Xs And Os: Week 1 Film Room

The goal every Thursday is to take one or two plays and to really break them down from the good ol' Xs and Os.  Since we started doing this, we have found access to posting video, then coach's film, and now, with stills and NFL Game Rewind, you can really have items to look at when you study.

What happened, who was there, and who likely was responsible is rather easy to break down if you take the time these days.  And it falls to people like us to dive in.

This week, I selected two plays.  I certainly don't attempt to select all negative or all positive plays - just moments in the game where strategy and execution crossed paths and gave us good talking points.  As it happens, both were in the 2nd Quarter, and both were not great moments for the Cowboys.  Nevertheless, I want to dive into both of them with you and talk them out.

PLAY #1 - Giants face 1st and 10 at their own 30 - Result: 70 Yard TD pass to Victor Cruz

So much about playing sound defensive football begins and ends with communication.  And, although I thought this would be a great play to break down from a strategy standpoint - The Cowboys try a fire-zone blitz where Scandrick and Lee overload the right and Ware drops into the shallow zone coverage - the more I look at it, it becomes very clear that the Cowboys were running at least 2 different defenses here.

Frame #1 - I only show this to demonstrate the fact that the Giants rushed them to the line here because it was a rather close 2nd and 1 situation where the Cowboys were thinking a measurement would be coming and the Giants hurried them to get a play off before the 2-minute warning.  It worked like a charm as the Giants are lined up and ready for a snap here and the Cowboys are pretty much unanimously looking at Sean Lee for the call.  

We came to find out later that Monte Kiffin took the blame for getting the call in too late, but I would also add that when this happens, Lee has the chance to call 1 or 2 base calls just so that this situation doesn't happen.  If you watch the TV coverage, it is very clear that Ware, Sims, and Allen in particular look really confused about what play is being run.  They are literally all with hands in the air looking at Lee when the ball is snapped.

Understand that a corner blitz is not something that will happen much at all the entire season.  So for there to be a corner who is running at Eli and those behind him are so unsure of the call 

Frame #2 - So here at the snap, with the 5 coming on what appears that the Cowboys want to run a rather typical fire zone blitz where 5 rush and the weakside defensive end will drop into the zone.  I have no idea what the call really was, but that looks like what the majority of the front were doing, so now I will speculate what the issue is underneath.

It seems Ware and Sims are dropping into the same zone which would mean that Ernie Sims is the most likely and reasonable man to slide behind Sean Lee and take the defensive right shallow area, where Hakeem Nicks is about to enter up at the 33 yard line as he runs behind Cruz.

However, I should point out that the body positioning of Sims and Ware (facing the man - Myers the Tight End, not back pedaling and facing the QB) suggests that perhaps they each believe that they are actually in man-coverage and that they both believe they are responsible for the tight end and are wondering why the other guy is there, too.

Frame #3 - At this point, we see Nicks all by himself, Ware covering nothing but turf, and the pass rush is almost getting home to Eli Manning with both Nick Hayden having a shot at him, and Scandrick looking like he is being held pretty badly by the left tackle, Will Beatty.

Frame #4 - This picture is from the same moment as Frame #3, and it shows that they have a nice gain underneath to Nicks, but Eli sidesteps Hayden and sees that Allen is too shallow and knows if he buys a moment, Cruz is going to run right past the coverage.  He simply has to put enough on it, because Cruz is going to leave Allen in his dust as Allen is stationary as Cruz is at a full sprint.

And now, the video.  It sure looks like Allen should be deeper at his initial drop and then takes a poor angle.  The video confirms the wheels of JJ Wilcox as he closed the gap quickly from across the field on a very fast Cruz.  But it also confirms that the big issue here is just communication.  It is tough enough to play against an offense that has this weapons.  It only gets exponentially more difficult if half the defense has no idea what defense they are supposed to be playing.  

This play was an absolute mess and one of those bust moments where you are just thankful it did not cost you the game.  

Play #2 - Cowboys face a 2nd and 19 with 0:46 in the 2nd Q - Result - Incomplete to Williams

If we all agree that there is nothing more important in the NFL than having a big-time QB, then there can be nothing more important than making sure you don't lose him in the season opener to a major injury.  And despite doing a fine job all night long in protecting Romo, this is the one that almost did them in.

Understand that so much of pass protection is based on getting the ball out of there in a timely fashion.  Nearly every season, Peyton and Eli Manning are the two best QBs in the NFL at avoiding sacks.  They do this, because they make 1 or 2 reads and then unload most all of the time.  They don't hold the ball and wait for things to open up.

A point of discussion this week was "why was Tony checking down so much?"  Well, part of that is coverage and part of that is faith that your offensive line can hold up for an extra second.  After 2011 and 2012, you will have to excuse Romo if he is a little gun-shy about hanging on to the ball.

In this spot, Ronald Leary has taken a holding penalty and the Cowboys are backed up on a 2nd and 19.  They are also in their 2-minute offense which means S11.  Romo has had time to throw, but 19 yards to the sticks are going to require that he either takes 2 nibbles or waits for the players to get 20 yards down the field and open in one play and that requires big protection.

Frame #1 - We want to point out all of the major players in this sequence.  You can click on any picture to enlarge it.  

