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DALLAS FACES GIANT DILEMMA |
| by: Rafael Vela reporter for TheBoys.com | |
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DALLAS FACES GIANT DILEMMA |
| by: Rafael Vela reporter for TheBoys.com | |
A sluggish Cowboys team takes an early 3-0 lead. The defense makes some big plays early, but tires under the onslaught of a powerful opponent. Midway through the second quarter Dallas finds itself down 7-3. A late score by the opposition puts a frustrated Dallas squad even farther behind by halftime.
Sound familiar? No, this is not a recap of last week's loss to Chicago. Rather, it is a synopsis of last year's nailbiter with the Giants at Texas Stadium. That day the Cowboys were coming off a devastating 20-17 loss to the Eagles in the infamous "load left" game. The offense was in the deep freeze, with Michael Irvin and Jay Novacek facing doubleteams on every passing play.
What's different is that Dallas kept its composure. Though the Cowboys would score only one touchdown that day, Chris Boniol kicked five field goals, providing the margin of victory in a 21-20 escape.
The same scenario will probably play out this Sunday. Emmitt Smith will likely play after suffering a frightening neck injury late in the Chicago game. That is the only consolation for an offense that is still searching for its first touchdown of the season.
The Cowboys will face a Giants team that is still smarting from a 23-20 overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills. New York held a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter and appeared to be coasting in their home opener.
The Bills' comeback continued the Giants penchant for blowing leads; the Giants lost four games last year in which they led after three quarters. With head coach Dan Reeves under heavy scrutiny, a late fold was precisely what he did not need.
The Giants are also looking for a bit of redemption. Many players felt they were robbed by biased officating last year. They point in particular to a holding call against Giants' fullback Charles Way that nullified a Rodney Hampton score. Had the touchdown been allowed to stand, the Cowboys would not have been able to come back.
Dallas would gladly accept another one point win. The offense was inept against Chicago. It failed to do fundamental things. Linemen were flagged for lining up offsides. Receivers went in motion two at a time. Passes were dropped. Formations were blown.
A modest improvement would give Dallas a chance. At this point, improvement is necessary. This is a game that Dallas figured to win. With Indianapolis, Buffalo and Philadelphia on the horizon the Cowboys could fall hopelessly out of the race should they lose.
The Giants attack is brutal and simple. They like to line up in a pro-set with fullback Charles Way split to the strong side. The Giants will then hammer the ball behind Way and tight end Howard Cross. Both Cross and Way are big and effective blockers. Way, in his second year out of Virginia, is emerging as a top notch fullback.
New York rotates its big running backs. The primary intrument is 230 pound halfback Rodney Hampton. When he needs a rest, the team spells him with the 228 pound Tyrone Wheatley.
The Giants are a patient team. They will run on first and on second down. The Cowboys cannot get overzealous and start thinking pass if they hold New York to a short gain on first down. In last year's game, the Giants made huge gains running draws to Hampton on second and long.
The Giants objective is to get four or more yards on first down. If they can get the Cowboys' defense in a second and short situation, then Dan Reeves will use all the options at his disposal. He likes to run bootlegs with QB Dave Brown and pass to Way on the weakside.
Reeves also uses play action to draw the linebackers in, then has Brown throw darts to Howard Cross in the short zones. The Cowboys will try to crowd the ball in order to slow Hampton and Wheatley down. They must beware of screens to Hampton, which are also part of Dan Reeves' regular mix.
26
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30 \_________/
Here is one of New York's favorite bootleg plays. Reeves ran this play many times as a running back for Tom Landry in the 60's and early 70's. Last week, he called this play for a touchdown against the Bills.
It is usually run on a second and short situation, when the defense is expecting a run. At the snap of the ball, the left tackle (78), the left guard (73) and the center will block right. The right guard and right tackle will pull to the left side of the line. The running back will make a hard fake behind them. This gives the impression that the play will be a counter play to the left. The purpose is to draw the middle linebacker and weakside linebacker (nos. 55 and 59) up to the line of scrimmage.
