Cowboys Postgame

[VikeFanInEagleLand]

I'm not trying to argue that.

What I was trying to say is that I didn't think the secondary played all that bad. I think they were a breath away from creating some huge plays. As the game went on the Cowboys found themselves seemingly in more and more 3rd-and-long situations. Normally the Vikings defense clamps down in those situations, but Dallas found a way to convert them. Dames seemed to imply that was part of Zimmer's master plan, giving the Cowboys a false sense of security that was later yanked way (at least, that's how I read it).

Still, 3rd-and-long for Dallas is exactly how Zimmer wanted things, and the fact he was consistently getting Dallas into those 3rd downs confirms that his plan to focus on taking Elliot away was working.

The coaching and gameplan were great.

I like "Stefubiak" as well.

Very interesting take. I happen to agree with you, despite the numbers, which are bizarre.

I just watched the Purple FTW podcast, which is a great podcast, by the way. Very insightful. Here are some numbers the host pointed out.

• Vikings were in "base nickel" on 58 of 71 defensive snaps, about 82%.

• However, we had 8 or more in the box on the same number of snaps -- 58 of 71.

• The vast majority of the time, that extra man was Harrison Smith (who played a GREAT game, by the way).

• Basically, we played nickel, yet sold out to stop the run. An interesting strategy by Zimmer, but Smith's incredible talent makes it work.

As for our corners:

• Mike Hughes was targeted 17 TIMES! They completed 11 for 154 yards and a TD, for a QBR of 113.4.

• And while that seems really bad, think about that. He was targeted 17 times, mostly against Amari Cooper.

• Xavier Rhodes was targeted just 5 times, but gave up 5 completions for 63 yards and a QBR of 118.8.

• Mack Alexander was targeted 6 times, giving up 4 completions for 80 yards and a TD, for a QBR of 149.3.

So when all was said and done, Mike Hughes actually gave up the lowest QBR of the 3 corners!

This tells me one thing. Mike Zimmer was selling out to stop Zeke, period. He was in single-high safety 82% of the time. That's incredible! He left his corners on an island and trusted them to win the game. And in a strange way, they did.

Dallas stayed close because Dak Prescott was ridiculous. How many times did he escape pressure and find a receiver? We just said that Hunter had 10 pressures, which is otherworldly. The corners often had good coverage, which led to pressure, which Dak escaped and found an open man. You just can't cover Amari Cooper for more than about 3 seconds. Give him enough time, and he'll get open, and I don't care who the corner is.

It was a unique gameplan for the defense, loading the box but only playing two linebackers. And somehow, it worked. Zimmer sold out to stop Zeke and succeeded. He said, "Dak can't beat us," and Dak didn't, even though he put up monster numbers.

It was brilliant.

And two of those receptions to were two GREAT throws to the sideline where Cooper made two GREAT catches. Otherwise Hughes only gives up 9 of 17.

[J. Kapp 11]

Very interesting take. I happen to agree with you, despite the numbers, which are bizarre.

I just watched the Purple FTW podcast, which is a great podcast, by the way. Very insightful. Here are some numbers the host pointed out.

• Vikings were in "base nickel" on 58 of 71 defensive snaps, about 82%.

• However, we had 8 or more in the box on the same number of snaps -- 58 of 71.

• The vast majority of the time, that extra man was Harrison Smith (who played a GREAT game, by the way).

• Basically, we played nickel, yet sold out to stop the run. An interesting strategy by Zimmer, but Smith's incredible talent makes it work.

As for our corners:

• Mike Hughes was targeted 17 TIMES! They completed 11 for 154 yards and a TD, for a QBR of 113.4.

• And while that seems really bad, think about that. He was targeted 17 times, mostly against Amari Cooper.

• Xavier Rhodes was targeted just 5 times, but gave up 5 completions for 63 yards and a QBR of 118.8.

• Mack Alexander was targeted 6 times, giving up 4 completions for 80 yards and a TD, for a QBR of 149.3.

So when all was said and done, Mike Hughes actually gave up the lowest QBR of the 3 corners!

