Mike Vandermause: Only stat that matters is final score

[MJZiggy]

Tell it to the Eagles, Chargers, Broncos and Chiefs...All I've been hearing all season long is how this team is better than the ones before and they're gonna beat us or that O is really good, we'll never stop them. Well, with the exception of 2 games, we found a way to beat them all, and I believe we'll beat the other two when next we meet--one this week and the other for the Conference Championship (but in case we struggle there, we need a blonde for insurance).

[b bulldog]

Leaper, if you want to blitz, you must live with the results. We tried blitzing in Dallas and they even stoned our friggin blitz.

[Fritz]

Say what you will about Leaper's analysis. He has a fine avatar.

[The Leaper]

Leaper, if you want to blitz, you must live with the results. We tried blitzing in Dallas and they even stoned our friggin blitz.

I think our blitzing effort against Dallas was hardly all-out. We barely blitzed at all early...then made a few weak efforts bringing guys mostly straight up the gut without much confusion. Not having KGB was also a pretty large factor, as he is a guy that can open things up for other players.

As I've pointed out, we have the players in place to be as aggressive as we want to be. We have fast backup CBs that you can stick in the slot and blitz with. We have fast LBs that you can blitz with off the edge. Now that the coaching staff has the game film to review, they will realize they need a more aggressive package to fluster Romo...and I'm sure they will come up with one.

I think we should sign Jessica Simpson, stick her in a bikini at MLB, and have her jump up and down in front of Romosexual.

[FritzDontBlitz]

As the defense gets accustomed to the concept of blitzing they will begin to adapt and improvise to make it more successful. Blitzing is about timing and taking the proper angles to exploit openings in the blocking. For instance, if you assign a CB to blitz off the edge, he may need to delay that blitz to read the path the defensive end takes: if the DE is driven straignt upfield past the QB, then the CB needs to angle his blitz off the DE's inside shoulder because there should be a huge gap between the guard and tackle by then. If the DE is stoned at the line, take the outside edge and force the QB to step up into the pocket and hopefully he will meet pressure from the middle. Twists and stunts like these can be quite successful when executed by a lineman and a blitzer, and they will drive an offensive lineman insane.

One more thing: only idiots give away their intentions to blitz by crowding the line early and letting the offense know in plenty of time to audible. Even the crowding tactic can be included as part of the chess game. They should creep up and show blitz to get the QB and linemen to commit to a certain audible or blocking scheme, then back off at the last second to force the QB to either run a doomed play or waste a timeout. Tampa used to be masters at this.