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It’s Adjustment Time

Pro football is a game of adjustment and adaptation.  You create an edge for your team and opponents respond.  If you’re a winner, you acknowledge their changes and make your own.

We’re one quarter of the way through the season and it’s time for the Cowboys to adapt.  On offense, they had strategies that worked very effectively against the Browns and Eagles but not as well against the Packers and Redskins.

Let’s go back to the Green Bay game.  The Cowboys had one pick in the red zone when Tony Romo tried a pass to a very well covered Jason Witten. Later, just before halftime, the Cowboys were in second and goal when they lined up in a shotgun formation, with Marion Barber to Romo’s right.  Dallas faked a draw to Barber and attempted a pass to T.O. running a post. This play had worked twice for touchdowns last year, most notably against New England, when the play fake sent Rodney Harrison into a conniption fit.

One problem.  One big problem.  Green Bay knew it was coming, and had both of Romo’s receiving targets double covered.  The play went for a huge loss.

The Eagles, in the second half of their game, went double on T.O. putting a corner tight on him and a safety behind him.  Green Bay did this with Charles Woodson.  Washington did this with Shawn Springs.  It hasn’t completely slowed Owens down, but it has slowed his production down from his first outstanding six quarters of the year.

This isn’t a call to panic.  Michael Irvin faced this type of attention regularly the last few years of his career.  But it’s clear that the better defenses have caught up to some of Dallas’ tendencies.  And it’s time to see how Jason Garrett adjusts.

On defense, better strong safety play is needed.  It’s funny, two years ago Dallas had no free safety.  Then Ken Hamlin was signed and closed the deep middle.  Now, however, Pat Watkins is looking confused.  Courtney Brown is playing some at the strong but has yet to distinguish himself.

It’s almost enough to make you miss Roy Williams.  Almost.

We haven’t talked ‘09 draft, and we always talk draft here.  Mark it down — Day one next April will target two offensive linemen and a strong safety.

It’s Hard to be Humble

This has been a trend going back the the old site in the mid ’90s, but I don’t know if I’ve ever shared it with you.

Traffic goes way down on the days after a Cowboys loss.  Yesterday’s traffic was only two thirds of what we normally get on a Monday.  But most Mondays, our biggest days, people are looking for affirmation of how great their team is.

Yesterday?  Not so many people looking for confirmation that their team played poorly.

Cowboys-Redskins Autopsy: One Game is Not a Trend

One of the most persistent questions in Wade Phillips’ post-game presser had to do with carries.  Why didn’t Felix Jones play?  Why didn’t the Cowboys run more?  Why? Why? Why?

Funny, isn’t it.  Jason Garrett was a genius for three weeks and now, he’s blamed for not using the guy HE hand picked on draft day.

I think he knows who Felix Jones is.  Phillips, to his credit, gave a very honest answer.  The Redskins were playing a lot of pressure and Dallas chose to attack it through the air.  Felix Jones has plays he knows and works on and they were more for games that are in the balance.  The Cowboys had a lot more faith in Marion Barber to block in these situations.

Two observations from Wade’s response.  First, I can’t really fault Garrett.  The Cowboys were down quickly, 17-7, in part because the defense was having a poor day.  Garrett went pass heavy and got a field goal before the half.  Then, he went pass heavy and got a touchdown on the opening series of the 2nd half.  I doubt anybody was questioning his play calling in these sequences.

Then, he stayed pass heavy and was moving the ball, and probably cringed when Tony Romo missed Patrick Crayton for a huge pass play that would have put the team in field goal range and perhaps given them the lead again.

They were done in by a great interception on the next series and took the field the last couple of times down and with little time, thanks to the defense’s inability to get Washington off the field.

Garrett may have gone a little too far in the pass direction, but let’s keep this in perspective.  Does he have a regular problem with his run-to-pass ratio?  Or with his play calling?  No, he doesn’t.  He did have a suspect day, but let’s remember, this is what, his 21st game piloting an offense?  One is not a trend and I’ll give him or any player a mulligan.  The real question is whether he and his players can bounce back, not whether they’ll have a bad day.  Look at the results of the good Landry and Johnson teams.  They all had a howler or two, even in their best seasons.

The second, and more intriguing — and possibly troubling — element of the questioning concerns the fans’ and presses’ instant love affair with a backup.  I remember back in the early Marion/Julius debates, when people were calling for Barber, because they had decided Julius was done as a Cowboy.  And the press would ask why Barber didn’t start.  And Bill Parcells would say that Barber didn’t have the pass blocking down.

I’m wondering if we’re seeing the early stages of a new debate, where Marion Barber goes from being the people’s choice to the guy who’s too plodding, too much the F-150, when people now want to see the Ferrari on the field? I’m giving all of the blog regulars here a media study assignment.  Watch the Metroplex press the next few weeks and see if a Felix/Marion debate isn’t started, or at least attempted.

