Let's hear you scout your team. How'd they look this weekend?

[Cowboyz1]

I'll start with a quick look at my Cowboys.

 

First of all, reality was rammed home Sunday in that teams are going to stuff our run looks until Dak can prove "consistently" he can hurt teams on vertical routes. Dump offs to Witten isn't going to do it. Crossing patterns to Beasley isn't going to do it either. The Giants basically bet against Dak hurting them by giving Dez a lot of attention and allow any completion he wants between the 20's so long as it was in front of them and to slow receivers. We saw that Monday night in SF when they showed the Rams O NO respect at all and Gurley suffered for it.

 

Witten and Beasley with a combined 17 catches, Dez with 1, Dunbar 1, and TW 1. That won't get the job done. EVER! Unless Zeke has over 100 and some scores and he only had 50 yards on 20 carries and a short TD. 4 long drives ending in 4 FGs isn't going to get the job done either.

 

The Defense played ok but may be do to the ball control of the Cowboys offense. Time of possession was way lopsided. We'll see how they do when the TOP isn't so much in the Cowboys favor and they have to stay on the field longer. Gave up way to many plays when it counted.

 

Overall solid effort. Dak looked like he can play in this league but was above average for a rook. Zeke looked to hyped up and didn't show the patience needed to be a dangerous back. He will be harder to corral as he gets more experience. He just was full speed ahead on every run without looking for flow or seams. Morris showed how it was done and was the better back Sunday.

 

Heading into a must win game in Washington Sunday, I expect a similar performance by Dak but better luck in the red zone. Hopefully Zeke will have calmed a bit after watching tape and will be more productive. He looked like he was to focused on hitting the hole filled with bodies hard but had he of press the hole and bounced it a few times he would have been off to the races into the secondary with two receivers blocking in front. Young backs tend to run to darkness trying to prove to the coaches he will hit the hole but when the defense collapses inside you have to see that and bounce it. I think he will see that on tape and be better for it.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Cowboyz1

[Wpob]

The Giants are 1-0 instead of 0-1 like last year so that is the biggest plus.

 

COACHING

 

After giving away the Dallas game to open the 2015 season with horrendous play calling and clock management, the Giants, for at least one game, seem to correct those issues. The coaching staff leaned more on the run to work the clock and had a better understanding of what plays to run to make sure there was little time on the clock for Dallas's last drive. Last year, they would have thrown three incomplete passes to eat little of the clock and give Dallas more time.

 

OFFENSE

 

More balanced. Ran more and actually got some big runs late in the game with Jennings and Vereen even when Dallas knew they were going to run. Manning looked good. OBJ was held in check again by Dallas, which is concerning but thankfully we only play Dallas twice. Shepperd looked good for a rookie and Cruz looked healthy. He is not as good as he was pre injury, but seeing he is going to never see teams better defenders one on one, he will be fine (health permitting). Most importantly, three trips to the red zone and three touchdowns.

 

DEFENSE

 

The DL played great. They did not get to Prescott, but they kept him in check and did not let him take off and run for big gains. Matched up against the best OL in the game, the DL held their own and shut down the Dallas running game. The secondary schemed to take Dez out of the game and let the other WR and Witten take what was underneath. No huge plays through the air. It was a bend but don't break philosophy. Of course, they were helped out by Williams not getting out of bounds.

 

OVERALL

 

It was a solid, if unspectacular game overall for the GIants. But a divisional win on the road on Opening Day is a great start. With road games at the Vikings and Packers in weeks 4 and 5 looming, it is important to win the next two home games in week 2 and 3 against the Saints and Redskins. Losing the next two games will make this win irrelevant.

[Cowboyz1]

The Giants are 1-0 instead of 0-1 like last year so that is the biggest plus.

 

COACHING

 

After giving away the Dallas game to open the 2015 season with horrendous play calling and clock management, the Giants, for at least one game, seem to correct those issues. The coaching staff leaned more on the run to work the clock and had a better understanding of what plays to run to make sure there was little time on the clock for Dallas's last drive. Last year, they would have thrown three incomplete passes to eat little of the clock and give Dallas more time.

 

OFFENSE

 

More balanced. Ran more and actually got some big runs late in the game with Jennings and Vereen even when Dallas knew they were going to run. Manning looked good. OBJ was held in check again by Dallas, which is concerning but thankfully we only play Dallas twice. Shepperd looked good for a rookie and Cruz looked healthy. He is not as good as he was pre injury, but seeing he is going to never see teams better defenders one on one, he will be fine (health permitting). Most importantly, three trips to the red zone and three touchdowns.

