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- 2019-2020 Regular Season:
Dallas Dismisses Dolphins’ Trap Following Their First Half Nap And
Visit New Orleans For A Super Dome Scrap
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This edition of "The Tortured
Cowboys Fan" has also been published by the fine folks at
Sports TalkLine.
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September 29,
2019 At 6:00 AM CST
By Eric M. Scharf-
- Dallas Dismisses Dolphins’
Trap Following Their First Half Nap And Visit New Orleans For A
Super Dome Scrap
The last time the Dallas Cowboys began a season 3-0 was 2008, but
they ultimately suffered a 9-7 fate. Nonetheless, “Cowboys Nation”
has been (understandably) prancing around social media shouting
“America’s Team is great!”
While the still-young 2019 season has conveyed early hints of a
“Super” year so dear, some formidable facts remain crystal clear.
Any NFL organization – America’s Team or otherwise – must
(magically) maintain a reasonably healthy roster with (critically)
coachable depth towards (routinely) good performance consistency,
game in and game out, or they will end up a paper champion in
disguise.
Still, seeing your favorite team (currently) undefeated is always a
wonderful feeling, yet it takes but one untimely defeat to leave
fans reeling. When the Miami Dolphins came to town, few to none
within the Cowboys’ organization (apparently or immediately) felt
their opponent was wearing a valid trap game crown.
Minuscule Miami (in a little over a minute-and-a-half to begin the
game) "matriculated the ball" right down the field from their own 25
to the Cowboys' own 29. They had a 47-yard field goal online, but
the football veered (just) wide right, much like the Dolphins'
alleged tanking design.
While the Cowboys would (once again) make getting off to a slow
start into a fashionable art, it was not for lack of aggressive
passing by Dak. Prescott (operating from his own 37 with 13:20
remaining in the first quarter) instantly hooked up with Amari
Cooper (who performed a slick double-move to get Dallas 37 yards
into what seemed to be a quick and productive groove). Yet, not so
fast, as it would not last.
Prescott (after nursing his way to just inside Miami's 10-yard line
on 3rd-and-9 with 10:32 remaining in the first quarter) showed off
his Romo-esque "shoulder shake" and tried to fire the football (with
less height or velocity than necessary) to Jason Witten in the end
zone with two Dolphin defenders looking to damage his fenders. It
was harmlessly deflected when it could have been annoyingly
intercepted.
Shortly thereafter, Dallas finally scored . . . three Brett
Maher-powered points, with some (but not all) fans getting bored.
Surely that heavily-advertised 22.5-point spread had not really gone to the
Cowboys’ collective head? After seeing the Ravens and Patriots (in
consecutive weeks) turn the ‘Fins into caviar, fans knew that
(seeing Dallas become the one team to fail the Miami-mashing theme)
would leave a humiliating scar.
Prescott (with 7:44 remaining in the first quarter and operating
from his own 47-yard line on 3rd-and-20) rolled to his right with
pressure coming from the middle, teasingly approached the line of
scrimmage, and pumped once before hitting Witten on the money (for
33) and playing the Dolphins like a fiddle. THIS is exactly the way
Dallas needs and wants Dak to play (against defenses suddenly forced
to pick their poison from QB spy or coverage guy). No, no, there is
nothing at all wrong with Prescott proudly going all “Air Coryell,”
but being able to more often traumatize defenses into a kneejerk
reaction would (further) accelerate offensive traction.
With 30 seconds remaining in the half and the Dolphins operating
from the Dallas 7 on 1st-and-goal, Miami running back Kenyan Drake
took the ball to the (open) hole, spinning away from an oncoming
Jaylon Smith, but not before Smith was able to swipe the ball away.
DeMarcus Lawrence jumped on the ball to finish the recovery play.
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Dak (operating from Miami's 5-yard line on 2nd-and-goal with 3:19
remaining in the first with a nagging, point-scoring thirst) looked
to his right, slowly-and-confidently scanned back towards his left,
and (like playing Atari) directed a semi-soft touchdown pass into
the reliable hands of Amari (for the first of two, and there was
nothing the 'Fins could do).
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It was 10 to nothing, but a quick-and-decisive Dolphins’ drive down
the field demonstrated to Dallas that (for at least a bit longer)
Miami was not bluffing. While “Marinelli’s Men” ensured that Miami’s
series stalled out at the Cowboys’ four, a successful field goal got
the ‘Fins within a single, game-tying score.
