Cowboys - Rams Preview
Posted: December 29, 2005 @ 11:38 pm
Update: Bill Parcells announced this afternoon that LB Kevin Burnett tore an ACL and will be placed on injured reserve. This makes the 4-2-5 a lot more likely against the Rams, as Burnett’s loss puts Dallas down to five linebackers, with no reserves at the OLB spots.
Mike Martz is gone from the sideline. QB Marc Bulger is on injured reserve. Marshall Faulk may suit up for the final time in his storied career Sunday. The Rams are starting two rookies on their offensive line, one at left guard and the other at right tackle. They’ve given up 44 sacks, 6th worst in the NFL and only one fewer than the Cowboys maligned line. Their defense is so much worse than their offense. So why should they concern us?
Because they can still throw the ball. St. Louis is tied with the Colts for the third-best passing average in the NFL at just over 259 yards a game. After playing three QBs and losing its pass-mad coach, the former Greatest Show on Turf has shown it can still operate on collective muscle memory. That and a receiving quartet of Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, Kevin Curtis and Shaun McDonald.
They present real matchup problems for the Cowboys, who have seen the injury bug bite the secondary. Corner Anthony Henry returns, but there’s no telling how healthy he will be. Terence Newman, Aaron Glenn and Jacques Reeves have played well in his absence, but now Dallas has a hobbled Roy Williams to worry about.
I don’t expect a lot of blitzing this week. Steven Jackson sports a 4.1 yards-per-carry average, but the Rams rushing game has slumped this past month. The Rams like to play wide open football, so bringing five and six men would give them the one-on-one secondary duels they crave.
Look for heavy use of the 4-2-5 formation, to keep four rushers on the field. The Cowboys are also thin at linebacker, so a more conservative, conventional attack seems likely. The front four alone will have to pressure QB Jamie Martin. Look for Demarcus Ware, Chris Canty, LaRoi Glover and Greg Ellis to get lots of work as a unit. The matchups to watch will be Canty and Glover against rookie left guard Claude Terrell and Ellis versus rookie right tackle Alex Barron, the Rams top selection last April.
When Dallas has the ball, we should see more of the 2005 standard game plan, because this week it looks like the Cowboys’ best option. Expect a lot of the Julius and Marion show. The Rams are next to last in rush defense, allowing only seven inches less per game than last place Buffalo, so hammering the ball with both backs makes sense.
The Cowboys line comes off its best run blocking effort of the season. Forget the J.J. vs. MB III debate for a moment; if the Cowboys run effectively again and qualify for the playoffs, we’re facing a full-blown right guard controversy — Andre Gurode or Marco Rivera? Rivera was signed to take Gurode’s place but Gurode showed more explosion last week than Rivera has all year, helping his mates open large and regular holes for Julius Jones.
If Jones and Barber open strongly, play action will look equally as inviting, as the Rams also rank 22nd in pass defense. Injuries have wiped out their secondary, forcing them to play a lot of rookies. The lack of continuity has affected the team’s tackling so much that Vitt ripped his players publicly. Even the St. Louis press has gotten into the act, advising GM Charlie Armey to draft the “best tackler available” next spring.
When Dallas does throw, it will have to locate and neutralize DE Leonard Little. The undersized but turbocharged edge rusher leads the Rams with seven sacks. No other teammate has more than three. St. Louis, like all Cowboys foes, will likely try to get Little lined up across from RT Rob Petitti. Expect a lot of two TE sets, with Dan Campbell aiding Petitti, whether he faces Little or not.
Prediction:
Ball control. Long, methodical drives. Keep your backs happy and keep the Rams offense off the field. The Rams have let a lot of no-name backs rip them for big games this year. Last week, it was San Francisco’s Maurice Hicks, who gained 109 yards in only 10 carries. The Cowboys offer better talent and more experience across the skill position board. They should be able to move the ball and if they can prevent sacks and subsequent turnovers, the Cowboys should score.
Mike Martz was always fearless against pressure and interim coach Joe Vitt has maintained Martz’ philosophy. The Rams love to spread the field with three and four receiver sets. Dallas’ line will get chances against minimal protection schemes.
For this reason, I see Dallas getting turnovers. The Cowboys are a middling -1 for the season. St. Louis is second to last with a -14 margin. Mostly, I see one team with a lot to play for versus another with an eye on next year. The Rams have won five games this year. Four were against Houston, New Orleans, Tennessee and Arizona. Their only quality win came against Jacksonville. They’ve won just once since Halloween, that a last-second comeback against the Texans.
St. Louis has the worst scoring defense in the league. The Cowboys don’t deserve post-season consideration if they can’t tally big points against them.
Dallas 28, St. Louis 17
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Hey Cowboy Fans,
Raf:
I agree ! This game unlike many others this year should not go down to the last minute. I see this more like the Detroit game, in hand pretty much from the 1st quarter.
Wishing All viewers A Happy Healthy & Safe New Year !
Of course I will watch this entire game Sunday but how much nicer it would be with the playoffs on the line !
Let the birds fly high this weekend.
GO Falcons !!!!!
Go Eagles !!!!!!
Go Cowboys !!!!!!!
I just heard that Kevin Burnett blew out his ACL. Not a good area for us to lose another body.
I think we are looking at going to the 4-3 for pretty much the whole game now. We have only 4 LB’s left healthy.
Sean,
Where did you hear this about Burnett?
http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/sports/football/13517220.htm
Indeed a weak spot on the team.