This tells me one thing. Mike Zimmer was selling out to stop Zeke, period. He was in single-high safety 82% of the time. That's incredible! He left his corners on an island and trusted them to win the game. And in a strange way, they did.

Dallas stayed close because Dak Prescott was ridiculous. How many times did he escape pressure and find a receiver? We just said that Hunter had 10 pressures, which is otherworldly. The corners often had good coverage, which led to pressure, which Dak escaped and found an open man. You just can't cover Amari Cooper for more than about 3 seconds. Give him enough time, and he'll get open, and I don't care who the corner is.

It was a unique gameplan for the defense, loading the box but only playing two linebackers. And somehow, it worked. Zimmer sold out to stop Zeke and succeeded. He said, "Dak can't beat us," and Dak didn't, even though he put up monster numbers.

It was brilliant.

And two of those receptions to were two GREAT throws to the sideline where Cooper made two GREAT catches. Otherwise Hughes only gives up 9 of 17.

Exactly.

In fact, I think I posted earlier that Dak completed four of the least likely passes of the entire week, according to ESPN's Next Gen stats. All of them were under 25% probability, with two of them well under 20%. The two throws to Cooper were two of those four.

Bottom line, Dak played out of his mind, and it still wasn't enough.

[CharVike]

Very interesting take. I happen to agree with you, despite the numbers, which are bizarre.

I just watched the Purple FTW podcast, which is a great podcast, by the way. Very insightful. Here are some numbers the host pointed out.

• Vikings were in "base nickel" on 58 of 71 defensive snaps, about 82%.

• However, we had 8 or more in the box on the same number of snaps -- 58 of 71.

• The vast majority of the time, that extra man was Harrison Smith (who played a GREAT game, by the way).

• Basically, we played nickel, yet sold out to stop the run. An interesting strategy by Zimmer, but Smith's incredible talent makes it work.

As for our corners:

• Mike Hughes was targeted 17 TIMES! They completed 11 for 154 yards and a TD, for a QBR of 113.4.

• And while that seems really bad, think about that. He was targeted 17 times, mostly against Amari Cooper.

• Xavier Rhodes was targeted just 5 times, but gave up 5 completions for 63 yards and a QBR of 118.8.

• Mack Alexander was targeted 6 times, giving up 4 completions for 80 yards and a TD, for a QBR of 149.3.

So when all was said and done, Mike Hughes actually gave up the lowest QBR of the 3 corners!

This tells me one thing. Mike Zimmer was selling out to stop Zeke, period. He was in single-high safety 82% of the time. That's incredible! He left his corners on an island and trusted them to win the game. And in a strange way, they did.

Dallas stayed close because Dak Prescott was ridiculous. How many times did he escape pressure and find a receiver? We just said that Hunter had 10 pressures, which is otherworldly. The corners often had good coverage, which led to pressure, which Dak escaped and found an open man. You just can't cover Amari Cooper for more than about 3 seconds. Give him enough time, and he'll get open, and I don't care who the corner is.

It was a unique gameplan for the defense, loading the box but only playing two linebackers. And somehow, it worked. Zimmer sold out to stop Zeke and succeeded. He said, "Dak can't beat us," and Dak didn't, even though he put up monster numbers.

It was brilliant.

And two of those receptions to were two GREAT throws to the sideline where Cooper made two GREAT catches. Otherwise Hughes only gives up 9 of 17.

I give Hughes credit. I never thought he would be playing yet. He's still a young kid and coming off a big time injury. Be nice when Hill gets back also. But with him his next strike is number 3 and he may be out at that point. Dak wasn't ridiculous. It was a home favorite game and he didn't win it.

[J. Kapp 11]

Here's a really good analysis of the Vikings play on offense, done by a Cowboys blogger.

The author does a good job of breaking down why our offense was so effective -- because the O-line played outstanding. It's an excellent read.

Keep in mind, this is written from the Cowboys perspective.

