The Freeing Up Of T.O.
Mickey Spagnola - Email
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
IRVING, Texas - This wasn't supposed to be this way, definitely not now, and it's as if the Cowboys are spitting into the wind of conventional wisdom.
See, Terry Glenn is out, and has been out since the first week of the season. He has not played in any of the Cowboys' three games, and will not play this Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. Nor is he likely to play the following Monday night in Buffalo, and since he was projected to miss four-to-six weeks after having surgery to remove loose cartilage from his right knee, it would make sense Glenn returns following the bye for the Nov. 4 game at Philadelphia.
But Glenn was the guy the Cowboys desperately needed to stretch the field, and likely before the season is over they will need that dimension. His speed and potential to burn defenses on go patterns or deep posts was supposed to be the deterrent for defenses doubling Terrell Owens. Makes sense, right? Become preoccupied with stopping Owens and leave Glenn singled up, you will ingest a different poison. Double Glenn and double Owens, if that's possible, and tight end Jason Witten will make you pay dearly.
So what gives?
No Glenn, and still the Cowboys are 3-0, one of only two undefeated teams in the NFC.
No Glenn, and the Cowboys are leading the NFL with 38.7 points a game and are second with 420.3 yards a game.
No Glenn, and this is the real head-scratcher - Terrell Owens not only has 16 catches (three for touchdowns), but 329 yards, which translates into an impressive 20.6 yards per catch, and I yank your chain not.
Think about that now: 20.6 means he's averaging a first down every catch, and, by the way, he is the only wide receiver among the NFC first-down leaders, in fifth with 15 - seven coming on third down - meaning only two of his catches did not gain first downs, and one of those was a 17-yarder on third-and-19.
Furthermore, the supposedly receiver-deficient Cowboys have a receiver, Owens - the Lone Ranger without Tonto - holding the best per-catch average in the NFL among receivers with at least 12 catches. And among those with at least 10, he is second only to Washington's Antwaan Randle El (11 catches for 21.6).
Now of course Owens won't average 20 yards a catch over a 16-game season, that being the Cowboys' single-season record belonging to Bob Hayes way back in 1965 but on only 34 catches and in the single-coverage era of the NFL.
Right, right?
"Wouldn't seem logical," Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said, a gleam dancing from his eyes, "but then it wouldn't seem logical to keep putting up 35 points a game."
Still, how are they doing this? And remember, the last two teams the Cowboys have played, Miami and Chicago, were supposed to have two of the better defenses in the NFL, and on top of that, those defenses were playing on their home turf.
"If they need me to go deep, I can do that," Owens said. "If they need me to go in the slot, I can do that. If they need me to run intermediate routes, I can do that."
A man for all routes.
That didn't seem to be the case last year. Most times Owens seemed to be lined up on the weak side of the formation, out wide where teams could simply choose to take him out of the equation. Put a corner up tight on him and roll the safety to his side, and Romo's read takes him to the other side - takes Owens right out of the play.
But if you have noticed so far this year, the Cowboys seem to be working real hard from a formation standpoint to free Owens from constant double teams. Instead of just lining up and saying, oh well, he's doubled, they are moving him all over the place.
One play Owens will be out wide. The next he might be one of two receivers to one side. The next he might be in the slot on the nickel if the Cowboys so choose, or maybe in the slot with Witten or Anthony Fasano lined up to his outside.
"Jason has done a good job of putting him in different places," Witten said of Owens.
Like take the Miami game. The Cowboys mostly used Owens in the slot and motioned Witten out of the backfield into the pass pattern "so they just couldn't run up and double team him," Witten said.
But against Chicago, if you noticed, there were several plays Owens lined up in the backfield with Marion Barber, especially on third down, and it was the 6-foot-3 receiver motioning into the pass pattern and usually to the side Witten was on lined up in the slot.
"So if they were going to double both of us, that would be four defenders in a five-yard box, and we knew they weren't going to be able to do that," Witten said.
