Cowboys Look for a Different Conclusion Against the Falcons
by Rafael Vela on Oct 19, 2009 10:52 PM CDT
Email
Print
If you watched the Falcons-Bears game last night you were treated to one of the more exciting games of the weekend. You also saw a game which evoked a sense of deja-vu, at least when Chicago's offense was facing Atlanta's defense.
You also saw a matchup which offers an early preview of what we could see Sunday afternoon when the Cowboys host the Falcons.
On the first point, Chicago's offense bears many strong similarities to Dallas'. Norv Turner's brother Ron coordinates the Bears scheme and his playbook resembles his brothers, as does Jason Garrett. The younger Turner also has an offense which will remind you of Dallas; an all-purpose hammer of a running back in Matt Forte; a smaller, quicker change up back in Garrett Wolfe; two down-the-field tight ends in speedster Greg Olson and Desmond Clark,and an inexperienced, unsung receiving corps.
Like Garrett, Turner has a gunslinger quarterback who can rip off a series of professional throws and them cap them with a stunning mistake. Jay Cutler's M.O. looks similar to Tony Romo's, though Cutler's bad decision percentage has been higher; if fact it's been the highest in all of football the last two years.
Chicago's offensive line can also run pretty well, but has an aging left tackle (Orlando Pace) who committed two penalties which thwarted late Bears' drives. When he jumped offsides on 4th and one with Chicago at the Falcons five in the last 30 seconds, and the referee said, "offsides, number 76," you're excused if you felt a chill.
Chicago wanted to run but the Falcons succeeded in dictating the run/pass mix; Chicago finished with 43 passes and just 20 rushes by backs and receivers. The Falcons stacked the line of scrimmage with eight and nine men and run blitzed successfully early. They got Cutler to frequently check off to throws as the game progressed. Atlanta then played a lot of two deep zones, with a lot of four-man twists and stunts from their base line.
Atlanta's success should concern Cowboys fans because this is the type of defensive game plan the Cowboys have faced since the Giants game in week two. Teams have worked to keep safeties deep and deny Romo deep tosses. The Cowboys ran successfully against New York's and Carolina's versions of this plan but sputtered against Denver.
It will be interesting to see if Atlanta can game Dallas out of the run as effectively as they did Chicago. If you recall, the Redskins used a similar tactic last year in their 26-24 win at Texas Stadium, showing blitz, goading Romo to audible to passes, and then dropping into coverage at the snap. I'm sure Romo and Garrett remember that game. Can they avoid a similar fate this week?
Can Dallas also keep all its receiving targets involved, as it did in Kansas City? The Cowboys have been very good at racking up yards, but have their problems closing out drives. The Falcons surrender yards between the red zones but were very effective against the Bears, stopping three drives inside their ten, without allowing a point.
The Cowboys saw their bad selves Sunday night. Chicago's offense looked painfully similar to the Cowboys offense in the Broncos loss. They saw how to move against Atlanta. If they want to win, they'll have to prove they can run the ball and close drives better than their northern offensive cousins.
67 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
spread 'em out and run at them
I think we’ll see more of that.
Forte averaged under 4 YPC last year...
…and doesn’t look to have much burst at all. All 3 of our RBs have shown themselves to be better players (although I admit he’s a talented receiver). Plus the Bears OL can’t pull or run block nearly as well as the Cowboys’ guys can (for all their faults). I agree on the Cutler/Romo similarities, but the rest seems like a stretch.
Larry Allen benched 700 pounds. That is Leonard Davis times two.
Barber was 3.7 YPC last year too
and you don’t think Chicago was running many of the same plays Dallas runs? I saw a bunch of them.
by Rafael Vela on Oct 20, 2009 12:05 AM CDT up reply actions
though at the goal line
I think Barber does better than what Forte showed yesterday with the two straight fumbles and coming up short on another.
Yes, but we know that that was when Barber was hurt...
…and Forte has never averaged over 4 YPC for his entire (albeit brief) career. He’s on my fantasy team, so I’ve watched him actively this season— he does not look elite. Again, I’d take any of our 3 RBs over him.
