SB Nation User Blog: mlibbey

Demise of our 1998 draft class

mlibbey — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:29:56 -0000

Last year Ellis and F. Adams were studs. Ellis was getting a sack a game, and was frequently a step away from more. Adams regularly took on Pro-Bowl DEs and turned them into average players, which almost made his false starts acceptable. They were both pro-bowlers.

This year Ellis is completely absent -- I haven't seen him in so long that I've forgotten his number He has 3 sacks, is never near the QB, and has less than half the tackles as Ware. If we can't generate pressure with 4, the Phillips 34 isn't effective.

On the flip side, Adams has become a doorman, happy to let the DE fly in several times a game. He's missing his neighbor Kosier, but there are plenty of rushes seem like he had zero expectation of either geting help from Procter needing to help Procter out.

Football teams live and die with the lines. Teams that can generate a rush, prevent pressure and open rushing holes are good. Teams that can do one or two of those are average. Right now, we can't generate a rush, can't stop the rush, and can only sporadicly open holes. We are a bottom 10 team. If we are going to be a playoff team this year, Ellis and Adams need to play like years past.

Barber: 4 for 77yds; 16 for 23. Yikes

mlibbey — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:51:51 -0000

Barber is killing the Cowboy's offense. He's becoming a boom bust running back, where he'll run for tons of yards on a few plays, otherwise he'll get stuffed. Against the Rams, his overall stat line looks great -- 20 rushes for 100 yards, but digging in, he had a miserable day. Four of his carries went for 77 yards. The other 16 carries totaled 23. Eleven of those 16 totaled 7 yards.

Against the Cardinals, he was 17-45 (2.6 yd ave). As if that isn't bad enough, the sub-splits are miserable. Thirteen of his runs totaled 16 yards. Against the Bengals, he totaled 23 for 84 yards, but 2 runs got him 32yards. His remaining 21 rushes averaged 2.4 yards. In the infamous 8 rush game v Washington, 7 of his rushes totaled 11 yards. Even against GB, where he had 28 rushes for 142, 9 of his caries yielded 101 yards -- the other 19 averaged 2.1 (though 9 big carries is a great rate).

Those numbers simply can not sustain drives, and forces us to become one-dimensional. The last few year's 'boys had an incredible offense because opponents couldn't focus on anything without getting burned -- there were too many mega weapons. Chosing between doubling up Barber, Witten, or TO was a no-win situation.

The O-line is certainly somewhat to blame. In an ironic twist though, F. Jones seems to find extremely consistent yardage -- just like Barber did last year when J. Jones couldn't. The last 2 weeks, F. Adams seems to have devolved into a journeyman level player. Is he just horrid because he can't rely on Procter doing anything? If so, Kosier just might be the team's MVP.

If the Cowboys are going to get their offense back in line, Barber and the O-line need to consistently get 3-4 yards. We need a lot more 3rd and shorts to be successful.

Great analysis of the Eagles-Cowboys game

mlibbey — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:55:12 -0000

Great analysis of the Eagles-Cowboys game

New Football Outsider's D-Ware article

mlibbey — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:50:13 -0000

Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware belongs somewhere near the top of the list of the world’s most freakish athletes, the people who can do things that no human being is supposed to be able to do.

Can an article start any better than that? Footballoutsiders.com's Every Play Counts: DeMarcus Ware is a virtual complete love fest for Ware watching him on every snap against the Vikings.

... here’s another piece of advice for opposing coaches everywhere: Plays that require a running back to block Ware one-on-one are a bad idea.

Definitely required reading to get a Grizz like film review of Ware.