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Wade’s Boy Scouts

Late in the first quarter, the Packers ran a funky play at the Dallas defense. Operating from a three receiver set, Green Bay lined up their right end and running back Ryan Grant in the backfield. Brett Favre faked a handoff to Grant and looked to throw a bootleg pass to the TE, who was blanketed by Roy Williams.

The fake boot was a diversion, to pull coverage away from Grant, who was setting up behind his blockers to receive a screen pass.

Bradie James recognized the ruse, beat a Packer lineman’s attempt at a bear hug and dropped Grant for a very short gain.

Twelve games into the season and it has become clear that nothing surprises the ‘07 Cowboys, on either side of the football. Wade Phillips’ guys are boy scouts — always prepared. Opponents may out execute them, as the Packers did on Grant’s 60 yard TD run last night, or isolate and exploit a mismatch, as the Patriots did with Wes Welker against Nate Jones.

What opponents almost never do is fool the Cowboys. Has any defense kept the Cowboys offense off balance for more than a quarter this year? Has any opponent left the Cowboys defense scratching its collective head and blowing assignments play after play?

A story appeared in the national press the week of Dallas’ blowout win over Chicago. It quoted a stewardess on the team plane, who told Phillips that she had never seen a team more prepared for a game. When asked how she of all people would know, she remarked that she had covered many team flights before and they always had players engaged in horse play and idle talk.

This Cowboys’ flight was monastic; each player was in his seat studying the game plan.

That attention to detail offers the greatest hope three quarters through the schedule — that the Cowboys still have another level or two left in this year’s learning curve.

Game Balls

Up way too late. Have to work way too early, so here are my nominations for BB game balls, in no particular order. Make yours in the threads.

1. Miles Austin — finally! Consistent returns beyond the 30. He’s made Tyson Thompson an afterthought.

2. Marc Colombo — The guy goes against the NFC’s top pass rusher on a sprained ankle and keeps his QB’s jersey clean. Colombo is probably the least athletic member of the o-line but he’s probably the grittiest.

3. the rest of the o-line — What did John Lennon sing in Come Together — “got to be good looking ’cause he’s so hard to see…” We can say the same thing about Adams, Kosier, Gurode and Davis. Jason Garrett learned early that the Packers were stacking the line to stop the run and the short pass. He called lots of intermediate and deep routes. And the line gave Tony Romo the time to let these routes unfold.

4. Tony Romo — four TD games seem automatic now. And he should have had five, had T.O. not bungled a TD toss in the 4th. Romo has 33 TD passes on the year. He’s on pace to top 45.

5. Anthony Fasano — Got his first TD pass tonight. He made a textbook block on a Packers corner on a Marion Barber 9 yard sweep, flipping the guy into the air.

6. John Garrett — He’s the coach who’s finally taught Fasano and Jason Witten to be such devastating blockers this year. I cannot praise this guy enough.

7. Greg Ellis and Demarcus Ware — the old guy got two sacks tonight. Ware got one. Ware has 10 sacks now. Ellis is second in the NFL with 10.5 sacks and would be leading the league had he not missed some early games rehabbing his Achilles.

This is the type of bookend production you need from your 3-4 OLBs.

Cowboys vs. Packers 2nd Half Thread

Keep it rolling.

Cowboys vs. Packers First Half Thread

Can’t wait!

Update: Anthony Spencer added me as a friend on Facebook! Join and make Anthony your friend. And join TheBoysBlog group too.

Cowboys vs. Packers Preview

10-1 vs. 10-1. Think the NFL Network is happy?

When the Packers Have the Ball

Brett Favre took a sip from the fountain of youth this offseason. Or maybe having more talent around him has calmed him and curbed the bad decision machine we’ve seen in recent years.

The Packers have undergone a conversion in the past few years. Under Mike Sherman they had one of the best, most experienced offensive lines in the game and used Ahman Green to wear opponents out. The line was ripped up by age and free agency — guards Mike Wahle and Marco Rivera both left after ‘04.

The offensive overhaul began last year when the Packers force fed young guards Jason Spitz and Darren Colledge into the lineup, with veteran tackles Kyle Clifton and Mark Tauscher. The kids integrated themselves quickly and shored up the Packers protection.