I’m not saying the Bears didn’t run some of the same plays that Dallas did— I’m saying they didn’t run them effectively, because our offensive line, for all its faults, is much much better than the Bears’ offensive line.
Larry Allen benched 700 pounds. That is Leonard Davis times two.
glass half-full
After watching the Broncos remain undefeated tonight against a desperate divisional rival on the road, I am convinced the Broncos are pretty good. In retrospect, you have the Cowboys with two losses, both in the final two minutes, to two of the best teams in the league. And in both losses the Cowboys lost the turnover battle, committed a bunch of dumb penalties, and still came within a whisker of winning each game. No question the Cowboys need to improve — especially in turnovers and penalty ratios, but the resutls so far suggest that the ‘Boys are not far from being at what passes for elite level in today’s NFL.
Agreed. It still surprises me when so many "fans" have all but given up on the team.
I’m not prepared to say that we are close to being “elite”, but I am prepared to say we are close to being “very good”…and I have hope that we could be even more…
How About the Poor Performances Against Doormats?
I will grant your point about the Broncos. They are legit and their defense is playing very well. We could have and should have snagged a win there. What about those near losses to absolute doormats?
What kind of a "fan" are you?
How dare you bring up valid points.
by StillHateTheGiants on Oct 20, 2009 12:40 PM CDT up reply actions
dingleberries
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Oct 20, 2009 8:54 PM CDT up reply actions
I can't argue with the fact of the similarities...schematically it would make sense for the Falcons to attack the Cowboys
in the same manner. But I saw most of that game and I thought scheme had less to do with Chicago losing, but rather lack of execution being the primary culprit. The Bears may have easily blown out the Falcons if they stopped making stupid mistakes to end drives. The Falcons didn’t stop the Bears, The Bears stopped the Bears. That’s the similarity that I’m most concerned with…
We win this game going away if 2 things happen…we minimize stupid penalties and our defense plays consistently for 60 minutes. I don’t think we need our defense to play spectacular, just controlled/consistent from start to finish.
Half the league can say this
We win this game going away if 2 things happen…we minimize stupid penalties and our defense plays consistently for 60 minutes.
The problem is Dallas hasn’t played a game yet that meets that criteria. Any team with average or better talent will win if they do that. Dallas has at least average talent.
by StillHateTheGiants on Oct 20, 2009 12:42 PM CDT up reply actions
My point still stands...we don't need to get into anything complicated for the win...
minimize stupid penalties and our defense plays consistently for 60 minutes…it’s just that simple.
by CaliFanInTx on Oct 20, 2009 12:54 PM CDT up reply actions
And I'll stand by my point
Of course you win if you do that. I just haven’t seen Dallas pull it off yet this year. It may be simple, but is rare.
by StillHateTheGiants on Oct 20, 2009 12:55 PM CDT up reply actions
RB swings?
I admit, I don’t quite analyze the plays, but can’t we keep the backs in when the other team shows blitz and then have Romo dump it off to them when the D drops back into coverage?
Imagine Felix getting the ball on a swing pass in an open field. I think a bunch of those long, delay draws and screens should make the opposing D 2nd-guess faking the blitz and then dropping their defenders back
On a side note...isn't laughable how the media jumps on and off a bandwagon so easily?
- 2 weeks ago, Mark Sanchez after 3 games was a future Hall of Famer…now he’s a scrub.
- Last week the Patriots were a so-so team, but after a blowout of a winless team, they’re Superbowl bound.
- The Saints look unstoppable after 5 games..am I the only one that thinks their defense will fade down the stretch?
- Vikings look very good, but don’t they still have a 40yo QB many predicted will breakdown late in the season?
- Ravens can certainly put up points, but they can give up a lot of points too…role-reversal? At 3-3 isn’t it a problem?
After 6 weeks, what do we really know for sure?
That there's 10 more games...
or 11 depending on bye weeks. You’re right, the media and a lot of fans=anyway the wind blows.
Things we know for sure?
