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Monday, August 5, 2013

Dolphins vs. Cowboys Observations

Since football season has officially started after the Hall of Fame Game, I would like to start a new series discussing the good, bad, and ugly of what I observed from different teams. Although many say preseason is pointless, I always like to argue that the problems you see in preseason are usually the problems you will have in the regular season. With that being said, here are somethings that I observed:

1. A lot of starters were out- Tony Romo, Mike Wallace, Jason Witten just to name a few. In this case this appears to be normal because you do not want to play someone unless you have to. Since the Cowboys have 5 preseason games, I think it is smart that they did not play their starters very much. Same for Miami.

1375675080000-USP-NFL-Hall-of-Fame-Game-Dallas-Cowboys-vs-Miami-008-1308042359_4_3.jpg (534×401)
2. Both teams looked rusty- This also is normal, but it appears like the Cowboys had it much more together than the Dolphins did. Even so, the red zone offense for the Cowboys needs some work for sure. The Dolphins had a pretty awful start to the preseason though as Miller fumbled around the their own 10. The offense looked disorganized and the only bright spot on the defense was the defensive line. With more time, I think there are things both teams can do to get better as training camp goes on.

3. Dolphins are going to have left tackle problems- Ware did not even play much at all, yet it seemed the QB position for the Dolphins was constantly under distress. It did not take long at all for pressure to form and Matt Moore had a tough night because of it. Perhaps they should have put the money on Jake Long or drafted Lane Johnson...

4. Dolphins Receivers are awful- Sure, they have Mike Wallace, but who else? Everyone seemed to be dropping all the passes and it just looked awful. Would not be surprised if the Dolphins start to look at other teams WR groups to determine if there is talent somewhere else. 

20130804_mjm_aw3_306.0_standard_352.0.jpg (352×234)5. Cowboys love tight ends- It seemed like the Cowboys were using a lot of blocking tight ends for the run game. I am a little surprised by the ground and pound game as well, but it seemed to work. It will be interesting how they use all their tight ends. 

6. Cowboys can run the ball- Boy did they. They embarrassed a lot of Miami defenders by simply knocking them down and getting more yards. No wonder the Cowboys are turning more to ground and pound.

7. Dion Jordan and Cameron Wake are going to be deadly- I loved the speed the Jordan brought to the pass rush and I think he and Wake are going to do some damage. However, I question the secondary in this defense because they caused a lot of headaches for this defensive unit as a whole.


8. Dolphins will miss Reggie Bush-
You know, this team spent a lot of money on getting different players from the league, but maybe they should have invested more in their own players. Reggie Bush was a play maker, the other running backs...

cowinsider_0805spo001.JPG (620×358)9. Cowboys did a great job on coaching changes- I really like the additions they made at the coaching areas and the fact that Garret will not be calling the plays next year. A lot of head coaches that call the plays on offense/defense typically do not do very well. Meanwhile, Joe Philbin did not look very satisfied with this team and rightfully so. There is plenty of work to be done in Miami.

Overall the Cowboys looked much more organized and better. However, they went against a team that is going to need time to bond and all. I think that both teams are around average overall though, with the Cowboys being slightly above average and the Dolphins being below average. Will look at future games though to determine if any of these changes.

Friday, August 2, 2013

Best Secondaries in the NFL

In todays pass attack style offenses, having a good secondary might be the difference between winning or losing games. However, since there have been a lot of off season moves for many NFL teams in the secondary, we are going to take a look at seeing which teams will most likely be dominating in the secondary.

120925-chancellor-480.jpg (480×300)1. Seattle Seahawks- This is by far the most intimidating  group in the NFL that knows how to shut down opposing offenses in the pass attack. Richard Sherman emerged as one of the greats in the group and Brandon Brower is a threat as well. Kam Chancellor does well in pass or run attack and the depth in this group is incredible. The best part? They are young and next year will have a better pass rush. Watch out NFL.

2. Kansas City Chiefs- You might be surprised that they are so high up there, but they made some very solid off season moves that will surely help this group next year. Brandon Flowers does a very good job of covering opposing players and Sean smith was a big free agent addition that puts this group over the edge. Dunta Robinson is a great insurance policy for this group and as long as Quentin Demps keeps being a solid player then this group will continue to be very good.

Carlos+Rogers+New+York+Giants+v+San+Francisco+KmVTnxEpKgGl.jpg (594×411)3. San Francisco 49'ers- I would have placed these guys higher, but age is starting to hit this group and last years playoff/super bowl woes hurt this team. Even so, it is a very good group that makes offenses quiver. Chris Cullivers injury will hurt this team, but the addition of Nnamdi Asomugha will be huge for depth reasons. Carlos Rogers maybe getting older, but I still think he will be effective and the drafting of Eric Reid I think was a great investment. As long as the injury bug does not keep going around, then I think this group will do wonders this season.

4. Denver Broncos- Same pretty much goes for Denver as it does for San Francisco, would have placed them higher, but they have the same issues San Francisco currently has. Champ Bailey is awesome, but he looked slow late in the season and in the playoffs. They added Rodgers-Cromartie as well, but it looks like he is down with injury, so that will hurt. The addition of Quentin Jammer will help with depth and overall it is a solid group. However, like most of the Broncos, they are getting old so they will need to preform this year or else...

Asante+Samuel+Dallas+Cowboys+v+Atlanta+Falcons+DhveWa9-m0yl.jpg (594×392)5. Atlanta Falcons- I have to admit, it was hard to decide if this group deserved to be this high, but its an impressive group nevertheless. Asante Samuel might be getting old, but he proved last season that he can still be a very good player. I really loved that they drafted Desmond Trufant because the guy can play. William Moore needs to step up a little more, but is still a good player to have on your team. It is a boom or bust group, but I think for next year it will be a boom. After that age will start to kick in for this group in my opinion.