Let's Talk Cowboys (Divisional Playoff Game 1/15/17)

4 TOs.  That's what killed them vs. dallass earlier this year.  They're not turning the ball over now.  Win or draw the TO battle and I can't see 'em losing.

The formula for slowing down Elliot isn't really that complex either, it's just playing smart and disciplined football. They struggled to run up the middle against GB, 20 runs for 65 yards (3.25 ypc). but on the edge they made hay with 10 runs for 94 yards (9.4 ypc). Give Elliot the tiniest crease and he will blow it wide open. We need disciplined football from Peppers, Matthews, and Perry to set the edge and ILBs to stay clean and fill gaps. If everyone is healthy I wouldn't be surprised to see the Packers go with a more traditional 4-3 look on D with all 3 ILBs on the field at the same time. 

Tell me more about this "smart and disciplined football."  

Is this in the playbook?  Is there a "S&D" version of each call and a "CWIHCO" version of the same play?  I'm no defensive guru, but I think we should just start calling the CWITCO plays way less.  

Grave Digger posted:

The formula for slowing down Elliot isn't really that complex either, it's just playing smart and disciplined football. They struggled to run up the middle against GB, 20 runs for 65 yards (3.25 ypc). but on the edge they made hay with 10 runs for 94 yards (9.4 ypc). Give Elliot the tiniest crease and he will blow it wide open. We need disciplined football from Peppers, Matthews, and Perry to set the edge and ILBs to stay clean and fill gaps. If everyone is healthy I wouldn't be surprised to see the Packers go with a more traditional 4-3 look on D with all 3 ILBs on the field at the same time. 

I think they do more 4-3 than we realize with Pep and Jones hands on the ground 

Grave Digger posted:

The formula for slowing down Elliot isn't really that complex either, it's just playing smart and disciplined football. They struggled to run up the middle against GB, 20 runs for 65 yards (3.25 ypc). but on the edge they made hay with 10 runs for 94 yards (9.4 ypc). Give Elliot the tiniest crease and he will blow it wide open. We need disciplined football from Peppers, Matthews, and Perry to set the edge and ILBs to stay clean and fill gaps. If everyone is healthy I wouldn't be surprised to see the Packers go with a more traditional 4-3 look on D with all 3 ILBs on the field at the same time. 

Looking back at the gamebook from the first game we started;

Perry & Peppers at OLBer

Clark, Daniels, & Guion on the interior

Matthews at ILBer

Gunter, Randall, Hyde, Burnett, & Dix at DB

  I have no idea how long we went with this alignment since the Cowboys drove 75 yards in 8 plays to score a TD on their first possession. 

El-Ka-Bong posted:

Tell me more about this "smart and disciplined football."  

Is this in the playbook?  Is there a "S&D" version of each call and a "CWIHCO" version of the same play?  I'm no defensive guru, but I think we should just start calling the CWITCO plays way less.  

Dom tucked away the S&D plays in his toupee for a rainy day. 

I keep hearing about the Cowboys using their 3-2-6 to slow down Rodgers. I hate taking the ball out of AR's hot hand, but shouldn't we be able to run against the defensive alignment? 

I think we can take 21 out of the mix the problem is Beasley and Dez- we need to control the clock and turnovers to win the game 

I think they'd be content with us gaining 4 yards a carry at the expense of long pass TDs. 

I would be content with 4 yards a carry also

CUPackFan posted:

I don't feel as confident about this game as I did the Giants.  I'm not worried about the Packers offense.  They dominated a very very good Giants defense and will do the same to a pretty weak Cowboys defense.  

I agree that the Packer offense has been rolling, but am not sure where this "pretty weak Cowboy defense" is coming from.

Defensive Rankings:

Points : Dallas (5th) , for reference Green Bay (21st)

Rush : Dallas(1st), Green Bay (8th)

Pass : Dallas(26th), Green Bay (31st)

Cowboys have the 5th rated defense overall. Weak in pass defense, yes, but underrated and certainly not weak overall.

The good news is that the Packer offense just dominated the #2 ranked defense. During thier "Run the Table" streak, the Pack has beaten the #2, 3, 6, 11, 12, and 13th ranked defenses.  In those games they are averaging 32 points per game. 

So the Packer offense needs to beat another good defense. One the other side, Dom needs to pull one out of his ass. 

With the loss of Jordy and all the other injuries (and shenanigans) I think this one is probably a loss and the end of our run.

We done good. No shame in what we have done with who we have. AR cannot do it all.

I will watch and cheer the team and hope for the best.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/fe...and-its-going-great/

Limit the explosive plays. Elliott had runs of 11, 14, 25, 12, & 29. He also had his share of 0 and negative runs. Like any great RB, contain them, keep them from the big run.

PackerPatrick posted:

With the loss of Jordy and all the other injuries (and shenanigans) I think this one is probably a loss and the end of our run.

We done good. No shame in what we have done with who we have. AR cannot do it all.

I will watch and cheer the team and hope for the best.

https://fivethirtyeight.com/fe...and-its-going-great/

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?????

To paraphrase Dibo,     "Don't let the Packers beat the Packers".   Play smart, minimize errors and things will be fine.    If they beat us when we play a good game so be it.

sheesh, no faith much?  the degree of separation in the remaining 4 NFC teams can be seen here:

4 TOs in the first game and we lost by 14 pts. 

I will quote the Singing Lambonis at this time from their fine song "Kick Yer Ass":
Kick yer ass, kick yer ass, the Green Bay Packers gonna kick yer ass
No matter if you try to run, no matter if you pass
The Green Bay Packers gonna kick yer ass!

