DMN Blog: Tale of the Tape
Here’s what we picked up on the TiVo at Tim MacMahon’s two-LCD palace in Fort Worth. And sorry for the delay, but some technical issues forced me out to what I’ve heard the locals call “Cowtown.” Or at least that’s what my man Calvin Watkins likes to refer to it as. …
We’re seeing a pattern now developing with how defenses attack Tony Romo, and it’s probably one that should’ve been utilized earlier. Pressuring Romo and putting him in scramble situations, these guys have learned, only puts him at his best. Now, the Vikings did try to generate a rush, but they did it in a different way. They’d drop a defensive tackle – usually Kevin Williams – underneath and run what looked like a zone blitz. The twist was that Williams seemed to be there not as a cover guy, but simply to spy Romo. In plenty of other cases, the disciplined, reserved nature of the pass rush indicated that the tackles were instructed to get push, but not hit gaps too aggressively and give Romo a lane to step up into. The first time the QB could do that demonstrated why. On the play, a third-and-2 on the game’s first drive, the Vikings left end spun inside on Marc Columbo. Romo saw this, roll right and – as the play broke down around him – found Terrell Owens sitting down in a hole in the zone for 24 yards. But it was so many other occasions on Sunday when you really saw Romo’s growth. Yes, it was a dink-and-dunk day. Thing was, that Romo seemed comfortable in the pocket, checking down underneath with the Vikings playing off the receivers, and that’s something that will serve him well when the tests get tougher.
A lot of times, I think T.O. gets killed for being a guy who just gets by on being an exceptional physical talent. Well, Sunday proved why he’s more than that with Owens’ awareness and knowledge of coverage. On that 24-yard strike, Owens was running a fly out of the ‘Z’ (flanker) position on the right side. Recognizing that Romo was flushed from the pocket, Owens sat down in a hole between the underneath and deep parts of the Vikings cover-2, finding the space for Romo to get him the ball. Five plays later, on his touchdown, Owens – perhaps the most scrutinized player on the field in coverage – lulled the Vikings to sleep in the back of the end zone, slipped behind the coverage, and settled in a hole between two defenders. And Romo found him for the 5-yard score. Then, on a third-and-9 on the Cowboys’ next drive, he ran a comeback to the right sideline, and made his break with enough space to get back to the ball and out of bounds right at the sticks. Say what you will, but T.O. showed he’s got that football awareness that great receivers generally have.
It’s hard to ever pinned the ebbs and flows of a unit on one player, but really, it seemed like the run defense’s success was based heavily on Jay Ratliff’s play on Sunday. And that’s not unusual, that a nose tackle is the most important guy for a 3-4 defense. In the first quarter, Vikings center Matt Birk absolutely throttled Ratliff, sealing him off and creating lanes on 6-yard runs by Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, and taking him completely out to open seams on zone runs. And then, it happened. In the second quarter, Ratliff turned the tables, controlling Birk at the point and shedding effectively from there on. In the first quarter, the Vikings had 54 yards on eight rushes. From then on, they 77 yards on 19 carries. But 28 of those yards came on two carries at the end of the third quarter, with Ratliff out of the game. So that brings the number down to a pretty respectable 49 yards on 17 carries. Tank Johnson will find his place here, but Ratliff really showed the kind of nose tackle he’s playing in those three quarters Sunday.
So here’s where we explain how it wasn’t all Ratliff getting the job done against the run. After the Cowboys got gashed on the first drive, they started playing Roy Williams a lot closer to the line. The only question that remains is why that wasn’t the plan from the get-go. The Vikings have little to threaten on the outside, a quarterback who’s struggles don’t need to expounded on here, and the top running game in the league. Williams needed to be down there.
As noted in the rush chart a couple blog entries ago, the Vikings went to max-protect plenty and almost never kept just five men into block. In fact, it was more often than not four blocking six or five blocking seven. So imagine the advantage this gives the coverage. In those cases, you’ll drop seven guys to cover four receivers or six to cover three. And imagine a quarterback as inexperienced as Jackson being forced to find the open man in those situations. Here’s what happens: 6-of-19, 72 yards. Plus, a clinic on how the Cowboys’ pressure is strong enough that the simple threat of it coming has other teams bracing for impact, and opening things up even more for the Dallas defensive playcallers.