We all love Felix Jones, but he’s not a miracle worker.  He could not have made the defense tackle any better or cover any better, or run defend any better, or count to 12 any better.

And that’s the real reason the Cowboys lost yesterday.  Their defense got pushed around.  If you need to take an excuse pill, reach for that bottle.  Leave the “bad play calling” and “play the backup more” bottles on the shelf.

At the Quarter Pole: Every NFC East Game Will Count

The Eagles just dropped the NFC East’s first game outside the division.  And they came about six inches from winning it, as the Bears stopped them on a delicious goalline stand in the waning minutes.

Watching that, and watching the battles that have unfolded thus far, I’m revisiting an idea I put forward last week.

A division can only send three teams to the playoffs.  The East has done so the last two seasons.  Last year, it sent everybody except the Eagles to the postseason.  And the Eagles were 8-8.

What can we say about the rest of the conference?  In the West, nobody sticks out.  The Cards can’t win on the road and the 49ers looked very shaky in New Orleans today.

Carolina looks tough in the South and Tampa is rebuilding its defense on the fly, but can Brian Griese take that team far?

In the North, the Vikings are looking like pretenders and the Packers took a blow today when Aaron Rodgers had to leave the game with an injured elbow.  He returned but watch the injury reports to see how he’s doing. The 2-2 Bears are, for the moment, the class of the North.

The center of gravity, at the quarter pole, is in the East.  And it’s possible that an East team could finish 10-6 and wind up in last place.

Every game counts, and every loss counts.  Because there is no margin for error in the East right now.

Thanks, Chicago.

Kneejerk Analysis: Not Hanging On — Redskins 26, Cowboys 24

The key, I believe, will be turnovers.  The Redskins have been very opportunistic, with a plus five turnover rating.  While 3-0, the Cowboys are minus three in that department.  While that shows their strength, it’s also playing with fire.

Nobody can predict turnovers, but if the Cowboys stay on form, and throw a pick in the red zone on cue, they could lose this one.

– Just Hang On, Cowboys vs. Redskins Preview

The Cowboys stayed on form, and they lost this one.  Dallas had lost the turnover battle in every game this year but was 3-0.  Today, they only committed one turnover, but the Redskins, who have net to turn the ball over this year, had none.  And that was the difference in a 26-24 Redskins win.

No surprises.  Jason Campbell showed that he’s a good QB.  Santana Moss got his plays.

As always in games like this, the game turned on execution.  Washington executed their game plan better and controlled the 2nd and 3rd quarters, and finally let the air out of the ball on a seven-minute-plus fourth quarter drive that let the air out of the game and left Dallas scrambling.

Washington’s biggest edge was in their run attack.  Their left side of Chris Samuels and Pete Kendall controlled the Cowboys front.  Clinton Portis got most of his yards this way.  Chris Canty is usually money versus the run, but Samuels got him today.

On defense, the Redskins stacked the line and trusted their secondary to cover the Cowboys in press.  Dallas made some good sized passes but the Redskins disrupted enough plays to force punts.  The play I’m sure Romo wants back came on Dallas’ second, second half drive.  The Cowboys went three wide and gave Romo decent protection.  Patrick Crayton was running a skinny post from the slot and his man slipped when Crayton made his cut.

Washington’s safety had a bad angle.  Crayton was going to take this ball from midfield deep into Washington territory, but Romo flat out missed him.

This was Washington’s strategy — take your chances that you’ll give up some plays but don’t let Dallas get into a rhythm.

It worked, and now both teams are 3-1.

Cowboys vs. Redskins 2nd Half Thread

The challenge is obvious.

Cowboys vs. Redskins First Half Thread

Okay, finally, a game in realistic time.  Not on Monday Night.  Not on Sunday night.  NOW!

Just Hang On: Cowboys vs. Redskins Preview

A short version of the normal preview, with a crib sheet of what Dallas will try:

When Dallas Has the Ball

1.  Run to the bubble:

The Redskins play a controlled, bend but don’t break system, trying to avoid big plays.  They keep their safeties deep and play a lot of standard seven man sets.  Their linebackers align themselves in a peculiar formation, with the outside linebackers set behind the line and middle linebackers London Fletcher a good seven yards off the line of scrimmage.  Fletcher is much deeper than linebackers usually line up and the Cardinals had a lot of success running right at him.  I think Dallas will try the same.

2.  Pass to the short middle:  The Redskins rarely blitz but when they do they play zone behind it.  Their linebackers drop very deeply, and if their pressure doesn’t get home there is a lot of room for short crossing routes and passes to the running backs.  I think Marion Barber can have a big night here.  So can Jason Witten and look for Felix Jones to get some shots on simple flares and circle routes in this soft underbelly.

3.  Take your shots deep:  Washington misses Sean Taylor, who was putting it all together when he was murdered last year.  Reed Doughty has replaced him but does not have Taylor’s game.  The Cardinals beat him last week with a Larry Fitzgerald double move for a 60 yard TD.

