Matt Eberflus vs. Cowboys
 

Since Eberflus was just last year coaching for the Cowboys, does this influence the upcoming game vs. Dallas? Help the offense or the defense?

I think Eberflus has been great this year and have even seen his name mentioned as one of the head coaching candidates for next year when the inevitable firings take place in 3 weeks.

I think he is probably a year or two away from that happening, but you never know

McDaniels really did us a favor. I truly think he, or the Pats, was just trying to screw over the Colts because now I hear his name seriously being thrown around as the Packers next coach. IF he takes that job, its pretty clear, that whole thing last year was a charade to try and screw over this organization.

In the end though the joke is on him and the Pats because he actually helped hire a great D coordinator that would otherwise probably not have come here and allowed the Colts to wait and hire Reich.

On the subject of the evil empire and their court jester, I have no comment. As to whether or not the Marinelli/Cowboys relationship has an advantage for either side...I would say mostly no.

mcdaniels is a douche and I am happy we ended up with reich.

I dont think it was part of some master plan by NE just to screw with us. maybe icing on the cake that it was the colts vs some other team. i think they didnt want to disrupt the offense and convinced him to stay with some promises.

I don’t think his familiarity with the cowboys will help all that much.

That said, I think eberflus has been fantastic this year

I like Eberflus and wish people would tone down the HC talk FFS. He's probably the best DC we've had since that guy from the Broncos in 2009, the one Polian overruled and made us go back to the shitty Tampa 2. I like the way he uses the front 7 (or 6, really, since we often only use 2 LBs). It's nice to see effective stunts on the DL, Teerlinck's stunts were garbage. I was a little skeptical of the Marinelli-style DL but I can't gripe about it much at this point. I think we're one blue-chip pass rusher away from a top DL. Lots of good complimentary rushers that can get hot and ruin a drive.

I don't think Leonard or Walker become the players they have, not even close, without Eberflus. I like the way he uses Geathers. I still don't care for some of the situational coverages, and sometimes I don't like the way he uses Hooker/the FS, but I've come to think some of Hooker's issues are injury-related.

Maybe he will have some familiarity with how to best attack Prescott and get him rattled but I don't expect to shut down the Cowboys. With Cooper and Elliot playing well they are hard to stop.

I was thinking about this today. If nothing else, he should be relatively familiar with Prescott, which can’t hurt.

At the same time, I suppose it could be said that Prescott should also be familiar with Eberflus’s scheme, so who knows?

Interesting - Holder published an article yesterday that seems to indicate that Ballard was the one interested in hiring Eberflus as the DC - that he was asking people during the interview process for the Head Coach position if they would work with Eberflus. Holder said that if the interviewee was a defense minded coach and wanted to bring along another coach they had previously worked with, that Eberflus might not have been hired. But if the interviewee was an offense coach, Ballard was suggesting Eberflus for DC.


https://twitter.com/HolderStephen/st...44380229242880


https://twitter.com/HolderStephen/st...72921460584448

Having a coach go against his old team is a huge advantage. He knows the inherent weaknesses to attack better than anyone. There have been plenty of examples to back this up. I like our odds in this one.

I have been wondering about this lately. Was there anyone specifically that the snake wanted and is now on our staff. Seems a bit muddled when trying to find info.

I always assumed the OL coach - Dave DeGuglielmo - due to him working 2 years with the Pats. But, he has sort of been a journeyman - worked for 5 other NFL teams besides the Colts, including the Dolphins twice.

Maybe off topic but I try to never expose myself to the dumbass that is Skip Baylliss..... bit unfortunately people give him a platform by repeating his ridiculous takes. I heard his latest take re the upcoming Colts v Cowgirls game is that the QB advantage is firmly with the cowgirls.....seems Dak is far superior to Andrew on EVERY metric that matters. He's smarter, a better leader, and more gifted athletically.

Ok guess the QBR doesn't matter (8th in the NFL vs 22nd, advantage Luck). Dumbass. :cool:

That is one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.

especially since not Bayless but one someone I heard last month was basically saying Jones regrets now getting rid of Romo for Dak.

Bayliss says injuries and turnovers is why.
https://www.foxsports.com/watch/undi.../1395909187843

Shape's counter
https://www.foxsports.com/watch/undi.../1395950147819

As for brains, Stanford>Miss St

As for athleticism, I believe Luck had similar measurables to Cam Newton coming out.

But Skip is the equivalent of click bait to me. Also fans have never let him forget his RG3 over Luck argument.

He only says that stupid shit because he gets a reaction. Stop giving him a reaction.

Skip Bayless.....hahahahahahahahahahah!:rolleyes:

His comments are worth about as much as a Fart in a Windstorm.

Ballard was pretty clear about this in interviews after the Reich press conference. He said that Eberflus was his guy regardless of the HC. Ballard wanted to get back to a 4-3 because no dome team has ever won a title playing a 3-4 base.

