Shame of the Game- Cowboys

[Defense5599]

This will be the opposite of the Game Balls thread. You give your Shame of the Game to the player you think did the most to put his team in a position to lose. Again, a few honorable mentions are welcome, and also you can give it to an entire unit if they played bad as a whole.

My Shame of the Game goes to Chris Godwin for dropping several throws and fumbling the ball into the end zone because he got greedy fighting for extra yards. He should've just gone down after getting the first down and it would've been first and goal and Brady almost certainly would've led his team to a TD that would've put the game away. He sort of redeemed himself on the first down catch that led to the game winning FG but he got away with a blatant offensive pass interference call to do it and then stepped out instead of tiptoeing down the sidelines for more yards.

Honorable Mention goes to Rojo for another stupid fumble that gave the Cowboys momentum and to the secondary as a whole for giving up over 400 yards passing to a gimp legged QB who missed all of training camp

[King Bootz]

Jamel Dean. He literally looked as if he had no clue what was going on. He knew Dak was picking on him and he put up little resistance. He better get it together because with SMB likely out a few games we'll need him to be reliable.

[Xandtar]

Gotta agree with Bootz, Dean was just terrible, and he'd better get ready to be targeted again and again in the weeks to come.

[Rocker]

Jamel Dean by a landslide, mention to Evans. Even though he was doubled for what felt like 90% of his snaps, a receiver of his caliber shouldn’t post 3 for 24.

[Backside]

I think Dean is getting a tough rep around here. He was far from great. But he was also playing out of position as an injury fill in, and was 1on1 against great WRs all night. And they were attacking him every time.

On that note, I might give mine to the coaching staff? As we know, the adjustments weren’t great. And there were many decisions that I was not a fan of. I’m just glad it ended up working out. Because if we had lost someone may have gone over all those choices and it would have looked pretty bad.

RoJo is still our best RB with the ball in his hands and it just doesn’t matter because he can’t do anything else right. Would love to see it if it ever came together for him.

Evans didn’t look right all night IMO.

[MJW]

I was pissed at Godwin. Part of it was hangover from his crappy playoff run. I'm not worried about him yet, but I'm close.

That said, the drop on the bomb...Collinsworth said it...that would have been a much more difficult catch than it seemed. If a centerfielder made that play - tracking down the ball with his back turned, switching perspectives over the shoulder - it'd be a highlight reel moment. It shouldn't be treated as a given for a football player. Hell, we're still showing a clip of Willie Mays making that play.

And the fumble? One of those things. Dude got a helmet right on the pigskin coming out of a spin. 100 out of 100 players are losing that football. Now, we could talk about if he should stop killing himself for an extra few yards to prevent that in the future. That's valid.

So...my SofG...Dean was bad. At least, on the TV broadcast. Maybe the A22 is more forgiving. But he looked overmatched. It seems like he really needs the pass rush to get home or he gets exposed.

[Terry Tate]

Jamel Dean by a landslide, mention to Evans. Even though he was doubled for what felt like 90% of his snaps, a receiver of his caliber shouldn’t post 3 for 24.

You would be right if you weren't wrong. If Evans is doubled and AB and Godwin are in single coverage. You throw to AB and Godwin every time

[Doctor]

I think it's Dean but I agree with some of the others. Honestly it just wasn't a good match up for Dean. He's long and can match up with some guys great, but he doesn't flip his hips too well and he was matched up against very slippery WRs. It didn't play to his strengths but he did well enough.

Godwin catches were touch. Shame I think still has to be Lenny. I mean just from a playing stand point it looked to me like poor read after poor read with him. I really hope Rojo snaps back next game.

[Defense5599]

I really hope Rojo snaps back next game.

I really hope Rojo never sees the field again.

[Jason Bourne]

I agree on Rojo, but he will bounce back, all rbs fumble . All of them. And we will need Rojo running the ball

Also Cowboys had all off season to game plan the Bucs. We will be ready next time. All teams will try the double screen set up now. I hope we use it

[VauntedTampa2]

Running the football - Rojo
Catching the football - Bernard
Pass blocking - Fournette
Keeping the bench warm - Vaughn

We need to instill a sense of trust with rojo. This one fumble equals a month in the doghouse BS is ridiculous. I hope he gets another chance next week.

Also, why was Bernard not in the game on every third and long? I feel like he wasn’t in the game until the second half.

[Kress]

Ummm... Godwin had, overall, a pretty nice game. He was a big part of the reason the Bucs won. He had (stats are for losers) 9 for 105 - 11.7 avg - and a score? I guess people are mad because one difficult drop and one non-careless/effort fumble - because of their location and circumstance - also played a role in the Bucs not running away with the game? No shame on Godwin.

I agree with regular season Lenny on offense, and out of place Dean on defense.

[Terry Tate]

Unpopular opinion. Godwin didn't fumble because of exceptional carelessness or poor effort. He wasn't holding the ball like a loaf of bread or anything. He was coming out of the spin and was about to have both hands on the ball as he tried to drive the last bit to the end zone. The defender just hit him with a perfectly timed and placed hit, right on the ball, a millisecond before Godwin got both mitts on it. Sometimes the defenders just make a good play.