If you recall last year T.O. had four touchdowns, several of which came on in-and-go and stop and go routes that beat linebackers in the middle of the field and safeties on the perimeter.

Owens has been doubled the last six quarters and has seen his numbers drop.  I doubt the Redskins will play him any differently but if the Cowboys begin running effectively and throwing short effectively, they’ll draw Washington into single coverage or into straight zones that will get Owens where he does maximum damage — in the deep middle.

We might have to wait 20 to 30 minutes into the game but T.O. will get his shots.

When Washington Has the Ball

1.  Stop the stretch play

Watch the Redskins and you’ll see a lot of the same packages teams like the Cowboys, Chargers and Browns run.  Despite the claims that they run the West Coast offense, HC Jim Zorn likes to spread the field, use bunch packages with TE Chris Cooley and lots of quick hitters to Santana Moss, alternated with deep shots to Moss off max protection.

For all their changeups, the Redskins build everything off their running game.  Their line was destroyed in preseason and by the Giants in the season opener, but Washington has put their line right. Their signature play is the stretch, to the strong and especially to the weakside.  They run it much as the Denver Broncos do — their linemen run hard laterally and try to create cutback lanes for Portis.

A lot of their spread action is to give Portis six man fronts to run against.  Because Ken Hamlin is playing so well in the deep middle and because Adam Jones, Anthony Henry and Terence Newman are covering well, I look for Dallas to stick in seven man fronts, to keep Portis under control.

2.  Jam Chris Cooley.  The Redskins use him much like the Browns use Kellen Winslow, flexing him out into space.  The Cowboys countered this by putting Greg Ellis over him and dropping Demarcus Ware back off the line, giving a 3-3 stack look.  I think we may see the same tactic, with Ellis jamming Cooley, and trying to beat him on any wide runs that come directly at him.

3.  Take away the flanker screen — This is Santana Moss’ favorite play, a bubble screen that gets a receiver and a tackle out in space to lead him up the field.  Dallas will surely be aware of this tendency, and guard against giving big cushions to Moss, with gives his blockers the space to get to the edge and lead him upfield.

4.  Blitz Jason Campbell in the A gaps.

Washington’s line has been pretty good but both tackles, Chris Samuels and Stephon Heyer, give up a lot of sacks.  The Cowboys will probably use a more disciplined rush, as they did with Donovan McNabb, to keep the speedy Jason Campbell from beating them with scrambles.

One way to press him to to bring your pressure right up the middle.  LG Jason Kendall has trouble with quick, swim moves, and might see Jay Ratliff over him a lot.  Ratliff got into the Packers backfield a lot and is the type of NT/DT who can give Kendall trouble.

I also look for the Cowboys to blitz their inside linebackers a lot.  It’s something Wade Phillips likes to do anyway but this tactic was used very effectively by the Cardinals last week.

Overall:  This game looks a lot like the Cowboys vs. the Browns.  Like Cleveland, the Redskins have a quality WR, a top-tier TE and a good running back.

The primary difference here is that Jason Campbell is better than Derek Anderson.  Much better.  He’s more poised, he’s more accurate and he’s much more mobile.

I think the Cowboys will take a different approach here.  Against the Browns, they kept both safeties deep, with Greg Ellis wide on Kellen Winslow, and trusted their front six to contain the Browns running game.  Washington’s run game with Clinton Portis is more dangerous, so I think we’ll see the Cowboys play it as they did versus Green Bay, playing a lot more seven man fronts with three corners and one safety.

We may see Anthony Henry as a true safety tomorrow, to play over Cooley.  He’s a huge weapon for Campbell but does not make plays up the field like Winslow.  Dallas may be willing to use Henry in the safety role again.

The key, I believe, will be turnovers.  The Redskins have been very oppotunistic, with a plus five turnover rating.  While 3-0, the Cowboys are minus three in that department.  While that shows their strength, it’s also playing with fire.

Nobody can predict turnovers, but if the Cowboys stay on form, and throw a pick in the red zone on cue, they could lose this one.  They’re at home and they have good matchups with the Redskins defense, all turnovers being equal.  If they’re not, well, it’s white knuckle time again.

Dallas 27, Washington 24

Cowboys’ Rookie Report: Aquaman Making a Splash

No Cowboys rookie got more preseason ink than 2nd round pick Martellus Bennett.  One day, he was the team comedian, wearing a Superhero persona through pre-practice interviews, claiming he was Aquaman and could talk to sea creatures.  He took even took credit for the earthquake that shook up Southern California, saying he caused a disturbance when he landed on earth.

A couple of days later, he was Pariah Man, the petulant exposed by Hard Knocks, the man child who didn’t respect his position coach.

Here’s the skinny after three games, Bennett is looking more and more like the guy The War Room rated the top tight end in the draft.  The Cowboys did too and their optimism and patience may pay off big time.

