2013 NFL Predictions
- Thread starter Ref
- Start date
Its too bad that people will call into the radio in Big D and talk about a couple bad decisions by Romo on that final DAL offensive series because until that point Romo was flat out balling. He is playing the best ball of his life right now. THis game also exposed the big weakness on the BRonco's team - their 4-man rush. They cant generate any pass-rush pressure without blitzing and even the blitzes aren't getting home sometimes.
Romo couple bad decisions on that last DAL drive though:
1st & 10 - there is a saying in football "the balls gotta come out or you gotta get out". A handful of times in this game Romo used his legs and athleticism to extend the play and it paid dividends as he was able to make something happen downfield on numerous occasions. On that 1st down play however DEN blitzed and it was picked up initially but Romo hung in the pocket too long and took the sack from Shaun Phillips. Good coverage by DEN behind the blitz to force Romo to hold onto the ball but if the ball aint gonna come out Romo needs to get out of the pocket in that situation. Taking the sack and falling behind the chains contributed to his bad decision on the next play.
2nd and 10 - Denver rushed 3 and dropped 8 into coverage. There aren't gonna be a lot of windows to throw into against a 3-man rush especially if the defense is able to get some decent initial pressure which happened on that play. Romo forced one into coverage and Trevathan who is a good cover LB got the pick. Romo had a checkdown option available to him and didn't take it.
On an unrelated note I gotta give mad props to one Chris Clark. He has filled the shoes of the great Ryan Clady admirably. He more than held his own against arguably this generation's elite edge pass-rusher.
He may be playing good ball, but that does not necessarily relate to smart ball. If there was no where to put the ball then throw it away and play for OT. Kind of reminded me of some of the bone head plays Favre would pull and throw a game away, especially after a decent outing.
Other surprises - Is Indy for real? They have beaten both SF and Seattle. I'm quite impressed with their team approach. I thought the Bears would have played a stronger game against the Saints. I wasn't surprised that the Bengals beat the Pats, but that the Pats offense was shut down.
What seems to be lost in the Romo interception - a great diving pick by Danny Trevathan, btw - is that Cowboys LT Tyron Smith was pushed back into Romo by Denver outside linebacker Adrian Robinson and the Dallas QB stood on Smith's foot as he was stepping into his throw.
Not quite as bad as the narrative ("Romo chokes under pressure again") would have one believe.
Not quite as bad as the narrative ("Romo chokes under pressure again") would have one believe.
Brett Favre - You are not a man, until you are in a pic with a chainsaw.
http://www.officialbrettfavre.com/home/
http://www.officialbrettfavre.com/home/
Last edited:
You are spot-on Captain! Trevathan and Woodyard are EXCELLENT cover linebackers so the play Trevathan made doesn't surprise me that much. I watched the Denver/Baltimore game and the Denver/Oakland game earlier in the season as well and the coverage ability of the inside backers of the Broncos against tight ends and backs have impressed me all season. You are 100% that way too much blame is being pinned on Romo. Also, Denver rushed 3 and dropped 8 into coverage on that play. When a defenses rushes 3 a QB generally has a lot more time than Romo had on that play. With 3 rushers against at least 5 blockers Denver was able to get some relatively quick pressure on Romo. Not trying to absolve Romo completely because he did have a checkdown (I think Murray was open ) but Romo instead forced one into coverage. Also, Demarcus Ware's name was not called that often in that game. He made some plays against the run but he is paid to pressure the QB especially in a game like that and Ware didn't have much success in the pass-rush department against either tackle (Kiffen flipped his ends in the 2nd half).
Actually the checkdown was available - Murray if I am not mistaken. So yes he could have just taken what the defense gave him but forced one into coverage. Lets not absolve the DAL offensive line of responsibility on that play though either. Sure, they did a great job for most of the game protecting Romo. The odd thing is Denver wasn't able to get much pressure with a 4-man rush for most of the game then on that play they rushed 3 and when a defense rushes 3 a QB usually has plenty of time, a mobile QB even moreso , but Denver got some quick pressure and Romo wasn't able to step into his throw. Had there not been pressure up the middle he could have stepped into his throw and got more zip on the ball and maybe that added velocity beats the coverage (Trevathan).
Ref, I agree with your Favre comparison though. Romo definitely has had a bit of that Favre gene in him over the years. The girl with the curl as Boom would like to say on Sunday NFL Countdown on ESPN. He will ad-lib and make some plays and remind you of Favre in the positive sense but from time to time will force some balls into coverage ala Favre as well. Good comparison.
