The Cowboys face the Eagles again in 2 weeks on Sunday. This game is as close to a must win as the Cowboys will face this year. I firmly the believe that the Cowboys will be in the playoffs and maybe even in the 5 seed, which would play whoever comes out of the NFC South. But to do that they need to beat Philly next time, perhaps even more, they need to regain their pride. Here is how they beat the Eagles next time...
Defensively: Taking a page out of the Patriots defensive scheme, I would put Brandon Carr on Jeremy Maclin with either Barry Church or JJ Wilcox helping over the top. Then put Orlando Scandrick on Jordan Matthews and Bruce Carter, who is big and fast, on Riley Cooper. The Cowboys strength is man coverage, and this plays perfectly. The Patriots did this vs the Lions, putting a physical corner in Brandon Browner on Calvin Johnson with safety help over the top, then sticking Darrelle Revis on Golden Tate and he took him completely out of the game. This would do really well in a cover 2 man scheme. With LaSean McCoy, the defensive ends need to play run first, squeezing blocks, attacking the mesh point on read option, anchoring down on down blocks. The D tackles need to get push from the middle, force Mark Sanchez to back up and throw off his back foot. If he makes a throw back peddling, then fair play to him, but I'll take my chances he makes more mistakes doing that than he does great throws. The double team on Jeremy Maclin allows someone like Sterling Moore to really fight with him at the line of scrimmage and also undercut routes, forcing Mark Sanchez to throw over him, if he does make that, then JJ Wilcox is coming down to make a play on the ball or, at the very least, if Maclin catches it, he gets his facemask dented by the shoulder pad of Wilcox and is going to get a bit more nervous next time he runs like that.
Offensively: Stop blaming the O line! The Eagles pass rush is good, thats the fact of it. Tony didn't look like himself and just dropped on a few occasions. Our O line did a great job protection and providing holes for 90% of the time, and thats a pretty great game log for an offensive line. The receivers need to win the one on one battles. Terrance Williams, Dez Bryant, Cole Beasley, Devin Street and Dwayne Harris are all good enough to get separation from Cary Williams and we need to start believing that and doing that. Demarco Murray is a physical guy and as I said in my other posts, he should be allowed to run power and trap and go downhill and break peoples pads running through them. And finally Tony gotta get over whatever was wrong with him today. I don't know what was going on, but its not good. We got a glimpse of what we are without him and we need him to play at the high level he has been and will hopefully continue to play at.
In Conclusion:
Defensively- copy the Patriots, play run first off the edges and get push in the middle. We will be fine if we do just the D line part even.
Offensively- If they have 8 in the box, win the one on one receiver battles, if they wanna take away the pass, run downhill and dare them to hit. Aka what we have been doing all year.
Thanks for reading,
What do you think of my strategy? Adjustments? Comment below and let me know!
Thursday, November 27, 2014
What I think should happen this offseason
Wow this is early, I know, believe me I know. But So far I feel I need to get this out. Lets look at the facts of what is happening this offseason:
1. Dez Bryant and Demarco Murray will be free agents, so will Rolando McClain, Morris Claiborne, Brandon Carr, and Henry Melton.
2. Sean Lee will be back
3. Ndamukong Suh will, it looks like, leave Detroit.
4. Adrian Peterson will be available
5. The Cowboys time to get 6 is NOW!
Everything seems to be in place, here is what I think needs to happen for 6 to come next year.
1. SIGN DEZ BRYANT! Its not cause Im a huge fan of this guy, its not the playmaking, it the attitude! Dez is fired up with lightning in his eyes every game from the start. He will be the beating heart of this team for years to come and will teach young guys to make plays and block in the run game, and get the last push always.