That’s an interesting theory. I wonder why they think a dome will be more effective for a 4-3 defense than a 3-4? Is it just a Tampa-2 speedbased defense over other ones? Take advantage of that fast turf?

Even if he said that, maybe its true, but after the fact, its hard to know how much of that is just for show so it doesn't seem like "We are just sticking with him because we have to" and how much is the truth.

Bill Polian always made lots of claims after the fact, you never knew how much was true.

Yes not really sure why a 4-3 would be favored over a 3-4 for Dome teams or why that makes a difference.

Plus its a small sample size of Dome teams that have won a title.
1999 Rams
2007 Colts
2010 Saints

All those teams were offense first powerhouses. That was more the defining characteristic of all of them rather than anything about the defenses.

I have never seen that show. That's like like mixing a foaming at the mouth political AM radio show with sports. Both segments were very hard to listen to.

Dak has made a great showing... he made the playoffs as a rookie, missed as a sophomore and looks to be having a decent, if perhaps pedestrian season this year. I forgot that Dallas started 3-5.

As it sits now they have a two game lead in the NFC east. It would be a shame if someone screwed that up for them.

https://www.pro-football-reference.c...P/PresDa01.htm

In terms of individual passing stats, only one item in one season stands out for Dak vs. Luck : He only threw 4 INTs his rookie season.

But even so, his yardage numbers are average, not even breaking 4000 yards and not likely to do it this year. He has averaged 22.5 TDs per season first two years and is right on pace for that again this year. 13 INTs last year.

He does run for a lot of yards, will give him that.

His average season so far though for passing, and they have all been about the same, would be at the lower end of any complete season for Luck

If you want to say he has been healthier, OK, true, but the other stuff is just stupid.

I know Jesus.....you tell us to turn the other cheek.......but I hate listening to stupid people saying stupid things. I will Try to be better. ;)

I always thought we ignored the LB position in the draft when they were running the 3-4. Those are your biggest playmakers in that D and you want to throw some high draft capital at the position. I always thought we were slow at the LB position and it kept that defense from getting better. Grigson probably admired some team that built their LB core on low round picks.

I love what Walker had to say bout Eberflus.

That team had a solid wall on the line for him his rookie season.

My guess is that the 3-4 defense is built on larger, more beefy players on the front seven because the D-Linemen need to take on more double teams and the LBs are more often combatting O-Linemen one-v-one.

That, to me, screams built for bad weather where the weight advantage of your bigger D-linemen and beefier LBs are not as effected since the games slows down across the board.

In a dome, it is always perfect weather conditions on a fast surface which lends itself to a faster defense, i.e. a 4-3 defense.

Complete conjecture on my part but take advantage of those 8 games you play in your house.

Walk Worthy,

And the NFL rushing leader. Zeke makes that team go not Dak.

That’s absolutely the case. What good does a bigger set of players do you when you can’t keep up with the speed of the offense for 8+ games each year?

Those teams had a chance to win a title every single season.

Freeney was wrecking Brees and the Saints in the first half. Damn it that injury he had. Second half he had nothing left to give. That was a painful game for me. Should have been Peytons second SB win.

I see what you are saying. You have some beefier guys, but really only the NT and ends which are really DT's in another defense. You can have a fast 3-4. Both the Steelers and Ravens had them during peak years. I don't know.

Fuck Skip Balless. He is one of the dumbest bastards I have ever listened to.

People always say he says these controversial things just to get attention/clicks and he's laughing all the way to the bank. Maybe, but hardly any other talking head says such stupid stuff. He's so wrong about Luck, over and over, that anything he says is almost guaranteed to be the opposite of true.

And goddamn Hank Baskett.. Hate him to this day.

Baskett and Caldwell, having Stover attempt a 50 yd field goal near the end of the 1st half. So fucking stupid, when he coulda pinned that Saints deep and then they probably just run out the clock.

o

That's not how the first half played out.

The Colts had a successful goal line stand late in the 2nd quarter, in a very similar fashion in which they had against the Ravens in the regular season. From their own 1 yardline, the Colts' offense then ran 3 conservative running plays for 9 yards, and were forced to punt. That sequence of events is what gave the Saints a short field to work with with less than a minute to play in the half, and they subsequently kicked a field goal to close the gap from 10-3 to 10-6.

The missed 51-yard field goal attempt by Stover occurred early in the 4th quarter, with the Colts clinging to a 17-16 lead.


I believe that you are correct about Stover, though ........ he was in his last season in the NFL, and at 42 years-old he was very reliable from inside of 45 yards at that point in his career, but not so much from deeper than that.

o

And if the Atlanta Falcons were not a bunch of dumb asses on play calling and clock management, Freeney would have had a second one as well. And Brady one less.

The IRONICALLY NAMED Hank Baskett.

Baskett my ass. Can't catch a kick that comes straight to him.