted.

[DirkFTW]

THANK YOU SIR! MAY I HAVE ANOTHER?