TOP HAT'S COWBOYS GAME REVIEW: With the endless "zeros rattlings" lacking insider info threads about the Cowboys game and putting a direction for preview of the final games and beyond, I enclose my posted blog game review & preview for the rest of the season. Fans' questions are answered about who is responsible, who needs to improve, & who needs be replaced for the final four games.
Cowboys Beat Favre-Less Packers 37-27: Review
SUMMARY:
The Cowboys held off the Packers with a late 4th quarter touchdown drive to win 37-27. After a rattled & injured Q Favre left the game, Q Rodgers rallied the Packers back into the game completing 18 passes for 201 yards & 1 touchdown. WR Jennings had 5 receptions for 87 yards & 1 touchdown. RB Grant rushed for 94 yards & 2 touchdowns.
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. ESPN. 2. JSOnline. 3. Packersnews. 4. WSJ. 5. Capital Times.
QUOTES:
Scout Inc: “The play calling was questionable as Green Bay got away from their West Coast principles early. After Favre's injury, the Packers got back to throwing short precise passes. [QB] Rodgers also missed some blitz pickups, but did move the team with sharp throws and by making plays with his feet. Meanwhile, Bigby was overwhelmed by [TE] Witten. [WR] Owens was unstoppable and [Q] Romo never waivered…the Cowboys to victory.”
Favre: "I had a similar injury last year. I lost feeling in my fingers. I still have some tingling. But I think I'll be okay."
Coach McCarthy: "What's frustrating is it's stuff we talked about as a team the night before. When you get into those big games, that big-game environment, it was a great environment, a great learning experience for our football team, it comes down to fundamentals...make sure you have your feet, your hands in the right place, make sure your eyes are in the right place. The common error throughout the football game was our eyes and our vision. We were not looking at the right things, and that was clear across the board in the secondary."
Coach Washington: "In a big-time game like that was (Thursday) night, those guys don't have a lot of experience in the big games, and they made some mistakes out there. I won't feel bad or nervous about putting any one of those guys in the game at any given time. Anytime you get experience, it helps you....[Y]ou're going to get some heartache with that. It happens."
TURNING POINT:
After RB Grant’s 62 touchdown run cut the Cowboys' lead to 3 points, the Cowboys had a long drive shredding the Packers’ secondary & leading to a 26 yard TD pass.
GAME BALLS:
1. Q Rodgers. 2. RB Grant. 3. DT Pickett.
INJURY REPORT:
1. Q Favre suffered separated shoulder & injured elbow. He’ll be back for Oakland game.
REPORT CARD--GOOD, BAD & UGLY:
Rushing offense: B
The rushing game had a good outing rushing 19 times for 124 yards. RB Grant rushed 14 times for 94 yards averaging 6.7 per carry with two touchdowns. He did make a few misreads. Scrambling Q Rodgers rushed 5 times for 30 yards. The offensive line looked awful showing lack of consistency, strength, & toughness in the game. G Colledge had a "bad game". We continue to have problems at the guard positions, an old story, after two years.
Passing offense: C
Q Favre had a brief bad game looking rattled executing an early questionable game plan throwing into a deep cover 2 zone coverage. While leaky pass protection & missed blitzes combined to force bad throws, Favre misjudged reads, had no patience, & didn't follow the correct check-downs. He completed only 5 passes for 56 yards with two interceptions. Favre’s two interceptions led to two Cowboys’ scores & an early solid Cowboys lead. A missed blitzed caused a "winged" intercepted throw & a hard hit to Favre forcing him to leave early with injuries. Q Rodgers rallied the Packers completing 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards & one touchdown pulling within 27-24. WR Jennings led receivers with 5 receptions for 87 yards.
Rushing defense: B-
Generally, against a top NFC offensive line, the rush defense played a solid game running out-of-gas in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys got only 27 carries for 106 yards averaging 3.9 yards. RB Barber had 17 carries for 81 yards. DT Pickett & DT Williams played "okay" games. "Well-paid" DT Jenkins continued to disappoint against the run & the pass. LB Hawk had 8 tackles getting better every game. LB Poppinga did okay.
Passing defense: D-
Facing little pass rush & lousy defensive coverage involving communication issues & coverage issues, Q Romo had a “big plays” day. Romo completed 19 of 30 passes for 309 yards, 4 touchdowns, & one interception [dropped touchdown] with a 123.5 passer rating. WR Owen had 7 receptions for 156 yards & one touchdown. WR Crayton had 3 receptions for 42 yards & 2 touchdowns. As one fan observed about the Cowboys' effective offensive game plan: "It’s the same motion each time. T.O. motions inside behind Crayton. Every time, Al Harris and the other defender [confused] try to switch off. The result has either been T.O. open or Crayton open." TE Witten had 6 receptions for 67 yards. CB Bush looked pathetic getting beat on two touchdown passes & getting an interference penalty leading to another score. CB Williams replaced CB Bush getting an interference penalty too & leading to another score too. CB Harris struggled in coverages, especially against WR Owen. S Collins bit on play-actions & looked awful in coverage. S Bigby was brutal in all coverage types & had two crucial bad penalties. Rookie S Rouse needs to get solid playing time for the final 4 games.
