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Why do you play the game? You play to try to tie. These are not the immortal words of Herm Edwards. Herm wanted to win. But perhaps they could be the words of Jason Garrett, who, for the second time in three weeks, decided to play for a tie and just received a punishment from the football gods, a group of deities often lacking benevolence .
Garrett's penalty this time was a field placement for Brett Maher, who had made his last 16 kicks in a row. Maher did not need to hit when and where he was – the Cowboys had returned thanks to Dak Prescott running in the critical time, but then Garrett shot his foot on the gas with Dallas 20-17 and accelerated to the area red for a potentially winning touchdown.
After getting close to Maher's goal after finishing Cole Beasley in the middle of the field, the Cowboys had about five minutes in real time to plan things while the officials checked if Beasley had caught the ball (he l & # 39; 39) did). The offense ended in a draw against Ezekiel Elliott for a few meters, then allowed the clock to end with an attempt to place the ball as they sounded their last timeout.
It was incredibly conservative. With 12 seconds to go, the Cowboys could have taken an immediate dive to stop the clock at 11 seconds. Then they could have played fast depending on the coverage, as Tony Romo explained in the CBS show.
"See if you believe, there are 11 seconds, you tilt, shoot the field when they go in. If everyone falls to the ground, you put it back and do the same thing.If that is Cover 1, man, you take a shot at the end zone. "
At this point, Jim Nantz (rightly) pointed out that, according to calculations, it was possible to organize two games instead of a draw.
"Yes, if you sting him and you have a timeout," continued Romo. "You say the quarterback has two games, we drop him if he dives too far, otherwise we drop him to our big guy.
The irony of Romo, Garrett's former quarterback, explaining the problem of conservative coaching here should not be lost to anyone. Garrett chose a "safe" goal of 47 yards by performing the draw on the possibility of one. improve the position on the ground, or b. take a shot at the end zone for a total win. The latter also gives you the option of a defensive pass interference penalty, which would increase the likelihood of the Cowboys winning as well as completing on the field.
Two weeks ago against the Texans, Garrett played as well, in a boat on the Houston side, a decision that his boss lamented immediately after this happened.
Playing for the tie is only his style at this point. he is hyper-conservative regarding decision-making in the fourth planeEven though his team is converting to the highest NFL rate (75%) since coming to power in 2011, it is not surprising that he is also a conservative at these positions.
Garrett moved to fourth place early in this match and failed. You could almost guarantee that Garrett was going to shrink a bit after the rest of the game. When he arrived late in the puck, he left Dallas with a 47-yard look. Following a false start by the offense, it was a 52-yard attempt that sent off. Everything closer and he probably goes in.
The Eagles lost Sunday afternoon. The Giants have a stench and play in Atlanta on Monday. Dallas was left for dead a few weeks ago and would have led the division with a win over Washington. Instead, the Cowboys are 3-4 and in a precarious position. Push a little envelope and maybe the Cowboys are 4-3 or 5-2. They hope better than they do not wonder what two more wins could bring to their final record once the playoffs are known.
Cam is clutch, deals with it
A major feature of the 2018 NFL season is the ability of any team to catch up quickly, but the Panthers returned from the 17-0 loss to the Eagles to win the 21-17 game. do not expect to see because the Panthers are not an offensive juggernaut and the Eagles are the defending Super Bowl champions with a dominant defense. And yet, it was Cam Newton, who spent the first three quarters struggling, turning abruptly to the rearguard and getting very hot in the fourth quarter to lead the Panthers to what might ultimately be a surprising surprise game. for Carolina.
Newton was a terrible 8 of 16 for 59 yards with no points or interception. The Panthers are 17-0 and the third quarter is down. The Eagles had just scored for the match, in theory. From the 33 second point of the third quarter to the end of the match, Newton scored 17 of his 23 attempts for 210 yards and two touchdowns, while Curtis Samuel rushed from 14 yards to score. other point.
Carolina blitzkrieged the defense of the Eagles; it was a perfect microcosm of Newton's game. There is a lot the people – the two fans of Panthers and the casual observers of professional football – who do not care about Newton. OK whatever. He has a strange personality, wears ridiculous hats and is very often misunderstood.
