Thoughts on Cowboys vs. Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

[sebman2112]

I feel bad for the Bills players and fans right now. Really, their coach gave the game away but that's another story.

Funny thing about this game is that after the weekend during halftime of the monday night game my brother and I usually call one another and talk about our respective games. Tonight I added the Cowboys played like junk during the first half but they were only down by 7 points, and I'd feel bad for the Bills if they lost but it wouldn't surprise me if the Cowboys came back to win.

Getting to the Patriots v Cowboys game this might have actually been a good thing for NE. The Cowboys had to fight until the end in order to earn that emotional win. So, when they play the Patriots next week they'll be coming off a short week and a hard fought emotional game. Speaking as someone who's been in that situation it can make it harder to win next week.

I also noticed a few things for Cowboys fans to be concerned about.

1) Romo seems to lock onto his targets and if you're spying his eyes you can sometimes tell where he's going. This is a very bad habit for a QB in the NFL to have. Romo is good at getting away from the sack but some good pressure up the middle can cause him to fluster a bit.

2) Their secondary can be exploited especially by Wes Welker and Ben Watson. I'd say Moss but they'll probably shift half their secondary over to take him away. If not he's having a big game. Some screan passes to Faulk might rack up some yards as well.

3) That offensive line can be pressured and you can shutdown their rushing game. I thought Barber and Jones would have a pretty big night against the Bills as NE generally shoves the ball down their throats. Witnessing that Cowboys rushing game struggle at times tells me it could be slightly overrated.

4) TO's still dropping important passes.

5) Special teams units could be a key to this game as they've proven their coverage teams will give up yardage to a good returner and NE just happens to have two very good returners.

I'll finish this by saying it was just one game, but in all honesty I noticed some of these problems before, they just weren't exploited.

 

[Nordy]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

They seemed to have a little trouble with RBs coming out of the backfield tonight. Too bad Faulk got injured yesterday. Maroney should be back this week. I'd expect him and Morris to catch a few passes.


edit: Hmmm looking at the stats the Bills RBs didn't have as many catches as I thought.

 

[PATRIOT64]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

Dallas plays very tough and is very hard to beat at home..Even in the lean years of the early decade they were hard to knock off at Texas Stadium

Despite what mistakes you saw tonight, Dallas and its 12th man,the fans will be very fired up and its going to take a near perfect game plan to beat these guys.

If you expect Romo to toss 5 more Ints. no way its going to happen,He will be prepared and ready,He had a rare bad night off from what he has done earlier this season and unless his OL has major problems in containment,he should keep our secondary very busy on sunday afternoon.

 

[Nordy]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

One thing that the Patriots have a huge advantage with in this matchup is the deep passing game. Roy Williams and Ken Hamlin are very mediocre when it comes to defending the deep ball. Throw in Moss, Stallworth, and Watson and that's a recipe for some big plays.

 

[SVN]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

One thing that the Patriots have a huge advantage with in this matchup is the deep passing game. Roy Williams and Ken Hamlin are very mediocre when it comes to defending the deep ball. Throw in Moss, Stallworth, and Watson and that's a recipe for some big plays.

iam quite sure wade phillips knows this. He brought so much pressure on brady last yr when he was with the chargers to protect his secondary and he will do the same this week.

 

[Nordy]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

iam quite sure wade phillips knows this. He brought so much pressure on brady last yr when he was with the chargers to protect his secondary and he will do the same this week.

Last year we had Caldwell and Gaffney. A little different matchup for Phillips this year. Go ahead and bring pressure because when it gets picked up, Moss is going to the house.

 

[SVN]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

Last year we had Caldwell and Gaffney. A little different matchup for Phillips this year. Go ahead and bring pressure because when it gets picked up, Moss is going to the house.

could be but this will be a big test for our o line because i think the cowboys will rush more than 4 a lot

 

[sebman2112]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

They seemed to have a little trouble with RBs coming out of the backfield tonight. Too bad Faulk got injured yesterday. Maroney should be back this week. I'd expect him and Morris to catch a few passes.


edit: Hmmm looking at the stats the Bills RBs didn't have as many catches as I thought.