Special Teams: C+
The coverage team looked awful allowing very good field positions on kickoffs with KR Austin returning six kickoffs for 166 yards averaging 27.7 yards. The Packers' return team got nowhere on kickoff returns. KR Robinson had 4 for 92 yards averaging 23 yards. KR Williams had 4 for 73 yards. K Crosby hit two long field goals. P Ryan had 3 solid punts averaging 49.7 yards with one inside the 20 yard line.
Coaching: C
McCarthy’s questionable game plan to strike early deep got away from the deliberate West Coast offense. Early, the game plan tried to strike with long passes in double or triple coverages, but the offensive line had leaky protection leading to the costly turnovers. On the offense, the rushing game continued to improve with the improvement of RB Grant. The "widely criticized" defensive coordinator is responsible for this defensive "zero" performance having the continued lack of consistent coverage issues, the horrible execution of effective tight coverage against the shifts, motions, & crosses, the lack of an effective blitz strategy, & of course the lack of a consistent pass rush in the defensive game plan. The Cowboys’ game plan was effectively predictable with the absence of CB Woodson, detailed by SI's Brooks:
"Dallas OC Garrett crafted a game plan [featuring] Owens motioning into the slot out of bunch formations to attack the Packers' aggressive defense....With Owens positioned in the slot, Garrett was able to take advantage of the Packers' linebackers....T.O.'s 48-yard reception on a deep crossing route from the slot exploited the MIKE linebacker's role as the deep middle player in two-deep coverage. But the move of Owens into the slot also gave the Cowboys an effective counter to the Packers' press-man coverage as well. By using Owens as part of a mini-cluster formation, Garrett freed his superstar from tight coverage by using rubs or picks to get free releases at the line while forcing Green bay to switch assigned defenders."
One reviewer summed up the defensive coordinator problem:
"The whole game, Cowboys first year offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was one step ahead of the Packers and their defense. The problem is, the Packers scheme basically says - here we are, come and beat us. Usually, when the Packers line up against another team, they can win their fair share of any one-on-one matchups. However, when presented with a team that has some superior personnel, a defensive coordinator must be able to scheme for the deficiencies he knows he has. Think back to Jim Bates one year as defensive coordinator and the absolutely brilliant gameplan he drew up to contain Michael Vick down in Atlanta. The week prior, Vick had enjoyed his finest week as a pro, and all anyone could talk about was how he was finally arriving as a quarterback. Enter Bates and the Packer defense. Bates altered the scheme when presented with a unique challenge. Sanders has not shown anywhere near the same kind of imagination."
With the "Cowboys’ quality beats Packers’ quantity" headline, future lineup changes are strong possibilities. The untimely stupid penalties continue to be a serious issue with 9 penalties for 142 yards. Finally, injuries are no excuse for losing in the "parity" NFL.
Overall: C
The Packers remain one of the two top teams in the NFC with a 10-2 record. Sportsline.com Grade: B-.
COMMENTARY:
Four Rs: "Rage, Recover, Regroup, & Rematch." Rematch: NFL Championship Game.
PREVIEW:
The Packers are home facing the Raiders in a "must win" rebound game. With four games remaining, we'll see who has the NFC best record for home field advantage.
_________________________________________________________________________________
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=271129006
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=691662
http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/PKR0201/711300655/1989
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports//index.php?ntid=259575
http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/packers/
http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/packers/
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=271129006
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3135650&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines
http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/packers/259843
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports//index.php?ntid=259758
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=691938
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports//index.php?ntid=259758
http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/PKR01/71130197/1989
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/bucky_brooks/12/02/notebook.week13/1.html
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2007/11/30/ramblings/audibles/5827/
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/packers/home.htm
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/features/writers/prisco/grades
http://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/bob-sanders-has-a-big-problem/
TOP HAT'S OAKLAND GAME PREVIEW: As far as Oakland, the early preview indicate a poor run defense and a good pass defense. The Packers are 10 1/2 points favorites. The Packers need to just stick to the West Coast offense, fundamentals, & no turnovers/stupid penalties. It won't be an easy win with them on a roll, but it's way too late in the season. Typical.....Besides, we are home and most injured players except Jolly and maybe Bubba are expected back. The last four games involve struggling typical late season spoilers, i.e. you know, "party poopers".
op: op: op: op: op:
Cowboys Beat Favre-Less Packers 37-27: Review
SUMMARY:
The Cowboys held off the Packers with a late 4th quarter touchdown drive to win 37-27. After a rattled & injured Q Favre left the game, Q Rodgers rallied the Packers back into the game completing 18 passes for 201 yards & 1 touchdown. WR Jennings had 5 receptions for 87 yards & 1 touchdown. RB Grant rushed for 94 yards & 2 touchdowns.