Frame #2 - The Giants did something here that either I have never seen, or I have never seen pulled off so perfectly.  It the LDE-WLB stunt.  We are all familiar with T-E stunts or something between 2 or 3 defensive linemen.  We are also familiar with twists and various maneuvers meant to screw up blocking schemes, but what the Giants did here was a thing of beauty.

First, 94-Kiwanuka engages Doug Free to the outside to set him up high and to get Free to turn almost towards the sideline.  When his body turns that significantly, he can no longer see much else in his periphery vision.  Free is completely focused on closing off the edge to the fine pass rusher.   Meanwhile, Jacquian Williams looks like he is blitzing the B-Gap (between guard and tackle) and DeMarco Murray squares him up and is ready to handle him as he stands between the rusher and the QB in perfect form.

Frame #3 - Now the incredibly odd strategy that caught everyone off guard.  Instead of 57 trying to battle Murray for a shot at Romo, he runs directly at the ear hole of Doug Free and blasts him into next week.  I have heard a lot of people down on Free for this moment, but seriously, if a linebacker comes at you at full speed and you have no idea he is coming while you try to block Kiwanuka from a different direction, every tackle in the league is going to meet a similar fate.

Kiwanuka is now free of Free, and he heads back inside the stunt and Murray must be thinking bad thoughts as he knows how long he can hold off a defensive end with a head start.  This won't work well.  Meanwhile, little known Justin Trattou is actually working Tyron back to Romo here from the other edge.

Frame #4 - This is a frame you don't want to see.  Free on his knees, Tyron falling, and 3 Giants meeting at your QB.  He gets the ball out in 3.5 seconds, but he is about to take a helmet in the ribs and a sandwich from the other side as this will leave him in a heap on the field.

Frame #6 - Lets roll it back and look at what Romo saw.  He does have Dez Bryant in the right flat for a modest gain, but he knows it is 2nd and 19 and he wants more than 7 yards.  So he, then looks for other options.  This is the gamble that every QB takes.  Do you throw it at the first open man, or do you keep shopping for a better deal, but risking the pocket caving in as you go?

Frame #7 - Here is the moment where everyone is hitting Romo.  He just sent the ball to Williams near the sticks, but the pass was off its' mark.  You see he has Austin shallow for the crossing pattern, but he passed on that, too.

In looking at the play on video, you almost want to compliment the stunt concept more than you want to blame the blockers.  They have to be prepared for anything, but in fairness, that is really exotic.  

Tyron has to hold up better on the outside as he got a bit top-heavy and lost his balance.  

But, in the end, your QB1 took a major hit and now wears a kevlar vest because of it.

Hope you enjoyed these breakdowns and leave your comments or questions below.

Tomorrow, we dip into the mailbag and get ready for the Chiefs.

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Xs and Os Breakdown: Geno Atkins

This particular write-up may be a bit of a departure from the normal routine here on Thursday's during the season, but I think Sunday was a rare occasion where a lot of things happened worth noting.  We have mentioned at great length that the Cowboys win was both memorable and unexplainable because of so many components of the game that were not playing in Dallas' favor.  But, that is the very definition of this fantastic sport - winning the game is not always the right of the team with a massive advantage somewhere on the field.  They have to consistently exploit this advantage to a point where the scoreboard reflects the domination.

And that was a scenario we had on Sunday.  Could the Bengals use their single biggest defensive strength, a defensive tackle named Geno Atkins, disrupt the Cowboys all day long on offense against a Cowboys interior that has struggled all season long.

Atkins, is a very interesting player who is having an All-Pro year.  The 24-year old Georgia Bulldog makes us all wonder about a draft process that had him available deep into the 4th round of the 2010 draft, but now might be the best interior player in the sport.  The Cowboys, as fate would have it, were holders of pick #119 before trading back to pick #126 for Akwasi Owusu-Ansah (a name that makes most fans cringe) on that day in April of 2010, with both Atkins and Kam Chancellor, the giant safety from Seattle, were picked in that area.  Some have commented that Atkins is not a 3-4 player, and while I might have agreed with that until Sunday, now I am of the impression that he could excel in any scheme you care to throw at him.

Regardless, now he appears to be the type of player that will not get away from the Bengals, and he is the problem of anyone who shows up on their schedule.

And what we saw when he took on the likes of Nate Livings, Ryan Cook, Mackenzy Bernadeau, and even a little Derrick Dockery, was the single best-graded performance of a player against Dallas in the years that Pro Football Focus has been handing out grades.  In other words, he dominated.  And many of us, when looking at the film considered a standing ovation.

He was simply fantastic against a group of guys who are very happy they don't have to see him again for until the 2016 season, most likely.

The plan in this space is simply to review the game in chronological order and perhaps to point out his top plays and who was most at his mercy.

Let's take a look:

1st Quarter:

What is most interesting about this matchup is the fact that the Cowboys knew all week long that the game plan was going to be to figure out what to do with Atkins and work around that, but then when the game was here, they started the game without too much trouble.

He certainly made an impression or two in the first few drives, but nothing special.  The Cowboys chose to block Atkins with what I would call a normal amount of double-teams, but they left him singled up a few times and although he got a push, there was nothing super-natural about what we saw in the early going.  Consequently, the Cowboys had very little trouble moving the ball right down the field and getting points early.

They also have a rather deep rotation on their defensive line, and although Atkins is a better pass rusher than he is a run stuffer, he plays in all situations, but he doesn't play every down.  In fact, I had him on the field for 57 of the 71 snaps, which was the most of the defensive line, but the 6th most on the Bengals defense.