Green Bay also rebuilt the receiving corps on the fly, teaming youngsters Greg Jennings and James Jones with veteran standout Donald Driver. Driver has thrived with quality help, posting over 800 yards so far. The Packers struggled badly early in the year but have jump-started their running game the past month, with Ryan Grant posting a 4.7 yard average, with teams so concerned with the Packers passing attack.

Green Bay alternates spread formations with four and five receiver sets with two tight end sets; they have a diamond-like formation, with the fullback and tight end each lining up behind each tackle with Grant as the lone back. The Packers have balance and try to break cutback runs off this package, as Grant has the quickness to break runs outside to the backside should an opponent over-pursue.

Dallas will likely play pass first, using a lot of the 3-3-5 package they unveiled against the Jets. They’ll have to tackle well, as the Packers like to run lots of flanker screens and smoke routes.

We’ll also see if the Cowboys will pounce on the Packers inside routes; Green Bay runs slants more than any other team in the game. Teams have been wary of overplaying these routes as the Packers’ WRs have the speed to get upfield if a corner is cheating inside. Look for Terence Newman to lock on to Driver, in an attempt to take Favre’s favorite option away.

When Dallas Has the Ball

The Cowboys offense has been the most potent this side of New England, but they’re facing a quality defense this week. The Packers have been a top ten scoring defense all year and rank 6th right now.

That’s a huge step up from a unit that ranked 20th in ‘05 and 25th in ‘06 in scoring. Green Bay’s turnaround there began with two key veteran signings. Green Bay paired CB Charles Woodson with Al Harris and got immediate quality corner play. The Packers also stole DT Ryan Pickett from the Rams. Pickett anchors the Pack’s run defense. The Packers also made a key philosophical adjustment, taking DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila off the field on run downs in favor of the much bigger Cullen Jenkins. KGB is a feared rusher, but teams were running him over with running plays.

Green Bay also made the most of their top ten pick, adding A.J. Hawk to a linebacking corps that already sports MLB Nick Barnett. The Packers have improved significantly at every level the past couple of years and now are a top level defense.

Dallas is also a pass first team and the key matchup will be keeping 11 sack LE Aaron Kampman under control. The Packers don’t blitz much and Tony Romo will have time to get the ball downfield if his protection holds.

Green Bay plays a lot of man coverage and that will have Terrell Owens and Jason Witten smiling.  Dallas loves to send their tight end up the field and will try to do so again tomorrow.  The Packers are strong overall but give up a lot of yards on throwing plays.

I would not be surprised if the Cowboys give Green Bay some of their medicine, spreading the field early to throw and then hammering with the Jones/Barber duo later.

Overall:

Fasten your chinstraps. This should be a wild, open game. And I’m not at all certain Dallas will win it. The game will come down to matchups and in my opinion everything rides on Anthony Henry’s ankle. The Packers are the team most able to attack Dallas the same way that New England did.

The Cowboys missed Henry badly in that game, as the Pats abused Nate Jones over and over. Henry has played lately but does not looked fully healthy.

I’m going to offer a qualified return. A sound Henry will see a four point Dallas win. If he’s gimpy, I’m giving it to the Pack by a point.

Now on Facebook

Us — http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6362648005

So join already.

Update:  58 members in only 18 hours.   Cool.

In Memoriam — Sean Taylor

As fans, especially as Cowboys fans, we cannot claim to have known Sean Taylor the person. Our only way of noting his passing is as a player.

And that’s enough to make us grieve.

Pro football is going through some growing pains. The ’00s, the Patriots ’00s, are the time of high mediocrity. The super teams and superior rivalries that raised the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s are missing today. And that’s given rise to an embarrassing situation; in a day when cable TV and the Sunday Ticket give fans the greatest access to every game, they’re revealed that there has never been less reason in the modern era to watch.

How many of you found something else to do this past Sunday, when the Cowboys were sleeping off their Thanksgiving win? How many Sundays in recent years have you found yourself amazed at the poor quality of matchups on your dial?

The salary cap has damaged continuity. It churns up offensive and defensive lines, secondaries or any area of strength a team can generate. It prevents teams from building across the board and sustaining their strengths. New England found a way to get more from less and has dominated as a result.

But will anybody compare them to the super teams from past eras? Excellence is defined by the quality of your opponents, and who has New England beaten this decade?

The game appears to be catching up, as teams begin to master the cap and build long term. The Cowboys bring us optimism because they’re young and their contracts have been spaced to give them a broad winning window.