*Zorn is on his way out
*Tennessee is not what they used to be
*Brady is healthy again
*The Cowboys have a run game
*Ware is not going to lead the NFL in sacks
*Orton for Cutler wasn’t a bad deal for Denver
*The Jumbo-tron is not a problem
*Felix is still injury prone
*Flo is a penalty waiting to happen
*JerryWorld is HUGE
*The socks of the Broncos’ classic uniforms should be quarantined
*Picking up Brooking was a good thing
*Owens is not missed in Big D
*Emmitt will make the HOF on the first ballot
*Any team in the NFL can win a game as long as Washington is on their schedule
Hmm..
I finally come back after getting my computer repaired, and this blog, the league, and the media is all screwy. 4 unbeatens, quite a few near even records and even more already disappointing seasons for quite a few squads, as well as surprising stunners league-wide. I hope Dallas can get their act together, and find the Dallas team that we all know they can be. I wont care how we beat Atlanta, just beat them.
Tennesse is always up and down
Jeff Fisher won’t fix it this year but will next, I’m sure.
by AustonianAggie on Oct 20, 2009 12:08 PM CDT up reply actions
As Parcell's liked to put it...Tennesse ate the cheese.
They got ahead of themselves…success from the prior year doesn’t guarantee future success.
by CaliFanInTx on Oct 20, 2009 12:56 PM CDT up reply actions
He may not be back
i heard somewhere their owner was questioning the coaching.
Things we know for Sure
Things we know for sure?
-————————————————————————
*Zorn is on his way out – Hopefully the skins change their mind and keep him and the GM
*Tennessee is not what they used to be – Qb isnt that good and defense is absurdly bad
*Brady is healthy again – How did he throw in the snow like that? Still amazes me
*The Cowboys have a run game – We have a run game? When did that happen? Oh when we had healthy running backs…
*Ware is not going to lead the NFL in sacks – Well the leading sacker in the League, Antwon Odom is out for the year, Ware could go on a run. Ten more weeks remember?
*Orton for Cutler wasn’t a bad deal for Denver – Might be a GREAT idea
*The Jumbo-tron is not a problem – When is a Jumbo-tron EVER a problem?
*Felix is still injury prone – He wasnt at Arkansas. Speaking of they nearly stole one from Florida
*Flo is a penalty waiting to happen – and misses pass blocks 5 – 7 times a game
*JerryWorld is HUGE – Havent seen it yet, ugh hate not living in Tx nemore…
*The socks of the Broncos’ classic uniforms should be quarantined – Both pairs. Anyone see they wore different HORRIBLY colored knee high socks this week as opposed to last week?
*Picking up Brooking was a good thing – Thats debatable, he’s been oookkk.
*Owens is not missed in Big D – He should never have been allowed in Big D.
*Emmitt will make the HOF on the first ballot – Emmitt should go in the Dancing with the Stars Hall of Fame as well.
*Any team in the NFL can win a game as long as Washington is on their schedule – Or St. Louis.
-————————————————————————
Jared Sheehan
Jared's Jerseys
http://www.jaredsjerseys.com
jaredsjerseys@gmail.com
by www.jaredsjerseys.com on Oct 20, 2009 1:24 PM CDT up reply actions
Stamp his ticket to Hawaii.
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Oct 20, 2009 8:55 PM CDT up reply actions
To side note your side notes
Sanchez is a rookie and it’s about time the media realizes it.
Patriots are the Patriots and I don’t see anyone as that much of a threat in that division, so they should be considered
My question is, will the Saints offense slow down, hopefully by week 14? Who cares about the defense when you score like they did against the Giants, supposedly the best front 7 in the NFL
Vikings look great, thanks to AP. Has Favre ever gotten hurt?No. They’ll be there in the post season.
Though I haven’t watched any of their games, the fact that the Ravens lead the league in penalty yds and are 2nd in penalties makes me think, they’re beating themselves.
When I looked at the schedule before the season started, I thought that the two games that would give the Cowboys trouble would be NY Giants and the Panthers. At worst I thought they would be 3-2 and the fanboy inside said they’d be 5-0 heading into the bye. Maybe its the way they beat KC is the reason everyone is upset. A win is a win, they’re 3-2 and the whole division lost on our bye. The future isn’t looking too bad.