Through 1 Quarter, there was almost no sign of him, and observers must have wondered what all the hype was about.  The Cowboys were definitely getting the ball out quickly, and drive #2 stalled because they were unable to move the chains on quick slants, but overall, the 1st 15 minutes proved to be no major issues with this Atkins fellow.

2nd Quarter:

Again, most of the 2nd Quarter avoided the impact of Geno Atkins.  So, remember, this is the single best-graded performance against Dallas in years, and he hasn't made a dent almost half way into the game.  Crazy!

Until, 3:18 to go in the 2nd.  1st and 10 for the Cowboys at their own 18 yard line.  The idea here is to run Murray to the right behind the pulling left guard Nate Livings.  Livings pulling though leaves Atkins with nobody in front of him, so Ryan Cook has to close him off.

That didn't go very well.

Hopefully, this 2nd frame can help you see how impossible a task that is being asked of Cook.  He just hasn't demonstrated that he can get to any block that requires much movement, and to laterally get to Atkins right off the snap when the Cowboys will not contact him, but rather pull away from him is just tempting a guy to blow up a play and then a drive.

Here is DeMarco, just now touching the ball, being met 4 yards deep by Atkins who had to think that was the greatest play ever called.  Please run it again.

And that play, appeared to wake up the giant.

On the very next play, prior to the 2 minute drill, Atkins got to Romo just as Tony was releasing the ball.  This is where Atkins seems to excel as a 2-minute drill foil.

A few plays later, you might recall the play where Romo is sacked with a 3-man rush, but Carlos Dunlap tried to twist his head off with a facemask call.  Geno Atkins had nothing to do with that play, or did he?

Look at this, where he draws a triple-team, leaving the tackles exposed to 1-on-1 battles.

And that is the effect of a player who you fear.  It allows for other opportunities elsewhere, to where a 3-man rush gets to your QB easily.  The drive is dead, but the face mask penalty kept it alive.

3rd Quarter:

Here, on the first snap of the half, Romo no sooner makes his drop than Atkins has already run right around Nate Livings in the blink of an eye.  Livings has been decent this season, but a guy like Atkins made him look horrible all day.  Perhaps Atkins knew plenty of Livings from all of their practices together, but Livings didn't learn anything from those practices, evidently.

Good luck making your reads, Tony.  He quickly throws the ball away and take another hit.

This now, is the very next play.  Atkins moves over to on top of Bernadeau (he is just going back and forth, making each guard hope it is not his turn).

This is the Run/Pass FB lead that we see so often from the Cowboys where Tony can throw it if he likes the match-ups, or run against a 7-man box.

But, he wasn't expecting his right guard to get beat so badly.

Again, at the point of the handoff, here is Atkins right on top of Murray.  Bernadeau didn't even slow him down a bit.

In the first 2 snaps of the 2nd half, each guard was beaten so badly by Geno Atkins that it almost appears they aren't even making an effort.  The fact that they certainly are giving it all they have speaks to just how good this guy really is.

The next drive was where chaos really started ensuing.  You might recall the backhanded pass to Vickers that made everyone hold their breath as Romo was under siege again.  Mike Zimmer started enjoying the fact that Atkins was causing so much trouble, and he dialed up some blitzes to go with it.

Again, it isn't all about 1 guy making every plays.  When you have a guy that attracts this much attention on the inside, now you can stunt him or use him as a decoy to open up things for his mates.  And here, on 3rd and 10, he runs Atkins right at a double team, sends his defensive end inside as well, and that frees up his safety for a sack as DeMarco Murray has 2 blitzers that he must block at the same time.

As the evidence below shows, Murray got the LB to the ground, but Romo was sacked by the untouched safety as all 5 of his OL is dealing with Atkins and the other 2 DL players on the inside.

These are surely the things that happen when you cannot single-team block for even a moment on a force on the inside.

4th Quarter: 

Amazingly, the Cowboys are still in this game, but barely.

Here is the 2nd snap of the 4th Quarter, where Atkins is left single-teamed with Livings again, and Nate gets the humiliating double of giving up a sack and having a penalty flag sitting at your feet for a holding call.  This was against "13" personnel, where you should surely have enough in to block, unless there is a guy that your men would vote "unblock-able".

Did Romo hold the ball too long?  Surely, but, he is trying to give his guys a chance to get open.  He can either save himself or try to win the game.  And you have to like having a QB who will take a beating for a chance at the win.

Here is the very next drive.  One in which a few plays after this, Romo hits Dez Bryant on that brilliant dig-route for a touchdown.

But, Atkins beats Doug Free and looks like he was held again before getting to Romo for another near-sack.  Romo gets the ball out as #97 is on his legs again.  This was a very close call on the throw as Nate Clements should have picked this off.  One pretty good reason why you should not try throws when defensive tackles are hanging on your legs.

I imagine everyone is detecting the trend here.

On the final drive, thankfully, the Cowboys did not need to pass protect much as they ground out a series of short plays, including hard running from DeMarco Murray to get into field goal range.

But, there would be one more obstacle to overcome as with about 2:11 left, the Cowboys try to pull Nate Livings right again, only this time he is met with a sprinting middle linebacker, Rey Maualuga.  If you see the play at full speed, the collision is amazing and Livings has his mouthpiece fly several feet into the air.

