Success is half of Dallas Cowboys' story
By TODD ARCHER / The Dallas Morning News
tarcher@dallasnews.com
IRVING – An NFL locker room can be a hectic place at halftime.
Broken down between offense and defense and position by position, players are moving here, there and everywhere as they sometimes change undershirts, re-tape fingers and wrists and make sure they are properly hydrated.
Off to the side, the coaches gather to discuss what they have seen from the other team before they go to their respective units. Head coach Wade Phillips gathers the entire team up for some final words and, just like that, they are back on the field – usually before the allotted 12 minutes are up.
Somehow, with all that going on, the Cowboys have proved to be pretty good coming out of the locker room in the third quarter.
This season, the Cowboys have scored five touchdowns and a field goal on their opening possession of the second half. Defensively, they have allowed just two field goals and a touchdown on the initial series after halftime this season.
Analysts like to talk about changes made at halftime, but in reality the term "halftime adjustments" might be a little bit of a stretch.
"There's no secret," quarterback Tony Romo said. "They can only play so many coverages for a full game, so you just learn what they're doing."
The majority of work really is done in the first and second quarters as coaches look at photos from the previous series. By the time they get to the locker room, most of the tweaks have already been put in place.
"I think for us, and probably most teams, it's what do we want to get to?" offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "Occasionally, we'll have some things that we'll change in how we block something or in how we'll attack something. But for the most part, we have this inventory of plays. So it's, 'let's get to this because this is what they're doing to us.' "
The changes are never a complete re-write of a game plan. The offensive coaches will list a handful of runs and passes and the subtle changes and go.
Before they hear from the coaches, players will discuss possible moves as well.
"I don't know that they look at what we're saying and then they do it, but communication is huge," tight end Jason Witten said.
In the nine drives to open the second half, the Cowboys have had three-and-out punts only twice. They have scored quickly, like Patrick Crayton's 59-yard catch against St. Louis, and driven the length of the field, like last week's 84-yard drive vs. New York that gave them the lead for good.
"I haven't thought much about it," Garrett said, "but I've had a sense we've done well coming out in the second half."
On the other side of the room, linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni will discuss running plays that have hurt the defense in the first half and secondary coach Todd Bowles will go over the pass plays. Coordinator Brian Stewart will then give an overview to the unit.
"Whatever we need to adjust, we adjust," Stewart said.
It can be a change in an alignment for a defensive end or a change in technique for a cornerback. The results are hard to ignore. Since Miami put together a 10-play, 73-yard touchdown drive in Week 2, the Cowboys have opened the second half with five three-and-outs. Three of those drives were for minus-2, minus-5 and 0 yards.
"We pretty much do what we do, which makes it easy to adjust for us as a staff," Stewart said.
And all of it happens in 12 minutes.
"It goes by quick," linebacker Greg Ellis said. "When you're at a special game and halftime is extended ... I guess when you've played so long, you have a clock in your head where you say, 'Let's go.' But that extra five minutes, you feel like, man, you've been in here for an hour."
tarcher@dallasnews.com
IRVING – An NFL locker room can be a hectic place at halftime.
Broken down between offense and defense and position by position, players are moving here, there and everywhere as they sometimes change undershirts, re-tape fingers and wrists and make sure they are properly hydrated.
Off to the side, the coaches gather to discuss what they have seen from the other team before they go to their respective units. Head coach Wade Phillips gathers the entire team up for some final words and, just like that, they are back on the field – usually before the allotted 12 minutes are up.
Somehow, with all that going on, the Cowboys have proved to be pretty good coming out of the locker room in the third quarter.
This season, the Cowboys have scored five touchdowns and a field goal on their opening possession of the second half. Defensively, they have allowed just two field goals and a touchdown on the initial series after halftime this season.
Analysts like to talk about changes made at halftime, but in reality the term "halftime adjustments" might be a little bit of a stretch.
"There's no secret," quarterback Tony Romo said. "They can only play so many coverages for a full game, so you just learn what they're doing."
The majority of work really is done in the first and second quarters as coaches look at photos from the previous series. By the time they get to the locker room, most of the tweaks have already been put in place.
"I think for us, and probably most teams, it's what do we want to get to?" offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "Occasionally, we'll have some things that we'll change in how we block something or in how we'll attack something. But for the most part, we have this inventory of plays. So it's, 'let's get to this because this is what they're doing to us.' "
The changes are never a complete re-write of a game plan. The offensive coaches will list a handful of runs and passes and the subtle changes and go.
Before they hear from the coaches, players will discuss possible moves as well.
"I don't know that they look at what we're saying and then they do it, but communication is huge," tight end Jason Witten said.
In the nine drives to open the second half, the Cowboys have had three-and-out punts only twice. They have scored quickly, like Patrick Crayton's 59-yard catch against St. Louis, and driven the length of the field, like last week's 84-yard drive vs. New York that gave them the lead for good.
"I haven't thought much about it," Garrett said, "but I've had a sense we've done well coming out in the second half."
On the other side of the room, linebackers coach Paul Pasqualoni will discuss running plays that have hurt the defense in the first half and secondary coach Todd Bowles will go over the pass plays. Coordinator Brian Stewart will then give an overview to the unit.
"Whatever we need to adjust, we adjust," Stewart said.
It can be a change in an alignment for a defensive end or a change in technique for a cornerback. The results are hard to ignore. Since Miami put together a 10-play, 73-yard touchdown drive in Week 2, the Cowboys have opened the second half with five three-and-outs. Three of those drives were for minus-2, minus-5 and 0 yards.
"We pretty much do what we do, which makes it easy to adjust for us as a staff," Stewart said.
And all of it happens in 12 minutes.
"It goes by quick," linebacker Greg Ellis said. "When you're at a special game and halftime is extended ... I guess when you've played so long, you have a clock in your head where you say, 'Let's go.' But that extra five minutes, you feel like, man, you've been in here for an hour."
posted by The Gryphon at 6:24 PM
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