Did you miss the Dallas game?
Who cares about the defense when you score like they did against the Giants, supposedly the best front 7 in the NFL
I wasn’t surprised at all that NO scored a lot of points. Dallas exposed the Giants. Their defense can definitely be scored on………….in bunches.
by StillHateTheGiants on Oct 20, 2009 12:45 PM CDT up reply actions
The running game should be our signature for the foreseeable future
It opens everything else up. I’m back to thinking Choice should get more carries, Felix should be the change of pace home run hitter, and Barber should be the short yardage, and late game closer.
Teams will stack the LOS, and that’s when we hit them downfield. A good running game keeps the ball out of the opposing offenses hands, and should in theory, limit the O-line penalties. Great teams can run even when the defense is trying to stop the run.
When we haven’t run this year, it’s because of injuries, and because we’ve abandoned the run. With a swarming defense like Denver has, it’s a little harder, but how many swarming defenses like that are there? Run, baby, run.
Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "where the heck is the ceiling?"
Raf, I'm disappointed in your analysis from the standpoint
that you compare Garrett Wolfe to Felix Jones and we all know thats no comparison at all.
Felix is the X factor that the Bears didn’t have Sunday night and I think he’s the difference, although if Romo simply just plays better than Cutler, we’ll score a lot of points regardless and will probably win unless our our defense has a horrible game.
In Romo we Trust
Agreed
I’ve watched Felix Jones, I’ve had Felix Jones on my fantasy team, and Garrett Wolfe is no Felix Jones (when healthy). And let’s not forget the Cowboys third Choice at RB, please. Hardly any team in the NFL goes three-deep like Dallas does.
One thing I’ve noticed is that Witten does not seem to be his usual “down the field” self this year. Long gain of 22, less than 10 yards a reception, and he looks slow as molasses. I like 8 yard gains as much as the next guy, but has anyone else noticed a change in Witten’s performance or his role so far this year?
So it's as simple as that?
Guess it makes sense. I’m an idiot…
Still, in the past we've seen Romo throwing it to him, double-covered or not.
Romo isn’t favoring the middle of the field as much as he is the right side this year. Hopefully, having some speed back on offense will help take defenders off of the TEs.
I can see for miles and miles and miles and miles and miles...
http://twitter.com/BloggingTheBoys
by Aaron Novinger on Oct 20, 2009 9:11 AM CDT up reply actions
But I think now without TO
defenses don’t have to worry about putting a safety over the top of any of our WRs, so they can afford to pay even more attention to Witten.
I know you're half right
I don’t know if you’re an idiot :)
by StillHateTheGiants on Oct 20, 2009 12:47 PM CDT up reply actions
Witten, yes, not getting deep enough to suit me. I think Garrett is calling a ball control game,
with an occassional throw for it all. I like the idea, but it under utilizes Witten’s talent for getting deep. By the way, who’s faster, Bennett or Witten?
Family, Friends, Cowboys, Beer & BBQ. Life is good!
You're missing the bigger point
A bit surprised everybody is zeroing in on this Dallas back vs. that Bears back.
THE point is that Chicago runs a very similar scheme with very similar personnel packages. I see Atlanta game planning us the same way they did Chicago. And does anybody really want to claim our offense isn’t prone to shooting itself in the foot, as Chicago’s did?
Felix, sadly, is as much an x factor for Dallas as he is for any opponent.
I agree with our offense being similar to Chicago's
except that Atlanta obviously has to account for Felix much more than they had to account for Wolfe. The Bears running game is basically Forte and thats it, not so with the Cowboys.
The gist of your analysis however is dead on. Romo has to perform better than Cutler without a doubt.
In Romo we Trust
Our Ace in the hole is Romo's abilty to get away and extend the play. Cutler hasn't got near Tony's abilty
to get away. I’d like to see Rossum return some kicks. I hope he ‘solves’ our KR problems, and allows Crayton and Felix to concentrate on their respectives roles on offense. Question, who sits for an active Rossum?
Family, Friends, Cowboys, Beer & BBQ. Life is good!
