Dallas defense is key to upcoming stretch
Commentary: Jaime Aron
Dallas defense is key to upcoming stretch.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
IRVING — Hey, Cowboys fans: Did you enjoy those bruising hits by Roy Williams against the Texans?
How about all those big plays Greg Ellis has been making lately — forcing a fumble one week, snagging an interception the next?
Notice how well Anthony Henry has been covering those big receivers?
Well, they better keep coming the next five weeks. Dallas' season could depend on it.
The upcoming stretch of games is tough for a variety of reasons, but there's one common theme the Cowboys must handle: game-breaking players on offense.
Yet it's not as simple as stopping the run or handling the pass. Dallas is going to see everything from league-leading rusher Tiki Barber on Monday night to receiving whiz Steve Smith to passing sensation Peyton Manning.
If the defense is up to these challenges, the Cowboys could break away from the pack and brand themselves a true playoff threat. Fizzle, and it could be another year of false hope for Dallas fans.
So far, a defense that was supposed to be the team's biggest strength has mostly been a big tease.
They've been great in the victories, not allowing a single touchdown in two home games and pretty much smothering Tennessee in the lone road win. In a 34-6 victory over Houston this past Sunday, the Texans drove to the 1 on the opening drive, then hardly got past midfield again.
The losses have been another story. The Cowboys gave up three touchdowns and a field goal in a seven-drive span to blow a 10-0 lead on Jacksonville, then saw Donovan McNabb put up big play after big play in leading Philadelphia to victory.
"We can talk about the Houston game — 'Yeah, we beat Houston. Cool.' — but I'm going to be real with myself and the defense has to be real," linebacker Bradie James said. "The stink is about to hit the fan. We need to see where we're going to go, how we're going to be."
Another curious dichotomy: Dallas is 3-0 against teams with losing records, 0-2 against teams with winning records.
Coach Bill Parcells and team owner Jerry Jones spent the last two off-seasons building a defense that can be the team's backbone. These next five games are like a progress report.
Four of the next five foes have a higher-rated offense than defense. The exception is Carolina and that's only because Smith missed the first two games with an injury; the Panthers moved the ball just fine in the four games since he's returned, winning them all.
The first test is Barber and the Giants. He's coming off a 185-yard game, but he'll be running into the team that's allowing the fewest rushing yards in the NFL.
After Monday, Dallas goes to Carolina to face Smith (a bigger threat these days than even the great Terrell Owens) and his new sidekick, Keyshawn Johnson. Then the Cowboys will get a dose of offenses with multiple threats.
The Washington brain trust will be paying attention to how Dallas handles Barber and Smith. Based on that, the Redskins will decide whether to feature Clinton Portis or Santana Moss.
Then comes Arizona. With Matt Leinart having a few more weeks to develop and Larry Fitzgerald's hamstring having more time to heal, that trip to the desert could be tougher than expected, especially after the way the Cardinals played the first three quarters against Chicago on Monday night.
The last game in the run could be the most difficult: Indianapolis, with Manning, Marvin Harrison and the rest of their highly productive unit.
The Cowboys currently have the sixth-stingiest defense in the league. Where they rank after playing the Colts should say a lot about whether they get to play in January.
Dallas defense is key to upcoming stretch.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
IRVING — Hey, Cowboys fans: Did you enjoy those bruising hits by Roy Williams against the Texans?
How about all those big plays Greg Ellis has been making lately — forcing a fumble one week, snagging an interception the next?
Notice how well Anthony Henry has been covering those big receivers?
Well, they better keep coming the next five weeks. Dallas' season could depend on it.
The upcoming stretch of games is tough for a variety of reasons, but there's one common theme the Cowboys must handle: game-breaking players on offense.
Yet it's not as simple as stopping the run or handling the pass. Dallas is going to see everything from league-leading rusher Tiki Barber on Monday night to receiving whiz Steve Smith to passing sensation Peyton Manning.
If the defense is up to these challenges, the Cowboys could break away from the pack and brand themselves a true playoff threat. Fizzle, and it could be another year of false hope for Dallas fans.
So far, a defense that was supposed to be the team's biggest strength has mostly been a big tease.
They've been great in the victories, not allowing a single touchdown in two home games and pretty much smothering Tennessee in the lone road win. In a 34-6 victory over Houston this past Sunday, the Texans drove to the 1 on the opening drive, then hardly got past midfield again.
The losses have been another story. The Cowboys gave up three touchdowns and a field goal in a seven-drive span to blow a 10-0 lead on Jacksonville, then saw Donovan McNabb put up big play after big play in leading Philadelphia to victory.
"We can talk about the Houston game — 'Yeah, we beat Houston. Cool.' — but I'm going to be real with myself and the defense has to be real," linebacker Bradie James said. "The stink is about to hit the fan. We need to see where we're going to go, how we're going to be."
Another curious dichotomy: Dallas is 3-0 against teams with losing records, 0-2 against teams with winning records.
Coach Bill Parcells and team owner Jerry Jones spent the last two off-seasons building a defense that can be the team's backbone. These next five games are like a progress report.
Four of the next five foes have a higher-rated offense than defense. The exception is Carolina and that's only because Smith missed the first two games with an injury; the Panthers moved the ball just fine in the four games since he's returned, winning them all.
The first test is Barber and the Giants. He's coming off a 185-yard game, but he'll be running into the team that's allowing the fewest rushing yards in the NFL.
After Monday, Dallas goes to Carolina to face Smith (a bigger threat these days than even the great Terrell Owens) and his new sidekick, Keyshawn Johnson. Then the Cowboys will get a dose of offenses with multiple threats.
The Washington brain trust will be paying attention to how Dallas handles Barber and Smith. Based on that, the Redskins will decide whether to feature Clinton Portis or Santana Moss.
Then comes Arizona. With Matt Leinart having a few more weeks to develop and Larry Fitzgerald's hamstring having more time to heal, that trip to the desert could be tougher than expected, especially after the way the Cardinals played the first three quarters against Chicago on Monday night.
The last game in the run could be the most difficult: Indianapolis, with Manning, Marvin Harrison and the rest of their highly productive unit.
The Cowboys currently have the sixth-stingiest defense in the league. Where they rank after playing the Colts should say a lot about whether they get to play in January.
posted by The Gryphon at 6:22 PM
<< Home