This means that with the ball at the edge of field goal range, they are now having to insert Derrick Dockery at Left Guard.  Cincinnati cannot believe this good fortune and immediately put Atkins right over the top of him on a 3rd and 1.

The 3 plays with Dockery in there are certainly chaotic, as a holding penalty could cost them the game. He does clearly hold at 1:21 to go (below), but the call is not made, and they convert the 3rd Down and get out of dodge with the win.

In the end, the Cowboys survived this all.

It is fun to study a demonstration of ability like this and to still look at it from a winning perspective, but if we have learned anything this year, it is that the offensive line is up to its ears in trouble against most defensive lines, but when that DL has extra elite talent, then the mismatch is such that Romo and Murray are asked to do magic tricks to simply stay competitive.

There is little doubt where the priorities should lie for off-season improvements.

And, oh, to trade Owusu-Ansah for Atkins.  That guy won't be a well-kept secret for much longer.

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Xs And Os - The Dwayne Harris Return Difference

Sunday was quite an oddity for the 2012 Dallas Cowboys.  For a team that has almost no success scoring points this season, they were given the gift of help from their defense and special teams.  The defense has had a decent year, but almost nothing in terms of takeaways and setting up short fields, or even better, actually putting points on the board themselves.  

Meanwhile, the special teams have been anything but special.  Kick returns have ranked in the bottom third of the league the entire year.  Punt returns, through 7 games, showed the Cowboys at 31st in the NFL, with 15 returns for 83 yards (5.53 per) - even though Dez Bryant had a 44-yard return back in Week 3 against Tampa Bay.  The average drops to about 2 yards a return if you subtract that one large return.

It has just been very difficult to improve the opportunities of the offense if you can never present them with a short field.  Jerry Jones, who proclaimed that Dez Bryant and Felix Jones would handle his return responsibilities this year after an equally feeble 2011 from the return game, finally seemed to soften his stubbornness after Bryant in particular went through a few weeks of poor decision making and ball security on punt returns in Carolina and against the Giants.

So, to start the Atlanta game, we have seen Dwayne Harris, the Cowboys 6th round pick in 2011, take over the duties, and has shown the same game-breaking ability that he demonstrated at East Carolina as a player who won several honors due to his ability as a return man where he returned over 150 kicks and punts over his 4 years with the Pirates.

Compare that to Dez Bryant, who already has more returns in the NFL than he ever did at Oklahoma State or a guy like Cole Beasley who never returned kicks or punts at SMU, and you can understand that Harris might have always been the best candidate for this type of duty.

However, in fairness, Dwayne Harris was given opportunities as a rookie in 2011 to return kicks and punts and didn't make much of an impression.  It could certainly be the nerves of a rookie who was more focused on not making a mistake rather than trying to make a play, but for whatever reason, his numbers in 15 punt returns last season were that same paltry 5 yards a return.

But, in 2012, it appears Harris has a different swagger.  Consider the mentality of someone replacing Dez Bryant as a return man.  Why was this move made?  Because Dez did not protect the ball and make sound decisions.  So, you might expect his replacement to go back there and to become a fair catch machine.  And yet, Harris has stepped right in and made 2 returns that directly impacted those games and has injected life in the Cowboys special teams.

Let's take a look at them below:

This first one is in the first minute in Atlanta.  The Cowboys have pushed the Falcons off with a 3-and-out, and now Harris is back to return this kick which the Cowboys hope to put into a good spot.  

You can see at the punt return formation that the Cowboys are double teaming the gunners on each side of the field and therefore have just 5 players on the inside looking for a fake or a potential block opportunity.  This is easily the fewest players you will ever see up on the punt team.  

This tells us the Cowboys have their best return on.

Looking at this Atlanta return on film, it is difficult to see exactly how the Cowboys had this blocked.  If it is a return left, you can see a path up the sidelines, but many times your intention is at the mercy of the punter who often steers his punt to set up his coverage team.  His punt lands at the blue circle below, and as you can see, Harris has some room here, but there are plenty of red jerseys at midfield or beyond that seem to have a clear path to Harris.  

But, this third frame is what you really want to see from your return man:  North-South running.  You aren't going to always have a big play, but if you head north when the opportunity is there, you have an actual chance to get some positive yardage.  However, if you go sideline to sideline - or East-West - your valuable cushion of time disappears in a blink of an eye, and you have the dreaded 3 yard return.

But, look at Harris.  He has darted straight north with great conviction and suddenly, those Falcons who were trying to keep contain on the edges have been left behind and now Harris actually has a path.  The punter stands on the logo and already you can see that he understands he might have to make a play here.

Right below the blue circle, you can see Atlanta Tight End 87-Tommy Gallarda who also has a clear path to Harris, but his sprawling attempt will not be enough to bring him down.

Now, below, please note the red circle around Mike Peterson.  I am not sure what opinions you have about Peterson, but my respect for him grew immensely when watching this film.  If you go back to previous frames, you can see that he has been occupied by a Cowboys blocker the entire way down the field and did not have great success getting past Orie Lemon.  Peterson is a 36 year old veteran who is perhaps best known for his time in Jacksonville and has put in 14 seasons in the NFL.  If you know anything about special teams, you hopefully know this:  14 year veterans seldom make great special teams guys.  Why?  Because it is an awful job that many veterans believe is below them.

