Week 12 Analysis: New York Jets @ Dallas

November 22nd, 2007 10:29 pm
by Big Dog

First of all, make sure you catch up with Pro Set’s analysis of Green Bay @ Detroit here. It provides great insight into not only what happened in the game today, but also gives you a glimpse of what Green Bay will need to accomplish next week against Dallas.

Which brings us to what Dallas did today. Nobody could reasonably claim to be completely surprised by the dominance of the Cowboys this week, even after the New York Jets managed a surprise victory over Pittsburgh last week.

However, the keen observer won’t be fooled by the blowout indicated by the final score. The truth is that while Dallas QB Tony Romo had a great night and led the Cowboys to a comprehensive win, this game was more about defense than offense. Simply put, both of the Jets’ lines, defensive and offensive, were dominated.

In particular, the inability of the Jets’ O-Line to contain the pass rush meant that Jets’ QB Kellen Clemens spent most of the night trying to get passes away under immense pressure. Pressure led by the ever capable Dallas LB DeMarcus Ware, who broke through on several occasions and disrupted a lot of New York’s passing game. In addition, Dallas’ coverage was just better and was summed up nicely when CB Terence Newman returned an interception 50 yards for a TD late in the 2nd Quarter.

To make matters worse, it’s tough for any team that has to try and contain Romo, WR Terrell Owens and TE Jason Witten. The Jets’ did their best with this task, trying to pay special attention to Owens and Witten in coverage, while applying pressure in the pass rush. They did actually manage to break through and sack Romo three times, but it just wasn’t enough.

It sounds simple, but it’s true, you just can’t win football games if you can’t control the line of scrimmage. The Jets couldn’t, and so they didn’t.

For those who are waiting with great anticipation for the clash between the Cowboys and Packers next week, there are some points to take out of this game. The first of these is that the Cowboys can be disrupted. Owens was much quieter today than usual and clearly the special attention paid to him had an effect. He still took several crucial catches, including a late TD pass, but his overall numbers were much lower.

Secondly, Romo can be disrupted with good pass rushing. The Jets managed to get to him several times and in the end forced the Cowboys to make use of RB Julius Jones and RB Marion Barber to great effect.

All of this gives Green Bay hope for their meeting next week. It won’t be easy by any stretch, but if they can contain Owens and Witten in coverage, their D-Line might be able to drive the pressure needed to get to Romo. If they are successful at that, they’ll then need to do a much better job of containing the Cowboys’ running backs than the Jets did. In the end, Green Bay need to keep their offense on the field as long as possible, the best way to keep Romo, Owens, Witten, Jones and Barber out of the game is simply to leave them on the sidelines.

Posted in Analysis, Dallas Cowboys, DeMarcus Ware, Game, Green Bay Packers, Jason Witten, Julius Jones, Kellen Clemens, Marion Barber, NFL, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Players, NFL on television, New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, Terence Newman, Terrell Owens, Tony Romo | No Comments »

NFL Week 11 Analysis: Washington @ Dallas – Final

November 18th, 2007 9:23 pm
by Big Dog

The second half of this game was every bit exciting and eventful as expected. The early stages of the 3rd quarter were slow to start but things started to turn when Dallas Cowboys Head Coach Wade Phillips successfully challenged an INT by Washington Redskins LB Rocky McIntosh.

On the very next play, the Redskins were called for pass interference which turned it into a 51 yard play for the Cowboys. Dallas QB Tony Romo then completed a 31 yard TD pass to WR Terrell Owens.

That pattern continued for pretty much the rest of the game with Owens receiving all 4 of Romo’s touchdown passes, equalling a Cowboys team record for TD receptions in a game. Owens has also climbed to 3rd all time number of receptions. Romo is additionally on his way to setting a new team record for TD passes in a season.

All of this could lead the casual observer to assume that Dallas had a pretty easy/comfortable time of it, and that would be a mistake. The true story is that while Dallas did come away with the win, they didn’t particularly impress. At the end of the day, they did what everybody expected them to do, win at home. They really only got away with it because Owens managed to make Redskins CB Shawn Springs’ day a living hell.