Bennett only has two catches, but they’ve each gone for 57 yards.  His open field speed is obvious.

More important, for Bennett and for the Cowboys, his blocking, the biggest question mark of his game, has improved enough to get him on the field regularly.  I wrote yesterday about Dallas’ extensive use of three tight end packages.  Part of this was by necessity, with Deon Anderson out.  Part of it is because the team has confidence in Bennett.

Bennett got 30 snaps against Green Bay.  On most of them he was responsible for blocking Packers defensive ends.  He did this very well.  On four plays, he put Aaron Kampman on his back.

Bennett was used in the backfield, on move or “wham” traps.  Bennett has the muscle to move linemen and linebackers.  These are skills Anthony Fasano didn’t display in Dallas.  Learning curves are relative, but the supposedly dumb Aggie is looking like a great 2nd round value for Dallas.

If John Garrett can keep him focused, Bennett is going to begin making plays as a receiver.  He’s already making a splash as a blocker, and that’s the hard — and essential — part of being a tight end in Dallas’ scheme.

He may end up as a football Superhero after all.

Note:  Redskins preview later tonight.

Cowboys Offense in Review: Lucky 13, or Getting Big Plays From a Jumbo Set

It’s fun to watch a really creative offensive coordinator at work. Jason Garrett showed against the Browns that he can use a spread offense to pick apart a secondary, using Jason Witten in a tight end bunch to devastating effect. Against the Eagles, he used a lot of double moves to Terrell Owens to rip a very good secondary to shreds.

Against the Packers, he showed that his 13 formation, a seemingly pedestrian one back, one receiver, three tight end set, can be lethal. Dallas got several big plays from this jumbo running set, despite facing eight and nine-man Packers fronts.

This set was a staple of the Jimmy/Barry era, when Norv Turner and Ernie Zampese were running the offense. Dallas used a lot of one WR, two TE, two RB sets in those eras. However, the jumbo package had a clearly defined place. The Cowboys used it when they were trying to escape their red zone, when they were in an opponent’s red zone and needed more run blocking beef, or were in the late stages of a game they had in hand, and wanted to grind the ball and kill the clock.

Garrett made some tweaks, going to three tight ends rather than two backs, because FB Deon Anderson is hurt, but the basic philosophy is the same. Telegraph your running game and dare an opponent to stop you. What has changed in 2008 is how explosive this set has been.

Let’s look to the opening four series of the game. The first was a short one, created by Adam Jones’ recovery of Ryan Grant’s fumble. On the next three however, Dallas made extensive use of the 13 set, in some rather unpredictable ways.

Dallas first tried running this unbalanced set on a second and eight from their own 21. Dallas had two TEs on the line, Witten flanking LT Flozell Adams and Martellus Bennett outside Colombo. Third TE Tony Curtis lined up as the FB right, in an offset-I.

The Cowboys ran Power Right, one of their staples, from this set. It’s a counter, designed to go right off the pulling LG Kyle Kosier. Though the Packers were in an 8-man front, the Cowboys blocked this to perfection. Bennett locked up DE Aaron Kampman and pushed him inside. Curtis got across the line of scrimmage and stalemated SOLB Brady Poppinga.

Barber took his first steps hard at the middle, keeping MLB Nick Barnett from pursuing aggressively to the outside. This gave Kosier the space to pull wide and engage Barnett. At that point, Barber cut sharply outside the well blocked right perimeter, where he got another block from T.O. on his way to a 12 yard gain.

Two plays later, the Cowboys used a tight end overload they unveiled in Cleveland. In this case, both Martellus Bennett and Jason Witten lined up next to RT Marc Colombo. The result is an unbalanced line, with four blockers to the right of center Andre Gurode and two on the left.

Dallas used two WRs on this play, and motioned Miles Austin into the left slot, with T.O. wide of him. This kept one Packers safety and two CBs away from the right perimeter, where the Cowboys attacked.

Dallas then ran a variant of the old Packers sweep, from the Ace (one back) set. Every NFL fan has seen the vintage film of Vince Lombardi at the chalk board, explaining the flanking principle of the play — “you get a seal here, and a seal here, and run the play IN - THE - ALLEY.”   In those days, the Packers ran from a split two back set, with one tight end. The TE would block down and the two guards and the fullback would lead the halfback wide.

Dallas used the same blocking scheme, only they ran it from a different front. Both Witten and Bennett, the two widest players, blocked down: Bennett on Kampman again and Witten on OLB Poppinga. Here, however, Dallas pulled RT Colombo and C Andre Gurode to the right side. Gurode was an excellent pulling guard at the University of Colorado and can get to the perimeter. Colombo sealed the outside against safety Aaron Rouse, Gurode clipped a linebacker, and Barber cut through their skinny lane for seven yards.

The Cowboys then mixed in a three WR set, with Witten as the I fullback. This spread Green Bay, leaving six men in the box. Garrett dialed up the old lead draw against this thin front and Felix Jones gained eight more yards.