Peterson has been a top player for a long time, but now is a back-up in Atlanta, trying to part of something special before his career ends.  On this night, because Sean Weatherspoon isn't playing, Peterson is starting on defense.  But, he keeps his spot on punt coverage.

Now, as you look at this frame, do you think a 36-year old linebacker is going to be able to run down a speed demon like Harris?  Well, he is going to need punter Matt Bosher to at least slow him down.

Bosher does that much, but Harris has an awesome spin move at full speed to lose Bosher in his tracks. But, that change of direction leaves an opening for Peterson who is now at full sprint.  Again, if this veteran linebacker is not playing as hard as he can, this is a touchdown return.  And, this is why veterans cannot play special teams - because too many of them are out there running at 80% and trying to avoid getting hurt.  Special teams is for rookies or guys trying to make it in the NFL.  A Special teams coach can only put guys out there who are going full tilt.

But, look at Harris.  He just spun the punter to the ground and has nothing but clear water all the way to the endzone.

Except, Peterson gets him by the ankles at the Atlanta 33 yard line.

It is a great return and a great touchdown-saving tackle by the last line of defense.  To see video from NFL.com, simply click on this link.

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That optimistic return might have been the blind squirrel finding a nut, or it might have been Harris deciding to prove he belongs in the NFL.  Either way, the 37 yard return was the 2nd longest Cowboys return since November of 2010.  Think about that.  Since Bryan McCann's 97-yard return against the Lions back in the early days of the Jason Garrett era.  And if you can recall McCann's big moment, it was anything but a traditional punt return. 

So, could they do it again the next week?

Not only could they, but history might claim that it won them the game in Philadelphia and perhaps saved the 2012 season (stay tuned for that).

But, here is the return.  You can see, that the Cowboys are not quite as feisty in their deployment.  Perhaps they think this is a place to look for a block or also to be mindful of a fake from an Eagles team that has nothing to lose, but there is no double teaming the gunners, this time.  7 players on the inside, and Lance Dunbar is Harris' up-man, back at the Cowboys 25.    

This return is much easier to define, and perhaps could be a text-book example for special teams clinics.  Look at the left return set up down the hash marks.  As you see every Eagles cover man, there is a Cowboys player at his hip, on his right.  The Eagles are already out-flanked when Harris touches the ball.

At the 28 yard line, it appears Orlando Scandrick really flirted with an illegal block in the back.  In fact, if an Eagles' fan is reading this, it is highly possible that they would argue it was much more than a flirt.

But, beyond that, this is about two things.  The inside positioning of the Cowboys players - so much so that they almost don't need to do more than retain their positioning, and the breakaway speed of Harris.

Depending on your source, you can find Harris running between a 4.38 and a 4.53 in the 40 before the 2011 draft, but here on the video you can see pretty easily that he has the speed to prove that he has plenty of speed when he needs it heading down the sideline.  The first return for a TD conceded by the Eagles in 71 games says something.

Again, it would be unfair to not point out all of the blockers who make this return so successful.  I realize that positive reviews of the Dallas' special teams is a rarity these days, but let's point out a moment of brilliance.  It should not be this easy, but the Cowboys have clearly out-flanked the Eagles and Harris has never had an easier path to the end-zone.

It looks like James Hanna, Eric Frampton, and Scandrick get the big blocks early, but again, there isn't a whole lot of "blocking" as much as positioning that takes place.  They have almost just used inside positioning to seal off the entire side of the field.

Now, in the picture below, Danny McCray has to only keep Mat McBriar from ruining the opportunity.  Troy Aikman certainly called McBriar out for not doing better here, but I think that was a bit harsh.  As you can see, a starting safety versus a punter who really doesn't have a great angle is not a matchup that is going to go the punter's way.  It looked feeble in the replays, but really, the Eagles were dead long before the play got to the punter.  Even in the frame below, you can see there are almost no Eagles anywhere close to the convoy of white jerseys.

The rest is all Harris.  You wonder what this does to a career path for a guy who was not assured his roster spot unless he could separate himself from the others at his position on the roster.  But, clearly, moments like this make all of the difference.  Especially if he shows this 2 weeks in a row.

A big play from the special teams can make all of the difference in the world. Not only does it swing the game, but it puts winds in the sails from a morale standpoint.

We certainly don't want to suddenly suggest that special teams are now back and a factor, but at least you can see the big play potential again.  There seemed to be too much on Dez Bryant's plate, and now he can focus on all of his responsibilities as this team's supposed #1 Wide Receiver.  Meanwhile, Harris, who has yet to impact the squad as a wide-out, finds his niche on the team by turning in 2 of the 3 biggest returns in 2 seasons in back-to-back weeks.

I am guessing special teams coach Joe DeCamillis is enjoying his week a bit more than usual, for a change.  And suddenly, the Cowboys have a little spring in their step.

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Xs & Os Breakdown: Zoning the Falcons

When you construct a game-plan in the NFL, there are a number of items that are out of your control.  You certainly cannot complain about a talent discrepancy nor injury issues that have you short-handed. You also cannot ignore certain aspects of the match-up that give you indigestion based on your study all week long.

When Rob Ryan constructed a way to slow down the Atlanta Falcons, he had to do it in a way that accounted for a team with plenty of weapons who are either at-or-above the average NFL level for a starter at each skill position.