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. ESPN. 2. JSOnline. 3. Packersnews. 4. WSJ. 5. Capital Times.
QUOTES:
Scout Inc: “The play calling was questionable as Green Bay got away from their West Coast principles early. After Favre's injury, the Packers got back to throwing short precise passes. [QB] Rodgers also missed some blitz pickups, but did move the team with sharp throws and by making plays with his feet. Meanwhile,
Favre: "I had a similar injury last year. I lost feeling in my fingers. I still have some tingling. But I think I'll be okay."
Coach McCarthy: "What's frustrating is it's stuff we talked about as a team the night before. When you get into those big games, that big-game environment, it was a great environment, a great learning experience for our football team, it comes down to fundamentals...make sure you have your feet, your hands in the right place, make sure your eyes are in the right place. The common error throughout the football game was our eyes and our vision. We were not looking at the right things, and that was clear across the board in the secondary."
Coach Washington: "In a big-time game like that was (Thursday) night, those guys don't have a lot of experience in the big games, and they made some mistakes out there. I won't feel bad or nervous about putting any one of those guys in the game at any given time. Anytime you get experience, it helps you....[Y]ou're going to get some heartache with that. It happens."
TURNING POINT:
After RB Grant’s 62 touchdown run cut the Cowboys' lead to 3 points, the Cowboys had a long drive shredding the Packers’ secondary & leading to a 26 yard TD pass.
GAME BALLS:
1. Q Rodgers. 2. RB Grant. 3. DT Pickett.
INJURY REPORT:
1. Q Favre suffered separated shoulder & injured elbow. He’ll be back for Oakland game.
REPORT CARD--GOOD, BAD & UGLY:
Rushing offense: B
The rushing game had a good outing rushing 19 times for 124 yards. RB Grant rushed 14 times for 94 yards averaging 6.7 per carry with two touchdowns. He did make a few misreads. Scrambling Q Rodgers rushed 5 times for 30 yards. The offensive line looked awful showing lack of consistency, strength, & toughness in the game. G Colledge had a "bad game". We continue to have problems at the guard positions, an old story, after two years.
Passing offense: C
Q Favre had a brief bad game looking rattled executing an early questionable game plan throwing into a deep cover 2 zone coverage. While leaky pass protection & missed blitzes combined to force bad throws, Favre misjudged reads, had no patience, & didn't follow the correct check-downs. He completed only 5 passes for 56 yards with two interceptions. Favre’s two interceptions led to two Cowboys’ scores & an early solid Cowboys lead. A missed blitzed caused a "winged" intercepted throw & a hard hit to Favre forcing him to leave early with injuries. Q Rodgers rallied the Packers completing 18 of 26 passes for 201 yards & one touchdown pulling within 27-24. WR Jennings led receivers with 5 receptions for 87 yards.
Rushing defense: B-
Generally, against a top NFC offensive line, the rush defense played a solid game running out-of-gas in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys got only 27 carries for 106 yards averaging 3.9 yards. RB Barber had 17 carries for 81 yards. DT Pickett & DT Williams played "okay" games. "Well-paid" DT Jenkins continued to disappoint against the run & the pass. LB Hawk had 8 tackles getting better every game. LB Poppinga did okay.
Passing defense: D-
Facing little pass rush & lousy defensive coverage involving communication issues & coverage issues, Q Romo had a “big plays” day. Romo completed 19 of 30 passes for 309 yards, 4 touchdowns, & one interception [dropped touchdown] with a 123.5 passer rating. WR Owen had 7 receptions for 156 yards & one touchdown. WR Crayton had 3 receptions for 42 yards & 2 touchdowns. As one fan observed about the Cowboys' effective offensive game plan: "It’s the same motion each time. T.O. motions inside behind Crayton. Every time, Al Harris and the other defender [confused] try to switch off. The result has either been T.O. open or Crayton open." TE Witten had 6 receptions for 67 yards. CB Bush looked pathetic getting beat on two touchdown passes & getting an interference penalty leading to another score. CB Williams replaced CB Bush getting an interference penalty too & leading to another score too. CB Harris struggled in coverages, especially against WR Owen. S Collins bit on play-actions & looked awful in coverage. S Bigby was brutal in all coverage types & had two crucial bad penalties. Rookie S Rouse needs to get solid playing time for the final 4 games.