Also down there is the effectiveness with which Dallas ran the ball out of three-receiver sets – 58 yards on seven carries – and I’ll go a little further with it here. On the Cowboys’ first drive, out of the no-huddle, 10 passes were called in 14 plays. The Cowboys ran three plays, all completed passes, while the no-huddle kept the Vikings’ base personnel on the field. And then Dallas turned the tables. When the Cowboys’ went to ‘11’ personnel from there, the Vikings brought in a fifth defensive back. And that allowed the Cowboys to rip off chunks against a six-man front.
I agree that Adrian Peterson needs to see the ball more. But I can also see why he’s not ready to play on an every-down basis. In the fourth quarter, a blitzing Bradie James flat-out embarrassed Peterson with a spin move on his way to a sack. It’s not that unusual that a top rookie back has trouble with blitz pick-up, since most weren’t asked to do it much in college. That doesn’t make it any less of a liability. And if you simply bring another back into handle that, and have someone like Peterson in to run, it can tip your play-calling to the other team.
Marc Columbo’s struggles were well-documented here on Sunday. There was the sack he allowed to Kenechi Udeze, the way Ray Edwards beat him to create a sack for Bryan Robison, and the two false starts. But Kyle Kosier had a similarly tough day dealing with nose tackle Pat Williams, who causes trouble for most. And Williams, not noted as a pass rusher, was able to get in Romo’s face some, in addition to keep the running game out of the middle of the field.
Finally, I’m starting to see the difference in how Julius Jones is used. The trouble with Jones, to me, seems like it has as much to do with how he fits his linemen as anything. Jones is at his best on zone running plays where he’s charged with reading the defense, finding a seam, and making one cut into the opening upfield. It’s for the same reason he was good on screens Sunday: Jones works well in space because he has burst and can change direction quickly. The way he cuts can catch defenders, influenced in a direction by the blocking, off balance. Well, the trouble appears to be that the Cowboys line isn’t well-fit to run much zone. Yes, they can do it, but the massive front is better in man-blocking situations that require less movement and quickness. And those looks fit Marion Barber like a glove – he’s aggressive into the hole and can beat guys one-on-one with his shake or his shoulders. That’s not to say that Jones is better than Barber. I think it’s clear that Barber’s been better. But it is to say that Barber has been put in a better position to succeed with a line and scheme that fits his style better.
Posted by Albert Breer at 5:59 PM (E-mail this entry)
We’re seeing a pattern now developing with how defenses attack Tony Romo, and it’s probably one that should’ve been utilized earlier. Pressuring Romo and putting him in scramble situations, these guys have learned, only puts him at his best. Now, the Vikings did try to generate a rush, but they did it in a different way. They’d drop a defensive tackle – usually Kevin Williams – underneath and run what looked like a zone blitz. The twist was that Williams seemed to be there not as a cover guy, but simply to spy Romo. In plenty of other cases, the disciplined, reserved nature of the pass rush indicated that the tackles were instructed to get push, but not hit gaps too aggressively and give Romo a lane to step up into. The first time the QB could do that demonstrated why. On the play, a third-and-2 on the game’s first drive, the Vikings left end spun inside on Marc Columbo. Romo saw this, roll right and – as the play broke down around him – found Terrell Owens sitting down in a hole in the zone for 24 yards. But it was so many other occasions on Sunday when you really saw Romo’s growth. Yes, it was a dink-and-dunk day. Thing was, that Romo seemed comfortable in the pocket, checking down underneath with the Vikings playing off the receivers, and that’s something that will serve him well when the tests get tougher.
A lot of times, I think T.O. gets killed for being a guy who just gets by on being an exceptional physical talent. Well, Sunday proved why he’s more than that with Owens’ awareness and knowledge of coverage. On that 24-yard strike, Owens was running a fly out of the ‘Z’ (flanker) position on the right side. Recognizing that Romo was flushed from the pocket, Owens sat down in a hole between the underneath and deep parts of the Vikings cover-2, finding the space for Romo to get him the ball. Five plays later, on his touchdown, Owens – perhaps the most scrutinized player on the field in coverage – lulled the Vikings to sleep in the back of the end zone, slipped behind the coverage, and settled in a hole between two defenders. And Romo found him for the 5-yard score. Then, on a third-and-9 on the Cowboys’ next drive, he ran a comeback to the right sideline, and made his break with enough space to get back to the ball and out of bounds right at the sticks. Say what you will, but T.O. showed he’s got that football awareness that great receivers generally have.