Roddy White and Julio Jones might be the deadliest pair of starting receivers in the NFL at this time.  Tony Gonzalez needs no introduction and draws all sorts of match-up issues.  Michael Turner and Jaquizz Rodgers are both headaches out of the back field.  Even their depth receivers are competent.  Clearly, Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith have gotten things right and as Roddy White said in training camp, "They Can't Double Us All".

So, when the Cowboys have to play them, without Sean Lee, and with a middle linebacker who was unemployed a month ago and a safety who was 4th string when camp opened now as starters, you can understand why this wasn't the most aggressive game-plan ever assembled.

The Cowboys were going to play mostly soft zones and make the Falcons drive the ball down the field by demonstrating pin-point accuracy and avoiding any mistakes.  The zone obviously lowers your risk factor as a defense and allows a strength in numbers approach where one player can bust and usually someone else is close by to bring down the carrier.

But, a very high number of explosive plays were found in the passing game for Atlanta and most of them were against a 7-man zone.  It is a league where completions are going to happen, but you certainly don't want to give up 9 pass plays of 18 yards or more in one game.  That is yards in big chunks and while anyone can argue that holding Atlanta under 20 points is an accomplished mission, we better not get carried away with any notions of having "shut down" the Atlanta attack.

To fully understand the Cowboys strategy, it isn't a bad idea to consider the ideas they had earlier in the game where they wanted to play a fair amount of man coverage behind blitzes and other more high-risk plays.  But, they were comfortably burned twice in the 1st Quarter.  One play, where we saw the deep shot to Julio Jones which we broke down yesterday, and again later in the 1st Quarter on the play below where the Cowboys decided to play "press man" on 3rd Down and 7 late in the 1st.  It is what is called 2-man or 2 deep, man under.

The Falcons had no issue breaking this coverage down because they knew that if anyone is going to try to press Roddy White, they would just drag him across the field and thank them for that opportunity.  It takes an accurate throw, but the rest is quite easy for this Atlanta tandem as Claiborne plays well, but is beat by a nice throw.

So, they tried riskier coverages earlier twice and Matt Ryan seemed to have a laugh with both of them.  This scared the Cowboys off into a situation where they played predominantly zone coverages the rest of the night.  This wasn't going to stop Ryan, either, but it would make them drive the ball rather than allowing bigger plays.

Let's see how these plays looked from the coaches' film and see if the Cowboys had zones that looked the part.
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Here is one from late in the 2nd Quarter - This will demonstrate how complicated a proper zone coverage can actually be.  The Falcons are expecting zone, so their tight splits are not an accident as the entire league knows that tight splits and bunch formations are all about causing confusion for zone coverages.  If every defender sees the coverage responsibilities exactly the same, there will be sound coverage.  But, if one player might get the wrong guy, now you will have players running free in the middle of your zone.

But, on this occasion, it appears everyone was misreading their assignments, leaving White, Gonzalez, and Jones as the only three players in the middle of the field.  BY THEMSELVES!

Ryan takes the easy throw to White and he turns and runs untouched for 20 yards.

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Below, is a play from early in the 3rd Quarter.  From this point on, we will see a ton of shallow/deep combos which is zone-busting 101.  The idea is to send one receiver into the flat and draw the middle linebacker up in his coverage and then slip the receiver behind him on an "in-breaking" route.  This works easily if the safeties are dropping extra deep.  And if you watch the Cowboys for a moment, you see that McCray and Sensabaugh are as deep as you will ever see safeties on most plays - often 30 yards back.

Below, Jones runs his dig at about 14 yards and Ryan puts it on him before he fully makes his break.  

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Here is a crucial play in the 3rd Quarter where the Cowboys have Atlanta in a 3rd and long.  But, you will remember this one as a play where the Cowboys are not lined up and have chaos all over the place as they try to get 11 players on the field.  It is actually impossible to guess the coverage they are supposed to be in here, because they look as unorganized as possible.

I am not a proponent of wasting timeouts, but when your opponent is in a 3rd and 12, you have a very important opportunity that cannot be thrown away like this.  Unacceptable, really.

This may be tough to see, but White runs a diagonal route and then sits in the zone while the Cowboys try to figure out what coverage they are supposed to be in.  This is a good spot to see that the safeties are at 40 yards deep, leaving White a giant cushion between the linebackers and safeties of nearly 20 yards.

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Here is the very next play, and the Falcons basically go back to the same well.  White in the slot on the right goes all the way across the middle zone defender (Carter).  Then, with Jones running deep, he sits in behind him in this giant area that is now freshly vacated.

It is a more difficult throw than last time, but Ryan makes these throws in his sleep.  Safeties are back respecting Jones, and White sneaks in beneath him.  Atlanta layers its attack to where they have 3 levels.  Jones deep, White at 15-20 yards, and Gonzalez/Rodgers below that in case the linebackers get too deep.

In other words, they are ready for your zone idea.

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This is the last one I will show you today.  Early 4th Quarter.  Again, notice the tight splits.  Notice how the Cowboys are not disguising their coverage at all.  If you ever want to see what a zone looks like in pre-snap, you generally don't need to look any further than the direction of the cornerbacks' rear end.  If his tail is facing the sideline, they are in zone.  If it is facing the end zone or the inside of the field, they are in man.  Of course, he may be disguising it, but Mike Jenkins is certainly not here.

