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Finally got the self-scouting report posted.
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READERS QUESTIONS / COMMENTS
RE: Will Wade Phillips last the year?
Yes, unless things go really bad. Jerry could fire Wade, promote Dave Campo to run the team for the final few games, and then go sign a big time coach. I think Mike Shanahan would be an ideal fit for the Cowboys. I hope, pray, that he doesn't go there.
Wade was a good coach and a good football guy. He sold his soul to run the Cowboys and it has hurt his reputation. Is there anything more annoying than watching him celebrate on the sidelines?
The loss to Denver revealed a few things. Dallas is talented, but not good enough to just show up and win. They need good coaching this year. I have serious doubts about whether they are going to get it. I'm also curious about what's up with Tony Romo. I think he gets too much flak, but I'm starting to wonder about him.
RE: How good are the Giants?
Very good. They are built solidly along both lines. Eli is a good QB. Steve Smith has emerged as a good WR, maybe very good. He's playing lights out right now. He can't keep up this kind of production (8.5 catches a game), but Smith is showing that he is a quality player.
The best thing about them is that they're 2-0 in the division and they've had to deal with some injuries. Odd note. As good as they run the ball, the Giants only have one rushing TD this year. The schedule has been soft, but NY is beating those teams pretty solidly.
RE: Tuck Rule
Worst rule in history. I'd never heard of it until the Pats/Raiders game of '01. I just knew that was a fumble. And then the ref changed the call. The rule was applied correctly.
Any time a QB's arm is coming forward the refs consider it to be a pass. We've seen several plays over the years when the QB was clearly not going to throw the ball, but the tuck rule was still applied. That's the right call. It drives me crazy. Horrible rule. For the life of me I cannot understand why they won't change it or get rid of it entirely.
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10 comments:
Ahhh but Tommy, at what point does the process of the quarterbacks arm coming forward finally end? Is it a judgement call on the part of the official? Can a Quarterback just pump the ball and then hold it out for the defender to swat it away?
My contention is that once a quarterback has 2 hands back on the ball it shouldn't matter what he was doing, the pump is obviously over and it should be a live ball, even when the tuck rule is considered. I think Brady had 2 hands on it and thus the tuck rule should not have applied. The ball was all the way down by his hip at that point anyhow, its not like he was anywhere near still in the act of throwing at that point, and it was a half assed pump fake anyhow, not a full on pump.
Off topic, but J Allen got 4.5 sacks yesterday. Was that aginst the same turnstile that gave up 5 to the Bears? Anyone?
I just checked and it was indeed Allen Barbe. My favorite sack, was when he was beaten and he didn't even try and hustle back as Aaron Rodgers fumbled the ball with an audience of 1. Wow, I bet his jersey hasn't sold much outside of the Barbe household.
When the Eagles signed Trotter for round two after he was release by Washington, I wasn't expecting much. Jim Johnson made him pay his dues and earn his way back. That was until the Eagles started having trouble with the run and Trotter was then installed as the starting MLB. Much to my surprise he immediately reverted to his old form and devastated offenses with his aggressive style.
Trotter was allowed in JJ's system to freelance. That is to take chances when he thought he had sniffed out the play call. While Trotter was allowed to break with the standard rules the other players were taught to compensate for the risks Trotter was taking in the overall defensive scheme.
It looks like, based on Trotter's comments after practice yesterday, that he won't be doing that freelancing any more. I'm wondering what that will mean for his effectiveness assuming that the legs (and knees) are adequate for the job. Trotter used to be so good at anticipating the play and getting into the backfield before it developed. Perhaps now, with Bunk and Patt in front of him controlling two gaps each Trotter will find it like shooting ducks in a pond as the overmatched running backs slide to the line of scrimmage. No shooting the gap but lay and wait.
I know I'm not supposed to expect too much from Trotter in the third go around. But I am optimistic.
Eli Manning has plantar fasciitis (wow, a word besides skiing with double i). I don't remember a football player having that diagnosis although I imagine it is not all that rare. But those of us who are also basketball fans likely know how players with plantar fasciitis struggle with pain the whole season and sometimes need to shut it down and often miss time or whole games. It doesn't heal until the off season.
This is going to put some focus on the Giant's offensive line which has been excellent this year so far and last. But it makes it even more crucial for the defense to get pressure and make Manning at least move around more than he wants to. Sacks, hurries, fumbles and interceptions are of course always appreciated. I can't wait for that match up.
The new WR force-out rule doesn't seem to be getting enforced that much either. Under the new rule, a WR must have 2 feet inbounds to make the catch no matter what, even if a defender is pushing him out of bounds. Well, the most blatant example of that was in the DAL-DEN game. A Dallas WR caught the ball, only had 1 foot inbounds while the DB was pushing him out, and they ruled it a catch. Under the old rule, yeah, that would've been a catch, but this isn't NCAA and that wasn't a catch.
Jared Allen got real pressure on EVERY snap last night. The Green Bay offensive line really screwed Aaron Rodgers. A couple of the sacks looked to me like Rodgers was holding on to the ball way too long, but even without those, his protection was pathetic.
Which makes me wonder, how good are the Vikings?
I'd rank the NFC like this:
Giants
Vikings
Saints
Bears
Niners
Eagles
Some people might be surprised I ranked the Niners higher than Philly, but they've beat Arizona (little more than average team) and demolished St. Louis and Seattle. They're only loss was a shootout with the Vikings.
@ Stephen...
If the arm is coming forward at all, they consider it a throwing motion. The point is to take judgment out of the officials hands and make it black and white...arm forward = pass. That way you don't have guys trying to decide if a motion was a pump fake or a throw.
I'm not defending the rule. I hate it. That's the "logic" behind it and refs do use it correctly.
RE: Jared Allen
He mostly plays RDE. His sacks came vs both guys who played LT, Darryn Colledge and TJ Lang.
RE: WR force out
I saw it missed in one game, but don't recall which. The officials are still probably trying to adjust to it and the coaches/players are probably doing the same. It will become second nature in time. I'm glad the league changed the rule.
Thats a load of ish then, if a QB has pumped and returned the ball to both hands then the throwing motion should be considered over. What a dumb rule.
Yeah Green Bays OL this year reminds me of Pittsburghs last year, only worse, and Aaron Rodgers isn't Ben Roethlisberger, he isn't going to drag defenders around and have them bounce off of him and whatnot. How many sacks have they taken through 4 games? 25 or so I imagine? You can't have a downfield passing attack like the Packers want and have such absurdly bad pass protection, it just won't work. Kudos to Rodgers for leading them downfield twice late in the game to at least keep it interesting, and terrible call on Brad Childress' part to throw deep on 3rd down with 3 minutes left.
@ izzylangfan
Don't you remember Bobby Taylor had plantar fasciitis and had this boot that stretched out the bottom of his foot. He couldn't play for a month and wasn't effective when he came back. I know Cb has a lot more footwork (backpedal and cutting) than QB but NY might be seeing David Carr a whole lot more.
Yeah, you'd think NY would take the opportunity to rest Manning before they get in to the meat of their schedule.
And honestly, if McNabb's rib isn't completely better by Sunday we should keep him out too. Kolb will have Westbrook back and we're still in the creampuff stages of our schedule, so why not?
I don't mean to discount the Bucs, but if we're up by more than 2 TD's at the half McNabb should take the afternoon off.
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