But here is a reality that no one can ignore: Newton is a hell. It's been awhile since he's at the university, where he has led Auburn and Gene Chizik to a national title in Gus Malzhan's offense. Newton has been producing since the second he arrived in the NFL, but people do not legitimately want to see him succeed and spend time demolishing him when he's cold.
This is part of the Cam Newton experiment, however. Sometimes it's cold and lacks a lot of receivers, sometimes it's very hot. The hots are superior to the cold, because it is so that it works for a player who has already beaten 15-1 and won the MVP title, just ahead of the Super Bowl against a historically successful defense of the Broncos. His reaction to the defeat only added to Newton's polarization, but people are embarrassed too much in the showcase of football players.
Newton is a stud farm, a player who positions himself in large areas. The Panthers' defense also improved its game at the right time on Sunday, and the combo gave the Panthers another win. They went to 4-2, remaining within reach of the Saints (5-1).
Newton will never lead the league, but he remains the most dangerous and versatile threat in the NFL red zone. He also completes 65.6% of his passes, by far the highest percentage of his career. Carolina has not played so well this year, but they are piling up victories. If the defense finds out and the offensive finds a rhythm, watch for it.
You do not want a QB of Hall of Fame caliber with an MVP on his resume catching fire and lowering you down.
Jaguars implode
The Jaguars are a relatively new franchise, but they have spent much of the club's history in appalling condition. It is therefore impressive that the Jags set a record of futility in 2018. Specifically, Jacksonville managed not to score the first half for the third consecutive game on Sunday, something Jacksonville had never done before. At a time when offenses are very penalizing, it is suboptimal. And in a year when the Jags were supposed to face the Super Bowl title, it's even less ideal for Jacksonville to be alongside Blake Bortles at half-time for Cody Kessler.
This has happened however, and one wonders why Jacksonville did not want to trade against someone like Teddy Bridgewater earlier in the off season. They were definitely one of the best teams that could have used the quarterback's help. I have the idea of not wanting to create psychological problems for Bortles by bringing in another potential starter: as soon as Bortles struggles to fight, people will demand Teddy, or whoever, but if you're a As a legitimate Super Bowl candidate, you must be prepared for all eventualities. The saints did it and they drew Brees.
Could the Bortles problem be the cause of the discontent of the defensive players? According to Mark Long of the Associated Press, the locker room "imploded" after the defeat, as Calais Campbell had to retain fellow defensive lineman Yannick Ngakoue following a gigantic match that had erupted between players.
Many players have refused to talk about what happened, but Jalen Ramsey admitted "it's not fair" for the Jags at the moment.
"You all walk here, you all see how it goes here, you all see how we live with each other, you all see how we live coaches, you all see what it is," said Ramsey. "What's going on here at the present time is no secret.Nobody is going to say it because we can not, but it's not a secret and it's not a secret. is not right now. "
It should be noted that the defense is terrible for Jacksonville right now too. Rodney Harrison tore them up as "soft" on NBC before Sunday Night Football, and he may not be wrong. Despite the fact that DVOA ranks among the top 10 units for this weekend, the Jags have now lost 90 points in the last three weeks, all defeated. As in the last two games, they got up early and managed to get rid of their script, forced to let Bortles throw a ton.
Or in this case, being forced to let Kessler throw a ton.
Quick Recall: Jacksonville used one of Leonard Fournette's top five picks two years ago instead of picking a potential quarterback. Deshaun Watson was linked to the Jags in rumors and Patrick Mahomes was sitting there too. This is not a retrospective science. The Jaguars were looking for a long-term solution for the quarterback, while Bortles had just finished a nightmarish season (he would almost be cut into a training camp for Chad Henne).
It worked well last year, but with Fournette struggling with a thigh injury and inactive against the Texans, Jacksonville decided to make the exchange of Carlos Hyde by relying on T.J. Yeldon. Their short-term campaign did not produce long-term results, as the defense struggled to stay consistent.
Fortunately for Jacksonville, the Texans do not have a big lead (one more game) and the Titans lost to London on Sunday morning. Unfortunately for Jacksonville, life does not get any easier. The Jaguars will draw the Eagles home next week before they leave. A road trip to Indy will follow, followed by the Steelers at home, then a game in Buffalo. Something worse than 2-2 would completely derail the season.
Expect some sort of players to meet only during the next two weeks, while Doug Marrone's team tries – in his words – to galvanize this defeat and make another playoff series.
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