The rough thing about this one was that they didn’t lose this game because they were sloppy in protecting the ball, resulting in some unfortunate giveaways. Nor did they lose because they were plagued by penalties that stalled a bunch of drives. The strange thing about this one is they lost because they couldn’t win in the trenches. They lost the rushing battle by over 100 yards as Vikings running back Dalvin Cook had a big day, whereas the Cowboys were unable to counter as Ezekiel Elliott was shut down.

He then goes on to break down film showing how our O-line dominated the game.

Here's the link.

If our O-line continues to play like this, good things are in store for the rest of the season.

[J. Kapp 11]

And two of those receptions to were two GREAT throws to the sideline where Cooper made two GREAT catches. Otherwise Hughes only gives up 9 of 17.

I give Hughes credit. I never thought he would be playing yet. He's still a young kid and coming off a big time injury. Be nice when Hill gets back also. But with him his next strike is number 3 and he may be out at that point. Dak wasn't ridiculous. It was a home favorite game and he didn't win it.

Dude, I think you gotta give credit where it's due. Without Dak, Dallas loses this game huge.

I never thought he'd be all that great, even when he was winning 13 games as a rookie. I always felt the team held him up. But don't let your bias cloud your judgment. In this game, he was outstanding ... probably the best player on the field. He just happened to be on the losing team.

[S197]

And two of those receptions to were two GREAT throws to the sideline where Cooper made two GREAT catches. Otherwise Hughes only gives up 9 of 17.

I give Hughes credit. I never thought he would be playing yet. He's still a young kid and coming off a big time injury. Be nice when Hill gets back also. But with him his next strike is number 3 and he may be out at that point. Dak wasn't ridiculous. It was a home favorite game and he didn't win it.

Hill is back. He played against Dallas.

[CharVike]

I give Hughes credit. I never thought he would be playing yet. He's still a young kid and coming off a big time injury. Be nice when Hill gets back also. But with him his next strike is number 3 and he may be out at that point. Dak wasn't ridiculous. It was a home favorite game and he didn't win it.

Dude, I think you gotta give credit where it's due. Without Dak, Dallas loses this game huge.

I never thought he'd be all that great, even when he was winning 13 games as a rookie. I always felt the team held him up. But don't let your bias cloud your judgment. In this game, he was outstanding ... probably the best player on the field. He just happened to be on the losing team.

He'll win a ton of games this year. (maybe not he plays some teams) He's already smoked the Giants twice and he will smoke the Skins again. IMO that's not a big deal. I'm sure he'll put up monster stats. Go down to the Saints and do that. Then I'll give credit. Wait that already happened and he sucked. But my judgement is clouded. IMO I don't call a home lose as an outstanding performance. He didn't do enough. He had no ground game to back his stiff but up. We wanted him to throw. That tells nothing to you? He's got the Lions next. He'll have the greatest day throwing in NFL history. Whopee. Jones isn't giving him the monster deal because he sees the same thing. He should have tore us up at home. A stiff backup for the Chiefs did it. A stiff backup for the Bears did it. Wilson will do it and so will Rodgers again. That's the pattern.

[J. Kapp 11]

Dude, I think you gotta give credit where it's due. Without Dak, Dallas loses this game huge.

I never thought he'd be all that great, even when he was winning 13 games as a rookie. I always felt the team held him up. But don't let your bias cloud your judgment. In this game, he was outstanding ... probably the best player on the field. He just happened to be on the losing team.

He'll win a ton of games this year. (maybe not he plays some teams) He's already smoked the Giants twice and he will smoke the Skins again. IMO that's not a big deal. I'm sure he'll put up monster stats. Go down to the Saints and do that. Then I'll give credit. Wait that already happened and he sucked. But my judgement is clouded. IMO I don't call a home lose as an outstanding performance. He didn't do enough. He had no ground game to back his stiff but up. We wanted him to throw. That tells nothing to you? He's got the Lions next. He'll have the greatest day throwing in NFL history. Whopee. Jones isn't giving him the monster deal because he sees the same thing. He should have tore us up at home. A stiff backup for the Chiefs did it. A stiff backup for the Bears did it. Wilson will do it and so will Rodgers again. That's the pattern.