Hungry5 posted:

Limit the explosive plays. Elliott had runs of 11, 14, 25, 12, & 29. He also had his share of 0 and negative runs. Like any great RB, contain them, keep them from the big run.

That's a good plan but the problem is that for the last few games we have gone light in the box because we have needed to go zone. By necessity we have used LB's and Safety's to help our depleted cornerbacks from being gashed. Dallas is now almost full strength and we are not.

Packers need to jump on them early. Like a 3 TD lead. It'll totally negate their running game.

We'll see what Dallas defense has in store for Rodgers.

Packdog posted:

Dom needs to pull one out of his ass. 

Like he did vs. the Giants?

This Dallas offense is tailor made to beat the Pack. They can possess the ball, keeping it away from Arod, they have speed and size at WR and a Hall of Fame TE to tickle our soft middle.

We have to get them out of their comfort zone by forcing them into a shootout.

Boris posted:

Packers need to jump on them early. Like a 3 TD lead. It'll totally negate their running game.

We'll see what Dallas defense has in store for Rodgers.

I like that plan. However, we have not started out hot very much in the past. MM has often made some good adjustments and then we surge later in the game. I hope you are right.

Right now I see Dallas controlling the clock.

I still think the killer from game 1 was the poor use of timeouts to end the first half.  There was no issue going into halftime down 10-6 and getting the ball to start the half.  Dallas seemed content to let the clock run out and they were out of timeouts.  The first timeout was bad enough, but when McCarthy called the 2nd timeout it was 3rd and 1, it wasn't like it was 3rd and 11.  Then they had the long run and a couple plays later it was 17-6.    

I love it when a plan comes together

EE is trying to take himself out

It seems to me that MM usually makes one bonehead call a game. If we can limit MM to just one bonehead call then we have a better chance.

El-Ka-Bong posted:

I love it when a plan comes together

EE is trying to take himself out

I bet he was eating at the wheel.

El-Ka-Bong posted:

I love it when a plan comes together

EE is trying to take himself out

Vikings fans are convinced the NFL did it to try to help the Pack.

https://www.washingtonpost.com...m_term=.8c34043e0780

Hungry5 posted:

Limit the explosive plays. Elliott had runs of 11, 14, 25, 12, & 29. He also had his share of 0 and negative runs. Like any great RB, contain them, keep them from the big run.

Agreed. I think you have to play Elliott like they did Adrian Peterson. If Dak Prescott beats you, so be it. Match up Burnett on Witten, Hyde on Cole Beasley, and treat Dez like Odell Beckham by rolling help to him.

If Burnett and Hyde play to a draw in their matchups, we probably win. But to stop Elliott and Dez, you have to give up helping a guy somewhere else, and it will be the TE and slot receiver.

Cole Beasley abused Rollins in the earlier game. Rollins has a nasty habit of letting receivers get their hands on him near the line and letting them redirect him. He needs to learn to be the aggressor if he's going to play press. 

Hyde isnt shy about contact. He's a better option this weekend for Cole. 

EDIT!!!!! My bad. I meant Gunter. Not wrong about Rollins and being physical. But it was Gunter that Beasley abused in GB. This can't happen Sunday. 

I am going into the game expecting to see something similar to the Arizona/GB playoff game after the 2009 season.  Thinking we might see big scores and a shootout.  Let's just hope this time they make the call on the facemask if Rodgers fumbles the ball in OT.

And this time they go for two!!!!!!

Wait.....

Worth noting...

Jordy and Cook open there.

I mentioned it in the game thread when multiple posters were posting that nobody was getting open early in the game.

Flat out false. 

AR needed to adjust his play, which was not good.......and to his credit (with help from MM) he did.

Boris posted:

Packdog posted:

Dom needs to pull one out of his ass. 

Like he did vs. the Giants?

Significant difference between the Giants offense and the Cowgirls offense. I'm thinking Doms plan against the Giants was rectal or sigmoid level, against the Cowgirls he might need to go ascending colon or cecum level. 

McCarthy presser today.

McCarthy: need to get off to fast start because Dallas has done a great job of doing it.

— Dennis Krause (@DennisKrause1) January 11, 2017

McCarthy then added... 10-1 when we score 1^st in 2016... and 25-6 when score 1^st over the past few years

McCarthy: Starks still in protocol and not close to returning.

— Dennis Krause (@DennisKrause1) January 11, 2017

McCarthy: Allison situation is pending legal matter. I've been aware of that situation which happened in training camp.

— Dennis Krause (@DennisKrause1) January 11, 2017

Actually in Sep, but they've been aware since it happened.

McCarthy on CB Quinten Rollins (concussion): He's going to practice as part of his rehab. Still in the protocol.

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 11, 2017

Good post Packerboi. Several examples of open receivers while Arod holds the ball. and also what look like decent throwing lanes as well. Hard to criticize Rodgers, but when the offense is stagnant like it was in the 1st half Sunday, he needs to go back to the WC fundamentals-throwing on time.  Take the easy stuff. 

What we don't know with still pics, and I admit I've used pics like this to question WTF? on some plays, but we don't know the defense called or the progression dictated by the play called. Plus, it all happens in the blink of an eye. Except when they call the 9-second pass play.

packerboi posted:

Worth noting...

Zach Kruse Verified account ‏@zachkruse2

Jared Cook was open A LOT against the Giants, even while Rodgers struggled early. 89 is a big X-factor again vs. Cowboys.

Yup. Move the chains, move the chains.

Hungry5 posted:

What we don't know with still pics, and I admit I've used pics like this to question WTF? on some plays, but we don't know the defense called or the progression dictated by the play called. Plus, it all happens in the blink of an eye. Except when they call the 9-second pass play.