Look at 21 across from Jones tell Ryan what coverage they are playing.

Now, look, shallow route to occupy the linebackers, and an in-breaking route away from the zone corner to the middle of the field - with deep safety drops.  Pitch and catch.  Candy and babies.  Over and over and over again.  It gets worse as Jones breaks a poor tackle effort from Sensabaugh and runs for a 48 yard gain.

So, in conclusion, the zones are here to stay with the Cowboys not believing that their linebackers and safeties are ready to take off the training wheels.

With safeties dropping so deep, the Cowboys zone has giant gaps in it - especially at 15 yards to the middle of the field.  This happens to be one of the few places Michael Vick throws the ball well.

You can bet that the Eagles are looking at this film and praying for similar treatment for their weapons.  No blitzes and soft zones do not seem like the proper approach on Sunday against the Eagles.

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Xs and Os - Protecting Romo Vs Giants

This morning, for our weekly look inside the Xs and Os of what transpired in the Cowboys game, we use the coaching film to examine the Giants pass rush versus the Cowboys pass protection.

There is a narrative right now that is out there are we look for reasons why Tony Romo is performing so poorly in 2012 that attributes most of it to the fact that he has no time to throw or that he is "running for his life" on each passing play.

While the Cowboys pass protection has not been very good for several years, that can not be confirmed with statistics compared to the rest of the league.  When you have only conceded 13 sacks in 7 games, the NFL is not going to point at your offensive line as a major weak spot.  The worst 3 in the league at suffering sacks are Arizona (39), Green Bay (28), and Chicago (25).  Given that those numbers are double and triple what the Cowboys are allowing, you will not see too many articles written nationally on this topic.  

I personally believe that the OL of the Cowboys has been a weak spot for about 5 straight seasons.  This is a opinion that is sometimes very difficult to confirm with statistics, because - as we have mentioned a number of times - if a play caller desires to avoid sacks, he can do so with play calling and orders to the QB to get the ball out quickly.  

But, it is an issue that is there.    

Our discussion for today is simply to look at Sunday - leave all of our preconceived notions to the side - and see how much the OL might have contributed to what happened.  Were they able to block the big, bad front of the New York Giants, or was Romo running for his life?  In reality, were the linemen to blame for the 5 turnovers the offense committed?  

Let's see.  

1st Quarter - 

9:54 - Romo throws incomplete pass, is hit hard by Canty who defeated Cook on play

9:23 - Romo is intercepted by S Brown on throw intended for Dez Bryant.

Let's look closer at interception #1 here.  They are nearly at midfield and as you can see below, it is 1st and 10 and they are lined up in a run formation.  

This play was an absolute comedy of errors from the get-go, as you see below, the play-action fake is on one side of the hash marks, while the supposed target of that fake, Phillip Tanner is far away from the fake.  I presume that he far more occupied with the oncoming and unaccounted for Osi Umenyiora, but any attempt to fool the linebackers and safeties on the run fake is out the window.

But, this picture below is all I wanted you to see.  This is as perfect a pocket as you are going to get in the NFL most Sundays.  Romo has a wide circle around him and nobody is close to getting to him.  The down side is that only 2 players are in routes, with Tanner about to make 3 in the flat there.  Otherwise, we have 5 Giants rushing and 6 dropping.  That means we have players all around Dez Bryant when Romo makes this throw into coverage and can only blame himself for forcing a ball where it shouldn't be forced.

The worst part of this decision?  We can debate that.  Was it the perfect protection or was it the fact that this is 1st Down?  Both suggest the simple verdict - this is on Romo and regardless of Dez Bryant's route proficiency, this should not be thrown.  He has to know better than this.

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5:57 - Romo intercepted by Webster on pass intended for Austin

This is the VERY NEXT THROW of Romo's in the 1st Quarter after the pick down the middle.  I emphasize the idea that it is his next throw because I assume in the time in between, some coach has told him that to take such a chance on 1st Down is needless.  There is nothing wrong with throwing the ball away and taking a shot when someone is open on 2nd down.

But, here we go again.  Another 1st and 10.  Another under center play where the Giants are no doubt looking for a run since Felix has been given the last two snaps.

Again, let's remember the exercise here.  It is not to look at open men or coverages.  It is to ask whether protection led to any of these decisions.  Well, on this play where Austin made a pretty poor effort to keep Corey Webster from another pick, we see that Romo hasn't had this much space to throw since training camp.  Look at this pocket.  It is immaculate.  It is roomy.  He has all kinds of time.  And yet, this play ends in a giveaway.

Again, on this play, protection is not the issue.  And on 1st Down, to throw the ball that looks like a 50/50 ball at best, is just not an efficient chance to take - given the circumstances that you have already needlessly turned the ball over earlier and that this is your first throw since.

2nd Quarter -

13:15 - Romo intercepted by Jason Pierre Paul

On this particular play - an amazing demonstration of athleticism by JPP, there is an issue that you can see below as Nate Living is beaten by Chris Canty.  Canty, who might have played the game of his career is in on Romo pretty quickly and we can debate whether that affected this play.

7:17 - Giants attack both A-Gaps around Cook and chase Romo with hit.

1:55 - Romo is sacked as Jason Pierre Paul destroys Tyron Smith.