 

DEFENSE

 

The DL played great. They did not get to Prescott, but they kept him in check and did not let him take off and run for big gains. Matched up against the best OL in the game, the DL held their own and shut down the Dallas running game. The secondary schemed to take Dez out of the game and let the other WR and Witten take what was underneath. No huge plays through the air. It was a bend but don't break philosophy. Of course, they were helped out by Williams not getting out of bounds.

 

OVERALL

 

It was a solid, if unspectacular game overall for the GIants. But a divisional win on the road on Opening Day is a great start. With road games at the Vikings and Packers in weeks 4 and 5 looming, it is important to win the next two home games in week 2 and 3 against the Saints and Redskins. Losing the next two games will make this win irrelevant.

You know, if you're not going to say it I will. Your investment in the D line looks, at at least for one game, to have paid off. They manhandled the supposedly "best line" in football. I re-watched the game and your D line stuffed the middle all game long. Now Zeke will learn to bounce a few of those carries and slip out the back door after pressing the hole but your D line was not only dominant they were also disciplined in that they didn't over pursue but clogged the middle and tackled well. Glad we only see you one more time also. Giants D is going to be hard to run against and will take a very patient and talented back to do damage. I suspect a dangerous QB will loosen up the lanes a bit more but I was impressed with their performance yesterday.

[Wpob]

It is only one game. They played well but they also geared up to stop the run. They were willing to let Prescott beat them underneath and stuff Elliot and Morris as much as possible and put Dallas in second/third and long.

 

It is a much better showing than last year and the line is better for sure. However, I will take it with a grain of salt. If Romo was back there, there would have been more room for Elliot to run. And that boy is going to be a beast next year for sure.

 

If they do not get pressure on the QB going forward, elite QBs, like Brees this week, will light them up. I kept waiting all Dallas game for anyone to sack Prescott and maybe rattle his cage a little, but I don't think we came close to hitting him other than a couple of times. That can't continue.

 

As for Dallas, you have to be happy that a rookie QB looked poised in the pocket and did not make any bonehead mistakes. If the coaching staff loosens up the reigns and lets him take a few more deeper shots to Dez downfield, the Cowboys should be in contention for a playoff spot when Romo returns. Redskins, Bears, 49ers, Eagles and Browns are their opponents over the next few weeks that the Cowboys should beat. Cincinnati and Green Bay are the only road blocks I see by week 9. If the offense improves, a 6-3 or 5-4 record is well within reach.

[pun]

OBJ was held in check again by Dallas, which is concerning but thankfully we only play Dallas twice. Shepperd looked good for a rookie and Cruz looked healthy. He is not as good as he was pre injury, but seeing he is going to never see teams better defenders one on one, he will be fine (health permitting). Most importantly, three trips to the red zone and three touchdowns.

 

i think i'm a little bit higher on these WRs than you are. odell will be fine assuming the "hit" Norman has out on him doesn't come to fruition. eli had other options to throw to and didn't need to lean on odell which is a good thing. shepard looked great imo aside from a few rookie miscues, but that'll sort itself out over time. and cruz looks like he can be a solid contributor for sure, that's all they need from him. eli and the giants have had most success when he has 3 dependable WRs to throw to. he hasn't had that since 2011 with nicks, cruz, and manningham. I think this season he'll finally have that again.

 

However I think the giants are still 2-3 pieces short of being real contenders again. The o-line actually looked pretty good and I think they'll be able to hold their own (picking beatty back up is a nice security blanket), but I still think they could use a better RB with some wiggle, who can be a threat to break off a home run every once in a while, and is able to truly close out games. that's the one thing they need to put this offense over the top imo, even more than RT. maybe perkins can be that guy, like bradshaw was, we'll see.

 

so that's one piece. while i'm cautiously optimistic about the defense, i still think they might need another impact player or two in order to be real contenders.

 

i am psyched about the secondary though. i knew darian thompson was a ballhawk with all those INTs he had in college, but i was surprised at how physical he was on sunday. that's a nice looking safety duo. i didn't see much out of leon hall but hopefully he can be a solid deon grant-like addition, playing some corner, some slot, and some safety. while i was initially disappointed they didn't take hargreaves, apple has looked very, very solid, and i think having a trio of good CBs like they did back in the day with webster-ross-madison/thomas will pay off.

 

You know, if you're not going to say it I will. Your investment in the D line looks, at at least for one game, to have paid off. They manhandled the supposedly "best line" in football. I re-watched the game and your D line stuffed the middle all game long....Giants D is going to be hard to run against and will take a very patient and talented back to do damage. I suspect a dangerous QB will loosen up the lanes a bit more but I was impressed with their performance yesterday.