Other teams in the league are following the same pattern, offering the hope that a few super teams will emerge in the next few years and raise the game back to a level it has not seen since the mid ’90s.

Every team in the NFC East has raised its profile in that time; this year has seen intensely competitive games and any of the four teams seems capable now of winning in any given year. We seem poised to revisit the glory days of the ’70s and ’80s when Dallas tangled with all three of its divisional rivals for the title on a yearly basis. But we’re not there yet. The teams are not fully formed. Promising players are still too scarce.

Sean Taylor was one of this new breed. He was a Redskins cornerstone, a top draft pick who hit for a team that has relied too much in the Dan Snyder Era on free agency. He was one of the top young stars in the division and the conference. And now he’s gone.

It’s enough to make all of us bow our heads with the Redskins Nation today. Rest in peace, Mr. Taylor. The game will miss you.

Skins S Taylor dies of gunshot wound

Sometimes real life interjects itself into this madness that we call football. And when it does, it usually isn’t pretty.

Redskins safety Sean Taylor has passed away from a gunshot wound suffered yesterday at his home in Miami.

The would cut through the femoral artery in his leg and caused significant blood loss. ESPN reported that while undergoing six hours of surgery yesterday, the doctors at one time had to open his chest in an attempt to keep him alive.

The Miami-Dade police are investigating the incident, which came eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor’s home. There is currently no report of any leads and the investigation is ongoing.

ESPN is reporting that family friend Richard Sharpstein found out the particulars from Taylor’s girlfriend. She told him the couple was awakened by loud noises coming from within the house. Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection and went to investigate. Before he could leave the room, however, someone broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one of which hit Taylor. Neither Taylor’s girlfriend nor his 1-year-old daughter, Jackie, were injured.

Taylor was the 5th overall pick in the 2004 draft out of the University of Miami, where he was an All-American in 2003. However, in 2005, he was accused of brandishing a gun at a man during a fight over ATVs. Last year he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and would serve 18 months probation.

Since the birth of his daughter, teammates, especially running back Clinton Portis, who played with Taylor at Miami, said that he had matured past the person he was in college.

“It’s hard to expect a man to grow up overnight,” said Portis. “But ever since he had his child, it was like a new Sean, and everybody around here knew it. He was always smiling, always happy, always talking about his child.”

While we as fans can rile and rant against players of other teams, especially from within the division, it’s times like this that bring pause to the game.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Taylor family and their friends.

UPDATE: According to the Washington Post, it appears that this was a premeditated attack:

[Vinny] Cerrato said Taylor’s fiancee tried to call police from the house line, only to discover that the line had been cut. She had to use her cell phone to call 911, which delayed the response time.

“This was a deliberate attack,” Cerrato said without elaborating.

If true, then it could be related to the original complaint from a couple of years ago. More to come …

T.O. Runs Rampant: A Breakdown

A long post to help you get through a short Cowboys week:

This week, Michael David Smith over at Football Outsiders has put together a detailed analysis of one of our favorite topics: Terrell Owens‘ recent success, and specifically, his shredding of the Washington Redskins.

The reason Smith has devoted an entire column just to T.O.’s Week 11 performance is that it was the 3^rd highest rated DPAR game EVER by a wide receiver.

For those of you who don’t read F.O. or need a refresher on DPAR, it’s an objective, statistical way of evaluating player contribution towards a team win, adjusted for the quality of the opposition, and taken in the context of the team and the game (so a 5 yard pass on 3^rd and 10 does not earn you much, but QBs are also not penalized if their RB keeps putting them in 3^rd and long).

Owens now has two of the top four games on the DPAR list. #1 is Chad Johnson’s 260 yard performance last year against the Chargers in Week 10. The list unfortunately only goes back to 1996, since that’s all of the seasons that F.O. has charted so far, but it is still an impressive accomplishment. Owens’ rating benefited because 1) he was up against a Redskins defense that had previously played very well against the pass, 2) he caught 8 of the 11 passes intended for him, and 3) it took him only 8 receptions to log his 4 TDs and 173 yards. That is a staggering YPC average.