This was a situation where the Cowboys were driving for a touchdown, and this play converted that down to a 51-yard FG attempt from Bailey.  There are a few times in Tyron's career where he is just flat out beaten badly.  And this one might be the best example of that in 2012.

As this picture is snapped below, Tyron is actually flying through the air, as Pierre Paul just pushed him away on his path to sacking Romo.  That guy can do things that are just not normal.

3rd Quarter - 

13:26 - Romo complete to Witten

I only notate this play because it was one of about 3 times where Tanner was run over on a blitz pickup.  He doesn't seem very stout against blitzers and I think this does affect Romo because he knows that Tanner cannot stand his ground for very long.

12:01 - Romo sacked by Joseph

This one seemed like a coverage sack more than it did a bust by someone on the offensive line.  My stopwatch said 4.4 seconds, and that is generally a spot where you would suggest the QB has held the ball too long.

0:54 - Romo sacked by Canty

I would consider this the play of the game.  The Cowboys are ahead 24-23, and seconds ago, the defense just generated a takeaway with the Danny McCray interception.  Now, the Cowboys can drive the ball and lay claim to this amazing comeback.  Put together a long drive and the Giants will be in a real pickle.

But, instead, the Giants front run a simple twist and on one play they sack Romo for a 12 yard loss, basically killing the drive.  It was almost as if they shifted into a higher gear and asked the Cowboys offensive line to match it.

As you can see below, Nate Livings is in the horrendous spot of looking backwards at his QB as his man is about to blindside him.  Chris Canty had a good laugh every time Livings thought he would block him 1-on-1 on Sunday.

0:19 -  Play destroyed as Ryan Cook doesn't get a piece of Justin Tuck on a screen play, and Tuck is on Romo before he has the ball, basically.  And the drive ends, leading the Giants to retake the lead and secure it for the balance of the day.

4th Quarter - 

9:34 - Romo complete to Dez Bryant for 4 yards

This is another stunt that troubles Livings and Cook, resulting in Kiwanuka getting a free hit on Romo as he tries to throw it out to the flank.  3rd Down conversion, but Romo is now under duress on most throws as this game is getting late.

8:16 - Romo sacked by Joseph

Here, Doug Free is fork-lifted back by Justin Tuck, causing Romo to look for an escape path.  Unfortunately, that path is right into the outstretched arms of Joseph.  Free had issues for sure on Sunday, and this is one where he didn't get debited for the sack - but he did cause it.

1:59 - Romo sacked by Tuck - nullified by defensive holding

Here, the Cowboys have Tuck assigned a double team with Bernadeau and Cook.  Neither come close to impeding him, and he destroys the play almost before it started.   This play ended up not counting, but the hold in the secondary had nothing to do with this blown protection.  Romo had no chance as Tuck just tore threw the line without any resistance.

1:14 - Romo Intercepted by Brown on 4th Down

This play was doomed from the start as now Umenyiora takes a turn on Doug Free.  Once your tackle is beaten this cleanly, the play is doomed.  He even held Osi on this, but it did not slow him down as he flushed Romo way out of the pocket and appeared to end the game on one pass rush move.

0:39 - Romo complete to Witten - despite Pierre-Paul beating Smith around the corner again to hit Romo's blind-side while throwing.

And finally,

0:01 - Romo incomplete pass out of end zone

I only include this because I did hear a fair amount of frustration with Romo for throwing the final pass out of the end zone.  Well, this one can be traced back to pass protection as well.  Somehow, despite the Giants only rushing 3 men and the Cowboys had 6 in protection, Romo's arm was hit by Pierre Paul when he threw the final pass, altering the flight of the ball by who-knows-how-much.  See below:

Really, a suitable way to end a day where the pass protection started out ok, but as often is the case against the Giants, it progressively gets worse over the course of the day.  They have too many elite linemen to hold them back all game long.  So, when the game hits its most critical point - the 4th Quarter - they have something left in the tank and your guys are hanging on for dear life.

Overall, 4 sacks and countless more hits on Romo.  He was just lousy in the early going, but he snapped out of it and got them back in the game.  Unfortunately, the protection was good early and then diminished later.

Which linemen had the roughest days?  I would say Cook was pretty bad all day.  Livings has now had 2 tough Sundays in a row.  Free and Smith both had poor moments (Free more than Smith) but they are going against such good pass rushing ends that you should expect some issues if you are going to pass the ball 69 times and have no threat of a run game.

No run game?  To a point where you don't even consider a run on 2nd and 1, 3rd and 1, or 4th and 1 with the game on the line?  Well, that is a different blog entry altogether.

But, it continues to be clear every Sunday - this team needs to fix their offensive line once and for all this spring.  Like they needed to last spring.  And the spring before that....

This game was a collective effort on the offense.  Blame should reside with Romo for one of his more horrendous performances in memory.  And of course, the line was worn down and had many busts that led to the result.  But, it should also rest with the front office for not stocking the Cowboys with a better line against a division rival that has had this line of scrimmage advantage for as long as anyone can remember around here.  They play the Giants twice a year.  Every year.  This hasn't and will not change.

Let's be honest - the Giants had this similar strength when they won the playoff game in Texas Stadium to end the Cowboys 2007 season.   Back then, it was still Tuck and Umenyiora, but it was also Michael Strahan and Fred Robbins.

The names change, but the dominance up front remains the same for the Giants.  Which might be why the results do, too.    

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