Detroit FreePress: Lions' challenge: Cowboys' sizable receiving corps

[tr1]

http://www.freep.com/article/20101119/SPORTS01/11190379/Lions-challenge-Cowboys-sizable-receiving-corps

BY CARLOS MONARREZ

With so much size and talent in their receiving corps, it's no wonder the Dallas Cowboys have the NFL's fourth-best passing offense.

Miles Austin and Dez Bryant are 6-feet-2. Roy Williams is 6-3. They each weigh about 215 pounds. Add to that tight end Jason Witten, 6-6 and 263 pounds and second on the team in receptions, and that's a formidable challenge for any secondary.

"That's like an army," Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said Thursday. "Those guys are all big, and they're fast. They all get up the field. There's not much of a short-passing game.

"You know what I said the other day? I said the other day, 'It looks like the Raiders of the South.' Their ability in the vertical game, there's no question about that. They throw it up every chance they've got, and they've got really fine receivers."

Lions cornerback Alphonso Smith said the Cowboys have one of the best receiving corps he has faced this season.

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Smith said. "That's where most of their money is. ... Put those three guys along with Witten and (running backs) Felix Jones and Marion Barber, it's a pretty well-orchestrated arsenal."

Even with quarterback Tony Romo sits to pee out, backup Jon Kitna has kept the passing attack humming. He threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns Sunday against the New York Giants, who have the NFL's fourth-best pass defense.

"Our pass defense has its work cut out for us," coach Jim Schwartz said. "A lot of it's going to have to do with where their third downs are and how we can put them in some third-down-and-long situations and try to limit their options when it comes to all those weapons."

[tr1]

Sniff...sniff...sniff.

:rotflmao:

Where's the pony?

I smell a lot of horse ****.

[McD5]

With so much size and talent in their receiving corps, it's no wonder the Dallas Cowboys have the NFL's fourth-best passing offense.

What are you suggesting tr1? That 4th best in the league, with two qbs isn't good? Or that the receivers blow, and the high ranking is due to amazing QBs?

Face palm thread. Check your shoes.

[tr1]

With so much size and talent in their receiving corps, it's no wonder the Dallas Cowboys have the NFL's fourth-best passing offense.

What are you suggesting tr1? That 4th best in the league, with two qbs isn't good? Or that the receivers blow, and the high ranking is due to amazing QBs?

Face palm thread. Check your shoes.

McD5, check the pukes' running attack and their record...oh, and # of attempts.

I realize that casual fans of the game are enamored with shiny objects like "4th best", but should they choose to look a bit deeper, they might learn something.

BTW, I always enjoy your "I'm giving up on the team" threads in the Stadium.

Always good for a laugh.

:rotflmao:

[Califan007 The Constipated]

McD5, check the pukes' running attack and their record...oh, and # of attempts.

I realize that casual fans of the game are enamored with shiny objects like "4th best", but should they choose to look a bit deeper, they might learn something.

BTW, I always enjoy your "I'm giving up on the team" threads in the Stadium.

Always good for a laugh.

:rotflmao:

Translation for McD5: The Cowboys are #31 in rushing yards per game and #31 in rushing attempts per game...so it makes sense that their passing stats would be inflated, and not a true measurement of how good their passing attack is.

See also: Chiefs, Kansas City - #1 rushing attack in the league, #25 passing attack in the league.

See also: Raiders, Oakland - #2 rushing attack in the league, #24 passing attack in the league.

[Ken]

Translation for McD5: The Cowboys are #31 in rushing yards per game and #31 in rushing attempts per game...so it makes sense that their passing stats would be inflated, and not a true measurement of how good their passing attack is.

See also: Chiefs, Kansas City - #1 rushing attack in the league, #25 passing attack in the league.

See also: Raiders, Oakland - #2 rushing attack in the league, #24 passing attack in the league.

While your overall point may have some factual basis....your two examples of teams who run a lot does not make any sense. Would you pass heavily with those qbs and weapons?

I think not.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

While your overall point may have some factual basis....your two examples of teams who run a lot does not make any sense. Would you pass heavily with those qbs and weapons?

I think not.

Actually you just helped me make my point even further lol...Would you run heavily with the Cowboys mediocre RB unit?

[McD5]

BTW, I always enjoy your "I'm giving up on the team" threads in the Stadium.

Always good for a laugh.

:rotflmao:

tr1, this is a pokes thread. Please follow forum rules, and keep Redskins talk to the stadium. Isn't that the lame excuse you always use when trying to avoid Redskins talk here?

Translation for McD5: The Cowboys are #31 in rushing yards per game and #31 in rushing attempts per game...so it makes sense that their passing stats would be inflated, and not a true measurement of how good their passing attack is.

See also: Chiefs, Kansas City - #1 rushing attack in the league, #25 passing attack in the league.

See also: Raiders, Oakland - #2 rushing attack in the league, #24 passing attack in the league.

Both of you are clearly correct. Neither Miles Austin nor Dez have talent. Unlike other greats like Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly and tr's favorite, Marko Mitchell, both of these guys are obvious busts. Neither player would even see the field in Washington. Heck, neither player should even be in the league.