Smith’s column breaks down Owens’ day in a bit more detail, and it helps to shed some light on what in particular has made Owens so successful against opposing defensive schemes recently, and also lets us know what might give him trouble down the line. (Jason Garrett, if you’re reading this, feel free to take notes, we don’t mind)

When Redskins CB Shawn Springs gave Owens a cushion at the line of scrimmage, kept #81 in front of him, and tackled soundly, he performed well. The problem is, this happened precisely three times. In the first quarter, on the game’s first pass to Owens, Springs and safety Reed Doughty kept Owens in front of them on a curl route and limited him to 10 yards. Again in the first quarter, on a 2^nd and 3 for Dallas, Tony Romo hit Owens on a quick out, but Springs had started with a 5 yard cushion off the line, closed quickly, made the tackle, and contained the play.

In the third quarter, Springs was again able to break up a pass to Owens on a 3^rdand 3. He gave him a cushion at the snap, stayed smooth in his backpedal, and turned and ran step-for-step with T.O. He did not try to jam him (pretty much impossible with a WR of TO’s strength and size), but instead kept pace on a downfield route and managed to foil the play.

This pretty much ends the accounting of successful plays by the Redskins secondary against T.O. All of the coverages were man, and on all of them Springs gave T.O. an initial cushion.

In the 3^rdquarter, for the first of his long touchdowns, Owens ran directly down the seam. The coverage was zone, not man, with the two safeties in a Cover 2. Owens split the safeties, exposing a gap in their two zones and blowing through it. He ended the play well behind Leigh Torrence and LaRon Landry, an absolute no-no for safeties whose responsibility is the deep middle in a Cover 2.

The second of his long TDs follows a similar script. London Fletcher, the MLB, was covering the intermediate zone between the two safeties–Owens faked a crossing route to fool Fletcher, then headed deep. He once again easily split the two safeties, who were cheating towards the edges of the field and could not recover.

The conclusion Smith draws is a basic one, but one the Redskins did not recognize all the same:

“The primary conclusion we can draw, I think, is that opposing defensive coordinators can’t just go out there thinking they’re going to run a standard defense, especially a Cover-2 defense, and make no adjustments for the fact that Romo-to-Owens is such a phenomenal passing combo.”

Defenses without the schemes or athleticism to adapt their schemes are going to have trouble down the deep middle all year against this offense. The Patriots, a potential Cowboys Super Bowl opponent (long way off at this point, I know), have had significant liabilities exposed in that very region of their defense — Rodney Harrison can be victimized in coverage, and the ILBs are not fast enough to cover the intermediate zones. Of course, it is highly unlikely that Bill Belichick is unaware of this, but it’s interesting food for thought as the Cowboys continue their march to the playoffs.

Sunday Games Thread

What are you looking at?

The Cowboys Make Turkeys of the Jets, 34-3

Thanksgiving Day games often play as if the teams had eaten their turkey and win before the kickoff.

Today’s game followed that profile. The Cowboys raced to a quick 7-0 lead off a grinding opening drive that mixed a big Julius Jones run with some short passes and a closing seven yard draw to Marion Barber, which was camouflaged by motioning Terrell Owens into the backfield as a tailback.

Then, the game settled into a rut, as Tony Romo began consistently underthrowing open receivers. One was read perfectly by Jets safety Kerry Rhodes, who snagged the pass in the end zone. Romo missed other receivers and just avoided another pick on a throw into tight slant coverage on T.O.

A quartet of punts by both teams slowed the game before Dallas dialed in a stubborn Jets defense and moved 56 yards for a second score. Two Julius Jones runs earned one first down before a 12 yard pass to Jason Witten earned another first down and put Dallas at the Jets 27. Two plays later Romo ran a seam route on a play when New York blitzed its strong safety. Witten was matched one-on-one versus a linebacker and had an early 25 yard TD reception for a 14-0 lead.

Meanwhile the Dallas defense was putting new Jets QB Kellen Clemens in a tight pocked. Chris Canty sacked him to end the Jets first drive and Greg Ellis used some inside push to notch two more.

Terence Newman blew the game open just minutes later when he jumped an out route out of the slot, taking the pick the route for a 21-0 lead.

The Jets made one extended run, marching 12 plays to the edge of the red zone before kicking a field goal, going to halftime trailing 21-3.

Dallas ran off two long third quarter drives but lacked the sharpness to close the deals, settling for two Nick Folk field goals that moved the lead to 27-3.