Whatever man. Not the strongest argument in the world, but if it's what you think, it's what you think.

[StumpHunter]

And two of those receptions to were two GREAT throws to the sideline where Cooper made two GREAT catches. Otherwise Hughes only gives up 9 of 17.

I give Hughes credit. I never thought he would be playing yet. He's still a young kid and coming off a big time injury. Be nice when Hill gets back also. But with him his next strike is number 3 and he may be out at that point. Dak wasn't ridiculous. It was a home favorite game and he didn't win it.

You didn't think a 1st round draft pick would be playing in their second season? Or did you mean because of his injury?

Hughes had a bad game. "Only" giving up 9 of 17 is the reason Dallas was still in the game. There is a reason we don't look at receptions per target as the main measurement for a WR and I am not sure why these grading sites find it a valuable measurement for a CB. How many yards and TDs did the corner give up? That is what affects the outcome of the game. Defending a throw on 1st and 2nd down and giving up 40 pass on 3rd down is a 33% reception percentage but a bad job in coverage.

Looking at the numbers, Mac probably had the worst game of all 4 CBs though. The worst game of his season in fact, covering Randall Cobb of all people.

If the guy playing the best CB on the team had a bad game, that gives me hope that maybe Kapp is right and Hughes just got beat by a QB playing out of his mind. It happens. I hope that is the case because I really don't want the Vikings to have to extend Waynes.

[CharVike]

He'll win a ton of games this year. (maybe not he plays some teams) He's already smoked the Giants twice and he will smoke the Skins again. IMO that's not a big deal. I'm sure he'll put up monster stats. Go down to the Saints and do that. Then I'll give credit. Wait that already happened and he sucked. But my judgement is clouded. IMO I don't call a home lose as an outstanding performance. He didn't do enough. He had no ground game to back his stiff but up. We wanted him to throw. That tells nothing to you? He's got the Lions next. He'll have the greatest day throwing in NFL history. Whopee. Jones isn't giving him the monster deal because he sees the same thing. He should have tore us up at home. A stiff backup for the Chiefs did it. A stiff backup for the Bears did it. Wilson will do it and so will Rodgers again. That's the pattern.

Whatever man. Not the strongest argument in the world, but if it's what you think, it's what you think.

Facts made the argument weak. Everything I posted is what I think it never happened. OK got it.

[Dames]

I give Hughes credit. I never thought he would be playing yet. He's still a young kid and coming off a big time injury. Be nice when Hill gets back also. But with him his next strike is number 3 and he may be out at that point. Dak wasn't ridiculous. It was a home favorite game and he didn't win it.

Dude, I think you gotta give credit where it's due. Without Dak, Dallas loses this game huge.

I never thought he'd be all that great, even when he was winning 13 games as a rookie. I always felt the team held him up. But don't let your bias cloud your judgment. In this game, he was outstanding ... probably the best player on the field. He just happened to be on the losing team.

I'll 2nd that. Dak was mostly brilliant, and he made some tremendous plays. I was left impressed. I thought he was overhyped in his first couple years, but I'll admit I didn't pay close attention. He showed me why the team believes in him. He single-handedly kept Dallas in the game.

That said, I just re-watched the condensed version and we missed 4 really good opportunities for INTs, which makes his game look a lot different. That doesn't take away the other really impressive plays he made though.

[CharVike]

Dude, I think you gotta give credit where it's due. Without Dak, Dallas loses this game huge.

I never thought he'd be all that great, even when he was winning 13 games as a rookie. I always felt the team held him up. But don't let your bias cloud your judgment. In this game, he was outstanding ... probably the best player on the field. He just happened to be on the losing team.

I'll 2nd that. Dak was mostly brilliant, and he made some tremendous plays. I was left impressed. I thought he was overhyped in his first couple years, but I'll admit I didn't pay close attention. He showed me why the team believes in him. He single-handedly kept Dallas in the game.