Special Teams: C+
The coverage team looked awful allowing very good field positions on kickoffs with KR Austin returning six kickoffs for 166 yards averaging 27.7 yards. The Packers' return team got nowhere on kickoff returns. KR Robinson had 4 for 92 yards averaging 23 yards. KR Williams had 4 for 73 yards. K Crosby hit two long field goals. P Ryan had 3 solid punts averaging 49.7 yards with one inside the 20 yard line.
Coaching: C
McCarthy’s questionable game plan to strike early deep got away from the deliberate West Coast offense. Early, the game plan tried to strike with long passes in double or triple coverages, but the offensive line had leaky protection leading to the costly turnovers. On the offense, the rushing game continued to improve with the improvement of RB Grant. The "widely criticized" defensive coordinator is responsible for this defensive "zero" performance having the continued lack of consistent coverage issues, the horrible execution of effective tight coverage against the shifts, motions, & crosses, the lack of an effective blitz strategy, & of course the lack of a consistent pass rush in the defensive game plan. The Cowboys’ game plan was effectively predictable with the absence of CB Woodson, detailed by SI's Brooks:
"Dallas OC Garrett crafted a game plan [featuring] Owens motioning into the slot out of bunch formations to attack the Packers' aggressive defense....With Owens positioned in the slot, Garrett was able to take advantage of the Packers' linebackers....T.O.'s 48-yard reception on a deep crossing route from the slot exploited the MIKE linebacker's role as the deep middle player in two-deep coverage. But the move of Owens into the slot also gave the Cowboys an effective counter to the Packers' press-man coverage as well. By using Owens as part of a mini-cluster formation, Garrett freed his superstar from tight coverage by using rubs or picks to get free releases at the line while forcing Green bay to switch assigned defenders."
One reviewer summed up the defensive coordinator problem:
"The whole game, Cowboys first year offensive coordinator Jason Garrett was one step ahead of the Packers and their defense. The problem is, the Packers scheme basically says - here we are, come and beat us. Usually, when the Packers line up against another team, they can win their fair share of any one-on-one matchups. However, when presented with a team that has some superior personnel, a defensive coordinator must be able to scheme for the deficiencies he knows he has. Think back to Jim Bates one year as defensive coordinator and the absolutely brilliant gameplan he drew up to contain Michael Vick down in Atlanta. The week prior, Vick had enjoyed his finest week as a pro, and all anyone could talk about was how he was finally arriving as a quarterback. Enter Bates and the Packer defense. Bates altered the scheme when presented with a unique challenge. Sanders has not shown anywhere near the same kind of imagination."
With the "Cowboys’ quality beats Packers’ quantity" headline, future lineup changes are strong possibilities. The untimely stupid penalties continue to be a serious issue with 9 penalties for 142 yards. Finally, injuries are no excuse for losing in the "parity" NFL.
Overall: C
The Packers remain one of the two top teams in the NFC with a 10-2 record. Sportsline.com Grade: B-.
COMMENTARY:
Four Rs: "Rage, Recover, Regroup, & Rematch." Rematch: NFL Championship Game.
PREVIEW:
The Packers are home facing the Raiders in a "must win" rebound game. With four games remaining, we'll see who has the NFC best record for home field advantage.
_________________________________________________________________________________
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=271129006
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=691662
http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/PKR0201/711300655/1989
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports//index.php?ntid=259575
http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/packers/
http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/packers/
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=271129006
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3135650&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines
http://www.madison.com/tct/sports/packers/259843
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports//index.php?ntid=259758
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=691938
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports//index.php?ntid=259758
http://www.packersnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/PKR01/71130197/1989
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/bucky_brooks/12/02/notebook.week13/1.html
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2007/11/30/ramblings/audibles/5827/
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/packers/home.htm
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/features/writers/prisco/grades
http://cheeseheadtv.com/blog/bob-sanders-has-a-big-problem/
TOP HAT'S OAKLAND GAME PREVIEW: As far as Oakland, the early preview indicate a poor run defense and a good pass defense. The Packers are 10 1/2 points favorites. The Packers need to just stick to the West Coast offense, fundamentals, & no turnovers/stupid penalties. It won't be an easy win with them on a roll, but it's way too late in the season. Typical.....Besides, we are home and most injured players except Jolly and maybe Bubba are expected back. The last four games involve struggling typical late season spoilers, i.e. you know, "party poopers".
op: op: op: op: op: