Over the course of the last few months, it seemed like a lot of people shifted into thinking that the Eagles were probably going to be our biggest hurdle this year if we wanted to win this division rather than the Cowboys - I saw a lot of predictions that had Dallas taking major step back, being a 9-7 team, Prescott having a sophomore slump, etc.
I don't like to blanket BBI and say "everyone here thought that..." because obviously that's not how it works - but I do know that a good amount of people thought we were going to demolish the Cowboys and also thought that with all of the suspensions, injuries, etc. that this would be a statement game and that we'd go in there and win decisively. I was pretty worried about this game for a while.
The Cowboys are a really well-coached team. It doesn't seem to matter when they have to go to the next man on the depth chart - particularly on defense. The team is built from their offensive line outward, and the way they can control the football and wear defenses down is a tremendous advantage that trickles down and benefits the rest of the team.
That being said, there's no excuse for this offense to get 2 first downs total (...did we even get 2?) in the first half. This game was textbook in terms of displaying the major issue this team has - which is that the offense continually seems to struggle, especially early on in games to find any sort of rhythm.
We can't put drives together, we can't keep Eli protected at crucial moments - you just can't win football games when you can't control possession and continually give the football back to the other team.
This game was also a major reminder of how important Beckham is to the offense. Without the threat he provides to score on any given play when he has the ball in his hands, this offense just doesn't scare anyone.
I'm not giving up on the season - it's one game. But the Cowboys are still a good team and if the Giants want to win the NFCE, they're probably going to have to win 12 games.
We'd better figure out how to field a decent offense again quickly - because what has gone on lately on that side of the ball dating back to last year has been pretty disheartening.
A lot of people thought Dallas was going to take a step back this year. It's not hard to find those posts here. There were a lot of them.
They keep losing guys to injury and suspension and it doesn't seem to change anything about the way they play.
I think they're a really well-coached team.
j_rud : 9/8/2017 11:28 am : link : reply
is the possibility of them getting worn out if the offense can't sustain some drives and Dallas controls the clock. It's the first game and nothing can really prepare you to play 4 quarters of football other than playing 4 quarters of football. I'm not saying I don't like our chances in a close game, but if they're going into the 4th qtr and Dallas has held the ball for 28 or 29 minutes I'll be squirming in my chair.
A lot of people thought Dallas was going to take a step back this year. It's not hard to find those posts here. There were a lot of them.
They keep losing guys to injury and suspension and it doesn't seem to change anything about the way they play.
I think they're a really well-coached team.
What you say is possible - sample size is really too small to know.
I have long been a fan of Dallas' coaching - in particular Jones' idea to bring in former HCs and position coaches as coordinators and pay them a boatload of money. Makes sense, when you figure that coaching isn't capped and can have a big impact on the outcome.
That said - I really think Dallas' D is going to be worse than mediocre this year, just that our O either continues to stink or laid a major egg tonight.
We looked slow on Offense and horrid with our play calling. Just a shitshow from Head Coach on down. We got lucky with this lame O last season, won't work this year
Same with the Patriots! That's what good coaching does, you can have average players perform better then they are because of it. Example the Cowboys tonight. Their defense is not very good, but they played well sound football. Hats off to their DC. The Giants Oline is below average and they played like it. The did nothing to help the matter.
It helps to have a clock burning offense, but their D does it's job when called upon.
shut out . Basically they were shut out and it showed all
pre-season and the entire season before .
We looked slow on Offense and horrid with our play calling. Just a shitshow from Head Coach on down. We got lucky with this lame O last season, won't work this year
I think a good deal of the problem is on our own side - but I really don't think the Cowboys are going to get shredded often on the defensive side of the ball. The way the team is built and coached, I would bet that they have a bunch of games where the offense keeps their defense in a position to succeed for a good chunk of games.
They really don't have a lot of talent on the defensive side - particularly in the secondary. I've dismissed Marinelli in the past, but the more I watch them, the more I think he's doing a really good job schematically.
The Giants have a lot of their own problems to address - but I think Dallas is an ~11 win team and that if we want to win this division, that's the team we're going to have to be better than. Not the Eagles.
And their offense wasn't anything special either, it looked solid tho
I'm not scared of them, I'm scared of us .
Sad thing is this team is an Oline and OC away from possibly being playoff contenders. That's the part that hurts the most.
The combination of terrible play-calling or offensive system (maybe both) and piss poor play by Eli is the problem. They were the problem tonight, and the problem for a long while now.
People can deny it all they want, but Eli left a lot of plays out there. A LOT of plays. There were many times when he had good protection and failed to make the play. None of the other QBs that are thought of with Eli's regard would struggle like this given our scapegoated O-line. And no O-line is going to prevent pressure on every play, either. Eli can win with this group but he has to focus on extending drives, not being content to just not turn the ball over.
The combination of terrible play-calling or offensive system (maybe both) and piss poor play by Eli is the problem. They were the problem tonight, and the problem for a long while now.
People can deny it all they want, but Eli left a lot of plays out there. A LOT of plays. There were many times when he had good protection and failed to make the play. None of the other QBs that are thought of with Eli's regard would struggle like this given our scapegoated O-line. And no O-line is going to prevent pressure on every play, either. Eli can win with this group but he has to focus on extending drives, not being content to just not turn the ball over.
Yeah he did and this is from a staunch Eli fan..
We just looked unprepared, like we did nothing over the last 8 months to get ready for thsi season...
It is so discouraging
The discouraging aspect of the obvious lack of ability on this line is that there doesn't seem to be any D- line in the league they can block.
Tonight's performance we have seen before.
Yeah everyone dumps on the offensive line but MacAdoo's offensive philosophy is like looking at a jigsaw puzzle before any of the pieces are linked together. It's like Eli has no options. I think there was one play where Shepard was wide open no one near him and Eli never looked his way.
My opinion is this offense has taken Eli down since MacDoo came on board. He's not the same quarterback. The balance right now is so out of whack. You have a terrific defense and an offense that appears to be one of the worse in the league. And if you can't move the ball at all because Beckham isn't on the field God forbid if goes down for the year. That is how pathetic this offense is.
Our O had everything to do with the 3 points not their D. They have a great OL and Zeke.
I have never been one to under rate Dak -- or Elliot for that matter -- the Cowboys played a solid game last night and the Giants laid an egg
I thought it would be a very close game -- and it wasn't close -- one thing I didn't understand is that after Mac opened up the playbook -- he just seemingly closed it right back up and went back to the same game that hadn't been working -- why not go with what was working????
I think it's a bit of both.
On more than one of those threads I remember BigBlue'56 stating "don't underestimate your opponent", and he was proved right.
The Dallas off season was not seen correctly. Dallas lost Free and Leary from the OL, but opposing fans didn't recognize that Dallas had replacements in the wings. Dallas had multiple losses and suspensions on the defense, but the Dallas defense doesn't work on the star system. It's about the scheme and detail. If everybody does their job, it will be ok.
As long as Marunelli is the DC, the Dallas defense will continue to over achieve. Marinelli is the ingredient that holds the "chicken shit" together.
Our offense was abysmal, extending a pattern that began last season regardless of opponent. I'm not going to give Dallas much credit for that.