2. Really carefully examine the Adrian Peterson situation. If Demarco Murray wins the rushing title (I think it's almost a guarantee) He may turn around an say that he wants 5 years for $40Million. If he wants that kind of money really examine what Peterson would say. Demarco is an exceptional back, but he also is the same age as Peterson, he fumbles a lot, and his pass protection is sub par. With a quarterback who has had 2 back surgeries, that not a good thing. The Peterson pitch meeting should include, this line will give you more running gaps than you ever had in Minnesota, also, you have had a lot of miles on you from the vikings and not many teams are gunna want to pay you after this year. We will pay you (Maybe 3-4 years $15-17million) and this is the best chance your gunna get to win that ring you've never had! Really pay close attention to this one
3. DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE! This is the big one. All the offensive linemen are locked up forever, and they are only getting better. Defensively Sean Lee should more to inside linebacker, less movement and stress on his leg but plenty of opportunity to do what he does so well, pass coverage. Rolando McClain should be resigned and he deserves it. He's only 25 and is showing his 1st round pick talent. He is a real bright spot. Then you have Durant and Carter at the outside linebacker and really its the best of both worlds right there, they both have been great. The D line and secondary need work. Henry Melton's contract option should be picked up, he is starting the show flares of greatness like in his pro-bowl season. Demarcus Lawrence is starting to emerge but isn't quite there yet. Jeremy Mincey is pretty good but nothing incredible. Orlando Scandrick is our best DB but he's not a shut down corner, Brandon Carr hasn't lived up to any expectation and really is expendable at this point. Sterling Moore is really doing well as a big physical corner, Barry Church wasn't any help at all today vs the Eagles on Thanksgiving. However JJ Wilcox can definatly have a future. He is a big hitter and loves contact which is something I really love in a safety. So Corners and D line are your main concerns. Ndamukong Suh it looks like is going to leave Detroit, and it is very exciting to think about him with a star on his head, but before you get to excited, Josh Brent hasn't shown us yet if he's a good one technique yet and he could show some real promise. So as soon as Sean Lee comes back, take a look at what corners are available (Im not sure), but in the draft you can spend your first and second rounders on corners or a safety.
4. In the draft its time to take a QB. Not in the first, second, or even third round. But in the 4th round to learn from Romo so that when he is done, we don't have to start over when Dez, whoever is at tail back, Tyron Smith Zack Martin and Travis Frederick are in the prime of their careers. Also face the reality that Jason Witten is getting older so if Gavin Escobar isn't the replacement, look for one.
Thanks for reading
1. Dez Bryant and Demarco Murray will be free agents, so will Rolando McClain, Morris Claiborne, Brandon Carr, and Henry Melton.
2. Sean Lee will be back
3. Ndamukong Suh will, it looks like, leave Detroit.
4. Adrian Peterson will be available
5. The Cowboys time to get 6 is NOW!
Everything seems to be in place, here is what I think needs to happen for 6 to come next year.
1. SIGN DEZ BRYANT! Its not cause Im a huge fan of this guy, its not the playmaking, it the attitude! Dez is fired up with lightning in his eyes every game from the start. He will be the beating heart of this team for years to come and will teach young guys to make plays and block in the run game, and get the last push always.
2. Really carefully examine the Adrian Peterson situation. If Demarco Murray wins the rushing title (I think it's almost a guarantee) He may turn around an say that he wants 5 years for $40Million. If he wants that kind of money really examine what Peterson would say. Demarco is an exceptional back, but he also is the same age as Peterson, he fumbles a lot, and his pass protection is sub par. With a quarterback who has had 2 back surgeries, that not a good thing. The Peterson pitch meeting should include, this line will give you more running gaps than you ever had in Minnesota, also, you have had a lot of miles on you from the vikings and not many teams are gunna want to pay you after this year. We will pay you (Maybe 3-4 years $15-17million) and this is the best chance your gunna get to win that ring you've never had! Really pay close attention to this one
3. DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE! This is the big one. All the offensive linemen are locked up forever, and they are only getting better. Defensively Sean Lee should more to inside linebacker, less movement and stress on his leg but plenty of opportunity to do what he does so well, pass coverage. Rolando McClain should be resigned and he deserves it. He's only 25 and is showing his 1st round pick talent. He is a real bright spot. Then you have Durant and Carter at the outside linebacker and really its the best of both worlds right there, they both have been great. The D line and secondary need work. Henry Melton's contract option should be picked up, he is starting the show flares of greatness like in his pro-bowl season. Demarcus Lawrence is starting to emerge but isn't quite there yet. Jeremy Mincey is pretty good but nothing incredible. Orlando Scandrick is our best DB but he's not a shut down corner, Brandon Carr hasn't lived up to any expectation and really is expendable at this point. Sterling Moore is really doing well as a big physical corner, Barry Church wasn't any help at all today vs the Eagles on Thanksgiving. However JJ Wilcox can definatly have a future. He is a big hitter and loves contact which is something I really love in a safety. So Corners and D line are your main concerns. Ndamukong Suh it looks like is going to leave Detroit, and it is very exciting to think about him with a star on his head, but before you get to excited, Josh Brent hasn't shown us yet if he's a good one technique yet and he could show some real promise. So as soon as Sean Lee comes back, take a look at what corners are available (Im not sure), but in the draft you can spend your first and second rounders on corners or a safety.