It's this keen eye and analysis that we look to each of you for. And once again, you deliver.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Both of you are clearly correct. Neither Miles Austin nor Dez have talent.

Did either of us say here that neither Austin nor Bryant have talent? No.

Did we BOTH say that you relying on the Cowboys' passing offense rank as proving something positive is a mistake? Yes. Did we both comment about you needing to look deeper than the superficial stat of passing yards to gage the Cowboys' passing unit's effectiveness and talent level? Yes.

Were we both right about that 2nd point--the point we were actually making? Damn straight we were.

It's this keen eye and analysis that we look to each of you for. And once again, you deliver.

Well, thank you

[tr1]

Did either of us say here that neither Austin nor Bryant have talent? No.

Did we BOTH say that you relying on the Cowboys' passing offense rank as proving something positive is a mistake? Yes. Did we both comment about you needing to look deeper than the superficial stat of passing yards to gage the Cowboys' passing unit's effectiveness and talent level? Yes.

Were we both right about that 2nd point--the point we were actually making? Damn straight we were.

If only McD5 knew anything about football, he might actually be fun to debate with.

Unfortunately, when he's losing an argument (which is 'generally'), he puts up so many straw men that the tinder usually starts a fire.

Here in the ATN, we just laugh. :rotflmao:

[Ken]

Actually you just helped me make my point even further lol...Would you run heavily with the Cowboys mediocre RB unit?

They have done it before. This WR and TE combo is too good not to throw it more. Also, if you have a franchise QB, you also throw it more.

Not making your point at all, just stating the facts.

[DarrellsMyHero28]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, Dez is going to be a star.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

They have done it before. This WR and TE combo is too good not to throw it more. Also, if you have a franchise QB, you also throw it more.

Not making your point at all, just stating the facts.

Really?...Since drafting Jones, the Cowboys have never ranked higher than #17 in rushing attempts per game. That's not relying heavily on your RB unit.

[Roger.Staubach]

If only McD5 knew anything about football, he might actually be fun to debate with.

Unfortunately, when he's losing an argument (which is 'generally'), he puts up so many straw men that the tinder usually starts a fire.

Here in the ATN, we just laugh. :rotflmao:

Again. Stick with the topic at hand. If you want to discuss McD5 and his knowledge of football, you should either PM him or start a thread that you think he might be interested in and bait him into a discussion. Else, please stick to the topic at hand (which is the Cowboys' receiving core, btw) Unfortunately, you, when losing an argument, tend to resort to personal attacks versus providing sound logic that is backed by fact.

With regard to the WR core in Dallas. The stats are out of whack. We had an OC (now coach) that didn't recognize the value of 'sticking' with the run, despite it's failures, the fist half of the season. Now that our coach (former OC) seems to have figured it out, I expect the numbers of our WR core to gradually float back to 'average' while our RB numbers rise to 'average'. <---this is all predicated on the fact that I expect the 'trend' of the last two weeks to continue for the remaining six weeks.

As far as talent. Yes. We have some:

Roy Williams can only run straight.

Miles is explosive as hell a millisecond after he catches the ball and seemingly outworks the opposing DBs. Most talented? Not by a long shot.

Dez? Beans made a silly comparison to an ex-Skins never-was, in Gardner. It's obvious to anyone who has watched more than a season or two of pro football that Dez's lower limit is more than Rod's upper limit. Hopefully, the hype in Dallas won't interfere with his progress.

[Roger.Staubach]

Really?...Since drafting Jones, the Cowboys have never ranked higher than #17 in rushing attempts per game. That's not relying heavily on your RB unit.

Not picking a side here...but what is more important?

rushing attempts

rushing yards per game

yards per rushing attempt

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Not picking a side here...but what is more important?

rushing attempts

rushing yards per game

yards per rushing attempt

When talking about the subject I brought up and Ken responded to--a team relying heavily on their rushing attack--attempts per game matter most, because that's the best indicator of how much a team relied on the running backs during the season.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Not picking a side here...but what is more important?

rushing attempts

rushing yards per game

yards per rushing attempt

Top 5 through 10 games in each category (just providing facts, not really picking a side either):

Attempts per game

Chiefs

Jets

Raiders

Falcons

Ravens

Yards per game

Chiefs

Raiders

Eagles

Jets

Giants

Yards per attempt

Eagles

Texans

Chiefs/Raiders

Bills/Vikings/Giants/Titans

So, maybe those stats will help. Just from glancing (and using the Eagles as a better example of success than the Chiefs or Raiders), I'd say that yards per attempt is more critical if 2010 isn't an anomaly.

[sideshow24]

We had an OC (now coach) that didn't recognize the value of 'sticking' with the run, despite it's failures, the fist half of the season.

So THAT's what it felt like to Dallas fans, eh?

[Roger.Staubach]

So THAT's what it felt like to Dallas fans, eh?

I don't follow you. Perhaps I am slow because of my commute today to the Wash-DC area. (and I feel sorry for anyone traveling south. bumper-to-bumper from Fredricksburg to Potomac Mills - Yuck!

I was saying...during the first half of the season (aka first 8 games) we ran the ball only a few times per game and I think that it was a big mistake. The last two weeks we've run the ball more. Coincidence that the team also appears to be trying harder...probably.