No Felix Jones? No problems. That’s what happens when you’re rookie RB decides he’s going to cut and burst his way to a new franchise record for rushing yards.
However this game was more than about one man for Dallas and more than about one mistake, or a bad performance from St Louis. This was one team, as a unit, executing on plays and exhibiting a superior level of talent that their opponents just couldn’t keep up with. That was how in control the Cowboys looked in this game with only four players on offense earning a negative grade (the lowest of which was a -1.0).
Conversely the Rams didn’t help themselves with some poor tackling, some bad angles and getting beaten at the point of attack with alarming regularity. It was the kind of display you want to just pretend never happened. Only they’ll need to learn from this, as a season which offered such promise, has quickly turned into a joke. Let’s examine just why exactly this one was such a one sided affair.
St Louis: Three Performances of Note
Pick a defender, any defender …
We'll get to the one stand out performance in a bit, but for now let’s concentrate on a defensive unit that scored a combined -24.0 grade and they earned every point of that. Chris Long (-2.5) showed how easy it is for TEs to down block him out of a play in this one, while the LB combination of James Laurinatis (-3.8) and Chris Chamberlain (-3.1) were just poor all round. Chamberlain in particular should be disappointed by a performance that saw him taken out on numerous pull blocks, as well as putting up little resistance to a charging Tony Fiametta. The worst performances were saved for the secondary, where free agent bust (yes, our top ranked safety from 2011 has stunk it up as a Ram) Quintin Mikell (-3.2) missed three tackles, and badly over pursued on two more (including the 91 yard touchdown). He wasn’t alone as Josh Gordy came in at the LCB spot, and in his 45 snaps managed to miss two tackles, give up a touchdown and would have given another one up but for an overthrow by Tony Romo. This was the kind of game where the Rams defense did everything wrong.
Except for one old timer …
If you told me Al Harris (+3.5) would be the best performer on the Rams defense before this game started, I would have given you my patented roll of the eyes. But so it proved to be, with the starting LCB looking back to his best with an inspired display. Dallas weren’t afraid to challenge him, throwing seven balls at him, but only two of those ended up complete for 23 yards. Meanwhile he not only broke up two balls, but was in excellent position throughout most of the game. When Romo wanted to hit Miles Austin on a go routewith 12:17 left in the third, Harris was in such tight coverage Romo couldn’t make the throw down the left sidelines and he managed to disrupt what looked a sure fire first down to Laurent Robinson with 10:04 left in the same quarter. Sure the play was called back for a defensive penalty, but that doesn’t take away from the coverage, and excellent game, of Harris.
Sophomore Slump
People got ahead of themselves last year when they talked about the play of Rodger Saffold (-4.1). He had a decent rookie year, but he had plenty of moments where he looked less than the elite LT some would have you believe. So while some are shocked at his performances this year, the more I think about it, the less I am. He ‘only’ gave up a sack, hit and two pressures in this game, but don’t be fooled. A lot of that was as a result of the Rams getting the ball out of Feeley’s hands quicker than a hiccup. Meanwhile his run blocking was far from impressive, getting next to no push, and giving up a tackle for no gain, and tackle for a short one. Far from imposing, this isn’t just a bad streak now. This, is a slump.
Dallas: Three Performances of Note
Marvellous Murray
Before praising the excellence of DeMarco Murray (+3.2 rushing) let’s give some praise to a blocking unit that picked up a collective +6.6 (with only Phil Costa earning a grade in the red for his work in the run game). They dominated and a lot of that owed to some excellent game planning that had the right guy being double teamed to open up a big hole for Murray. But even then, Murray still had some work to do. You don’t pick up 253 yards (104 after contact) without doing something yourself, and so it proved with Murray grading positively on 12 of his rushes, showing quick feet and a good burst to continually get the Rams defenders losing contain on him. One game doesn’t make him a star, but if he keeps playing like this, the Cowboys have struck gold.
The Good Mike
You never know what type of performance you might get from Mike Jenkins (+1.9). Is it a guy who will look a little disinterested and lost on plays? Or the player who always gets himself in the right spot? This one seemed to be the latter, with the Dallas RCB picking up an interception (his coverage forced the receiver to divert his route) and two more pass deflections (including one that broke up a touchdown). He did whiff on a tackle late in the game, but by then he’s already made his positive impression. Much like Murray, although for different reasons, the challenge is on for him to develop some consistency in his rollercoaster season.
The Prototypical Tight End
With just five receptions and 35 yards (albeit one being a touchdown), you’d be forgiven for wondering how Jason Witten (+3.2) earned his grade. Well as we always like to moan about/ fight the good fight on, being a tight end involves more than just catching balls. It involves blocking and while Witten hasn’t been his usual dominating self this year, he was back to his best against the Rams. If one plays illustrates this it’s how he handled Laurinaitis with 13:53 to go in the game. The active Rams MLB does everything he can to work off the block, but Witten controls him, taking him from his own inside shoulder and looping around the point of attack so Laurinaitis has no impact on the play. He lost just two battles in the run game all day, winning seven.
Games Notes
– The Cowboys allowed pressure on just eight plays, and four of those were the result of overload blitzes.
– Of the Rams 42 tackles made, only 14 constituted defensive stops (33.3%). By contrast 59% of the tackles Dallas made were wins for their defense.
– The Rams didn’t drop any balls, nor did A.J. Feeley throw away any. What you see with his completion percentage is exactly what you get.
PFF Game Ball
This couldn’t be any easier after DeMarco Murray played the way he did.
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