Most notably was the fourth-and-3 play from the Chicago 39. The Cowboys went to a two-tight end set, with Fasano wide right, Witten tight in the slot, Patrick Crayton wide left and Owens lined up to the right of Barber in the backfield. Owens then motioned toward the line of scrimmage and to his right, just outside Witten, and you could see the Bears were scrambling to shift their defense.
"See, they want to double him," Witten said in that situation, "but they don't know what side he's going to."
The thinking on the play was this: If the Bears played off Witten, the ball was going to him on a quick slant. If the Bears jumped Witten, then the ball was going to Owens.
Well, the Bears ended up doubling Witten, picking him up right off the line of scrimmage with the safety and Brian Urlacher bracketing him as he ran a drag route across the middle. Owens ran an intermediate route down the hash, then inside, and even though he drew three guys in coverage, they couldn't get underneath him quick enough to prevent the 12-yard gain and first down at the Chicago 27.
Now let's not take credit away from Owens. He's a highly-talented wide receiver, with a good feel for finding the open spot. But Garrett is really doing a nice job of figuring out how to prevent defenses from simply taking him out of the play. He's doing a masterful job of not only disguising Glenn's absence, but minimizing it, too.
Then there is Romo. High-five him for his patience, waiting for Owens to come open on those crossing routes. And give a fist-bump to that offensive line for giving Romo the necessary time to be patient.
"Like I said, what a difference a year makes," Owens said, knowing last year was anything but smooth. "Obviously, just going into training camp and me feeling good about the season and being healthy and knowing that I'm going to have the opportunity to make some plays, that makes a world of difference.
"The coaching staff is doing a great job in letting me know that I'm going to be part of this team and part of this offense. They're moving me around, and it's creating a lot of opportunities, not only for myself but for a lot of other guys as well."
Most of all, this offense is scoring points, the impetus for at least two of the Cowboys' three victories.
And doesn't this just leave you drooling over the possibilities once Glenn returns; once the Cowboys have a legitimate deep threat on the other side?
"Oh man, it will be better," Owens said. "You add what we have now, that's just an extra ingredient to this offense. It makes it sweeter."
Makes it the way it was supposed to be in the first place.
Sweetness, you bet.
DallasCowboys.com Columnist
IRVING, Texas - This wasn't supposed to be this way, definitely not now, and it's as if the Cowboys are spitting into the wind of conventional wisdom.
See, Terry Glenn is out, and has been out since the first week of the season. He has not played in any of the Cowboys' three games, and will not play this Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. Nor is he likely to play the following Monday night in Buffalo, and since he was projected to miss four-to-six weeks after having surgery to remove loose cartilage from his right knee, it would make sense Glenn returns following the bye for the Nov. 4 game at Philadelphia.
But Glenn was the guy the Cowboys desperately needed to stretch the field, and likely before the season is over they will need that dimension. His speed and potential to burn defenses on go patterns or deep posts was supposed to be the deterrent for defenses doubling Terrell Owens. Makes sense, right? Become preoccupied with stopping Owens and leave Glenn singled up, you will ingest a different poison. Double Glenn and double Owens, if that's possible, and tight end Jason Witten will make you pay dearly.
So what gives?
No Glenn, and still the Cowboys are 3-0, one of only two undefeated teams in the NFC.
No Glenn, and the Cowboys are leading the NFL with 38.7 points a game and are second with 420.3 yards a game.
No Glenn, and this is the real head-scratcher - Terrell Owens not only has 16 catches (three for touchdowns), but 329 yards, which translates into an impressive 20.6 yards per catch, and I yank your chain not.
Think about that now: 20.6 means he's averaging a first down every catch, and, by the way, he is the only wide receiver among the NFC first-down leaders, in fifth with 15 - seven coming on third down - meaning only two of his catches did not gain first downs, and one of those was a 17-yarder on third-and-19.
Furthermore, the supposedly receiver-deficient Cowboys have a receiver, Owens - the Lone Ranger without Tonto - holding the best per-catch average in the NFL among receivers with at least 12 catches. And among those with at least 10, he is second only to Washington's Antwaan Randle El (11 catches for 21.6).
Now of course Owens won't average 20 yards a catch over a 16-game season, that being the Cowboys' single-season record belonging to Bob Hayes way back in 1965 but on only 34 catches and in the single-coverage era of the NFL.
