Chicago Recap, Philly Precap WK15

Boys/CHI Recap Week 14, PHI Pre-Cap Week 15

Dodged a Bullet

You can tell Dallas is going into January mode. They should have stomped all over Chicago from the start, but they kept it interesting at the end. Two recovered onsides kicks? 21 points in a quarter, even if it was only the 4th? It's sloppy, and not a good way to cap off a week while heading into your second meeting with Philly.

SLOW. THEM. DOWN.

One thing that Seattle did that may give the Cowboys an option is the whole "fake injury to stop the game" routine. Is it gamesmanship? Probably, yes. Is it not in the spirit of the game? Probably. But I'm pretty sure the game wasn't founded in the spirit of running a hurry-up offense all game either, so fight fire with fire. One thing this Philly O has got going for them is when they settle into that rhythm of getting 10-12 yard chunks play after play. Even if that is the case, if a Dallas player takes a dive in the middle of a drive, it screws up the rhythm, gives the D a chance to catch up, and ultimately allows Dallas to play more solid, concentrated D.

Yes, it is true that the league does fine teams for faking injuries, but something as serious as a cramp can keep a player down for up to 10 minutes if it's bad enough, and why wouldn't they be more prevalent against a team running the hurry-up?

Dallas has to stop worrying about what the media and public is going to think if they pull this routine though. They NEED this win, along with the Eagles losing one more game this season to make Dallas the de facto NFC East champion, and they don't have to worry about seeing Philly again in the playoffs if Seattle does well.

Boys/Skins Recap MNF 10/27

Welp, you could practically see the stars aligning for this one: a primetime game in Jerrah World against a team Dallas should dominate. And, as the case seems to have been since Romo came in as the starter, that was as sure a sign of a loss as anything.

The Redskins came into AT&T Stadium at the bottom of the NFC East, apparently with a game plan that would work. Three things have been said about Dallas since Week 3:

1. They could have the best OL in the league.
2. A huge reason they have been so successful was because they used Murray to take the pressure off Romo's shoulders.
3. Dallas's D has been able to play better than they were predicted to because Rod Marinelli has simplified the defense to a level that allows them to play fast.

Here's what we saw last night:

1. The Redskins figured out that 5 OL cannot cover 8 defensive players. By loading the box or bluffing to load the box, they forced Romo to keep Murray and Witten in to protect. Murray and Witten are two big checkdown routes for Romo when he feels pressure.
2. With no checkdowns, they just played Man Coverage and dared Romo to try and navigate his way through the blitzing backs. This, obviously, was not done, and quite the opposite. Romo got whacked, and went to the the locker room to get his back checked out. He came back later in the 4th to try and save the day, although Brandon Weeden was 100% on scoring drives.
3. Dallas's D couldn't stop big passes to save their life, although they weren't particularly bad against the run.

Here's what could have been done for the Cowboys to pull off the win:

1. Instead of keeping both Witten AND Murray in, only keep one. Have the other run directly around or through the direction of the blitz and have him settle right in the area the blitz came from. That didn't happen once.
2. Stop playing a Zone defense, because obviously theirs had plenty of holes to be found. Match up man to man with 2 safeties playing free over the top.
3. Murray rushed for the fewest attempts in the past 4 games. That matters. He was under utilized, and honestly, if I saw a blitz coming off the edges like they showed and I didn't want to keep Murray in to block, I would check to a dive to Murray. If anybody didn't see, the middle of the field was wide open. All we'd need is for Murray, Leary, Frederick, and Martin to beat the 3 guys in the middle to bust it. This, too, did not happen. 
4. I don't know if this would have changed anything, but I DO know that putting a QB back in that's guaranteed another 5 years of paychecks after aggravating a back injury is not a smart move. I'm looking at you, Jerry, and it's only a matter of time until news surfaces that you had the final call in putting Romo back in after every medical professional on the sideline told him not to go back in.