At the same time, tight end Howard Cross runs up the field, directly at the deep safety on his side. His purpose is to keep the safety in the middle of the field. On the right side, wide receiver Chris Calloway runs a deep out, taking the corner and other safety with him.
Slot receiver Thomas Lewis runs a short crossing pattern to the left. The purpose of these patterns is to clear out the right flat for Charles Way (30), the intended receiver. While Hampton is charging left, Way cuts underneath him to the right. After making the fake, Brown has the option of passing to Way or keeping the ball and running.
This power running and short passing game is the essence of New York's offense. Brown will take his shots down the field to wide receivers, but only after the short game has been established. Reeves likes to draw the defense up, then go long.
Dallas Defense
Key: 31-Brock Marion, 28-Darren Woodson, 59-Darrin Smith, 55-Fred Strickland, 51-Broderick Thomas, 26-Kevin Smith, 94-Charles Haley, 78-Leon Lett, 95-Chad Hennings, 92-Tony Tolbert, 21-Deion Sanders.
31 28
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26 21
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80 78 73 59 65 74 87 o
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27 30
New York Offense
Key: 80-Chris Calloway, 78-Greg Bishop, 73-Rob Zatechka, 59-Brian Williams, 65-Ron Stone, 74-Scott Gragg, 87-Howard Cross, 81-Thomas Lewis, 17-Dave Brown, 30-Charles Way, 27-Rodney Hampton
When Dallas played the Giants last year, they junked their normal defensive set, which has the linebackers play deep behind the line. They overshifted the line to the strong side and had the strongside linebacker play over the tight end, in anticipation of New York's strong side runs.
A key to the game will be the play of weakside linebacker Darrin Smith and strongside backer Broderick Thomas. Smith will have to guard against Brown's rollouts. He cannot overpursue or he will leave the weak flank of the Dallas zone exposed.
On the other side, Thomas will have to stalemate Cross and turn all Giants' running plays inside. He must also be ready to cover Way on play action passes. Thomas is the worst Cowboys linebacker in coverage. Last week the Bears made 22 yards on a play action fake which let Raymont Harris get behind Thomas. The Giants will surely try to do the same.
Another key will be the play of tackles Chad Hennings and Leon Lett. They must hold their ground and keep Hampton and Wheatley from making large gains on first and second down. Hennings in particular was overrun last year, when Hampton gained 187 yards on the Dallas front.
When New York passes, the Dallas front four must maintain its passing lanes. Dave Brown is a 225 pound quarterback who likes to run. In last year's game, Brown broke outside the Cowboys' containment and ran for 47 yards and a touchdown. With this game also figuring to be close, the Cowboys cannot allow Brown to convert third down plays with his feet.
New York Defense
Key: 29-Tito Wooten, 37-Jesse Campbell, 98-Jesse Armstead, 90-Corey Widmer, 57-Corey Miller, 31-Jason Sehorn, 92-Michael Strahan, 97-Robert Harris, 75-Keith Hamilton, 77-Chad Bratzke, 22-Phillippi Sparks
29
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98 90
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21 71 61 53 73 79 89
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8 85
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48
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22
Dallas Offense
Key: 21-Deion Sanders, 71-Mark Tuinei, 61-Nate Newton, 53-Ray Donaldson, 73-Larry Allen, 79-Erik Williams, 89-Derek Ware, 85-Kevin Williams, 8-Troy Aikman, 48-Daryl Johnson, 22-Emmitt Smith
Check the injury reports for the status of tight end Eric Bjornson. If he is able to play, the Dallas offense could make a quantum leap in play. Last week, with both Bjornson and Jay Novacek out, the Cowboys opened the game with Daryl Johnston at tight end. This had a devastating effect on Dallas' effectiveness. It had nothing to do with Johnston's play. The Moose did what was asked.
The damage was tactical. When the Cowboys line up with Johnston in the backfield, Novacek at tight end and Michael Irvin and Kevin Williams at receivers, they are very hard to predict. Dallas can line up in its base offset-I and the defense will not know if the coming play will be a run or pass.