Nonetheless, Dak was ready to reengage the Cowboys’ offensive
attack. Commencing the second quarter on 1st-and-10 from his own 38,
Prescott faked to Ezekiel Elliott, paused to survey the field,
backpedaled, then slowly rolled right with a potential target in
sight. He threw slightly across his body and downfield while on the
run (in a not-so-Kitna-sanctioned way) . . . only to see Miami
safety Bobby McCain pluck that pass at the Dolphins' 28 and return
it to the Dallas 49 for what could have been another game-changing
play.
While “The Hot Boyz” managed to physically stymie the Dolphins’ Josh
Rosen enough that Miami was temporarily forced to return to Ryan “Fitzmagic,”
it would only be a matter of time before the results were similarly
tragic.
Whether it was Rosen or Fitzmagic throwing the ball, however, they
both enjoyed “some” between-the-20’s success, surprisingly making
the Cowboys’ secondary an intermittent mess. Miami exploited the
absence of Dallas’ best safety in Xavier Woods and tried to put
Chidobe Awuzie (currently the most aggressive member of the Cowboys'
secondary) under maximum duress. Aside from giving up a couple 19+
yard catches, Awuzie fought off a sure touchdown pass and came away
with but a few performance scratches.
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Though the Cowboys reached intermission with an uncomfortably close
13-6 score, they won the game 31-6 by dominating the second half due
– in large part – to a monstrous effort from their ground game core.
Short Shots And Hot Spots
What about Amari Cooper and his injured right ankle? Was this the
result of overcompensation from his left heel injury (first
diagnosed as a plantar fascia irritation and later downgraded to an
intrinsic muscle strain)? Will he (successfully) play through such
pain?
Unbeknownst to most of Cowboys Nation, Cooper somewhat regularly
suffers from nose bleeds and – at the very least – nasal irritation.
And yet, from his ankle to his nose, he continues to attend to his
team’s needs.
Against Miami, Prescott became the fastest quarterback in Dallas
Cowboys history to reach 75 career touchdown passes, accomplishing
the task in 51 games. “That Announcer Guy” – by comparison within 63
games – did the same. That is quite an achievement (for ANY
quarterback), but that pace can lose some merit when considering
when and under what conditions those touchdowns are thrown. “The
Tortured Cowboys Fan” will gladly dive deeper into this perpetually
hot debate at a later date.
While (some) fans – obsessed with their fantasy football plans – may
be hacked off that Zeke Elliott is not currently at the top of the
rushing leader board, (all) fans of the real thing understand are
rejoicing in the fact that Elliott, rookie Tony Pollard, and even
Dak could be on the verge of becoming as the ground game hoard.-
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Against Miami, Zeke led the way with 125 yards on 19 carries on the
day, while Pollard picked up 103 yards on 13 carries and one
touchdown. This new dude can play.
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Robert “The Mighty” Quinn made his much-anticipated return from his
two-game suspension and – in less than 60 minutes – delivered quite
the QB pressure intervention (for a Cowboys’ defense that currently
and unnaturally lacks in resultant sacks).
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Quinn was also the player for whom former Cowboys’ 2017 first round
pick Taco Charlton was cut (due to an alleged and collective
attitude, consistency, and performance rut). Save for a solid
preseason performance against the Texans, “Taco Supreme” had been
far more the sour than the cream. And according to Dak, he
“protected [his] completion percentage” by granting the Dolphins’
latest defensive addition a Favre-esque sack.
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While Dallas’ 2019 rookie first round pick Trysten Hill registered
zeros on his first game day action, as (and if) he begins to occupy
more than one offensive lineman, he will realize more satisfaction.
Good Quote Or Garbage Bloat?
"Just bad by me. Great by the offensive line. Went through every
read three times, I guess. Then broke the pocket. Just bad by me.
Yeah, just terrible. I mean I think I saw both guys. Went to throw
it. Just kinda' got away from me. I think I was looking at both
guys, both of my guys at the same time and . . . just got away from
me and just wasn't a good play. As I said, some, another thing I can
learn from. Um, me personally of just take the back. These guys are
doing a great job up front. Don't go out there and feel like I can
make every throw. You know what I mean? Check it down and keep the
play and keep the drive going." - Dak Prescott (on the greedy
intervention that led to his second quarter interception).