On the next play, the 13 set was back, with Witten left, and Bennett and Curtis right. Jones ran a straight zone power play, which he cut behind LG Kosier for a two yard gain.

The Cowboys were getting good push on the strong side of these zone plays, and the Packers began slanting heavily to the strong side trying to counter Dallas’ push. On 3rd-and-one Garrett tried crossing them up by calling bend right, a counter where Barber takes two steps left and then cuts back right. Dallas got solid blocking along the line but the Packers had nine men in the box and nobody got to Rouse, who prevented Barber from cutting wide and making a huge gain. He made two and kept a long drive alive that ultimately ended with a Romo red-zone pick.

The power running was setting the Packers up, for both big runs and big passes. Two series later Dallas called up more two and three TE sets. Power right from the standard I formation gained 11 yards on Dallas first play. Garrett called power right again on the next play, this time from a three TE set, and gained six more yards. A pass to T.O. from the bunch right package gained 12 and moved Dallas to its 40.

Here, Garrett went back to the 13 set, with Felix Jones now the back, T.O. the lone WR.  Witten was the left TE with Bennett and Curtis creating the overload on the right. Dallas had run to the strong side every time save once from this set and the Packers called a defense to aggressively counter such a run. They put nine men in the box. They put their two DTs over the Dallas OGs and their two DEs over Witten and Bennett.

Their linebackers overshifted to the power side. SOLB Poppinga walked up to the line and stood in a two point stance over RT Colombo. The SS Rouse was behind him and the LCB Nick Collins was outside of Curtis. The ILBs Barnett and A.J. Hawk were stacked behind the DTs.

This set put six Packers defenders to the right of the center Gurode, with three men guarding the backside of the formation. Green Bay was selling out for a run to the strong side. The Cowboys blockers took hard initial steps to the right, giving the impression that play would again go behind the overload. All the Packers linebackers shot hard, trying to fill gaps along the line to take any inside running lanes away from Felix Jones.

Only Jones wasn’t running inside. Garrett called bend left this time. This is another Cowboys staple. Norv Turner was calling it for Emmitt in the ’90s. LaDainian Tomlinson has been racking up big yards running it the last few years. Like Power left and power right, it’s a counter play, but with zone blocking across the line, with nobody pulling. In this case, Tony Romo turns away from the line of scrimmage and takes two steps left, holding the ball out for the defense to see. Jones also takes two hard steps to his right, to draw the defenders that way.  Their initial movements give the appearance that Dallas is running a stretch play behind Colombo and the two tight ends.

On his third step, Romo pivots the ball across his body and holds it off his right hip. Jones plants and cuts sharply back to his left, taking the ball off Romo’s hip and darting for the left perimeter.

The Packers completely bought the hard sell right and the success or failure of the play depended on Witten’s block on the left edge. The DE was head-up on Witten at the snap but pushed hard to his left. Witten locked him up and turned the DE inside. Consequently, Jones had an easy path to the left flat.

From there, he put on two Emmitt-esque moves, setting up CB Charles Woodson with an inside feint, then cutting outside and running through a feeble arm tackle. Jones then put on a classic Emmitt stop-and go move on the free safety, freezing him for an instant and then blasting past him down the left sideline for a score.

This sequence shows the firepower of the ‘08 offense. Garrett can attack a quality defense with one of his most elemental sets and get 60 yard scores from it. Furthermore, this shows the value of Felix Jones. When you know your back can take a bread-and-butter play the distance from any point on the field, your job as a play caller is that much easier.

So is your job as a spectator.

Don’t Chase Shiny Things

The Cowboys are 3-0.  Their offense is generating more rushing yards and passing yards per game than last year.  The team has just beaten two of the NFC favorites.

But they may be flawed, and a receiver in Detroit wouldn’t mind “helping” them.  With Matt Millen’s resignation not even a day old, DMN scribe Rick Gosselin has already put Roy Williams on record at his mincing, evasive best.  He’s happy to be a Lion, but his home is Texas, he says. He’s happy to stay in Detroit but he’s willing to move on.

“She’s my daughter!  She’s my sister!”  I’m a Lion!  I’m a Texan!

I’m a Lion AND a Texan!

Ugh.  All that’s missing is Jake Geddes slapping poor Roy silly.

Don’t get dragged into the nonsense.  Don’t chase the latest shiny object in the store.  Roy Williams should not be pursued.

Yes, I’m aware of the arguments.  I made them myself last December.  The Cowboys passing game slowed when T.O. got hurt.  But tally up these points:

1. Dallas pursued Williams this spring.  But they did so before the draft.
2. They also pursued him and the Arizona receivers before signing Terrell Owens to a contract extension.
3. I don’t think it was in Dallas’ long term plans to pay two huge receiver contracts.  They’re committed to Owens and judging from T.O.’s performance this summer and this September, he’s committed to them.
4. Dallas has some big extensions still to be paid, most notably Demarcus Ware’s.

