Cowboys-Browns Review: How Do You Shut Down a Star?
Written by Rafael Vela
The Cowboys defense hit its stride mid game yesterday, going almost 29 minutes, 28:58 to be exact, without allowing a Derek Anderson completion. The defense had a little help from a Braylon Edwards drop on Adam Jones, but didn’t need any more assistance.
The impressive task was shutting down Kellen Winslow Jr. who made some big grabs in the middle of Dallas’ defense on the Browns long TD drive that ended the 1st quarter and bled into the 2nd. Dallas used a variety of coverages on him in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, never allowing him to get single coverage on a linebacker or strong safety Roy Williams.
Much of the time, the Cowboys sent SOLB Greg Ellis with Winslow wherever he went. And when I write follow Winslow everywhere, I mean precisely that. Several times Winslow lined up as a wide receiver and Ellis lined up directly opposite him. Cleveland always ran in these situations and used Winslow as a decoy to gain an open an edge to run towards. The only time Winslow lined up as a traditional tight end, Ellis jammed him and passed him to ILB Bradie James, who put a second wallop on Winslow for good measure.
When Winslow lined up in the slot the Cowboys made sure had had a corner sitting in coverage with him. Anthony Henry, Adan Jones and Orlando Scandrick all took turns blanketing him. The only time Winslow caught a pass the last 40 minutes of the game came on the one play where he drew single coverage from Roy Williams. Winslow beat him on a nine yard out.
Rookie Watch
– For his stellar play outside and in the slot, Orlando Scandrick gets the rookie game ball. Cleveland has a dangerous passing attack and took some shots at Scandrick, but he was better than solid. The future looks very bright for him.
– Felix Jones gets the the runner up game ball. His big play skills should be obvious by now and his blocking isn’t bad. It’s inconsistent, however. If he can get better at it, he’ll play a lot this year.
– Mike Jenkins was busy on special teams. He was a gunner on the punt coverage unit and an edge player on the kickoff coverage squad.
– Martellus Bennett got a few series in the tight end rotation but didn’t draw a pass.
– Tashard Choice is also on the coverage units and got the last handful of carries in the game. He made two first downs.
Notes:
– A veteran game ball to Leonard Davis, who showed awesome power against the big uglies of the Cleveland defensive line. On Marion Barber’s 22 yard 2nd quarter draw, Davis punched out on 325 lb. Corey Williams and bowed the Brown backwards. Barber ran through the ample lane Davis created. Leonard’s best work came on Felix Jones’ 11 yard TD run late in the 3rd. He put a double team block on Shaun Rogers that helped roll the biggest Brown two yards off the line of scrimmage. Big Bigg then scraped off and blocked ILB Andre Davis, clearning a huge path off right guard for Jones’ first NFL touchdown.
Jay Ratliff told me in camp that Davis is the toughest offensive lineman he’s ever faced. The Browns linemen would probably tell you the same thing today.
Roy is Special
– the kickoff coverage unit yesterday:
Justin Rogers
Bobby Carpenter
Kevin Burnett
Pat Watkins
Keith Davis
Tashard Choice
Mike Jenkins
Deon Anderson
Orlando Scandrick
Nick Folk and…
Roy Williams
The Cowboys defense hit its stride mid game yesterday, going almost 29 minutes, 28:58 to be exact, without allowing a Derek Anderson completion. The defense had a little help from a Braylon Edwards drop on Adam Jones, but didn’t need any more assistance.
The impressive task was shutting down Kellen Winslow Jr. who made some big grabs in the middle of Dallas’ defense on the Browns long TD drive that ended the 1st quarter and bled into the 2nd. Dallas used a variety of coverages on him in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, never allowing him to get single coverage on a linebacker or strong safety Roy Williams.
Much of the time, the Cowboys sent SOLB Greg Ellis with Winslow wherever he went. And when I write follow Winslow everywhere, I mean precisely that. Several times Winslow lined up as a wide receiver and Ellis lined up directly opposite him. Cleveland always ran in these situations and used Winslow as a decoy to gain an open an edge to run towards. The only time Winslow lined up as a traditional tight end, Ellis jammed him and passed him to ILB Bradie James, who put a second wallop on Winslow for good measure.
When Winslow lined up in the slot the Cowboys made sure had had a corner sitting in coverage with him. Anthony Henry, Adan Jones and Orlando Scandrick all took turns blanketing him. The only time Winslow caught a pass the last 40 minutes of the game came on the one play where he drew single coverage from Roy Williams. Winslow beat him on a nine yard out.
Rookie Watch
– For his stellar play outside and in the slot, Orlando Scandrick gets the rookie game ball. Cleveland has a dangerous passing attack and took some shots at Scandrick, but he was better than solid. The future looks very bright for him.
– Felix Jones gets the the runner up game ball. His big play skills should be obvious by now and his blocking isn’t bad. It’s inconsistent, however. If he can get better at it, he’ll play a lot this year.
– Mike Jenkins was busy on special teams. He was a gunner on the punt coverage unit and an edge player on the kickoff coverage squad.
– Martellus Bennett got a few series in the tight end rotation but didn’t draw a pass.
– Tashard Choice is also on the coverage units and got the last handful of carries in the game. He made two first downs.
Notes:
– A veteran game ball to Leonard Davis, who showed awesome power against the big uglies of the Cleveland defensive line. On Marion Barber’s 22 yard 2nd quarter draw, Davis punched out on 325 lb. Corey Williams and bowed the Brown backwards. Barber ran through the ample lane Davis created. Leonard’s best work came on Felix Jones’ 11 yard TD run late in the 3rd. He put a double team block on Shaun Rogers that helped roll the biggest Brown two yards off the line of scrimmage. Big Bigg then scraped off and blocked ILB Andre Davis, clearning a huge path off right guard for Jones’ first NFL touchdown.
Jay Ratliff told me in camp that Davis is the toughest offensive lineman he’s ever faced. The Browns linemen would probably tell you the same thing today.
Roy is Special
– the kickoff coverage unit yesterday:
Justin Rogers
Bobby Carpenter
Kevin Burnett
Pat Watkins
Keith Davis
Tashard Choice
Mike Jenkins
Deon Anderson
Orlando Scandrick
Nick Folk and…
Roy Williams
posted by The Gryphon at 6:28 PM
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