[13F11B]

I would say the fumble by Godwin and the fumble by Jones were both more the result of good defensive plays than sloppy effort. JD was just awful in coverage. That needs to be fixed. He gets the bad player of the game and gets to wear a pink shirt in practice this week.

[Rocker]

I’ll say this - Dean was put into a position he ain’t made for, and Bowles did him no favors. When the kid can press/drill, he’s a stud. Bowles left him out to dry in trail technique for a long damn time. Zero rotation on the back side to support him. Yeah, he fucking sucked playing a role he ain’t a fit for, and DC did exactly zero favors to help him.

It is what is was.

[vivalaReagan]

in addition to the quality responses already mentioned, i’ll add BA’s benching of rojo. sure, the fumble was unacceptable, but BA’s quick trigger for rojo has been detrimental to the run game and rojo’s confidence/development.

imo, rojo is a more consistent runner than lenny, and hits the hole more quickly and is more explosive. rojo adds a different dimension to the run game, which lenny compliments but cannot duplicate. too often, lenny doesn’t read the gaps correctly and just plows into the back of his line.

success on the ground is contingent on rojo being a consistent contributor, which won’t happen from BA’s dog house. having both horses available and productive is a key component to the long term success of the offense (AND improving brady’s chances of remaining vertical for 20-ish games).

[Kress]

Godwin didn't fumble because of exceptional carelessness or poor effort. He wasn't holding the ball like a loaf of bread or anything.

That's a phrase I've heard since I was playing as a kid, and it's a phrase I've never understood.

But I will say this: Whenever I am in the store and have the opportunity to pick out a loaf of bread, I walk back to my cart holding it like it was a football just because. High and tight, baby.

[Deja Entendu]

Godwin didn't fumble because of exceptional carelessness or poor effort. He wasn't holding the ball like a loaf of bread or anything.

That's a phrase I've heard since I was playing as a kid, and it's a phrase I've never understood.

But I will say this: Whenever I am in the store and have the opportunity to pick out a loaf of bread, I walk back to my cart holding it like it was a football just because. High and tight, baby.

Haha it’s not really about the position you hold it in. It’s said because you hold a loaf of bread lightly/loosely to avoid crushing it.

[Doctor]

Did BA bench Rojo for the fumble or the mopey attitude afterward?
BA seems like a "get right back in there" sorta coach, he did it with Lenny and Godwin. I thought he was going to do it for Rojo too, but guess not.

[King Bootz]

B.A is 100% a doghouse kind of coach. This is common knowledge. He throws players under th bus, calls them out in the media, tells them how he really feels.

[MJW]

B.A is 100% a doghouse kind of coach. This is common knowledge. He throws players under th bus, calls them out in the media, tells them how he really feels.

This is truth. And nothing seems to get you doghoused like fumbles. We saw it with Vaughn. It's the reason Fournette, not Rojo, was the main attraction down the stretch last year (despite Rojo being the MUCH more effective runner during the season.)

It'll be interesting to see how the carries are divided next week. Some coaches would try to get Rojo right by feeding him. I suspect Arians will end up giving him a series or so a half with Fournette and Bernard seeing more work.

[Xandtar]

I am just imagining how much more active this thread would have been if that not-quite-pushoff that put us in field goal range had been called a pushoff and we lost the game... (shudder)

[Buc2]

I am just imagining how much more active this thread would have been if that not-quite-pushoff that put us in field goal range had been called a pushoff and we lost the game... (shudder)

Or if their kicker had made all his kicks. But we all know what they say about if's.

[mdb1958]

Godwin didn't fumble because of exceptional carelessness or poor effort. He wasn't holding the ball like a loaf of bread or anything.

That's a phrase I've heard since I was playing as a kid, and it's a phrase I've never understood.

But I will say this: Whenever I am in the store and have the opportunity to pick out a loaf of bread, I walk back to my cart holding it like it was a football just because. High and tight, baby.

Will it still fit in the toaster?

[Xandtar]

I like to think the Bucs would have adjusted for those made kicks. I'm just glad we're on the better (winning) side of the 'if' game and it's the Cowboys who have to kick themselves for not putting this game away.

[mdb1958]

B.A is 100% a doghouse kind of coach. This is common knowledge. He throws players under th bus, calls them out in the media, tells them how he really feels.

This is truth. And nothing seems to get you doghoused like fumbles. We saw it with Vaughn. It's the reason Fournette, not Rojo, was the main attraction down the stretch last year (despite Rojo being the MUCH more effective runner during the season.)

It'll be interesting to see how the carries are divided next week. Some coaches would try to get Rojo right by feeding him. I suspect Arians will end up giving him a series or so a half with Fournette and Bernard seeing more work.

I can imagine Bruce saying to Rojo - new week, you gonna be ready?

[kaimaru]

The truth is that rushing/receiving, Fournette has fumbled 3 times in 947 touches. One in every 315 touches. Only one after his rookie season, and none since being on the Bucs. Rojo has fumbled 6 times in 457 attempts. One in 76 touches. So BA has seen 6 fumbles to zero from Fournette. I am guessing that is why BA is hard on him. Also, on the fumble he was crouching, getting ready for contact, yet didn't pull the ball into him. It was still swinging away from his body. I knew it was coming out on any contact.