It almost looked personal in a way. Springs wrestled Owens to the ground on his first reception of the day, and Owens took exception to being manhandled when he’d be forced back far enough that the play should have been called dead. To be fair to Springs, the whistle hadn’t blown and it was his job to keep going until it was blown. No flags on the play, but Owens was visibly emotional for the rest of the game and managed to make big breaks, confuse the Redskins coverage and give Romo enough room to make sure they both had a great day. Springs was meant to be covering TO most of the time, and TO worked hard to make sure he didn’t.

That said, the highlight performance of the game was definitely Washington QB Jason Campbell (33-54, 348yds, 2TD, INT). Campbell showed great patience, presence and poise in the pocket, waiting for plays to develop and executing under intense pressure, particularly from Dallas LB DeMarcus Ware. Campbell was especially good when the Redskins were working their hurry-up offense and seemed more comfortable with the rhythm of that part of the game.

All in all, it was an entertaining and tight game that bodes well for the future of the Redskins. The NFC is now shaping up to be quite a contest with the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys now both 9-1 for the season.

Posted in Analysis, DeMarcus Ware, Denver Broncos, Game, Green Bay Packers, Jason Campbell, NFL, NFL Coaches, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Players, NFL on FOX, NFL on television, Rocky McIntosh, Shawn Springs, Terrell Owens, Tony Romo, Wade Phillips, Washington Redskins | No Comments »

Week 2 Featured Preview

September 15th, 2007 2:21 am
by Pro Set

Dallas @ Miami 4:05pm ET on FOX

DAL -3.5

MIA +3.5

This interconference imbroglio is a tough read. Dallas comes in with an offence that had its way last Sunday night. On the road, and without injured WR Terry Glenn, the Cowboys will need to run the ball well to win. The onus will be on the interior line of Dallas to handle DT Keith Traylor and DT Vonnie Holliday. This presents a big opportunity for G Leonard Davis to provide a dominant display of run-blocking. If it is a warm day, the ageing Dolphins can be worn down quickly by the tandem of RB Julius Jones and RB Marion Barber. Clearly Miami will want to make QB Tony Romo feel pressured to force the ball to WR Terrell Owens and TE Jason Witten. Last Sunday night Romo threw a crucial, but, ultimately, not fatal, INT late in the game that allowed the Giants to close in when he simply did not see a defender dropping into the hook route. So the Dolphins will be well advised to bring LB Zach Thomas and LB Joey Porter up to fake the blitz, and drop them underneath Witten. Remember that Romo won the starting job last season because QB Drew Bledsoe was pilloried for hanging onto the ball too long and taking sacks. Romo will tend to throw under pressure instead of eating it. So if the Dolphins can get pressure with just the front four (especially DE Jason Taylor) then they must be ready for turnover opportunities.

When Miami has the ball, expect Dallas to bring overload pressure on QB Trent Green. No one fears Trent Green on the scramble. Dallas S Roy Williams is at his best close to the line of scrimmage. The best way to avoid WR Chris Chambers putting on a display similar to the last meeting of these teams is pressure on the passer. Expect Dallas CB Terence Newman to try to play, but his injured foot might cost him a step in coverage. This will further compel Dallas to minimise coverage time by blitzing. This is where Dallas has an advantage because I can’t see the Miami backs effectively picking up DeMarcus Ware. This is important because Trent Green will often fumble when sacked. If I were MIA coach Cam Cameron I would be inserting lots of screens and lead draws into this week’s playbook to slow the blitz and to exploit the absence of NT Jason Ferguson by running up the middle on the 3-4 DAL defence.

The bottom line here is that if MIA cannot run the ball well, the fate of the game will rest on the pocket presence of Trent Green. I think that MIA will come with running formations and personnel, and will try to pass on 1^st down to avoid the blitz. For Dallas, this is a winnable game that will require a more disciplined approach than last week’s wild play. DAL will be hard to beat if they lead early. But DAL also has the weapons to overcome a deficit.

Prediction: DAL

Line: DAL

Posted in Cam Cameron, Chris Chambers, Dallas Cowboys, DeMarcus Ware, Drew Bledsoe, Jason Witten, Joey Porter, Julius Jones, Keith Traylor, Leonard Davis, Marion Barber, Miami Dolphins, NFL, NFL Coaches, NFL Franchises/Teams, NFL Game Previews, NFL on FOX, NFL on television, Roy Williams (DAL), Terence Newman, Terrell Owens, Terry Glenn, Tony Romo, Trent Green, Uncategorized, Vonnie Holliday, Zach Thomas | No Comments »