4. In the draft its time to take a QB. Not in the first, second, or even third round. But in the 4th round to learn from Romo so that when he is done, we don't have to start over when Dez, whoever is at tail back, Tyron Smith Zack Martin and Travis Frederick are in the prime of their careers. Also face the reality that Jason Witten is getting older so if Gavin Escobar isn't the replacement, look for one.
Thanks for reading
Cowboys vs. Eagles (11/27/2014)
It really pains me that this is my first blog post, but it needs to be done. First off I don't pretend to be a professional at this, I played football for 6 years, all 4 in high school, and am trying to combine that experience with a passion for the game. That being said lets address this catastrophe.
The Cowboys did not play well. That is the end of it. So lets examine why
What Happened:
In what looked like a game film replay from last week, the defense STRUGGLED on the first few drives in the game. They put the offense in a hell of a hole. The problem was the coverage they were in. The Cowboys play best when they are in man coverage, strangely because they really don't have a great secondary (but thats a different post), The whole of the first quarter they seemed to be in a cover 2 zone or a cover 3 look. Doing this really hurt the cowboys on those plays where the Eagles lined up in trips left, and sent Sproles on a swing route, they then send Maclin on a go and that corner was forced to choose. That is the exact play that went down when the defense allowed a 59 yard conversion on a 3rd and long. Man coverage is the Cowboys friend, for some reason. Then there was the offense. There wasn't a lot going well for the offense. Tony Romo did not look like himself, not following through and not escaping pressure like he has, not going to speculate if the short week had something to do with it but I can't think it did any good. The running game was working, contrary to what people think, but the defense just gave up too much to quickly. This means that the Cowboys needed to go more to the pass and it takes away from the HUGE advantage that having a great running game gives you, balance. Now how do we fix this.
What Needs to Happen:
First the Defense needs to come out of the gate with anger and hate in their eyes. They need to not give up 3 touchdowns on three drives, they have a first class offense waiting on the sideline, give them the ball! It starts with the D line. If you can get pressure with the front 4 there is almost nothing you can't do defensively. Having to bring 6 or more is a recipe for disaster. After the D line gets pressure, now you need to work out coverage. Zone is really hurting us, but it works in a lot of situations, I am actually a fan of zone coverage it allows players to play more freely. But man is our strength, so playing to our strength and our coordinators philosophy, i would go into a cover 2 man or a cover 1 hole look where you can mix in zone and man defense, then you make the defense guess if it's zone or man and plays into our favor. Those two thing get done, we are in good shape, defensively. Offensively is another story. Again we have a tier one offense, but I think we are using it in the wrong way. DeMarco Murray is a big, strong, physical, contact loving back. He has a great trucking and pretty good speed, but we run to much stretch. Plays like power or trap and wrap are perfect for his style of running, let him get a head of steam and see who is man enough to come up and hit him. Stretch is a play that you do have to run, but we run it a disproportionate amount to interior run plays. Our Offensive line (the best in the league by a mile) is more than able to block anything, pass or run, take advantage of that. One thing that comes from such a great run game and pass protection is play action which I do not believe we do nearly enough of. And when we do run a play action, it's a stale play that isn't a dagger into the heart of the defense. Here is an example. If Murray is doing well on stretch and power (which he is always) have the line block stretch, or power without pulling anyone, mean while running this out of doubles, have Terrance Williams run a deep crossing route, Dez Bryant running a shallow crossing route, then Cole Beasly or Devin Street either a fade or a dig route, keep Jason Witten in for extra blocking. The run will make the LB's step up to stop Murray, then the combo of the deep and shallow crossing routes will force them to try and choose who they will guard, the safeties, if they don't come up, will see the deep crossing route before the fade and will most likely bite onto that. This leaves Tony, who is athletic enough to roll out after a play action fake, the choice of either a shallow route to the playmaker, Dez, a strike into enemy territory for the assassin Williams (cause he goes unnoticed by defenses a lot), or a deep ball to the big man Devin Street. This would work best against a cover 3 zone, cover 1 high safety man, or even could work on a cover 2 if you really are working the run.
