Thoughts on Raiders v. Cowboys

1.  Doug Free lost the leverage battle on an early run.  Stay low coming out of your stance and dig the defender out.  At least that’s what my high school coach told me, though I was pretty mediocre in high school.  Must have been the mediocre coaching and not my lack of talent, speed and size.

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2.  The early sack against Romo was incredibly smart (as Romo was avoiding a needless hit) and incredibly frustrating.  How is it that he is in his 8th season in the NFL, and he doesn’t simply throw the ball away, but near one of his receivers.  No penalty, no loss of yardage. Maybe that can be what he works on in next year’s offseason.

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3.  Roy Williams should play both sides of the ball.  Heck of a defensive play Roy.

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4.  Why is Romo scrambling in an exhibition game?

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5.  Doesn’t Scandrick know that the Raiders love the deep ball?  They love it so much because the decision to strike deep actually comes from Al Davis himself (according to Warren Sapp).

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6.  Butler looked good on defense, not so much on special teams.

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7.  The sack on Kitna in the second quarter where Matt Shaughnessy “beat” free was the fault of Kitna and the interior o-line.  Tackles are supposed to push the defender outside the pocket. Free did just that, but Kitna backed up and gave Shaughnessy a gift.  Kitna couldn’t step up, however, because there was inside pressure from Desmond Bryant bull rushing Leonard Davis.

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8.  I want a McBriar jersey.  He’s the best around… nothing’s ever gonna keep him down.

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9.  The Gaylord Texan is just asking for immature Skins’, Gints, and Iggles fans to make fun of the Cowboys.  I’m not homophobic, but I wouldn’t name my kid Gay Focker either.

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10.  I agree Campbell needs all the playing time in the Raider’s system he can get.

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11. Great job shedding the block Hatcher.  The Raiders will be improved, much improved.

12.  Keith Brooking has a ton left in the tank.  Lee and Williams may be waiting their turn for a while

13.  Robert Brewster at tackle is a mistake.  He’s not quick enough to get into position.  His feet are just miserable.  He needs to maintain a good base and move like he’s on ice.  He’s constantly out of position and doesn’t have balance.  You can also add that Brewster isn’t doing a good enough job of keeping the defenders hands away.  The defender gets into Brewster’s body and there are too many moves that can be made when you have that positioning.  He did win some battles, but he’s too green to play if we needed him to do so.

14.  The holding penalty on Anderson was ticky-tack.  The holding penalty on Hurd was nearly impossible to not call.

15.  Leon Williams may be overlooked, but he is playing some solid football.  It’s not flashy, but he’s doing the dirty work at linebacker to seal up the holes.

16.  McCann’s 2nd quarter punt return did have some dancing… but he danced forward rather than side to side.

17.  Travis Bright played a decent game.  And by decent, there were few opportunities to curse him.

18.  On the fourth down play, if Deon Anderson did run the appropriate depth on the play, what the heck kind of play is that to call for Jason Garrett.  I liked the concept.  But Anderson isn’t much of a runner with the ball in his hands.  he needs to be passed the marker on his route when he does catch it.

19.  End of the first half.  Our starters and 2nd team were slightly better than your starters.

20.  Why did I marry my wife when there are single Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in the world?  Wait, don’t answer that…

21.  How is DeLeon Farr on the team for 10 minutes and he is already more beloved than Martellus Bennett?

22.  Is Ogletree having a sophomore slump?  It’s only the pre-season, but he seems to have regressed.

23.  When Stephen McGee was drafted, Jerry Jones said that McGee may see playing time with some wild-hog (cat) formations.  We have now seen McGee for two pre-seasons.  Can we all agree that McGee is not nearly as fast as Mike Vick, and consequently I have some serious concerns regarding Jone’s ability to discern talent.

24.  Beuhler is 3/3 in the game, and 6/7 in the pre-season.  He may be a question mark at the end of a close game, but he is settling some nerves.

25.  The Cowboys announcers mentioned Lucy from the Peanuts comic strip.  My question is why didn’t Charlie Brown ever ask Linus to hold the ball?  Or at the very least, kick the snot out of Lucy when she moved the ball.

26.  Kudos to Josh Price-Brent for running Rock Cartwright down from behind.  That’s the kind of effort which will win you a roster spot.

27.  I don’t begrudge the Raiders their touchdown in the game, but I do wonder if the replay is indisputable visual evidence.  I think the referees are making decisions with replay that are not justifiable.

28.  It’s not a huge deal that Leon Williams dropped a game clinching interception, but it certainly is a reminder that one player on one play can make all the difference in the world in one game.  It reminds me of Asante Samuel dropping the interception that would have clinched the Super Bowl and 18-0 for the Patriots.  One play.  An entire season can come down to one play.  It’s miserable to think about… no, it’s miserable to dwell over.