[ad_1]
The New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys, two of the most popular and unpopular teams in the NL, have saved their seasons for at least a week on Sunday. Their legions of fans, largely confined to six states of New England, or strangely confined by no coherent boundaries, inspired sighs of relief.
The rest of the planet, N.F.L. the fans probably felt cheated. Lost was the opportunity to wake up at N.F.L. Monday. rankings and find both the Patriots and Cowboys in last place with dismal records 1-3.
Instead, New England and Dallas will turn to the fifth week of the league with 2-2. Keep in mind that five of the 12 teams that qualified for the playoffs last season had recorded 2-2 after four games a year ago.
So, about a quarter of the new N.F.L. season, it is clear that some leading and established teams that seemed in disarray do not disappear right away. And New England and Dallas have another abstract link (later).
First, in Foxboro, Massachusetts, Tom Brady smiled and slapped on the sidelines all day long, basking in the glow of the bright New England sun and the defeat of the Miami Dolphins by 38- 7. It was like in ancient times.
At about 1,700 km later and later in the afternoon, Dallas owner Jerry Jones, after grabbing his chest as if simulating a heart attack, happily smiled a toothy smile in the gloomy light and unnatural of his private football palace. His Cowboys rallied to defeat the Detroit Lions, 26-24, on a second field placement. The party was open.
Then, after each match, the locker room in New England and Dallas echoed the same refrains.
"It's a long season," said Brady, who threw 274 yards and three touchdowns. "Let's hope we are much better in October than in September."
After their collapse in Detroit last weekend, New England's second consecutive loss, Bill Belichick did what any football coach son raised in 1960s football culture would have done: he spent a long week of practices in hell.
And it worked. There's a reason the Patriots have played more than 250 games without three consecutive losses.
Belichick said Sunday afternoon: "Look, each team will face adversity during the season. There will be more than once too. We will all be challenged about it. We will be challenged again. I'm sure it will probably be several times.
It's hard to compare anyone at Belichick stubbornly atypical, but Dallas coach Jason Garrett, who, like Belichick, is the son of a long-time football coach, also has the ability to keep his players concentrated in a hectic environment. And every day around Stormy Cowboys can sometimes seem turbulent.
This may be because Belichick and Garrett have coaching roots that extend to the previous generation, but on Sunday they all returned to bases that would have been familiar to N.F.L. more than three decades ago.
New England made its main ambition for Sunday's match evident when Patriots carried the ball over eight of the team's first twelve games. At the end of the game, the New England backs had amassed 175 yards. This ground attack and the pound also forced Miami's fierce race to retreat to protect itself from the race.
And who has benefited from this?
A 41-year-old quarterback, who loves most quarterbacks, does not like to be slashed and passes, Sunday – with more time – is more like old Tom Brady by completing 23 of 35 passes .
It's a good coaching.
In the same way, Garrett knew exactly where his Cowboys derived from their most effective offensive game plan.
In the first three games of Dallas, running back Ezekiel Elliott grabbed 274 yards, but the most blatant shot just 11 passes for 37 yards. People were busy talking about whether quarterback Dak Prescott retained the Cowboys, and Prescott had indeed managed three games before Sunday. But the real problem was to involve Elliott more in the offense.
That changed Sunday against the Lions when Elliott had 152 yards in 152 runs and four receptions for 88 yards, including a brilliant pass to the right for 34 yards that helped the goalie win the game. final game.
Subsequently, Garrett agreed that it was essential that Elliott touch football more often. But a more specific comment was made when Garrett was asked how he had prepared his players as they faced the prospect of a 1-3 record.
Tell me if Garrett's response resembles that of another coach whose team was arriving on Sunday.
"It starts with a tough Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday," Garrett said. "So when they come out of the tunnel, they are free because they know they are ready and they will play. And today, they have managed the success and adversity of the game very well. We will have to do it again, I am sure of it. "
The Patriots and Cowboys will continue on their way, always in the heat of the playoff race. And they were not the only 1-2 teams to have apparently straightened the ship for at least a week. Seattle and San Diego also scored .500 after four games.
It's a little more visible when it's done by the Patriots and Cowboys. This will only make them more popular and unpopular.
Source link
