OnOff
FRISCO, Texas — In Thursday’s loss to the Bears, the Cowboys went five-straight drives without a score following the touchdown on the opening possession, and the defense allowed 31 points with missed tackles left and right.
Jason Garrett told me, “ It’s just the gap principles: winning your gaps, setting the edge to the defense, doing your job- the roles and responsibilities that everybody has on every play…There were many examples of us over-running the ball, everyone was chasing the ball but we were taking too high an angle. The runner puts his foot in the ground and cuts back and you have these missed tackles, so I think it all goes together. Being disciplined, being fundamentally sound, you know what this defense has been based on since we put it in. That’s what we’re all about and we did not do a good enough job of that in the game. It was reflective in how we affected the quarterback, and how we tackled. There is plenty of evidence all over the tape, we simply have to do a better job of it.”
The 6-7 Dallas Cowboys have to make necessary adjustments in preparation for the 8-5 Los Angeles Rams. The team began the process by releasing kicker Brett Maher and signing Kai Forbath to finish out the 2019 season. Dallas is one of the few teams in the NFL that are currently ranked in the top 10 in offense and defense (1-offense, 9-defense), but yet they do not have a winning record and cannot string wins together.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s matchup, the biggest threat for the Cowboys is defensive tackle, Aaron Donald. Donald was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year the past two seasons (2018, 2017) and is the centerpiece of Wade Phillips’ defense with his disruptive penetration. Dallas’ offensive line has to block well up front.
I had Jason Witten dive into what makes Donald arguably the most disruptive defensive tackle in the league. He emphatically said, “ He is just rare; the combination of power and explosiveness all in one guy. You don’t see that every week in the National Football league. The more you watch him, protections are sliding to him and when he does that, he’s just smart. He knows how to attack it, he’s disruptive, and he gets up the field, but he also takes on double teams. He finds ways to get the one-on-one block and move them around, so he is just a rare combination of power and explosion that he has and just continues to get better and better every time you watch him on tape.”
Defensively, Dallas has to do a better job setting edges and finishing tackles in space. The Cowboys’ run defense is currently ranked 19th in the league and on Sunday they face Todd Gurley. Gurley has had knee issues and has not been as productive as usual in 2019 but he has had more touches in recent weeks and Sean McVay has made it clear that he will have a more prominent role in the team’s offensive attack moving forward. With the way Dallas’ D has been playing, McVay will likely opt to run the football more with Gurley pounding away on downs.
The Rams’ offense has centered on picking up yards after the catch, recording the second-most YAC in the league (1,731), which breaks down to 50.2% of their yards gained through the air. Robert Woods has been explosive on crossing routes and with Gerald Everett’s injury; Tyler Higbee has had a larger role. Higbee amassed 107 receiving yards against the Cardinals in week 13 and 116 against the Seahawks in week 14, both career-highs. He has been a weapon in the Rams’ play-action game. Woods and Higbee have been reliable targets for Jared Goff.
Spoke with Kris Richard on Higbee. He remarked, “ He has a big body, nice large catching radius. Obviously the tight end is a big part of their offense. They started using a lot more 12 personnel and things of that nature. They are all really good players. It’s not as if you have a big slug out there who is not able to route run and can be an effective pass catcher.”