When Dallas lined up Johnston at tight end, they left Emmitt Smith alone in the backfield. This tipped off the defense that the play was going to be a pass. Rarely did Dallas run Smith without Johnston to lead him. When Johnston was moved into the backfield, the defense knew that the play was likely to be a run. The Cowboys need to craft a game plan similar to that used by New York. They should lean more on the running game and use the backs more in the passing game. Against Chicago, Ernie Zampese ran a normal game plan, mixing the pass and the run equally. On individual drives, he kept to his usual formula of alternating running plays and passing plays.
Zampese probably cannot maintain this approach. His offense is not the same. His running game is intact, but his two most important receivers will not be on the field Sunday. In this case, a more conservative approach may be a more explosive one.
Against the Giants last year, the Cowboys had great success running the old Green Bay power sweep, with Nate Newton and Larry Allen leading Emmitt Smith around the corner. New York overcommitted to stopping runs between the tackles and left itself exposed to outside runs. Dallas should resume this strategy.
The Cowboys should also throw more to Smith. Because Smith lines up seven yards behind the quarterback on most plays, the pass patterns he can run are limited. Look for Dallas to use more split back sets, in an attempt to set Smith closer to the line of scrimmage and get him up the field.
Dallas needs Smith and Johnston working the shallow areas of New York's passing defense. With Novacek out the Cowboys lack someone who can effectively work between linebackers. Derek Ware may try, but Aikman showed no faith in him last week. Only once did Ware catch a pass, and that was in the fourth quarter, when the game was out of reach.
Last week Dave Wannstedt used a simple strategy: double cover Kevin Williams, the one receiver Aikman does trust. Play soft on Deion Sanders, to prevent him from beating you deep. Finally, blitz Aikman until he burns you.
The strategy will probably be used by the Giants, for a number of reasons. First, it worked; Dallas was held without a touchdown for the first time since 1991. Secondly, New York's secondary is very similar to Chicago's. The Bears have a physical corner in Donnell Woolford and a rookie in Walt Harris. The Bears used Woolford to pressure Williams and told Harris to lay off Sanders.
New York has Phillippi Sparks, an aggressive and effective young corner on one side and rookie Jason Sehorn on the other. Sparks had a breakout season last year, which was punctuated by a strong performance against Michael Irvin in Texas Stadium. Sehorn made his first start last week and earned his NFL stripes the hard way.
In the first half against Buffalo, Sehorn knocked down several passes and sacked Jim Kelly on a corner blitz. In the second half, however, he was toasted by Andre Reed.
Both Giants corners were done in by being overly aggressive. Kelly got both Sparks and Sehorn to bite on punp fakes then beat them with deep throws. Aikman might try to do the same this weekend, but it may be harder to do. Both Cowboys receivers are small and neither Sanders nor Williams showed a preference for going over the middle.
If the New York corners do not have to worry about chasing Dallas players across the field, they may be content to lay five to ten yard off the ball and make quick tackles. Dallas has yet to prove it can execute on offense. It makes no sense to concede it anything.
The Cowboys will not get any gifts from the New York kickoff teams. Brad Daluiso is a master at getting touchbacks. His favored tactic is to angle the ball just behind the cone in the front corners of the end zone, so return men have no chance to even field the ball.
On the other side of the field, the Cowboys special teams must recover from a game that saw them fooled by a fake punt. When they do cover kicks, they must pay special attention to Giants' rookie Amani Toomer, who returned a punt for a touchdown last week.
Win or lose, this will probably be an ugly game. The key for Dallas is to avoid mistakes. In last week's game the Cowboys missed a field goal and let penalties and a turnover cost them field goal attempts on two other occasions. The Cowboys are capable of limited movement. If they can keep their composure inside the New York 30, Chris Boniol should give the Cowboys field goals. Boniol did have a miss against the Bears, but he is back on turf, where he is almost automatic.
On defense, the Cowboys must keep the Giants from getting any cheap points. They will have to again look for gadget plays. Dan Reeves likes them, especially the option pass. Deion Sanders and Kevin Smith should be able to contain the Giants receivers. They kept Bears wideouts Curtis Conway and Michael Timpson from catching anything expect short slants and stop patterns.
An extra week of preparation should be the difference. If Dallas lets New York exceed the seventeen point barrier, however, this could be another loss.
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