Belichick is licking his chops

[SVN]

I am not sure that I buy that whole premise. Romo STILL had A LOT of time to throw. He didn't look hurried on many of his passes, he just basically threw them up for grabs. First INT was horribly overthrown. The last one was thrown into triple coverage, wtf?? Can't remember them all (there were so many), but were 1-2 tipped?

In any event, it is interesting that when we watch Manning or Brady on TV, course you see the QB delivery, then you see the end result. When those guys release, it's as if you KNOW they KNOW where the ball is going, who it's going to, and that they will catch it. With Romo last night, it was the complete opposite, never had confidence that once he released it, he knew where it was going.

iam not sure but i think a lot of romo's throws are off a 7 or 10 step drops or at least looked like he was going way back before throwing.i hardly see manning take many 7 step drops. Brady does it sometimes depending on the gameplan.

 

[DW Toys]

I am not sure guys.

I just posted in a different thread wondering if the Cowboys have got a major boost by managing to pull out a win in spite of all those offensive mistakes and will be motivated not to play so badly again.

Would have preferred that they either (a) blew out the Bills - which would have set them in an autopilot mode, or (b) lost - which would have motivated them to play better but have a major dent in their confidence.

I fear that the W last night gives them extra boost in terms of confidence and become more prepared to avoid a repeat performance.

I don't like it.

Cousin,
I am not sure about that. The Cowboys proved they could be beatable by a far inferior team and won by shear luck. I think they will be emotionally drained to a certain extent. It is also one day less to prepare and BB I am sure, found many exploitable conditions. They will be in the same mental health that the Pats brought into the Browns game after a MNF show. If they had lost I think their would be more urgency to win on Sunday to stay ahead of the Skins and if they had won big, Ol' Mo would have been taken up another notch.

I think Romo now has some doubts in his mind about sticking a ball in there and the Bills offense allowed a rookie QB Edwards time that he was too inexperienced to use to his advantage and his throws were late or he was pressured late. Give Tom some of those throws and many more opps with a much better Pats O line and see if he misses.

T.O. certainly looked average and in no where near the caliber of Moss. The Cowboys running attack certainly did not scare anyone.

If BB gets into Romo's head, it's all over. He is a QB who thrives on confidence and I believe turnovers come in bunches. He'll have some VS the Pats. Now the Pats have to turn them into TDs not FGs which is what killed the Bills.

Look at it this way. The Browns are a much better team than the Bills. Our performance was not the best and if you can call a 17 point win weak, o.k. The Boys won by shear luck against a team I am sure the Browns will beat. I know....Any given Sunday.

It seems T.O. was singled covered most of the night. Does anyone know or had seen that? I think stopping Whitten is the key. He is Romos' security blanket and the dump outs in the flat.
Thoughts?
DW Toys

 

[Rob0729]

I am not sure that I buy that whole premise. Romo STILL had A LOT of time to throw. He didn't look hurried on many of his passes, he just basically threw them up for grabs. First INT was horribly overthrown. The last one was thrown into triple coverage, wtf?? Can't remember them all (there were so many), but were 1-2 tipped?

In any event, it is interesting that when we watch Manning or Brady on TV, course you see the QB delivery, then you see the end result. When those guys release, it's as if you KNOW they KNOW where the ball is going, who it's going to, and that they will catch it. With Romo last night, it was the complete opposite, never had confidence that once he released it, he knew where it was going.

It isn't all about pressure. Disguised coverages can screw up an inexperienced QB as much as pressure at times.

 

[RoughingthePasser]

Great Thread!

Dallas was fortunate to pull that one off last night but it was a pleasure to wipe that phony smile off Romo's face.

Our defense is going to show the world that we're #1 on Sunday.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

John Clayton actually brought up a good comment on Mike and Mike. He talked about how it was the Bills having a lot of players just walking around before the snap and a lot of disguised coverages and delayed blitzes that threw Romo off his game. Who are better at these things than the Patriots?
.

It threw Romo off his game in terms of Ints but IIRC they didn't sack him once. I expect Jauron helped write the book on what to do to disrupt the cowboys and other teams will try to emulate that, possibly with better luck.
If Romo doesn't learn to adjust, this season could turn around for them in a hurry as other teams will be able to get to the QB......unlike the bills....

 

[He Ban Me]

It isn't all about pressure. Disguised coverages can screw up an inexperienced QB as much as pressure at times.

I agree to an extent, and I would never presume to know what goes through a guys mind as he lofts a ball into triple coverage. I do think that (as stated on TV), rolling him out was a nice way to try and get him out of his funk, probably should have employed that strategy a bit more often. He seemed to be pretty successful.

 

[patsox23]

I am not sure guys.

I just posted in a different thread wondering if the Cowboys have got a major boost by managing to pull out a win in spite of all those offensive mistakes and will be motivated not to play so badly again.

Would have preferred that they either (a) blew out the Bills - which would have set them in an autopilot mode, or (b) lost - which would have motivated them to play better but have a major dent in their confidence.

I fear that the W last night gives them extra boost in terms of confidence and become more prepared to avoid a repeat performance.

I don't like it.

The Patriots are going to KILL the Cowboys. They will win by double-digits. Last night will have, at best, minimal effect on Dallas - at least in terms of its relevance to the Patriots game. This is a win.

 

[patsox23]

Thankfully confidence does not win. Execution does.

I can just as easily argue that last night feeds their perception that they're unbeatable and they don't need to play a clean game to win (so why bother focusing on being perfect). A loss would have been the "kick in the nuts" necessary for them to be humble and prepare for NE.