Yea, it seems they have trouble stopping a lot of short stuff. They did make a few nice tackles out in the flats but gave up a few other quick passes to the outside. They had trouble stopping short-medium passes in the middle of the field. Part of the reason for this is that Roy Williams is not a good coverage Safety, and some of it has to do with their LB's. This is why I believe Watson, Welker, and the RB's will have the best chance of having big receiving games.

Also, we have to remember the Patriots have two burners at WR one of which happens to be an all-time great receiver and they also have a very fast TE who can help stretch the field. So, the Patriots will be able to stretch the Cowboys even more than the Bills and the 'boys are going to need more support in the secondary (trying to cover Moss and Welker) so they'll have a hard time sending the rushers needed to get through NE's very good offensive line. Those deep to medium-deap receiving threats should open up a gap for short/medium passes down the middle and could open up some running lanes for Maroney and Morris. I hope Maroney plays because his speed could come in handy against the Cowboys.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

Dallas plays very tough and is very hard to beat at home..Even in the lean years of the early decade they were hard to knock off at Texas Stadium

Despite what mistakes you saw tonight, Dallas and its 12th man,the fans will be very fired up and its going to take a near perfect game plan to beat these guys.

If you expect Romo to toss 5 more Ints. no way its going to happen,He will be prepared and ready,He had a rare bad night off from what he has done earlier this season and unless his OL has major problems in containment,he should keep our secondary very busy on sunday afternoon.

Romo hasn't faced anybody yet. He's always been prone to these games, and he often has a shaky start that teams he's faced simply can't capitalize on - one of the many plusses of playing in the NFC that evaporates when you play an AFC team. Romo talks the talk about film study and preparation, but he plays by the seat of his pants and sloppy.

The bad news about the outcome tonight is it absolved Romo in his teamates eyes. The won't quit on him, except for TO but that's a seperate unrelated and recurring issue....

We have to get up on them and not let up on them. We have to pressure him and get to him, not let him salvage plays because that is his bread and butter. He really is Favre-esque. But his weapons are pretty limited and we should have the horses to cover them and capitalize on his poor decision making and sloppy ball handling.

 

[DisgruntledTunaFan]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

4) TO's still dropping important passes.

5) Special teams units could be a key to this game as they've proven their coverage teams will give up yardage to a good returner and NE just happens to have two very good returners.

4) The 2 pt conversion was PI not called, and the (low)throw toward the end was kicked out by a defender's knee(I don't like TO myself-but just to be fair).

5) Keith Davis should be back-he's our glue to our STs-we OWNED Devon Heston in the Chicago game.

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

4) The 2 pt conversion was PI not called, and the (low)throw toward the end was kicked out by a defender's knee(I don't like TO myself-but just to be fair).

5) Keith Davis should be back-he's our glue to our STs-we OWNED Devon Heston in the Chicago game.

How was the conversion pass interference?

 

[sebman2112]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

I wanted to also point out that one of their problems against the Patriots will be their use of the 3-4 defense. Yes, they try and get pressure on the QB by rushing both OLB's but that's basically all they do. Ware and Spencer are basically rushing on every play and they don't drop into coverage nearly as often as Vrabel or Colvin. This is part of the reason I believe the Patriots will be able to exploit the Cowboys defense with short passes, which could lead way to a few long passes to either Stallworth or Moss.

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

Given the type of hitter Roy Williams is, I won't be surprised to see Watson cough one up in this game.

 

[sebman2112]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

4) The 2 pt conversion was PI not called, and the (low)throw toward the end was kicked out by a defender's knee(I don't like TO myself-but just to be fair).

5) Keith Davis should be back-he's our glue to our STs-we OWNED Devon Heston in the Chicago game.