That said, I just re-watched the condensed version and we missed 4 really good opportunities for INTs, which makes his game look a lot different. That doesn't take away the other really impressive plays he made though.

I never pay much attention to him either. Since he's a Cowboy he will get all the ink and they will say he's the best in the game and all that other BS. I posted an article from a local Dallas newspaper before and it stated he can't beat good teams. Dak can't get it done. He's not good enough. IMO keeping a team in a game means nothing. I'll take the win. They were home favorites. He chocked. He let that get away when he didn't do a dam thing until we were up big. Zim allowed him to take it over. We committed the D to the run. That says everything right there. We wanted him to throw and that was the downfall for the boys. If we want after him and stopped the pass Zeke would have ran it down our throats. Say good night. I don't know why that's not understood. They gave him the passing. He couldn't get it done. Big stats for the eye candy and the big L. If we had a few ball hawkers, Huges is close, which I like it would have been ugly. I have #### about that before. But Dak got lucky. I'd like to see Cousins as a home favorite and then getting beat with big time stats. I don't think too many would be happy with that. I'm sure the boy fans are pissed. They know the story already.

[VikingLord]

That said, I just re-watched the condensed version and we missed 4 really good opportunities for INTs, which makes his game look a lot different. That doesn't take away the other really impressive plays he made though.

That's what I was trying to say - that there were at least 2 passes that could have easily gone the other way for 6, and 2 more than could have been picks.

I'm not trying to take anything away from Prescott, either. He played a heck of a game and made some really nice throws. I just don't think the secondary play of the Vikings was as bad as a cursory look at the numbers would suggest, and in general the coverage was pretty good.

[Dames]

That said, I just re-watched the condensed version and we missed 4 really good opportunities for INTs, which makes his game look a lot different. That doesn't take away the other really impressive plays he made though.

That's what I was trying to say - that there were at least 2 passes that could have easily gone the other way for 6, and 2 more than could have been picks.

I'm not trying to take anything away from Prescott, either. He played a heck of a game and made some really nice throws. I just don't think the secondary play of the Vikings was as bad as a cursory look at the numbers would suggest, and in general the coverage was pretty good.

Makes sense. Thankfully those missed opportunities didn't cost us a win on Sunday. If Dallas had scored at the end, we would all be looking back on those 4 drops as a big reason we lost. We were good enough to overcome them that game.

[CharVike]

I give Hughes credit. I never thought he would be playing yet. He's still a young kid and coming off a big time injury. Be nice when Hill gets back also. But with him his next strike is number 3 and he may be out at that point. Dak wasn't ridiculous. It was a home favorite game and he didn't win it.

You didn't think a 1st round draft pick would be playing in their second season? Or did you mean because of his injury?

Hughes had a bad game. "Only" giving up 9 of 17 is the reason Dallas was still in the game. There is a reason we don't look at receptions per target as the main measurement for a WR and I am not sure why these grading sites find it a valuable measurement for a CB. How many yards and TDs did the corner give up? That is what affects the outcome of the game. Defending a throw on 1st and 2nd down and giving up 40 pass on 3rd down is a 33% reception percentage but a bad job in coverage.

Looking at the numbers, Mac probably had the worst game of all 4 CBs though. The worst game of his season in fact, covering Randall Cobb of all people.

If the guy playing the best CB on the team had a bad game, that gives me hope that maybe Kapp is right and Hughes just got beat by a QB playing out of his mind. It happens. I hope that is the case because I really don't want the Vikings to have to extend Waynes.

Because of injury. He did well his rookie year. Returned an int for a TD. That's the type of D I like. I thought Hughes had an int that he dropped. I thought he broke on it very well. But I could be wrong and it was someone else. I don't know were people are coming up that the pass D was crap. The boys owned our secondary. We gave up 24 points on the road to the top ranked O. I think that's a dam good effort. I seen D that's got smoked and it was much worse than 24 points. 24 isn't lights out by any stretch but it was good enough for the win. It's not like this stiff threw 6 TDs. He didn't do enough to win. That's dam good D IMO.