ESPN Blog: Weakness in Cowboys' secondary
by: Doug Kretz
posted: Thursday, November 1, 2007 | Print Entry
filed under: Dallas Cowboys, Anthony Henry, Terence Newman, Ken Hamlin, Roy Williams
As the Dallas Cowboys get ready to head into the second half of the 2007 season, they need to address a weakness in their pass defense.
Williams
HamlinIn order to control some of the strong-throwing teams that they have to face in the second half of the season, they need to tighten up the middle of their secondary. Their starting corners, Anthony Henry and Terence Newman are quality cover corners, but when teams line up with three or four WRs, the Cowboys need safeties over the top that can make a play on the ball or break up a pass, because Dallas can definitely be hurt by passes completed behind their corners.
Free safety Ken Hamlin and strong safety Roy Williams are both excellent tacklers and are strong in run support. But if, and when, they get locked up on slot receivers, or some of the NFL's top tight ends, they tend to struggle in coverage. Head coach Wade Phillips and defensive coordinator Brian Stewart need to find new ways to pressure the QB and force him to throw the ball before he wants to. The Cowboys need to keep their safeties out of man coverage as much as possible and when one, or both of them are locked up in man coverage, the Cowboys need to make sure that the receivers don't have time to run complicated routes with double moves or deep patterns down the middle.
There are ways to hide a weak link in the secondary, like the one that Dallas has, and the easiest way is to blitz the quarterback more often.
posted: Thursday, November 1, 2007 | Print Entry
filed under: Dallas Cowboys, Anthony Henry, Terence Newman, Ken Hamlin, Roy Williams
As the Dallas Cowboys get ready to head into the second half of the 2007 season, they need to address a weakness in their pass defense.
Williams
HamlinIn order to control some of the strong-throwing teams that they have to face in the second half of the season, they need to tighten up the middle of their secondary. Their starting corners, Anthony Henry and Terence Newman are quality cover corners, but when teams line up with three or four WRs, the Cowboys need safeties over the top that can make a play on the ball or break up a pass, because Dallas can definitely be hurt by passes completed behind their corners.
Free safety Ken Hamlin and strong safety Roy Williams are both excellent tacklers and are strong in run support. But if, and when, they get locked up on slot receivers, or some of the NFL's top tight ends, they tend to struggle in coverage. Head coach Wade Phillips and defensive coordinator Brian Stewart need to find new ways to pressure the QB and force him to throw the ball before he wants to. The Cowboys need to keep their safeties out of man coverage as much as possible and when one, or both of them are locked up in man coverage, the Cowboys need to make sure that the receivers don't have time to run complicated routes with double moves or deep patterns down the middle.
There are ways to hide a weak link in the secondary, like the one that Dallas has, and the easiest way is to blitz the quarterback more often.
posted by The Gryphon at 5:51 PM
<< Home