Poke
Associated Press Sports
11:21 a.m. ET Dec. 30, 2005
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Tight end Jeremy Shockey and linebacker Reggie Torbor will sit out the New York Giants’ game at Oakland on Saturday because of injury.Both players were hurt in last week’s 35-20 loss to Washington. Shockey injured his ankle, and Torbor aggravated a hamstring injury. Neither practiced this week, and both had been listed as questionable as recently as Thursday.Torbor’s injury, as well as injuries to linebackers Antonio Pierce (high ankle sprain) and Carlos Emmons (strained right pectoral muscle), means that New York will be without its three starting linebackers who began the season.
Parcells said in his press conference today that Burnett blew out his ACL yesterday and has been placed on IR. No one has filled the roster spot yet.
Steven Jackson looked good in Indianapolis this year, even when he had no blocking. Jackson does have some sort of hip injury, and had the flu last week also. Marshall Faulk will be playing his final game.
He’s done enough for the HOF without exerting himself Sunday, and I hope the Cowboys can pressure Martin without blitzing.
Go Cowboys!
Go Kerry Collins to Randy Moss!
Go Todd Boumann to Joe Horn(and A-Train)!
Go Mike McMahon and Mike Vick!
Rafael is right. If we can’t win this game and run all over a team with a defense this bad we don’t deserve to get into the tournament.
Hopefully the Falcons and Eagles will help us out early in the day, but the most important thing is to beat the Rams. I have thought all year that 10-6 would be our record this season (although I was getting very optimistic at 7-3 and on Turkey Day that we might pull out 11-5 or even 12-4..alas what might have been).
There is a huge difference between 10-6 and 9-7. Regardless of what happens in the other games Sunday I want us to be 10-6 Sunday night.
CAR QUESTIONABLE RB DeShaun Foster (Toe)
Hopefully he remains out against Atlanta! Go Cowboys!
Our ‘05 draft is looking less and less impressive with the season winding down:
Justin Beriault out before the season starts with microfracture knee surgery (drafted with a history of knee problems).
Jay Ratliff out with a knee.
Now we have Kevin Burnett out for the season with a right ACL. He has a history of a torn left ACL in college plus meniscal surgery plus his self-chosen hip surgery before the season started that so po’d Jones and Parcells. An ACL is a big deal although Parcells thought he could be back in the mix in Spring camp. I think his usefulness for the Cowboys is very questionable. The whole deal with the 3-4 was that defensive lineman that can function well in the 4-3 are supposed to be so much harder to find than linebackers in a 3-4. Excuse me, Singleton, Nguyen, Burnett, etc. gone for the season. I still don’t understand how Singleton was out for the season, early in the season, with a broken clavicle. ACL’s are much bigger. JJ’s injury last year was much bigger. I think it has something to do with prohibitive rules the NFL now has for injured players to try to prevent teams from basically “redshirting” players with minimal injuries. Singleton could easily be back now, and in the playoffs (if we make the playoffs). Now we are desperately hurting. I didn’t even mention the former Giants linebacker who was lost for the season without playing a down.
Going back to the draft, Ware has a tendency to disappear against top OTs (can you say Orlando Pace?). Marcus Spears has been our typical LSU pickup (the great first round pick tight end that I have thankfully forgotten his name) Do you remember Billy Ray Smith Jr.? (back when the Cowboys’ owner was a big Texas A&M alumnus). The guy basically showed up to put in for an injury settlement.
Chris Canty and Marion Barber still look like good picks, but that’s not much considering our expectations going into this season.
Time will tell.
Oh, yeah, Dan, go ahead and tell me how my assessment of Singleton’s broken clavicle is ridiculous. I have an MD degree from UT Medical School in Houston and played football two weeks after a broken clavicle myself. Singleton could easily be on the field Sunday night had they not IR’d him.
Scooter,
What I don’t understand is how injuries this year affect our evaluation of the 2005 draft. Is the NFL going out of business after this season?
I can understand the concern about Burnett. He has suffered an inordinate amount of injuries since he joined the Cowboys. That plus his ACL injury at Tennessee should raise major concerns.
However, Ratliff and Beriault should be back. In fact, both should get in a full offseason of conditioning work, since both suffered their injuries early enough to have recovered by then.
The Texas A&M player whose name you are searching for is Billy Cannon Jr. The LSU tight end was David LaFleur. However, I don’t see how Spears relates to either of them, other than having attended LSU. Cannon didn’t play a down. I seem to recall Spears starting the last few games. LaFleur had a bad back. I have heard no reports of such an ailment with Spears.
Spears is exactly on course for what he is being asked to do as a rookie — play defensive end in a 3-4 alignment. Quick name a 3-4 DE who puts up big numbers. [And how many years has he been in the NFL?]
As for Ware, he is not only a rookie, he is playing a completely new position. Is it any wonder that he sometimes has problems? Ware has a tremendous amount of physical ability. Give him an offseason in our workout program, and another training camp, and see what happens next year before you knock him.
Scooter,
Let’s not be so down on this draft class. It’s way too early.
Ratliff hurt his ankle, not his knee. Ware is playing out of position. Mike Barrow did play, but was injured in the game.
However, I was just as surprised as you, about Singleton going on IR, when his injury occurred so early in the season.
Injuries have really hurt our LB corps this year. Even Dexter Coakley is out for the year, won’t get an opportunity to face his former team. Come to think of it, all of our starting LBs from last year are on IR
I’d wait another two years before declaring the 2005 draft class a bust.
Go Cowboys!!!!
I think he just was talking about how Bradie James is also from LSU, and since it’s close to Dallas, the Boys tend to draft people from there? I dunno.
The ‘05 draft class has been up and down; it’s what you expect from rookies. Except MBIII; he’s been solid and will be a great complement to a healthy (hopefully!) JJ next year. Anyone know anything about him personally? Like, is he a guy who wouldn’t have a problem not being the #1 guy on his team, but just helping them out any way they can? Those people are rare obviously, but I want to see him on this team for a long time…WITH JJ…