It’s hard to ever pinned the ebbs and flows of a unit on one player, but really, it seemed like the run defense’s success was based heavily on Jay Ratliff’s play on Sunday. And that’s not unusual, that a nose tackle is the most important guy for a 3-4 defense. In the first quarter, Vikings center Matt Birk absolutely throttled Ratliff, sealing him off and creating lanes on 6-yard runs by Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, and taking him completely out to open seams on zone runs. And then, it happened. In the second quarter, Ratliff turned the tables, controlling Birk at the point and shedding effectively from there on. In the first quarter, the Vikings had 54 yards on eight rushes. From then on, they 77 yards on 19 carries. But 28 of those yards came on two carries at the end of the third quarter, with Ratliff out of the game. So that brings the number down to a pretty respectable 49 yards on 17 carries. Tank Johnson will find his place here, but Ratliff really showed the kind of nose tackle he’s playing in those three quarters Sunday.
So here’s where we explain how it wasn’t all Ratliff getting the job done against the run. After the Cowboys got gashed on the first drive, they started playing Roy Williams a lot closer to the line. The only question that remains is why that wasn’t the plan from the get-go. The Vikings have little to threaten on the outside, a quarterback who’s struggles don’t need to expounded on here, and the top running game in the league. Williams needed to be down there.
As noted in the rush chart a couple blog entries ago, the Vikings went to max-protect plenty and almost never kept just five men into block. In fact, it was more often than not four blocking six or five blocking seven. So imagine the advantage this gives the coverage. In those cases, you’ll drop seven guys to cover four receivers or six to cover three. And imagine a quarterback as inexperienced as Jackson being forced to find the open man in those situations. Here’s what happens: 6-of-19, 72 yards. Plus, a clinic on how the Cowboys’ pressure is strong enough that the simple threat of it coming has other teams bracing for impact, and opening things up even more for the Dallas defensive playcallers.
Also down there is the effectiveness with which Dallas ran the ball out of three-receiver sets – 58 yards on seven carries – and I’ll go a little further with it here. On the Cowboys’ first drive, out of the no-huddle, 10 passes were called in 14 plays. The Cowboys ran three plays, all completed passes, while the no-huddle kept the Vikings’ base personnel on the field. And then Dallas turned the tables. When the Cowboys’ went to ‘11’ personnel from there, the Vikings brought in a fifth defensive back. And that allowed the Cowboys to rip off chunks against a six-man front.
I agree that Adrian Peterson needs to see the ball more. But I can also see why he’s not ready to play on an every-down basis. In the fourth quarter, a blitzing Bradie James flat-out embarrassed Peterson with a spin move on his way to a sack. It’s not that unusual that a top rookie back has trouble with blitz pick-up, since most weren’t asked to do it much in college. That doesn’t make it any less of a liability. And if you simply bring another back into handle that, and have someone like Peterson in to run, it can tip your play-calling to the other team.
Marc Columbo’s struggles were well-documented here on Sunday. There was the sack he allowed to Kenechi Udeze, the way Ray Edwards beat him to create a sack for Bryan Robison, and the two false starts. But Kyle Kosier had a similarly tough day dealing with nose tackle Pat Williams, who causes trouble for most. And Williams, not noted as a pass rusher, was able to get in Romo’s face some, in addition to keep the running game out of the middle of the field.
Finally, I’m starting to see the difference in how Julius Jones is used. The trouble with Jones, to me, seems like it has as much to do with how he fits his linemen as anything. Jones is at his best on zone running plays where he’s charged with reading the defense, finding a seam, and making one cut into the opening upfield. It’s for the same reason he was good on screens Sunday: Jones works well in space because he has burst and can change direction quickly. The way he cuts can catch defenders, influenced in a direction by the blocking, off balance. Well, the trouble appears to be that the Cowboys line isn’t well-fit to run much zone. Yes, they can do it, but the massive front is better in man-blocking situations that require less movement and quickness. And those looks fit Marion Barber like a glove – he’s aggressive into the hole and can beat guys one-on-one with his shake or his shoulders. That’s not to say that Jones is better than Barber. I think it’s clear that Barber’s been better. But it is to say that Barber has been put in a better position to succeed with a line and scheme that fits his style better.
Posted by Albert Breer at 5:59 PM (E-mail this entry)
posted by The Gryphon at 7:40 PM
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