And that would all be a crock anyway. Dallas is an inferior team which will not execute as well as NE. That will be why they lose on Sunday.

Post of the morning. Absolutely correct.

 

[Rob0729]

It threw Romo off his game in terms of Ints but IIRC they didn't sack him once. I expect Jauron helped write the book on what to do to disrupt the cowboys and other teams will try to emulate that, possibly with better luck.
If Romo doesn't learn to adjust, this season could turn around for them in a hurry as other teams will be able to get to the QB......unlike the bills....

Romo is a tough QB to sack because he is pretty mobile and usually dumps off the ball when he gets in trouble outside the pocket.

 

[richpats]

Romo is a tough QB to sack because he is pretty mobile and usually dumps off the ball when he gets in trouble outside the pocket.

If he does that often against the Pats it will be a long day for the defense. Plummer drove us nuts with that crap.

 

[TheBaronPatriot]

Last night was the first time this season the "undefeated" Dallas Cowboys played an AFC (read: "professional") team.

'Nuf ced.

Agreed.
Welcome to the AFC.

Also, did anyone notice how tense Wade Phillips seemed at the end of the game? Granted most human beings would be in that situation. But the ball players get their leadership from their coach and will likely act as he does.
Tense situations + tense/nervous players vs. BB and his one heart one soul defense = "I crush you"

 

[Rob0729]

If he does that often against the Pats it will be a long day for the defense. Plummer drove us nuts with that crap.

I didn't think we did a bad job vs. Plummer last year at all. He completed 15 of his 30 passes for 256 yards and 2 TDs, but 112 yards and 2 TDs came on two passes to Javon Walker. Otherwise, Plummer was pretty neutralized the last time we faced them. We basically gave up two big plays, but that was also the game that Hobbs broke his wrist.

Plummer in the playoffs in 2005 was 15 for 26 for 197 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT.

 

[jaytyme]

Last night was the first time this season the "undefeated" Dallas Cowboys played an AFC (read: "professional") team.

amen to that brother, albeit an inferior afc team that was still able to force six turnovers. and if not for their inept offense, buffalo wins in a walk.

one thing still very troubling to me about our own defense. while the DB play has been solid, we continue to get gashed on slow developing routes in the short-mid range in the middle of the field. it was nice to see Seau adjust w/2 picks in this area last week. but i think this will be the only exploitable weakness in an otherwise strong pass D.

also, law of diminishing returns seems to have caught the thomas/seau/bruschi combo in run stopping ability. I don't put it on thomas because he's still learning inside, but the long-in-the tooth weak-side combo worries me.

other thoughts anyone??

 

[BWareofDWare]

Last night was the first time this season the "undefeated" Dallas Cowboys played an AFC (read: "professional") team.

'Nuf ced.

No it wasn't, we won at Miami by 17 in Week 2, and last night brought Romo to 3-0 verse the AFC for his career (those two and last years win over Indy). The professional AFC East is also 0-4 on the year verse the NFC East. This is obviously because the Patriots haven't played any of the NFC East teams, but the other 3 teams in the AFC East are far from competent, let alone professional.

 

[patsox23]

one thing still very troubling to me about our own defense. while the DB play has been solid, we continue to get gashed on slow developing routes in the short-mid range in the middle of the field. it was nice to see Seau adjust w/2 picks in this area last week. but i think this will be the only exploitable weakness in an otherwise strong pass D.

other thoughts anyone??

It's something to keep an eye on, yes, but I do think at least a couple of the gameplans (jets and DEFINITELY Cincy) included "giving" them those patterns/routes and taking away other, more dangerous, situations.

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

I agree to an extent, and I would never presume to know what goes through a guys mind as he lofts a ball into triple coverage. I do think that (as stated on TV), rolling him out was a nice way to try and get him out of his funk, probably should have employed that strategy a bit more often. He seemed to be pretty successful.

Sometimes, it's simply an incorrect read of the defense. A few times, they simply don't see the third defender. But most of the time, throwing into triple coverage is an attempt, however half-assed, to force the issue. Undoubtedly the result of bad decision-making, there is some small part of the overall thought process that, in the name of bravado or whatever, causes the guy to actually believe he can make the pass - and get away with it!

Roll outs have their place in the overall scheme of things, but with Romo pitching, how long do you think it will take for Pees and the defensive backfield to make the necessary adjustments?

Not too long, methinks.

 

[FrontSeven]

The game provided a wealth of data.

The Cowboys should be worried about Rex Romo.

 

[AzPatsFan]

The Cowboys are a Right-handed team?

The Cowboys seem to have a QB that can make things out of nothing when he can rollout to his right, as well as stay in the pocket and deliver.

As a pocket passer he is just better than average; but when he gets in trouble he rolls right, and is accurate throwing on the run. I haven't seen him do much rolling left, but then I haven't seen the Cowboys play too much.

I am surprised that more teams haven't exploited than one handedness, frankly. I wonder why?

 

[jaytyme]

It's something to keep an eye on, yes, but I do think at least a couple of the gameplans (jets and DEFINITELY Cincy) included "giving" them those patterns/routes and taking away other, more dangerous, situations.

.


point taken.

i do anticipate that the return of rodney will bolster both the run and pass defense in this area of the field

 

[aluminum seats]

.


point taken.

i do anticipate that the return of rodney will bolster both the run and pass defense in this area of the field

I agree that Harrison is a key to tightening up the middle of the field. Going forward, that remains, I think, the one area of possible vulnerability with this team. Also important that these old-timers don't get hurt again. Long season.