DeMarcus Ware is currently banged up with back and neck injuries, severely affecting his strength, explosiveness and speed.
As a life long Bengals fan I've learned not to get my hopes up. I absolutely love the defence this year. Running game is impressive and the recievers are good, However, it will all crumble due to the quarterback. I think Dalton is average, especially in pressure situations. I was hoping the Bengals were going to go after Alex Smith when he became redundant in San Fransisco last year.
Pre season SB pick: Seattle.
Early season SB pick: New Orleans.
Pre season SB pick: Seattle.
Early season SB pick: New Orleans.
Yep, I am aware of that and you are correct. It was mentioned during the broadcast as well. Fair or not though I have always been of the school of if you are wearing a jersey then you are healthy. In any event though Dallas didn't get much pressure on Manning.
I am interested to see though if the Broncos pass-rush issues complete get resolved when Von Miller gets back. The difference between this year and last is that Von doesn't have his running mate Dumerveil playing opposite him to balance the pass-rush so offenses will be able to slide even more protection to block 58. If the Broncos have had a weakness through these first few games of the season I would say it has been their 4-man pass-rush. They cant seem to generate pressure on quarterbacks without blitzing. They do have a lot of good cover people both in the secondary and at linebacker though .
Also, another point regarding the pick
I saw Keyshawn Johnson (former NFL WR) say on ESPN that the tight end running the route (who is a rookie I believe) did not run the route properly. He 'rounded it off' at the top, rather than run parallel to the hash marks, which Romo was counting on. If he had run parallel, he would have arrived a half second sooner to the ball and would have probably either caught the ball (which was on target) or at worst broken the play up, preventing Trevathan (who made a great play) from picking it
Romo still should have thrown the checkdown to Murray, but between Escobar (the tight end) running a poor route, the offensive line getting beaten by a 3-man rush (which should not happen) and Trevathan making a great play, I don't think it was one of Romo's boneheaded mistakes (which he has made quite a few of in important situations)
Good post mur11. Yeah I saw Key make that point on Monday Countdown as well. And what fans need to remember is that just because a QB throws an INT doesn't mean its always on the QB. Sometimes it is completely on the QB, sometimes the fault is shared , and other times the QB is not at fault at all. For example last year when Romo threw the pick-6 to Peanut Tillman on a nationally televised game against the Bears it was because Dez Bryant didn't make the proper sight adjustment on a blitz. And your point about Escobar shows why QBs and receivers need to be on the same page. When they are not you get disconnects and that means incompletions or worse turnovers.
Actually it's funny that you mention this
I think Romo's only thrown 2 INTs this season. The other one that he threw was in the opening game against New York, and that was a direct result of a bad route ran by Terrence Williams, another rookie Dallas WR (Who had a great game against Denver). Romo expected him to run one way, he ran another way, and the pass was picked off. So really Romo's had one of his best seasons so far from a turnover perspective
I am curious to see if their pass-rush issues will be completely resolved when Von Miller gets back. He is a phenomenal player and a good all-around player because he rushes the passer, can drop into coverage and plays the run well so he is an every down player but the difference between this year and last is that he doesn't have his running mate Dumerveil playing opposite him. So offenses and OC's can pay more attention to 58 with their blocking and protection-schemes.I have a strange feeling its going to be Denver's year
Just as I thought things were looking up for the Cowboys.
What the fuck was that ?
Garrett you idiot ! .... Run the ball ! ! Eat up the clock and/or force the Lions to use their timeouts.
I guarantee, GUARANTEE !, Dallas would have won that game if I took over as HC with 3:30 remaining in regulation ! GUAR - AN - TEE !!!!!
Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett are killing me ! .... Dumb and dumber.
Jerry do you want a few more rings ? Then hire some true football men, stay in the Ivory Tower, sign the fuckin' checks and STAY AWAY FROM THE FIELD OF PLAY !
Damn, 72 hours later and it still gets my blood to boil in seconds.
What the fuck was that ?
Garrett you idiot ! .... Run the ball ! ! Eat up the clock and/or force the Lions to use their timeouts.
I guarantee, GUARANTEE !, Dallas would have won that game if I took over as HC with 3:30 remaining in regulation ! GUAR - AN - TEE !!!!!
Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett are killing me ! .... Dumb and dumber.
Jerry do you want a few more rings ? Then hire some true football men, stay in the Ivory Tower, sign the fuckin' checks and STAY AWAY FROM THE FIELD OF PLAY !
Damn, 72 hours later and it still gets my blood to boil in seconds.