Now, ponder these factoids from Detroit:

1. Former Lions OC Mike Martz questioned Williams’ work ethic on at least one occasion.
2. Williams went public last year after a Thanksgiving loss to the Packers with the complaint that he wasn’t getting involved enough in the offense.  That was the first game all year where the Lions aimed more passes at rookie Calvin Johnson than at Williams and Roy wasted no time running to the mics to complain. The Lions had just lost their third straight, after a 6-2 start, and Williams was whining about attempts.

Does this sound like a team player, or a guy who needs to be number one, at all costs?

Go back and read the linked story again.  He’s adamant that he’s still the anchor the Lions need:

“When I got drafted, the first thing I said was I want to be the one who turns this franchise around,” Williams said. “So far that hasn’t happened. But that’s still my goal, to turn this place around.”

That’s interesting Roy, because your team is 0-3.  If your goal is to “turn this place around” shouldn’t you be spending extra time in the film room, or with your QB, instead of issuing “que sera, sera,” interviews in the Dallas press?

Maybe this has something to do with Roy’s concerned nonchalance:

• Calvin Johnson, ‘08 — 17 receptions, 276 yards, 16.2 avg., 2 TDs.
• Roy Williams, ‘08 — 8 receptions, 113 yards, 14.1 avg. 1 TD.

Roy Williams isn’t the man in Detroit anymore.  Calvin Johnson has taken over.  The Lions ill fated comeback against Green Bay was driven by Johnson’s big plays, not by Williams’.  Roy says he just wants to go somewhere where he can win, but he’s also confident “he’ll get his money” and if history is any indication, he won’t hesitate to campaign for his balls.

Sorry folks, but this is what Terrell Owens was supposed to be, the petulant, self-absorbed prima donna.  Does the Cowboys offense need an another expensive set of hands so badly tha the front office and coaches will risk Owens’ happiness for a guy who clearly does not take being #2 very well?

Give me a hungry Miles Austin any day.  At least until he proves that his Green Bay performance was a fluke.

Taking Some Memes to the Trash

We’re almost through September.  We’ve seen Dallas tangle with the “hard part” of their early schedule.  It’s therefore time to discard some of the more useless memes that dominated the summer, since they no longer have any merit, much less argument generating value:

1.  Camp Marshmallow — Yeah, there’s no hitting in Wade Phillips camps.  Why, they’ll lose preseason games, and those are so important to the post-seeding tie breaker formulas.

The Cowboys have taken a lot of penalties.  They’re also 3-0.  Does anybody doubt they can hit, or lack preparation for their games?

2.  T.O. Will Destroy the Locker Room — Yes, I know, this seems so 2006.  It’s not that big a story among the Cowboys nation, but I did some interviews in the offseason and people outside the Cowboys’ family wanted to talk about this.  They’re still convinced he’s going to rip the locker room apart, despite the lack of any credible evidence.

What’s funny is that New England watchers are now wondering if Randy Moss is about to do what T.O. haters have been waiting for.

3.  Martellus Bennett is another wasted 2nd round pick.  The Bad Jerry is back.  Grrrrrrrr! — The pitchfork carriers were out em masse after Hard Knocks roasted this kid.  Remember all the blog posts demanding the Cowboys trade him now!  (Raise your hands if you were one of them.)

He hasn’t become Kellen Winslow III but he’s getting more work every week and he’s already shown he has uncommon speed for a man his size.

4.  The Cowboys are going to regret passing on Rashard Mendenhall.

The Einsteins at the DMN made this their party line in April.  The head Mendenhall mash-letter writer, Albert Breer, is long gone, no doubt pitching woo to Mendenhall from his newest outpost.  J.J. Taylor has already written his retraction.

Felix Jones is holding his own in the year of the rookie running back.  This year’s crop looks vintage, with Chris Johnson, Jonathan Stewart, Matt Forte, Darren McFadden and Steve Slaton standing out.  Felix is averaging 8.2 yards per carry, which means he’s due more carries.

Mendenhall has 28 yards, just two more than Tashard Choice.

5.  GM Jerry will destroy this team again now that Jeff Ireland and Bill Parcells are gone.

All evidence indicates that GM Jerry is performing better than Ireland and Parcells.  His free agent signings the last three years (include T.O. in that list) far exceed the Tuna’s free agents.  And this year’s draft is looking very good at this early stage, with Jones, Bennett, Mike Jenkins, Choice and Orlando Scandrick making important contributions.

6.  GM Jerry is bringing back the bad old days signing guys like Adam Jones and Tank Johnson.

The jury is still out on Jones but so far, so good on Johnson (and you know T.O. is part of this argument).  Jones told the press at Oxnard that his front office looks hard at each player.  What’s more, they stay away, as a matter of policy, from players with substance abuse issues.  (None of the troublemakers the Cowboys have signed have drug or alcohol issues.)