"Every win is tough in this league. They did a lot of different
looks with us. Can you process what's keeping you from having
success? That's easier said than done in this level and to do it
that quickly. But I think good teams do that. " - Jason Witten (who
opted for a trademark Monday Night Football invalid word salad).
Josh Rosen (with 10:21 to play in the first quarter) made a throw to
one-time Cowboys’ receiver Allen Hurns that lead safety Jeff Heath
to put Hurns out of order. Heath was understandably determined to
help the Cowboys reset their continued curse of interception
rejection. “Everyone” made sure he received an earful following his
unintentionally “heady” effort at pass defense during week two
against the Redskins. While he kept his eyes in the football prize
(against the Dolphins), he torpedoed Hurns in the process in what
looked like an unforgiveable sin. Hurns' return to the horrifying
scene of Seattle's "twist off" crime was far from a good time. Allen
was "topped off" when Jeff Heath was unable to stop on a dime.
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“It was a bang-bang play. I was just trying to hopefully get to the
ball before but I wasn’t able to do that. Obviously when you have an
opportunity to protect yourself or protect other guys, (you do). And
you never want to do anything dirty. But there are plays where it’s
kind of on that fine line of what you think is dirty or what you
think is just doing your job. And you always have to err on the side
of doing your job regardless what the outcome of the play is. I know
what my intentions were and anyone who knows football knows what my
intentions were.” – Jeff Heath (current wearer of the “I Just Can’t
Win” wreath).
Misery Loves Injury
While it appears that perpetually-injured receiver Tavon Austin
(previously in concussion protocol), promising rookie linebacker
Luke Gifford (with an ankle injury), and Xavier Woods (still
recovering from a high ankle sprain) are perhaps expected to return,
the continued absence of double-wide defensive tackle Antwaun Woods
(still recovering from a sprained MCL), acrobatic aerialist Michael
Gallup (still recovering from a surgically-repaired meniscus tear),
and Tyrone Crawford (still recovering from bursitis in both hips)
may leave a burn.
Amari Cooper (with an ankle injury), Zack Martin (with an on-again,
off-again bad back), special teams major Kavon Frazier (with a sore
Achilles tendon), and THE wounded warrior Sean Lee (with his own
knee injury) all appear ready-and-willing to gut it out for their
next all-important, Louisiana bout. Misery loves injury unless your
schemes are designed for flexibility.
Will They Or Won’t They?
The Dallas Cowboys head to the Mercedes Benz Superdome and – in the
words of Mad Max’s Immortan Joe: “[They need to] ride eternal, shiny
and chrome.”
The New Orleans Saints have revenge on their collective mind and the
will to be unkind, but early-season roster attrition has placed both
teams in a temporary (?) bind. While the Saints have lost Drew Brees
to an unspecified number of games, the Cowboys are just a few
boo-boos away from their top two receivers and top safety pulling up
long-term lame.
America’s Team enters this contest having flipped the production
script from last year (when it was Dallas’ defense, rather than
their Linehan-limited OFFense, that opponents would fear). The
Cowboys removed their Linehan leach in favor of Kellen Moore’s
maximizing behavior. “Air Prescott” is giving it all he’s got (from
flashing his mobility to going deep so regularly) while Marinelli’s
Men perform “alright” every now and then.
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“Your best ability is your availability,” and this game will be won
or lost by coaches who take the healthy players available to them
and apply maximum-possible scheme flexibility. This game will also
be decided by coaches who believe in and have mastered a killer
instinct so distinct.
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“Garrett’s Gang” knows Sean Payton will be out for blood even
without his QB stud, but will Jason encourage Kellen to draw on
play-calling courage?
Will Dallas force the Saints into a performance bleed in order to
take-and-keep the lead? Will Dallas have thoroughly studied what the
Saints did during their battle with Seattle?
Will Dallas dial down the stupid mistakes that give a team like the
Saints all the right breaks?
Will Marinelli and Richards – if necessary – play all their
defensive cards . . . or will they allow Teddy Bridgewater and
Michael Thomas to make the Dallas secondary to look truly ordinary?
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Will Dak and Co. make the enormous (?) mistake of starting slow with
the Saints aggressively aiming for ALL SYSTEMS GO?
We shall see. We always do.
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