In Conclusion:
Defensively: Play to your strength, which is man, but disguise it well and mix in zone. Also get that relentless rush going.
Offensively: Play to your strength, run the ball the way your beast of a RB is built to do. Downhill! Lets see who is brave enough to step up and hit Murray at full speed. Also take advantage of your wide outs and O line and athletic elite QB, run that play action! Trust your playmakers, thats what they do! Thanks for reading
The Cowboys did not play well. That is the end of it. So lets examine why
What Happened:
In what looked like a game film replay from last week, the defense STRUGGLED on the first few drives in the game. They put the offense in a hell of a hole. The problem was the coverage they were in. The Cowboys play best when they are in man coverage, strangely because they really don't have a great secondary (but thats a different post), The whole of the first quarter they seemed to be in a cover 2 zone or a cover 3 look. Doing this really hurt the cowboys on those plays where the Eagles lined up in trips left, and sent Sproles on a swing route, they then send Maclin on a go and that corner was forced to choose. That is the exact play that went down when the defense allowed a 59 yard conversion on a 3rd and long. Man coverage is the Cowboys friend, for some reason. Then there was the offense. There wasn't a lot going well for the offense. Tony Romo did not look like himself, not following through and not escaping pressure like he has, not going to speculate if the short week had something to do with it but I can't think it did any good. The running game was working, contrary to what people think, but the defense just gave up too much to quickly. This means that the Cowboys needed to go more to the pass and it takes away from the HUGE advantage that having a great running game gives you, balance. Now how do we fix this.
What Needs to Happen:
First the Defense needs to come out of the gate with anger and hate in their eyes. They need to not give up 3 touchdowns on three drives, they have a first class offense waiting on the sideline, give them the ball! It starts with the D line. If you can get pressure with the front 4 there is almost nothing you can't do defensively. Having to bring 6 or more is a recipe for disaster. After the D line gets pressure, now you need to work out coverage. Zone is really hurting us, but it works in a lot of situations, I am actually a fan of zone coverage it allows players to play more freely. But man is our strength, so playing to our strength and our coordinators philosophy, i would go into a cover 2 man or a cover 1 hole look where you can mix in zone and man defense, then you make the defense guess if it's zone or man and plays into our favor. Those two thing get done, we are in good shape, defensively. Offensively is another story. Again we have a tier one offense, but I think we are using it in the wrong way. DeMarco Murray is a big, strong, physical, contact loving back. He has a great trucking and pretty good speed, but we run to much stretch. Plays like power or trap and wrap are perfect for his style of running, let him get a head of steam and see who is man enough to come up and hit him. Stretch is a play that you do have to run, but we run it a disproportionate amount to interior run plays. Our Offensive line (the best in the league by a mile) is more than able to block anything, pass or run, take advantage of that. One thing that comes from such a great run game and pass protection is play action which I do not believe we do nearly enough of. And when we do run a play action, it's a stale play that isn't a dagger into the heart of the defense. Here is an example. If Murray is doing well on stretch and power (which he is always) have the line block stretch, or power without pulling anyone, mean while running this out of doubles, have Terrance Williams run a deep crossing route, Dez Bryant running a shallow crossing route, then Cole Beasly or Devin Street either a fade or a dig route, keep Jason Witten in for extra blocking. The run will make the LB's step up to stop Murray, then the combo of the deep and shallow crossing routes will force them to try and choose who they will guard, the safeties, if they don't come up, will see the deep crossing route before the fade and will most likely bite onto that. This leaves Tony, who is athletic enough to roll out after a play action fake, the choice of either a shallow route to the playmaker, Dez, a strike into enemy territory for the assassin Williams (cause he goes unnoticed by defenses a lot), or a deep ball to the big man Devin Street. This would work best against a cover 3 zone, cover 1 high safety man, or even could work on a cover 2 if you really are working the run.
In Conclusion:
Defensively: Play to your strength, which is man, but disguise it well and mix in zone. Also get that relentless rush going.
Offensively: Play to your strength, run the ball the way your beast of a RB is built to do. Downhill! Lets see who is brave enough to step up and hit Murray at full speed. Also take advantage of your wide outs and O line and athletic elite QB, run that play action! Trust your playmakers, thats what they do! Thanks for reading
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