Right, right?
"Wouldn't seem logical," Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo said, a gleam dancing from his eyes, "but then it wouldn't seem logical to keep putting up 35 points a game."
Still, how are they doing this? And remember, the last two teams the Cowboys have played, Miami and Chicago, were supposed to have two of the better defenses in the NFL, and on top of that, those defenses were playing on their home turf.
"If they need me to go deep, I can do that," Owens said. "If they need me to go in the slot, I can do that. If they need me to run intermediate routes, I can do that."
A man for all routes.
That didn't seem to be the case last year. Most times Owens seemed to be lined up on the weak side of the formation, out wide where teams could simply choose to take him out of the equation. Put a corner up tight on him and roll the safety to his side, and Romo's read takes him to the other side - takes Owens right out of the play.
But if you have noticed so far this year, the Cowboys seem to be working real hard from a formation standpoint to free Owens from constant double teams. Instead of just lining up and saying, oh well, he's doubled, they are moving him all over the place.
One play Owens will be out wide. The next he might be one of two receivers to one side. The next he might be in the slot on the nickel if the Cowboys so choose, or maybe in the slot with Witten or Anthony Fasano lined up to his outside.
"Jason has done a good job of putting him in different places," Witten said of Owens.
Like take the Miami game. The Cowboys mostly used Owens in the slot and motioned Witten out of the backfield into the pass pattern "so they just couldn't run up and double team him," Witten said.
But against Chicago, if you noticed, there were several plays Owens lined up in the backfield with Marion Barber, especially on third down, and it was the 6-foot-3 receiver motioning into the pass pattern and usually to the side Witten was on lined up in the slot.
"So if they were going to double both of us, that would be four defenders in a five-yard box, and we knew they weren't going to be able to do that," Witten said.
Most notably was the fourth-and-3 play from the Chicago 39. The Cowboys went to a two-tight end set, with Fasano wide right, Witten tight in the slot, Patrick Crayton wide left and Owens lined up to the right of Barber in the backfield. Owens then motioned toward the line of scrimmage and to his right, just outside Witten, and you could see the Bears were scrambling to shift their defense.
"See, they want to double him," Witten said in that situation, "but they don't know what side he's going to."
The thinking on the play was this: If the Bears played off Witten, the ball was going to him on a quick slant. If the Bears jumped Witten, then the ball was going to Owens.
Well, the Bears ended up doubling Witten, picking him up right off the line of scrimmage with the safety and Brian Urlacher bracketing him as he ran a drag route across the middle. Owens ran an intermediate route down the hash, then inside, and even though he drew three guys in coverage, they couldn't get underneath him quick enough to prevent the 12-yard gain and first down at the Chicago 27.
Now let's not take credit away from Owens. He's a highly-talented wide receiver, with a good feel for finding the open spot. But Garrett is really doing a nice job of figuring out how to prevent defenses from simply taking him out of the play. He's doing a masterful job of not only disguising Glenn's absence, but minimizing it, too.
Then there is Romo. High-five him for his patience, waiting for Owens to come open on those crossing routes. And give a fist-bump to that offensive line for giving Romo the necessary time to be patient.
"Like I said, what a difference a year makes," Owens said, knowing last year was anything but smooth. "Obviously, just going into training camp and me feeling good about the season and being healthy and knowing that I'm going to have the opportunity to make some plays, that makes a world of difference.
"The coaching staff is doing a great job in letting me know that I'm going to be part of this team and part of this offense. They're moving me around, and it's creating a lot of opportunities, not only for myself but for a lot of other guys as well."
Most of all, this offense is scoring points, the impetus for at least two of the Cowboys' three victories.
And doesn't this just leave you drooling over the possibilities once Glenn returns; once the Cowboys have a legitimate deep threat on the other side?
"Oh man, it will be better," Owens said. "You add what we have now, that's just an extra ingredient to this offense. It makes it sweeter."
Makes it the way it was supposed to be in the first place.
Sweetness, you bet.
posted by The Gryphon at 8:02 AM
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