 

this part, i am a little skeptical about. I'm not completely sold on the front seven. I agree, they look rock solid against the run, which is great, but i'm not as confident about the pass rush. my worry is that vernon will turn out to be "just" a good player, not an $85 million player. i think they will need a stronger pass rush than i've seen so far in order to stop teams on 3rd down and win late in games. their stop percentage on 3rd down was pretty poor on sunday and that's against a rookie QB, and if it weren't for that bad play by williams, there's a decent chance dak threw one last short pass to get into FG range. so i think another pass rusher might be the second piece, but we'll see, maybe vernon will turn out to be worth all $85.

 

lastly, i definitely think they need a real impact playmaker at LB. Casillas and Kennard are promising, but a real playmaker who can force turnovers and be the leader of the defense might be necessary to win games come january. a guy like bowman or barr or jamie collins.

 

so overall i think they're headed in a better direction. i like their new philosophies, open competition at every position, not holding onto draft picks just because they're draft picks, being aggressive in FA and getting impact players, hitting on way more draft picks than they were 3-4 years ago, better clock management. but running back, pass rusher, and playmaking LB. I think they probably need at least 2 of those in order to become contenders again. I'm worried that will take a few more drafts, and I'm not sure Eli has that much time left.

Edited September 13, 2016 by pun

[Wubammer]

Chiefs only need to play one quarter to win.

[Montana is da Man]

Very happy and surprised at the 49ers. Their defense looked very good. The offense was exactly what I expected it to be. It was good to see them move the ball in the 4th quarter through the air.

 

 

I expect them to get lit up this week because they are playing a very good panthers team who is coming off a loss and on the east coast (after playing the very late game on Monday.)

[Cowboyz1]

It is only one game. They played well but they also geared up to stop the run. They were willing to let Prescott beat them underneath and stuff Elliot and Morris as much as possible and put Dallas in second/third and long.

 

It is a much better showing than last year and the line is better for sure. However, I will take it with a grain of salt. If Romo was back there, there would have been more room for Elliot to run. And that boy is going to be a beast next year for sure.

 

If they do not get pressure on the QB going forward, elite QBs, like Brees this week, will light them up. I kept waiting all Dallas game for anyone to sack Prescott and maybe rattle his cage a little, but I don't think we came close to hitting him other than a couple of times. That can't continue.

 

As for Dallas, you have to be happy that a rookie QB looked poised in the pocket and did not make any bonehead mistakes. If the coaching staff loosens up the reigns and lets him take a few more deeper shots to Dez downfield, the Cowboys should be in contention for a playoff spot when Romo returns. Redskins, Bears, 49ers, Eagles and Browns are their opponents over the next few weeks that the Cowboys should beat. Cincinnati and Green Bay are the only road blocks I see by week 9. If the offense improves, a 6-3 or 5-4 record is well within reach.

Agreed with one small issue in that I think the sacks were there for the Giants but they were trying to remove the threat of Dak hurting them with his legs. I noticed they weren't all out rushing for the sack as much as they were rushing for pressure while staying in their gaps. Either way, they handled us up front pretty well.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Cowboyz1

[Cowboyz1]

Very happy and surprised at the 49ers. Their defense looked very good. The offense was exactly what I expected it to be. It was good to see them move the ball in the 4th quarter through the air.

 

 

I expect them to get lit up this week because they are playing a very good panthers team who is coming off a loss and on the east coast (after playing the very late game on Monday.)

They absolutely made the Rams cry last night. A horrible game to watch. I haven't seen the Niners dominate like that in a long long time. Case Closed Keenam was horrid.

[Montana is da Man]

They absolutely made the Rams cry last night. A horrible game to watch. I haven't seen the Niners dominate like that in a long long time. Case Closed Keenam was horrid.

 

Wasn't horrible from my view, but I guess that goes with being a 49ers fan. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Cowboyz1]

 

Wasn't horrible from my view, but I guess that goes with being a 49ers fan. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Yeah, I'm quite certain you did. If it had been a fight it would have been stopped. I half expected a ref to run out on the field to give a standing 8 count several times. I thought the fan ran on the field was a mercy plea.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Cowboyz1

[dbforbes]

Very happy and surprised at the 49ers. Their defense looked very good. The offense was exactly what I expected it to be. It was good to see them move the ball in the 4th quarter through the air.

 

 

I expect them to get lit up this week because they are playing a very good panthers team who is coming off a loss and on the east coast (after playing the very late game on Monday.)

It was good to see that Chip learned a little bit from his time in Philly and at least changed up the snap count for a change. It was something for which Eagles fans and players begged.