Maybe I'm giving the QB too much credit/criticism
but I thought Chicago lost it because of Cutler’s 2 horrible INTs. Seems like this one and the GB SNF game were very winnable, but Cutler could not help turning the ball over.
atlanta's hurting
they have lost 2 starters on a very young defense unit, cowboys are healthy and if they get out of their own way, they should be able to control the game.
You're Right, Raf...
The Cowboys need to spread em out and run. What about mis-directions and draws as well? Or that play they ran with Barber and Jones vs. the Giants where they had the defense going one way, and the RB went the other way. Atlanta’s front7 appears fast and aggressive. Gotta get em going one way, then hit them going the other with draws, misdirections and screens (Will we FINALLY see Bennet execute some TE screens?).
On defense they need to figure out a way to get pressure up the middle and force Ryan to roll out…he didn’t seem very adept at throwing on the run. But he also avoids pressure from the edges pretty well.
To heck with all that fancy misdirection crap.
Line em up close go three yards and a cloud of dust. Let our 1500lbs of offensive line knock the jocks off some boys up front.
"Help, it's hot and dark in here and someone is laughing." Taco Bell
I don't think they do particularily well at that
With absolutely no analysis to back me up, it seems to me a whole lot of Dallas’ running success has been on misdirection, draws, traps, and wide. I don’t think they’re very good straight ahead.
by StillHateTheGiants on Oct 20, 2009 12:49 PM CDT up reply actions
"What about mis-directions and draws as well?"
Remove the ‘as well’ and you’ve nailed it. The lead draw IS Dallas base running play, whether Romo is under center or the shotgun. Everything they do running wise riffs off that play.
Mid range crossing patterns
I think with the run game as good as it is, the falcons will stack the LOS. This should give Witten some good one on one matches and the receivers should be open on crossing routes over the middle. The Falcons will play 2 deep safeties to prevent the long ball but we should be able to get open over the middle, with some outs and hooks. Falcons like to run misdirection plays so the D will need to be disciplined. We should come out with the win, D will be a big part of it.
Raf
Your comment about how the Redskins tactics from last year brings up a question. Are we to predictable with our audibles? It seems we cannot play the chess game very well. We should be able to disguise audibles or fake audibles better. Half the time it looks like we just yell , “kill, kill, kill” when they see a blitz and go to an alternate play.
Don't think so,
The Redskins game was a while back.
Audibles are hard to read. Teams will often put in dummy calls, if they feel another team has a read on their audibles, meaning they’ll call it, but its not really in effect. That way, the defense is left guessing whether it’s a run or a pass.
This offense is morphing before our eyes. Choice and Austin are making their case for more and more playing time.
That should make MBIII feel some heat, and Williams and Crayton feel a lot of heat. For now, is set in his role, but if he keeps missing games because of injury, Choice becomes an even bigger factor. I think, for this offense to improve, immediately, Bennett has got to be involved as a pass catcher. Force the D to cover both Witten and Bennett, and this offense will be awsome.
Family, Friends, Cowboys, Beer & BBQ. Life is good!
I hope Dallas tries a TE screen to Bennett soon, just to get him established
by AustonianAggie on Oct 20, 2009 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions
he's just been pretty good at it
and its a short throw with little decision making on his part, so its easy for it not to be bungled
by AustonianAggie on Oct 21, 2009 12:13 AM CDT up reply actions
If it's true...
that our offense just looks like it’s featuring one RB/WR each game, that is idiotic. With so many playmakers, they all need to get involved each game. If you’re a defense, how the hell do you gameplan against all those weapons? If Dallas is just using one RB/WR, you have to be happy if you’re the defense.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
SBNation.com Recent Stories
In Association With
Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Things to know about NFL men who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam
- How Kyle Orton almost cost the Colts Andrew Luck
- Detroit Lions DT Nick Fairley arrested again; now has more NFL arrests than NFL sacks
- Former high-school star Brian Banks does serious time on trumped-up charge, now hopes for an NFL shot
- Former ‘idiot kicker’ Mike Vanderjagt in trouble after accosting junior-high heckler