The Pro Football Talk readers here know Mike Florio has a feature called “Turd Watch,” where he documents the suspensions and arrests league wide.  During the Adam Jones-trade watch Florio noted that the Cowboys are the only team that has not had a player arrested since he started the blotter.

There are always questions with the Cowboys and the biggest one won’t be answered until January.  Here’s hoping we won’t have to deal with these tired topics any more.

Your numbers of the day:  9-1.

That’s Wade Phillips’ road record since becoming head coach.  Move over, Mel Gibson, Wade is making a play to be the Road Warrior.

Cowboys Defense by the Numbers: Anthony Henry’s Excellent Adventure

Anthony Henry heard for much of the preseason that the Cowboys were considering moving him to safety. He showed some misgivings about the switch, seeing it as a demotion from his regular right corner spot.

Sunday night, Henry got his first extensive work as a regular safety, the move prompted by Roy Williams’ broken arm.  The Cowboys used two base formations against the Packers’ spread offense.  They went big and bold, using a standard 3-4 look with three CBs and one safety.

They also used a lot of their 4-2-5 nickel set, but with a twist.  Henry moved from the edge to linebacker, where he and Kevin Burnett patrolled the short middle.

Henry was so productive he may stay there a while.  He was sent on a host of blitzes and finished with two sacks.  He also defensed a pass when he dropped into a passing lane and tipped a pass incomplete.

The Packers did have a little success running at this set when the Cowboys deployed it on first down.  The Cowboys are a bit light up front when they have six in the box and the two LBs go 228 lbs. (Burnett) and 207 (Henry).  Dallas was careful not to use it again on run downs and thus kept guards out of Henry’s grille.

Greg Ellis complained long and loudly when he was moved to OLB.  You rarely hear him any more, because he’s having too much fun.  He now gets matched up against fullbacks, tight ends and running backs, instead of 330 lb. tackles.  His sack totals have skyrocketed as a result.

Williams is going to be out a few more weeks, so I imagine we’ll see more Anthony Henry as the dime linebacker.  If he continues to play as he did against Green Bay he might be the one campaigning for a permanent switch.

player	att.	comp.	yds.	YPA	Def.
Anthony Henry	4	2	35	8.8	1
Adam Jones	10	5	41	4.1	1
Terence Newman	6	4	39	6.5	0
Mike Jenkins	5	4	55	11.0	0

The Packers are the first team to attack Adam Jones and the results are promising.  He’ll start getting some picks if he continues to receive the attention.

Mike Jenkins looks like a rookie.  It’s very common for a new corner guy to give up big yards and then settle down halfway through a season.  He had the thankless task of covering Greg Jennings one-on-one most of the night and Jenning beat him on a slant and pivot-outside for 20 yards, which greatly inflated Jenkins’ YPA.  Jennings also did the same thing to Henry, spinning outside of him for 25 yards on the Packers first play from scrimmage.

Dallas’ Rush vs. Green Bay

• 3 men - 2 plays;
• 4 men — 28 plays;
• 5 men — 11 plays;
• 6 men — 3 plays

Notes:

– Ain’t Too Proud to Crib

The Eagles run a very effective overload blitz, where they flank two outside linebackers together outside their four man line, rush both linebackers off the edge and drop the weakside DE into coverage.

The Cowboys used variants of this overload from their 4-2-5 and their 3-4 base sets Sunday night.  The first time Bradie James got a free run at Rodgers and forced a hot throw for a five yard gain.  The second time the Cowboys got two men free and forced an incompletion.

– Don’t go Too Tall Jones on us, Jay, okay?

Jay Ratliff has a nasty punchout.  At least once a day during training camp, the 290 lb. Ratliff would bow the 355 lb. Leonard Davis backwards with a two handed stunner to the chest.  Ratliff used this devastating move on Packers RG Tony Moll in the 3rd.  The Packer thought he was set, but Ratliff’s punchout knocked him back a solid three yards.  While Moll was trying to re-establish his set, Ratliff used a swim move to get past him and sack Aaron Rodgers.

– Everybody is getting in on the fun: 

Bobby Carpenter got some reps when the Cowboys played a 3-2-6 dime package in the middle quarters.

– Chaos unveiled

The Cowboys used their chaos package in the 2nd quarter when the Packers were deep in Dallas territory.  Dallas lined up with two down linemen, Chris Canty and Jason Hatcher.  The team stood up four more potential rushers — Jay Ratliff, Kevin Burnett, Greg Ellis and Demarcus Ware — and let them roam along the line.  Just before the snap, Ratliff jumped into a three point stance on the nose.  Ware roamed out to the right end spot and Ellis and Burnett lined up directly behind Ratliff.  At the snap, the two inside LBs criss crossed and broke the middle of the Packers’ pocket.

The play produced the desired chaos and an incompletion.

Your Dallas Cowboys Numbers of the Day

One — mark it down.  Watch it again on your Tivo, cause you saw something exceptional last night.

