run the ball 3 times, kick field goal, win game. How did your scenario turn out?

^^^results oriented

Given we had our 4th and 5th corners in the game at the time and got absolutely shredded in the possession before it, I'm not really sure that guarantees victory.

Your scenario also assumes Felix Jones never fumbles.

Obviously in hindsight I wish we had just run the ball. But given the way Romo was playing, the fact that we have one of the best TE's in the game, and two really good strong WR's, I have no issue running the play action on 2nd down. The pass on 3rd seems pretty standard and FWIW, I totally thought Tony was getting in when he first took off for the end zone.

with Mark Sanchez a 10 point lead at that point is a guaranteed win

1st and 10 at NYJ 16 S.Greene right tackle to NYJ 15 for -1 yards (K.Coleman; S.Lissemore).
2nd and 11 at NYJ 15 (Shotgun) M.Sanchez pass short middle to S.Holmes to NYJ 43 for 28 yards (A.Elam). DAL-M.Jenkins was injured during the play.
1st and 10 at NYJ 43 (Shotgun) M.Sanchez pass short right to D.Mason to DAL 44 for 13 yards (A.Elam).
1st and 10 at DAL 44 (No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Sanchez pass short right to L.Tomlinson to DAL 33 for 11 yards (A.Ball).
1st and 10 at DAL 33 (No Huddle, Shotgun) L.Tomlinson left guard to DAL 26 for 7 yards (S.Lee).
2nd and 3 at DAL 26 (No Huddle, Shotgun) M.Sanchez pass incomplete deep left to P.Burress (B.McCann).
3rd and 3 at DAL 26 (Shotgun) M.Sanchez pass deep left to P.Burress for 26 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Play Challenged by Replay Assistant and Upheld.

<3 minutes right before we got the ball.

1 drive out of 10 possessions. Like I said 10 point lead with 8 minutes to go too much for Sanchez

i thought we should have tried to hammer it in too, at least on 2nd down.

i dont mind the pass on 3rd down but the play action roll out really wasnt gonna fool anyone and all it did was cut off half of the field.

frankly austin shouldve caught the ever dangerous back shoulder pass on 2nd down but he wasnt ready for it for some reason.

FYP

let's assign a numerical value to the backups. let's say dez is a 1.0 and olgetree is a 0.4, are you saying if receiver x at a 0.6 existed on the depth chart, then it would be okay to risk's bryant's health? i think when you take dez and his 1.0 away it doesn't really matter if his replacement sucks pretty bad, or sucks something god awful. at that point you're in trouble, regardless.

also, yeah 2/15 punt returns for tds is nice, but there can be 15 pass plays in just one quarter. and yeah he might pull up lame on just a go route, but chances are he sees more of those pass plays than not. and if he's not out there for pass plays or even run plays like 2nd & 5 where it'd be nice for the defense to believe we have some credible pass catching threats. then that effects more than just his position, it makes it harder for austin/witten/felix to get the ball.

big picture wise i'm fine with letting dez skip out on punt returning duty. ooc, is he on your fantasy team? j/k

He's just too talented a returner to be that overprotective of him. Special teams play is the difference in a lot of these football games we've been losing (and it's a big reason we're 0-1). Bryant's as dangerous on returns as he is lined up out wide and it's part of the reason we drafted him. What's next, no slot routes so he doesn't get banged up catching passes over the middle? He's not too precious for returns, he's not even the #1 receiver yet, he's only expected to be.

I think let him do his thing and scare the daylights out of coverage units. If he gets hurt, let him heal up, and then bring him back out and do it again. Patrick Peterson's out there doing it and afaik Desean Jackson is still at it for the Eagles too. If Dez is anywhere near as good at it in the NFL as he was in college and last year, I don't see how we can yank him.

Deion Sanders returned kicks for us when he was here and he was one of the most valuable players in the entire league.

yeah but comparing to deion isnt the same bc he plays defense not offense. also 20 years ago the game was a bit different on special teams as the athletes werent as good.

all I feel is relief

yes. maybe the week 5 bye will be a blessing so they can get healthy.

Next week is going to be tough. I'd guess Felix doesn't go, Miles doesn't go. Dez is probably 50/50. Who knows on Costa. Who knows on TNew.

If we can get to the bye week 2-2 that may be a blessing.

Interesting stat on the game tonight where they said Romo has the highest QB Rating of all time in the 4th Quarter. Not that QB Rating is that great of a stat, but it's a hell of a thing to throw at your dumbass football friends who think we should play Kitna instead.

jesus. how are they gonna score when they are missing their RB, top 2 WRs, half the O line.

****in redskins running good with division games vs backups.

i don't disagree, necessarily, if he's a difference maker back there then we should put him back there. what i didn't get is why it should matter if his back up is jesse holley, kevin olgetree, or even roy williams. any of the three are significant downgrades so it really doesn't matter who is back up is, imo. it's a small point to me anyways, but i do think punt returns are inherently more dangerous than offensive pass plays. i could be persuaded by someone more knowledgeable like zbt, i guess.

deion sanders was also maybe the best kick/punt returner of all time, and maybe like >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> better than #2 on that list. also, if we lost deion sanders in 1995, it didn't mean our chances of making the playoffs just took a major hit. so more risk, less reward sending dez out there. so i'm not sure deion sanders is a good comparison.

I think it makes a huge difference. There's usually a dropoff when you lose a starter but having a Crayton-type who can step in as a #2 is a big plus and depth always gives you options. It's kind of academic now with Miles out but otherwise Austin and Witten are still the top two receiving options on the team. Until that changes I don't see the need to treat Bryant with kid gloves. He doesn't have to handle all the punts and kickoffs or anything to help the team.

This comes up almost every year with starters people don't want to risk on return and coverage units, and not just returners. Sean Lee is another one we're talking about lately. The problem is that there are only so many players on a 46-man game day roster that can physically man those roles let alone do them well. Weed out the QBs, the giant slow lineman, your All-Pro starters, and the ones who just suck at teams, and you're going to come up short when you put these squads together.

What I'm getting at is there's always going to be a numbers crunch where a valuable guy or three is needed on special teams, guys nobody feels great about risking. This year it's Dez and Sean Lee. Next year it will probably be Scandrick if he's starting, or Bruce Carter, or some 1st round cornerback or safety. Back in the day it was Deion or Darren Woodson.

Even more true in our case carrying Choice and two kickers active on game day. They're currently displacing a couple of depth spots for players that could contribute on ST or even a Sam Hurd type.

Also Deion was way more valuable to the team as a starting corner than Dez is at WR at this point in his career. There wasn't really a lot of depth at corner back then, yes they had talent in other areas but there was even more risk. Still they put Sanders out there as much as they could. Defense, returns, lined him up at receiver at one point.

yeah i still dont understand why we have Buehler. Can Bailey really not kick off or something? that 47 yarder he hit yesterday was pounded and probably easily good from 55 or so.

did anybody else see the 60 min piece on jerry jones last night?


quick transcript from that interview.

"George Steinbrenner was a great friend of yours," Pelley said.

Jones nodded. "He was. He was someone I really admired."

"If you were Steinbrenner's GM he might have fired you by now," Pelley remarked.

"Of course he would have," Jones said. "There is no doubt in my mind he would have."

Romo has a punctured lung.

Oh wonderful.

But he is still expected to play against the Redskins.

I like it. Internal injuries are badass.

how the hell did he even finish the game with a punctured lung? isnt that really dangerous and potentially life threatening?


hope he can play next week, idk if i can stomach a cowboys redskins game with no romo, dez, or austin.