Dallas his their average midway through the fourth with a bludgeoning seven play, 71 yard drive. Marion Barber began the drive with four carries for four, eight, 10 and 12 yards. A short pass to Barber gained a dozen more. Two plays later, with the Jets set for another Barber touch, Romo dropped a perfect play action toss to T.O. in the front left corner of the end zone. Nick Folk’s conversion made the score 34-3.

The Jets made one last push for a touchdown and came within inches; Chris Baker caught a 4th and goal pass but was downed at the one foot line.

Notes:

– The Jets made throwing the ball tricky. They locked in on some of Dallas’ favorite plays and took them away. Romo had to make lots of checkdowns to his backs.

– The Cowboys are becoming more of a lefthanded team. I don’t know if its because Kyle Kosier had a better matchup, but he made the big run blocks today, rather than the bigger Leonard Davis.

– The Cowboys rewarded the left side of Flozell Adams and Kosier, giving Cory Procter and Pat McQuistan the final drive of the game.

– Throw early, run late. Dallas ran for 176 yards, with Marion Barber topping the 100 yard mark with some meaty 4th quarter runs.

Cowboys vs. Jets 2nd Half Thread

Don’t eat too much tryptophan.

Cowboys vs. Jets 1st Half Thread

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Meet Kellen Clemens

Two years ago, a source told me of a conversation he had at the Indy scouting combine with a Dallas scout.  The scout was going over players who impressed him during the workouts and admitted that, “I really like that Kellen Clemens.”

Feeling I had a scoop, I sat on this story, ready to tell it if Dallas took Clemens in the 2nd round, where he was projected to go.

Imagine my surprise when Dallas traded out of the 49th spot, allowing the Jets to move into their slot –  and draft Kellen Clemens.  (The Cowboys took Anthony Fasano.)

Tony Romo’s emergence has eliminated Dallas’ need for a young QB — I think Dallas confidence in the then unknown Romo had a lot to do with passing on Clemens — but I’ve kept an eye open to see if the scout’s hunch was correct.

We’ll all get a first hand look when Clemens makes his third career start Thursday in Texas Stadium.  He’s had a respectable two starts, losing in overtime to Washington and leading his team to an upset over the Steelers Sunday.  He has a decent looking deep arm, though he’s already been sacked six times in his two games.

The Cowboys are not allowing many deep passes, so Clemens’ challenge will be to move the ball methodically, a la Jason Campbell.   He and his team will be in novel surroundings;  the Jets have traveled outside the Meadowlands only three times so far this year and have lost all three games.

Will he be the Jets future, or this year’s Bruce Gradkowski, the Bucs’ sacrificial QB in Romo’s ‘06 Thanksgiving coming out party?

Old School Preparation Could Put Dallas at the Head of the Class

Watching second year starters Jay Cutler and Vince Young stutter last night, I was reminded how lucky the Cowboys have been with Tony Romo. How his little school pedigree allowed them to give him an old school quarterback apprenticeship.

Time was that a quarterback, any quarterback, would expect two to three years of “carrying the clipboard,” before a team trusted him with the offensive controls.

Look at the Cowboys under Tom Landry. Don Meredith was part of an expansion team but did not become a starter until ‘62, serving as understudy to Eddie LeBaron in ‘60 and ‘61.

Craig Morton was a top five pick in ‘65, but didn’t get his shot until Meredith retired after the ‘68 season. Roger Staubach joined the club in ‘69 and simmered on the sideline for two plus years before he earned the start halfway through the ‘71 season. Danny White followed Morton’s profile, biding his time as the teams’ punter until Staubach retired after the ‘79 campaign.

The only big name Cowboys’ QB to get instant starter status was Troy Aikman, and as we’ve argued here on several occasions, Aikman flourished in spite of being thrown in early, not because of it; he took many early concussions playing behind a spotty line, the worst being an ‘89 knockout by Cardinals LB Anthony Bell.

Romo got his three years.  In year one, nobody knew him.  In year two, he was obscured by Drew Henson, who became the people’s choice.   In year three, he benefitted from a stubborn old school coach who stuck to his boxer’s analogy, that he would not play Romo until he was ready, to avoid a confidence shattering early knockout.

When Romo finally got his chance, he was prepared.  He’s on pace to have the best passing year ever by a Cowboys’ QB and plays like the four year veteran he is.

He’s new to starting, but he’s not new to the game.

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