Marion Barber’s 4th quarter hairball was the first lost fumble of his career.

Six — The Cowboys defense has absorbed six deep drives into its territory, three against the Eagles and three last night, and held the opposition to field goals.  It’s week four.  Adam Jones is still making mental mistakes, but the Cowboys showed no fear last night against the Packers.  Dallas didn’t make any concessions to a team that has a better passing attack than the Browns.

For much of the game the Cowboys played a base 3-4 against the Packers three receiver sets.  Dallas stayed in a front seven to maximize their blitz and their run defense.  The Cowboys sole adjustment was removing the strong safety, adding Adam Jones, moving Terence Newman to the slot and playing with three corners and just one safety.

Aaron Rogers had only one play longer than 20 yards against this package.  That was his first play from scrimmage, when Greg Jennings caught a seven yard slant and pivoted outside away from Anthony Henry for a 25 yard gain.  Mike Jenkins is showing better coverage on the outside each week. (It appears the coaches are making things easy for him and fellow rookie corner Orlando Scandrick.  Jenkins is playing outside on the right exclusively and Scandrick is learning the slot.  With regular slot man Newman healthy, Scandrick isn’t getting so much work right now.)

Nine — The number of sacks the Cowboys have recorded the last two weeks.  They played the top two NFC offenses besides their own and racked up nine sacks.  Add this component to the improving coverage and we’re seeing the steady defensive improvement we saw last season.

But this squad has more tools to work with.

Patience, Grasshoppers. Patience.

The NFC East is a Beast, and You Should be Ecstatic

The East is 10-2 so far, and both losses have come in divisional games.

The Redskins lone loss came to the Giants.

The Eagles lone loss came in Dallas.

The Cowboys showed the Packers are a pretender.  The Cowboys wore them out so thoroughly, several Packers were getting IVs at halftime.  At Lambeau Field.

The Eagles took arguably the best team in the AFC thus far and beat the snot out of them.  Jim Johnson’s guys sacked Steelers QBs nine times today.  At one point, game announcers were wondering out loud how Dallas could score 41 points on them and not permit a single sack.

The Redskins took a team that may be the class of the NFC West and beat them.

The Giants looked a little ragged against the Bengals, but hey, they’re 3-0.

One of these teams might finish with a winning record and miss the playoffs.  The Eagles were 8-8 last year and finished last.

That narrows the Cowboys margin for error but also improves their post-season chances, should they make the playoffs.  In his new book Blindsided, KC Joyner devotes a chapter to the myth that early schedules ease a team’s route to the offseason.  He goes back to the merger and rates each division from 1-6 in the six division era and 1-8 in the current system.

He finds overwhelming evidence that teams from tough divisions perform better in the post season.  The lowest-rated divisonal winner to win a Super Bowl is the ‘99 Rams, who came from the 6th ranked division.  Teams that feast off weak divisions fold far more often than not in January.

Playing tough rivals toughens you up.  Look at the ‘07 Giants.  They said after their title that Dallas was the toughest opponent they faced.  Michael Strahan said they were much tougher than the Patriots.

That shootout last Monday night will help to steel this team.  Ask Aaron Rodgers and his mates if the Cowboys felt the short week, or the Lambeau Field mystique.

They’ll tell you no, once they pull the IVs from their arms and take their oxygen masks off.

Instant Analysis: Cowboys 27, Packers 16

Welcome back:

1. Kyle Kosier — the offensive line blew up the Packers front.  The Cowboys backs combined for 216 yards rushing tonight.

2.  Miles Austin — The Packers were blanketing T.O. but sitting in 7 man fronts.  The Cowboys gashed them for 149 rushing yards in the first half.  The Packers walked a safety into the box to start the 3rd quarter and forced a punt.  On the second Dallas series they walked a safety up again.  Jason Garrett called a play action pass off a slot formation, sent Austin across the field, matched him up on safety Aaron Rouse and got the big play that jump started Tony Romo’s night.  The TD a couple of plays later broke the game wide open.

– Aaron Rodgers might be error free, but he’s also Mr. Rodgers, with the red sweater.  Mr. Vanilla.

Where are the big plays?

His longest throw of the night was a 50 yarder on a third and short where Adam Jones lost his man.

– Speaking of Adam Jones, one bomb a week is too many.

– Just asking, but if Lambeau Field is such a deadly place to play, how come the Packers were the guys getting all the IVs at the half?

– Let’s hear it for the rush.  After the Cleveland game, one Dallas-area writer opined that the Browns, “showed the league the blueprint” for stopping the Cowboys rush.  Dallas held the Browns to 114 passing yards, but they, gasp, only got one sack.

They should be so lousy every week.

The Cowboys have notched nine sacks the last two weeks against Donovan McNabb and Aaron Rodgers, both of whom can run.  The Cowboys will top 50 sacks at their current pace.

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