The failed two point conversion wasn't a blown PI, also who knows if the Cowboys win that game if it goes to overtime So I wouldn't complain. Those also weren't the only passes TO dropped.

 

[PATRIOT64]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

Romo hasn't faced anybody yet. He's always been prone to these games, and he often has a shaky start that teams he's faced simply can't capitalize on - one of the many plusses of playing in the NFC that evaporates when you play an AFC team. Romo talks the talk about film study and preparation, but he plays by the seat of his pants and sloppy.

The bad news about the outcome tonight is it absolved Romo in his teamates eyes. The won't quit on him, except for TO but that's a seperate unrelated and recurring issue....

We have to get up on them and not let up on them. We have to pressure him and get to him, not let him salvage plays because that is his bread and butter. He really is Favre-esque. But his weapons are pretty limited and we should have the horses to cover them and capitalize on his poor decision making and sloppy ball handling.

Last year he beat a pretty great Indy team and outscored Manning,That has to be somewhat impressive eh?

Although Indy's defense at the time was in shambles but he did have a good game and outshined Peyton then.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

Romo hasn't faced anybody yet. He's always been prone to these games, and he often has a shaky start that teams he's faced simply can't capitalize on - one of the many plusses of playing in the NFC that evaporates when you play an AFC team. Romo talks the talk about film study and preparation, but he plays by the seat of his pants and sloppy.

The bad news about the outcome tonight is it absolved Romo in his teamates eyes. The won't quit on him, except for TO but that's a seperate unrelated and recurring issue....

We have to get up on them and not let up on them. We have to pressure him and get to him, not let him salvage plays because that is his bread and butter. He really is Favre-esque. But his weapons are pretty limited and we should have the horses to cover them and capitalize on his poor decision making and sloppy ball handling.

They weren't going to quit on him anyway. Just one game. More importantly, their shoddy play was validated because there were no consequences to it. A loss would have been just that. The played like crap and got away with it. They got off scott free. I hope they are 1/3 as sloppy as they were tonight on Sunday.

 

[rabthepat]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

We are going to put a hurting on Dallas and Romo.

 

[patsox23]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

Despite what mistakes you saw tonight, Dallas and its 12th man,the fans will be very fired up and its going to take a near perfect game plan to beat these guys.

I don't disagree that we shouldn't look at tonight's performance by Romo, et al, as a sign of things to come, but your breathless panic of it taking "a near perfect game plan to beat these guys" is needlessly frantic and, I think, significantly off-mark. The Cowboys are fine, whatever. Pats win going away, 10+.

 

[patsox23]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

4) The 2 pt conversion was PI not called, and the (low)throw toward the end was kicked out by a defender's knee(I don't like TO myself-but just to be fair).

5) Keith Davis should be back-he's our glue to our STs-we OWNED Devon Heston in the Chicago game.

You should try following football sometime. "Devon Heston" is embarrassing. Your team is good for the NFC. They'll lose next week. By a LOT. And it has nothing to do with that pathetic performance they put on tonight. It's because the Patriots are better. That's a W for N.E.

 

[PATRIOT64]

Re: Thoughts on Cowboys v Bills and the Patriots matchup with Dallas

I don't disagree that we shouldn't look at tonight's performance by Romo, et al, as a sign of things to come, but your breathless panic of it taking "a near perfect game plan to beat these guys" is needlessly frantic and, I think, significantly off-mark. The Cowboys are fine, whatever. Pats win going away, 10+.

I am sure you and some others will probably be saying the same thing when we face indy as well - a 10 point win going away

Can ANYONE in the league lose to the Patriots by less than 10 or shall I say if the IMPOSSIBLE happens and a team beats the Pats or shall I say is it remotely possible (sarcastic) ?

Some fans actually think the Pats can't possibly lose ANY game this year or win by less anything less than 10 - Some think there will be no close games,I know there are some out there.

Any given sunday,My friend - Any given sunday